Zipcar (ZIP) (WM) (XLNX) (AFSI) (AGCO) (AIR) Ratings Reiterated

Zipcar (NYSE: ZIP), Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM), Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX), Amtrust Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: AFSI), AGCO Corp. (NASDAQ: AGCO) and AAR Corp. (NYSE: AIR) had ratings on them reiterated by analysts.

Wunderlich reiterated its "Hold" rating on Waste Management Inc. (WM). They have a price target of $35.00 on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) reiterated its "Neutral" rating on Xilinx, Inc. (XLNX).

Oppenheimer reiterated its "Outperform" rating on Zipcar (ZIP).

BGB Securities reiterated its "Buy" rating on Amtrust Financial Services, Inc. (AFSI). They have a price target of $30.00 on the company.

Barclays Capital (NYSE:BCS) reiterated its "Equalweight" rating on AGCO Corp. (AGCO).

Zacks Investment Research reiterated its "Neutral" rating on AAR Corp. (AIR). They have a price target of $20.00 on the company.

Tyco (TYC) (AGCO) (CHD) (UNP) (AL) (CIT) Upgraded

Tyco International Ltd (NYSE: TYC), AGCO Corp. (NASDAQ: AGCO), Church & Dwight Co Inc. (NYSE: CHD), Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP), Air Lease Corp. (NYSE: AL) and CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) upgraded by analysts.

Tyco International Ltd (TYC) was upgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating.

AGCO Corp. (AGCO) was upgraded by Goldman Sachs to a “Buy” rating. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

Church & Dwight Co Inc. (CHD) was upgraded by Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Union Pacific (UNP) was upgraded by Goldman Sachs from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Air Lease Corp. (AL) was upgraded by RBC Capital from a “Sector Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

CIT Group Inc. (CIT) was upgraded by Compass Point from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $46.00 on the company.

AGCO (AGCO) (DRIV) (FLS) (GDOT) (IPG) (GPRO) Price Targets Changed

AGCO Corp. (NASDAQ: AGCO), Digital River, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV), Flowserve Corp (NYSE: FLS), Green Dot Co. (NASDAQ: GDOT), Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG) and Gen-Probe Incorporated (NASDAQ: GPRO) price targets adjusted by analysts.

AGCO Corp. (AGCO) had its price target raised by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from $60.00 to $62.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Digital River, Inc. (DRIV) had its price target cut by RBC Capital from $40.00 to $36.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Flowserve Corp. (FLS) had its price target slashed by RBC Capital from $145.00 to $130.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Green Dot Co. (GDOT) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) to $49.00.

Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG) had its price target lowered by Goldman Sachs to $12.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Gen-Probe Incorporated (GPRO) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to $64.00.

Noble (NBL) (BSX) (AGCO) (COKE) (KEX) (MMI) Price Targets Changed

Noble Energy (NYSE: NBL), Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX), AGCO Corp. (NASDAQ: AGCO), Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated (NASDAQ: COKE), Kirby Co. (NYSE: KEX) and Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) had its price target lowered by Citigroup (NYSE:C) to $7.30.

AGCO Corp. (AGCO) had its price target cut by RBC Capital from $64.00 to $62.00. They have a “Sector Perform” rating on the company.

Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated (COKE) had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) to $36.00.

Kirby Co. (KEX) had its price target raised by RBC Capital from $65.00 to $74.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Motorola Mobility (MMI) had its price target lowered by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) to $31.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Noble Energy (NBL) had its price target raised by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from $110.00 to $113.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Deere (DE) (TNH) (AGU) (DE) (AGCO) Driven by Wheat, Corn Profits

Wheat and corn prices continue to drive the profits of farmers up, resulting in capex from them toward companies like Terra Nitrogen Company, L.P. (NYSE:TNH), Agrium (NYSE:AGU), Deere & Co. (NYSE:DE) and Agco (NYSE:AGCO) driven up by wheat, corn profits.

How quickly the griping from farmers has subsided since the worst of the recession when they were complaining about high input costs.

The U.S. will control 28 percent of global wheat exports in 2011, an increase from 18 percent in 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With prices averaging about $8 a bushel this quarter and the next, the highest levels in three years, farms will earn approximately $94.7 billion, according to analysts’ forecasts compiled by Bloomberg and an estimate from the USDA.

Other considerations for investors to consider is how this will impact shipping. Expectations are shipping lines won't benefit much from the increase in production because the U.S. is replacing lost supply from Russia and Ukraine.

Domestically it could help those companies shipping within borders, as it could offer some major boosts in that regard.

Websense (WBSN (AGCO (DV) (CPX) (ARLP) Get Ratings Initiations

Websense (NASDAQ:WBSN), AGCO Corp (NYSE:AGCO), DeVry (NYSE:DV), Complete Production Services (NYSE:CPX) and Alliance Resource (NASDAQ:ARLP) have analysts initiate coverage on them.

Websense (WBSN) was started off with a Market Outperform by JMP Securities, who has a price target of $28 on the company.

