Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: LEN, RDC, FFIN, SII, AN, ACHN, UA, LULU, JST


Analyst upgrades:
  • Citigroup upgraded Lennar (NYSE: LEN) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company's near-term liquidity profile is improved following the $400M debt issuance. The firm raised its target price to $12 from $11.
  • Jefferies upgraded Rowan Companies (NYSE: RDC) to Buy from Hold as it believes jack-up drillers will continue to outperform deepwater names. The firm raised its target price to $27 from $20.
  • Keefe Bruyette upgraded First Financial (NASDAQ: FFIN) to Market Perform from Underperform to reflect more positive loan data for the Texas banks. The firm raised its target price on shares to $44 from $38.
  • MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
  • Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities.
  • Brinker (NYSE: EAT) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
Analyst downgrades:
  • Jefferies downgraded Smith International (NYSE: SII) to Hold from Buy on valuation and concerns the WHQ acquisition will be a headwind for near-term growth. The firm has a $30 target on the stock.
  • Goldman downgraded AutoNation (NYSE: AN) to Sell from Neutral based on valuation and lack of operating leverage versus peers. The firm has a $14 target on shares.
  • JMP Securities downgraded Achillion (NASDAQ: ACHN) to Underperform from Market Perform following Gilead's (NASDAQ: GILD) decision to return back the rights to GS-9252/ACH-1095.
  • Applied Micro Circuits (NASDAQ: AMCC) was cut to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  • Anglogold (NYSE: AU) was lowered to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
  • Allegheny Energy (NYSE: AYE) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.

Analyst initiations:
  • KeyBanc initiated Under Armour (NYSE: UA) and Lululemon (NASDAQ: LULU) with Hold ratings based on valuation.
  • Roth Capital initiated Jinpan International (NASDAQ: JST) with a Buy rating and $36 target. The firm believes the buildout of China's electrical infrastructure and global deployment of wind power will be growth drivers for Jinpan.
  • J. Crew (NYSE: JCG) was initiated with a Buy rating and $24 target at Piper Jaffray.
  • Dean Foods (NYSE: DF) was started at Banc of America/Merrill with a Buy rating and $23 target.
Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-112.4312,778.03
NASDAQ-19.712,907.52
S&P 500-10.191,341.76

Last updated: February 10, 2012: 01:37 PM

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