OPPENHEIMER  analyst Meredith Whitney rates Merrill Lynch a SELL:

a. announced $8.5 billion equity raise and “substantial sale of U.S. ABS CDOs” that would reduce its CDO exposure by $11.1 billion.

b. company has significantly diluted existing shareholders, she applauds this purging of assets as an attempt to cut its losses, focus on stabilizing its platform, and righting the franchise towards growth.

c.  stock still sells at premium to book value, but thinks the stock getting closer to fairly valued levels

Track Meredith’s picks at:

http://trackthepros.com/categories.php?category_id=805

Citigroup analyst Yaron Werber rates Amgen a BUY:

a. the company’s bullish comments on the second quarter results have given him conviction that denosumab (dmab) Phase 3 data will be competitive with generic alendronate as it offers equivalent efficacy, clean side effect profile, better convenience/tolerability, and novel mode of action.

b. dmab could be a blockbuster ($3-$5 billion globally in osteoporosis, $2-$4 billion in cancer) when launched in the first half of 2010; this could lift AMGN’s long-term growth rate as the rest of the pharma industry is maturing.

c. price target $75.

Track Citigroup’s analysts picks at:

http://trackthepros.com/categories.php?category_id=222