Notable Analyst Rating Changes 12/07: POT, BRCD, SPWRA, STP, JASO, AXP Upgraded; MMC, ABX, ALTH, AVP, ZLC Downgraded

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POT Hot Sheet

Overall Analyst Rating:
BUY (= Flat)

Dividend Yield: 1.4%
EPS Growth %: -33.3%

UPGRADES:
Goldman Sachs upgrades Potash Corp (NYSE: POT) from Neutral to Buy with a $140 price target. Click Here for more color.

Oppenheimer upgrades Brocade Communications (NASDAQ: BRCD) from Perform to Outperform. Price target $8.50.

Barclay's gets sunny on several stocks:

SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWRA)
upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight, maintaining their price target of $35;
Suntech Power Holdings Co. (NYSE: STP) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight, raising their price target to $20 from $15; and
JA Solar (NASDAQ: JASO) from Equal Weight to Overweight, lifting their price target to $6 from $4.

Bank of America upgraded several credit companies from Underperform to Neutral, and raised their price target on each:

American Express (NYSE: AXP) from $28.50 to $44;
Discover Financial (NYSE: DFS) to $16 from $14; and
Capital One (NYSE: COF) to $41 from $30.

UBS upgraded shares of Agrium (NYSE: AGU) from Neutral to Buy this morning, also raising their price target from $50 to $72.

Gabelli & Co upgrades Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) from Hold to Buy.

For daily real-time Upgrades go to href=Upgrades>http://www.streetinsider.com/Upgrades

DOWNGRADES:
Goldman Sachs downgrades Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MMC) from Buy to Neutral.

TD Newcrest downgrades Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE: ABX) from Action List Buy to
Buy. Price target lowered from $52 to $50. href="http://www.streetinsider.com/Downgrades/TD+Newcrest+Downgrades+Barrick
+Gold+Corp+%28ABX%29+to+Buy%3B+Cortez+Hills+Hits+Potential+Roadblock/5162512
.html">Click Here for more color. Credit Suisse also downgraded Barrick
from Outperform to Neutral.

Wells Fargo downgrades Allos Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALTH) from
Outperform to Market Perform Valuation range lowered to $6-7 from $9-10. href="http://www.streetinsider.com/Downgrades/Wells+Fargo+Downgrades+Allos+T
herapeutics+%28ALTH%29+to+Market+Perform%3B+Positive+on+the+Long-Term+Prospe
cts+in+PTCL/5162839.html">Click Here for more color.

BMO Capital downgrades Avon Products (NYSE: AVP) from Outperform to Market
Peform. Price target lowered from $43 to $38.

Soleil Securities downgrades Zale Corp. (NYSE: ZLC) from Hold to Sell. Price
target $2.50. href="http://www.streetinsider.com/Downgrades/Soleil+Securities+Downgrades+Z
ale+Corp.+%28ZLC%29+to+Sell%3B+Poor+Start+to+Holiday/5163194.html">Click
Here for more color.

For daily real-time Downgrades go to href=Downgrades>http://www.streetinsider.com/Downgrades

NEW COVERAGE:
Vitamin Shoppe (NYSE: VSI) started bullish by several firms:

Piper Jaffray with an Overweight;
Bank of America Merrill Lynch with a Buy rating and $23 price target;
J.P. Morgan with an Overweight and $23 price target;
Robert W. Baird with an Outperform and a $24 price target;
Barclays with an Overweight and $25 price target; and
Stifel Nicolaus with a Buy.

Exane BNP Paribas initiates coverage on Teva Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: TEVA) with an Outperform rating.

FBR Research initiates coverage on Hercules Offshore, Inc. (NASDAQ: HERO) with a Market Perform rating and a $5.00 price target. For more color, Click Here.

Auriga downgrades Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR) to Sell. Price target lowered from $27 to $23. Click Here for more color.

For daily real-time New Coverage go to href=New+Coverage>http://www.streetinsider.com/New+Coverage