Equity Briefing: Upgrades and Downgrades for August 7th: EXC, FLEX, FRT, FSL, FULT, GILD, GSJK, HCA, HEK, HME

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  upgraded shares of Exelon Co. EXC from an underweight rating to a neutral rating. JPMorgan Chase now has a $40.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $37.00.

Goldman Sachs  upgraded shares of Flextronics International Ltd. FLEX from a sell rating to a buy rating.

RBC Capital  downgraded shares of Federal Realty Inv. Trust FRT from a sector perform rating to an underperform rating. Their analysts now have a $95.00 price target on the stock.

Goldman Sachs  upgraded shares of Freescale Semi FSL from a neutral rating to a buy rating. Goldman Sachs now has a $14.50 price target on the stock.

Sandler O'Neill  upgraded shares of Fulton Fincl FULT from a hold rating to a buy rating.

Lazard Capital  downgraded shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. GILD from a buy rating to a neutral rating.

Raymond James  upgraded shares of Compressco Partners GSJK from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. Raymond James now has a $18.00 price target on the stock.

Jefferies Group  reiterated its buy rating on shares of HCA Holdings Inc HCA.

Craig Hallum  downgraded shares of Heckmann Co. HEK from a buy rating to a hold rating.

Global Hunter Securities  downgraded shares of Heckmann Co. HEK from a buy rating to a neutral rating.

Boenning Scattergood  downgraded shares of Heckmann Co. HEK from an outperform rating to a neutral rating.

Compass Point  downgraded shares of Home Properties HME from a buy rating to a neutral rating. Their analysts now have a $71.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $68.50.

BMO Capital Markets  downgraded shares of Health Net Inc HNT from a market perform rating to an underperform rating. Their analysts now have a $14.00 price target on the stock.

Goldman Sachs  initiated coverage on shares of Hologic, Inc. HOLX. They issued a buy rating on the stock.

UBS AG  initiated coverage on shares of Hewlett-Packard HPQ. They issued a sell rating on the stock and set a $16.00 price target.

Lazard Capital  initiated coverage on shares of Incyte INCY. They issued a neutral rating on the stock.

Jefferies Group  reiterated its hold rating on shares of Intuit Inc. INTU. They have a $59.00 price target on the stock.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods  downgraded shares of Knight Capital Group Inc. KCG from a market perform rating to an underperform rating. Their analysts now have a $2.50 price target on the stock.

Tudor Pickering  upgraded shares of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP KMP from a trim rating to a hold rating.

RBC Capital  downgraded shares of Kosmos Energy Ltd KOS from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating.

Caris & Co.  downgraded shares of Lamar Advertising Company LAMR from an above average rating to an average rating. Their analysts now have a $38.00 price target on the stock.

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