UBS upgraded McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) to Buy from Neutral based on expectations the it can deliver on 2009 EPS expectations and potential for accelerating share gains.
Bernstein upgraded Nokia (NYSE:NOK) to Outperform from Underperform on valuation following the company's profit warning. Merrill upgraded shares to Buy from Neutral to reflect valuation and Nokia's new product portfolio. Shares were also upgraded to Hold from Sell at WestLB.
B. Riley raised UCBH Holdings (NASDAQ:UCBH) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the improved valuation and the company's stronger capital position provided by the US Treasury investment.
Parexel (NASDAQ:PRXL) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
CTS Corp (NYSE:CTS) was lifted to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
Soleil downgraded Disney (NYSE:DIS) to Hold from Buy to reflect the weakening macro-economic outlook and their belief consensus estimates may be too high. The firm lowered their target to $23 from $40.
Merrill downgraded Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) to Neutral from Buy on expectations PC sales will decline next year amid the slowing economy. The firm lowered Dell's target price to $13 from $22.
Jefferies cut MDS Inc (NASDAQ:MDZ) to Hold from Buy to reflect slowing demand and a lack of catalysts to unlock the company's assets. The firm lowered their target to $10.50 from $15.
Alcoa (NYSE:AA) was lowered to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
Tesco PLC (Other OTC:TSCDY) was downgraded at JP Morgan to Underweight from Neutral.
Merrill downgraded SAP AG (NYSE:SAP) to Neutral from Buy.
Goldman added Altera (NASDAQ:ALTR) to the Conviction Sell List.
Analyst initiations:
Citigroup thinks AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) will benefit from the slowdown in car sales and thinks the recent pullback is overdone. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $146 target.
Citigroup also believes Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) will benefit from the slowdown in car sales and started shares with a Buy rating and $35 target.
After Sunway (OTCBB:SUWG) reported higher than expected revenue, Roth Capital thinks the company is poised for substantial growth, but the firm thinks its remaining warrants may keep the shares trading at a modest valuation for a significant amount of time. The firm started shares with a Hold rating and $3.60 target.
Mechel Steel (NYSE:MTL) was initiated with a Neutral rating at Merrill Lynch.
Piper upgraded Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the company's strong competitive position and low valuation. The firm does not expect Intel to miss Q3 estimates.
Goldman upgraded shares of Deutsche Telecom (NYSE: DT) to Buy from Neutral and added the stock to the Conviction Buy List as they believe the dividend is well covered.
Wachovia upgraded Landstar System (NASDAQ: LSTR) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation and potential near-term catalysts from hurricane-related activities.
Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings.
Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) was upgraded at JMP Securities to Outperform from Market Perform.
Baird lifted Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) to Neutral from Underperform.
Analyst downgrades:
Jefferies downgraded VCA Antech (NASDAQ: WOOF) to Underperform from Buy as they believe reduced consumer spending and rising unemployment levels will hurt the company's hospital and lab volumes in FY09. The company's target was lowered to $25 from $35.
Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Total System (NYSE: TSS) to Perform from Outperform to reflect the challenging macro environment and the customer portfolio risk from bank consolidation.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: UCBH Holdings, National Atlantic Holdings and J Sainsbury were today's noteworthy downgrades:
Friedman Billings downgraded UCBH Holdings (NASDAQ: UCBH) to Market Perform from Outperform. The firm said the departure of auditor PWC could not have come at a worse time following the recent CFO replacement and the credit-quality-related adverse change to Q4 earnings in the 10-K.
Citigroup cut National Atlantic Holdings (NASDAQ: NAHC) to Hold from Buy after the company announced plans to merger with a subsidiary of Palisades Safety and Insurance.
Goldman removed J Sainsbury (OTC: JSAIY) from the Conviction Buy List on fears that stagflation could impact earnings.
In a step toward expanding its reach into China, UCBH Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: UCBH) has acquired a full stake in Shanghai-based Business Development Bank in a deal valued at $205M, the Wall Street Journal reported.
According to "people familiar with the plan," Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) may sell its Japanese unit in an effort to help cut global costs due to a slump in sales and lower earnings forecast, Bloomberg reported.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: The environmental services sector, the machinery and capital goods sector and several bank holding companies were today's noteworthy initiations:
Golfsmith International Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: GOLF) was initiated at Wedbush with a Buy rating and $8.75 target, as the firm believes the company is an attractive growth story and buyout candidate.
Pharmasset Inc (NASDAQ: VRUS) was initiated with a Buy rating and $12 target at Banc of America, as the firm believes Clevudine has the potential to be best in class for the treatment of the hepatitis B virus.
Ciena Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN) was initiated with an Outperform rating and $40 target at Piper Jaffray.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Warner Music Group Corp (WMG), Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc (RRGB) and Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A) were some of today's notable upgrades:
UBS upgraded ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMHY) to Buy from Neutral as the firm believes the company will be a significant beneficiary of the acceleration in 3G handset adoption in 2007.
Wachovia upgraded Pactiv Corp (NYSE: PTV) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation.
BMO Capital raised UCBH Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: UCBH) rating to Outperform from to Market Perform.
O2Micro International Ltd (NASDAQ: OIIM) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Oppenheimer citing a possible near-term court settlement with Samsung, which provides significant earnings leverage.
The Wall Street Journal's (subscription required) "Heard on the Street" column focused on companies that would be hurt the most by the price of oil continuing to fall. The article mentioned Hess Corp (NYSE: HES) and Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU), along with alternative energy companies Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings (NYSE: AVR), Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ: PEIX) and VeraSun Energy (NYSE: VSE).
OTHER PAPERS:
French newspaper Les Echoes reported that United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) may cancel its order for 10 Airbus A380s, which could create an opportunity for Boeing (NYSE: BA).
Light Reading reported that Tellab's (NASDAQ: TLAB) CTO Thomas Gruenwald will leave the company at the end of this week.
Investor's Business Daily's "New America" column mentioned BMC Software (NYSE: BMC) positively.
BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" column mentioned Volcano (NASDAQ: VOLC), UCBH Holdings (NASDAQ: UCBH) and US Airways Group (NYSE: LCC) positively.
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