Ratings on (GIII) (HST) (ISBC) (JASO) (LZ) Downgraded

G-III Apparel (NASDAQ: GIII), Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: HST), Investors Bancorp (NASDAQ: ISBC), JA Solar (NASDAQ: JASO) and Lubrizol Co. (NYSE: LZ) get ratings downgrades.

Sidoti downgraded shares of G-III Apparel (GIII) to a “neutral” rating.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) downgraded Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (HST) from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc downgraded shares of Investors Bancorp (ISBC) from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating.

Needham & Company downgraded JA Solar (JASO) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) downgraded Lubrizol Co. (LZ) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. They have a price target of $135.00 on the company.

Analysts Downgrade (TER) (TRAD) (URBN) (WPI)

Analysts downgraded Teradyne, Inc. (NYSE: TER), TradeStation Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRAD), Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) and Watson Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NYSE: WPI) today.

Piper Jaffray downgraded Teradyne, Inc. (TER) from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating. They have a price target of $18 on the company, down from $24.

Macquarie downgraded TradeStation Group, Inc. (TRAD) from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating.

William Blair downgraded Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) downgraded Watson Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (WPI) from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating.

Sirius (SIRI) Downgraded by Lazard on Valuation, Earnings

Lazard analyst Barton Crockett downgraded Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI), citing it hitting up against his price target and the stock price reflecting the Sirius story, which is well-known to most investors.

Crockett said, “A key upside argument from here is rate hikes, with a merger rate hike restriction likely to end in 2Q11. While Sirius XM’s subs are loyal and engaged and we believe will pay more, we also believe that Sirius XM is likely to act conservatively, in recognition of a still tepid consumer environment. A profusion of new online music streaming services from Internet companies, startups, and IPO candidates also augurs for some pricing caution. We are not willing to assume big upside to our long-term 3% rate hike assumption.”

He sees Liberty Capital as a better play for Sirius: “Our DCF of surging free cash flow is consistent with the current stock price, which is an adj. EV (incl NOLs) of 18.1x 2011E adj. EBITDA. For Sirius exposure, we see a better value at Liberty Capital, which owns 40% of Sirius XM, and trades a third below the pre-tax value of its parts. We see likely scenarios for LCAPA to exit these stakes tax-free.”

Lazard downgraded Sirius from "Buy" to "Neutral." Sirius was trading at $1.975, up $0.01, or 0.51 percent, as of 2:37 PM EDT.

MGM Resorts (MGM) (LLL) (MO) (NFLX) Downgraded April 26

Shares of MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM), L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL), Altria Group (NYSE: MO) and Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) were all downgraded by several brokerages on April 26.

BB&T (NYSE:BBT) downgraded L-3 Communications (LLL) from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) downgraded MGM Resorts (MGM) from a “Neutral” rating to an “Underperform” rating. They have a price target of $11.00 MGM, down from the previous $14.

Argus downgraded Altria Group (MO) from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Sell” rating. They have a price target of $170.00 on Netflix.

Barrick (ABX) (BEXP) (ECA) Downgraded on April 26

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE: ABX), Brigham Exploration (NASDAQ: BEXP) and EnCana Co. (NYSE: ECA) were all downgraded on April 26 by various brokerages.

BMO Capital Markets downgraded Barrick Gold Corp (ABX) from an “Outperform” rating to a “Market perform” rating.

Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Brigham Exploration (BEXP) from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Ticonderoga downgraded EnCana Co. (ECA) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Sell” rating. They have a price target of $27 on the company.

Devon Energy (DVN) Valuation Too High Says Morgan Stanley (MS)

The surging share price of Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) has Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) getting nervous, as the downgraded the energy company, mostly on valuation concerns.

Morgan Stanley downgraded them from “Overweight” to “Equal-weight,” citing the fact that the oil exploration & production sector has outperformed the markets this year thus far.

Shares of Devon Energy have soared over 18 percent over last year at the same time, easily beating the 5 percent gain on the S&P Index.

Devon closed Friday at $93.01, gaining $0.25, or 0.27 percent.

Citi (C) Slashes Best Buy (BBY) on Growing Competition

The growing competition faced by electronic retailer Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) has resulted in Citigroup (NYSE:C) downgrading the stock, even has Best Buy gave weak guidance.

