Ratings of (AA) (AIV) (CSX) (CW) Get Upgrades

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA), Apartment Investment & Management Co (NYSE: AIV), CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) and Curtiss-Wright (NYSE: CW) got upgrades today from analysts.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) upgraded Alcoa Inc. (AA) from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $22.00 on the company, up from $17.00.

Morgan Keegan upgraded shares of Apartment Investment & Management Co (AIV) from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating.

TD Newcrest upgraded shares of CSX Corp. (CSX) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $93.00 on the company.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) upgraded shares of Curtiss-Wright (CW) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $41.00 on the company, up from $40.00.

Analyst Upgrades for (LYV) (NCI) (NOV) (NSC) (PTEN)

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: LYV), Navigant Consulting Inc (NYSE: NCI), Varco, Inc. (NYSE: NOV), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) and Patterson-UTI (NASDAQ: PTEN) received upgrades from analysts.

Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (LYV) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $13 on the company.

Craig Hallum upgraded Navigant Consulting Inc (NCI) from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) upgraded National-Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NOV) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $92 on the firm, up from $78.

Sterne Agee upgraded Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $76 on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) upgraded Patterson-UTI (PTEN) from a “sell” company.

AK Steel (AKS), First Solar (FSLR), Gulfmark Offshore (GLF) Get Ratings Upgrade

Shares of AK Steel (NYSE:AKS), First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) and Gulfmark Offshore (NYSE:GLF) were all upgraded to "Buy" or "Neutral" on April 27 by various brokerages.

AK Steel (AKS) was upgraded by Dahlman Rose from "Hold" to "Buy." They have a price target of $22 on AK. The steel firm is seeing higher volumes and is successfully managing costs.

First Solar (FSLR) was upgraded by Kaufman from "Hold" to "Buy." Kaufman Bros. has a price target of $165 on the company. The share price has plunged 25 percent since January highs and the company is considered the likely candidate to emerge as a clear leader in the solar industry.

Global Hunter Securities upgraded Gulfmark Offshore (NYSE:GLF) from "Reduce" to "Neutral."

Broadcom (BRCM) Gets Boost from Davidson, Oppenheimer

Shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM) were up over 3 percent in trading as of this writing, on news of two upgrades, one from DA Davidson and the other form Oppenheimer.

According to DA Davidson’s analyst Aalok Shah, Broadcom will continue to have the majority of the market of chips serving WiFi, Bluetooth and FM radio connections in smartphones and tablet computers, and integration of those devices should help the company maintain its lead despite incursions from Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), which is in the process of acquiring Atheros (NASDAQ:ATHR) for greater WiFi chip expertise.

Even with concerns over the depth of the supply chain disruption coming from the earthquake in Japan, Shah still sees the company performing well in 2011.

Broadcom was trading at $39.62, gaining $1.17, or 3.04 percent, as of 12:37 PM EDT. Shah raised his rating on Broadcom from "Neutral" to "Buy."

Akamai (AKAM) Rocks on Upgrade

Shares of Akamai (NASDAQ:AKAM) are trading higher today after Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson boosted his rating on the company from "Neutral" to "Overweight."

Olson said, “There will be many competing online video services and ecommerce sites, but Akamai serves as a common denominator that benefits from market growth, regardless of which of those services or sites gain share. While there are constant pricing and competitive pressures in the space, this is balanced with a significant opportunity to benefit from the tailwinds of growth in online video and ecommerce.”

“We believe CDN pricing is declining at relatively normal rates, but Akamai renewed deals with 8 of the top 10 CDN customers in the last few months, which results in a step down in pricing, as is always the case with contract renewals,” he added. “The reason these renewals were lumped together in the last few months is many usage based contracts reached the commitment levels required to trigger a renewal, which combined with typical periodic renewals of time based contracts, resulted in more renewals than normal in one quarter.”

Akamai was trading at $38.72, gaining $0.96, or 2.54 percent, as of 1:08 PM EDT. Olson has a price target of $45 on them.

Amazon.com (AMZN) Raised, Target (TGT), Wal-Mart (WMT) Not

The retail sector has received a boost on the performance of Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) and the slightly better weekly claims data in the U.S., which has resulted in Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) being upgraded by William Blair & Co. analyst Mark Miller from “Market Perform” to “Outperform.”

Miller said, "We have added confidence that Amazon.com can sustain strong market share gains with its dominant assortment and competitive pricing, even compared with leading mass merchants known for “everyday low prices.” Comparing 20 general merchandise categories with roughly 480 items each at Target (TGT $50.24; Market Perform) and Wal-Mart (WMT $51.64; Market Perform) stores, Amazon.com has 78 times the assortment whereas Target.com has 3.5 times and Walmart.com has 5.6 times the selection of the stores."

Amazon.com was trading at $170.78, gaining $5.46, or 3.30 percent, as of 12:51 PM EDT. Wal-Mart was at $52.67, up $1.03, or 1.99 percent. Target was trading at $50.31, up $0.07, or 0.14 percent.

