Analyst upgrades:
- Wells Fargo transferred coverage of Cooper Industries (NYSE: CBE) with an Outperform rating, upgraded from the previous analysts' Market Perform rating. The firm believes commercial construction will be of less of a headwind for the company than the Street thinks, and has a $38-$41 valuation range on the stock.
- Kaufman Bros. upgraded SuccessFactors (NASDAQ: SFSF) to Buy from Hold after channel checks indicated demand trends picked up in July. The firm raised its target on shares to $15 from $12.
- UBS upgraded eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) to Buy from Neutral and believes Marketplace transaction growth is "turning the corner." Additionally, the firm believes the secondary market represents a long-term opportunity for the company. The firm raised its target to $28 from $24.
- Novartis (NYSE: NVS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
- Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
- Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
- Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform AMC Monday at Bernstein.
Analyst downgrades:
- Piper Jaffray downgraded Life Time Fitness (NYSE: LTM) to Neutral from Overweight on valuation and maintains a $30 price target on shares.
- Rodman & Renshaw downgraded Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARNA) to Market Perform from Outperform citing valuation and recently reported competitor obesity drug data.
- Roth Capital downgraded PMFG (NASDAQ: PMFG) to Hold from Buy citing the contraction in backlog and valuation.
- Flir Systems (NASDAQ: FLIR) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.
- Government Properties (NYSE: GOV) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
- CSX (NYSE: CSX) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Analyst initiations:
- JPMorgan expects Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) to add subscribers over the near-term and successfully transition away from DVD-by-mail. The firm initiated shares with an Overweight rating and $53 price target.
- Merriman believes sales of Abraxis's (NASDAQ: ABII) Abraxane drug could double by 2013 as the EU and China territories come on line, and that the company could be an attractive acquisition target. The firm started shares with a Buy rating.
- Wells Fargo initiated Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR) with an Outperform rating. The firm believes Emerson is well positioned as global infrastructure growth resumes and thinks expectations are FY10 are low. The firm has a $45-$47 valuation range on shares.
- Carnival (NYSE: CCL) and Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) were reinstated with Buy ratings and a $38 target and $26 target, respectively, at BofA/Merrill.
- Corning (NYSE: GLW) was initiated with a Neutral rating and $17 target at Goldman.
- CareFusion (NYSE: CFN) was started at Deutsche Bank with a Hold rating and $20 target.
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
