Analyst downgrades 2-27-07: NYSE Group & Marvel Entertainment downgraded today

MOST NOTEWORTHY: NYSE Group Inc (NYX), Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) and HomeBanc Corp (HMB) were today's more notable downgrades:

JP Morgan downgraded shares of the NYSE Group Inc (NYSE: NYX) to Underweight from Neural to reflect their belief that the company's float will increase significantly in March due to the acquisition of Euronext and the lockup expiration. JP Morgan believes this could bring selling pressure.

Credit Suisse downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ: PTEN) citing negative earnings impact from share losses and industry capacity additions.

Shares of HomeBanc Corp (NYSE: HMB) were downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform with a $2.60 target at Friedman Billings based on continued losses and an unlikely sale given market conditions.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

Wachovia downgraded Hub International Ltd (NYSE: HBG) to Market Perform from Outperform following news of a private-equity acquisition for $40 a share.

UBS downgraded Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ: BBBY) to Neutral from Buy on valuation.

Citigroup downgraded Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp (NYSE: BNI) to Hold from Buy.

AG Edwards cut Teekay LNG Partners (NYSE: TGP) and Teekay Offshore Partners (NYSE: TOO) to Hold from Buy citing valuation.

Raymond James downgraded shares of Marvel Entertainment Inc (NYSE: MVL) to Market Perform from Outperform.

Lazard downgraded Thoratec Corp (NASDAQ: THOR) to Sell from Hold with a $15 target. They recommend selling shares ahead of a likely FDA decision to call an advisory panel for HeartMate II.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Tags: analyst, bbby, bed bath beyond, BedBathBeyond, bni, burlington, downgrade, hbg, hmb, homebanc, hub int'l, HubInt'l, marvel ent, MarvelEnt, mvl, nyse, patterson, pten, rating, rating change, RatingChange, teekay LNG, teekay offshore, TeekayLng, TeekayOffshore, tgp, theflyonthewall.com, too

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Joseph Lazzaro	121	0
2	Tom Johansmeyer	106	3
3	Connie Madon	54	0
4	Steven Mallas	45	0
5	Tom Taulli	44	0
6	Mark Fightmaster	43	0
7	Trey Thoelcke	33	0
8	Steven Halpern	32	0
9	Melly Alazraki	27	0
10	Paul Foster	26	0
11	Zac Bissonnette	25	0
12	Brian White	24	0
13	Jon Ogg	23	0
14	Jim Cramer	23	0
15	Brent Archer	23	0
16	Elizabeth Harrow	19	0
17	Eric Buscemi	17	0
18	Sheldon Liber	13	0
19	Beth Gaston Moon	9	0
20	Michael Fowlkes	9	0

Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in:

Skype soap opera ends as founders set to regain stake ahead of $2B sale Big LBOs are teetering, but Wall Street still planning record bonuses	Closing Bell: Economic Catapult for Thanksgiving & Black Friday (WMT, TGT, GRMN, GOOG, MSFT) Reid Hoffman: LinkedIn will go public (at some point) Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell leaving at the end of 2009
First Look: iFlex trainer for Bowflex Magellan has worthy contender in the GPS sweepstakes Holiday Gift Guide: The Perfect iPhone Ringtone	Handbrake 0.94 transcodes DVDs even faster Steam's THQ game pack: get $400 worth of games for 50 bucks Automatically disable your touchpad while you type with TouchFreeze
Majestic Star Casinos Files For Bankruptcy Outrageous Neiman Marcus Black Friday Sale, 9-Noon Topshop Rents Out Celebrity Dresses For Good Causes	Google set to map the world - and push out GPS makers as a result? Closing Bell: Economic Catapult for Thanksgiving & Black Friday (WMT, TGT, GRMN, GOOG, MSFT) Reid Hoffman: LinkedIn will go public (at some point)