Here is a list of this morning’s company upgrades, downgrades, and coverage initiations by brokerage firms with roughly 30 minutes until the opening bell.
Analyst Upgrades:
- Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suise
- Pinnacle West (NYSE:PNW) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan ; price target raised to $33 from $28
- NV Energy (NYSE:NVE) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan
- Cathay Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at B. Riley & Co.
- Leerink Swann raises its price target on Pharmasset, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRUS) to $27 from $18
- Roth Capital raises its price target on The Buckle (NYSE:BKE) to $39 from $34
- Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse
- FBR Capital raises its price target on Franklin Resource (NYSE:BEN) to $110 from $105
- Nu Skin (NYSE:NUS) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies & Co
- NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at ThinkEquity
- Spectra Energy (NYSE:SE) upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs
- Credit Suisse raises its price target on search giant Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) to $600 from $475
- USANA (NASDAQ:USNA) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies & Co
- LSI Logic (NYSE:LSI) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays Capital
- Patriot Coal (NYSE:PCX) upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital Markets
- Sybase (NYSE:SY) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Wedbush Morgan ; price target raised to $48 from $34
- Arena Resources (NYSE:ARD) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Morgan Keegan
- Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Cowen
- ShengdaTech (NASDAQ:SDTH) upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer ; price target set at $8
- Jesup & Lamont raises its price target on Transocean (NYSE:RIG) to $148 from $110
- Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird ; price target set at $84
- PetroChina (NYSE:PTR) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC Securities
- Brean Murray raises its price target on Bally Technologies (NYSE:BYI) to $53 from $48
- Savient Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:SVNT) upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer ; price target set at $17
- FirstMerit Corp (NASDAQ:FMER) upgraded to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer
- AK Steel (NYSE:AKS) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Securities ; price target raised to $22.50 from $19.50
Analyst Downgrades:
- Marriott (NYSE:MAR) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Soleil ; price target set at $28
- Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey
- China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (NYSE:SNP) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at HSBC Securities
- El Paso (NYSE:EP) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs
- Zimmer Holdings (NYSE:ZMH) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup
- Ralcorp Holdings (NYSE:RAH) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse
- Unisource Energy (NYSE:UNS) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan
- Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs
- Marriot (NYSE:MAR) downgraded to Negative from Neutral at Susquehanna Financial
- OdysseyRe (NYSE:ORH) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets
- Starwood Hotels (NYSE:HOT) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Soleil ; price target set at $35
- Limited (NYSE:LTD) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Soleil ; price target raised to $15.50 from $13
- Ceragon (NASDAQ:CRNT) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jesup & Lamont
- Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) downgraded to Market Weight from Overweight at Thomas Weisel
- Supervalu (NYSE:SVU) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays Capital
Coverage Initiated:
- Juniper Networks (NASDAQ:JNPR) initiated with a Hold and a $26 price target at Auriga U.S.A
- Vanguard Natural Resources (NYSE:VNR) initiated with a Buy at Wunderlich ; price target set at $18.50
- Lime Energy (NASDAQ:LIME) initiated with a Buy at Canaccord Adams
- Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) initiated with a Outperform at RBC Capital Markets
- Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE:NWL) initiated with a Outperform at RBC Capital Markets
- Franklin Covery (NYSE:FC) initiated with a Buy at ThinkEquity
- Inter Parfums (NASDAQ:IPAR) initiated with a Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets
- Seahawk Drilling (NASDAQ:HAWK) initiated with a Buy at Natixis Bleichroeder
- Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) initiated with a Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets
- Bally Technologies (NYSE:BYI) initiated with a Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott
- Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) initiated with a Market Perform at Wells Fargo
- Bristol-Myers (NYSE:BMY) initiated with a Outperform at Wells Fargo
- CRH Plc. (NYSE:CRH) initiated with a Buy at Deutsche Securities
- Stewart Enterprises (NASDAQ:STEI) initiated with a Buy and a $6.50 price target at Soleil
- Tenaris (NYSE:TS) initiated with a Buy at UBS
- Cree (NASDAQ:CREE) initiated with an Overweight JP Morgan
- Sandy Spring Banc (NASDAQ:SASR) initiated with a Neutral at Sterne Agee
- Globe Specialty Metals (NYSE:GSM) initiated with a Outperform and $11 price target at Credit Suisse
- China Natural Gas (NASDAQ:CHNG) initiated with a Buy and $18 price target at Roth Capital
- Standard Parking (NASDAQ:STAN) initiated with a Neutral and $19 price target at Robert W. Baird
- Atheros Communications (NASDAQ:ATHR) initiated with a Market Perform and a $30 price target at FBR Capital
- Dean Foods (NYSE:DF) initiated with a Hold at KeyBanc Capital Markets
On the news front this morning:
- The Wall Street Journal reports the FDIC is questioning the generally positive conclusions in a government-mandated review of Citigroup’s (NYSE:C) top management, according to people familiar with the situation. Some officials at the agency have expressed doubts about the rigor of the report, which was based partly on interviews of Citigroup executives who were asked to rate the effectiveness of their colleagues, these people said. While the findings still are being reviewed, the skeptical reaction could cause the FDIC to give the report little weight during the next regulatory assessment of the New York firm’s management. The report awarded strong overall marks to Citigroup’s management team and to Chief Executive Vikram Pandit in particular, according to people familiar with the matter.
- The Wall Street Journal report U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed for the first time in four months in August, with exports rising to their highest level of the year and imports easing despite higher oil prices. U.S. exports in August rose 0.2% to $128.22 billion from $128.00 billion the previous month. Exports were at their highest level since reaching $132.92 billion in December. Imports registered their first decline since May, meanwhile, falling 0.6% to $158.93 billion from $159.85 billion.
- Bloomberg reports President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in a surprise pick from a committee that cited the president’s creation of a “new climate in international politics” and “extraordinary efforts” to strengthen global diplomacy and cooperation less than a year after taking office.
