Equity Briefing: Upgrades and Downgrades for August 01st: ABFS, ACH, AEGN, AIXG, ALGT, AMRS, AUXL, BDX, BMC, B

A number of stocks were upgraded and downgraded by equities research analysts today, as reported by Analyst Ratings Network (http://bit.ly/arndailyr) and Equity Briefing:

JPMorgan Chase  downgraded shares of Arkansas Best Corp ABFS from a neutral rating to an underweight rating.

HSBC  initiated coverage on shares of Aluminum Corporation of China ACH. They issued an underweight rating on the stock.

Langenberg & Company  upgraded shares of Aegion AEGN from a hold rating to a buy rating.

Ladenburg Thalmann  upgraded shares of Aegion AEGN from a neutral rating to a buy rating. Ladenburg Thalmann now has a $23.00 price target on the stock.

HSBC  upgraded shares of Aixtron AG AIXG from an underweight rating to a neutral rating.

Dahlman Rose  downgraded shares of Allegiant Travel ALGT from a hold rating to a sell rating.

ThinkEquity  downgraded shares of Amyris Inc AMRS from a hold rating to a sell rating.

MKM Partners  downgraded shares of Auxilium Pharma AUXL from a buy rating to a neutral rating.

Stifel Nicolaus  downgraded shares of Auxilium Pharma AUXL from a buy rating to a hold rating.

Leerink Swann  downgraded shares of Auxilium Pharma AUXL from an outperform rating to a market perform rating. They noted that the move was a valuation call.

JPMorgan Chase  downgraded shares of Becton Dickinson BDX from a neutral rating to an underweight rating.

Credit Suisse  downgraded shares of BMC Software, Inc. BMC from an outperform rating to a neutral rating.

Raymond James  downgraded shares of BMC Software, Inc. BMC from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating.

Jefferies Group  downgraded shares of BP PLC BP from a buy rating to a hold rating.

Leerink Swann  downgraded shares of Bruker Co. BRKR from an outperform rating to a market perform rating.

Compass Point  downgraded shares of Cardtronics CATM from a buy rating to a neutral rating. Their analysts now have a $31.00 price target on the stock.

Roth Capital  upgraded shares of Cavium Networks, Inc. CAVM from a neutral rating to a buy rating.

SunTrust  initiated coverage on shares of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CBST. They issued a neutral rating on the stock.

Chardan Capital  downgraded shares of Ceva Inc CEVA from a buy rating to a neutral rating. Their analysts now have a $17.00 price target on the stock.

Raymond James  upgraded shares of Celadon Group, Inc. CGI from an outperform rating to a strong-buy rating.

Nomura  initiated coverage on shares of CGG Veritas CGV. They issued a reduce rating on the stock.

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