UPDATE: Barclays Upgrades Telefonica SA to Equal-Weight; Growth Recovering

Barclays upgraded Telefonica SA

from Underweight to Equal-weight. Barclays commented, "Recovering growth in Latam and dramatically reduced costs in Spain should lead to stable underlying group revenues and EBITDA in 2013. Investors are likely to focus on improved earnings direction in Spain. The extent of Venezuela and Argentina FX pressures acts as a break on earnings upgrades. Despite these headwinds, stable EBITDA means that Telefonica's return to dividends seems reasonable for the first time in three years. We upgrade to Equal Weight and return to a DCF based price target of €10 (was €8.5)." Telefonica SA closed at $13.02 on Thursday.