Deutsche Bank upgrades XM Satellite Radio (XMSR $27.95) to Buy from Hold and raises their tgt to $33 from $30, saying they believe XMSR's stock is a good way to play satellite radio sector growth, based on 1) improved visibility on growth from the OEM auto channel, 2) retail channel growth from new products, and 3) favorable valuation
SG Cowen changes its opinion on Salesforce.com (CRM 39.85) and now believes the risk reward is neutral in the near term as the Street is not processing the broader implications and costs of blistering growth, such as two material data center outages in two months and the potential impact on sales cycles. Firm would buy on pullbacks into the low $30s
Prudential upgrades JP Morgan (JPM 40.02) to Neutral from Underweight and $40 tgt, as they feel better about investment banking (especially non-U.S., derivatives, and mergers) and asset management after meeting with the heads of these units in late-2
Prudential upgrades Merrill Lynch (MER 68.70) to Overweight from Neutral with an $80 tgt, as they think revenue growth prospects are better than previously thought based on strong non-U.S. prospects and meaningfully higher backlogs in equity and M&ABaird downgrades Salesforce.com (CRM 39.85) to Neutral from Outperform and $42 tgt, citing valuation
Prudential initiates Urban Outfitters (URBN 25.35) with an Overweight and $34 tgt, as they view the co as one of the best growth stories in retail, with +20% store growth possible through existing concepts for the next 8 years
IBM (IBM) downgraded to Neutral at JP Morgan
Amazon.com (AMZN) downgraded to Underweight at JP Morgan
Goldman Sachs upgrades General Motors (GM $20.80) to In Line from Underperform, saying with GM shares off 50% from '05 highs, they view that a Ch 11 filing is very unlikely anytime soon, and upcoming catalysts that could improve sentiment and allay bankruptcy fear; they can see GM shares rebounding to the mid-$20 range in 1H06
Jefferies upgraded PortalPlayer (PLAY 29.12) to Buy from Hold and raises their tgt to $36 from $22 saying they believe several positive catalysts lay ahead that position the company for strong growth and profitability in 2006 and beyond
Deutsche Bank upgrades Western Digital (WDC $19.90) to Buy from Hold and raises their tgt to $24 from $14 based on share gains and the higher contribution margins associated with increment volumes
SG Cowen initiates Webex Communications (WEBX $23.23) with an Outperform, saying they believe there are a number of material growth drivers for web conferencing in place and expect the co to leverage its mkt leading position to take full advantage of these opportunities.
Bear Stearns downgrades McKesson (MCK $53.30) to Peer Perform from Outperform based primarily on vaulation as the co's shares have soared 71% over the last 12 months
JP Morgan upgrades Abbott Labs (ABT) to Overweight from Neutral assuming ABT will acquire the vascular and endovascular businesses of Guidant (GDT) and that Boston Scientific (BSX) will buy the rest of Guidant (GDT)