Equity Briefing: Upgrades and Downgrades for July 20th: NUE, NXTM, ONXX, ORB, PBCT, PRGO, PWE, RTN, SLM, SNA

A number of stocks were upgraded and downgraded by equities research analysts today, as reported by Analyst Ratings Network and Equity Briefing:

Nomura reiterated its buy rating on shares of Nucor Co. NUE. They noted that the move was a valuation call.

ThinkEquity initiated coverage on shares of Nxstage Medical NXTM. They issued a buy rating on the stock.

Leerink Swann upgraded shares of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ONXX from a market perform rating to an outperform rating.

Jefferies Group reiterated its buy rating on shares of Orbital Sciences Corp. ORB.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of People's United Financial, Inc. PBCT from an outperform rating to a market perform rating.

UBS AG downgraded shares of Perrigo PRGO from a buy rating to a neutral rating.

Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Penn West Energy Trust PWE from a buy rating to a hold rating.

Lazard Capital initiated coverage on shares of Raytheon Company RTN. They issued a neutral rating on the stock.

Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of SLM Co. SLM from a neutral rating to a buy rating.

Barrington Research downgraded shares of Snap-On Incorporated SNA from an outperform rating to a market perform rating.

Jefferies Group reiterated its buy rating on shares of SanDisk Co. SNDK.

Caris & Co. upgraded shares of SanDisk Co. SNDK from an average rating to an above average rating.

Nomura reiterated its buy rating on shares of SanDisk Co. SNDK.

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. STLD from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating.

KeyBanc upgraded shares of Stanley Black & Decker Inc SWK from a hold rating to a buy rating. KeyBanc now has a $80.00 price target on the stock.

Brean Murray upgraded shares of Suncoke Energy Inc SXC from a hold rating to a buy rating.

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