Ratings on (ALTE) (ALU) (AREX) (ARG) (CCIH) Upgraded

Analysts upgraded their ratings on Alterra Capital Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: ALTE), Alcatel Lucent (NYSE: ALU) Approach Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: AREX), Airgas, Inc. (NYSE: ARG) and Chinacache International Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: CCIH)

Sterne Agee upgraded Alterra Capital Holdings Ltd. (ALTE) from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $26.00 on the company.

Capstone upgraded Alcatel Lucent (ALU) from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) upgraded Approach Resources Inc. (AREX) from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating.

Soleil Securities upgraded Airgas, Inc. (ARG) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) upgraded Chinacache International Holdings Limited (CCIH) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.

Alterra Capital (Nasdaq:ALTE), Aspen Insurance (NYSE:AHL), Allied World (NYSE:AWH), AXIS (NYSE:AXS), Employers (NYSE:EIG), Platinum Underwriters (NYSE:PTP) All Downgraded by Macquarie

The insurance industry has been getting pounded by analysts, with a majority of them getting downgraded, like Alterra Capital (Nasdaq:ALTE), Aspen Insurance (NYSE:AHL), Allied World (NYSE:AWH), AXIS (NYSE:AXS), Employers (NYSE:EIG) and Platinum Underwriters (NYSE:PTP).

There have been some exceptions, for example, with Macquarie, they did upgrade Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) and CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA), both from "Neutral" to "Outperform."

All of those downgraded above were lowered from "Outperform" to "Neutral."

Alterra Capital (ALTE) closed Friday at $21.77, down $0.13, or 0.58 percent. Aspen Insurance Holdings (AHL) closed at $29.92, gaining $0.80, or 2.75 percent. Allied World Assurance (AWH) closed at $59.50, losing $1.16, or 1.91 percent. AXIS Capital (AXS) ended Friday's session at $35.06, falling $0.10, or 0.28 percent.
Employers Holdings (EIG) closed at $16.62, down $0.41, or 2.41 percent. Platinum Underwriters Holdings (PTP) closed at $44.71, falling $44.71, down $0.78, or 1.71 percent.