Analyst calls: HOTT, GYMB, DRL, ID, AWC, AMED, PAY, DCM, GPRO, BSX

Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Boston Scientific (BSX), Analyst initiations, VeriFone Holdings (PAY)

• Societe General upgraded BASF AG (OTC: BASFY) to Buy from Hold. The firm believes the bad news is out and that BASF has a strong market position.
  


• Pali Capital upgraded Hot Topic (NASDAQ: HOTT) to Buy from Neutral based on the ongoing merchandise catalyst, the opportunity to reclaim the mainstream kid and closing underperforming stores, which create the most favorable conditions in the last 5+ years.
  


• Stanford upgraded L-1 Identity (NYSE: ID) to Buy from Hold on valuation, and the firm sees little risk to the company from the Obama Administration.


• Gymboree (NASDAQ: GYMB) and Windstream (WIN) were raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
  


• Doral Financial (NYSE: DRL) was upgraded at B. Riley to Buy from Neutral.
  


• Alumina (NYSE: AWC) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

• Credit Suisse downgraded Targanta (NASDAQ: TARG) to Underperform from Outperform following the FDA Panel's rejection of Oritavancin.
  


• Citigroup downgraded BASF AG (OTC: BASFY) to Sell from Hold and sees no reason to own the stock following the company's profit warning. Shares were also downgraded at WestLB to Hold from Add.
  


• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED) to Hold from Buy and lowered its target to $53 from $75 on concerns over the company's deteriorating A/R aging trends.


• VeriFone Holdings (NYSE: PAY) and Navios Maritime (NYSE: NMM) were lowered to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
  


• NTT DoCoMo (NYSE: DCM) was downgraded at Citigroup to Hold from Buy.

• Needham expects shares of Cepheid (NASDAQ: CPHD) to be driven by continued market penetration in the hospital acquired infection market, new test introductions, GeneXpert Infinity sales, and molecular diagnostics growth from sales outside of traditional molecular testing areas. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $21 target.
  


• Needham also initiated Gen-Probe (NASDAQ: GPRO) with a Hold rating and expects market share gains for the company when PANTHER is approved in 2010/2011.
  


• William Blair believes Harbin Electric (NASDAQ: HRBN) is an "interesting" opportunity for exposure to rapid growth in infrastructure within the People's Republic of China. The firm started shares with a Market Perform rating.


• Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) was initiated with a Buy rating and $11 target at UBS.
  


• NutriSystem (NASDAQ: NTRI) was initiated with a Neutral rating at Janney Montgomery.
  


• Ener1 (NYSE: HEV) was assumed at JMP Securities with an Outperform rating and $9 target.
  

Analyst calls: HOTT, GYMB, DRL, ID, AWC, AMED, PAY, DCM, GPRO, BSX originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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