Apple (AAPL) (CSCO) (NOK) (EZCH) (NWSA) (THOR) (BYD) Ratings, Price Targets

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), Nokia (NYSE: NOK), EZchip (NASDAQ: EZCH), News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA), Thoratec (NASDAQ: THOR) and Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD) had ratings and price targets on them adjusted by analysts.

Mizuho Securities initiated coverage on Apple (AAPL). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $635.00 on the company.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) had its “Outperform” rating reiterated by Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC)

Nokia (NOK) had its “Hold” rating reiterated by Canaccord Genuity.

EZchip (EZCH) had its price target raised by Auriga from $37.00 to $45.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

News Corp. (NWSA) had its price target raised by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) from $20.50 to $23.75. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Thoratec (THOR) had its price target raised by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from $33.00 to $34.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Boyd Gaming (BYD) was downgraded by Barclays Capital (NYSE:BCS) from an “Overweight” rating to an “Equal Weight” rating.

Nokia (NOK) (JCP) (KBR) (KKD) (KS) (MAC) Upgraded

Nokia Co. (NYSE: NOK), J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP), KBR, Inc. (NYSE: KBR), Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE: KKD), KapStone Paper and Packaging (NYSE: KS) and The Macerich Company (NYSE: MAC) were upgraded by analysts.

J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP) was upgraded by Macquarie from a “Neutral” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

KBR, Inc. (KBR) was upgraded by Johnson Rice to an “Overweight” rating.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD) was upgraded by Stephens from an “Equal Weight” rating to an “Overweight” rating.

KapStone Paper and Packaging (KS) was upgraded by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

The Macerich Company (MAC) was upgraded by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Nokia Co. (NOK) was upgraded by Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) from an “Underperform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Nokia (NOK) (NPSP) (OMER) (AA) (DNDN) (GILD) Ratings Reiterated

Nokia Co. (NYSE: NOK), NPS Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: NPSP), Omeros Corp. (NASDAQ: OMER), Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA), Dendreon Co. (NASDAQ: DNDN) and Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) had ratings on them reiterated by analysts.

Nokia Co. (NOK) had its “Hold” rating reiterated by Canaccord Genuity.

NPS Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NPSP) had its “Buy” rating reiterated by Needham & Company.

Omeros Corp. (OMER) had its “Hold” rating reiterated by Needham & Company.

Alcoa Inc. (AA) had its “Hold” rating reiterated by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB).

Dendreon Co. (DNDN) had its “Neutral” rating reiterated by Robert W. Baird.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) had its “Buy” rating reiterated by Needham & Company.

Nokia (NOK) (SGEN) (MON) (RPM) (CHH) (KBR) Ratings, Price Targets

Nokia Co. (NYSE: NOK), Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN), Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), RPM International Inc. (NYSE: RPM), Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH) and KBR, Inc. (NYSE: KBR) ratings and price targets.

Nokia Co. (NOK) had its “hold” rating reiterated by Canaccord Genuity.

Seattle Genetics, Inc. (SGEN) had its “buy” rating reiterated by Needham & Company.

Monsanto Co. (MON) had its price target raised by Jefferies Group (NYSE:JEF) to $78.00.

RPM International Inc. (RPM) had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) to $23.00.

Choice Hotels (CHH) was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating. They have a $31.00 price target on the company.

KBR, Inc. (KBR) was upgraded by Johnson Rice to an “overweight” rating.

Nokia (NOK) (SGEN) (MON) (RPM) (CHH) (KBR) Ratings, Price Targets

Nokia Co. (NYSE: NOK), Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN), Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), RPM International Inc. (NYSE: RPM), Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH) and KBR, Inc. (NYSE: KBR) ratings and price targets.

Nokia Co. (NOK) had its “hold” rating reiterated by Canaccord Genuity.

Seattle Genetics, Inc. (SGEN) had its “buy” rating reiterated by Needham & Company.

Monsanto Co. (MON) had its price target raised by Jefferies Group (NYSE:JEF) to $78.00.

RPM International Inc. (RPM) had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) to $23.00.

Choice Hotels (CHH) was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating. They have a $31.00 price target on the company.

KBR, Inc. (KBR) was upgraded by Johnson Rice to an “overweight” rating.

Nokia (NOK) (HTLD) (LRCX) (LSI) (NBHGY) (NSC) Upgraded

Nokia Co. (NYSE: NOK), Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTLD), Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ: LRCX), LSI Co. (NYSE: LSI), NOBEL BIOCARE (NASDAQ: NBHGY) and Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) were upgraded by analysts.

