Up/Downgrades (CNQ, C, COP, CTRP, CBST, DLR, HFWA, IEX, MGM, NSM, PNR, KWK, SLG, TSM, ADI, MXIM, MERU, NKA, OXY, PACW)

Published on Tuesday, 05 April 2011 07:55 Written by Danny Miller

New York, April 5^th (TradersHuddle.com) – Following are some of the top upgrades and downgrades before the market open.

Upgrades

Canadian Natural (NYSE:CNQ), the Calgary, Alberta based independent crude oil and natural gas producer, was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Citigroup (NYSE:C), the third largest U.S. bank, was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), the third largest U.S. energy producer, was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Ctrip.com (NASDAQ:CTRP) was upgraded to a Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna.

Cubist Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CBST) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird. The firm raised its target price to $35 from $22, expecting a strong open in the high $20s on major de-risking but would be buyers into the low $30s as it believes there can be residual gains as the Street works through fine points of the Cubicin settlement.

Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at FBR Capital. The firm set its target price at $61, as it feels the company offers a compelling relative value versus a suburban office REIT, given its 10%+ earnings growth prospects in 2011-2012.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette. The firm set its target price at $19.

IDEX Corp (NYSE:IEX) was upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer. The firm set its target price at $53, noting solid organic growth opportunities driven by leading niche market positions, favorable secular/cyclical trends and international penetration; strong balance sheet and cash flow that it expects to support a robust acquisition pipeline and potential upside to estimates from any Dispensing project activity not currently baked into its estimates.

MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM), the hospitality and gaming Company owner of properties like the Bellagio and MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV, was upgraded to a Neutral from Sell at Janney Capital Markets. The firm set its target price at $14.

National Semiconductors (NYSE:NSM), the provider of analog and mixed-signal technologies for systems on a chip, was upgraded to a Hold from Sell at Citigroup, following bid from Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN).

Pentair (NYSE:PNR), the maker of filtration and water related products, was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Citigroup.

Quicksilver (NYSE:KWK), the Fort Worth, Texas based natural gas and oil exploration and production Company, was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital.

SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at FBR Capital. The firm raised its target price to $79 from $74.

Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Downgrades

Analog Devices (NYSE:ADI), the maker of integrated circuits for instrumentation, Maxim Integrated (NASDAQ:MXIM), the maker of linear and mixed-signal integrated circuits, and Meru Networks (NASDAQ:MERU) were downgraded to a Neutral from Outperform at Cowen.

Niska Gas Storage (NYSE:NKA) was downgraded to a Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY), the crude oil and natural gas producer based in Los Angeles, CA, was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital.

PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ:PACW) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette. The firm set its target price at $23.