Wall to Wall Street Coverage: Upgrades and Downgrades

• By Justin Sharon
• On 9:00 am EST, Tuesday November 10, 2009

Stocks surged, sending the S&P 500 up for a sixth straight session and propelling the Dow to a 13 month high, after a G-20 host became the market's Darling for a day. Equities and ironies enjoyed an equally auspicious day as, with shares on fire, a tobacco titan made moves to buy a smoking cessation company. East West Bancorp (EWBC) (+55.03%) went north while, in otherwise up activity, Sunoco (SUN) (-2.09%) and Sunrise Senior Living (SRZ) (-32.02%) each experienced an eclipse and Sun Microsystems (JAVA) is on edge after Europe issued objections to its proposed acquisition by Oracle (ORCL).

Gold gapped up to another new high and the Greenback is back at a 15 month trade weighted trough. See also Dollar Tops As Precious Metals Bottom. In another light day for macro data the shoutin' of Janet Yellen may attract more attention than usual when the Fed official opines on real estate and the economy in Arizona this morning. Expect earnings out of Atmos Energy (ATO), Beazer Homes (BZH), Clearwire (CLWR), Fossil (FOSL), Intercontinental Hotels (IHG), Vodafone (VOD), Tyco International (TYC), and Weight Watchers (WTW). And an iconic Street catering to kids celebrates a big day. Wall? No silly, Sesame.

Initiations

Cinemas: There could be gold in them thar silver screens after Regal Entertainment (RGC) and Cinemark (CNK) were each initiated at Overweight by JP Morgan.

Upgrades

Adobe Systems (ADBE): Adobe is upped at Janney Montgomery Scott to Buy from Neutral.

Polo Ralph Lauren (RL): The retailer gets added to Goldman Sachs' Americas Conviction Buy list.

Kroger (KR): The stock is also added to the Americas Conviction Buy list at Goldman.

Robert Half (RHI): No half measures for Robert Half, upgraded at Deutsche Bank to Hold from Sell. The price objective increases $3 to $26 from $23 on an improved risk profile.

Nordic American Tanker (NAT): JP Morgan raises its Nordic American Tanker rating to Neutral from Underweight.

Pan American Silver (PAAS): The miner gets a Buy-from-Hold boost by Canaccord Adams.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS): Deutsche Bank lifts Royal Bank of Scotland (Buy from Hold). This stock was covered in Todd Harrison's How Will 2009 End?

Talecris Biotherapeutics (TLCR): The stock is showing strength before the bell after analysts at Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Wells Fargo all initiated at Overweight/Outperform.

Health Management Associates (HMA): Argus upgrades Health Management Associates to Buy from Hold with a $10 target, as the stock stands to benefit from federal efforts to expand healthcare coverage.

Downgrades

Alcatel-Lucent (ALU): The stock is downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas due to valuation.

Coca-Cola Enterprises (KO): The beverage maker is removed from the Americas Conviction Buy list at Goldman, though the Buy rating remains intact.

BJ's Wholesale (BJ): The warehouse retailer is added to Goldman's Conviction Sell list.

GT Solar (SOLR): The stock gets cut to Underweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Energy Conversion (ENER): Citigroup downgrades Energy Conversion to Sell from Hold.

Nothing contained in this article is intended as a solicitation for business of any kind or for investment in the firm.

Buzz up!