MOST NOTEWORTHY: UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH), RF Micro Devices Inc (RFMD), UTi Worldwide Inc (UTIW) and Viacom B (VIA, VIA.B) were some of today's more notable downgrades:
- UBS cut UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE: UNH) to Neutral from Buy citing moderating fundamentals in commercial performance and large government exposure that will make it difficult for the company to outperform its peer group.
- Jefferies downgraded RF Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ: RFMD) to Hold from Buy with a $7 target as the firm believes the company's June guidance signals a slow down of second-half fundamentals.
- Stephens cut UTi Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ: UTIW) to Equal Weight from Overweight based on ongoing cost issues.
- Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Sanders Morris to reflect weak ad growth at MTV, digital revenues that the firm believes are a displacement rather than accretive to the revenue base and the lawsuit against Google's (GOOG) YouTube, which the firm feels is the wrong call.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
- Sealed Air Corp (NYSE: SEE) was taken down to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia citing valuation.
- Friedman Billings downgraded shares of Maguire Properties, Inc (NYSE: MPG) to Market Perform from Outperform citing the fallout from subprime-exposed office space.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).
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