Benzinga's Top Upgrades, Downgrades For December 17, 2018

Top Upgrades

• Stifel Nicolaus upgraded G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (NASDAQ: GIII) from Hold to Buy. G-III Apparel fell 1.07 percent to close at $28.68 on Friday.
• JMP Securities upgraded MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE: MFA) from Market Perform to Market Outperform. MFA Financial shares rose 0.3 percent to $7.00 in pre-market trading.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Carlisle Companies, Inc. (NYSE: CSL) from Perform to Outperform. Carlisle shares fell 1.74 percent to close at $96.56 on Friday.
• Analysts at Raymond James upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro Co (NYSE: SMG) from Underperform to Outperform. Scotts Miracle Gro shares rose 1.2 percent to $64.26 in pre-market trading.
• JP Morgan upgraded Sherwin-Williams Co (NYSE: SHW) from Neutral to Overweight. Sherwin-Williams shares rose 0.7 percent to $388.79 in pre-market trading.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Calyxt Inc (NASDAQ: CLXT) from Neutral to Buy. Calyxt shares rose 4.55 percent to close at $9.88 on Friday.
• Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) from Hold to Buy. Lululemon shares rose 1.4 percent to $120.80 in pre-market trading.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE: SWK) from Hold to Buy. Stanley Black & Decker shares rose 0.34 percent to close at $118.36 on Friday.
• Jefferies upgraded Axovant Sciences Ltd (NASDAQ: AXON) from Hold to Buy. Axovant Sciences shares rose 13.9 percent to $1.15 in pre-market trading.
• JP Morgan upgraded Genpact Limited (NYSE: G) from Underweight to Neutral. Genpact shares fell 2.94 percent to close at $27.40 on Friday.

Top Downgrades

• Bank of America downgraded Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE: BBY) from Neutral to Underperform. Best Buy shares dropped 7.2 percent to $51.37 in pre-market trading.
• Goldman Sachs downgraded EQM Midstream Partners LP (NYSE: EQM) from Buy to Neutral. EQM Midstream shares fell 0.09 percent to close at $46.88 on Friday.
• Barclays downgraded Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) from Overweight to Equal-Weight. Emerson Electric shares fell 0.48 percent to $60.15 in pre-market trading.
• Guggenheim downgraded SCANA Corporation (NYSE: SCG) from Buy to Neutral. SCANA shares rose 6.25 percent to close at $50.98 on Friday.
• Janney Capital downgraded Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE: CPK) from Buy to Neutral. Chesapeake Utilities shares fell 1 percent to $92.24 in pre-market trading.
• Deutsche Bank downgraded Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW) from Hold to Sell. Illinois Tool Works shares fell 1.65 percent to close at $131.04 on Friday.

Top Initiations

• H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage on Taiwan Liposome Company ADR (NASDAQ: TLC) with a Buy rating. The price target for Taiwan Liposome Company is set to $9. Taiwan Liposome Company shares closed at $5.90 on Friday.
• Analysts at Barclays initiated coverage on Nightstar Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ: NITE) with an Overweight rating. The price target for Nightstar Therapeutics is set to $28. Nightstar Therapeutics shares closed at $11.64 on Friday.
• Argus initiated coverage on Zions Bancorp (NASDAQ: ZION) with a Buy rating. The price target for Zions Bancorp is set to $51. Zions Bancorp shares closed at $41.54 on Friday.
• Analysts at Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Avaya Holdings Corp (NYSE: AVYA) with a Neutral rating. The price target for Avaya Holdings is set to $20. Avaya Holdings closed at $17.58 on Friday.
• Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Skechers USA Inc (NYSE: SKX) with a Buy rating. The price target for Skechers is set to $32. Skechers closed at $22.90 on Friday.
• Jefferies assumed coverage on Manchester United PLC (NYSE: MANU) with a Buy rating. The price target for Manchester United is set to $26. Manchester United shares closed at $17.49 on Friday.