Analysts' Upgrades and Downgrades

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Analysts' Upgrades, Downgrades: Google

TSC Staff

CHANGE IN RATINGS

Apple (AAPL Quote) upgraded at Oppenheimer to Outperform from Perform following disclosure about CEO's health. Believes this will allay concerns about an unplanned leadership change. Raised target price to $135.

Ciena (CIEN Quote) upgraded at Barclays from Equal-weight to Overweight. $10 price target. Valuation call, as the next generation of products due out later this year could help the company gain market share.

Devon Energy (DVN Quote) downgraded at Barclays from Overweight to Equal-weight. $82 price target. Becoming more cautious on the entire sector, and the company has a light hedging position.

Google (GOOG Quote) upgraded at Merriman to Neutral from Sell. Cites expectations have come down and now in line with estimates. Still sees weakness in search volume and CPC's. Google estimates cut at Bernstein. 2009 EPS estimate cut to $20 a share. Expect the macro environment to weigh further on keyword pricing. Outperform rating.

Garmin (GRMN Quote) downgraded at Goldman Sachs to Sell from Neutral based on potential multiyear decline in personal navigation devices. Note that shares appear attractively valued, but trough multiples are likely to see lower levels and stock could be a value trap. Target cut to $15 from $21.

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE Quote) downgraded at Goldman to Neutral from Buy due to year-over-year decline in OTC commissions. Believe declining trading volumes, especially in energy-based products, could be temporary, but prefer Neutral stance until further evidence emerges. Price target lowered to $80 from $100.

Intersil (ISIL Quote) downgraded at J.P. Morgan to Neutral from Overweight due to compressed margins and limited positive catalysts for the stock. Checks indicate low visibility into semiconductor companies and believe company could lose market share in computing segment due to price competition. Price target at $7.

Itron (ITRI Quote) downgraded at J.P. Morgan to Neutral from Overweight based on valuation. Shares are up 92% from Nov. 20 low and now trade at 20 times 2009 estimates, slightly below 5-year average. Price target at $65.50.

JA Solar (JASO Quote) downgraded at Collins Stewart to Hold from Buy based on valuation. Market-cap is now above its book value. Maintained $4 target price.

Medtronic (MDT Quote) downgraded at Leerink Swann to Market Perform. Despite the potential for double-digit annual earnings growth, as recent execution has been poor and the company lacks near-term catalysts.

YRC Worldwide (YRCW Quote) upgraded at Wachovia from Underperform to Market Perform. Valuation call, especially since the Teamsters should agree to labor concessions today.