Analyst Upgrades
- Barclays upgraded Anglo American (NASDAQ: AAUK) to Overweight from Equal Weight based on a potentially higher bid from Xstrata (OTC: XSRAY) or a white night willing to pay a premium for the group, higher copper prices, and improving operating performance.
- Janney Montgomery upgraded Chiquita Brands (NYSE: CQB) to Buy from Neutral citing improved bagged salad margins, strong free cash flow, solid banana trends, and valuation. The firm has a $13 target on the stock.
- Wunderlich upgraded Legacy Reserves (NASDAQ: LGCY) to Buy from Hold due to the firm's belief that the back of the crude board is still very cheap, the firm's increased distribution outlook, and the movement of the stock after the discontinuation of the company's talks with Apollo.
- Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
- UBS (NYSE: UBS) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
- Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
Analyst Downgrades
- Barclays downgraded BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) to Equal Weight from Overweight due to valuation and lack of near-term positive catalysts.
- FBR Capital downgraded shares of Overseas Shipholding (NYSE: OSG) to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered its target to $34 from $37. The firm cites valuation for the downgrade.
- Argus downgraded Nike (NYSE: NKE) to Hold from Buy citing the company's challenging outlook.
- Tween Brands (NYSE: TWB) was downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna.
- Triple-S Management (NYSE: GTS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Analyst Initiations
- Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) was initiated with a Hold rating and $36 target at Citigroup.
- 3M Company (NYSE: MMM) and Actuant (NYSE: ATU) were started with Outperform ratings at FBR Capital.
- Deere (DE) was initiated with a Buy rating and $52 target at Citigroup.
- Landauer (NYSE: LDR) was started at Baird with a Neutral rating and $69 target.
- PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM) was initiated with a Neutral rating and $21 target at Janney Montgomery.
Reid Hoffman: LinkedIn will go public (at some point)
Retailers can't wait for Black Friday, open Thursday
Tiffany's serves up solid quarterly earnings
