Equity Brief: Upgrades and Downgrades for September 4th: MS, MS, MT, NMR, NSC, NTI, NVDA, NWE, NWSA, NYX, PBR

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 Brief:

Credit Agricole  upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) from an outperform rating to a buy rating. Credit Agricole now has a $23.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $16.00.

JPMorgan Chase  upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating. JPMorgan Chase now has a $20.00 price target on the stock.

Jefferies Group  initiated coverage on shares of ArcelorMittal ADR (NYSE: MT). They issued a buy rating on the stock.

Macquarie  upgraded shares of Nomura (NYSE: NMR) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating.

Dahlman Rose  downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) from a buy rating to a hold rating. Their analysts now have a $86.00 price target on the stock.

Goldman Sachs  initiated coverage on shares of Northern Tier Energy (NYSE: NTi). They issued a buy rating on the stock and set a $26.00 price target.

Bank of America  initiated coverage on shares of Northern Tier Energy (NYSE: NTi). They issued a buy rating on the stock and set a $22.00 price target.

UBS AG  initiated coverage on shares of Northern Tier Energy (NYSE: NTi). They issued a buy rating on the stock.

Barclays Capital  initiated coverage on shares of Northern Tier Energy (NYSE: NTi). They issued an equal weight rating on the stock.

Evercore Partners  upgraded shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) from an equal weight rating to an equal weight rating.

Susquehanna  downgraded shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) from a positive rating to a neutral rating.

Robert W. Baird  downgraded shares of NorthWestern Co. (NYSE: NWE) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating. Their analysts now have a $38.00 price target on the stock.

Barclays Capital  upgraded shares of News Corp (NASDAQ: NWSA) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating. Barclays Capital now has a $28.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $27.00.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods  upgraded shares of NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods now has a $29.00 price target on the stock. They noted that the move was a valuation call.

Morgan Stanley  initiated coverage on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro SA (NYSE: PBR). They issued an overweight rating on the stock.

Goldman Sachs  initiated coverage on shares of Performant Financial Corp (NASDAQ: PFMT). They issued a buy rating on the stock and set a $16.00 price target.

Wells Fargo & Co.  initiated coverage on shares of Performant Financial Corp (NASDAQ: PFMT). They issued an outperform rating on the stock. They noted that the move was a valuation call.

Morgan Stanley  initiated coverage on shares of Performant Financial Corp (NASDAQ: PFMT). They issued an overweight rating on the stock.

Credit Suisse  initiated coverage on shares of Performant Financial Corp (NASDAQ: PFMT). They issued an outperform rating on the stock and set a $13.00 price target.

William Blair  initiated coverage on shares of Performant Financial Corp (NASDAQ: PFMT). They issued an outperform rating on the stock.

Oppenheimer  initiated coverage on shares of Peregrine Semiconductor Corp (NASDAQ: PSMI). They issued an outperform rating on the stock and set a $20.00 price target.

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