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 ...

Analyst calls: PRU, RATE, ACL, LTD, STM, SNP, NFLX, RTP, BHP, OXY ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.