Analyst Upgrades

• Verizon (VZ), FEMSA (FMX), Vornado (VNO), Duke Realty (DRE) and AvalonBay (AVB) to buy from neutral, as well as Carnival (CCL) to conviction buy from buy, at Goldman.
• Symantec (SYMC) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Copano Energy (CPNO), DCP Midstream (DPM) and Inergy (NRGY) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• SYNNEX (SNX) to strong buy from buy at Needham.
• Eli Lilly (LLY) to hold from sell at Hapoalim.
• World Wrestling (WWE) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AKS, CCL, EOG, GE, GS, LLY, SNDK, T, TLB, TUP, VZ, WWE ...

Analyst Calls: AKS, CCL, EOG, GE, GS, LLY, SNDK, T, TLB, TUP, VZ, WWE ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded McAfee (NYSE: MFE) to Outperform from Market Perform after channel checks indicated the company's September quarter deal flow has been stronger than expected. FBR raised its target on shares to $50 from $41.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Adtran (NASDAQ: ADTN) to Overweight from Market Weight, citing increased wireless backhaul capex spending by Tier-1 carriers. The firm raised its target to $32 from $21.
• RBC Capital upgraded Brunswick (NYSE: BC) to Outperform from Sector Perform as the firm thinks the company no longer has liquidity risk and can generate significant profits by 2012. The firm set a $17 target on the stock.
• Bronco Drilling (NASDAQ: BRNC) was upgraded to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies.
• LSI Corp. (NYSE: LSI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• UBS upgraded U.S. Airways (NYSE: LCC) and UAL Corp. (NASDAQ: UAUA) to Buy from Neutral.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AXP, CL, DLTR, PG, RIMM, UAUA ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AXP, CL, DLTR, PG, RIMM, UAUA ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) to Outperform from Market Perform due to valuation and the company's capital position. The firm has an $8 target price on the stock.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded its view of the semiconductor sector and upgraded Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) to Buy from Neutral, LSI Corp. (NYSE: LSI) to Buy from Underperform, and Maxim (NASDAQ: MXIM) and National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM) to Neutral from Underperform. The firm now sees 2010 revenue growth of 21% vs. its prior estimate of 14% due to improving electric demand and lean inventories.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Vital Images (NASDAQ: VTAL) to Overweight from Market Weight based on compelling valuation and potential upside from its new ViTAL Enterprise product offering.
• Jones Apparel (NYSE: JNY) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
• Nationwide Health (NYSE: NHP) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BJ, INTC, MMM, MRVL, NSM ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BJ, INTC, MMM, MRVL, NSM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Friedman Billings upgraded LSI Corp (NYSE: LSI) to Outperform from Market Perform as it believes the risk/reward is attractive at current levels as the company's near-term business trends are stabilizing. The firm maintains a $4 target on the stock.
  
• Merriman upgraded shares of Medarex (NASDAQ: MEDX) to Neutral from Sell on valuation following the stock's 40% decline year-to-date.
  
• Morgan Stanley upgraded ITT Educational (NYSE: ESI) to Overweight from Equal Weight. The firm believes valuation appropriately discounts risks from its internal lending program.
• Noble (NYSE: NE) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman and added to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Energizer (NYSE: ENR) was raised to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
  
• Arch Chemicals (NYSE: ARJ) was upgraded at KeyBanc to Hold from Underweight.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: LSI, ESI, UBS, CS JBHT ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: LSI, ESI, UBS, CS JBHT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

LSI Corporation (NYSE: LSI) designs, develops and markets semiconductors used by original equipment manufacturers in the data networking and consumer electronics markets. It also provides a wide variety of storage systems, sub-assemblies, and storage management software applications. Top clients include Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Sony (NYSE: SNE).

The firm surprised the Street late last month, when it reported Q2 EPS of 13 cents and revenues of $692 million. Analysts had been looking for nine cents and $665.5 million. Management also guided Q3 EPS to 11-15 cents (11 cent consensus) and Q3 revenues to $695-$725 million ($693.41M consensus). The CEO noted that the company had recently secured silicon design wins with top-tier hard drive and server makers.

