CryoLife (CRY) (EVEP) (HIW) (ILMN) (VRTX) (WLL) Upgraded

CryoLife, Inc. (NYSE: CRY), EV Energy (NASDAQ: EVEP), Highwoods (NYSE: HIW), Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN), Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) and Whiting Petroleum Co. (NYSE: WLL) upgraded by analysts.

CryoLife, Inc. (CRY) was upgraded by The Benchmark Company from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $6.50 on the company.

EV Energy (EVEP) was upgraded by analysts at Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Highwoods (HIW) was upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $38.00 on the company.

Illumina, Inc. (ILMN) was upgraded by Mizuho from a “Neutral” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) was upgraded by Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $60.00 on the company.

Whiting Petroleum Co. (WLL) was upgraded by Ticonderoga from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $65.00 on the company.

Hercules (HERO) (PVR) (EVEP) (WLL) (SWX) (APU) Upgraded

Hercules Offshore, Inc. (NASDAQ: HERO), Penn Virginia (NYSE: PVR), EV Energy (NASDAQ: EVEP), Whiting Petroleum Co. (NYSE: WLL), Southwest Gas (NYSE: SWX) and Amerigas Partners Lp (NYSE: APU) upgraded by analysts.

EV Energy (EVEP) was upgraded by Oppenheimer from a “Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $85.00 on the company.

Hercules Offshore, Inc. (HERO) was upgraded by Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) from an “Underperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating.

Penn Virginia (PVR) was upgraded by BB&T (NYSE:BBT) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Southwest Gas (SWX) was upgraded by Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Whiting Petroleum Co. (WLL) was upgraded by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $73.00 on the company.

Amerigas Partners Lp (APU) was upgraded by Wells Fargo & Co. from an “Underperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating.

AMD (AMD) (EVEP) (SUN) (MSFT) (ESRX) Upgraded by Analysts

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), EV Energy (NASDAQ: EVEP), Sunoco Incorporated (NYSE: SUN), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Express Scripts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRX) upgraded by analysts.

EV Energy (EVEP) was upgraded by Wunderlich from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $71.00 on the company.

Sunoco Incorporated (SUN) was upgraded by CRT Capital to a “Sell” rating.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) was upgraded by Davenport from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Express Scripts, Inc. (ESRX) was upgraded by Maxim Group from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $69.00 on the company.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) was upgraded by Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) from an “Underperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating.

Price Targets on (BODY) (DVA) (EVEP) (FLT) (GA) Updated

Price targets on shares of Body Central Acquisition Co. (NASDAQ: BODY), DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA), EV Energy (NASDAQ: EVEP), FleetCor Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: FLT) and Giant Interactive Group (NYSE: GA) were updated by analysts.

Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) raised their price target on Body Central Acquisition Co. (BODY) to $29.00.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) raised their price target on DaVita Inc. (DVA) from $101.00 to $102.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) raised their price target on EV Energy (EVEP) from $53.00 to $64.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) raised their price target on FleetCor Technologies, Inc. (FLT) from $35.00 to $37.00. They have a “neutral” rating on the company.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) raised their price target on of Giant Interactive Group (GA) to $8.00. They have an “underperform” rating on the company.

Coverage On (ANH) (EVEP) (FBNC) (IDTI) Initiated by Analysts

Anworth Mortgage Asset Co. (NYSE: ANH), EV Energy (NASDAQ: EVEP), First Bancorp (NASDAQ: FBNC) and Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDTI) had coverage initiated on them by analysts.

RBC Capital initiated coverage on Anworth Mortgage Asset Co. (ANH). They placed an “outperform” rating and a price target of $8.00 on the company.

Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on EV Energy (EVEP). They placed an “outperform” rating and a price target of $65.00 on the company.

Raymond James initiated coverage on First Bancorp (FBNC). They placed a “market perform” rating on the company.

Longbow Research initiated coverage on Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (IDTI). They placed a “neutral” rating on the company.

Raymond James Likes (LINE) (EVEP) in Shales, Oil Sands

Raymond James analyst Jeff Saut, while acknowledging the huge upward run in crude oil prices, still likes some of the plays in the sector, specifically Linn Energy LLC (NASDAQ:LINE) in the oil sands and EV Energy Partners (NASDAQ:EVEP) in shale.

Saut says he sees both the companies having potential for continual gains.

Linn Energy has a market cap of about $6 billion and holds a stake in shale oil sands. It also has oil and gas reserves.

One of the more popular topics is the Utica shale play, and that is why he likes EV energy the best there. Raymond James has an "Outperform" on EV.

Linn Energy was trading at $38.01, down $0.81, or 2.07 percent, as of 12:19 PM EDT. EV Energy was trading at $53.00, falling $1.64, or 3.00 percent.