Analyst Picks & Pans March 18, 2010, 10:45AM EST

Stock Picks: FedEx, Burger King, Nasdaq, Sirius XM

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Nasdaq OMX Group Inc.: JMP Securities initiated coverage of NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) on Mar. 18 with a market outperform rating and a 12-month price target of $25.

In a note, equity analyst David Scharf said he believes shares of the global exchange company represent a "compelling risk/reward trade-off based on multiple new product initiatives, a more stable revenue model than other cash equities-driven businesses, and improving market share and/or volume trends".

Scharf said he has recently seen a rebound in Nasdaq's U.S. cash equities market share, an expanding U.S. options market share over the past year, improving European operations, early successes with new equities and clearing services, and "solid" expense management. "Yet [the] shares are trading near their 52-week lows as overall market volume headwinds, some regulatory uncertainty, and a weak capital markets calendar overhang the story," he wrote.

The analyst expects Nasdaq's EPS to grow 9% in 2010 and 11% in 2011, "driven by the company's multiple growth initiatives, recovery from trough volumes, and operating leverage".

Sirius XM Radio Inc.: Standard & Poor's equity analysts Tuna Amobi and Erik Kolb maintained a hold opinion on shares of Sirius XM Radio Inc. (SIRI) on Mar. 18.

The analysts said in a posting on the S&P MarketScope service that Srius, the only U.S. satellite radio broadcaster, announced that it has received a second notice from NASDAQ that it has not regained compliance with the $1.00 minimum closing bid requirement for its common shares; Sirius said it will request a hearing at which it will ask for continued listing pending its return to compliance. The Sirius board has approved a reverse stock split, the analysts noted.

"[With a current market cap of nearly $3.5 billion, we think Sirius has ample options to regain compliance," the analysts wrote. "Separately, we remain encouraged after Q4 results and expect SIRI to realize additional merger-related synergies as it renegotiates several contracts".