Up/Downgrades (AXL, CVE, PSUN, STBZ, WNR, CREE, EXPE, NRG, PM, STFC, SXL, TSLA, THQI, VLO)

Published on Thursday, 08 December 2011 08:41 Written by Danny Miller

New York, December 8^th (TradersHuddle.com) – Following are some of the top upgrades and downgrades before the market open.

Upgrades

American Axle (NYSE:AXL), the maker of driveline systems, was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ:PSUN), the specialty retailer rooted in the California lifestyle catering to teenagers and young adults, was upgraded to a Neutral from Underweight at Piper Jaffray.

State Bank Financial (NASDAQ:STBZ) was upgraded to a Buy from Neutral at SunTrust. 

Western Refining (NYSE:WNR) was upgraded to Top Pick from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.

Downgrades

Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ:CREE), the maker of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting, and semiconductor solutions for wireless and power applications, was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE), the owner of Expedia.com and Hotels.com, was downgraded to a Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) was downgraded to a Neutral from Buy at UBS.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM), the tobacco company maker of Marlboro cigarettes, was downgraded to a Neutral from Buy at Nomura.

State Auto Financial (NASDAQ:STFC) was upgraded to a Buy from Neutral at Janney Capital Markets. 

Sunoco Logistics (NYSE:SXL) was downgraded to a Neutral from Buy at Bank of America Merrill. 

Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA), the maker of electric vehicles and advanced electric vehicle power train components, was downgraded to Underweight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

THQ Inc (NASDAQ:THQI) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at Pacific Crest and to a Hold from Buy at Brean Murray.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO), the independent petroleum refining and marketing company, was downgraded to Outperform from Top Pick at RBC Capital Markets.