As the U.S. market started Thursday's trading on a flat note, several stocks were either upgraded or downgraded by analysts and rating agencies. Some notable stocks are discussed here.
Analysts at Credit Agricole upgraded Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX), which is engaged in the exploration, mining, and production of mineral resources, to Outperform from Underperform. They cut the stock's price target to $42 from $58. Yesterday, FCX announced a decline in its FY 2011 Q3 net income to $1.05 billion, or $1.10 per share, down from $1.18 billion, or $1.24 per share, during the same period last year. Revenue rose slightly to almost $5.2 billion, from $5.15 billion a year ago. Analysts had estimated a net profit of $1.05 per share on revenue of $4.78 billion for the company. Shares of FCX gained 0.44 percent, or $0.15, to trade at $34.53.
Mednax Inc. (NYSE: MD), which provides neonatal, maternal-fetal, other pediatric sub-specialties and anesthesia physician services, is raised to Buy from Hold with a price target of $76 by analysts at Deutsche Bank. They state that Mednax is one of those companies that they are always drawn to during a sector pull-back because it is well-run, well-capitalized and is a leader in outsourced physician markets that have reasonable long-term growth characteristics, yet lower overall risks. Shares of MD added 0.92 percent, or $0.58, to trade at $63.56.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded Changyou.com Ltd. (Nasdaq: CYOU), which develops and operates online games in China, to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $49. They find CYOU's risk-reward appears attractive. Shares of CYOU gained 4.02 percent, or $1.06, to trade at $27.43.
Youku.com Inc. (NYSE: YOKU), which operates as an internet television operator in China, is added to the Conviction Buy List by analysts at Goldman Sachs with a price target of $44. They remain optimistic about the company's revenue opportunity and growth outlook and the rapid cost inflation and the low likelihood of market consolidation is unlikely to derail Youku's path to profitability in second half of FY 2012. Shares of YOKU rose 6.11 percent, or $1.19, to trade at $20.66.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs downgrade Baidu Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDU), a leading provider of Chinese and Japanese language internet search services, to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $165 citing a less positive risk-reward ratio. They continue to view favorably Baidu's improved quality of growth and immense revenue opportunity as e-commerce growth accelerates advertiser adoption, but they believe relative outperformance here on could be difficult. Shares of BIDU fell 1.92 percent, or $2.42, to trade at $123.81.
Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC), which provides solutions for the collection, storage, management, protection and use of digital content primarily audio and video worldwide, is lowered to Buy from Strong Buy with a price target of $28, down from $45. Analyst note that the company has its Thailand facilities offline. Shares of WDC fell 3.64 percent, or $0.89, to trade at $23.55.