Equity Brief: Ratings Changes for November 27th: MCHP, MLNX, MMR, MWE, MYL, NCR, NOK, NOV

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:

Zacks downgraded shares of Microchip Technology Inc. MCHP from a neutral rating to an underperform rating. Their analysts now have a $27.00 price target on the stock. Zacks' analyst wrote, "Microchip Technology is one of the fastest growing providers of 16-bit and 32-bit microcontrollers. Earnings estimates have gone down significantly after the company reported its second quarter 2013 results, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the second time in a row. Sales continued to decline due to weak European markets and uncertain economic environment in the U.S. and China. Margins were hit by increased acquisition charges. The guidance provided by the company was also weak. The uncertain economic environment coupled with deceleration in worldwide GDP growth continues to plague Microchip. Hence, a significant improvement in business is not on the cards in the near term. Consequently, we downgrade our recommendation on the company to Underperform from Neutral. "

Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. MLNX. They issued a buy rating on the stock and set a $100.00 price target.

RBC Capital downgraded shares of McMoRan Expl MMR from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating. Their analysts now have a $10.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $14.00.

JPMorgan Chase initiated coverage on shares of MarkWest Energy Partners MWE. They issued an overweight rating on the stock.

Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Mylan Inc. MYL. They issued an overweight rating on the stock. They wrote, "We initiate coverage on Mylan at OW-100%, as we see material yield and promising long-term growth prospects vs. peers within the IG Pharma subsector. Moody's and S&P upgraded Mylan to investment grade last week mainly due to its strong positioning in the generics market and favorable financial policies."

Susquehanna initiated coverage on shares of NCR Corp. (NCR). They issued a positive rating on the stock and set a $29.00 price target.

RBC Capital raised its price target on shares of Nokia Co. (NOK) from $3.00 to $4.00. They have a sector perform rating on the stock.

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of National-Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NOV) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating. Their analysts now have a $95.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $110.00.

Zacks reiterated its neutral rating on shares of Nexen Inc. (NXY). They have a $26.00 price target on the stock. Zacks' analyst wrote, "We are maintaining our recommendation on Nexen Inc. at Neutral following the third quarter results. Nexen continues to make solid progress in its exploration and production (E&P) portfolio. It has been actively investing in its upstream assets in recent years, significantly improving its long-term production-growth prospect. The company remains active on ramping-up operations in the Usan field (Nigeria) and is likely to cut a deal with Hess Corporation for unitization and development of the Pony/Knottyhead field in the GoM. However, Nexen's high debt level with weak cash flow compared to its peers remains a cause of concern. Problems on the execution front in the company's line-up of long-cycle projects may further pressure valuation. "

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