Kinross (KGC) (CPE) (CXO) (ETP) (HFC) (MRO) Upgraded by Analysts

Kinross Gold Corp (KGC), Callon Petroleum Company (CPE), Concho Resources Inc. (CXO), Energy Transfer (ETP), HollyFrontier Corp (HFC) and Marathon Oil Co. (MRO) were upgraded by analysts.

SunTrust upgraded Callon Petroleum Company (CPE) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Buy" rating.
Goldman Sachs upgraded Concho Resources Inc. (CXO) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Buy" rating. They have a price target of $111.00 on the company.

Morgan Stanley upgraded Energy Transfer (ETP) from an "Underweight" rating to an "Equal Weight" rating. They have a price target of $50.00 on the company.

Barclays Capital upgraded HollyFrontier Corp (HFC) from an "Equal Weight" rating to an "Overweight" rating. They have a price target of $65.00 on the company.

Macquarie upgraded Kinross Gold Corp (KGC) from a "Neutral" rating to an "Outperform" rating.

JPMorgan Chase upgraded Marathon Oil Co. (MRO) from a "Neutral" rating to an "Overweight" rating. They have a price target of $35.00 on the company.

Harmony (HMY) (AEM) (PAL) (SLB) (OIS) Ratings Changes or Initiations

Harmony Gold Mining (HMY), Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (AEM), North American Palladium Ltd. (PAL), Schlumberger (SLB), Oil States International, Inc. (OIS) had ratings on them upgraded or initiated by analysts.

UBS AG upgraded Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (AEM) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Buy" rating.
UBS AG upgraded Harmony Gold Mining (HMY) from a "Sell" rating to a "Neutral" rating.

Credit Suisse upgraded North American Palladium Ltd. (PAL) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Outperform" rating. They have a price target of $15.00 on the company.
Howard Weil upgraded Schlumberger (SLB) from an "Outperform" rating to a "Focus Stock" rating.

BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Oil States International, Inc. (OIS). They have a "Market Perform" rating and price target of $88.00 on the company.

AuRico (AUQ) (CG) (CLR) (D) (NFX) (TGA) (TRGL) Upgraded by Analysts

AuRico Gold (AUQ), Centerra Gold Inc. (CG), Continental Resources, Inc. (CLR), Dominion Resources, Inc. (D), Newfield Exploration Co. (NFX), Transglobe Energy (TGA) and Toreador Resources Co. (TRGL) were upgraded by analysts. Canaccord Genuity upgraded AuRico Gold (AUQ) from a "Hold" rating to a "Buy" rating. They have a price target of $9.50 on the company. Canaccord Genuity upgraded Centerra Gold Inc. (CG) from a "Hold" rating to a "Buy" rating. They have a price target of $16.50 on the company. Capital One upgraded Continental Resources, Inc. (CLR) from a "Neutral" rating to an "Add" rating. They have a price target of $97.00 on the company. Credit Suisse upgraded Dominion Resources, Inc. (D) from a "Neutral" rating to an "Outperform" rating. They have a price target of $59.00 on the company. Tudor Pickering upgraded Newfield Exploration Co. (NFX) from an "Accumulate" rating to a "Buy" rating. Salman Partners upgraded Transglobe Energy (TGA) from a "Hold" rating to a "Speculative Buy" rating. They have a price target of $12.75 on the company. KeyBanc upgraded Toreador Resources Co. (TRGL) from an "Underweight" rating to a "Hold" rating.

Arch Coal (ACI) (DO) (FNV) (TGB) (EOX) (HNRG) (PXD) (PPP) Ratings Changes and Initiations

Arch Coal, Inc. (ACI), Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (DO), Franco Nev Corp (Canada) (FNV), Taseko Mines Limited (TGB), Emerald Oil Inc (EOX), Hallador Energy Co (HNRG), Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) and Primero Mining Corp. (Canada) (PPP) had ratings adjustments or initiations on them.

Macquarie upgraded Primero Mining Corp. (Canada) (PPP) from a "Neutral" rating to an "Outperform" rating.

Goldman Sachs (GS) downgraded Arch Coal, Inc. (ACI) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Sell" rating. They have a price target of $5.00 on the company.

Morgan Stanley (MS) downgraded Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (DO) from an "Overweight" rating to an "Equal Weight" rating. They have a price target of $85.00 on the company.

TD Securities downgraded Franco Nev Corp (Canada) (FNV) from a "Buy" rating to a "Hold" rating.

Canaccord Genuity downgraded Taseko Mines Limited (TGB) from a "Buy" rating to a "Hold" rating.

Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage on Emerald Oil (EOX). They have a "Buy" rating and a price target of $1.50 on the company.

Brean Murray initiated coverage on Hallador Energy Co (HNRG). They have a "Buy" rating and a price target of $10.00 on the company.

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) initiated coverage on Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD). They have an "Outperform" rating on the company.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Faces Upside Risk if Gas Comes Back

Even though Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) seems some risk associated with NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) because of their exposure to gas if it surges back, they still raised their rating on the energy company from "Sell" to "Hold," citing weak catalysts no longer a factor.

Deutsche said, "We upgrade NRG to Hold from Sell with the stock having dropped ~8% and lagged the market and IPP peers since mid-September (S&P 500 up 8%). Our key catalyst of weak initial '11 guidance has also now passed. While we are moving to Hold we remain cautious given a weak outlook driven by hedge roll-offs, continued overhang from the STP nuclear project, and a fundamental valuation of $19/sh or modestly below the current price. We do not find further downside potential to be enough, and see upside risk if gas rebounds and/or STP is cancelled."

NRG just finished the process of acquiring Green Mountain Energy Company for a cash deal of $350 million.

The company closed Friday at $20.10, gaining $0.17, or 0.85 percent. They have a market cap of a little over $5 billion.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Changes Ratings on CMS (NYSE:CMS) and NV Energy (NYSE:NVE)

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) changed its ratings on NV Energy (NYSE:NVE) and CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS), upgrading one and downgrading the other.

In the case of CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS), they were downgraded from "Buy" to "Neutral." After remaining level for months, CMS caught fire in the early part of July, but seem poised for a pullback.

NV Energy has been on a more steady climb, and were upgraded by Bank of America from "Underperform" to "Buy," as it looks like it's their turn to start a more serious climb in price.

NV closed Monday at $13.50, gaining $0.51, or 3.93 percent. CMS ended the trading session at $18.33, dropping $0.39, or 2.08 percent.

Stifel Nicolaus Raises Agrium (AGU) to Buy, Sets $100 Price Target

The red hot agriculture sector continues to push agriculture stocks up, and a number of upgrades have followed from several financial institutions. The latest is Stifel Nicolaus raising their rating on Agrium (NYSE:AGU) from "Hold" to "BUY."

Higher corn and soybean prices and the bid by BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) for Potash Corp (NYSE:POT) has been the driving force behind the surge in share prices in the sector.

Agrium closed Thursday at $87.15, gaining $0.29, or 0.33 percent.

Stifel raised their price target on the fertilizer company to $100.

Citigroup Raises Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) on Florida Lawsuit, BHP's (NYSE:BHP) Potash (NYSE:POT) Bid

Citigroup (NYSE:C) upgraded fertilizer company Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) from "Hold" to "BUY," citing improving conditions around a Florida lawsuit and the possibility of a higher bid by BHP (NYSE:BHP) for Potash Corp. (NYSE:POT).

The lawsuit is in relationship to a phosphate mine in Hardee County, Florida, which had a court issue a preliminary injunction against them, forbidding them to mine at this time.

Mosaic requested a stay on the order, which allow portions of the mine to be operational in 2011.

Citigroup analyst P.J. Juvekar said it's possible a ruling could be more favorable than that, and could be more long term for Mosaic. That would allow them to produce phosphate at lower prices.

The other factor is the potential acquisition of Potash Corp. by BHP Billiton, which will probably result in a higher bid by BHP for the fertilizer giant. That should result in a good boost for Mosaic when it happens.

Mosaic closed at $67.12, gaining $2.75, or 4.27 percent. Citigroup increased their price target on Mosaic from $64 to $78.

Suntech (NYSE:STP), First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR), Energy Conversion Devices (Nasdaq:ENER) Rated by Raymond James

For better or worse, the solar sector continues to garner a lot of attention, as Raymond James rated Suntech (NYSE:STP), First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR) and Energy Conversion Devices (Nasdaq:ENER).

Suntech was upgraded by Raymond James from "Underperform" to "Market Perform." They had also been upgraded by Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) from "Hold" to "Buy."

For First Solar Raymond downgraded them from "Outperform" to "Market Perform," and Energy Conversion Devices was downgraded from "Market Perform" to "Underperform."

First Solar closed Tuesday at $143.92, falling $3.15, or 2.14 percent. Suntech ended the session at $8.85, dropping $0.59, or 6.25 percent. Energy Conversion Devices closed at $4.64, losing $0.35, or 7.01 percent.

Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) Talks Magellan (NYSE:MMP), Plains All American Pipeline, (NYSE:PAA), Sunoco Logistics (NYSE:SXL) Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMR)

Commenting on various segments fo the pipeline sector, one grouping Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) targeted was large cap pipeline MLPS. There they gave their insights into Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE:MMP), Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE:PAA), Sunoco Logistics Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SXL) and Kinder Morgan Management, LLC (NYSE:KMR)."

Wells said, "We are increasing valuation ranges across our large cap
pipeline MLP coverage universe by an average of 1%. Our revised valuation
ranges suggest median total return potential of 8% for the subsector. On
average, we are raising our 2011 DCF per unit estimates by 3%. We are
downgrading Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P., Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., and Sunoco Logistics Partners, L.P. to Market Perform from Outperform based on valuation. Our top Outperform pick in this subsector is Kinder Morgan Management, LLC."

Magellan Midstream Partners closed Thursday at $53 even, falling $0.47, or 0.88 percent. Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. dropped to $63.56, down $0.82, or 1.27 percent. Sunoco Logistics Partners , L.P. ended the session at $79.62, dropping $0.68, or 0.85 percent, and Kinder Morgan Management, LLC closed at $62.14, down $0.29, or 0.46 percent.

McMoRan Exploration (NYSE:MMR) Raised by Susquehanna

Susquehanna increased its price target on McMoRan Exploration (NYSE:MMR), citing acquisition of PXP's SWUD program.

"MMR's recent transaction to buy PXP’s share of its shallow water ultradeep (SWUD) program combined with likely encouraging news near term from ongoing SWUD drilling supports a materially higher MMR share price," Susquehanna said.

McMoRan closed Monday at $18.97, down $0.12, or 0.63 percent. Volume was almost double the daily 3-month average. Susquehanna raised their price target on them from $18 to $23, while maintaining a positive rating.

CapitalOne southcoast also raised their rating on McMoRan from "Neutral" to "Add."

Titan International (NYSE:TWI) Upgraded to Buy by Morgan Joseph

Shares of Titan International (NYSE:TWI) surged Wednesday as Morgan Joseph upgraded them from "Hold" to "Buy," citing the progress of the company isn't priced into the shares.

"While currently trading at about 19x our estimate for 2011 EPS, Titan's shares do not appear to reflect certain qualitative positives. We believe the company could produce profits of $1.20 per share in 2012, in light of the initiatives underway (e.g., expansion into Brazil and Europe, growth of the mining-truck tire business and turnaround of construction equipment)," Morgan said.

"We are adjusting our Q3 and Q4 estimates from $0.19 and $(0.04) to $0.09 and $0.06, respectively, to better reflect our latest views on the timing for revenues and expenses. As a result, our 2010 EPS estimate moves up to $0.33 from $0.30. For 2011, we project EPS more than doubling to $0.75."

Titan closed at $15.07, soaring $0.84, or 5.90 percent. Morgan Joseph has a price target of $18 on the company.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Upgrades SunPower (Nasdaq:SPWRA) to "Neutral"

SunPower (Nasdaq:SPWRA) upgraded by Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) from "Underperform" to "Neutral."

The solar industry has garnered a lot of interest lately, and it's hard to see what the hype is about, other than an attempt to take advantage of the temporary anger at BP (NYSE:BP), and by extension the oil industry. That has allowed companies like get a lot of financial press, and along with that numerous ratings changes.

Analyst Steven Millunovich said in a note, “While the company still suffers from high-cost panels and negative free cash flow, an improved industry outlook along with a solid project pipeline seem to indicate the worst is over.”

Concerning the solar sector, Millunovich added, “The industry backdrop has improved with demand visibility into the first half of 2011.” SunPower should "maintain a premium” he concluded, based on sold China pricing in the $1.60-$1.65/watt range.

Although demand has increased, this is still an industry to be very cautious over, as pricing and margins is still a huge factor, and a number of solar companies are pushing ahead to gain market share even in light of potentially heavy losses.

Goldman (NYSE:GS) Upgrades Ternium (NYSE:TX) to Neutral, Citing Valuation, Pricing

Steel manufacturer Ternium (NYSE:TX) was upgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from "Sell" to "Neutral."

Goldman pointed to the valuation of the stock trading at 51%/43% discounts to Usiminas/CS.

Primarily manufacturing and processing flat and long steel products, Goldman doesn't see them under the pricing pressure competitors in Brazil are under domestically.

Ternium closed Tuesday at $33.86, gaining $1.31, or 4.02 percent. Goldman has lowered their price target from $40.60 to $37.90 on them.

Taseko Mines (Amex:TGB) Upgraded by Canaccord, Citing Higher Copper Prices

Taseko Mines Limited (Amex:TGB) was upgraded by Canaccord Genuity from "Hold" to "Buy," based on the projection the price of copper will increase.

