Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: CLX, ED, JBHT, HMC, PCG ...

Analyst upgrades:

Deutsche Bank upgraded Spartech (NYSE: SEH) to Buy from Hold as it sees further upside following the company's "strong" Q2 results. The firm raised its target on shares to $10 from $2.50.
Oppenheimer upgraded Clorox (NYSE: CLX) to Outperform from Underperform. The firm believes the company's FY10 outlook is conservative, providing room for upside, and that the valuation is compelling at current levels. Opco set a $70 price target on the stock.
Goldman upgraded Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $20 from $16, citing reduced balance sheet concerns following the capital raise. Note that AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy.
PG&E (NYSE: PCG) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
Pool Corp. (NASDAQ: POOL) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair.
Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.

Analyst downgrades:

Jefferies downgraded Skilled Healthcare (NYSE: SKH) to Hold from Buy pending further details from the company's special investigation into previous financial results. The firm lowered its target price to $8 from $11.
Kaufman Bros. downgraded tw telecom (NASDAQ: TWTC) to Hold from Buy as the firm thinks the company's business has not strengthened in Q2 as the firm had anticipated.
Goldman removed Lazard (NYSE: LAZ) from its Conviction Buy List and maintained its Buy rating. The firm expects Q2 to be a difficult quarter and said that recent activity levels have been soft.
AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman.
Parkway Properties (NYSE: PKY) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
Honda (NYSE: HMC) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays.

Analyst initiations:

Baird is positive on Boston Scientific's (NYSE: BSX) valuation and said the company is gaining share in the large cardiac rhythm management market, and that operating margins are rebounding. The firm started shares with an Outperform rating and $13 target.
Merriman views Cliffs Natural (NYSE: CLF) as an inexpensive play on the eventual recovery of global steel production. Shares were assumed with a Buy rating.
Idenix (NASDAQ: IDIX) was initiated with an Overweight rating at Thomas Weisel. The firm believes the company's IDX184 is a differentiated, underrepresented treatment for hepatitis C and the firm thinks the company's stock is undervalued.
Lazard (NYSE: LAZ) was initiated with an Outperform rating and $41 target at Oppenheimer.
J.B. Hunt (NASDAQ: JBHT) was initiated with an Overweight rating at Morgan Stanley.
Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) was started Citigroup with a Buy rating and $40 target.