New Analyst Ratings (ANF, ALLT, ANN, DXCM, GYMB, CWTR, HOTT, GPS, AEO, ARO, CHS, JCG, LINTA, SMT, TLB, BKE, URBN)

Published on Tuesday, 24 August 2010 07:21 Written by Danny Miller

New York, August 24^th (TradersHuddle.com) – Following are some of the new analyst ratings before the market open.

Research Firms Initiate:

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF), the specialty teen retailer, was initiated with a Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott and a target price of $42. The firm cited competitive pricing environment will continue and drive market share gains and easier comparisons in the second half of this year relative to the sector. The analysts believe Abercrombie could be a counter-cyclical play.

Allot Comm (NASDAQ:ALLT) was initiated with a Buy at Wunderlich and a $8 price target saying they believe Allot is well positioned to lead an emerging category of network infrastructure elements.

AnnTaylor (NYSE:ANN), the specialty women's apparel retailer, was initiated with a Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott with a target price of $19 based on recent successes in turning back to positive comparisons in 1Q10 and 2Q10.

Dexcom (NASDAQ:DXCM) was initiated with a Neutral at SunTrust.

Gymboree (NASDAQ:GYMB), Coldwater Creek (NASDAQ:CWTR), Hot Topic (NASDAQ:HOTT), The Gap (NYSE:GPS), American Eagle (NYSE:AEO), Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO), and Chico's FAS (NYSE:CHS) were initiated with a Neutral at Janney Montgomery Scott.

J. Crew (NYSE:JCG), the multi-channel specialty retailer of men's and women's apparel, was initiated with a Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott and a target price of $41. The firm cited trade checks show sustained strong traffic and conversion trends. The buy rating and price target is based on a 15% three-year growth rate times FY11 EPS estimate of $2.73.

Liberty Media (NASDAQ:LINTA) was initiated with a Buy at BGB Securities and a target price of $15.

SMART Technologies (NYSE:SMT), the interactive technology solutions provider was initiated with Outperform at RBC Capital, Overweight at Piper Jaffray, a Buy at Deutsche Bank, and Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Talbots (NYSE:TLB), the specialty retailer of apparel and accessories for women, was initiated with a Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott and a price target of $14. The firm cited significant product improvement, a return to margin expansion, a significantly deleveraged balance sheet, and belief that the company can achieve sustainable positive comparisons within the next 12 months.

The Buckle (NYSE:BKE) was initiated with a Sell at Janney Montgomery Scott and a target price of $21. The firm cited Anniversary difficult comparisons, which could be turning sustainably negative. The analysts believe they could be at peak operating margins stating there is little room for error with a macro environment that we believe will remain highly price competitive and could pressure margins for the company.

Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN), the owner and operator of Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie retail chains, was initiated with a Buy at Janney and a target price of $40. The firm cited strong gross margins would boost bottom line. Also analysts believe the $740 million in cash the company is holding in its balance sheet could trigger more aggressive buy back.