Continue reading LSI Corporation (LSI): Shares cycle in bullish 'flag' formation

LSI Corporation (LSI): Shares cycle in bullish 'flag' formation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) is up 12% on strong earnings.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is up over 6% after reporting a good quarter.

LSI Logic (NYSE:LSI) is up 10% on improved results.

Conceptus (NASDAQ:CPTS) is down almost 20% after missing Wall Street forecasts.

Stocks may trade differently in the pre-market than they do in the regular session.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com

Pre-market movers (BIDU) (AMZN) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported its fifth straight quarterly loss and lowered its outlook.
• Anadigics Inc. (NASDAQ: ANAD) beat Q1 expectations and raised its Q2 guidance.
• AuthenTec Inc. (NASDAQ: AUTH) Q1 revenues jumped 67% on new product offerings.
• CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) posted better-than-expected Q1 results and raised its dividend.
• Cognex Corp. (NASDAQ: CGNX) beat Q1 expectations and lifted its outlook.
• Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) posted soild Q1 results on high-speed internet/digital phone strength.
• DreamWorks Animation Inc. (NYSE: DWA) earnings and revenues soared in the first quarter.
• Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) narrowed its Q1 loss but missed earnings estimates.
• IAC/InterActivCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) Q1 profits fell but met analsts' expectations.
• LSI Corp. (NYSE: LSI) beat Q1 expectations and raised its guidance for the next quarter.
• NetSuite Inc. (NASDAQ: N) narrowed its loss on a surge in Q1 revenue.
• Omniture Inc. (NASDAQ: OMTR) Q1 revenue jumped 136% on acquisitions.
• RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) just beat low Q1 expectations on lower demand and narrower margins.
• SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) earnings for the first quarter fell short of analysts' expectations.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Verizon, Comcast, CBS, DreamWorks, IAC, Kodak and others

Earnings highlights: Verizon, Comcast, CBS, DreamWorks, IAC, Kodak and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 04 May 2008 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

LSI Corporation (NYSE: LSI) designs, develops and markets semiconductors used by original equipment manufacturers in the data networking and consumer electronics markets. It also provides a wide variety of storage systems, sub-assemblies, and storage management software applications. Top clients include Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Sony (NYSE: SNE).

The firm surprised the Street last week, when it reported Q1 EPS of ten cents and revenues of $660.75 million. Analysts had been looking for seven cents and $636 million. Management also guided Q2 EPS to 8-12 cents (seven cent consensus) and Q2 revenues to $650-$680 million ($634.62M consensus). Kaufman Brothers and Caris subsequently declared the stock a "buy". Friedman Billings and Deutsche Securities called it a "hold". All four firms upped their price targets from the range $4.50-$6.00 to the range $6.50-$7.00.

Continue reading LSI Corporation (LSI): Price cycles in bullish 'pennant'

LSI Corporation (LSI): Price cycles in bullish 'pennant' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

LSI Logic (NYSE:LSI) Better than expected earnings are moving the stock up over 13%.

Ambac (NYSE:ABK) moving up 6% after yesterday's huge sell-off.

Ford (NYSE:F) is trading up almost 7% on a strong Q1.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) is down almost 12% after warning on earnings.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is down almost 6% after reporting disappointing margins.

Stocks may trade differently in the pre-market than they do in the regular session.

Douglas A, McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Pre-markets movers (ABK) (SBUX) (AMZN) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: SLM Corp, Tempur Pedic and ITT Corp were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Morgan Stanley downgraded SLM Corp. (NYSE: SLM) to Underweight from Equal Weight citing the impact on earnings from reduced government subsidies and disrupted capital markets.
  
• Tempur Pedic (NYSE: TPX) was cut to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan citing the consumer slowdown and increased competition.
  
• Credit Suisse downgraded ITT Corp. (NYSE: ITT) to Neutral from Outperform citing the surprised management changes announced last night.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Cowen downgraded TechTarget (NASDAQ: TTGT) to Neutral from Outperform.
  
• Merriman lowered Jamba (NASDAQ: JMBA) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• LSI Corp. (NYSE: LSI) was downgraded at Merrill to Neutral from Buy.

