Equity Brief: Ratings Changes for November 16th: MOS, MUR, MYGN, MYL, NCMI, NLY, NTAP, NTES, NUVA

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

UBS AG cut their EPS estimates on shares of The Mosaic Company MOS. They now have a buy rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock.

Societe Generale upgraded shares of Murphy Oil Corp MUR from a hold rating to a buy rating. They wrote, "It remains a headlines driven and traders market. As an oil-leveraged producer, MUR shares have fallen 9% since their announcement of a $2.50/share special dividend for shareholders (payable on 12/3/12), a $1 billion stock buyback program, and a 2013 spinoff of their retail marketing business, which would make MUR's E&P operations fully 'independent'. Nevertheless, the stock has sold off. So much for rewarding shareholders. WTI prices have also fallen 6% since mid October, but with gratuitous payouts looming, we expect the stock to recoup and are upgrading to BUY on 20.5% 12m est. TSR."

JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of Myriad Genetics MYGN. They issued a market perform rating on the stock.

Leerink Swann upgraded shares of Mylan Inc. MYL from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. Leerink Swann now has a $30.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $26.00.

Barrington Research upgraded shares of National CineMedia, Inc. NCMI from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. Barrington Research now has a $17.00 price target on the stock.

Wells Fargo & Co. upgraded shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NLY) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating.

Argus upgraded shares of NetApp Inc. (NTAP) from a hold rating to a buy rating. Argus now has a $36.00 price target on the stock.

Deutsche Bank reiterated its hold rating on shares of Netease.com Inc (NTES).

First Analysis upgraded shares of NuVasive (NUVA) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating.

Oppenheimer upgraded shares of OSI Systems Inc (OSIS) from a perform rating to an outperform rating. Oppenheimer now has a $72.00 price target on the stock. They wrote, "When we initiated coverage of OSI in Sept. (on 9/4 at $74.10), we highlighted its impressive roster of growth opportunities. The one factor giving us pause was OSI's lofty valuation, an impediment that receded with yesterday's sell-off. As for the catalyst behind OSI's retrenchment, we think it's exceedingly overdone: a case of a fairly ordinary kerfuffle between OSI and TSA getting recast as a federal offense by a House subcommittee apparently intent on elevating TSA's minute operational issues into national news. We're growing convinced this is a tempest in a teapot, and that the issues between OSI and TSA will be resolved without a material impact to business fundamentals."

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