Upgrades and Downgrades (ANF, CDXS, CMA, GPS, MEOH, NVE, UBS, ASML, CPL, DGIT, GPRE, RAX, ROST)

Published on Tuesday, 31 August 2010 07:33 Written by Danny Miller

New York, August 31^st (TradersHuddle.com) – Following are some of the top upgrades and downgrades before the market open.

Upgrades:

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF), the specialty retailer, was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital.

Codexis (NASDAQ:CDXS) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray. The firm set a target price of $12 per share.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA), the financial services holding company based in Dallas, Texas, was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird. The firm set a target price of $42 following recent price weakness. They see credit trends improving and balance sheet trends are promising versus peers.

Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS), the owner and operator of specialty retailers like Banana Republic and Old Navy, was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH), the methanol producer, was upgraded to a Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James. The firm set a target price of $25.

NV Energy (NYSE:NVE) was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Wunderlich. The firm set a target price of $14.50 citing the approaching earnings power of the Harry Allen power plant in 2012, and balanced regulation in Nevada, they believe valuation is compelling at less than 10 times earnings.

UBS (NYSE:UBS), the Swiss bank, was upgraded to a Buy from Neutral at Nomura.

Downgrades

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML), the provider of lithography systems for the semiconductor industry, was downgraded to a Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.

CPFL Energia (NYSE:CPL) was downgraded to a Sell from Neutral at UBS.

DG FastChannel (NASDAQ:DGIT) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merriman saying they believe barriers to entry have diminished, market share losses will accelerate in 2011, pricing could decline faster than expected, and HD uptake could take longer than expected. They are lowering their estimates to reflect more pronounced seasonality in 3Q10 but also anticipated market share losses and pricing declines during 2011.

Green Plains Renewable Energy (NASDAQ:GPRE) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray. The firm set a target price of $11.

Rackspace Hosting (NYSE:RAX) was downgraded to a Hold from Buy at The Benchmark Company. The firm set a target price of $22 due to acquisition activity, specifically the cloud-driven bidding war for 3PAR. The firm says while Rackspace is a possible takeover target, potential acquirers have alternatives and the firm has no reason to believe a sale is imminent. Given a weakening economy and a volatile stock, they believe the risk/reward ratio has turned neutral.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST), the off-price apparel retailer, was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray. The firm set a target price of $52 per share.