Analyst downgrades: SLM, Tempur Pedic, ITT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Banc of America upgraded the Semiconductor Sector to Overweight from Market Weight citing indications of a bottom given earnings estimate revision momentum and supply chain inventory levels. The firm upgraded Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Power Integrations (NASDAQ:POWI) and Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) to Buy from Neutral and PMC Sierra (NASDAQ:PMCS) and LSI Corp (NYSE:LSI) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of ADC Telecomm (NASDAQ:ADCT) to Buy from Hold as they believe April consensus estimates could prove conservative.
  
• UBS raised Nationwide Financial (NYSE::NFS) to Buy from Neutral and believes a higher offer by Nationwide Mutual is likely.

• Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Westlate Chemical (NYSE:WLK) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst upgrades: Semiconductors, ADCT and NFS originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

LSI Corporation (NYSE: LSI) designs, develops and markets semiconductors used by original equipment manufacturers in the data networking and consumer electronics markets. It also provides a wide variety of storage systems, sub-assemblies, and storage management software applications. In August, the firm signed a definitive agreement to sell its mobility products business to Infineon Technologies (NYSE: IFX) for $450 million in cash and a $50 million performance-based payment. The sale was the result of a strategic realignment, following LSI's April merger with Agere Systems. Top clients include Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Sony (NYSE: SNE).

The stock has been a steady gainer over the past two months, in response to such issues as the mobility products sale, a new $500 million stock repurchase program, the sale of semiconductor assembly and test operations in Thailand, the acquisition of fabless chip producer Tarai, new product announcements, and generally favorable analyst commentary. Shares have been advancing through a positive trading channel. The price is currently positioned at the base of that channel, suggesting the potential for a turn back toward the top.

Brokers recommend the issue with three "strong buys," four "buys," five "holds" and a "sell." Analysts estimate a 110% growth rate, through the next year. The LSI Price to Sales ratio (2.49), Price to Book ratio (1.12) and Sales Growth rate (36.82%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 86% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 500 Index. Over the past fifty-two weeks, it has traded between $5.99 and $11.08. A stop-loss of $6.35 looks good here. Note that the firm is next expected to report quarterly results on October 24, after the close.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.

Semiconductor play: LSI Corp. shares advancing in positive trading channel originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Oct 2007 10:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman Sachs upgraded General Motors (NYSE: GM) to Buy from Neutral as they believe the stock will rise on expectations of sizeable concessions from union talks. The broker said this is a "tactical trading call."

• Morgan Joseph upgraded shares of Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) to Buy from Hold citing the OEM ramp & modest consensus estimates.

• American Technology added LSI Corp (NYSE: LSI) to their Focus List as they believe investors are discounting a lot of negative assumptions at the current valuation. They recommend using the recent weakness to aggressively build positions below $9.

• Bank of America upgraded shares of Chevron Corp (NYSE: CVX) citing valuation and potential volume increases in its deepwater portfolio.

• AG Edwards upgraded National City (NYSE: NCC) to Hold from Sell and Roth upgraded LivePerson to Hold from Sell on valuation...

• UBS upgraded Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) to Buy from Neutral.

• Bristol-Myers (NYSE: BMY) was upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.

• Sandler added American Express (NYSE: AXP) to its Focus List. Baird raised Applied Biosystems (NYSE: ABI) to Outperform from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades 6-25-07: BMY, CVX, GM, PIR and SIRI originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup downgraded shares of Circuit City Stores NYSE: CC) to Hold from Buy and lowered their target to $17 from $26 following management's second guidance cut in one month; the firm thinks there is more bad news to come. The electronics-retailer was also downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James and to Neutral from Buy at Robinson Humphries. Circuit City was cut to Sell from Hold at Soleil.

• UBS downgraded six airline stocks on fuel price concerns and their belief that demand may fall as economic growth slows in the domestic market. Downgrades are as follows: AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR), UAL Corp. (NASDAQ: UAUA) and U.S. Airways Group (NASDAQ: LCC) were downgraded to Reduce from Buy; Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE: LUV) and Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) were downgraded to Neutral from Buy; JetBlue Airways Corp (NASDAQ: JBLU) was downgraded to Reduce from Neutral.

• General Electric (NYSE: GE) was removed from Goldman Sachs' Americas Conviction Buy list on valuation.

