Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Premiere Global (NYSE: PGI) to Outperform from Perform on valuation and believes the company's strategic initiatives will drive "healthy" top-line results in a difficult economy.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Prudential (NYSE: PRU) to Buy from Hold on valuation, as they believe the stock is oversold at current levels. Though upgraded, the firm lowered their target price to $30 from $80.
  
• Citigroup also upgraded Bankrate (NASDAQ: RATE) to Buy from Hold as they believe the company will benefit from the financial market volatility and that the risk/reward is attractive at current levels. The firm maintains a $40 target on the stock.
• Hospitality Properties (NYSE: HPT) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
  
• Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO) was upgraded at Merrill Lynch to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Alcon (NYSE: ACL) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.

Continue reading Analyst calls: PRU, RATE, ACL, LTD, STM, SNP, NFLX, RTP, BHP, OXY ...

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Analyst upgrades:

• Calyon upgraded major network carriers based on falling oil prices and capacity cuts. The analyst is positive over the next 12 months but cautious short-term given the uncertain economy, and volatile markets and oil prices. AMR Corp (NYSE: AMR) and Delta Air (NYSE: DAL) were upgraded to Add from Neutral and UAL Corp (NASDAQ: UAUA) was raised to Neutral from Reduce.
• Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) was upgraded at Citigroup to Buy from Hold.
• Boardwalk Pipeline (NYSE: BWP) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Cowen lifted Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) to Outperform from Neutral.
• JP Morgan upgraded Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH) to Neutral from Underweight following the better-than-expected Q3 report.
• Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Integra LifeSciences (NASDAQ: IART) to Outperform from Perform on valuation, the company's minimal exposure to economic conditions, and expectations for margin improvement and a rebound in organic growth.

• Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) and AerCap Holdings (NYSE: AER) were downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
• UBS downgraded Embarq (NYSE: EQ) to Neutral from Buy following the CenturyTel (NYSE: CTL) merger announcement.

Continue reading Analyst calls: AMR, DAL, UAUA, RYAAY, BIIB, SHW, EQ, INTU, NYT, GOOG, YHOO ...

Analyst calls: AMR, DAL, UAUA, RYAAY, BIIB, SHW, EQ, INTU, NYT, GOOG, YHOO ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Amedica (AMCA), a 4.65M-share IPO for this artificial joints company. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Lehman Brothers are the lead managers. Filing range: $13.00-$15.00.
• Concho Resources (CXO), a 21.2M-share IPO for this oil and gas company. JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Lehman Brothers are the lead managers. Filing range: $14.00-$16.00.
• Dolan Media (DM), a 10.5M-share IPO for this media services company. Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch are the lead managers. Filing range: $13.50-$15.50.
• Genpact (G), a 35.3M-share IPO for this information technology services company. Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and JP Morgan Chase are the lead managers. Filing range: $16.00-$18.00.
• NanoDynamics (NDMX), a 6.6M-share IPO for this specialty chemicals company. Jefferies is the lead manager. Filing range: $12.00-$14.00.
• Sucampo Pharmaceuticals (SCMP), a 3.75M-share IPO for this pharmaceutical company. Cowen is the lead manager. Filing range: $14.00-$16.00.
• Virtusa (VRTU), a 4.4M-share IPO for this information technology services company. JP Morgan Chase is the lead manager. Filing range: $14.00-$16.00.

Continue reading IPO & secondary preview -- Week of July 30, 2007

IPO & secondary preview -- Week of July 30, 2007 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Jul 2007 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.