Specialty Chemicals

Bank of America has downgraded Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) from Buy to Underperform and has lowered the price objective from $80 to $65.

JP Morgan has lowered the price target on International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE: IFF) from $65 to $61 and maintains its Neutral rating.

Deutsche Bank has upgraded Ecolab (NYSE: ECL) from Hold to Buy and maintains its $55 price target.

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE: IFF) are higher on the session by 6.61%, currently trading at $56.31. The stock has been moving largely lower over the past three months and is currently trading below the 50-day moving average. Options traders are buying puts on the name...

Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE: SXT) announced today that it has resumed active consideration of share repurchases as part of its financial strategy. The Company has an authorization to repurchase up to 3.0 million of its shares but it has not engaged in any buybacks since 2007. “We...

Shares of W.R. Grace & Co. (NYSE: GRA) are lower on the session by 3.13%, currently trading at $38.64. The stock has been moving largely lower over the past five weeks and is currently trading below the 50-day moving average. Options traders are buying puts on the name today. A short while...

US stock futures are lower this morning, as investors are awaiting employment data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 46 points to 11,325.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 3.60 points to 1,195.10. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 7.00 points to 2,202.50. US stocks closed lower on...

Weight Watchers International Inc (NYSE: WTW) is expected to report its Q2 EPS at $1.12 on revenue of $470.16 million. Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE: PG) is projected to report its FQ4 earnings at 0.82 per share on revenue of $20.63 billion. The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) is...

According to Citi, Nalco Holding (NYSE: NLC) reported 2Q EPS of $0.47, in-line with guidance provided in last month's acquisition announcement with Ecolab on 7/20/11. Citi said that a lower than expected tax rate boosted EPS by 8¢ compared to the estimate of 38¢. “Results also exclude 5¢ related...

MasterCard Inc (NYSE: MA) reported a 33% rise in its second-quarter profit. MasterCard reported its quarterly profit at $608 million, or $4.76 per share, up from $458 million, or $3.49 per share, in the year-earlier period. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $4.22 per share. Its net...

RPM International Inc. (NYSE: RPM) announced today that its Performance Coatings Group has acquired API S.p.A., a $28 million producer and installer of polyurethane and urethane-based flooring and decking solutions for cruise ships, mega-yachts and naval applications. Based in Genoa, Italy, API...

PolyOne Corp (NYSE: POL) reported a 41% decline in its second-quarter profit. PolyOne reported its quarterly net income at $28.5 million, or $0.30 per share, down from $48.1 million, or $0.50 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, PolyOne's earnings came in at $0.31 per share...

JP Morgan reiterated its Neutral rating on Ferro (NYSE: FOE). At the same time, the rating agency reduced its price target on the company's stock from $16 to $11. On Tuesday, FOE had a disastrous session as its shares lost 24.19% of their value to end the day at $9.81. Its shares started to recover...

This is your Benzinga news summary and traders' outlook for Wednesday, August 3, 2011, covering headlines from overnight and Wednesday's pre-market session. Today in domestic pre-market trading, U.S. equity futures are set to rebound today after moving into negative territory for the year...

JP Morgan has lowered the price target on Ferro Corporation (NYSE: FOE) from $16 to $11 and maintains its Neutral rating.