AGCO Corp. (AGCO) was started at a rating of Outperform by Boenning & Scattergood, with a price target of $80.

DeVry (DV) was initiated at a "Hold" rating by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB), with a price target of $55.

Complete Production Services (CPX) was initiated at a "Buy" rating by Deutsche Bank, with a price target of $41.

Alliance Resource (ARLP) was started off with a "Hold" by Deutsche Bank, which placed a price target of $75 on the firm.

Caterpillar (CAT) (AGCO) (DE) (MON) Jump on Rising Wheat Prices

Shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) Deere (NYSE:DE) and Monsanto (NYSE:MON) are all trading up today on news wheat is helping farmers generate profits which should boost the bottom line of the Ag companies.

Wheat is now trading at about $8 a bushel, the highest level in three years. Poor weather conditions should help wheat to continue to rise in price over the next month or so.

Wheat exports from America are also estimated to rise by 18 percent over last year, according to a Bloomberg report.

Jefferies analyst Stephen Volkmann wrote, “Going into the winter, the US winter wheat crop condition was already well below last year, with only 47% in good/excellent condition and 17% in poor/very poor condition, compared to 63% good/excellent and 6% poor/very poor last year. With the spring thaw, this has now declined to only 36% in good/excellent condition, and 38% in poor or very poor condition. At the same time, most of the poor crops are concentrated in prime wheat producing states – Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and to a lesser extent, Nebraska – suggesting that the impact on yields could be larger.”

Higher crop prices provide more confidence and capital for farmers to spend on a variety of needed inputs.

Caterpillar was trading at $107.89, gaining $2.22, or 2.11 percent, as of 2:44 PM EDT. AGCO was at $53.17, up $1.35, or 2.61 percent. Deere was trading at $93.71, rising $1.33, or 2.11 percent. Monsanto was trading at $67.48, increasing $0.63, or 0.94 percent.

Deere (NYSE:DE), AGCO (Nasdaq:AGCO) Look Strong on Ag Secular Growth Trends

Citing a continuous solid secular growth trend in agriculture, Barclays (NYSE:BCS) sees Deere (NYSE:DE) and AGCO (Nasdaq:AGCO) doing well in 2011 as machinery spend accelerates.

Barclays said, "On Friday, we attended AgConnect in Atlanta, GA and came away with increased conviction around the outlook for North American ag equipment spend, which we think could be up MSD in FY11, possibly better. This view represents upside to the flat end market outlook from both DE and AGCO. OEs noted solid backlog levels driven by strong crop prices and highly constructive farmer economics. Given the solid demand picture, the OEs sounded comfortable with their ability to put thru price increases in the 5-7% range for IT4 equipment.

"We continue to like the long-term secular growth trends in the ag end market: These include changing dietary trends in the emerging markets, continued support from ethanol and increased mechanization of farming practices globally. We reiterate our Overweight rating on Deere (NYSE: DE) and our Equal Weight rating on AGCO Corp (Nasdaq: AGCO)."

Deere (NYSE:DE) was trading at $84.72, up $0.40, or 0.47, as of 2:48 PM EST. AGCO was trading at $52.09, up $0.11, or 0.21 percent.

AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) Only Farm Machinery Play Says Jefferies

Jefferies is bullish on AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO) and say they're the only play within the farm machinery sector.

They base their assertion on the fastest-growing agricultural region in the world: Latin America.

Jefferies raised their full year 2010 EPS estimate on AGCO from $2.20 to $2.22 while lowering their full year 2011 EPS revenue estimate from $7.64 billion to $7.58 billion.

They maintain their "Buy" rating on AGCO, which is trading at $47.36, down $0.48, or 1.00 percent as of 12:31 PM EST. The price target on them was raised by Jefferies from $53 to $58.

Deere (NYSE:DE), AGCO (NYSE:AGCO), CNH (NYSE:CNH) Up on Bullish Farm Equipment Outlook

With the price of crops pushing revenue and earnings up for farmers, farm equipment producers like Deere & Company (NYSE:DE), AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) and CNH Global NV (NYSE:CNH) are in favor with analysts, and UBS (NYSE:UBS) raised their ratings and/or price target on the companies.

This is centered around the probably assumption farmers will add newer equipment over the next year because of more cash on hand.

Deere & Company is the top play in the sector for UBS, which raised them from "Neutral" to "Buy." AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) was upgraded from "Sell to "Neutral." CNH Global NV had their price target raised by UBS on them, along with the others.

UBS said, "While farmers bought some equipment ahead of 2011 Tier 4 engine [emissions] standards, dealers generally believed sales could be 10% higher in 2011 given strong farmer confidence due to high commodity prices."

Deere was trading at $77.60, gaining $0.32, or 0.41 percent at 1:55 PM EST. AGCO was at $47.13, rising by $1.33, or 2.90 percent. CNH 44.11 was at $44.11, increasing by $1.39, or 3.25 percent at 1:56 PM EST.