Friday's Analysts' Upgrades and Downgrades
CHANGE IN RATINGS
Aegaen Marine
(ANW)
initiated at Jefferies with a Buy rating. Price target starts at $42 with 2008 EPS estimates at $1.72.
Avery Dennison
(AVY) - Get Report
downgraded at Baird from Outperform to Neutral. $64 price target. Visit with management confirms near-term concerns of lower high-end clear film sales and surprise weakness in Europe.
American Express
(AXP) - Get Report
downgraded at Merrill Lynchfrom Buy to Neutral. Estimates also cut, because of slower expected US growth.
Church & Dwight
(CHD) - Get Report
initiated at UBS with Neutral rating. Price target starts at $48 with 2008 EPS estimates at $2.68.
Calamos Asset Management
(CLMS)
upgraded at Credit Suisse to Outperform from Neutral based on improved fund performance and net flow expectations. Raised target price to $29 from $27.
Fifth Third Bancorp
(FITB) - Get Report
upgraded to Market Perform at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. $35 price target. Valuation has fallen in-line with peers, but estimates were also cut because of rising credit costs.
Fluor
(FLR) - Get Report
downgraded at Citigroup from Buy to Hold. $137 price target. Valuation call. Company has done well despite declining natural gas prices.
FMC Technologies
(FTI) - Get Report
initiated at Jefferies with a Buy rating. Price target starts at $62 with 2008 EPS estimates at $2.75.
Georgia Gulf
(GGC)
upgraded at Credit Suisse to Neutral from Underperform as stock essentially reached its target price -- dropping more than 20% since May. Maintained $14 target.
Imclone
(IMCL)
downgraded at Friedman, Billings Ramsey to Market Perform. $45 price target. Expect lower lung cancer sales for Erbitux, following doctor feedback to recent data.
Intel
(INTC) - Get Report
downgraded at Merrill Lynch to Neutral. Valuation call, though the company's fundamentals and competitive positioning remain strong.
Palm
( PALM) upgraded at Morgan Keegan to Outperform. Market sentiment appears too negative ahead of new product launches. Channel checks also show surprising strength at Sprint.
PG&E
(PCG) - Get Report
upgraded at Morgan Stanley from equalweight to overweight and takes price target from $44 to $52
Roper Industries
(ROP) - Get Report
downgraded at Friedman, Billings Ramsey from Outperform to Market Perform. $66 price target. Valuation call, although the strong fundamental thesis remains intact.
United Technologies
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upgraded at Bernstein to Outperform. $91 price target. 2008 estimates also raised, as margins should continue to improve at Carrier and Sikorsky.