Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations


Analyst upgrades:
  • Citigroup upgraded Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) to Buy from Hold after meeting with management as it believes a more aggressive strategy will lead to the company regaining market share. Citi raised its target on shares to $66 from $54.
  • Piper Jaffray upgraded Allscripts (NASDAQ:MDRX) to Overweight from Neutral after learning the company signed a large contract with North Shore Long Island Jewish Hospital. Piper now sees upside to estimates and raised its target on shares to $22.50 from $14.
  • UBS upgraded Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED) to Buy from Neutral following a review of the Senate Finance Committee's healthcare proposal, which they view as "benign." The firm raised its target to $57 from $46.
  • Daimler (NYSE:DAI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.
  • Boston Private (NASDAQ:BPFH) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.
  • E-Trade (NASDAQ:ETFC) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.


Analyst downgrades:
  • Piper Jaffray downgraded Omniture (NASDAQ:OMTR) to reflect Adobe's (ADBE) acquisition bid for the company. The firm raised its target on shares to $21.50 from $17.
  • Citirgroup downgraded UnitedHealth NYSE:UNH) to Hold from Buy to reflect commercial pricing concerns and Medicare headwinds. The firm keeps a $32 target on shares.
  • Goldman downgraded Charles Schwab (NASDAQ:SCHW) to Sell from Neutral and lowered its target to $16 from $18. The firm expects low rates to "hinder" Charles Schwab's revenue growth that it derives from asset management and net interest income.
  • Genzyme (NASDAQ:GENZ) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
  • Education Realty Trust (EDR) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
  • IMAX (NASDAQ:IMAX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merriman.
Analyst initiations:
  • Wells Fargo initiated Equity Lifestyle (NYSE:ELS) with an Outperform rating. The firm thinks the company will benefit from the aging population, while its rising dividend is compelling.
  • Cantor Fitzgerald believes that CDC Software's (NASDAQ:CDCS) valuation is attractive and the firm thinks the company's license growth could turn positive in FY10. The firm set a Buy rating and $13 target.
  • Lazard Capital believes Aegean Marine's (NYSE:ANW) markets are expanding. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $30 target.
  • Southern Company (NYSE:SO), Sempre Energy (NYSE:SRE) and Progress Energy (NYSE:PGN) were initiated with Equal Weight ratings at Morgan Stanley, while Nstar (NYSE:NST), DTE ENergy (NYSE:DTE) and FPL Group (NYSE:FPL) were initiated with Underweight ratings.
  • Pinnacle Entertainment (NYSE:PNK) was initiated with a Hold rating at Stifel Nicolaus.
Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-35.9112,842.29
NASDAQ-4.922,899.16
S&P 500-2.681,344.37

Last updated: February 08, 2012: 12:26 PM

Hot Stocks

General Electric

19.16-0.02(-0.10)

Alcoa

10.675+0.005(+0.05)

Apple Inc

472.01+3.18(+0.68)

Google Inc 'A'

608.27+1.50(+0.25)

Bank of America

7.955+0.105(+1.34)

Wal-Mart Stores

61.34-0.35(-0.57)

Exxon Mobil Corp

85.00-0.87(-1.01)

Ford

12.815-0.065(-0.50)

Citigroup

33.60+0.53(+1.60)

IBM

192.11-0.49(-0.25)

Yahoo

15.74-0.09(-0.57)

Starbucks

48.410.00(0.00)

Microsoft

30.365+0.015(+0.05)

Home Depot

44.93-0.53(-1.17)

DailyFinance Headlines

Benzinga Headlines

TheFlyOnTheWall.com Headlines

BioHealth Investor Headlines

WalletPop Headlines

DailyFinance BlackBerry App

My Portfolios

Track your stocks here!

Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

BloggingStocks Partners

More from AOL Money & Finance

BioHealth Investor Headlines

Page Loaded in 1328722009259 ms.