Below is a list of analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations in Wall Street research calls this Tuesday morning with roughly 45 minutes until the market opens.
Analyst Upgrades:
- Oplink Communications (NASDAQ:OPLK) upgraded to Overweight from Market Weight at Thomas Weisel
- Roth Capital raises its price target on Netezza (NYSE:NZ) to $15 from $14
- ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) upgraded to Buy from Hold and a $60 price target at Hold at Collins Stewart
- Meteor Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:METR) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney Montgomery Scott
- Roth Capital raised its target on Informatica (NASDAQ:INFA) to $25 from $21 following the firm’s positive checks on the co.
- Jefferies Group (NYSE:JEF) upgraded to Market Perform from Market Underperform at JMP Securities
- PNC Bank (NYSE:PNC) upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at FBR Capital ; price target raised to $43 from $30
- FBR Capital raises its price target on Microsemi (NASDAQ:MSCC) to $22 from $20
- NY Comm Bancrp (NYSE:NYB) upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at FBR Capital ; price target raised to $10 from $9
- US Bancorp (NYSE:USB) upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at FBR Capital ; price target raised to $21 from $14
- Crucell NV (NASDAQ:CRXL) upgraded to Hold from Sell at ING Group
- City National (NYSE:CYN) upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at FBR Capital ; price target raised to $37 from $28
- RRI Energy (NYSE:RRI) raised to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs
- Huntington Banc (NASDAQ:HBAN) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital; price target raised to $5 from $4
- Phillips-Van Heusen (NYSE:PVH) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Bank of America/Merrill
- Altra Holdings (NASDAQ:AIMC) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies
- Eaton (NYSE:ETN) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays Capital ; price target raised to $60 from $40
- Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays Capital ; price target raised to $35 from $22
- Telefonica (NYSE:TEF) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Exane BNP Paribas
- MCG Capital (NASDAQ:MCGC) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel Nicolaus ; price target set at $6
- Athenahealth (NASDAQ:ATHN) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral to Robert W. Baird ; price target raised to $46 from $37
- Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs
- Deutsche Bank raises its price target on JC Penney (NYSE:JCP) to $40 from $38
- Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays Capital ; price target raised to $55 from $38
- FBR Capital raises its price target on KKR Financial (NYSE:KFN) to $6.25 from $4 after firm meets with the co.’s management
- Modine Manufacturing (NYSE:MOD) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird ; price target raised to $11 from $7
- Thomas & Betts (NYSE:TNB) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays Capital ; price target raised to $35 from $30
- Kaufman raises its price target on Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) to $54 from $50
- Astoria Financial (NYSE:AF) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays Capital ; price target raised to $14 from $12
Analyst Downgrades:
- Western Refining (NYSE:WNR) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Soleil ; price target seat at $8
- Affiliated Computer (NYSE:ACS) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel Nicolus ; price target set at $53
- MBIA Inc. and MBIA Insurance (NYSE:MBI) downgraded at S&P
- Synovus (NYSE:SNV) downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital ; price target lowered to $2.50 from $3 based on risk/reward imbalances
- Sequenom (NASDAQ:SQNM) price target cut to $0.50 from $3 at Caris
- Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs
- AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS
- AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Collins Stewart
- Great Plains Energy (NYSE:GXP) downgraded t0 Buy from Conviction Buy at Goldman Sachs
- ProLogis (NYSE:PLD) downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer
- Anglo American (OTC:AAUKY.PK) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Societe General
- Anglogold (NYSE:AU) downgraded to Neutral from Buy UBS
Coverage Initiated:
- Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) initiated with a Buy and $12.50 price target at Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey
- Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) initiated with a Buy at Collins Stewart
- Ocwen Financial (NYSE:OCN) initiated with an Overweight and a $15 price target at Barclays Capital
- Greenhill (NYSE:GHL) initiated with a Hold at Collins Stewart
- ITT Educational (NYSE:ESI) initiated with a Perform at Oppenheimer
- Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) initiated with a Buy and a $61 price target at Citigroup
- Mueller Water (NYSE:MWA) initiated with a Neutral at Goldman Sachs
- Evercore (NYSE:EVR) initiated with a Hold at Collins Stewart
- Dr Pepper Snapple (NYSE:DPS) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup
- Dean Foods (NYSE:DF) initiated with a Hold and a $16 price target at Collins Stewart
- Diedrich Coffee (NASDAQ:DDRX) initiated with a Buy and a $35 price target at Roth Capital
- Home Prop of NY (NYSE:HME) initiated with a Neutral and a $40 price target at Robert W. Baird
- First Niagara (NASDAQ:FNFG) initiated with an Overweight and a $16 price target at Barclays Capital
- SmartHeat (NASDAQ:HEAT) initiated with a Outperform at William Blair
- MasterCard (NYSE:MA) initiated with a Positive at Susquehanna Financial
- Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CLDX) initiated with a Strong Buy and a $10 price target at WBB Securities
- Capella Education (NASDAQ:CPLA) initiated with an Outperform and a $18 price target at Oppenheimer
- Strayer Education (NASDAQ:STRA) initiated with an Outperform and a $250 price target at Oppenheimer
On the news front this morning:
- NY Post reports: “Hedge-fund maestro John Paulson is tossing about a plan to save troubled lender CIT Group (NYSE:CIT) through a merger with IndyMac Federal Bank, according to people familiar with the situation. Paulson is part of a group that bought the failed IndyMac from the FDIC earlier this year. He also holds debt in CIT Group. Sources described a merger between the two banks as one of several of options being bandied about to help fix CIT, which has been buffeted by the financial crisis and nearly collapsed this spring.”