Aflac (AFL) Gets Deutsche (DB) Upgrade on Valuation

After plunging over 10 percent the last several days on their strong exposure to the Japanese market, Aflac (NYSE:AFL) caught somewhat of a break as they were upgraded by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) from "Hold" to "Buy."

Analysts at Deutsche said their reasoning behind the upgrade was the now attractive valuation of the insurer after the plunge in share price of Aflac.

They noted that other life insurance companies were trading flat, while Aflac was down about 10 percent so far in 2011.

Deutsche Bank said in a note to clients, “This includes a 9% decline over the past three trading days (reflecting a $2.3 billion loss of market cap). Aflac’s strong and steady capital generation ... should help to offset potential losses from Japan and the investment portfolio.”

Aflac closed Wednesday at $50.67, dropping $0.22, or 0.43 percent.

Citigroup (C) Says Buy JDS Uniphase (JDSU)

After taking a beating last week, performing among the worst of the stocks listed on the S&P 500, JDS Uniphase (NASDAQ:JDSU) is slowly moving back into favor, getting an upgrade from Evercore recently, and today getting a boost from Citigroup (NYSE:C), which says it's time to buy the company.

Citigroup analyst Kevin Dennean wrote in a note, “Following a nearly 25% pullback in JDSU shares post-Analyst Day, we upgrade shares back to Buy as we believe the company’s positioning, management execution and market opportunity remain sound, while valuation is much less demanding.”

The giant bank also moved the company from “hold/high risk" to “buy/high risk," along with its "Buy" rating. Last week Evercore increased its rating on JDS Uniphase to "Overweight."

JDS Uniphase was trading at $21.59, up $0.33, or 1.55 percent, as of 2:33 PM EDT.

Micron (Nasdaq:MU) Shoots Up on Upgrade

Micron Technology (Nasdaq:MU) has shot up today on an upgrade from Baird analyst Tristan Gerra, who said the price of DRAM chips are stabilizing and production cuts in the sector for DRAMs should help the company.

He also noted the outlook for NAND flash memory chips is strong as well. That's based on soaring demand for tablets and smartphones.

Gerra wrote in a note to clients, "Fundamentals in the DRAM industry continue to strengthen despite the recent price weakness, benefiting from two years of below-average (capital expenditure) spending."

Gerra boosted Micron from "Neutral" to "Outperform." Micron was trading at $9.72, gaining $0.38, or 4.07 percent, as of 12:12 PM EST. Gerra raised his price target on Micron from $8 to $15.

More Upside for DryShips (Nasdaq:DRYS)

DryShips (Nasdaq:DRYS) has enjoyed a big boost today as an analyst from Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) upgraded the shipping company, along with his price target on them.

Dryships announced last week it is going to raise $500 million via a private offering, which they're going to use to "finance construction costs of the ultra deepwater newbuilding drillships under construction at Samsung, exercise options to build further ultra deepwater drillships and general corporate purposes."

The private placement is expected to close before the end of 2010. Only qualified institutional investors in the U.S. and Norwegion professionals not residents in America will be allowed to participate.

Credit Suisse upgraded DryShips from "Neutral" to "Outperform." They were trading at $6.34, up $0.34, or 5.58 percent, as of 1:51 PM EST. They also increased their price target on DryShips from $5 to $9.

Other traders believe DryShips has more upside than they've moved today so far.

Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW), Silvercorp Metals (NYSE:SVM) Ratings Changed by BMO Capital

As the price of gold continues to go up, silver is increasingly being looked at as an investment metal, and not just an industrial one, which has drawn the attention of analysts who are carefully watching companies like Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) and Silvercorp Metals (NYSE:SVM), which had their ratings changed by BMO Capital.

Silver Wheaton, which has a terrific business model, was upgraded from "Market Perform" to "Outperform." Silvercorp Metals was downgraded from "Outperform" to "Market "Perform."

Silver Wheaton closed Friday at $35.15, falling $0.49, or 1.37 percent. BMO has a prict target of $46 on them, raising it from $40.

Silvercopr Metals closed at $11.74, dropping $0.54, or 4.40 percent.

Gammon Gold's (NYSE:GRS) Implied Rating Pushes Rating Up

Canaccord Genuity upgraded Gammon Gold (NYSE:GRS) today, citing implied return. They raised the rating from "Hold" to "Speculative Buy" on the gold miner.

"We have increased our peak silver price to US$30/oz (was US$25/oz), reflecting a lower peak Au:Ag ratio of 50:1 (was 60:1). Silver’s outperformance versus gold has been dramatic since the beginning of September. We are increasing our 12-month target price on GAM to C$9.00 (was C$8.50). Based on implied return, we have increased our rating," said Canaccord.

Gammon was trading slightly up at $6.69, rising by $0.03, or 0.45 percent at 1:01 PM EST.

DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) Return Should Reach 15 Percent Over 12 Months

DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) has the potential to generate a 15 percent return over the next year at minimum, says Barclays (NYSE:BCS).

"Our positive investment thesis for DTE is based on confidence in the two core utilities located in the constructive Michigan jurisdiction, a solid, and growing, dividend yield of 4.9%, and re-based expectations for the unregulated subs that now shifts revision bias to the upside," Barclays said.

"We see DTE as an attractive risk-reward total return story: We see DTE's 12 month potential total return in our base case as 15%. Our assumptions are that DTE is able to continue to execute their regulatory strategy in the premium Michigan jurisdiction and the unregulated segments demonstrate moderate growth off of their lowered '11 base."

DTE was trading at $45.61, gaining $0.30, or 0.66 percent, at 2:10 PM EST. Barclays has a price target on them of $50, lowering it from $52. They upgraded them to an "Equalweight" rating.

Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR) NAV Driven Higher by Activity, Exploration

Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR) was upgraded by Jefferies today from "Neutral" to "Buy," citing an expected higher NAV.

Jefferies said, "Accelerated activity, positive exploration datapoints, and downspacing success in the Williston drive our NAV higher. Unaccounted for is a meaningful Niobrara position and a growing Cana presence. 1st long lateral Niobrara well to spud next month. Positive results would boost CLR's already massive unbooked oil inventory."

Even so, earnings were lowered by Jefferies for fully year 2010 by $0.02, to $1.76, and for full year 2011 by $0.01 to $2.28.

Continental is soaring today, trading at $52.60, rising by $2.09, or 4.14 percent at 2:03 PM EST.

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.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) Says DuPont's (NYSE:DD) Earnings Sustainable

DuPont (NYSE:DD) was upgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) today, with the financial giant saying they believe and have confidence in DuPont being able to generate sustainable earnings.

Goldman upgraded their from "Neutral" to "Buy," while raising their price target on DuPont as well.

Earnings estimate were also increased in 2011 from $3.35 to $3.60, and for 2012 from $3.51 to $4.05.

DuPont was trading at $46.87, rising by $0.34, or 0.73 percent at 1:41 PM EST. Goldman increased their price target on them from $52 to $56 a share.

Potash (NYSE:POT) Price Target Raised on Increased Fertilizer Outlook

Analysts' Upgrades, Downgrades

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) said their maintaining their "Overweight" rating on Potash Corp. (NYSE:POT), citing an expected increase in production of potash, along with price increased for phosphate and nitrogen.

"Earlier this week we re-instated our rating on Potash Corporation after being restricted on the company since August 17. We had the opportunity to revise our model so as to reflect the changes that have occurred in the fertilizer industry since we have been restricted and incorporate new company guidance...We have incorporated our new fertilizer price deck and recent company guidance into our model. Specifically, in addition to the price increase in nitrogen and phosphate, we have increased our potash production outlook for 2010 and 2011 and have also re-valued POT's equity portfolio based on previous day closing prices," Barclays said.

Potash was trading at $136.00, gaining $1.37, or 1.02 percent at 2:02 PM EST. Barclays increased their price target on the fertilizer giant from $130 to $160.

Goldman (NYSE:GS) Says Quicksilver (NYSE:KWK) Good Buyout Target

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) upgraded Quicksilver Resources (NYSE:KWK) saying they are an attractive buyout candidate.

Quicksilver, a natural gas company focusing on the North American market, was upgraded from "Sell" to "Neutral."

"We upgrade KWK and raise our 6-month target price to add an M&A component to our new price target methodology with a potential M&A ranking of 1 (high probability, 30%-50%) within our M&A framework...Key risks include commodity price volatility, drilling results, costs, gov’t pronouncements," Goldman said.

Quicksilver closed Monday at $14.75, dropping by $0.18, or 1.21 percent. A price target of $15 was placed on them by Goldman Sachs, increasing it from $13 a share.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Upgrades Buenaventura (NYSE:BVN) to "Neutral"

Similar to their upgrade of Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), after a long upward run by Buenaventura Mining (NYSE:BVN), they've finally increased their rating, this time from "Underperform" to "Neutral."

On March 25th the company was trading at $29.50, and has soared since then to over $55 a share as of Thursday, November 11.

Buenaventura, which primarily mines for gold and silver in Peru, closed Thursday at $55.92, gaining $0.68, or 1.23 percent. Volume on the day was a little more than half the 3-month average.

The company has a market cap of about $14.23 billion.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Upgrades Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) to Buy

After running their share price up over the last three months from a low of $28.04 on August 24 to over $45 a share on Thursday, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) finally upgraded Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) from "Neutral" to a "Buy."

Most of this is probably from the realization copper demand is going to rise and supply have a hard time keeping up with it. China is again the impetus behind the support of copper prices, even if it's slightly slowing down its economic growth.

Southern Copper closed Thursday at $46.73, gaining $1.23, or 2.70 percent. Volume was 33 percent over its 3-month average.