Finisar (FNSR) (VLTR) (EGP) (NMM) (PLXT) (RSTI) Upgraded

Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR), Volterra Semi (NASDAQ: VLTR), EastGroup Properties Inc. (NYSE: EGP), Navios Maritime Partners L.P. (NYSE: NMM), PLX Technology Inc (NASDAQ: PLXT) and Rofin-Sinar Technologies (NASDAQ: RSTI) upgraded by analysts.

EastGroup Properties Inc. (EGP) was upgraded by Robert W. Baird from a “Neutral” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $50.00 on the company, up from $47.00.

Finisar (FNSR) was upgraded by Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Navios Maritime Partners L.P. (NMM) was upgraded by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

PLX Technology Inc. (PLXT) was upgraded by Craig Hallum from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Rofin-Sinar Technologies (RSTI) was upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $41.00 on the company.

Volterra Semi (VLTR) was upgraded by Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) from a “Neutral” rating to an “Overweight” rating.

Viacom (VIA-B) (RCL) (UCTT) (VCLK) (VLTR) PTs Adjusted

The shares of Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA-B), Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL), Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: UCTT), ValueClick Inc (NASDAQ: VCLK) and Volterra Semi (NASDAQ: VLTR) were all adjusted April 26.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) cut its price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) from $53.00 to $48.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the travel company.

Piper Jaffray cut their price target on Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (UCTT) from $13.50 to $11.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the firm.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) raised their price target on ValueClick Inc (VCLK) to $16.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the stock.

Wunderlich raised their price target on Viacom, Inc. (VIA-B) from $52.00 to $56.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the entertainment company.

Piper Jaffray raised their price target on Volterra Semi (VLTR) from $22.50 to $25.50. They have a “Neutral” rating on the stock.

Volterra (VLTR) (PEET) (PLXT) TXN) Downgraded on April 26

Shares of Volterra Semi (NASDAQ: VLTR), Peet S Coffee & Tea Inc (NASDAQ: PEET), PLX Technology Inc (NASDAQ: PLXT) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) were all downgraded on April 26 by several brokerages.

Robert W. Baird downgraded Peet S Coffee & Tea Inc (PEET) from an “Outperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating. They have a price target of $48.00 on Peet S Coffee & Tea Inc, down from the prior $53.

Northland Securities downgraded PLX Technology Inc (PLXT) from an “Outperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating. They have a price target of $4.00 on PLX Technology, down from the previous $5.

BNP Paribas downgraded Texas Instruments (TXN) from an “Outperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Brigantine downgraded Volterra Semi (VLTR) from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Buy Volterra Semiconductor (NASDAQ:VLTR) on Weakness Advises Needham

Volterra Semiconductor's (NASDAQ:VLTR) revenue and earnings for the latest quarter came in as expected, and Needham recommends the company be bought on weakness going forward.

Needham says, "VLTR reported Q4 revenue and EPS in line with its pre-announced range and provided an in line Q1 guide for both revenue and EPS. Volterra has 80% backlog coverage for Q1, sees visibility improving and believes the server inventory correction has passed. Topping the list of concerns was a potential shift towards lower GM as Notebook revenue picks up. This was prompted by guidance for a 100 bps downtick for Q1 before reversing as higher GM server revenue contributes more to the mix. This risk is overrated in our view, as is inventory build, which is obviously for the upcoming notebook ramp. The revenue split between Notebook and Server is similar to our forecast with the same Q/Q expectations for Q1 that Notebook would grow and Server decline. The Huron River (Notebook) ramp is starting off better than mgmt originally anticipated and Romley (Server) is still targeted for a Q3 ramp.

"We lowered our 2011 revenue/EPS from $173M/$1.55 to $169M/$1.35 and our 2012 revenue/EPS from $203M/$2.20 to $203M/$2.10. Our 2011 reductions are due to slightly lower GM and OM on a 2% revenue decline whereas 2012 is due to an increase in litigation expense."

Needham & Company reiterates a "Strong Buy" rating on Volterra Semiconductor (VLTR), which closed at $24.18, down $0.63, or 2.54 percent. Needham lowered their price target on Volterra from $35 to $33.

Volterra Semiconductor (NASDAQ:VLTR) Driven by Huron River, Romley Platforms

Even though Volterra Semiconductor (NASDAQ:VLTR) made their recent downside pre-announcement, Needham reminded clients that their decision on naming the company as a 'Best Picks for 2011' was based on anticipated earnings growth from their Huron River and Romley Platforms.

