Emulex (ELX) (WDC) (EMC) (FCFS) (FES) (FIRE) Ratings, Price Targets

Emulex Co. (ELX), Western Digital (WDC), EMC Corp. (EMC), First Cash Financial Services, Inc. (FCFS), Forbes Energy Services Ltd (FES) and Sourcefire, Inc. (FIRE) ratings and price targets.

Barclays Capital upgraded Western Digital (WDC) from an “Equal Weight” rating to an “Overweight” rating.

Needham & Company reiterated its “Buy” rating on Emulex Co. (ELX).

Brean Murray reiterated its “Buy” rating on EMC Corp. (EMC). They have a price target of $28.00 on the company.

Sterne Agee lowered its price target on First Cash Financial Services, Inc. (FCFS) to $36.00.

Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage on Forbes Energy Services Ltd (FES). They placed a “Buy” rating on the company.

Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target on Sourcefire, Inc.
(FIRE) from $34.00 to $39.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Lloyds (LYG) (IMAX) (NTRI) (ELX) (QLIK) (PL) Upgraded

Lloyds (NYSE: LYG), Imax Corporation (NASDAQ: IMAX), NutriSystem Inc (NASDAQ: NTRI), Emulex Co. (NYSE: ELX), Qlik Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: QLIK) and Protective Life Corp. (NYSE: PL) were upgraded by analysts.

Morgan Keegan upgraded Emulex Co. (ELX) from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating. They have a price target of $11.00 on the company, down from $13.50.

Canaccord Genuity upgraded Imax Corporation (IMAX) was upgraded to a “buy” rating.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) upgraded Lloyds (NYSE: LYG) from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating.

Wedbush upgraded NutriSystem Inc (NASDAQ: NTRI) from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating. They have a price target of $19.00 on the company, up from $17.00.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) upgraded Protective Life (PL) to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $30.00 on the company.

BMO Capital Markets upgraded Qlik Technologies Inc (QLIK) from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating. They have a price target of $40.00 on the company, up from $29.00.

Emulex (ELX) (CSOD) (ESRX) (HCSG) (IR) Ratings and Price Targets

Ratings and price targets on Cornerstone OnDemand (NASDAQ: CSOD), Emulex Co. (NYSE: ELX), Express Scripts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRX), Healthcare Services (NASDAQ: HCSG) and Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR).

Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) reiterated an “Overweight” rating on Cornerstone OnDemand (CSOD). They have a price target of $21 on the company.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) maintains a “Hold” rating on Emulex Co. (ELX). They have a price target of $12 on the shares, down from $13.00.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) reiterated a “Buy” rating on Express Scripts, Inc. (ESRX). They have a price target of $69 on the stock.

Morgan Keegan maintains an “Outperform” rating on Healthcare Services (HCSG). They have a price target of $19.25 on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) maintains an “Overweight” rating on Ingersoll-Rand (IR). They have a price target of $52 on IR.

Emulex (NYSE:ELX) Entry Points Further Down the Line Says Canaccord

While Emulex (NYSE:ELX) appears to be a strengthening "Buy" story, Canaccord believes those who wait will be awarded by their patience on a lower risk scenario.

Canaccord noted, "Although a compelling BUY thesis appears to be developing, subject to a number of assumptions, it appears rather back-end-loaded in the year. Coupled with nearer term expectation risk (March), we anticipate more attractive possible entry points on the horizon. We see near-term risk/reward as $11-13 with possible H2 upside to $14-15."

Canaccord Genuity reiterates a "Hold" rating on Emulex, which closed Wednesday at $12.76, up $0.61, or 5.02 percent. Canaccord has a price target of $13 on ELX.

JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) Top Picks are Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL), NetApp(Nasdaq:NTAP)

JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) named their top picks today, as analyst Mark Moskowitz said he still likes the computer hardware sector, placing Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) and NetApp(Nasdaq:NTAP) at the top of his list.

Moskowitz said, “There will be investor fears that 2011 could exhibit moderating growth, but we think this dynamic is reasonable given tougher compares are setting in.”

Also included in his top picks are Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ), EMC Corp. (NYSE:EMC) and International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM).

Commenting on the weakness of Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), he said it was inherent to the company, and not an industry-wide event.

Moskowitz said in the report that small and mid-caps like Emulex Corp. (NYSE:ELX) and Voltaire Ltd. (NASDAQ:VOLT) should be approached cautiously, and probably avoided altogether at this time.