Analysts' Upgrades and Downgrades

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Analysts' Upgrades, Downgrades: Wells

TSC Staff

Change in Ratings

Amylin (AMLN Quote) upgraded at Citigroup from Sell to Hold. $17 price target. Valuation call, as the company needs to see FDA approval of its LAR and the rejection of Novo's Iria for the stock to move higher.

Atmos Energy (ATO Quote) upgraded at Merrill to Neutral. $30 price target. Estimates also raised to reflect the company's increased regulatory outlook.

Avery Dennison (AVY Quote) downgraded at Credit Suisse to Neutral from Outperform based on weak end-market demand, FX headwinds and valuation. Lowered target price to $46 from $54.

Career Education (CECO Quote)upgraded at Morgan Stanley from Underweight to Equal-weight. $17 price target. Stock is down 22% over the past month, and pricing in poor fundamentals.

Dollar Tree (DLTR Quote) upgraded at JP Morgan from Neutral to Overweight. Company has strong sales momentum and a good balance sheet. Estimates also raised, aided by the repurchase program.

Jabil Circuit (JBL Quote) upgraded at Credit Suisse to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and low expectations. Lowered target price to $10.50 from $17.

Coca-Cola (KO Quote) downgraded at Deutsche from Buy to Hold. $56 price target. Company will face lower volumes across the board and negative currency effects in the coming quarters.

Monsanto (MON Quote) upgraded at JP Morgan from Neutral to Overweight. Fertilizer problems have been overblown, and estimates were raised through 2008 because of higher expected Roundup profits.

Piedmont Natural Gas (PNY Quote) downgraded at Merrill to Underperform. $29 price target. Valuation call, with the stock trading at a 44% premium to its peers.

Sanmina-SCI (SANM Quote) downgraded at Credit Suisse to Underperform from Neutral. Cites deteriorating economic outlook, negative channel checks and valuation. Lowered target price to $1.00 from $2.50.

Varian Medical (VAR Quote) downgraded at JP Morgan from Overweight to Neutral. Stock is already pricing in the company's strong market position. Macro outlook could hurt the entire industry.

Vulcan Materials (VMC Quote) downgraded at Goldman Sachs to Sell from Neutral based on valuation, weakness in U.S. state DOT budgets and exposure to US nonresidential markets. Lowered target price to $53 from $57.

Wells Fargo (WFC Quote) upgraded to Market Perform, Keefe Bruyette & Woods said. Scale from the Wachovia (WB Quote) purchase will make the company a stronger bank.

Strategy Calls/Market Calls

Blackbaud (BLKB Quote), Deltek (PROJ Quote) and VMware (VMW Quote) downgraded to Market Perform at Wachovia. Credit issues and the deteriorating economy continue to lead to negative channel checks.

Celestica (CLS Quote) and Benchmark Electronics (BHE Quote) were downgraded from Hold to Sell at Citigroup. No longer expect any organic sales growth in the industry next year, and excess capacity will breed increased competition.

Fairchild Semiconductor (FCS Quote) and RF Micro Devices (RFMD Quote) were downgraded to Sell at Citigroup. The rating on Intersil (ISIL Quote) was cut to hold, as field checks point to slower near-term sales.

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