UBS has upgraded Hovnanian (NYSE:HOV) to "neutral" from "sell," according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that Oppenheimer raised its price target for Verisign (NASDAQ:VRSN) to $42.

Lehman Brothers affirmed it "overweight" rating on Bank of New York (NYSE:BK) ahead of the company's annual meeting with brokers, according to the AP.

BMC Software (NYSE:BMC) started as "neutral" at UBS, according to Briefing.com.