Aurizon (AZK) (CXO) (LNV) (MPC) (NSU) (NVA) (PSX) (TALV) (TC) (TET) Downgraded by Analysts

Aurizon Mines Ltd.(USA) (AZK), Concho Resources Inc. (CXO), Longview Oil Corp. (LNV), Marathon Petroleum (MPC), Nevsun Resources (NSU), Nuvista Energy (NVA), Phillips 66 (PSX), Talvivaara Mining Co. (TALV), Thompson Creek Metals (TC) and Trilogy Energy (TET) were downgraded by analysts.

Desjardins downgraded Aurizon Mines Ltd.(USA) (AZK) from a "Buy" rating to a "Hold" rating.

Iberia Capital downgraded Concho Resources Inc. (CXO) from a "Sector Perform" rating to an "Underperform" rating. They have a price target of $71.00 on the company.

Scotia Capital downgraded Longview Oil Corp. (LNV) from an "Outperform" rating to a "Sector Perform" rating. They have a price target of $8.50 on the company.

Deutsche Bank downgraded Marathon Petroleum (MPC) from a "Buy" rating to a "Hold" rating.

GMP Securities downgraded Nevsun Resources (NSU) from a "Buy" rating to a "Hold" rating.

TD Securities downgraded Nuvista Energy (NVA) from a "Buy" rating to a "Hold" rating. They have a price target of $6.00 on the company.

Deutsche Bank downgraded Phillips 66 (PSX) from a "Buy" rating to a "Hold" rating.

Nordea Equity Research downgraded Talvivaara Mining Co (TALV) to a "Sell" rating. They have a price target of $1.91 on the company.

UBS AG downgraded Thompson Creek Metals Co Inc (TC) from a "Buy" rating to a "Neutral" rating.

Scotia Capital downgraded Trilogy Energy (TET) from an "Outperform" rating to a "Sector Perform" rating. They have a price target of $33.00 on the company.

Randgold (RRS) (ABG) (AZK) (DUK) (HERO) (TEG) (PCL) Ratings

Randgold Resources Ltd (RRS), African Barrick Gold (ABG), Aurizon Mines Ltd. (AZK), Duke Energy Co. (DUK), Hercules Offshore, Inc. (HERO), Integrys Energy Group, Inc. (TEG), Plum Creek Timber Co. (PCL) ratings adjusted or initiated on by analysts.  
 
TheStreet upgraded Aurizon Mines Ltd.(USA) (AZK) to a "Buy" rating.  

Argus upgraded Duke Energy Co. (DUK) from a "Hold" rating to a "Buy" rating. They placed a price target of $72.00 on the company.

Tudor Pickering upgraded Hercules Offshore, Inc. (HERO) from a "Hold" rating to an "Accumulate" rating.
 
DA Davidson upgraded Integrys Energy Group, Inc. (TEG) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Buy" rating. They a price target of $59.00 on the company.

DA Davidson downgraded Plum Creek Timber Co. (PCL) from a "Buy" rating to a "Neutral" rating. They a price target of $45.00 on the company.

Liberum Capital Ltd initiated coverage on African Barrick Gold (ABG). It placed a "Hold" rating on the company.

Liberum Capital Ltd initiated coverage on Randgold Resources Ltd (RRS). It placed a "Hold" rating on the company.

Aurizon Mines (AMEX:AZK) Net Earnings Plunge in Second Quarter

Aurizon Mines Ltd. (AMEX:AZK) (TSE:ARZ) got slammed on its net earnings for the second quarter, as they plunged to $5.3 million, a drop of over 60 percent.

Earnings in the latest quarter came in at 3 cents a share, down from last year's $13.6 million, or 8 cents a share, last year.

The company lost big in its hedging activities, where they lost $4.3 million in non-cash unrealized derivative losses. Last year they gained $12.9 million in hedging in the same period.

Gold production for the quarter stood at 38,527 ounces, sold at an average price or $907 an ounce, far below the industry average last quarter.

Chief executive officer David Hall said, "We anticipate completing the mining of the lower grade material by the end of this year, paving the way for increased gold production and lower costs per ounce in future years."

A number of gold miners cited poor ore grades as reasons for lower earnings and higher costs the last quarter, even with the record price of gold.

Share price of Aurizon soared over 8 percent in New York and Toronto today.

Aurizon (TSE:ARZ) Beats Quarterly Estimates

Aurizon beats estimates for quarter

Aurizon Mines Ltd beat analyst estimates by increasing earnings to C$9.9 million, or C6 cents a share for the last quarter. Last year in the same quarter earnings a share came in at a loss of C$4.1 million, or C3 cents a share.

While an increase in gold prices was the key reason for the increase in profits, there was also C$4.5 million of non-refundable tax credits which helped them as well.

Analysts had been looking for earnings of C4 cents a share of revenue of C$36.7 million.

One concern for 2010 is the decreasing gold production at their major mine in Quebec, which is expected to fall from 159,261 ounces in 2009 to between 145,000 and 155,000 in 2010. Lower grades of gold was cited as the reason behind that.

That could be why Aurizon Mines has mentioned acquiring early stage gold mines in the near future.