MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• First Albany sees upside potential in GameStop (NYSE: GME) through 2008 and upgraded shares to Strong Buy from Buy.

• JMP Securities upgraded Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) to Market Outperform from Market Perform on valuation.

• Tween Brands (NYSE: TWB) was upgraded to Buy from Sell on valuation at Matrix USA.

• JMP Securities' checks indicate Altec Lansing's im600 iPod docking station/FM radio is selling better than expected, and upgraded shares of Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) to Market Outperform from Market Perform.

• Merrill upgraded shares of Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the company's inclusion in the Euro Stoxx 50 Index in September as well as the positive global carbon steel environment...

• Pepsi Bottling (NYSE: PBG) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC.

• Morgan Stanley raised RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD) to Equal Weight from Underweight.

• Matrix upgraded Barr Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: BRL) to Buy from Hold.

• Jefferies upgraded Advanced Medical (NYSE: EYE) to Hold from Underperform.

Analyst upgrades: BRCD, GME, PBG and RFMD originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• JP Morgan cut Eaton Vance (NYSE: EV) to Underweight from Neutral on the significant drop in municipal bond performance and valuation.

• Raymond James cut American Woodmark (NASDAQ: AMWD) to Underperform from Market Perform following the weak Q1 report and guidance.

• Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman based on valuation.

• Talbots (NYSE: TLB) was cut to Hold from Buy at Stifel following the weak Q2 report and guidance...

• Zumiez (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Piper Jaffray.

• JP Morgan cut Broadridge (NYSE: BR) to Neutral from Overweight.

• Sandler downgraded Flushing Financial (NASDAQ: FFIC) to Sell from Hold and TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ: TCBK) to Hold from Buy.
  

• RBC Capital downgraded Tween Brands (NYSE: TWB) to Sector Perform from Outperform.

Analyst downgrades 8-23-07: AMWD, DB, EV and TLB originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Aug 2007 10:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Jefferies downgraded shares of American Capital (NASDAQ: ACAS) to Hold from Buy citing the slowing M&A market and risk characteristics of the company.

• Soleil downgraded Doral Financial (NYSE: DRL) to Sell from Hold, on the belief that the recent reverse stock split will increase short-selling activity and discourage speculative buying.

• E-Trade Financial (NASDAQ: ETFC) was cut to Neutral from Buy at UBS, citing deteriorating trends in the credit/mortgage markets, lack of near-term catalysts; the firm does not see an M&A deal occurring near-term.

• Goldman downgraded Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO) to Neutral from Buy, citing weakness in the low-end consumer and increased pressure from Wal-Mart (WMT)...

• Wachovia downgraded Tween Brands (NYSE: TWB) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

• Deutsche Bank cut Pearson (NYSE: PSO) to Hold from Buy.

• Matrix downgraded Talisman Energy (NYSE: TLM) to Hold from Buy.

Analyst downgrade: DRL, EL, ETFC and FDO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Aug 2007 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Societe General on valuation.

• Jefferies upgraded shares of RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD) to Buy from Hold and raised the target to $9.00 from $7.00 after their channel checks indicated RFMD's business has improved since its last earnings call.

• Cowen raised BMC Software (NYSE: BMC) to Neutral from Underperform citing valuation and improvements in the cash flow for their upgrade.

• Susquehanna upgraded Tween Brands (NYSE: TWB) to Positive from Neutral based on Justice's performance and recent buyback activity...

• Lenovo Group Ltd (OTC: LNVGY) was upgraded at Credit Suisse to Neutral from Underperform; JP Morgan upgraded Lenovo to Overweight from Neutral.

• Morgan Keegan upgraded Symmetricom, Inc (NASDAQ: SYMM) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Goldman upgraded CDI Corp (NYSE: CDI) to Buy from Neutral.

• Stifel raised MedCath Corp (NASDAQ: MDTH) to Buy from Hold.

• Soleil upgraded VA Software Corp (NASDAQ: LNUX) to Hold from Sell.

Analyst upgrades 5-25-07: GSK, LNVGY, RFMD and TWB originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 May 2007 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman Sachs upgraded both The Coca-Coca Co (NYSE: KO) and PepsiCo Inc (NYSE: PEP) to Buy from Neutral: The upgrade for Coca-Coca was to reflect the company's recent strong results, and Pepsi's upgrade was to reflect Gatorade's expected profit re-acceleration by the second half of 2007.

• General Mills Inc (NYSE: GIS) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital Markets with a $58 target based on achievable outlook and absence of any negative catalysts.

• Bank of America upgraded Colgate-Palmolive Co (NYSE: CL) to Buy from Neutral with a $74 target. The firm believes Colgate's long-term growth rate can accelerate to 12-13% from 10% on margin upside.

• Prudential upgraded shares of Avon Products Inc (NYSE: AVP) to Neutral from Underweight to reflect the company's improving fundamentals; the firm believes that news over the last six months has been getting more positive.

• Buckingham upgraded Tween Brands Inc (NYSE: TWB) to Accumulate from Neutral.

• CIBC upgraded Cablevision Systems Corp (NYSE: CVC) to Buy from Hold. Raymond James raised Lithia Motors (LAD) to Strong Buy from Market Perform following its Q4 report and guidance.

• First Albany upgraded Stamps.com Inc (NASDAQ: STMP) to Buy from Neutral, with a $19 target.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded International Paper Co (NYSE: IP), Packaging Corp of America (NYSE: PKG) and Smurfit-Stone Container Corp (NASDAQ: SSCC) to Buy from Hold. The firm believes momentum is turning and backlogs and pricing are emerging from the winter doldrums stronger than expected.

Analyst upgrades 2-16-07: Coke & Pepsi upgraded at Goldman originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Feb 2007 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

1. Competitor Coldwater Creek (NASDAQ: CWTR) cut its fourth quarter EPS outlook citing slower-than-expected customer traffic throughout holiday season. Wachovia said this is "not" company specific and is indicative of the weaker women's retail environment.
2. Buckingham had cautious/negative comments on Tween Brands this morning. The firm advised remaining Neutral, citing a lack of clarity on the timing of improved apparel trend in the company's Limited TOO stores. January sales have not picked up as expected, prompting an unplanned "Buy 1 Get 1 at 50% off" markdown which could create additional downside to the firm's most recent 4Q06 EPS estimate.

Tween Brands down -- Women's retail looking bleak originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Jan 2007 13:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.