MOST NOTEWORTHY: Fluor, Forward Air and McDermott were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Citigroup upgraded shares of Fluor (NYSE: FLR) to Buy from Hold to reflect the company's strong performance and backlog in Q4 and raised their target to $190.50 from $158.
Baird upgraded Forward Air (NASDAQ: FWRD) to Outperform from Neutral citing near-term growth initiatives that are gaining traction.
Citigroup also upgraded shares of McDermott (NYSE: MDR) to Buy from Hold to reflect the company's strong Q4 performance and rising commodity prices.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: UBS AG, ProLogis, AMB Property, Navteq and PDL BioPharma were today's noteworthy upgrades:
JP Morgan upgraded shares of UBS (NYSE: UBS) to Neutral from Underweight as they believe the company can start fresh after yesterday's pre-announcement.
Banc of America upgraded shares of ProLogis (NYSE: PLD) and AMB Property (NYSE: AMB) to Buy from Neutral to reflect their positive outlook on global industrial REITs and believes they are positioned to benefit from global demand for industrial space.
Wachovia raised shares of PDL BioPharma Inc (NASDAQ: PDLI) to Outperform from Market Perform following the CEO resignation and potential sale of the company.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Thor Industries (NYSE: THO) was upgraded to Buy from Gradually Accumulate at Soleil.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Sonic Automotive (SAH), Hawaiian Electric (HE), AstraZeneca (AZN), AMB Property (AMB) and ProLogis (PLD) were today's noteworthy downgrades:
Goldman downgraded Sonic Automotive (NYSE: SAH) to Neutral from Buy on valuation.
Hawaiian Electric (NYSE: HE) was cut to Underweight from Equal Weight at Lehman based on valuation and the regulatory environment.
AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at MorganStanley based on the reduced buyback, the $1.6B restructuring charge and potential for Nexium generics in Europe.
Citigroup cut AMB Property (NYSE: AMB) and ProLogis (NYSE: PLD) to Sell from Hold citing the tight capital markets and the impact on costs for the downgrades...
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
JP Morgan downgraded D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) to Neutral from Overweight.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Coca-Cola (KO), Fiserv, Inc (FISV) and several real estate companies were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup, as the firm believes the company is addressing growth issues through recent acquisitions and notes that there are signs of stabilization in Japan.
Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Cowen based on valuation, upside from restructuring, new management's willingness to unlock value, and the potential possibility of a company sale.
RBC Capital upgraded Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ: TXRH) to Outperform from Sector Perform, citing valuation and improved EPS outlook.
Kenexa Corp (NASDAQ: KNXA) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse, citing valuation and reduced risk from the BrassRing acquisition.
Goldman Sachs added Foster Wheeler (NASDAQ: FWLT) added to its Conviction Buy List, citing valuation and leverage to energy infrastructure build and power.
Goldman also added ProLogis (NYSE: PLD) to its Conviction Buy list, citing upside to FFO guidance, favorable domestic and international demand and above-average development margins.
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MOST NOTEWORTHY: Fluor, Forward Air and McDermott were today's noteworthy upgrades:.gif){kind=logo}
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