StreetInsider.com Notable Analyst Rating Changes 09/24

Notable Analyst Rating Changes:

UPGRADES:

KeyBanc upgrades Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. (NYSE: JAS) from Hold to Buy with a $28 price target, saying the company should see a sharp acceleration in EPS over the next 3 years.

Bear Stearns upgrades EMC (NYSE: EMC) from Peer Perform to Outperform with a $26.50 price target. Citigroup upgrades EMC from Hold to Buy.

RBC Capital upgrades Motorola (NYSE: MOT) from Sector Perform to Outperform, citing firming in handsets.

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

DOWNGRADES:

Friedman Billings downgrades Parker-Hannifin (NYSE: PH) from Outperform to Market Perform with a $115 price target.

Stifel Nicolaus downgrades Dime Community Bancshares (Nasdaq: DCOM) from Hold to Sell with a $14 price target, citing valuation.

JP Morgan downgrades Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) from Overweight to Neutral, citing valuation.

Bear Stearns downgrades Beckman Coulter (NYSE: BEC) from Outperform to Peer Perform

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

NEW COVERAGE:

A number of Wall Street firms initiated coverage on recent hot-IPO VMware (NYSE: VMW): Citigroup starts at Buy ($100 tgt); Banc of America starts at Neutral ($75 tgt); Merrill Lynch starts at Neutral; Wachovia starts at Market Perform; Bear Stearns starts at Outperform ($106 tgt); Deutsche Bank starts at Hold ($80 tgt); Credit Suisse starts at Neutral ($85 tgt); JPMorgan starts at Overweight; Lehman Bros starts at Equal Weight ($80 tgt); UBS starts at Market Perform ($72.50 tgt)

Deutsche Bank initiates coverage on Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR) with a Hold rating and $75 price target. The firm said production looks set to double over the next two years. But said explorations has faltered, and they are nervous of oil-leveraged names into a negative view on short term oil prices.

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

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