Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded shares of AllianceBernstein (NYSE: AB) to Outperform from Market Perform as they find AB's risk/reward attractive given its attractive long-term business model. Wachovia upgraded Watson Pharma (NYSE: WPI) and Teva Pharma (NASDAQ: TEVA) to Outperform from Market Perform citing valuations and positive drivers for generics that include patent expirations and market share expansion.
• UBS raised Lloyds TSB Group (NYSE: LYG) to Neutral from Sell on expected pricing power following the HBOS (OTC: HBOOY) acquisition.
• Otter Tail (NASDAQ: OTTR) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• GFI Group (NASDAQ: GFIG) was upgraded at Citigroup to Hold from Sell.
• Merrill upgraded Logitech (NASDAQ: LOGI) to Neutral from Underperform.

• JP Morgan downgraded shares of Lloyds TSB Group to Underweight from Neutral on capital concerns and believes the HBOS acquisition is not in the best interest of shareholders.
• Stephens downgraded Universal Truckload (NASDAQ: UACL) to Equal Weight from Overweight on valuation and concerns about a slowdown in the flatbed sector. The firm's target remains $28.

Continue reading Analyst calls: AB, WPI, TEVA, LYG, UACL, NTAP, SIMO, BRCM ...

Analyst calls: AB, WPI, TEVA, LYG, UACL, NTAP, SIMO, BRCM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Piper downgraded shares of Corinthian Colleges (NASDAQ: COCO) to Neutral from Buy as they expect the company to face difficulty maintaining Title IV lending at its high default rate schools.
  
• Jefferies downgraded shares of MSC Industrial (NYSE: MSM) to Hold from Buy on valuation, as there is not enough upside to their $50 target to maintain a Buy rating
  
• Credit Suisse lowered HBOS Plc (OTC: HBOOY) to Underperform from Neutral to reflect the weakening housing and mortgage environment.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein.
  
• B. Riley lowered Iomega (NYSE: IOM) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Goldman downgraded Bare Escentuals (NASDAQ: BARE) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) to Neutral from Buy and Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) to Sell from Neutral.

Analyst downgrades: Corinthian Colleges, MSC Industrial, HBOS Plc originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Lehman downgraded the brokers and asset managers sector to Neutral from Positive and Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) and Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) to Equal Weight from Overweight. The firm cited weakness in the credit markets for the Bear Stearns downgrade and potential further write downs at Merrill Lynch for its downgrade.
  
• Bear Stearns downgraded shares of Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) to Peer Perform from Outperform as they see risks to 2008 estimates from an expected decline in investment-banking revenue.
  
• Barclays (NYSE: BCS) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral and HBOS PLC (OTC: HBOOY) was downgraded to Underweight from Overweight at HSBC to reflect the potential for higher write downs on debt securities and slower revenue growth.

• British Airways (OTC: BAIRY) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at ABN Amro.
  
• Merrill downgraded British Sky Broadcasting (NYSE: BSY) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Merriman downgraded Zoran (NASDAQ: ZRAN) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) to Hold from Buy.

Analyst downgrades: Brokers and asset managers, CS, BCS and HBOOY originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Nov 2007 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.