Needham said, "While VLTR's Q4 downside pre-announcement is a disappointment, we believe investor conviction on the near-term demand was already fairly low. In upgrading the shares to Strong Buy last month, and naming it as one of our 'Best Picks for 2011' we were looking at the earnings growth into mid-2011 with the Huron River platform ramp driving notebook revenue and the Romley platform ramp doing the same for server revenue. We still believe that the 2012 estimates will have upward bias as 2011 progresses, driving up VLTR shares."

Needham & Company maintains a "Strong Buy" rating on Volterra Semiconductor, which closed Friday at $24.25, gaining $0.77, or 3.28 percent. Needham has a price target of $35 on them.

Volterra Semiconductor (Nasdaq:VLTR), Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq:CRUS) Top Picks of Needham in Analog

Needham & Company, commenting on the analog sector heading into 2011, has chosen Volterra Semiconductor (Nasdaq:VLTR) and Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq:CRUS) as their top picks.

They said, "In writing our 2010 review we could not be more pleased with the upward turn of the analog group's share prices in September given the volatility in group sentiment through the course of the year. The material valuation disconnect between semi stocks (and most hardware tech) and the rest of the market's industry verticals was noticeable and we were pleased this gap started to close towards year-end. Additionally, the mid-Q4 reports and earnings out of the industry have been relatively upbeat compared to expectations. For instance, Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) tightened its range within prior guidance and expects 1H 2011 to experience normal seasonality as the recent inventory correction winds down. This prompted us to move our cash adjusted target P/E multiples from 2011 to 2012 and as a result, believe that most of our analog coverage universe will offer upside in share price valuation in 2011. We look forward to a more normal growth year for analog semis of about 7% in aggregate across the industry, with typical seasonality and multiple incremental, secular growth drivers ranging from LED lighting to automotive infotainment. We highlight Volterra Semiconductor and Cirrus Logic as the two best names to own in our universe coverage."

"Our 2011 Key Themes: We anticipate that the silicon supply chain for LED general lighting will become more active with momentous investor enthusiasm. We also expect the tablet buzz to die down while other markets such as automotive infotainment take a front seat as a secular driver for analog silicon content."

"Our Two Best Picks: We believe that Volterra Semiconductor will have both the incremental notebook and server opportunities in the first and second half of 2011, respectively, as well as strong 2012 growth to prompt interest from investors. We also believe that Cirrus Logic will offer earnings momentum due to its major customer in portable audio, however it will also demonstrate signs of product diversity in the second half of 2011, garnering incremental investor interest."

Volterra Semiconductor was trading at $23.20, up $0.02, or 0.09 percent, as of 11:59 AM EST. Cirrus Logic was at $15.99, down $0.01, or 0.06 percent.

Volterra (Nasdaq:VLTR), Standard Micro (Nasdaq:SMSC), Atmel (Nasdaq:ATML), Cypress (NYSE:CY), Skyworks (Nasdaq:SWKS), MIPS (Nasdaq:MIPS) Getting Coverage from ThinkEquity

The semiconductor sector has been drawing a lot of analyst interest lately, and that's the case with ThinkEquity, which initiated coverage on a plethora of companies, including Volterra (Nasdaq:VLTR), Standard Micro (Nasdaq:SMSC), Atmel (Nasdaq:ATML), Cypress Semi (NYSE:CY), Skyworks Solutions (Nasdaq:SWKS), MIPS Technologies (Nasdaq:MIPS), LSI Corp. (NYSE:LSI) and Silicon Labs (Nasdaq:SLAB).

Started off with a "Buy" rating were Volterra, Standard Micro, Atmel, Cypress Semi, Skyworks Solutions and MIPS Technologies. LSI Corp. and Silicon Labs were started off with "Hold" ratings on them.

Volterra closed Friday at $24.20, up $0.43, or 1.81 percent, with a price target of $28 placed on them. Standard Micro closed at $28.31, down $0.12, or 0.42 percent, with a price target of $35. Atmel closed at $12.30, up $0.02, or 0.16 percent, with a price target of $15. Cypress cosed at $17.93, up $0.24, or 1.36 percent, with a price target of $20. Skyworks Solutions closed at $28.44, up $0.63, or 2.27 percent, with a price target on them of $32. MIPS closed at $14.16, up $0.21, or 1.51 percent, with a price target on them of $18. LSI closed at $6.00, up $0.01, or 0.17 percent. Silicon Labs closed at $45.61, down $0.31, or 0.68 percent, with a price target of $48.00 on them.