Wachovia Securities

Intel Corporation (INTC) - David Wong at Wachovia Securities

In a note on the Intel event, Wachovia analyst David Wong said the company's presentation "was upbeat, with an emphasis on smooth execution of technology and product development and a recovering demand environment." "Intel characterized the PC market as 'more than resilient,' and believes that worldwide PC unit shipments this year could be flat to up over 2008," Wong wrote.  

CBS Corporation (CBS) - Marci Ryvicker at Wachovia Securities

CBS Expected to Meet the Street , 2009 NEW YORK: CBS should meet analyst estimates for the second quarter, and full year guidance for the media company "is likely to remain intact," Wachovia analyst Marci Ryvicker said in 2Q earnings preview. "Given that Street estimates for CBS have continued to come down over the past month or so, we do not anticipate another significant miss, like what we saw in Q1," she said. "Nor do we anticipate a revision to management's full year [operating income before depreciation and amortization] guidance of $1.725 billion to $1.925 billion. We remain at $1.742 billion. 

Health Net, Inc (HNT) - Matthew Perry at Wachovia Securities

Its stock plunged more than 14 percent on Tuesday. Late on Monday, the U.S. Department of Defense said it would drop Health Net and Humana Inc ( HUM.N ) as vendors for multibillion dollar contracts, replacing them with rivals Aetna Inc ( AET.N ) and UnitedHealth. "For Health Net, we believe the loss of the Tricare contract is a significant blow, but may free up management to pursue strategic alternatives now that uncertainty around the business has lifted," Wachovia analyst Matt Perry said in a research report earlier this week.  

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (CTSH) - Edward Caso at Wachovia Securities

Reuters , Wachovia Capital Markets upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp to "market perform" from "underperform" as it expects better revenue growth for the IT services firm in 2009, compared to rivals Infosys Technologies and Wipro Ltd. "We look for topline growth to be about 10 percent, maybe a touch higher, for CTSH in CY09, while we expect slightly negative comparisons during the same period for INFY and WIT," analyst Edward Caso wrote in a note to clients.  

Wipro Ltd. (507685) - Edward Caso at Wachovia Securities

Reuters , Wachovia Capital Markets upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp to "market perform" from "underperform" as it expects better revenue growth for the IT services firm in 2009, compared to rivals Infosys Technologies and Wipro Ltd. "We look for topline growth to be about 10 percent, maybe a touch higher, for CTSH in CY09, while we expect slightly negative comparisons during the same period for INFY and WIT," analyst Edward Caso wrote in a note to clients.  

KB Home (KBH) - Carl Reichardt at Wachovia Securities

* Sales starter. Sales rates on the new product are back to running at what Mezger called "historical norms"; Wachovia analyst Carl Reichardt estimated that rate was roughly four to five sales per community per month, although he noted he believed some Open Series tracts were selling at twice that rate. In addition, Mezger said he anticipated sales rates would gain momentum in the back half of 2009 as the company rolled out more Open Series communities. 

WellPoint, Inc. (WLP) - Matthew Perry at Wachovia Securities

The company cited a similar problem when it reported first quarter 2009 earnings results. "But that doesn't square up with what United[Health Group] and WellPoint [Inc.] have been saying, which makes me think that this is the result of an aggressive pricing stance" as opposed to significantly higher utilization, says Steve Shubitz, an equities analyst with St. Louis based Edward Jones. "While those [health plans] have acknowledged [higher utilization rates], neither has indicated that it is a threat to their 2009 earnings." In his note to investors, Wachovia Capital Markets analyst Matt Perry said health plans in 2008 revised their EPS guidance by an average of 34%. And most plans reduced their EPS guidance more than once during that year. It's difficult to tell if the revision is due to higher disease acuity or a mispricing of products, Perry tells HPW. 

Fred's, Inc. (FRED) - Marci Ryvicker at Wachovia Securities

I am among many who have benefited from his financial acumen over the years, and I will personally miss his counsel and his daily company very much. I know everyone at CBS joins me in thanking Fred for all he has done, and in wishing him nothing but the best in the years to come," Moonves stated. "Fred Reynolds will be missed," said Wachovia Capital Markets analyst Marci Ryvicker.  

Cerberus Capital Management LP - Marci Ryvicker at Wachovia Securities

Analyst: Chrysler dealer closings no big threat to broadcasters NAB SmartBrief | 06/22/2009 Although Citadel radio and LIN television are the publicly traded broadcasters most vulnerable to losing business because of the closure of more than 2,000 Chrysler dealerships, the impact is not likely to be severe given many of the dealers already had financial problems and were not placing many ads, according to Marci Ryvicker, analyst for Wachovia Capital Markets.  

Chrysler Group LLC - Marci Ryvicker at Wachovia Securities

Analyst: Chrysler dealer closings no big threat to broadcasters NAB SmartBrief | 06/22/2009 Although Citadel radio and LIN television are the publicly traded broadcasters most vulnerable to losing business because of the closure of more than 2,000 Chrysler dealerships, the impact is not likely to be severe given many of the dealers already had financial problems and were not placing many ads, according to Marci Ryvicker, analyst for Wachovia Capital Markets.