• Prudential expects Sprint Nextel Corp's (NYSE: S) company-specific problems to continue and weigh on shares and downgraded the phone-giant to Underweight from Neutral.

• Banc of America downgraded shares of LSI Corp (NYSE: LSI) to Neutral from Buy.

• Buckingham cut Best Buy Co (NYSE: BBY) to Neutral from Strong Buy.

Analyst downgrades 5-01-07: AMR, BBY, CAL, CC, GE and JBLU originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 May 2007 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• UBS downgraded shares of Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) to Neutral from Buy following the company's Q1 report that showed weaker than expected operating cash flow.

• Hiland Holdings (NASDAQ: HPGP) was cut from Wachovia to Underperform from Market Perform.

• AVX Corp (NYSE: AVX) was downgraded to Underweight form Neutral at JP Morgan.

• Goldman cut Tibco Software Inc (NASDAQ: TIBX) to Sell from Neutral, citing valuation.

• Stifel downgraded United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) to Hold from Buy at Stifel, after Q1 showed a slight decline in U.S. Ground parcel volume...

• AG Edwards downgraded Cigna Corp (NYSE: CI) to Hold from Buy.

• Covad Communications (AMEX: DVW) was cut to Hold from Buy at Stanford to reflect the postponed profit growth.

• Citigroup downgraded Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to Hold from Buy on valuation.

• LongBow Research cut LSI Corp (NYSE: LSI) to Neutral from Buy; Wedbush cut shares to Hold from Buy on their disappointing Q1 report.

Analyst downgrades 4-26-07: AAPL, CI, ERIC, TIBX and UPS were downgraded today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Apr 2007 11:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Cantor sees significant opportunities for growth at Shutterfly Inc (NASDAQ: SFLY), driven by new business lines, international expansion and new products, among other things, and started SFLY Shares with a Buy rating.

• Stifel initiated Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL) with a Buy rating and believes the impending film slate provides a long-term growth opportunity and serves as a catalyst.

• Thomas Weisel started National CineMedia Inc (NASDAQ: NCMI) with an Overweight rating, as the firm still believes the company is among the fastest-growing, ad-supported media companies in the U.S. given its ownership in NCM LLC, which has established a leadership position in the cinema advertising market.

• FTN Midwest started Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) with a Neutral rating.

• Jefferies started Conexant Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: CNXT) with a Hold rating.

• Wachovia initiated NYMEX Holdings, Inc (NYSE: NMX) with an Outperform rating.

• Goldman Sachs started LSI Corp (NYSE: LSI) with a Neutral rating.

• Citigroup started Kroger Co (NYSE: KR) with a Buy rating.

• Stein Mart, Inc (NASDAQ: SMRT) was initiated Morgan Joseph with a Buy rating.

• Citigroup started Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) with a Hold rating based on valuation.

Analyst initiations 4-03-07: Wal-Mart, Kroger and Marvel Entertainment initated today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Apr 2007 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Merriman initiated Callaway Golf Co (NYSE: ELY) with a Buy rating and believes new management could get the company back on track.
  

• Genentech (NYSE:DNA) was initiated at Prudential with a Neutral rating and $92 target. The firm believes the lack of a new product launch before 2010 is a concern for long-term growth.

• American Technology believes shares of LSI Logic (NYSE: LSI) are undervalued, initiating the company with a Buy rating and $13 target, given synergies and revenue opportunities from the merger with Agere Systems, Inc (AGR).

• Bank of America initiated Evergreen Solar Inc (NASDAQ: ESLR) with a Sell rating and $8 target to reflect the lack of visibility on its growth, which puts the company at a competitive disadvantage.

• Salary.com, Inc (NASDAQ: SLRY) was initiated at Pacific Crest and Wachovia with an Outperform rating and at Thomas Weisel with an Overweight rating.

• Prudential started Gilead Sciences, Inc (NASDAQ: GILD) with an Overweight rating and $90 target.

• BMO initiated Smithfield Foods, Inc (NYSE: SFD) with with an Outperform rating and $36 target.

• Kaufman Brothers started VeriChip Corp (NASDAQ: CHIP) with a Buy rating, believing the company's growth position is compelling given its patented, FDA-approved microchip that can be implanted into humans for a variety of applications.

