Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Cree (NASDAQ: CREE) to Outperform from Perform as they believe LEDs are beginning to gain traction in general lighting applications.
Jefferies upgraded Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) to Hold from Underperform following the acquisition by MidAmerican Energy. The company's target was increased to $25 from $20.
RBC upgraded the Banking sector to Overweight from Underweight following the governments "massive assault" on the financial crisis. RBC believes government actions that include the potential creation of a Resolution Trust Corporation, the creation of federal insurance for money market fund investors and the ban on short selling will result in higher bank stock prices through year end; Wilmington Trust (NYSE: WL), KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) and Pacific Capital Bancorp (NASDAQ: PCBC) were upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform.
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Piper.
UBS upgraded Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR) to Neutral from Sell.
Gap (NYSE: GPS) was upgraded to buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Analyst downgrades:
Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Thomson Reuters (NASDAQ: TRIN) to Sell from Buy as they believe uncertainty in the financial sector will hinder growth.
Piper cut MIPS Technologies (NASDAQ: MIPS) to Neutral from Buy as they believe estimates are at risk following the departure of ChipIdea's co-founder. The company's target was lowered to $3.70 from $8.
Jefferies downgraded GSI Commerce (NASDAQ: GSIC) to Hold from Buy on valuation as they view the risk/reward less compelling following the recent rally.
Host Hotels (NYSE: HST) was downgraded at Baird to Neutral from Outperform.
Jefferies initiated Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) with an Underperform rating and $38 target and thinks the company's sales and margins are at risk with negative comp trends getting worse.
Cantor believes Lawson Software (NASDAQ: LWSN) has a powerful franchise while the stock trades at a 33% discount to peers. Shares were assumed with a Buy rating and $8 target.
Stanford started Mentor (NYSE: MNT) with a Buy rating and $32 target and thinks the company is poised to benefit from growing global demand for products and services that make people look younger and more attractive.
Scripps Networks (NYSE: SNI) was initiated at UBS with a Neutral rating and $43 target.
BMO Capital initiated Costco (NASDAQ: COST) and BJ's Wholesale (NYSE: BJ) with Market Perform ratings and a $72 target and $42 target, respectively.
Isle of Capri (NASDAQ: ISLE) was initiated at Goldman with a Sell rating and $6 target.
Goldman upgraded shares of British Sky Broadcasting (NYSE: BSY) to Buy from Neutral and added the company to the Conviction Buy List as they find the stock oversold at current levels.
Goldman also added Publicis (OTC: PUBGY) to the Conviction Buy List and upgraded shares to Buy from Neutral as they find the stock cheap at current levels.
Oneok (NYSE: OKE) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Lehman.
Baird downgraded Amylin Pharma (NASDAQ: AMLN) to Neutral from Outperform and said they are incrementally more cautious on the commercial performance of Amylin's Byetta following the yesterday's update. Amylin's target was lowered to $27 from $37. Soleil recommends investors avoid Amylin with the disclosure last night of four additional cases of mortality associated with pancreatitis in patients who were on Byetta. The firm cut shares to Sell from Hold and lowered their target to $20 from $25.
Citigroup downgraded shares of AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) to Sell from Hold on valuation as they find the stock expensive following the recent run-up. The firm raised their target to $9 from $6.70 to reflect the drop in crude prices.
J Crew (NYSE: JCG) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Brean Murray following the weak Q2 report and guidance.
JMP Securities downgraded Quality Systems (NASDAQ: QSII) to Market Perform from Outperform.
National Grid (NYSE: NGG) was lowered to Equal Weight from Overweight at Lehman.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Wachovia, Deutsche Bank and Pearson plc were today's noteworthy downgrades:
UBS believes it is increasingly likely that Wachovia Bank (NYSE: WB) will need to raise capital. The firm said the company may need to raise $5B in equity and cuts its dividend to 1c, which will save $3B annually. UBS cut shares to Neutral from Buy and lowered its 2008 EPS estimate to ($1.98).
Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) to Underweight from Equal Weight as they believe DB may have to increase its tier 1 ratio, which could lead to dividend cuts or asset sales.
Deutsche Bank downgraded Pearson (NYSE: PSO) to Sell from Hold as they believe the weak funding environment for Education will slow earnings growth.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: SonicWALL, DG FastChannel and Thomson Reuters were today's noteworthy initiations:
B. Riley believes SonicWALL's (NASDAQ: SNWL) long-term outlook should benefit as the company specifically targets the SMB IT security market and is increasing its focus on the Asian and Latin American markets. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $14 target.
