Analyst upgrades 8-31-07: PSSI, ROK, OTEX, SAFM and MNT

Posted Aug 31st 2007 11:00AM by Eric Buscemi
Filed under: Analyst Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MOST NOTEWORTHY: PSS World Medical (PSSI), Rockwell (ROK), Open Text (OTEX), Sanderson Farms (SAFM) and Mentor (MNT) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

PSS World Medical (NASDAQ: PSSI) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird. Baird said the quarter was impacted by one-time items and that core operations remain strong while private label, home care and HCIT initiatives may contribute to substantial margin improvement.
Friedman Billings added Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) to its Top Picks list based on valuation and growth drivers.
Merrill Lynch upped shares of Open Text Corporation (NASDAQ: OTEX) to Neutral from Sell. Kaufman Brothers upgraded shares of the stock to Buy from Hold with a $27 target to reflect the company's better-than-expected Q4 results.
Sanderson Farms Inc (NASDAQ: SAFM) was upgraded to Strong Buy from Strong Sell on valuation and accelerating sales of the company's poultry products.
The firm upgraded shares of Mentor Corporation (NYSE: MNT) to Buy from Sell given the company's good performance and low risk.

OTHER UPGRADES:

Cache Inc (NASDAQ: CACH) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral with a $19 target at First Albany and to Outperform from Market Perform at Piper Jaffray.
Gabelli upgraded shares of Diageo (NYSE: DEO) to Buy from Hold.
RBC Capital Markets raised shares of Knology Inc (NASDAQ: KNOL) to Outperform from Sector Perform.
Goldman Sachs upgraded shares of Maxygen Inc (NASDAQ: MAXY) to Neutral from Sell.