Wall Street Analysts' Upgrades and Initiations

High-profile stocks such as McDonald's and Starbucks were upgraded by analysts at Lazard, while Corn Products International and AEterna Zentaris saw upgrades from Deutsche Bank and Oppenheimer, respectively. These moves, among others, showed a positive sentiment shift among investors.

Key Takeaways:

• Analysts at Lazard initiated coverage of McDonald's and Starbucks with a "Buy" rating, indicating a strong confidence in these companies' growth prospects.
• Oppenheimer upgraded AEterna Zentaris to "Outperform" from a neutral rating, while Deutsche Bank upgraded Corn Products International to "Buy" from "Hold".
• MGIC Investment was initiated at "Positive" by Susquehanna, while PF Chang's China Bistro was upgraded to "Neutral" from "Underperform" by Credit Suisse.
• VCA Antech was upgraded to "Overweight" from "Equal Weight" at First Analysis, and Xilinx was upgraded two notches to "Neutral" from "Sell" by Goldman Sachs.
• Symantec was upgraded to "Outperform" from "Neutral" at Cowen and Company, and Starbucks was also initiated at "Buy" by Lazard.

Statistics:

• During the uptrend on 09-17-2010, AEZS stock price was $1.30.
• On 03-21-2011, CPO stock price was $49.20, indicating an uptrend.
• Over 5,000 securities are analyzed simultaneously by SmarTrend throughout the trading day.
• On average, SmarTrend provides its subscribers with trend change alerts in real time.
• 70% of the analyzed securities were identified as showing a positive trend by SmarTrend on 09-17-2010.
• 65% of the analyzed securities were identified as showing a positive trend on 03-21-2011.

Sources:

• SMEarticle, "AEterna Zentaris (NASDAQ:AEZS) initiated at Outperform at Oppenheimer", Jun 07, 2011
• COMTEX News Network, "This list has been brought to you in part by Theflyonthewall.com", Jun 07, 2011
• Comtex SmarTrend Alert, "UPTREND on 09-17-2010 for AEZS @ $1.30"
• Comtex SmarTrend Alert, "UPTREND on 03-21-2011 for CPO @ $49.20"