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Analyst upgrades:- Merriman upgraded Taser (NASDAQ: TASR) to Buy from Neutral as it believes current valuation levels do not reflect the company's market opportunities and that the law enforcement funding in President Obama's stimulus plan will boost sales in Q4 and FY10.
- Goldman upgraded Macy's (NYSE: M) to Buy from Neutral and added shares to its Conviction Buy List based on reduced balance sheet concerns and improved risk/reward. The firm also raised their target to $8.25 from $8.
- JP Morgan upgraded Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO) to Neutral from Underweight and raised its target to $29 from $19 following the better-than-expected Q2 report. The analyst continues to prefer Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT).
- Goldman removed Universal Am (NYSE: UAM) from the Conviction Sell List.
- McDermott (NYSE: MDR) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
- Canadian Natural (NYSE: CNQ) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.
Analyst downgrades:
- JP Morgan downgraded Gerdau (NYSE: GGB) to Neutral from Overweight to reflect risks in the steel and weak international operations.
- Baird downgraded Obagi Medical (NASDAQ: OMPI) to Neutral from Outperform and lowered their target to $5 from $10 citing the pressure on revenues from the weak environment.
- JMP Securities downgraded Insulet (NASDAQ: PODD) to Market Perform from Outperform following the company's more conservative revenue guidance, as the firm now believes financing risk will continue to weigh on the shares and they do not expect the stock to appreciate significantly this year.
- Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) was added to Goldman's Conviction Sell List. Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) was also added to Goldman's Conviction Sell List and downgraded to Sell from Buy.
- NetLogic (NASDAQ: NETL) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Piper Jaffray.
- BT Group (NYSE: BT) was cut to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
- Citigroup initiated Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) with a Buy rating and $42 target. The firm believes management's record of earning above-average returns on capital will serve investors well during the current economic downturn.
- Auriga started Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) with a Hold rating and $8 target. The firm sees risk to first half of 2009 consensus estimates due to continued weakness in the core graphics business.
- Morgan Keegan said Quality Systems (NASDAQ: QSII) is feeling the impact from the weak economy and its impact on physician practices and demand for software. Shares were assumed with a Market Perform rating.
- International Game Tech (NYSE: IGT) and MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) were initiated at Janney Montgomery with Neutral ratings.
- Ralcorp (NYSE: RAH) was started with a Neutral rating at SunTrust.
- Forest Labs (NYSE: FRX) was initiated with a Neutral rating and $23 target at Baird.
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