Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AKS, LEN, MAR, DE, KLAC, VIVEF ...

Posted Jan 8th 2009 11:26AM by Eric BuscemiEric Buscemi RSS Feed
Filed under: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR), Analyst Initiations, Deere and Co (DE)

More

Analyst upgrades:
  • KeyBanc upgraded Epicor (NASDAQ: EPIC) to Buy from Hold based on several near-term catalysts that include possible convertible debt repurchases, reasonable Q4 results, a proxy fight, and a boost from the Epicor 9 product cycle in 2H09.
  • KeyBanc also upgraded AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) to Buy from Hold based on relative valuation and said the company could benefit from lower iron ore, scrap natural gas, and labor inputs.
  • JP Morgan upgraded Lennar (NYSE: LEN) to Overweight from Neutral based on relative valuation.
  • Marriott (NYSE: MAR) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  • Raymond James (NYSE: RJF) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Wachovia.
  • Deere (NYSE: DE) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.
Analyst downgrades:
  • Merriman downgraded Premier Exhibitions (NASDAQ: PRXI) to Neutral from Buy following the company's worse than expected Q3 results to reflect near-term financing risk and declines in visitation trends.
  • UBS cut Vivendi (OTC: VIVEF) to Neutral from Buy. The firm sees downside risks to the company's businesses due to weakening macro environment.
  • Friedman Billings downgraded KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) to Market Perform from Outperform on valuation following the recent rally and on their expectation that a bookings recovery will be slow.
  • CBL & Associates (NYSE: CBL) and UDR Inc (NYSE: UDR) were lowered to Sell from Neutral at Goldman.
  • ViroPharma (NASDAQ: VPHM) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Natixis.
  • EMCOR Group (NYSE: EME) was downgraded at Friedman Billings to Market Perform from Outperform.
Analyst initiations:
  • Jefferies assumed Abiomed (NASDAQ: ABMD) with an Underperform rating and $8 target. The firm has clinical and commercial concerns for the company's lead product, Impella, and thinks shares are overvalued at current levels.
  • Merriman initiated Ardea Biosciences (NASDAQ: RDEA) with a Buy rating. The firm believes RDEA806 is one of the strongest non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors in treating HIV. The firm finds shares undervalued at current levels.
  • Oppenheimer initiated Rackspace (NYSE: RAX) with a Perform rating and expects a more attractive entry point due to downward earnings revisions and the upcoming IPO lockup expiration.
  • OptionXpress (NASDAQ: OXPS) was initiated at Keefe Bruyette with a Market Perform rating and $15 target.
  • Vivendi (NASDAQ: VIVEF) was assumed with an Underperform rating at Jefferies.
  • Ansys (NASDAQ: ANSS) was started with a Market Weight rating and $16 target at Thomas Weisel.

Tags: abmd, aks, anss, cbl, de, eme, epic, klac, len, mar, opxs, prxi, rax, rdea, rjf, udr, vivef, vphm

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+150.2510,058.64
NASDAQ+24.822,150.87
S&P 500+13.781,070.52

Last updated: February 09, 2010: 06:31 PM

Hot Stocks

DailyFinance Headlines

TheFlyOnTheWall.com Headlines

BioHealth Investor Headlines

WalletPop Headlines

My Portfolios

Track your stocks here!

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

  • My Portfolio
  • Create a New Portfolio

BloggingStocks Partners

More from AOL Money & Finance

WalletPop Headlines