Shares of Cumberland Pharmaceuticals (CPIX) are having a rough go of it after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) outlined some concerns that will further delay a ruling on its liver drug. The regulatory agency already postponed its decision from August to December, and now the FDA says it needs additional data before it can recommend the drug for approval.

In its complete response letter to Cumberland, the FDA noted insufficient evidence to prove that the injectable drug, Acetadote, is effective in all patients. Cumberland said it plans to meet with the FDA soon to address the outstanding issues.

Analyst Upgrades

• Wynn Resorts (WYNN) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Oracle (ORCL) and Alliance Data Systems (ADS) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Saint Joe (JOE) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Starwood Hotels (HOT) to neutral from underperform at RW Baird.
• Middlesex Water (MSEX) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Consol Energy (CNX) to buy from hold at BB&T.

Analyst Upgrades

• GC Financial upgraded Microsoft (MSFT) to buy from hold, citing expectations that the company will raise its quarterly dividend by 15%. The firm upped its target for shares to $30 from $29.
• JPMorgan upgraded Agrium (AGU) to overweight from neutral, citing valuation and strengthening agricultural fundamentals. The firm raised its target for shares to $75 from $70. Note JPMorgan downgraded Mosaic (MOS) this morning to neutral from overweight.
• Susquehanna upgraded Baker Hughes (BHI) to positive from neutral based on valuation. The firm has a $53 target on the stock.
• Target (TGT) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• CF Industries (CF) was upgraded to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Portugal Telecom (PT) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Analyst upgrades:

• Roth Capital upgraded MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $90 from $70, citing encouraging Q2 results, new product cycle catalysts, a lift from Europe, and cost reductions.
• William Blair upgraded Costco (NASDAQ: COST) to Outperform from Market Perform after meeting with management as it believes sales and earnings could beat expectations over the next year.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Novellus (NASDAQ: NVLS) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $29 from $23. The firm cites higher Samsung capex forecast, high leverage, and low expectations.
• Home Properties (NYSE: HME) and Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) were upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBC Capital, while Douglas Emmett (NYSE: DEI) and Duke Realty (NYSE: DRE) were raised to Market Perform from Underperform.
• Agilent (NYSE: A) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
• Cytec Industries (NYSE: CYT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.

It was not a good sign. Last night, Cumberland Pharmaceuticals priced its IPO at $17 a share, which was below the $19-$21 range. And, in light of this weakness, the stock is down 9 cents to $16.91 so far in today's trading.

Yet, Cumberland is a fairly solid company. Focused on specialty pharmaceuticals, it has several branded prescription products. The main target areas include: hospital acute care and gastroenterology.

A key differentiator is Cumberland's efficient direct sales model. In all, there are only 66 sales reps. Then again, because of Cumberland's laser focus, it is easier to target the market.