Benzinga's Top Upgrades, Downgrades For March 2, 2017

Top Upgrades

• Analysts at Leerink Swann upgraded Sarepta Therapeutics Inc SRPT from Market Perform to Outperform. Sarepta shares rose 4.48 percent to $31.74 in pre-market trading.
• Analysts at Piper Jaffray upgraded Estee Lauder Companies Inc EL from Neutral to Overweight. Estee Lauder shares rose 1.45 percent to close at $84.05 on Wednesday.
• Analysts at Citigroup upgraded Acceleron Pharma Inc XLRN from Neutral to Buy. Acceleron Pharma shares rose 1.43 percent to $29.10 in pre-market trading.
• Analysts at Berenberg upgraded Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC RBS from Hold to Buy. Royal Bank of Scotland shares rose 2.21 percent to close at $6.01 on Wednesday.
• JP Morgan upgraded Seaspan Corporation SSW from Underweight to Neutral. Seaspan shares rose 2.04 percent to close at $8.00 on Wednesday.
• Analysts at Jefferies upgraded Windstream Holdings, Inc. WIN from Underperform to Hold. Windstream shares rose 1.20 percent to close at $7.56 on Wednesday.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM from Underperform to Neutral. Exxon Mobil shares rose 2.09 percent to close at $83.02 on Wednesday.
• BTIG Research upgraded Ambac Financial Group, Inc. AMBC from Neutral to Buy. Ambac Financial shares slipped 0.90 percent to close at $21.90 on Wednesday.

Top Downgrades

• Loop Capital downgraded Time Warner Inc TWX from Buy to Hold. Time Warner shares rose 0.70 percent to close at $98.90 on Wednesday.
• Analysts at Barclays downgraded Apache Corporation APA from Equal-Weight to Underweight. Apache shares fell 1.42 percent to $52.20 in pre-market trading.
• Analysts at Bank of America downgraded Anheuser Busch Inbev NV (ADR) BUD from Buy to Neutral. Anheuser-Busch shares fell 3.82 percent to $105.74 in pre-market trading.
• Piper Jaffray downgraded Tripadvisor Inc TRIP from Overweight to Neutral. TripAdvisor shares closed at $41.47 on Wednesday.
• Janney Capital downgraded IDEX Corporation IEX from Buy to Neutral. IDEX shares rose 4.28 percent to close at $96.14 on Wednesday.
• Longbow Research downgraded Kaman Corporation KAMN from Buy to Neutral. Kaman shares rose 0.71 percent to close at $52.14 on Wednesday.
• Citigroup downgraded Kite Pharma Inc KITE from Buy to Neutral. Kite Pharma shares fell 3.29 percent to $77.00 in pre-market trading.
• Bank of America downgraded American Eagle Outfitters AEO from Buy to Neutral. American Eagle shares fell 0.49 percent to $14.27 in pre-market trading.
• Imperial Capital downgraded Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW from Outperform to In-Line. Palo Alto shares rose 0.60 percent to $115.90 in pre-market trading.
• Analysts at DA Davidson downgraded Dycom Industries, Inc. DY from Buy to Neutral. Dycom shares fell 1.11 percent to $95.60 in pre-market trading.

Top Initiations

• Analysts at Seaport Global initiated coverage on Belden Inc. BDC with a Buy rating. Belden shares closed at $72.94 on Wednesday.
• Analysts at Bernstein initiated coverage on Splunk Inc SPLK with an Outperform rating. The price target for Splunk is set to $72. Splunk shares closed at $63.70 on Wednesday.
• Analysts at William Blair initiated coverage on Electronic Arts Inc. EA with an Outperform rating. Electronic Arts shares closed at $87.82 on Wednesday.
• Analysts at Aegis Capital initiated coverage on Celadon Group, Inc. CGI with a Buy rating. The price target for Celadon Group is set to $15. Celadon Group shares closed at $8.50 on Wednesday.
• Analysts at Mizuho initiated coverage on Autoliv Inc. ALV with a Neutral rating. The price target for Autoliv is set to $115. Autoliv shares closed at $105.15 on Wednesday.
• Analysts at Nomura initiated coverage of Sarepta Therapeutics Inc SRPT with a Buy rating. Sarepta shares closed at $30.38 on Wednesday.
• Analysts at Bank of America initiated coverage of Interpublic Group of Companies Inc IPG with a Buy rating. The price target for Interpublic Group is set to $28. Interpublic Group shares closed at $24.38 on Wednesday.
• Analysts at Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Ball Corporation BLL with a Neutral rating. The price target for Ball is set to $80. Ball shares closed at $75.00 on Wednesday.
• Mizuho initiated coverage on Xilinx, Inc. XLNX with a Neutral rating. The price target for Xilinx is set to $64. Xilinx shares closed at $59.68 on Wednesday.
• Nomura initiated coverage on Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ALXN with a Buy rating. Alexion Pharma shares closed at $134.21 on Wednesday.