Some analysts raised their price targets for Abercrombie & Fitch Co. on Wednesday, citing the retailer's strong 2012 earnings outlook and international prospects.

During an analyst day on Tuesday, Abercrombie & Fitch forecast 2012 earnings of $4.75 per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect earnings of $4.31 per share.

The New Albany, Ohio-based chain also forecast revenue of $7.5 billion or more by 2015.

Edward Yruma of KeyBanc Capital Markets said in a client note that the revenue guidance relies mostly on aggressive overseas growth. He boosted the company's price target to $75 from $65 and maintained a "Buy" rating.

Betty Chen at Wedbush Securities boosted Abercrombie & Fitch's price target to $60 from $57 and kept a "Neutral" rating. She also increased the company's 2011 earnings estimate to $2.95 from $2.85 per share and raised her 2012 forecast to $4.75 from $3.88 per share, citing more international store openings.

But Chen said in a client note that the stock has been outperforming of late and that she "would prefer to become more constructive on a pullback as we remain concerned with the ability to increase U.S. store productivity given the domestic retail environment."

Retailers in the U.S. struggled during the recession as consumers pulled back on spending. Rising costs have pressured many to raise prices or prepare to boost prices, leaving experts to wonder how shoppers will react when they are also contending with increasing gas prices.

Federal authorities have charged two men with running an insider trading scheme that netted more than $30 million with information stolen from law firms.
Garrett Bauer is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J., on Wednesday afternoon. Matthew Kluger will make his first appearance in federal court in Alexandria, Va.

They're accused of trading on inside information stolen from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, a law firm with offices in Washington, D.C., New York, San Francisco and Hong Kong.

Authorities also allege the decades-long scheme used information stolen from prominent New York law firms Cravath Swaine & Moore and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

The Louisiana Supreme Court has ordered Health Net Inc., a major health maintenance organization, to cover more than $180 million in claims by consumers, health care providers and creditors in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon told The Advocate that Louisiana will get the smallest portion of the payout.

"We have about $12 million coming to us to policyholders, providers and general creditors, meaning companies who sold them supplies or that rented them space," Donelon said.

Donelon said the unanimous ruling, issued Friday, will reimburse all of AmCare Louisiana HMO's members, providers, and creditors for any losses caused by Health Net's conduct.

Health Net sold health plans in the three states to AmCareco Inc. in 1999. In 2002, the troubled health plans were placed under state supervision. Each of the state's insurance departments sued AmCareco and Health Net, alleging fraud, negligence, conspiracy and breach of fiduciary duty.

In 2005, a state district court jury awarded the Texas plaintiffs around $100 million in damages. In 2005, a state judge in Baton Rouge issued similar verdicts against Health Net and awarded $30 million to the Louisiana and Oklahoma plaintiffs.

Shares of Cisco Systems Inc. led the technology sector higher Wednesday after CEO John Chambers vowed to take "bold steps" to turn the company around following recent missteps — including three disappointing quarterly reports.

In a memo to employees that the technology bellwether posted on its corporate blog Tuesday, Chambers offered few specifics but suggested that big changes are coming.

Shares of Cisco, which is the world's largest maker of networking equipment, on Wednesday rose 85 cents, or 5 percent — the most of any stock in the Dow Jones industrial average — to $18.07 in trading. The stock is still down about 10.4 percent year-to-date.

In a research note published during trading on Tuesday, Wedbush Morgan analyst Rohit Chopra called the memo a "necessary first step in order to reinvigorate growth" and added that he is "more optimistic about the company's prospects." In trading that day, Cisco shares rose 16 cents, or 1 percent, to close at 17.22.

Cisco has branched out beyond its core business of selling routers and switches that form the backbone of the Internet. It has moved into related areas such as cable set-top boxes and digital cameras that have made the company more visible to consumers.

Stock indexes are pushing higher ahead of the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting. The report is expected to give details into the central bank's views about how healthy the economy is.

Stocks had edged lower in early trading after a survey from the Institute of Supply Management showed a slower growth rate at service companies than analysts had predicted.

Microsoft, Intel and Cisco Systems are leading the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones industrial average.

The Dow is up 15 points, or 0.1 percent, to 12,415 in midday trading. The S&P is up 3, or 0.2 percent, to 1,335. The Nasdaq composite is up 11, or 0.4 percent, to 2,800.