If Monday saw Agrium (AGU) and Potash Corp. (POT) drop sharply following a cut in their outlook by analysts, they were up around 6.5 and 5.5% a day after. However, Intrepid Potash (IPI) shines brighter with a gain of 7.77% intraday.Agriculture stocks have been lashed severely since Mosaic (MOS) reported a mixed Q1 earnings on October 2. The company's worrisome production outlook did not help matters either, and Mosaic had fallen around 41% on that day. Taking the cue, Potash had slid by around 35% till yesterday. "POT" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?"IPI" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?"MOS" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?"AGU" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research

The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, Inc. (POT), a Canadian corporation based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is the world's largest fertilizer enterprise producing three primary plant nutrients potash, phosphate and nitrogen. The company was created by the government of Saskatchewan in 1975.

Potash Corp. has benefited from higher fertilizer application rates, higher crop plantings, increasing demand for biofuels and rising crop prices. Rising fertilizers prices, especially potash, will expand POT's margin.

The company's manufacturing plants are located in low-cost areas and its financials are solid. However, rising raw material prices force us to rate the stock a Hold with a target of $90. This is 7.0x our 2008 estimate.

Read the full analyst report on POT

"POT" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research

The U.S. financial-services sector is undergoing the broadest restructuring of a single industry in the history of Corporate America, and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) has positioned itself to emerge as one of three clear frontrunners. Indeed, along with Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Bank of America could well emerge from this financial maelstrom as one of the premier players on the global stage: All three will benefit from increasing market share and increased financial intermediation margins as their weaker rivals have failed and/or been taken over in part or in total by a stronger industry player. During the many financial crises that I have analyzed around the world, the result has always been the same: The prudently managed, under-levered institutions that did not overstretch their capital bases and that were ...

The onslaught of selling resumed with a vengeance during Thursday trading on the Canadian Markets. For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange lost 6.95%, while the TSX Gold Index plunged 14.8% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, dropped 6.73% with the declining issuers swamping the advancers by a 698 to 216 margin on volume of 154 million shares traded.

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Merrill Lynch is out with a bullish Fertilizer call noting the recent sharp fall in fertilizer sector valuation multiples is unprecedented, with share prices down 44% since peaking in mid-June. Firm attributes most of the decline to investor fears that the commodity boom is over as the dollar has weakened and energy prices have declined sharply. While corn prices have declined 31% since their flood-induced late-June peaks, fears of demand destruction from high fertilizer prices appear overblown. US corn growers would still be profitable with fertilizer costs twice current levels, by firm's calculations.For the last month they have been saying that fertilizer valuations indicate that the market believes that earnings will peak in 2009 and decline rapidly thereafter. With little new supply set to come on line before 2011-12 depending on the nutrient and with a likely multi-year grain cycle sustaining high demand levels they believe that peak ...

Potash Corp. (POT) has benefited from higher fertilizer application rates, higher crop plantings, increasing demand for biofuels and rising crop prices. Rising fertilizers prices, especially potash, will expand POT’s margin in the second half of 2008 and 2009.

The company is expanding potash production capacity by 2.7 million tons to cater to the growing fertilizer demand. The company’s manufacturing plants are located in low-cost areas and its financials are solid. The management raised EPS guidance for 2008 from $9.5-$10.50 to $12-$13 expecting an EPS of $3.25-$3.75 in the third quarter of 2008. Hence, we rate the stock a Buy with a target price of $200.

In the second half of 2008, Potash Corporation plans to increase potash prices by $400 per ton in the North American markets. Substantial increase in potash prices coupled with rising nitrogen and phosphate prices due to rising input cost will result in higher realized prices.

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We called Potash Corp. (NYSE:POT) the perfect stock back in March, when it was under $150 then ran all the way up to $241 a share.  Today, shares of POT are right back to $150 level and despite the haters, they are still one of the few companies that raised their 2008 and 2009 guidance. Morgan Stanley is out with a very positive Fertilizer call for Potash, saying they think the business model meltdown implied in fertilizer equities’ recent ~35% decline will prove unfounded. Firm believes that peak earnings are likely to come in 2011 (rather than in 2008, as implied by the ...

Potash Corp. (POT) has leverage in higher fertilizer application rates, higher crop plantings, increasing demand for biofuels and rising crop prices. The company is located in low cost areas and its financials are solid. Hence, we rate the stock a Buy with a target price of $250. This is 18.9x our 2008 estimate.

Potash Corporation enjoys significant cost advantage with regard to raw materials. All potash produced by the company in Saskatchewan is in the area, where extensive potash deposits are found. Moreover, the company has lower cost nitrogen operations in Trinidad due to the long-term, lower-cost gas contracts with Natural Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited as well as a proximity to the U.S. market.

In response to the rising prices of potash products, the company has engaged in the expansion and development of projects that will raise annual operational capacity to capture a significant share of the growth

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