Analyst upgrades: ALL, LXK, RFMD, Q and WBSN

Posted Aug 14th 2007 11:12AM by Kevin Shult
Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Good news, Allstate Corp (ALL), Qwest Communications Intl (Q), Stocks to Buy

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Websence (WBSN), RF Micro Devices (RFMD), Fiserv (FISV), Qwest (Q), and OSI Pharma (OSIP) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Websence (NASDAQ: WBSN) to Overweight from Underweight ahead of the renewal period starting in the December quarter and expects this momentum to drive shares higher.

• RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD) was raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup, who said the Sirenza Microdevices (SMDI) deal gives the company its first real prospect for gross margin expansion in years.

• Matrix USA upgraded Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV) to Buy from Sell, and expects the company to benefit from the Checkfree (CKFR) acquisition.

• Lehman upgraded shares of Qwest (NYSE: Q) to Overweight from Equal Weight, citing the hiring of industry veteran Ed Mueller as CEO. The firm believes the new CEO removes an overhang and could lead to a change in strategic direction and significantly increase capital spending.

• JP Morgan upgraded OSI Pharma (NASDAQ: OSIP) to Overweight from Underweight based on valuation and upcoming catalysts for Tarceva that should be seen in the next year...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• UBS upgraded Allstate (NYSE: ALL) to Neutral from Sell.

• ThinkEquity raised Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN) to Buy from Accumulate.

• Stanford upgraded Leap Wireless (NASDAQ: LEAP) to Buy from Hold.

• FTN Midwest upgraded shares of Lexmark (NYSE: LXK) to Neutral from Sell.

• Hambrecht upgraded NetGear (NASDAQ: NTGR) to Buy from Hold.

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

Tags: all, allstate, analyst, checkfree, ckfr, fiserv, hansen medical, HansenMedical, hnsn, leap, lexmark, lxk, micro, osi pharma, osip, OsiPharma, qwest, rating, rfmd, sirenza, smdi, tarceva, upgrade, wbsn, websence