Aveo (AVEO) (COCO) (FIO) (FMD) (AYI) (CPLA) Ratings, Price Targets

Aveo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AVEO), Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (NASDAQ: COCO), Fusion-Io Inc. (NYSE: FIO), First Marblehead (NYSE: FMD), Acuity Brands Inc. (NYSE: AYI) and Capella Education (NASDAQ: CPLA) ratings and price targets.

Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (COCO) had its price target lowered by Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) to $4.00.

Fusion-Io Inc. (FIO) is now covered by Benchmark Co. They have a “hold” rating on the firm.

First Marblehead (FMD) is now covered by Sandler O’Neill. They have a “hold” rating on the firm.

Aveo Pharmaceuticals (AVEO) had its “buy” rating reiterated by Canaccord Genuity.

Acuity Brands Inc. (AYI) had its “hold” rating reiterated by Jefferies Group (NYSE:JEF).

Capella Education (CPLA) had its price target lowered by Piper Jaffray to $37.00.

Ratings on (AJG) (AVEO) (CPYYY) (HSY) (LLNW) (STN) Upgraded

Ratings on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG), Aveo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AVEO), Centrica PLC (OTC: CPYYY), Hershey (NYSE: HSY), Limelight Networks (NASDAQ: LLNW) and Stantec Inc (NYSE: STN) were upgraded by analysts.

Standpoint Research upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG) from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating.

MP Advisors upgraded Aveo Pharmaceuticals (AVEO) from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating. They have a price target of $20.00 on the company, up from $11.00.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) upgraded Centrica PLC (CPYYY) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.

Standpoint Research upgraded Hershey (HSY) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.

Dougherty & Co. upgraded Limelight Networks (LLNW) from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating. They now have a price target of $5.50 on the company.

DA Davidson upgraded Stantec Inc (STN) from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating.

Ratings on (STN) (AVEO) (LLNW) (ANN) (EPM) (VTR) Upgraded

Ratings on Stantec (NYSE:STN), AVEO Pharma (NASDAQ:AVEO), Limelight Networks (NASDAQ:LLNW), AnnTaylor (NYSE:ANN), Evolution Petroleum (AMEX:EPM) and Ventas (NYSE:VTR) were upgraded by analysts.

DA Davidson upgraded Stantec (STN) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Buy" rating.

MP Advisors upgraded AVEO Pharma (AVEO) from an "Underperform" rating to a "Market Perform" rating. They raised their price target on the company from $11 to $20.

Canaccord Genuity upgraded NetApp (NTAP) from a "Hold" rating to a "Buy" rating. They raised their price target on the company from $58.50 to $62.

Dougherty & Company upgraded Limelight Networks (LLNW) from a "Sell" to "Neutral." They have a price target of $5.50 on the company.

Wedbush upgraded AnnTaylor (ANN) from a "Neutral" rating to and "Outperform" rating. They increased their price from $27 to $38 on the company.

Global Hunter Securities upgraded Evolution Petroleum (EPM) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Buy" rating. They their price target from $8.50 to $12.50 on the company.

Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas (VTR) from an "Underperform" rating to a "Neutral" rating. They raised their price target from $48 to $50 on the company.

AVEO Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVEO) Soars on Cancer Drug Deal

Shares of AVEO Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVEO) soared in after hours trading on news they're partnering with Astellas Pharma for the cancer treatment drug tivozanib.

AVEO will get paid $125 million upfront in the deal, and if the drug reaches certain development and regulatory milestones, they could get a total of $575 million from Astellas (including the $125 million).

It doesn't stop there though, as another $780 million is on the table if certain sales milestones are reached, making the deal potentially worth $1.3 billion.

Other terms of the partnership are the two companies will share expenses and divide the profits on an equal basis in the European and North American markets.

Outside of those mature markets, Astellas will take care of development and marketing.

Assuming approval in the U.S., Aveo will get a royalty of 10 percent on all sales there.

The $125 million upfront payment entails a $75 million pay out for licensing and 450 million for funding of research.

Competitive drugs already approved to treat renal cell carcinoma, are Pfizer's (PFE) Sutent and Nexavar. Tivozanib users show they survive an average of 14.8 months after use, while approved drugs extend survival by less than a year.

AVEO was trading after hours at $16.99, gaining $3.11, or 22.41 percent.

A Look at AVEO (Nasdaq:AVEO), ZIOPHARM (NASDAQ:ZIOP), Exelixis (Nasdaq:EXEL), Allos (NASDAQ:ALTH), Synta (NASDAQ:SNTA) and Immunogen (Nasdaq:IMGN)

AVEO Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:AVEO), ZIOPHARM Oncology (NASDAQ:ZIOP), Exelixis (Nasdaq:EXEL), Allos Therapeutics(NASDAQ:ALTH), Synta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SNTA) and Immunogen (Nasdaq:IMGN) were commented on by Canaccord Genuity, as they took a look at the Biotech small cap sector.

Canaccord's take on the companies:

"AVEO Pharmaceuticals (BUY) Investment recommendation: We maintain our BUY rating going into top-line results from the Phase III TIVO-1 trial evaluating tivozanib for treatment of renal cell carcinoma."

"ZIOPHARM Oncology (BUY) Investment recommendation: On the potential of a diversified clinical oncology pipeline, we remain long-term buyers of ZIOP shares.

"Synta Pharmaceuticals (HOLD) Investment recommendation: We maintain our HOLD rating based on lack of meaningful clinical data supporting the potential of STA-9090 for treatment of oncologic indications.

"Immunogen (Buy-rated) Investment recommendation: Although approaching our DCF-based $10 price target, we continue to remain positively inclined on IMGN shares given perceived potential of Roche’s trastuzumab-DM1 (T-DM1) in metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

"Exelixis (HOLD-rated) Investment recommendation: On our view that share value more than fully reflects the risk/reward for potential of XL184 in metastatic prostate cancer, we maintain our HOLD rating.

"Allos Therapeutics (HOLD) Investment recommendation: We maintain our HOLD rating on ALTH given our view that shares adequately reflect potential of Folotyn in the peripheral T cell lymphoma (PTCL) treatment market.

Aveo closed Tuesday at $14.61, down $0.06, or 0.41 percent. Ziopharm closed at $4.71, down $0.12, or 2.48 percent. Exelixis closed up at $8.85, gaining $0.07, or 0.80 percent. Allos closed at $4.62, up $0.01, or 0.22 percent. Synta closed at $6.37, up $0.04, or 0.63 percent. Immunogen ended the session at $9.70, down $0.02, or 0.21 percent.