Analyst upgrades:
- Bernstein upgraded General Electric (NYSE: GE) to Outperform from Market Perform Thursday after the close. The firm sees an improved risk/reward on the stock and raised its price target to $19 from $18.
- Bernstein also upgraded Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Outperform from Market Perform as it believes sales growth and margin expansion expectations are too low. The firm raised its target on shares to $160 from $125.
- Piper Jaffray upgraded CBS (NYSE: CBS) to Neutral from Underweight following the company's Q3 results and raised its target on shares to $13 from $12.
- JPMorgan upgraded Macy's (NYSE: M) to Overweight from Neutral to reflect the company's improving comps. The firm has a $23 target on the stock.
- Ansys (NASDAQ: ANSS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
- Travelers (NYSE: TRV) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
- Air Methods (NASDAQ: AIRM) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
Analyst downgrades:
- Wiliam Blair downgraded CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) to Market Perform from Outperform as it believes the stock is "dead money" until the merger with Caremark is unwound.
- Kaufman Bros. downgraded The Knot (NASDAQ: KNOT) to Hold from Buy on valuation, as well as what the firm sees as an overhang on the stock created by the company's negotiations with Macy's. The firm set an $11 target on The Knot.
- UBS downgraded Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO) to Neutral from Buy citing October's comp deceleration. The firm lowered its target to $36 from $49.
- Rosetta Stone (NYSE: RST) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies.
- RenaissanceRE (NYSE: RNR) was downgraded to Sell from Buy at Goldman.
- Red Robin Gourmet (NASDAQ: RRBG) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at KeyBanc.
Analyst initiations:
- Roth Capital initiated Vitacost.com (NASDAQ: VITC) with a Buy rating. The firm believes the company's growth has been impressive, and it predicts that a favorable mix shift will increase the company's margins. The firm set a $15 target.
- Select Medical (NYSE: SEM) was started at Wells Fargo with a Market Perform rating on valuation.
- Becton Dickinson (NYSE: BDX) was initiated with a Buy rating and $100 target at Jefferies.
- Warner Chilcott (NASDAQ: WCRX) was reinstated with a Neutral rating and $26 target at Goldman.
- Deere (NYSE: DE) was initiated with a Neutral rating and $50 target at Macquarie.
- Peet's Coffee (NASDAQ: PEET) was initiated with a Buy rating and $62 target at Janney Montgomery.
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