Heartland Express, Inc. (HTLD) was upgraded by RBC Capital from an “Underperform” rating to a “Sector Perform” rating. They have a price target of $16.00 on the company, up from $14.00.

Lam Research Co. (LRCX) was upgraded by CLSA from an “Outperform” rating to a “Buy” rating.

LSI Co. (LSI) was upgraded by Wedbush from a “Neutral” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

NOBEL BIOCARE (NBHGY) was upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) from an “Underweight” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Nokia Co. (NOK) was upgraded by Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) from an “Underperform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) was upgraded by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Nokia (NOK) (AAPL) (HOTT) (BZH) (CBE) (CHK) Ratings, Price Targets

Nokia Co. (NYSE: NOK), Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Hot Topic Inc. (NASDAQ: HOTT), Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE: BZH), Cooper Industries PLC (NYSE: CBE) and Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) ratings and price targets.

Nokia Co. (NOK) was upgraded by Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) from an “Underperform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Apple, Inc. (AAPL) had its “buy” rating reiterated by BTIG.

Hot Topic Inc. (HOTT) had its “buy” rating reiterated by Janney Montgomery Scott.

Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (BZH) is now covered by Imperial Capital. They have an “In-Line” rating on the firm.

Cooper Industries PLC (CBE) is now covered by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). They have an “equal weight” rating and a price target of $60.00 on the firm.

Chesapeake Energy (CHK) is now covered by Bank of America (NYSE:BAC). They have a “buy” rating on the firm.

Nokia (NOK) (ARB) (GE) (EXBD) (MAIN) (GSM) Ratings, Price Targets

Nokia (NYSE:NOK), Arbitron (NYSE:ARB), General Electric (NYSE:GE), Corporate Executive Board (NYSE:EXBD), Main Street Capital (NYSE:MAIN) and Globe Specialty Metals (NYSE:GSM) ratings and price targets.

Nokia (NOK) was upgraded by Credit Suisse from an "Underperform" rating to an "Outperform" rating.

Arbitron (ARB) was downgraded by JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) from an "Overweight" rating to a "Neutral" rating.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) initiated coverage on General Electric (GE). They have an "Overweight" rating on the firm.

Corporate Executive Board (EXBD) was downgraded by Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) from a "Buy" rating to an "Underperform" rating.

Main Street Capital (MAIN) was downgraded by Baird from an "Outperform" rating to a "Neutral" rating. They have a price target of $21.00 on the firm.

Globe Specialty Metals (GSM) was downgraded by Jefferies Group (NYSE:JEF) from a "Buy" rating to a "Hold" rating.

Nokia (NOK) Will Be Interesting in 2012

With shares of Nokia (NYSE:NOK) lingering below the $5.00 mark, it makes the mobile phone company an interesting company in 2012.

A significant number of those watching the company appear to have put far too much emphasis on the Nokia's first release of a Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone 7 phone in Europe, which has only gained about 2 percent market penetration.

The assumption is the phone has been rejected, when if fact there is no doubt it was more of a trial balloon to get feedback from the market.

That's not to say Nokia wouldn't have loved to have been surprised by the offering, but it was never the purpose.

Until they roll out a few offerings using Windows Phone 7, we won't really know how the market responds to the company. The conclusion of some that the Nokia, Windows partnership has failed is premature, to say the least.

That said, 2012 is a crucial year for Nokia, and they need to gain some traction to convince investors they can generate growth going forward.

It'll be very interesting to see how the U.S. market responds when the company releases its first phone there, which will be in early 2012.

If Nokia is able to generate some legitimate interest, the current share price could definitely be considered a bargain.

Nokia (NOK) Faces Challenging 2012

While business media have continued to hammer down Nokia (NYSE:NOK), it remains to be seen if its fortunes are as bad as they are made to appear.

For example, some media jumped on the possibility Samsung could overtake Nokia for the overall mobile phone market in 2012. That's based upon a report from Korea Economic Daily, which says Samsung is looking to increase mobile phone sales by 15 percent in 2012. Saying it, and doing it, of course, are two separate things.

Secondly, the other element in the mix is the release of Nokia’s Lumia 800, which has only generated about 2 percent of sales in Europe. That is being reported as a failure by Nokia to generate interest in its smartphones using Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Window 7 technology.

The truth is that was, in my opinon, a phont sent out into the market to simply have an entry while Nokia prepares its smartphone line for future release.

To make the smartphone strategy look as if it has failed for Nokia is ridiculous at this point.

Nokia has yet to begin its smartphone strategy, which won't really get going until the mid-, or latter part of 2012.

Nokia was trading at $4.785, up $0.045, or 0.95 percent, as of 2:46 PM EST.

