MOST NOTEWORTHY: Verisign (VRSN) and Entergy (ETR) led a light upgrade list Monday morning as the Dow and Nasdaq moved higher in early trading.
- Lehman upgraded VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) to Overweight from Equal Weight, saying it expects the company's upcoming restructuring and pending sale of the Jamba ringtone business to result in improving prospects for 2007 and investor sentiment.
- BMO Capital upgraded Entergy Corp. (NYSE:ETR) to Outperform from Market Perform, target to $110, indicating that its earnings will accelerate over the next four years.
- Wachovia upgraded Express Scripts, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESRX) to Outperform from Market Perform, citing the recent sell-off, which the firm believes is overdone; it has a $74-$82 valuation range for ESRX.
OTHER UPGRADES:
- Merrill Lynch upgraded Unilver (NYSE:UN) to Neutral from Sell, saying the recent quarter represented the first signs of recovery.
- Finally, First Albany upgraded Lionbridge Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LIOX) to Strong Buy from Buy, target to $10, citing Q3 results and price weakness.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).