Analyst upgrades:- Citigroup upgraded Cooper Industries (NYSE: CBE) to Hold from Sell to reflect improving macro indicators and a belief negative earnings revisions are unlikely going forward. The firm raised its target price to $37 from $28.
- Royal Bank of Scotland upgraded Siemens (NYSE: SI) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company will benefit from an economic recovery.
- Banc of America/Merril upgraded State Street (NYSE: STT) to Buy from Neutral and raised their price target to $50 from $40 following stress test results that show the company does not need additional capital. The analyst said the news "clears one of the bars on capital concerns."
- Teradata (NYSE: TDC) was raised to Market Weight from Underweight at Thomas Weisel.
- Target (NYSE: TGT) was lifted to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
- Diageo (NYSE: DEO) was upgraded at UBS to Neutral from Sell.
Analyst downgrades:
- Jefferies downgraded Innerworkings (NYSE: INWK) to Underperform from Hold following the Q1 report on expectations the cyclical downtrend will persist near-term. The firm keeps a $4 price target on the stock.
- Royal Bank of Scotland downgraded Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI) to Sell from Hold on valuation following the recent rally and believes a business slowdown is forthcoming.
- Citigroup downgraded PepsiAmericas (NYSE: PAS) to Sell from Hold as it believes the company has little leverage in pushing PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) to increase its acquisition offer. Further, Citi sees risk that no deal is consummated. Despite downgrading, the firm raised its target price to $24.50 from $20.
- Basic Energy (NYSE: BAS) was cut to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
- Celgene (NYSE: CELG) was lowered to Sell from Neutral at Goldman.
- Lamar Advertising (NYSE: LAMR) was downgraded at Piper Jaffray to Sell from Neutral.
- Auriga expects Switch & Data (NASDAQ: SDXC) to benefit from continued positive supply/demand balance in the data center sector. The firm initiated shares with a Buy rating and $13.50 price target.
- Wunderlich started Meadowbrook Insurance (NYSE: MIG) with a Buy rating and $8.50 price target. The firm finds Meadowbrook attractive given potential synergies from the ProCentury acquisition and its discount to book value.
- Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ: SLAB) was initiated with a Hold rating and $20 target at Roth Capital.
- Visa (NYSE: V) was assumed at Raymond James with an Outperform rating and $75 target.
- Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) was started with a Buy rating and $60 target at Janney Montgomery.
Closing Bell: When We All Love the PIIGS (NBG, SQNM, PG, ERTS, KO)
Serious Money: Cheapest Stocks List Shrinks from 26 to 21
Chasing Value: Hasbro Earnings Makes My Point
