Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AXP, FCX, FIG, JPM, LYG, RTP ...

Analyst upgrades:

Citigroup upgraded American Express (NYSE: AXP) to Buy from Hold and added the stock to its Top Picks Live list following the company's investor day. Citi believes American Express' credit trends are improving and raised its price target on shares to $36 from $28.
Janney Montgomery upgraded Gardner Denver (NYSE: GDI) to Buy from Neutral after meeting with management to reflect expectations for EPS growth in 2010 and valuation. The firm has a $38 target on the stock.
BofA/Merrill upgraded Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) to Buy from Underperform and raised its target to $87 from $49 based on strong copper fundamentals.
Cbeyond (NASDAQ: CBEY) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
Gibraltar Industries (NASDAQ: ROCK) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
Fortress (NYSE: FIG) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.

Analyst downgrades:

Jefferies downgraded United Online (NASDAQ: UNTD) to Hold from Buy to reflect the slowdown in Classmates pay account growth in Q2 and the company's lowered-than-expected Q3 revenue guidance. The firm lowered its target on shares to $9 fro $11.
Piper Jaffray downgraded Energy Conversion (NASDAQ: ENER) to Underweight from Neutral on near-term outlook concerns and lowered its target on shares to $9 from $21.
Oppenheimer downgraded Cubist Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CBST) to Underperform from Perform on valuation as it sees low probability of a takeout and Cubicin litigation risk. Opco thinks shares are fairly valued in the $17-$19 range after adjusting for an in-licensing or acquisition.
SunTrust (NYSE: STI) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette.
Lloyds Banking (NYSE: LYG) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC) was downgraded to Buy from Conviction Buy at Goldman.

Analyst initiations:

Deutsche Bank expects JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) to remain profitable in the second half of 2009 and 2010 given its less-than-peer exposure to commercial real estate and better revenue momentum. The firm set a Buy rating and $48 price target on the stock.
Textron (NYSE: TXT) was initiated with a Hold rating at Stifel Nicolaus.
Gaiam (NASDAQ: GAIA) was initiated with an Overweight rating and $7 target at Thomas Weisel.
Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) was initiated with a Sector Perform rating at RBC Capital.