Sell - Price 13.53 on Dec. 23 by Sterne Agee & Leach BAC has great exposure to the weakening U.S. consumer, [and] we're concerned about up-front dilution from the Merrill Lynch acquisition. [Yet BAC] has immense core-earnings power, and has been aggressively building reserves....On Sept. 30, BAC held $239 billion in mortgage loans and $120 billion in home-equity loans, in addition to Countrywide's $99 billion held-for-investment loan portfolio. Credit-card receivables are $187 billion; commercial real-estate loans, $63 billion. We expect loss rates...to continue ratcheting up through '09. Given the pressure we expect [from] the credit environment...we would place a high probability on a dividend cut. We believe another common equity raise is also likely. Our 10 target equals our adjusted tangible book value. Market cap: $60.2 billion.

Outperform - Price 16.74 on Dec. 23 by Barrington Research [We're initiating coverage on] this for-profit provider of postsecondary education...with a 22 price target -- 30%-plus above current levels. We believe Grand Canyon's mix of a rapidly growing online program (85% of enrollment), anchored by a traditional ground-based program (15%) with a nearly 60-year history and heritage, differentiate it from [rivals]. Management's three- to five-year growth plan calls for compound annual growth in enrollment of 20% to 25%, revenue of 25% to 30% and diluted [earnings per share] of 35%-plus. We estimate Ebit [earnings before interest and taxes] margins will more than triple in '08 to 7.3%, from 1.8% in 2007, on their way to the high teens in 2009 and 20%-plus in 2010 and beyond. At current levels, the stock is trading at 30.6 times and 18.6 times our '09 (55 cents) and '10 (90 cents) estimates. Market cap: $758 million.

In Line - Price 55.96 on Dec. 23 by Fox-Pitt Kelton Cochran Caronia Waller M&T will acquire Provident Bankshares in an all-stock deal valued at $401 million (exchange ratio, 0.172). The purchase price per share is 10.50 -- a 37% premium to PBKS' 20-day average price, 1.4 times stated tangible book....The deal's expected to close 2Q09. [We see the deal's] premium as surprising, given the stress [in] Provident's...investment securities. We're lowering our '08E-EPS to $5.64 from $5.78, [due to] higher credit costs, and cutting 2009E-EPS to $4.30 from $5.40 to account for the deal, higher credit costs, and [Troubled Asset Relief Program] capital. We're reducing our target to 50 (1.6 times '09 projected TB). Market cap: $6.2 billion.

Market Perform - Price 11.97 on Dec. 23 by Raymond James RHT reported a solid [fiscal third-quarter '09] in a tough environment, although billings deceleration and lower renewal upside bear watching; $165 million revenue, up 22%...topped guidance of [up to] $171 million ....Our F09 [estimated] and F2010E revenues increase to $652 million and $738 million ....F10E non-GAAP EPS goes up 3 cents to account for a better margin run-rate. We still view Red Hat as the dominant choice in Linux for technical expertise...and breadth, [despite] uncertain impact from slowing server shipments. Market cap: $2.5 billion.

Hold - Price 32.23 on Dec. 23 by Jefferies & Co. STJ has announced the acquisitions of Radi Medical and MediGuide for a combined $550 million. Both represent strategic pursuits of growth outside the core CRM [cardiac-rhythm management] business...and are projected to be neutral to '09 EPS expectations [but] Radi [should] be accretive to '10 earnings. We haven't changed estimates...2009 EPS guidance is $2.47 to $2.52. Our 34 target [reflects] a price/earnings approach (13 times our 2009E-EPS)....Risks include continued share gains in the CRM market and...recall of a competitor's product. Market cap: $11.2 billion.

Sell - Price 39.62 on Dec. 23 by Kevin Dann & Partners Westinghouse Air Brake Technology (Wabtec) provides engineered components and aftermarket services for global rail and industrial customers...its two business segments are freight and transit. Our 32 target, representing 19.2% downside, [is reached by] applying an 11 times P/E multiple and a 5.5 times EV/Ebitda multiple to our FY2009 estimates....Wabtec has benefited from surging energy prices, which drove record freight volumes and increased transit ridership, [but] potential deceleration in key markets could weigh on sales growth and further margin expansion....The Association of American Railroads says November's car-load and intermodal-volume declines were the largest monthly drops since it began tracking the data in 1997. This drove cumulative ton-miles into negative territory for the year, an important metric for Wabtec's aftermarket revenues. Market cap: $1.9 billion.