"We are upgrading our rating to BUY and increasing our 12-month target price to reflect our higher near- to medium-term copper price outlook. Our revised C$6.75 target is based on a 2011E EV/EBITDA multiple of 4.0x, plus in situ value for Prosperity of $2.94 per share weighted at a 75% probability of federal permitting. The stock is rated a BUY based on the company’s leverage to copper, strong balance sheet, and attractive relative NPV valuation."

This of course doesn't include if they're given permission to proceed with their Prosperity project. It they are cleared, that could result in the stock possibly doubling in value.

Just with their producing Gibraltar copper mine the number above should be close to their future performance.

Takseko closed Friday at $5.55, gaining $0.35, or 6.73 percent.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Upgrades DryShips (Nasdaq:DRYS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) likes what they see with DryShips (Nasdaq:DRYS), upgrading them to "Equal Weight."

Morgan said they would have upgraded them to "Overweight" if they took care of several issues.

First there is the financing of four new vessels which are sitting without contracts. If DryShips were to sell a couple of drillships, Morgan said that would help solve that problem by lowering the debt from the capital raised.

A continuing $350 million at-the-market offering and $700 million in convertible notes, along with a $300 million convertible preferred offering has the potential to increase the dilution of the shares.

DryShips closed Monday at $4.47, gaining $0.35, or 8.36 percent. Morgan Stanley has a price target of $5.50 on them.

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) Upgrades Allegheny (NYSE:AYE) and FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE), Downgrades Entergy (NYSE:ETR)

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) took aim at the energy sector, raising the rating of Allegheny Energy (NYSE:AYE) and FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) while downgrading Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR).

Allegheny Energy and FirsEnergy were upgraded from "Neutral" to "Outperform," and Entergy Corporation was downgraded from "Outperform" to "Neutral."

Allegheny closed Thursday at $23.54, gaining $0.29, or 1.25 percent. Volume was up over 30 percent from the 3-month average.

FirstEnergy closed at $37.39, up $0.32, or 0.86 percent. Volume for them was also much higher than the daily average.

Entergy closed at $76.40, falling $0.65, or 0.84 percent. Trading volume increased for them as well.

Consolidated Water (Nasdaq:CWCO) Upgraded by Brean Murray

Brean Murray Carret & Co. analyst Michael Gaugler upgraded Consolidated Water (Nasdaq:CWCO) from "Hold" to "Buy," citing valuation.

Gaugler said, "In the past six weeks the shares have dropped 27%
and are now trading at their historically low P/E levels. The
compelling valuation is backed by a few other key items of interest
which include: 1) shares trading below book value; 2) strong balance
sheet; and 3) potential upside to current estimates if the company
returns to operate the Baugher Bay plant in BVI."

The bottom line is Consolidated may be an acquisition target on these prices.

"The company is now looking like an attractive acquisition candidate, given we believe the shares are now trading at the liquidation value of the assets," Gaugler said.

Gaugler has a price target of $12 on the company.

Wisconsin Energy (NYSE:WEC) Upgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS)

Commenting on several energy and utility companies, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) ranked Wisconsin Energy (NYSE:WEC) among their favorites of those they took a look at.

Goldman raised Wisconsin Energy (NYSE:WEC) from "Neutral" to "BUY."

What was attractive to Goldman about the company was the raising of its estimates because of higher transmission earnings. They also said they're planning on increasing the dividend to a significant level sometime in the next several months.

Other companies Goldman upgraded and downgraded were El Paso Electric (NYSE:EE), which they upgraded to "Neutral," and Great Plains Energy (NYSE:GXP) which they downgraded to "Neutral."

Goldman (NYSE:GS) Upgrades Freeport (NYSE:FCX), Best Among Broader Metal Sector

Goldman Sachs' (NYSE:GS) analyst Sal Tharani upgraded Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) from "Neutral" to "Buy," citing it as the place to be in the broader metal sector.

Downplaying the weakness in the steel industry, Tharani said likes Freeport more because of its copper exposure. He said the balance of supply and demand in 2011 favors the copper segment.

Ongoing demand from China, which consumers over 20 percent of copper, wasn't a certainty too long ago, but appears to be more certain now, and that should benefit Freeport and other copper producers.

While it doesn't seem to be as certain as to supply not being able to meet demand, as Europe and the U.S. are doubtful as to any type of sustainable growth, it will be mostly on China for copper, and if they falter so will the copper industry.

But if copper does thrive in 2011, Tharani believes Freeport is the company best positioned to take advantage of it.