Up/Downgrades (AA, APEI, ACAT, ECL, GTE, HPQ, HIBB, PEG, PII, SLM, SPWRA, SWFT, UA, YGE, ETN, EGO, IR, MSFT, NWY, NWSA, YZC)

Published on Monday, 22 August 2011 08:18 Written by Danny Miller

New York, August 22^nd (TradersHuddle.com) – Following are some of the top upgrades and downgrades before the market open.

Upgrades

Alcoa (NYSE:AA), the aluminum producer, was upgraded to a Buy from Neutral at Davenport.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital.

Artic Cat (NASDAQ:ACAT) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird. The firm set its target price at $21.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL), the maker and provider of cleaning, sanitizing, pest control, maintenance and repair products and services, was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Citigroup.

Gran Tierra Energy (NYSE:GTE) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital.

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ), the world’s largest PC maker, was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Auriga USA, following last week’s rout on weak outlook and announcement that it will spin off its PC business and halt its WebOS devices business.

Hibbett Sporting (NASDAQ:HIBB) was upgraded to a Strong Buy from Buy at Needham. The firm raised its target price to $47 from $45.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG), the Utility Company operating in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Citigroup.

Polaris Industries (NYSE:PII), the maker of snowmobiles, all terrain vehicles, motorcycles, and personal watercraft, was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird. The firm set its target price at $130.

SLM Corp. (NYSE:SLM), the student loan Company also known as Sallie Mae, was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Sunpower (NASDAQ:SPWRA) was upgraded to a Hold from Sell at Auriga USA. The firm set its target price at $14.

Swift Transportation (NYSE:SWFT) was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Capstone.

Under Armour (NYSE:UA), the performance apparel, footwear and accessories maker, was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Capstone.

Yingli Green Energy (NYSE:YGE), the China based photovoltaic modules maker, was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray, following quarterly results last week. Yingli was also upgraded to a to Neutral from Underweight at HSBC Securities.

Downgrades

Eaton (NYSE:ETN), the diversified power management company, was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at Atlantic Equities.

Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO), the Canadian gold miner with operations in Turkey, China, Greece and Brazil, was downgraded to a Buy from Action List Buy at TD Newcrest.

Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE:IR), the maker of industrial air compressed systems, was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at Atlantic Equities.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), the world’s largest software publisher, was downgraded to a Neutral from Buy at Davenport.

New York & Co. (NYSE:NWY) was downgraded to a Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWSA), the media company owner of the Fox News Channel and the Wall Street Journal, was downgraded to a Hold from Buy at Needham based on rising risk profile.

Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. (NYSE:YZC) was downgraded to a Neutral from Overweight at HSBC Securities.