Nokia (NOK) (ODFL) (PIR) (CRZO) (CVU) (EPM) (ETE) Upgraded

Nokia Co. (NYSE: NOK), Old Dominion (NASDAQ: ODFL), Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR), Carrizo Oil & Gas (NASDAQ: CRZO), CPI Aerostructures, Inc. (NYSE: CVU), Evolution Petroleum Co. (NYSE: EPM) and Energy Transfer Equity (NYSE: ETE) were upgraded by analysts.

Nokia Co. (NYSE: NOK) was upgraded by Danske from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Old Dominion (ODFL) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “Neutral” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Pier 1 Imports (PIR) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “Neutral” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Carrizo Oil & Gas (CRZO) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from an “Underperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

CPI Aerostructures, Inc. (CVU) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from an “Underperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Evolution Petroleum Co. (EPM) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “Neutral” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) was upgraded by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Nokia (NOK) (BSYBY) (CPRT) (DE) (DSX) (SFL) (T) (YGE) Ratings Reiterated

Nokia Co. (NYSE: NOK), British Sky Broadcasting Group plc (OTC: BSYBY), Copart (NASDAQ: CPRT), Deere & Company (NYSE: DE), Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX), Ship Finance International Limited (NYSE: SFL), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Yingli Green Energy Hold. Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) had ratings on them reiterated by analysts.

Nomura reiterated its "Neutral" rating on Nokia Co. (NOK).

Nomura reiterated its "Buy" rating on British Sky Broadcasting Group plc (BSYBY).

Barrington Research reiterated its "Outperform" rating on Copart (CPRT). They have a price target of $50.00 on the company.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) reiterated its "Hold" rating on Deere & Company (DE).

Jefferies reiterated its "Buy" rating on Diana Shipping Inc. (DSX).

Jefferies reiterated its "Hold" rating on Ship Finance International Limited (SFL).

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) reiterated its "Neutral" rating on AT&T Inc. (T).

Jefferies reiterated its "Buy" rating on Yingli Green Energy Hold. Co. Ltd. (YGE). They have a price target of $5.50 on the company.

Nokia (NOK) (INCY) (IVC) (MLR) (PVH) (WYN) Ratings, Price Targets

Nokia Co. (NOK), Incyte (INCY), Invacare Co. (IVC), Miller Industries, Inc. (MLR), Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) and Wyndham Worldwide (WYN) ratings and price targets.

JMP Securities raised its price target on Incyte (INCY) to $27.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Sidoti upgraded Invacare Co. (IVC) to a “Buy” rating.

Singular Research reiterated its “Buy” on Miller Industries, Inc. (MLR). They have a price target of $27.00 on the company.

Barclays Capital reiterated its “Overweight” rating on Nokia Co. (NOK).

Barclays Capital reiterated its “Overweight” on Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH).

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) initiated coverage on Wyndham Worldwide (WYN). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $49.00 on the company.

Nokia (NOK) (OPWV) (THS) (PCG) (PDC) (RIG) Downgraded

Nokia Co. (NYSE: NOK), Openwave Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: OPWV), TreeHouse Foods Inc. (NYSE: THS), PG&E Co. (NYSE: PCG), Pioneer Drilling Company (NYSE: PDC) and Transocean (NYSE: RIG) were downgraded by analysts.

Nokia Co. (NYSE: NOK) was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) from an “Overweight” rating to a “Neutral” rating. They have a price target of $6.00 on the company.

Openwave Systems Inc. (OPWV) was downgraded by Dougherty & Co. from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating. They have a price target of $2.00 on the company, down previously from $2.50.

TreeHouse Foods Inc. (THS) was downgraded by BB&T (NYSE:BBT) from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

PG&E Co. (PCG) was downgraded by RBC Capital from an “Outperform” rating to a “Sector Perform” rating.

Pioneer Drilling Company (PDC) was downgraded by Morgan Keegan from an “Outperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating. They have a price target of $10.50 on the company.

Transocean (RIG) was downgraded by Morgan Keegan from an “Outperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating. They have a price target of $48.00 on the company, down from $60.00.

Nokia (NOK) (KRO) (MDC) (JWN) Downgraded

Nokia (NOK), Kronos (KRO), MDC Holdings (MDC) and Nordstrom (JWN) were downgraded by analysts.

Nokia (NOK) was downgraded by JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) from Overweight to Neutral. They have a price target of $6.00 on the company.

Kronos (KRO) was downgraded by Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) from Outperform to Market Perform. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

MDC Holdings (MDC) was downgraded from Outperform to Neutral by Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS). They have a price target of $18 on the company.

