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Analyst upgrades:- KeyBanc upgraded Greenbrier (NYSE: GBX) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company has options to forestall covenant violations or bankruptcy, event if conditions deteriorate further.
- Friedman Billings upgraded Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) to Market Perform from Underperform citing low expectations, favorable FTC settlement, progress on cost cutting, and valuation.
- JP Morgan believes First Merit (NASDAQ: FMER) is one of the best positioned Midwest banks to weather the storm and notes its compelling valuation and capital levels. The firm upgraded shares to Overweight from Neutral.
- Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
- Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America/Merrill.
- Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP) was lifted to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.
Analyst downgrades:
- Piper downgraded Power Integrations (NASDAQ: POWI) to Sell from Neutral and lowered its target to $16 from $18 due to new competition that is likely to extend to all of its tier-1 customers.
- Bernstein downgraded Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) to Market Perform from Outperform due to its high leverage to chemical earnings and high capital expenditures. The firm has a $50 target on shares.
- Oppenheimer downgraded Progenics (NASDAQ: PGNX) to Perform from Outperform due to Wyeth's delay in filing an sNDA for SQ Relistor i chronic OIC until 2010.
- PepsiAmericas (NYSE: PAS) was downgraded to Conviction Sell from Sell at Goldman.
- Sunpower (NASDAQ: SPWRA) was cut to Underweight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
- Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.
- B. Riley initiated Pinnacle Financial (NASDAQ: PNFP) with a Buy rating and $23 target. The firm said Pinnacle Financial operates in attractive growth markets of Nashville and Knoxville and has a superior asset quality, among other reasons.
- Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) was initiated with a Buy rating and $77 target at Citigroup citing valuation, low cost structure and stable production.
- BWS Financial started Neutral Tandem (NASDAQ: TNDM) with a Buy rating and $30 target. The firm believes the company should grow at a 20% clip over the next three years and it thinks its business model is sustainable over the long-term.
- JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Credit Suisse.
- SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) was assumed with an Underperform rating and $6 target at Banc of America/Merrill.
- MSC Industrial (NYSE: MSM) was started at Morgan Stanley with an Underweight rating and $18 target.
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