Analyst upgrades 2-13-07: start your engines, General Motors upgraded to Buy
Posted Feb 13th 2007 10:55AM by Kevin Shult
Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Good news, General Motors (GM), 3M Corporation (MMM), Brinker Intl (EAT), MasterCard Inc'A' (MA), Level 3 Communications (LVLT)
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Level 3 Communications Inc (LVLT) and General Motors Corp (GM) were today's notable upgrades:
- Deutsche Bank raised Level 3 Communications Inc (NASDAQ: LVLT) to Hold from Sell with a $5.40 target based on the belief the company will meet 2007 expectations.
- General Motors Corp (NYSE: GM) was upgraded at Merrill Lynch to Buy from Sell based on increased confidence the company will leverage its liquidity and legacy assets, specifically its pension, to drive positive changes.
OTHER UPGRADES:
- MasterCard inc (NYSE: MA) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan on valuation.
- Prudential upgraded Brinker Int'l Inc (NYSE: EAT) to Overweight from Neutral.
- Following the company's strong Q4 report, Piper Jaffray upgraded shares of Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd ADS (NASDAQ: SNDA) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $29 target, citing improved fundamentals and increased confidence in the come-stay-play model, among other reasons.
- Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment (NYSE: DDE) moved to Hold from Sell at Stifel Nicolaus, citing valuation.
- Prudential raised HealthNet Inc (NYSE: HNT) to Neutral from Underweight, with a $52 target.
- 3M Company (NYSE: MMM) was raised to Buy from Hold with an $86 target at Soleil Securities following last nights $7B buyback announcement, which the firm believes will act as a positive catalyst.
- Bear Stearns upgraded Applebee's Int'l Inc (NASDAQ: APPB) to Peer Perform from Underperform following the company's announcement that it hired a financial adviser to explore strategic alternatives.
- Credit Suisse upgraded Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE: BBW) to Outperform from Neutral, with a $37 target.
Analyst summaries provided by
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Tags: analyst, appb, applebee, bbw, brinker, build, dde, dover downs, DoverDowns, eat, general motors, GeneralMotors, gm, level 3, Level3, lvlt, ma, masterard, MMM, rating, rating change, RatingChange, shanda, snda, theflyonthewall.com, upgrade
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