Microsoft: Analysts' Upgrades, Downgrades

See who made what calls.

Author:
Publish date:: Oct 26, 2009 10:05 AM EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- CHANGE IN RATINGS

Aecom Technology

upgraded at Morgan Stanley from Equal-weight to Overweight. $33 price target. Company has strong exposure to stimulus spending.

Aeropostale

(ARO)

initiated at Credit Suisse on ARO with a Neutral rating and $41 price target. 2010 and 2011 EPS introduced at $3.24 and $3.51, respectively.

Gentex

(GNTX) - Get Report

upgraded at Wells to Outperform. Prices and margins should begin to show significant improvement by 2011.

H&R Block

(HRB) - Get Report

downgraded at Morgan Stanley from Equal-weight to Underweight. Company is facing secular pressures that could worsen next year.

Hubbell

(HUBB) - Get Report

upgraded at Barclays to Overweight from Equal Weight after huge 3Q beat. Price target to $54 from $47. 2009 and 2010 EPS estimates increased to $3.00 from $2.65 and to $3.10 from $2.65, respectively.

Intuit

(INTU) - Get Report

initiated at Barclays with an Overweight rating and $37 price target as shares are an attractive cyclical recovery play. 2010 and 2011 EPS estimates introduced at $1.97 and $2.31, respectively.

Pitney Bowes

(PBI) - Get Report

downgraded at Goldman from Neutral to Sell. $24 price target. Estimates also lowered, to reflect shrinking margins.

Urban Outfitters

(URBN) - Get Report

initiated at Credit Suisse with a Neutral rating and $33 price target. 2010 and 2011 EPS estimates set at $1.17 and $1.42, respectively.

Washington Federal

(WFSL)

upgraded at Barclays to Overweight from Underweight. Maintain 2009 EPS estimate at $0.49, 2010 raised to $0.68 from $0.33. Price target surged to $21 from $13.

Wausau Paper

(WPP) - Get Report

initiated at Merrill/BofA with a Buy rating and $12 price target. A differentiated paper play leveraged to economic recovery, mentioned Merrill/BofA. 2009 and 2010 EPS estimates set at $0.46 and $0.55, respectively.

STOCK COMMENTS / EPS CHANGES

Astoria Financial

(AF)

numbers raised at FBR. Estimates were increased through 2010. Company is seeing signs of credit improvement. Underperform rating and $10 price target.

Becton Dickinson

(BDX) - Get Report

numbers lowered at Goldman through 2011. Company is being hurt by currency and pricing pressures. Sell rating and new $65 price target.

Biogen Idec

(BIIB) - Get Report

price target cut at Barclays. Price target to $45 from $52 on PML risk. Maintain 2009 and 2010 EPS estimates at $3.88 and $4.47, respectively. Reiterate Equal Weigh rating.

Bucyrus

(BUCY)

estimates raised at Morgan Stanley through 2011. New orders were up sequentially and the book-to-bill was up significantly.

Capital One

(COF) - Get Report

estimates increased at Citigroup through 2011. Company cut its loan loss provision and is seeing a higher net interest margin. Buy rating and $44 price target.

Carter's

(CRI) - Get Report

estimates, target boosted at Goldman through 2010. Company is seeing stronger demand. Neutral rating and new $31 price target.

Danaher

(DHR) - Get Report

price target higher at Barclays to $88 from $84 on strong 2010 Guidance. Maintain 2009 and 2010 EPS estimates at $3.40 and $4.10, respectively. Reiterate Overweight rating.

Dover

(DOV) - Get Report

estimates, target raised at Morgan Stanley. Shares of DOV now seen reaching $38. Estimates also boosted, as the company should be able to build upon its recent earnings momentum. Overweight rating.

Express Scripts

(ESRX)

price target higher at Barclays to $92 from $84. 2009 EPS estimate lifted by a penny to $3.56, 2010 raised to $4.65 from $4.60. Maintain Equal Weight rating.

Garmin

(GRMN) - Get Report

cut from Conviction Sell list at Goldman Sachs. Unit trends are improving, which should drive better results the next couple of quarters. $27 price target.

Honeywell

(HON) - Get Report

numbers lowered at FBR. Shares of HON now seen reaching $37. Estimates also cut to reflect pension costs. Market Perform rating.

Ingersoll-Rand

(IR) - Get Report

numbers raised at Citigroup. Shares of IR now seen reaching $40. Estimates also boosted, to reflect cost-cutting and lower debt levels. Buy rating.

Joy Global

(JOYG)

price target lifted at Barclays to $64 from $60. Maintain 2009 EPS estimate at $4.20, 2010 increased to $2.90 from $2.75. Reiterate Overweight rating.

Joy Global

(JOYG)

estimates raised at Morgan Stanley through 2011. Company is seeing better margins and a lower sales decline in the Surface segment.

Kellogg

(K) - Get Report

estimates, target boosted at Morgan Stanley. K estimates were increased through 2011. Buyback should add to earnings, and is a sign of strong underlying momentum. Overweight rating and new $60 price target.

Medco Health

(MHS)

price target higher at Barclays. MHS price target raised to $62 from $60 ahead of 3Q results. 2009 and 2010 EPS estimates set at $2.80 and $3.27, respectively. Overweight rating.

Monsanto

(MON)

estimates, target reduced at Goldman. MON estimates were cut through 2011. Company is seeing a more moderate pricing environment. Neutral rating and new $81 price target.

Microsoft

(MSFT) - Get Report

price target raised at Merrill/BofA. MSFT price target increased to $34 from $26.50 on Win 7 potential. 2010 and 2011 EPS estimates set at $1.87 and $2.07, respectively. Maintain Buy rating.

Microsoft

(MSFT) - Get Report

price target boosted at Barclays to $31 from $20 on Windows & demand and margins. 2010 EPS estimate raised to $1.87 from $1.56, 2011 introduced at $2.08. Reiterate Equal Weight rating.

Microsoft

(MSFT) - Get Report

target raised at Morgan Stanley. Shares now seen reaching $33. Strong quarter sets pace for further upside potential. Overweight rating.

Philip Morris

(PM) - Get Report

numbers raised at Citigroup. Shares now seen reaching $56. Estimates also boosted, to reflect currency gains. Buy rating.

Schlumberger

(SLB) - Get Report

price target raised at Credit Suisse to $72 from $63 after solid 3Q results. Maintain Neutral rating. 2009 EPS estimate up by a penny to $2.76, 2010 raised to $2.80 from $2.50.

Whirlpool

(WHR) - Get Report

estimates increased at Citigroup through 2011. Company is seeing better sales in Latin America and Asia. Hold rating and $70 price target.

This article was written by a staff member of TheStreet.com.