Citigroup analyst Kate McShane said, "Mounting pressure from alternative channels will likely continue to pressure pricing. Critically, BBY is struggling to retain market share gains experienced after the bankruptcy of Circuit City, as other retail channels have stepped up CE product assortments and pricing. In particular, significant pressure has come from mass discounters and online retailers given favorable positioning in a commoditizing product channel. Mass discounters are able to capture a greater share of product categories by competing on price, as well as convenience for share of wallet. Furthermore, we have noted a significant increase in the depth & breadth of CE products offered in mass merchant channels, as well as an increased ability to stock new product on shelves earlier in the lifecycle of new technologies (erasing BBY’s relative technological merchandising edge)."

McShane lowered her rating on the stock from "Hold" to "Sell," while slashing her price target to $27 from a prior $36, after the weak outlook for the year.

Best Buy was trading at $28.92, falling $1.21, or 4.02 percent, as of 12:19 PM EDT.

Stern Killing Sirius (SIRI) with Lawsuit?

Shares of Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) are falling out of favor, and the recent lawsuit against the company by Howard Stern could put another nail in the coffin of the company.

One analyst slashed his price target on Sirius and downgraded the company from "Buy" to "Hold" on the news of the lawsuit.

Wunderlich Securities analyst Matthew Harrigan concluded the stock's current price "likely cannot accommodate the uncertainty engendered by the suit - even if it ends up being meritless."

That speaks of high valuation and fragility as to the company growing in an increasingly challenging economic environment that is changing so quickly it's impossible to make solid conclusions concerning the prospects of a company; especially one so dependent on another industry to be successful, as Sirius is with the auto industry, which is under even more pressure after the earthquake in Japan.

Concerning the lawsuit, Sirius said it was "surprised and disappointed" by it.

Harrigan cut his price target on Sirius from $2 a share to $1.65. Sirius closed Wednesday at $1.669, down $0.036, or 2.11 percent.

Potash (POT), Mosaic (MOS) Shares Punished by Citigroup (C) Downgrade

Shares of Potash (NYSE:POT) and Mosaic (MOS) were under pressure on the news Citigroup (NYSE:C) analyst PJ Juvekar downgraded both fertilizer companies.

Essentially, the downgrades came from the good news already being priced into the stock of the companies.

Juvekar said:

"After a Great Run, a Pause to Refresh – Fertilizer equities have been among the best performing stocks over the past eight months. Stock prices in our fertilizer universe have increased on average more than 100% since last July compared to a gain of ~27% for the S&P 500. We are not turning bearish on the fundamentals of the fertilizer cycle, which remain robust as we confirmed during our recent trip to Brazil. However, we think much of the good news is factored into current equity prices. Realized fertilizer prices will improve as old contracts run off and more product is shipped at newly announced higher prices, boosting earnings. But this trend is reflected in high P/E multiples for the group. Lacking well-defined near-term catalysts, we see growing risk that the stocks could trade sideways into the summer. As a result, we move from Buy to Hold for both POT and MOS.

"High Grain Prices Spurred Application, Diminishing Returns Ahead? – While grain prices remain firm, there is a diminishing impact of increasing farmer income on fertilizer application, in our view. When corn moved from $3.50/bu to $7/bu, there was ample incentive to invest in more fertilizers to improve yields. At current corn prices, growers are incentivized to apply all the fertilizer they need to boost yields. If corn prices rose from $7/bu to $8/bu, farmers may not apply even more fertilizer. The incremental dollar may be invested elsewhere, such as in new machinery or land. Land prices in key cornbelt states are rising at a double-digit rate and expectations for further increases have risen sharply."

Agrium (NYSE:AGU) was also down as part of the sector, but didn't take as big a hit as Potash and Mosaic did.

Mosaic closed at $78.84, down $2.72, or 3.33 percent. Potash closed at $55.85, down $2.44, or 4.19 percent. Agrium closed at $91.03, down $1.81, or 1.95 percent.

Monster (MWW), Central European Distribution (CEDC) Plunge on Downgrades, Debt

Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE:MWW) and Central European Distribution Corp. (NASDAQ:CEDC) were getting hit hard today, as both were downgraded by separate firms.

In the case of Monster Worldwide, they were downgraded by William Blair & Co. from "Outperform" to "Market Perform," and were trading at $15.91, down $1.08, or 6.36 percent, as of 1:02 PM EST. They had been the worst performer in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

Central European Distribution Corp. got downgraded by Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) from "Outperform" to "Underperform." Moody's (NYSE:MCO) also said they may lower the debt rating on the company.

