This morning, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Deere (NYSE:DE) from Equal Weight to OVerweight as the firm sees demand for farm equipment growing in the United States. Given the current trend of larger farms buying smaller farms, Morgan Stanley sees the demand for new tractors increasing as more acreage is in the hands of corporate farmers. Since smaller farms tend to upgrade equipment less frequently, the shift to larger farms should help Deere sell more farm equipment going forward. With the upgrade, Morgan Stanley increased its price target from $48 per share up to $64.
Shares of Deere were moving higher this morning, up more than four percent so far today.
Jeffries upgraded shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) from Hold to Buy as cost cutting efforts at the company have exceeded expectations. Jefferies analyst Jeff Farmer believes the extra cost cutting could add an additional twenty three cents to the 2010 EPS for the company. Furthermore, same store sales are expected to increase next year as lower prices should drive more customers to the coffee bar. With the upgrade, Jefferiers increased its price target from $22 per share up to $25.
In morning trading, shares of Starbucks were trading higher, up more than two and a half percent.
And homebuilder DR Horton (NYSE:DHI) drew the attention of two investment firms this morning. Citigroup upgraded the company from Sell to Hold as the stock has fallen more than twenty percent over the past three months. And Barclays increased its 2010 EPS estimates to twenty one cents per share as the firm sees the housing market improving next year. Citigroup maintained its price target of $10.50 per share, while Barclays lowered its price target to $12 per share and maintained its Overweight rating.
Shares of DR Horton were trading higher Monday morning, up about two and half percent so far today.
For MarketNewsVideo.com, I'm Angela Salvucci.
