The Top Six Analyst Calls of the Week (INTC, FFIV, LULU, MCP, WFC, USO, DIG, DTO)

Analyst calls are sometimes favorable and sometimes off the mark.  Still, analysts move stocks and often offer keen insight not seen elsewhere. Each week we review the major analyst calls for those standout research calls that were above the pack or are outside of the pack and which moved the shares.  Some calls are praise, some are critical.  We identified what we consider to be the top six grouped analyst calls of the week in Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV), and Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU), Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP).  That is only four calls, but the fifth call was a Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) versus Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) call.  The sixth and ‘final-top analyst call’ around oil could end up having a profound impact on the United States Oil (NYSE: USO), ProShares Ultra Oil & Gas (NYSE: DIG), and PowerShares DB Crude Oil Double Short ETN (NYSE: DTO).

In each call we have given some basic data on the rating and followed up with the relative pricing data before and after the call, and then we have followed up with individual color on each where applicable.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) got a big boost on Friday after Citigroup said that weak January and February notebook sales should turn around in March after DRAM makers said that prices had bottomed.  Citigroup sees second quarter inventory building for 10% to 15% growth from the first quarter as inventories had been worked down while a recovery comes in Europe.  Shares closed up 2.7% at $21.87 on Friday after having challenged $21.00 on Wednesday and the close from the week before was $22.14.  All in all a rescue call in what should have otherwise been a bad week.

F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) managed a strong week considering its last fall from grace after earnings that took out its mojo.  Shares were raised to Outperform at BMO on Friday and Raised to Strong Buy at S&P Equity Research on Thursday.  For what was such a tough week in the market, shares closed out up 2.65% at $120.18 versus a close on Tuesday of $115.11 and a close on Wednesday of $111.99.  Two upgrades after a large drop and a large recovery made this one impossible to ignore even if it was more than one call driving shares higher.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) had a rough week as the market slid and the move really hit some of the big momentum stocks.  Bank of America/Merrill Lynch cut shares down to “Underperform” from “Neutral” based upon price and valuation.  After all, it trades at close to 36-times BofA’s 2012 earnings estimates.  After near 200% gains, this call is no shock even if lululemon does still have significant growth opportunity ahead of itself.  Shares closed out last Friday at $82.12 and shares closed out Friday at $76.83.

Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP) is a call that might feel like an eon ago since it was on Tuesday.  Still, the call stopped what had been a mudslide in its shares from the week before and this was before everything in North Africa hit the fan.  It was J.P.Morgan which raised the rating from Neutral to Overweight and the firm took a $36 target up to $65 based on its prospects out to 2014.  Considering this week was a tough one, Molycorp closed out the week at $48.65.  That was very close to its week highs and compared to a close of $44.63 last Friday.  Whether a bubble in rare earth elements exists or not, this was an impressive call that lent support to shares all week after such a large slide from its secondary offering and then again after a key insider sale that hit the tape after the fact.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) was a very interesting call on Friday.  After a slide all week, Goldman Sachs came to the rescue of the money-center banking giant by adding Wells Fargo to the prized Conviction Buy List after having previously been “Neutral” on the bank. The firm even raised the target from $36.00 to $38.00.  As part of the call, Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) was cut from Buy to Neutral based upon a lack of catalysts.  The thought on Wells Fargo is that it has perhaps the best core operating profit trends with dividend hikes and share buybacks likely.  Wells Fargo closed out last week at $32.64 and it slid down to as low as $30.80 mid-week.  This drove shares much higher than the average banking giant and shares closed up 3.05% at $32.40.  As this is Warren Buffett’s top bank by far and with Goldman Sachs being under Buffett’s preferred shares, Berkshire Hathaway saw a gain in position value on Wells Fargo of nearly $330 million on Friday alone.

The standout call of all was one that will drive shares of United States Oil (NYSE: USO) and the ProShares Ultra Oil & Gas (NYSE: DIG) exchange-traded products much higher if it happens and the call will ultimately wipe out the settings PowerShares DB Crude Oil Double Short ETN (NYSE: DTO) is it comes true.  Frankly, the report seemed to take an entirely exaggerated point based upon much different starting points and endpoints.  Still, it grabbed the attention of everyone.  Nomura laid out the case that could take oil to $220 per barrel.  Let’s all just hope the call was as big of an exaggeration as we think.

As you have noticed, the research calls here are all very different.  It turned out this week that the big bias here was a bullish bias due to the fact that it was a week full of turmoil and these were the huge standout research calls we identified.  There were other big calls seen as well.  These were just the ones that made the grade here for us.

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JON C. OGG