MOST NOTEWORTHY: Trina Solar, Adtran and Elan Corp were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Friedman Billings upgraded Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) to Market Perform from Underperform citing expectations for improved FCF following the company's announcement to discontinue its in-house poly manufacturing.
Thomas Weisel believes Adtran (NASDAQ: ADTN) is in a multi-year transition where new products are able to offset continued declines in the legacy products. Shares were raised to Overweight from Market WEight, and also upgraded at Raymond James to Strong Buy from Outperform.
Goldman upgraded shares of Elan Corp. (NYSE: ELN) to Buy from Neutral to reflect their outlook for Tysabri and Bapineuzumab.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Melco PBL Entertainment, Helen of Troy, LHC Group and Oriental Financial were today's noteworthy initiations:
Jefferies initiated shares of Melco PBL Entertainment (NASDAQ: MPEL) with a Buy rating and $21 target, as they believe the possibility of A-Max, a VIP junket consolidator, moving up to 10 junkets to the Crown Casino could lead to short-term gains and notes that MPEL is the only Macau pure play in the U.S. stock market.
Jefferies also started shares of Helen of Troy (NASDAQ: HELE) with a Hold rating and $21 target, as they sees risks to near-term EPS from soft consumer demand and gross margin pressures.
Credit Suisse expects LHC Group's (NASDAQ: LHCG) rural-focused strategy and joint venture partnerships to drive organic growth and started shares off with an Outperform rating and $26 target.
Oriental Financial Group (NYSE: OFG) was initiated at B. Riley with a Neutral rating and $12.50 target. The firm does not expect significant multiple expansion from current levels given the slow Puerto Rican economy.