UPDATE: Bank of America Upgrades Siemens AG to Buy; EPS Cycle Turns Positive

Bank of America upgraded Siemens AG SI from Neutral to Buy with a $124.80 price objective. Bank of America analyst Mark Troman noted, "Our upgrade is based on (i) our belief that earnings momentum is turning positive thanks to a management team that is now committed to margin enhancement rather than growth, targeting a 12% sector profit margin in FY14 (ii) management is also showing increasing commitment to enhance the portfolio by exiting lower margin businesses and investing in higher margin ones (iii) our view that the risk of large charges has diminished and (iv) Siemens has displayed substantial underperformance vs the sector, peer companies and the DAX leaving the stock looking far more attractive from a risk-reward perspective." Siemens AG closed at $108.92 on Friday.