Analyst upgrades:- Keefe Bruyette upgraded Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) to Outperform from Market Perform due to valuation and the company's better balance sheet following capital raises. The firm raised its target on shares to $16.50.
- Merriman upgraded Blue Coat Systems (NASDAQ:BCSI) to Buy from Neutral to reflect stabilizing demand and merger synergies from the Packeteer acquisition.
- Thomas Weisel upgraded Genomic Health (NASDAQ:GHDX) to Overweight from Market Weight based on valuation, a new colon cancer assay expected in 2010, and upside from new sales hires.
- Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
- Great Plains Energy (NYSE:GXP) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
- Ericsson (nASDAQ:ERIC) was upgraded at Societe Generale to Buy from Hold.
Analyst downgrades:
- Oppenheimer downgraded UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) to Underperform from Perform. The firm downgraded the stock because it thinks the company's margins will decline in 2010 as a result of its aggressive Medicare bidding strategy. The firm set a target of $24.
- Morgan Stanley downgraded Warnaco (NYSE:WRC) to Equal Weight from Overweight but raised its target to $39 from $23 based on relative valuation.
- Piper Jaffray downgraded Concur Tech (NASDAQ:CNQR) to Neutral from Buy on valuation following the recent rally.
- North American Energy (NYSE:NOA) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.
- Vistaprint (NASDAQ:VPRT) was cut to Hold from Buy at Piper Jaffray.
- Temple-Inland (NYSE:TIN) was downgraded at UBS to Neutral from Buy.
- Auriga believes MedAssets' (NASDAQ:MDAS) value proposition to hospitals is well positioned in the current environment. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $20 target.
- Piper Jaffray initiated MasterCard (NYSE:MA) with a Buy rating and $222 target. The firm views current levels as an attractive entry point given MasterCard's long-term growth potential.
- Thomas Weisel initiated Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies (NASDAQ:QTWW) with an Overweight rating. The firm believes the company is well-positioned to benefit from automakers' attempts to develop vehicles that are more "green." The firm set a target of $1.25 on the stock.
- IHS Inc (NYSE:IHS) was initiated at Jefferies with a Buy rating and $56 target.
- Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO) and American Eagle (NYSE:AEO) were started at Longbow with Buy ratings.
- Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) was initiated with a Neutral rating at Cowen.
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