CEDC was trading at $12.44, down $1.50, or 10.76 percent.

Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) Pulling Dow Down on JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) Downgrade

The downgrade of JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) on Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) continues to weigh on the Dow, which dropped by 16 points, or 0.1%, to 12,257.

JPMorgan said made their downgrade decision on seeing no short-term catalysts for the giant retailer.

The giant bank cut Wal-Mart from "Overweight" to "Neutral."

Wal-Mart was trading at $54.97, falling $0.72, or 1.29 percent, as of 1:14 PM EST.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Downgraded, EPS Lowered Far Below Consensus

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) has done nothing since July 2010, according to Soleil, and downgraded the company on low earnings and expectations.

Soleil says, "We are reducing our investment rating on JBLU, slashing our 2011 EPS estimate to $0.32 from $0.46, with consensus currently at $0.50 and, for 2012, are introducing a $0.57 forecast, up 79% from this year...JBLU shares have literally done nothing since our 23 July 2010 upgrade to Buy from Hold, but the Amex Airline Index has risen 20% and the S&P 500 is up 18% over that time frame. We take that weak relative performance as a sign of low expectations, but probably not as low as flat 2011 earnings, and are therefore most comfortable for now on the sidelines here."

Soleil Securities downgraded JetBlue Airways (JBLU) from Buy
to Hold. JetBlue closed Friday at $5.88, falling $0.52, or 8.12 percent. Soleil cut their price target on JetBlue from $8 to $7.

CARBO Ceramics (NYSE:CRR) Short-Term Upside Looks Weak

CARBO Ceramics Inc. (NYSE:CRR) was downgraded by Global Hunter on weak short-term upside, although they look sound in the long term.

Global said, "With increasing service intensity being met with an onslaught of pressure pumping equipment additions, likely increasing the completed well count through 2012, we like the prospects of full absorption of CRR's expanding ceramic and resin coating proppant capacity. Ending the quarter with $2/share in cash and zero debt, along with the prospects of operating cash flows exceeding capex requirements, we expect it to fund growth organically and increase its quarterly dividend 10% post-Q2. Thus the fundamental outlook is sound, but with our 2012 estimate, which is the basis for our $125 price target, which is unchanged. We are lowering our rating from Buy to Accumulate on less near-term upside."

Global Hunter downgraded CARBO Ceramics (CRR) from "Buy" to "Accumulate," while maintaining their price target on the company of $125. CRR closed Friday at $113.61, gaining $3.59, or 3.26 percent.

Infinera (Nasdaq:INFN) Downgraded on Scary Guidance

Guidance from Infinera (Nasdaq:INFN) for the first quarter was anemic after their weak fourth quarter results, causing Miller Tabak to downgrade the company and slash its price target on them.

Miller says, "We grossly over estimated Infinera’s prospects last year after the three exceptionally strong quarters Infinera posted. The 4Q and now 1Q resets have been jarring. We are very disappointed with the Infinera guidance for 1Q. Management drew down the backlog in 4Q and has experienced weak orders so far in 1Q and described visibility as very low. They sharply lowered revenue guidance to $90-$97 million for CY 1Q from $117 million just reported for CY 4Q. They also noted they would experience 2 points of Gross Margin pressure and spend in front of revenues in order to position for the 2H availability of their 40G PIC...Cutting CY 2012 estimate to $0.43 from $1.00...Stock will likely be under considerable pressure for the next 2-3 quarters."

Miller Tabak downgrades Infinera (INFN) from Buy to Hold. Infinera closed Friday at $7.37, plunging $1.61, or 17.93 percent. Miller Tabak slashed their price target on Infinera from $18 to $8.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Downgraded on Valuation

Although Keefe, Bruyette & Woods like the potential of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the long term, short-term their valuation causes them to downgrade the bank.

KBW says, "EWBC posted solid 4Q10 results, delivering
ongoing improvement to its NIM and strong C&I loan growth,
maintaining its asset quality, and repaying TARP funding, which returns capital management flexibility to the bank...Downgrading to MP on valuation, but we still believe in East West's potential on a long-term basis and consider it to be a key California franchise."

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded East West Bancorp (EWBC)
to "Market Perform." KBW raised their price target on EWBC to $22.

