- 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.
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FeedAnalyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AAPL, COST, HPQ, JACK, MOS, NVLS, WMT ...
Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: INTC, RIMM, BKC, MA, ADBE ...
Analyst upgrades:- Jefferies upgraded Cytec Industries (NYSE: CYT) to Buy from Hold on valuation and believes liquidity concerns are overdone. The firm raised its target on the stock to $27 from $20.
- Morgan Stanley upgraded Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised its price target to $19 from $15. Morgan Stanley's survey indicates positive trends in the business supply chain and the analysts expects estimates to move higher from increased server MPU sales and growth in Windows 7.
- Pali upgraded Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and believes the company's tough Q2 compares are already priced into the stock. The firm has a $25 target on shares.
- Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.
- MasterCard (NYSE: MA) was lifted to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
- Burger King (NYSE: BKC) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America/Merrill.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: INTC, RIMM, BKC, MA, ADBE ...
Analyst calls: ETR, THO, AMN, DF, FOSL, NSRGY . . .
Analyst upgrades:
- Baird expects Thor Industries (NYSE: THO) to benefit from industry consolidation and the eventual recovery. Shares were upgraded to Neutral from Underperform.
- Jefferies upgraded SPSS Inc. (NASDAQ: SPSS) to Buy from Hold on valuation and believes the company's cost cuts will be positive for EPS. The company's target was lowered to $28 from $29.
- Banc of America upgraded shares of Entergy (NYSE: ETR) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and believes the company is unlikely to spin-off Enexus by year-end. They believe a spin-off in 2009 or no spin at all suggests a higher share price from current levels. The company's target was raised to $104 from $101.50.
- AMN Healthcare (NYSE: AMN) was upgraded to hold from Sell at Citigroup.
- Argus upgraded Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH) to Hold from Sell.
- Transdigm Group (NYSE: TDG) was lifted to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
Analyst downgrades:
Continue reading Analyst calls: ETR, THO, AMN, DF, FOSL, NSRGY . . .
Analyst upgrades: SNY, LIFC, MYL, PNRA and NHY
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Sanofi-Aventis, Lifecell, Mylan Labs, Panera Bread and Norsk Hydro were today's noteworthy upgrades:- Societe Generale upgraded shares of Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) to Buy from Hold as they believe pipeline maturation over the next 12 months can drive the stock higher.
- Piper upgraded shares of Lifecell (NASDAQ: LIFC) to Outperform from Market Perform after their recent survey indicated that AlloDerm remains the leading biologic hernia mesh on the market and competition is making little headway.
- JP Morgan upgraded Mylan Labs (NYSE: MYL), Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA) and Norsk Hydro (NYSE: NHY) to Overweight from Neutral. The firm upgraded Mylan based on its position in the global generics market and above-average growth; Panera was upgraded on valuation, as they believe the recent operating risk is now behind the company; Norsk Hydro was upgraded, as they believe the value of the company's aluminum assets are higher than the current share price suggests.
- HSBC upgraded Ride Aid (NYSE: RAD) to Neutral from Underweight.
- UBS upgraded Standard Pacific (NYSE: SPF) and Ciena (NASDAQ: CIEN) to Neutral from Sell and Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) to Buy from Neutral.
- Goldman added Cytec Industries (NYSE: CYT) to its Conviction Buy List.
Analyst downgrades: TD, CYT, CRNT, MU and NVT
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Toronto Dominion, Cytec Industries, Ceragon Networks, Micron and Navteq were today's noteworthy downgrades:- CIBC downgraded shares of Toronto Dominion (NYSE: TD) to Sector Performer from Outperformer following the Commerce Bancorp (NYSE: CBH) acquisition, as they see integration risks and believes the deal will limit the company's ability to buyback stock.
- Cytec Industries (NYSE: CYT) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, as they believe near-term risks to demand and margins could bring a better entry point by 1H08. Target lowered to $75 from $79.
- Collins Stewart downgraded shares of Ceragon Networks (NASDAQ: CRNT) to Underperform from Buy on valuation and uncertainties surrounding the stock, which include the NEC infringement issue and increased competition.
- Micron Technology (NYSE: MU) was downgraded to Accumulate from Buy at ThinkEquity. The firm is cautious on the sustainability of PC related demand and questions component order levels relative to PC sell through.
- Banc of America downgraded shares of Navteq Corporation (NYSE: NVT) to Neutral from Buy following Nokia's (NOK) proposed buyout.
- JP Morgan downgraded Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (NYSE: RIO) to Neutral from Overweight.
- Goldman removed Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) from its Conviction Buy List.
- Citigroup downgraded GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) to Hold from Buy.
- Friedman Billings downgraded Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) to Neutral from Outperform.