• Citigroup started Amgen, Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) with a Hold rating and $64 target.

Analyst initiations 3-27-07: Callaway Golf, Amgen & Genentech initiated today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO) was upgraded to Buy from Hold with a $57 target at Deutsche Bank based on valuation.

• Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup to reflect the firm's bullish outlook for the company's diabetes drug, Januvia. Citigroup believes the drug will help drive above-consensus earnings following its recent diabetes survey.

• National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM) was upgraded to Strong Buy from Market Perform at Raymond James.

• Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Comverse Technology (NASDAQ: CMVT) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and potential catalysts that include a possible break-up of the company.

• RBC upgraded Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) to Outperform from Sector Perform with a $180 target, as checks indicate shipment and sub-momentum from the company's product cycle will be significantly greater than anticipated.

• Kellogg (NYSE: K) was added to Lehman Brothers' Favorites List.

• Stanford upgraded Brooks Automation (NASDAQ: BRKS) to Buy from Hold with a $20 target on improved industry conditions, cash generation and valuation.

• Cowen added Ericsson Telephone Co (NASDAQ: ERIC) and Oracle Corp (NASDAQ: ORCL) to its Focus List.

• Matrix USA upgraded J.C. Penney Co Inc (NYSE: JCP) to Strong buy from Buy with an intrinsic value of $115.

• Wedbush upgraded LSI Logic Corp (NYSE: LSI) to Buy from Hold with a $13 target.

Analyst upgrades 2-26-07: Raise your glass to Coca-Cola originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Sanders Morris started Marvel Entertainment Inc (NYSE: MVL) with a Buy rating and $34 target on the belief that 2007 guidance is conservative.

• Thomas Weisel initiated Affymetrix Inc (NASDAQ: AFFY) with an Overweight rating and is positive on Hematide, their lead drug, to treat anemia.

• Morgan Stanley initiated Emmis Communications Corp (NASDAQ: EMMS) with an Equal-Weight rating and $10 target.

• Nollenberger started LSI Logic Corp (NYSE: LSI) with a Neutral rating and $10 target; they believe it will take several quarters for the LSI-Agere business plan to pan out.

• Morgan Keegan believes shares of Buffalo Wild Wings Inc (NASDAQ: BWLD) are fairly valued, starting the company with a Market Perform rating.

Analyst initiations 1-25-07: Marvel's superheroes are a Buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Jan 2007 11:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Wachovia upgraded the trucking sector to Market Weight from Underweight, as they believe the negative sentiment towards the group is starting to bottom, also noting that trucking stocks tend to rally before fundamentals fully bottom. Wachovia upgraded Con-Way Inc (NYSE: CNW) and Covenant Transport 'A' NASDAQ: CVTI) to Outperform from Market Perform, and Arkansas Best (NASDAQ: ABFS), Heartland Express Inc (NASDAQ: HTLD), Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN), US Xpress Enterprises 'A' (NASDAQ: XPRSA) to Market Perform from Underperform.

• JP Morgan added PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) to their Focus List, as the firm believes the recent pullback due to concerns over commodities costs and margins is overdone.

• Janco upgraded Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) to Buy from Hold with a $69 target, citing valuation.

• Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) was upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform with a $77 target at Bear Stearns; the firm views Amgen's risk/reward as favorable as the most reasonable of CERA's launch scenarios, owned by Roche Holdings AG (OTC: RHHBY), are priced into valuation, and sees significant upside if CERA does not launch.

• Caris upgraded LSI Logic (NYSE: LSI) to Buy from Above Average with a $12 target; they believe investors are underestimating the synergies involved with the Agere Systems (NYSE: AGR) deal. The broker sees upside to earnings estimates and raised their target of LSI Logic to $12 from $11.

• Merrill Lynch upgraded shares of ImClone Systems (NASDAQ: IMCL) to Neutral from Sell, and sees a short-term trading opportunity due to the overly negative sentiment into the upcoming sales figures. The broker thinks Imclone could meet its Erbitux sales estimates despite weak prescription data.

Analyst upgrades 1-4-07: ERTS, trucking sector upgraded originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Jan 2007 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.