Equity Brief: Ratings Changes for November 16th: SZYM, TRGP, TROX, TXN, TZYM, VAR, VMI, VRSN, WFM

A number of stocks were upgraded and downgraded by equities research analysts today, as reported by Analyst Ratings Network (http://bit.ly/equitybriefdaily) and Equity Brief:Jefferies Group raised its price target on shares of Solazyme Inc (NASDAQ: SZYM) from $22.00 to $23.00. They wrote, "The...

A number of stocks were upgraded and downgraded by equities research analysts today, as reported by Analyst Ratings Network (http://bit.ly/equitybriefdaily) and Equity Brief:

Jefferies Group raised its price target on shares of Solazyme Inc (NASDAQ: SZYM) from $22.00 to $23.00. They wrote, "The current projects remain on track, but the real milestones were Bunge expanding its plans even before Moema starts, a new agreement with ADM, another tailored food oil and a test marketing program for Soladiesel. The focus now shifts to winning downstream partnerships."

Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Targa Resources Investments Inc (NASDAQ: TRGP) from a hold rating to a buy rating.

UBS AG lowered its price target on shares of Tronox (NASDAQ: TROX) from $31.00 to $24.00. They have a buy rating on the stock.

Jefferies Group raised its price target on shares of Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) from $33.00 to $35.00. They have a buy rating on the stock. They wrote, "TI announced it will lower annual costs by $450m by EOY13, consistent with its strategy to focus its Wireless business on the embedded markets. We now forecast 6% FCF growth in 2013, FCF yield of 8.4% off our CY13 estimates. We like the 2.9% dividend yield, and view TXN as a beneficiary of transistor cost inflection we call "Moore Stress." We remain buyers of TXN."

JMP Securities downgraded shares of Tranzyme Inc (NASDAQ: TZYM) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating.

Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Tranzyme Inc (NASDAQ: TZYM) from a buy rating to a hold rating.

BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Tranzyme Inc (NASDAQ: TZYM) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating. Their analysts now have a $1.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $6.00.

Canaccord Genuity downgraded shares of Tranzyme Inc (NASDAQ: TZYM) from a buy rating to a hold rating.

Benchmark Co. initiated coverage on shares of Varian Medical Systems (VAR). They issued a buy rating on the stock and set a $88.00 price target.

SunTrust initiated coverage on shares of Varian Medical Systems (VAR). They issued a buy rating on the stock and set a $81.00 price target.

Zacks reiterated its outperform rating on shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (VMI). They have a $156.00 price target on the stock.

Zacks reiterated its neutral rating on shares of Verisign, Inc. (VRSN). They have a $44.00 price target on the stock. Zacks' analyst wrote, "Earnings estimates for 2012 have been more or less static after the company reported its third quarter results. VeriSign posted a net income of $0.44 per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. However, we remain concerned about the slowdown in domain name additions and the delay in the renewal agreement with the Department of Commerce. This could possibly limit upside in the current scenario. The company narrowed its revenue guidance for 2012 by $5 million. Hence, we maintain our Neutral recommendation as we believe that most of the positives are already discounted at current levels and the current environment demands caution from the investors. "

Zacks upgraded shares of Whole Foods Market (WFM) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating. Zacks now has a $97.00 price target on the stock.

Goldman Sachs downgraded shares of Windstream (WIN) from a neutral rating to a sell rating. Their analysts now have a $7.50 price target on the stock.

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