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.
- 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.
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