Analyst upgrades:
- Morgan Keegan upgraded Motorola (NYSE: MOT) to Outperform from Market Perform due to the increased visibility of Android-based launches, as well as the stock's valuation.
- OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX) was upgraded to Buy from Hold by Citigroup, which cited the company's stabilizing sales trend, accelerating share gains, and valuation.
- Kaufman Bros. upgraded iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT) to Buy from Hold on valuation.
- Cancaccord upgraded Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Buy from Hold citing the turnaround in the aluminum business and its exposure to copper.
- Wells Fargo upgraded Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN) to Market Perform from Underperform.
- BT Group (NYSE: BT) was upgraded to Neutral from Reduce by Nomura.
- Societe Generale raised L'Oreal (OTC: LRLCY) to Buy from Sell.
- Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) was upgraded to Buy from Hold by Sandler O'Neill.
Analyst downgrades:
- JPMorgan downgraded Disney (NYSE: DIS) to Underweight from Neutral as the firm thinks that the company's performance will be hurt by ESPN, Theme Parks, and Consumer Products.
- Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ: LVLT) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral by Goldman Sachs after the company reported Q2 results that Goldman views as disappointing.
- NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy by FTN Equity, which cited valuation.
- Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ: ESLR) was dropped to Average from Above Average by Caris on financing and price erosion concerns.
- RBS dropped Air France-KLM (OTC: AFLYY) to Sell from Hold.
- Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight by Stephens.
- Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) was lowered to Equal Weight from Overweight by Morgan Stanley.
- Kellogg (NYSE: K) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy by Janney Montgomery.
Analyst initiations:
- Citigroup initiated Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) with a Buy rating, as the firm thinks that risks are priced into the shares and it believes that the stock will begin performing well in 2H10.
- Carnival (NYSE: CCL) was initiated with a Buy rating by Citigroup, as the firm believes that the stock will begin performing well in 2H10 and it thinks that Carnival is well positioned.
- F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) and Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) were initiated with a Market Perform rating by BMO Capital.
- Career Education (NASDAQ: CECO) was initiated with an Accumulate at ThinkEquity.
- Regis Corp. (NYSE: RGS) was initiated with an Outperform at Credit Suisse.
- Hawaiian Holdings (NASDAQ: HA) was initiated with a Buy at Jesup & Lamont.
- Pengrowth Energy Trust (NYSE: PGH) was initiated with a Hold at Canaccord.
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