Microsemi's (NASDAQ:MSCC) GAAP Operating Margins Remain Low, EPS Slashed by Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC)

Microsemi Corporation (NASDAQ:MSCC) had their EPS estimate slashed by Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) on low GAAP operating margins, and were also downgraded by the giant bank.

Wells says, "Microsemi's high reliability business has, in
our view, good long term visibility as a result of the relative stability of the defense, satellite and medical markets. The company also has substantial breadth of commercial markets. Microsemi has established a good track record of integrating acquisitions, consolidated manufacturing operations and reducing costs. However, GAAP operating margins remain relatively low...For FY2011, we decreased our EPS estimate to $0.51 from $0.74 per share and we similarly decreased our FY2012 EPS estimate to $0.99 from $1.27."

Wells Fargo downgraded Microsemi Corporation (MSCC) from
"Outperform" to "Market Perform." Microsemi closed Friday at $22.35, losing $1.33, or 5.62 percent. Wells has a valuation range of $22-$27 on MSCC.

AT&T (NYSE:T) Downgraded on Lower Earnings, Subscriber Loss

AT&T (NYSE:T) was downgraded by UBS (NYSE:UBS), on slowing growth related to a loss of about 150,000 subscribers in the first two quarters. Earnings are expected to follow the subscribers down.

UBS says, "We are lowering our rating on AT&T to Neutral and
reducing our price target based on expectations for lower earnings and FCF growth in 2011 and 2012. Based on our new $2.38 EPS estimate (prior est. $2.55), the stock trades at 11.8x 2011 numbers, a 13% discount to the S&P 500 and roughly in line with its longer term average.

"Given slower growth in 4Q and expectations for increasing
competitive intensity, we now expect AT&T to lose 100K postpaid subscribers in 1Q11 and another 50K in 2Q vs previous expectations for a gain of 100K and 50K. We still expect the company to have positive postpaid sub growth for the year but believe the negative net adds will keep shares range bound until the return to growth."

UBS downgraded AT&T (T) from "Buy" to "Neutral. AT&T closed Friday at $27.49, dropping $0.64, or 2.28 percent. UBS lowered their price target on AT&T from $31 to $29.

MGM Mirage (NYSE:MGM) Downgraded on Slow Recovery

While Hudson Securities acknowledged MGM Mirage (NYSE:MGM) has started to improve, they downgraded the company nonetheless, saying it isn't "fast enough or strong enough to justify valuation multiples this high."

Valuations at the range they're now trading at, according to Hudson, were only equaled in 2004-2005 when M&A in the sector was soaring "and at the top of the last economic cycle during the LBO-boom of 2007."

Hudson Securities downgraded MGM Mirage (MGM) from "Hold" to "Sell." MGM closed Friday at $15.00, down $0.33, or 2.15 percent. Hudson has a price target of $12 on MGM.

Synaptics (NASDAQ:SYNA) Downgraded on Move Away From Modules

Synaptics (NASDAQ:SYNA) was downgraded by Needham & Company, citing what appears to be a move away from modules chip-only solutions.

Needham says, "Our downgrade is not based on near term results, which were roughly inline, but rather our long term concern that the capacitive touch market has moved rapidly away from modules to chip-only solutions. For the first time in 18-months, mgt. acknowledged that the current design win pipeline is overwhelmingly chip-only and in the future will accelerate with the adoption of on-sale and in-sale implementations (i.e. ITO sensor embedded directly into the LCD stack). With mgt. unable to provide details on the pricing impact of this transition, we believe SYNA’s ASPs could realistically fall over 50% Y/Y or more in FY12, negating any unit growth."

Needham & Company downgraded Synaptics (SYNA) from "Hold" to "Underperform." Synaptics closed Friday at $28.55, down $3.50, or 10.92 percent.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Driven by Strong Volume

While CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) has been driven by stong volume, specifically in commodities and rates, Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) still downgraded them, saying they don't see much upside for them at this time.

Deutsche said, "CME has risen over 20% since the beginning of 4Q, outperforming the sector and the broader market. The recent strength was driven by healthy volumes, particularly around rates and commodities, and while we still view the long term outlook for CME as favorable, we don't see enough upside to maintain the Buy."

Consequently, Deutsche Bank downgraded CME Group from "Buy" to "Hold." CME closed Friday at $307.66, losing $5.98, or 1.91 percent. Deutsche has a price target of $320 on them.