Nordstrom (JWN) was downgraded by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from an Overweight to Equal-weight. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call. They have a price target of $52 on the company.

Nokia (NOK) (SGY) (SM) (TUDO) (USM) Get New Coverage

Nokia Co. (NOK), Stone Energy (SGY), SM Energy (SM), Tudou Holding Ltd (TUDO) and United States Cellular Corporation (USM) getting new coverage from analysts.

Northland Securities initiated coverage on Nokia Co. (NOK). They placed an “Outperform” rating and a price target of $10.00 on the company.

Global Hunter Securities initiated coverage on Stone Energy (SGY). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $35.00 on the company.

Barclays Capital initiated coverage on SM Energy (SM). They placed an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Tudou Holding Ltd (TUDO). They placed an “Outperform” rating and a price target of $24.00 on the company.

Brigantine initiated coverage on United States Cellular Corporation (USM). They placed a “Sell” rating and a price target of $37.00 on the company.

Nokia (NOK) (IVAN) (KDN) (LXK) (LYG) (NDN) (NSC) Downgraded

Nokia Co. (NYSE: NOK), Ivanhoe Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: IVAN), Kaydon Co. (NYSE: KDN), Lexmark International, Inc. (NYSE: LXK), Lloyds TSB Group plc (NYSE: LYG), 99 Cents Only (NYSE: NDN) and Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) were downgraded by analysts.

Nokia Co. (NOK) was downgraded by WestLB to a “Sell” rating.

Ivanhoe Energy Inc. (IVAN) was downgraded by RBC Capital from an “Outperform” rating to a “Sector Perform” rating.

Kaydon Co. (KDN) was downgraded by BB&T (NYSE:BBT) from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Lexmark International, Inc. (LXK) was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating. They have a price target of $25.00 on the company.

Lloyds TSB Group plc (LYG) was downgraded by Canaccord Genuity from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

99 Cents Only (NDN) was downgraded by Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Underperform” rating. They have a price target of $22.00 on the company.

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) was downgraded by Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating. They have a price target of $38.00 on the company. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

Nokia (NOK) Begins Shipping N9 Smartphones

In what will probably the first and only device from Nokia (NYSE:NOK) based on the MeeGo open platform, the N9 smartphone began shipping today, but not in the United States, as Nokia has previously stated.

The N9 will include storage in a range of 16GB to 64 GB, voice-guided maps, polycarbonate shell, and free navigation. Also included is a swipe feature empowering the user to go back to the home screen.

It is priced at $650 to $750 before dealer discounts.

The next release for Nokia will be its first smartphone using Windows Phone 7, the operating system build by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). That is expected to come in the latter part of 2011.

Nokia was trading at $5.69, up $0.22, or 4.02 percent, as of 12:59 PM EDT.

Trends for Qualcomm (QCOM) Look Solid

According to ThinkEquity’s Mark McKechnie, trends for Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) look strong even with the overall global economic concerns.

McKechnie wrote in a note to clients, “Despite the economic concerns, our industry checks suggest smart phone demand remains intact and channel inventory appears at the lower end of normal. We believe the burn of Nokia’s (NYSE:NOK) feature phone inventory in Europe will be largely complete by quarter-end setting the industry up for a strong December quarter.”

Also pushing the share price up will be Samsung Electronics (SSNLF), Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) ”iPhone 5,” and from Research in Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) new Blackberry's.

Qualcomm was trading at $51.47, gaining $0.23, or 0.45 percent, as of 12:17 PM EDT.

McKechnie has a price target of $75 and a "Buy" rating on the company.

Nokia (NOK) (COV) (CVS) (DCI) (ESRX) EPS Estimates Changed

Nokia (NYSE:NOK), Covidien (NYSE:COV), CVS Caremark (NYSE:CVS), Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) and Express Scripts (NASDAQ:ESRX) had their EPS estimates adjusted by analysts.

Nokia (NOK) EPS estimates were raised by Oppenheimer through 2012. They have a "Market Perform" rating on the company.

Covidien (COV) had its EPS estimates raised by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS). They have a price target of $60 and a "Buy" rating on the company.

CVS Caremark (CVS) EPS estimates were increased through 2012 by JMP Securities. They have a "Market Outperform" rating on the company.

Donaldson (DCI) EPS estimates were boosted through 2013 by Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS). They have a price target of $67 and an "Outperform" rating on the company.

Express Scripts (ESRX) EPS estimates were lowered by JMP Securities. They also cut their price target to $69, and have a "Market Perform" rating on the company.