MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of American International Group (NYSE:AIG) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they see limited downside at current levels. They believe the stock is "poised for over 35% upside in the next twelve months" and raised their target price to $42 from $41.
  
• Jefferies raised Energy East (NYSE:EAS) to Hold from Underperform to reflect the growing pressure from politicians to influence the final NYPSC order in the merger approval proceeding. The firm raised their target price to $25.50 from $16.50.
  
• Bernstein upgraded shares of BG Group (NASDAQ:BRGYY) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company should benefit from the tightness in the global liquefied natural gas market.

• Total SA (NYSE:TOT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman and added to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Wachovia lifted CarMax (NYSE:KMX) to Market Perform from Underperform.
  
• Pike Electric (NYSE:PEC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings.

Analyst upgrades: AIG, EAS and BRGYY originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Bear Stearns upgraded The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) to Outperform from Peer Perform, as they expect it to post solid earnings short-term with potential upside, and over the long-term due to its upgraded business model.
• Bernstein raised its rating on Novo Nordisk AS (NYSE: NVO) to Outperform from Market Perform, as they believe consensus estimates do not reflect the company's growth potential.
• Merriman upgraded shares of Equinix Inc (NASDAQ: EQIX) to Buy from Neutral on valuation following the recent sell-off. The firm expects strong Q4 results.

• BG Group Plc (OTC: BRGYY) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• PetSmart Inc (NASDAQ: PETM) was raised to Buy from Neutral by Goldman Sachs.
  
• Bear upgraded Urban Outfitters Inc (NASDAQ: URBN) to Peer Perform from Underperform.

Analyst upgrades: KO, NVO, EQIX, PETM, URBN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 09:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• ABN Amro downgraded shares of British American Tobacco (AMEX: BTI) to Hold from Buy on valuation, as they view shares as fairly valued following the strong performance in 2007.
  
• Wachovia lowered its rating on Vertex Pharma (NASDAQ: VRTX) to Underperform from Market Perform citing the potential push out of the telaprevir market launch to 2012 from 2010, which will allow the competition to grab share.
  
• The firm also downgraded YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) to Underperform from Market Perform, as they have little confidence in any material near-term improvement for the company.

• Bear Stearns downgraded Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR) to Peer Perform from Outperform.
  
• UBS downgraded BG Group (OTC: BRGYY) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Stancorp Financial (NYSE: SFG) to Neutral from Buy.

Analyst downgrades: British American Tobacco, Vertex Pharma, YRC Worldwide originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.