MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• JP Morgan upgraded two defense stocks today: Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight on valuation;

• Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) was raised to Overweight from Neutral, with expectations for the company to post above average organic growth driven by strong bookings. The firm also raised Raytheon's 2008 EPS estimate to $3.80 from $3.60, well above the consensus estimate.

• AG Edwards believes Hartford Financial's (NYSE: HIG) recent weakness has created a buying opportunity and upgraded shares to Buy from Hold.

• Seagate (NYSE: STX) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Brean Murray as checks indicate a healthy seasonal uptick in demand for drives and PCs in 2H07.

• CommScope (NYSE: CTV) was Upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Morgan Keegan based on higher 2007 and 2008 expectations along with accretion from the Andrew acquisition...

• BMC Software (NYSE: BMC) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.

• Friedman Billings raised Kimco Realty (NYSE: KIM) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Merck (NYSE: MRK) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at AG Edwards.

• Int'l Speedway (NASDAQ: ISCA) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Matrix USA.

• JP Morgan added Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH) to its JP Morgan Focus List.

Analyst upgrades 7-12-07: ISCA, LMT, MRK and STX originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Jul 2007 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) to Overweight from Neutral as they believe the company's entrance into Russia and China is not priced into shares. JP Morgan also added CPB to their Analyst Focus List.

• UBS upgraded shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) to Buy from Neutral based on higher estimates for international, potential debt leverage, and a potential minority spin-off of its China business.

• Lehman upgraded NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) to Overweight from Equal Weight on valuation following the recent weakness. They believe Q2 earnings and a potential S&P 500 Index addition could be a catalyst for gains.

• UBS upgraded Forest Labs (NYSE: FRX) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and their belief that the company will prevail in a patent dispute over Lexapro with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA).

• AG Edwards upgraded International Speedway (NASDAQ: ISCA) to Hold from Sell on valuation...

• Hambrecht upgraded Micron Technology (NYSE: MU) to Buy from Hold.

• JMP Securities raised shares of Equifax (NYSE: EFX) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Ferris Baker Watts upgraded Unica Corp (NASDAQ: UNCA) to Neutral from Sell.

• Calyon upgraded Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) to Neutral from Sell.

Analyst upgrades 7-11-07: CPB, FRX, NYX and YUM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Jul 2007 10:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.