Benzinga's Upgrade Summary for June 7, 2012

Listed below are today's Top Upgrades covered by Benzinga:

Bank of America comments, "We are raising our rating on Sonic shares from Underperform to Buy following impressive May quarter sales. The stock is currently trading at about a 25-30% discount to the average QSR EV to EBITDA valuation and at a 25% discount on a P/E basis. We are raising our price objective from $7.50 to $11. Our higher PO reflects targeted EV to EBITDA valuation of 8.4x our upwardly revised FY 2013 estimate and a targeted P/E of 17x our FY 2013 EPS estimate. Our targeted valuation parameters represent a discounted valuation of 15% on an EV to EBITDA basis and parity on a P/E basis versus the QSR comparables. In our view, SONC can narrow the valuation gap to peers with consistent execution."

Oppenheimer notes, "While weakening macro trends and ongoing investment in Weibo are likely to translate into slower top-line growth and margin compression in 1H12, we believe the near-term headwinds have been factored in our and consensus estimates and priced in SINA's share price. Given SINA's market leadership, potential reacceleration in revenue growth, sequential margin improvement and monetization of Weibo beginning in 2Q12, we believe the recent sell-off of the stock is overdone based on SINA's medium and long-term prospects and that multiple expansion is likely in the coming months."

Deutsche Bank says, "Recent sell-off provides compelling valuation opportunity With about 70% of sales to commercial aerospace, we see LMI as one of the best-positioned “below the radar” names to benefit from an increase in OEM sales. We view the stock's recent underperformance [down 17% in past 3mo vs. -2% for S&P] as a compelling valuation opportunity."

Credit Suisse notes, "We now see an improving top-line for MDT as achievable expect execution in emerging markets combined with recovery in key developed markets (consistent with F4Q's US ICD results) & tuck-in acquisitions to drive valuation expansion over the next 12 months. Given improving growth prospects, MDT's attractive FCF profile ($4.4B expected in FY13, ~12% implied FCF yield) and valuation (currently trades at 9x our FY14 EPS estimate vs. 5 year NTM average of 12x & trough of 8x), we now feel comfortable upgrading to Outperform from Neutral."

Taglich Brothers comments, "The company's revenue growth has slowed over the past three quarters due to the loss of a significant portion of a long-term automotive program. However, the projected growth of the automotive industry (averaging approximately 5% over the next two years) should help to offset in part the lost sales from this program. Also, UFP is scheduled to launch a new door panel program for Cadillac ATS and XTS vehicles starting in June 2012."