Upgrades and Downgrades (T, BMS, DO, PTEN, RNST, SNY, AMMD, GIB, EL, EBTX, ESI, LPS, PNSN, TE, TEVA, WL)

Published on Monday, 26 July 2010 07:42 Written by Danny Miller

New York, July 26th (TradersHuddle.com) – Following are some of the top upgrades and downgrades before the market open.

Upgrades:

AT&T (NYSE:T), the communications company owner of the second wireless network in the U.S., was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank, following last week’s earnings report.

Bemis (NYSE:BMS), the U.S. largest flexible packaging maker, was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Diamond Offshore (NYSE:DO), the deep-water oil and natural gas driller, was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Bernstein.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN), the land based driller, was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Jefferies

Renasant (NASDAQ:RNST), the provider of banking and insurance services, was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Wunderlich. The firm raised its target price to $20 from $15 noting on Friday, Renasant announced its first FDIC-assisted acquisition of this cycle, expanding into Georgia and increasing in size by 30%. Additionally, the company announced the completion of a $55 million private placement of equity to support the significant addition to its balance sheet as well as future growth opportunities.

Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:SNY), the Paris, France based global pharmaceutical company, was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Jefferies. The stock fell last week on reports its looking to acquire Genzyme  (NASDAQ:GENZ).

Downgrades:

American Medical Systems Holdings (NASDAQ:AMMD), the provider of medical devices to physicians specializing in the treatment of urological disorders, was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo.

CGI Group (NYSE:GIB), the independent IT and business process services firm, was downgraded to a Hold from Buy at Canaccord.

Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL), the skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products company, was downgraded to Underperform from Perform at Oppenheimer ahead of the August 12th release of fiscal fourth quarter results. The analyst said he is concern with a number of macro headwinds, including a sluggish consumer and strong U.S. dollar.

Encore Bancshares (NASDAQ:EBTX) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette.

ITT Educational (NYSE:ESI), the provider of technology-oriented postsecondary degree programs, was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Lender Processing Services (NYSE:LPS), the mortgage processing and default management outsourcing services provider, was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer saying the level of seriously delinquent loans and foreclosure inventory remain extraordinarily high and continue to age. The company’s default revenue opportunity hasn't appreciably changed.

Penson Worldwide (NASDAQ:PNSN), the provider of securities clearing, margin lending, and other related services to the brokerage industry, was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at JMP Securities.

TECO Energy (NYSE:TE), the retail electricity provider in Central Florida, was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at FBR Capital- based on valuation. TECO was also downgraded to a Neutral from Buy at Suntrust.

Teva Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:TEVA), the largest generic drug maker in the world, was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein.

Wilmington Trust (NYSE:WL), the multi-bank holding company, was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Macquarie.