Merriman started DG FastChannel (NASDAQ: DGIT) with a Buy rating and believes the recent closing of the Vyvx acquisition and anticipated closing of the Enliven acquisition could create positive catalysts for the stock.
Citigroup assumed Thomson Reuters (NASDAQ: TRIN) with a Hold rating. The firm finds the valuation full at current levels and prefers to wait for a better entry point.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Ameristar Casinos (NASDAQ: ASCA) was initiated with an Overweight rating and $26 target at Thomas Weisel.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Gen-Probe, iRobot and Emeritus were today's noteworthy initiations:
RBC Capital expects Gen-Probe Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRO) to continue to generate high margin, annuity-like revenue from its core business while new tests with good long-term growth. Shares were initiated with an Outperform rating and $66 target.
Kaufman Brothers believes robotics technology is more than just a fad and that iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT) is well-positioned given its innovation applications and innovative applications that create new solutions to existing issues; Kaufman started iRobot with a Buy rating and $22 target.
Jefferies believes Emeritus Corp. (AMEX: ESC), initiated with a Buy rating, is well-positioned to drive superior cash flow growth given favorable/stable industry fundamentals and renewed operational focus.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Piper assumed Comverge Inc. (NASDAQ: COMV) with a Buy rating and $17 target.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Garmin, Thomson Reuters and Heritage-Crystal Clean were today's noteworthy initiations:
Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) was initiated with a Neutral rating at JP Morgan. The firm sees risk to 2008 Street estimates given the consumer slowdown in the U.S. and potential ASP and margin pressure as channel inventory is worked down.
Morgan Stanley assumed Thomson Reuters (NASDAQ: TRIN) with an Underweight rating and expects revenue growth in the company's financial business to slow sharply into 2009.
William Blair believes Heritage-Crystal Clean (NASDAQ: HCCI) has the opportunity to gain market share over the next several years as a result of its differentiated parts-cleaning programs, strong sales organization, and experienced management team. Shares were assumed with an Outperform rating.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Lehman initiated Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) and Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) with Equal Weight ratings and targets of $20 and $17 and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), IBM Corp (NYSE: IBM) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) with Overweight ratings and targets of $195, $144 and $59, respectively.
Pacific Growth started Spectranetics (NASDAQ: SPNC) with a Neutral rating.
Merrill reinstated Chevron (NYSE: CVX), ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) and Hess Corp (NYSE: HES) with Buy ratings and price targets of $110, $105 and $125, respectively.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Full House Resorts, Starent Networks and Capital Trust were today's noteworthy initiations:
Morgan Joseph said Full House Resorts Inc.'s (AMEX: FLL) valuation does not reflect the present value of its tribal management contract with the FireKeepers Casino. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $3.50 target.
Starent Networks Corporation (NASDAQ: STAR) was assumed with an Overweight rating at Thomas Weisel. The firm said STAR offers a compelling risk/reward profile given strong gross margins and expanding operating margins.
Keefe Bruyette initiated Capital Trust Inc. (NYSE: CT) with a Market Perform rating and $30 target, and believes the expected deterioration of commercial real estate fundamentals is likely to remain a headwind for valuations of the shares.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Equitable Resources, Allied Capital and Apria Healthcare were today's noteworthy initiations:
RBC Capital is positive on Equitable Resources' (NYSE:EQT) Appalachian Basin exposure and valuation. Shares were started with an Outperform rating and $78 target.
Morgan Keegan views Allied Capital's (NYSE:ALD) valuation and outlook as attractive, starting shares with an Outperform rating. Credit Suisse assumed Apria Healthcare (NYSE:AHG) with a Neutral rating and $20 target, citing the challenging Medicare backdrop.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Keefe Bruyette initiated Zions Bancorp (NASDAQ:ZION) with a Market Perform rating and $47 target.
Thomson Reuters (NASDAQ:TRIN) was started with a Sell rating at ABN Amro.
Canaccord Adams initiated Cyberonics (NASDAQ:CYBX) with a Buy rating and $20.50 target.
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Analyst upgrades:
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John McCain, losing ground, goes for broke tonight
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Closing Bell: Dow slump puts bulls on suicide watch; BAC, MS, F, FSLR all down, AMD up
