Premarket roundup: Tanger, Alcoa

Among the premarket activity stories for Monday, Jan. 12, from AP Financial News:

NEW YORK (AP) _ Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. is better positioned than other retailers to weather the recession, but its stock price is too high, an analyst said Monday as he downgraded shares.

NEW YORK (AP) _ Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc., which recently announced production cuts amid weak commodity prices, was downgraded to "Sell" from "Buy" by an analyst ahead of the company's planned quarterly earnings release.

NEW YORK (AP) _ Las Vegas Sands Corp. is likely to face some challenges in the weaker Las Vegas and Macau markets this year, but the casino operator remains a strong "Buy" due to its recent capital infusion and prospects for its upcoming Singapore opening, an analyst said Monday.

NEW YORK (AP) _ J.P. Morgan expects biotechnology executives to express optimism about their companies' prospects in 2009 during presentations at the bank's 27th annual health care conference in San Francisco.

NEW YORK (AP) _ Restaurant executives will be in New York Monday for a Cowen & Co. consumer conference that kicks off what is likely to be a tough year for the industry.

NEW YORK (AP) _ Amid the most severe retrenchment in consumer spending in at least four decades, the retail industry's annual convention features a keynote speech Monday from H. Lee Scott Jr., president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer.