Notable Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (NASDAQ: AFSI) (TSX: AVO)

Published:

A Canadian gold project developer and a U.S. bank holding company both received analyst upgrades, one of which has an implied upside of nearly 50%.

The following stocks were upgraded/downgraded on November 05, 2014
Company Name Exchange Ticker Last Price Market Cap Recommendation Analyst Name Rating Company Target Price Upside/
Downside (%)
Avigilon Corp TSX AVO 19.60 912.5 Upgrade to outperform from sector perform Steven Arthur RBC Capital Markets 24.00 22.4%
Black Diamond Group Ltd TSX BDI 18.02 773.9 Upgrade to outperform from sector perform Greg Colman National Bank Financial 24.00 33.2%
WestJet Airlines Ltd TSX WJA 31.42 4,019.2 Downgrade to outperform from strong buy Ben Cherniavsky Raymond James 39.00 24.1%
Alexco Resource Corp TSX AXR 0.51 35.5 Downgrade to neutral from buy Christos Doulis PI Financial Corp. 0.60 17.6%
Newstrike Capital Inc TSXV NES 0.97 113.2 Downgrade to neutral from buy Philip Ker PI Financial Corp. 0.90 -7.2%

RBC Capital Markets upgraded Avigilon Corp (TSX: AVO), a Canada-based company engaged in design, manufacturing and marketing of high-definition (HD) and megapixel (MP) network-based video surveillance systems and equipment for the global security market, to outperform from sector perform, raising the price target to C$24.00 from C$23.00, an upside of 22.4% from current levels.

Black Diamond Group Ltd (TSX: BDI), engaged in oilfield equipment was upgraded at National Bank Financial, to outperform from sector perform. However, the target price was reduced to C$24.00 from C$28.00, an upside of 33.2% from current levels.

Raymond James downgraded WestJet Airlines Ltd (TSX: WJA), a provider of airline service and travel packages with scheduled service to more than 85 destinations in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, to outperform from strong buy, reducing the price target to C$39.00 from C$41.50, an upside of 24.1% from current levels.

PI Financial Corp. downgraded Alexco Resource Corp (TSX: AXR), engaged in the process of mining, exploring and developing its mineral properties, to neutral from buy, reducing the price target to C$0.60 from C$1.40, an upside of 17.6% from current levels.

Newstrike Capital Inc (TSXV: NES), an exploration-stage company engaged in the business of acquiring, exploring, evaluating and developing mineral property concessions in Mexico was downgraded at PI Financial Corp. to neutral from buy, reducing the price target to C$0.90 from C$1.40, a downside of 7.2% from current levels.

The following stocks were upgraded/downgraded on November 05, 2014
Company Name Exchange Ticker Last Price Market Cap Recommendation Analyst Name Rating Company Target Price Upside/
Downside (%)
AmTrust Financial Services Inc NASDAQ AFSI 51.49 3,893.4 Upgrade to buy from neutral Kenneth Billingsley Compass Point Research & Trading LLC 57.00 10.7%
Crestwood Midstream Partners LP NYSE CMLP 19.15 3,598.8 Upgrade to buy from hold Selman Akyol Stifel 22.00 14.9%
NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ NPSP 26.41 2,814.3 Initiate with buy Carol A Werther CRT Capital Group 48.00 81.7%
Ocean Rig UDW Inc NASDAQ ORIG 12.99 1,713.1 Downgrade to sell from neutral Ivar Andreas Lemmechen Gjul Fondsfinans AS 10.25 -21.1%
MDU Resources Group Inc NYSE MDU 26.49 5,137.6 Downgrade to neutral from outperform David E Parker Robert W. Baird & Co 26.00 -1.8%

Compass Point Research & Trading LLC upgraded AmTrust Financial Services Inc (NASDAQ: AFSI), a multinational specialty property and casualty insurer focused on generating consistent underwriting profits, to buy from neutral, raising the price target to $57.00 from $52.00, an upside of 10.7% from current levels.

Crestwood Midstream Partners LP (NYSE: CMLP), a master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream businesses in multiple unconventional shale resource plays across the United States, was upgraded at Stifel, to buy from hold. However, the target price was reduced to $22.00 from $26.00, an upside of 14.9% from current levels.

CRT Capital Group initiated coverage on NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: NPSP), a biopharmaceutical company focused on pioneering and delivering therapies that transform the lives of patients with rare diseases worldwide, with buy assigning a 12-month price target of $48.00, an upside of 81.7% from current levels.

Fondsfinans AS downgraded Ocean Rig UDW Inc (NASDAQ: ORIG), a Marshall Islands-registered international offshore drilling contractor, to sell from neutral, reducing the price target to $10.25 from $17.60, a downside of 21.1% from current levels.

MDU Resources Group Inc (NYSE: MDU), a diversified natural resource company, was downgraded at Robert W. Baird & Co to neutral from outperform, reducing the price target to $26.00 from $40.00, a downside of 1.8% from current levels.

Related articles

Recent articles