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MOST NOTEWORTHY: Energy East, SunTrust Banks and Suncor were today's noteworthy upgrades:
- Jefferies upgraded shares of Energy East (NYSE: EAS) to Buy from Hold on valuation, pointing out the return on the transaction if the Iberdrola/EAS merger deal closes is 21.9%. The firm raised their target to $28.50 from $25.50.
- Baird upgraded SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI) to Outperform from Neutral citing valuation and notes the company is unlikely to need to raise capital.
- CIBC raised Suncor (NYSE: SU) to Outperformer from Sector Performer following news that Alberta's Energy Resource Conservation Board has lifted restrictions on production on the company's Firebag SAGD project.
OTHER UPGRADES:
- Sterling Bancshares (NASDAQ: SBIB) was lifted to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.
- Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) was upgraded at Morgan Stanley to Equal Weight from Underweight.
- Kinetic Concepts (NYSE: KCI) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.
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