Analyst upgrades:
- Bernstein upgraded Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC) to Outperform from Market Perform based on relative valuation and expectations the company will repay TARP without a capital raise. The firm raised its target to $34 from $26.
- Thomas Weisel upgraded Ticketmaster (NASDAQ: TKTM) to Overweight from Market Weight and raised its target to $12 from $8 citing dynamic ticket pricing and the potential merger with Live Nation (NYSE: LYV).
- Citigroup upgraded Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) to Hold from Sell after channel checks indicated retail sales have improved since Q2. The firm raised its target on shares to $26 from $14.
- McDermott (NYSE: MDR) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
- Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank.
- General Electric (NYSE: GE) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
Analyst downgrades:
- Credit Suisse downgraded AIG (NYSE: AIG) to Underperform from Neutral and lowered its target to $15 from $20 and said they see little upside value for equity holders and further risk of franchise erosion.
- JPMorgan downgraded Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD) to Underweight from Neutral on concerns a Las Vegas recovery will be slow and news out of Atlantic City will continue to get worse. The firm lowered its target price on shares to $7 from $10.
- Goldman downgraded Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) to Neutral from Buy and cuts its target to $18 from $21 based on expectations for a rotation out of more defensive names into cyclical and higher growth names. Note that the firm upgraded RedHat (NYSE: RHT) and VMware (NYSE: VMW) to Buy from Neutral.
- Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill.
- Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
- Array Biopharma (NASDAQ: ARRY) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
Analyst initiations:
- Jefferies expects Global Specialty (NASDAQ: GSM) shares to benefit from increased demand for silicon metal and silicon based alloy products. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $10 target.
- Keefe Bruyette initiated Ocwen Financial (NYSE: OCN) with an Outperform rating and $14 target. The firm expects Ocwen's mortgage servicing portfolio to grow significantly following the company's recent capital raise.
- Deutsche Bank expects PennyMac (NYSE: PMT) to be produce attractive risk-adjusted returns on its mortgage loan portfolio. Shares were assumed with a Buy rating and $23.25 target.
- CareFusion (NYSE: CFN) was initiated with an Equal Weight rating and $20 target at Barclays.
- Vantage Drilling (AMEX: VTG) was initiated with an Outperform rating and $2.25 target at FBR Capital.
- Discover (NYSE: DFS) was initiated with a Neutral rating and $15 target at JPMorgan.
Closing Bell: When We All Love the PIIGS (NBG, SQNM, PG, ERTS, KO)
Serious Money: Cheapest Stocks List Shrinks from 26 to 21
Chasing Value: Hasbro Earnings Makes My Point
