Alcoa (AA) Jumps on Davenport Upgrade

Shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) are trading up today after Davenport Securities upgraded its rating on the company from "Neutral" to "Buy." They have a price target of $18 on the aluminum producer.

According to analyst Lloyd O'Carroll, the aluminum giant has "more upside than downside for aluminum prices (even with all the negative sentiment in the financial markets)," which should boost the stock. He also noted that there was more to Alcoa's story than just aluminum prices, as the Street has been mostly ignoring Alcoa's three other segments, Alumina, Flat Rolled Products, and Engineering Products & Solutions, which he thinks "have been improving and changing for the better."

O'Carroll added that he sees the long-term prospects for Alcoa being solid, citing the continual focus on cutting costs while aluminum demand in the years ahead appearing to have sustainable growth, concluding Alcoa being "suitable for long-term value investors."

Alcoa was trading at $11.37, gaining $0.16, or 1.43 percent, as of 1:33 PM EDT.