We always look for standout research calls.  The goal is not to just find bullish calls, but calls which have a longer duration of a single trading session or even a single week.  The top standout calls this last week came in shares of F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV), MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD), PDL BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: PDLI), Sterling Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBIB), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).

F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) had a very rough week and shares were  battered after its revenue shortfall and mixed guidance was just nowhere near good  enough to satisfy investors after what had been close to a 200% return in the last year.  Many firms threw in the towel as shares went from almost $140 to under $110 and the stock closed out the week at $109.97 versus a 52-week range of $47.11 to $145.76.  We saw two standout calls actually getting behind the network optimization solutions provider.  F5 was raised to “Outperform” from “Neutral and the price target was raised to $134.00 from $103.00 by Credit Suisse.  The firm called it a buying opportunity and a chance to accumulate shares.  Gleacher & Co. also stepped in and upgraded the rating on F5 to “Buy” from “Hold” with a $130.00 price target due to its market position and due to still well above-market growth even if that growth is decelerating.

MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD) was one that felt like no Kind man this week.  The company’s inhalable diabetes treatment called Afrezza was given yet another blow by the FDA. In a complete response letter, the FDA asked for two more tests, which will likely cost more capital than MannKind has available today.  Shares were as high as $9.50 before the pre-halt and before the news hit and shares actually hit $10.00 on Tuesday.  After the halt was released, MannKind opened down close to $5.00 on Thursday and shares closed the week out at $5.76 after having briefly challenged $6.00 on Thursday and Friday.  We knew downgrades would come, and we gave our own detailed outlook over at BioHealthInvestor.com.  Still, there was a standout gutsy call made elsewhere this week from a brokerage and research firm we rarely here about.  A firm called Weeden & Co. upgraded the shares from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $6.00 to $9.00.  Apparently the only thing at issue was that the firm did not have a sell rating before, although most traders and investors treat a “hold” rating the same as a “sell” rating.  Dangerous times for a dangerous stock, but one gutsy call.

PDL BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: PDLI) was hit pretty hard this week by a legal decision where a summary judgment went against it in its litigation with MedImmune.  Last Friday shares were as high as $5.60 but the stock closed out the week at $4.87.  It hit a new 52-week low of $4.83 this week and its 52-week high is $7.30.  The company is in the patent and royalty business and has a very low current P/E ratio due to its concerns about the sustainability of royalties after patent expiration at the end of 2014.  RBC Capital decided that the bad news is good news for new investors and it lifted its prior “Sector Perform” rating up to “Outperform” and we saw a $6.00 price target mentioned.  A firm called Global Hunter downgraded the stock to “Accumulate” from “Buy” but the price target objective is now $7.00; Thomson Reuters still has an aggregate consensus target of $6.80 per share.

Sterling Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBIB) got its acquisition this week for $1.03 billion from Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) in a stock-for-stock deal for 0.2365 shares of Comerica per Sterling share.  Comerica shares fell after the news but the pre-drop terms valued Sterling at $10.00 per share and the stock closed at $9.30.  Most calls were neutral on the deal, but Sandler O’Neill decided to raise Sterling’s rating to “Buy” from “Hold” at the end of the week. Comerica still has an average target from analysts of $41.10 per Thomson Reuters consensus data, while Sterling is well above its consensus target of $8.33.  S&P and Fitch were both lightly positive on the deal, so perhaps there is just more upside in the deal.  Or maybe there is hope for a rival bid at a higher price.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) stood out just as much as the calls from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).  These calls are so close to a tie even though the Apple news is more dramatic because it is Steve Jobs and his fight over cancer compared to “adult supervision stepping aside” at Google. The bulls came out on both to defend shares this week and the stocks still fell after the news.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) was surprising considering that Eric Schmidt is becoming Chairman, with Sergey Brin moving into heading up new and strategic projects, and Larry Page taking over as CEO.  Still, there is a new TOP BULL in Google and that was after Jefferies raised its price target on Google to what appears to be a street-high target of $800.00 per share.  Google shares peaked above $640 this week and closed out the week at $611.83.  If Jefferies is right, that’s more than 30% left for the gains.

In Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) most analysts defended the stock on the sad news of Steve Jobs taking a medical leave of absence to deal with his health, and then came the new targets after Apple blew out its earnings.  The biggest Apple defense and growth call came from Ticonderoga Securities with a whopping price target of $550.00.  That is a new street-high price target.  Apple hit higher highs this week of $348.60 after closing out the prior week at $348.48, but shares actually closed lower every day this week and the stock closed the week out at $326.72.  If Ticonderoga is right on its bullish calls, new investors could still make almost 70% if that objective is reached.

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JON C. OGG

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