Up/Downgrades (ASH, BTI, CNX, TFM, ICE, LPL, MFC, MCP, NTGR, PCX, BTU, RDK, WFM, CPRT, GTIV, D, LINTA, MDMD, RIMM, OSK, SWKS, SYT, WLT)

Published on Monday, 20 June 2011 08:16 Written by Danny Miller

New York, June 20^th (TradersHuddle.com) – Following are some of the top upgrades and downgrades before the market open.

Upgrades

Ashland (NYSE:ASH), the maker of specialty chemicals and performance products, was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at RBS.

Consol Energy (NYSE:CNX), the largest U.S. producer of high-BTU bituminous coal, was upgraded to a Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Fresh Market (NASDAQ:TFM) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan. The firm raised its target price to $42 from $33.

IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE:ICE), the global operator of commodity marketplaces, was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Jefferies.

LG Display (NYSE:LPL) was upgraded to a Neutral from Sell at Ticonderoga. The firm notes that given the sharp sell off in the stock price in recent weeks, it has left company trading near tangible book value. Although the firm expects the LCD panel market to remain challenged throughout 2011, the stock has already fallen by 26% thus far this year and the firm believes the bulk of the decline has already been experienced.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC), the Canadian based financial services group, was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at TD Newcrest.

Molycorp (NYSE:MCP), the owner of the world’s largest non-Chinese rare earth metals deposits, was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray. The firm set its target price at $73.

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Patriot Coal (NYSE:PCX), the operator of coalmines in Central and Northern Appalachia and the Illinois Basin, was upgraded to a Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs. The firm added the stock to its coveted Conviction Buy List.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU), the coal producer with worldwide operations, was upgraded to a Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Ruddick Corp. (NYSE:RDK) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital.

Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM), the owner and operator of organic and natural food supermarkets, was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital.

Downgrades

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) was downgraded to a Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Gentiva Health Services (NASDAQ:GTIV) was downgraded to a Neutral from Outperform at Robert W. Baird. The lowered its target price to $23 from $35.

Dominion (NYSE:D), the utility company serving the Mid-Atlantic region, was downgraded to a Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Liberty Media (NASDAQ:LINTA) was downgraded to a Hold from Buy at Citigroup. The firm removed the stock from Top Picks Live List.

MediaMind Technologies (NASDAQ:MDMD) was downgraded to a Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), the maker of the Blackberry smartphone, was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

Oshkosh Truck (NYSE:OSK), the maker of heavy duty all wheel drive defense or military trucks, aircraft or emergency rescue and firefighting vehicles, was downgraded to a Sell from Buy at The Benchmark Company. The firm lowered its target price to $20 from $45. The firm believes the company is facing challenges in ramping up FMTV production based on discussions with Washington sources. The firm said that this ramp up challenges will likely lead to downside in full year 2011/2012 estimates.

Skyworks (NASDAQ:SWKS) was downgraded to a Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Syngenta (NYSE:SYT) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Walter Energy (NYSE:WLT), the Florida based producer of metallurgical, steam, and industrial coal, was downgraded to a Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.