CNOOC (CEO) (HLS) (PPBI) (SYMC) (AXTI) (AXTI) (LVLT) (REGN) Upgraded

CNOOC (NYSE: CEO), HealthSouth (NYSE: HLS), Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: PPBI), Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC), AXT, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXTI), Level 3 (NASDAQ: LVLT) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) upgraded by analysts.

CNOOC (CEO) was upgraded by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating.

HealthSouth (HLS) was upgraded by JMP Securities from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (PPBI) was upgraded by Sterne Agee from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $8.70 on the company.

Symantec (SYMC) was upgraded by Wunderlich from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $22.00 on the company, up from $21.00.

AXT, Inc. (AXTI) was upgraded by Needham & Company from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $11.00 on the company.

Level 3 (LVLT) was upgraded by Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) from an “Underperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) was upgraded by RBC Capital from a “Sector Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. The have a price target of $70.00 on the company.

Ex-Dividend for (CEO) (CHU) (ED) (FDP) (MRO) on May 16

Ex-Dividend date for CNOOC Ltd. (NYSE:CEO), China United Network Communications Ltd. (NYSE:CHU), Consolidated Edison Inc. (NYSE:ED), Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) and Marathon Oil Corp (NYSE:MRO) is May 16.

CNOOC Ltd. (CEO) pays a dividend of $2.89 with a yield of 2.22 percent.

China United Network Communications Ltd. (CHU) pays a dividend of $0.10 with a yield of 0.49 percent.

Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) pays a dividend of $0.60 with a yield of 4.53 percent.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (FDP) pays a dividend of $0.05 with a yield of 0.74 percent.

Marathon Oil Corp (MRO) pays a dividend of $0.25 with a yield of 1.94 percent.

Move Into Pioneer (PDC) (UDRL), Out of Bronco (BRNC) Says Global

Global Hunter Securities downgraded Bronco Drilling (NYSE:BRNC) from "Accumulate" to "Neutral" after receiving a takeover bid from Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK).

Global says, "Last Friday, BRNC announced Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) is acquiring it for $315 million, or $11 per share. The valuation metrics work out to 1.02x BV, 6.9x and 5.1x our 2011 and 2012 EBITDA estimates, respectively, and -$14.3 million per rig, which implies zero value for Bronco MX or Challenger Ltd. CHK is currently BRNC’s second largest customer, operating three rigs. CHK intends to integrate the 22 rigs into its subsidiary, Nomac Drilling, for which CHK operates 90 of its 95 rigs. We believe that many of these rigs will likely be working for CHK in the Powder River and DJ Basins, after completing their current term contracts, where the company recently inked a joint venture with CNOOC (NYSE:CEO) and in the Mississippian horizontal oil play in the northern Anadarko Basin."

"We do not expect a third party to come in with a higher bid for BRNC. We believe that Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) has no interest in running a rig outside of a FlexRig, and Nabors (NYSE:NBR) and Patterson-UTI (Nasdaq:PTEN) are more likely to spend the incremental $4-5 million to build a rig rather than pay the implied $14.3 million per unit CHK is spending for BRNC. We feel the same way for the smaller-cap drillers and do not believe any other operators have an interest in spending over $300 million to guarantee they have rigs to meet anticipated drilling programs and hedge against rate increases."

"Rotate into Pioneer (NYSE:PDC) and Union (Nasdaq:UDRL). Up nearly 70% and 64% YTD, we think these stocks still have plenty of room to run."

Global Hunter Securities lowered its price target on Bronco from $13.50 to $11.