Up/Downgrades (DB, FLR, HSY, IFF, MWV, MS, NFX, VECO, WMT, WDC, HCN, SPG, TGT, TX, VTR, VNO, WAG)

Published on Monday, 21 November 2011 08:45 Written by Danny Miller

New York, November 21^st (TradersHuddle.com) – Following are some of the top upgrades and downgrades before the market open.

Upgrades

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC Securities.

Fluor Corp. (NYSE:FLR), the engineering company, was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at BB&T.

Hershey Foods (NYSE:HSY), the chocolate maker, was upgraded to a Buy from Neutral at Ticonderoga. The firm set its target price at $66.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

MeadWestvaco (NYSE:MWV), the global packaging company, was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital Markets.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), the operator of a global securities business, was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Collins Stewart.

Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX), the independent oil and natural gas producer operating in USA, the North Sea, and Asia, was upgraded to a Neutral from Underperform at Bank of America Merrill.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at ThinkEquity.

Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), the world’s largest retailer, was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Western Digital (NYSE:WDC), the maker of hard drives for computers and entertainment systems, was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

Downgrades

Health Care REIT (NYSE:HCN) was downgraded to a Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG), the retail properties REIT, was downgraded to a Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Target (NYSE:TGT), the Minnesota based general merchandise discount store chain, was downgraded to a Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.

Ternium S.A. (NYSE:TX) was downgraded to a Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR), the senior housing and skilled nursing facilities REIT, was downgraded to a Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO), the office and retail properties REIT, was downgraded to a Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Walgreens (NYSE:WAG), the operator of retail drugstores offering pharmacy services and general merchandise was downgraded to Underweight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.