Analyst upgrades:- Jefferies upgraded VMware (NYSE: VMW) to Hold from Underperform on expectations June quarter revenue will be inline-to-slightly-better and negative revisions to September quarter revenue will not be as great as in the most recent two quarters. The firm raised its target on shares to $25 from $20.
- Citigroup upgraded Blue Nile (NASDAQ: NILE) to Buy from Hold on valuation following the recent pullback and believes expectations for Q2 are reasonable. The firm has a $50 price target on the stock.
- FBR Capital upgraded Bronco Drilling (NASDAQ: BRNC) to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation as it believes negative sentiment will ease. The firm raised its target on shares to $4 from $3.
- Unilever (NYSE: UL) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
- Posco (NYSE: PKX) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
- Gol Linhas Aereas (NYSE: GOL) was upgraded to Buy from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.
Analyst downgrades:
- UBS downgraded Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) to Neutral from Buy and put a short-term sell rating on the stock to reflect economic pressures and market shares loss.
- Jefferies downgraded IPC The Hospitalist Co. (NASDAQ: IPCM) to Hold from Buy on valuation as it believes upside to FY09 and FY10 expectations is already priced in. Despite downgrading, the firm raised its target on shares to $30 from $21.
- Leerink transferred coverage on MannKind (NASDAQ: MNKD) with an Underperform from Market Perform. The firm, which has a $5 target on the stock, said it needs to see greater visibility into Afresa before becoming more constructive on shares.
- Masco (NYSE: MAS) was downgraded to Underweight from Overweight at JP Morgan.
- Burger King (NYSE: BKC) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill.
- Multi Fineline (NASDAQ: MFLX) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital.
- Merriman believes Fairchild Semiconductor's (NYSE: FCS) revenue troughed in Q1 and Q2 should mark a recovery in demand. The firm initiated shares with a Buy rating and thinks shares should trade in the $8.75-$10 range.
- Deutsche Bank finds Cognizant's (NASDAQ: CTSH) valuation attractive and believes it should continue to outgrow peers. Shares were started with a Buy rating and $32 target.
- Canaccord initiated Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) with a Buy rating and $20 target. The firm believes Yahoo's new management has a tremendous opportunity to unlock value and that the company will benefit from the improving macro environment.
- Chevron (NYSE: CVX) was initiated with an Overweight rating and $89 target at Morgan Stanley.
- Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) and Associated Banc-Corp (NASDAQ: ASBC) were reinstated with Underperform ratings at BofA/Merrill.
- Stage Stores (NYSE: SSI) was initiated with a Buy rating and $14 target at SunTrust.
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