Benzinga's Top Upgrades, Downgrades For September 1, 2017

Top Upgrades

• JP Morgan upgraded Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW from Neutral to Overweight. Palo Alto shares climbed 7.76 percent to $142.99 in pre-market trading.
• Analysts at Baird upgraded Owens & Minor, Inc. OMI from Underperform to Neutral. Owens & Minor shares gained 0.72 percent to close at $27.94 on Thursday.
• Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded Gerdau SA (ADR) GGB from Neutral to Overweight. Gerdau shares rose 0.27 percent to close at $3.71 on Thursday.
• Citi upgraded Gap Inc GPS from Sell to Neutral. Gap shares gained 0.60 percent to close at $23.62 on Thursday.
• Analysts at Citigroup upgraded Kinross Gold Corporation (USA) KGC from Sell to Neutral. Kinross Gold shares gained 2.85 percent to $4.69 in pre-market trading.
• First Analysis upgraded Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW from Equal Weight to Overweight. Palo Alto shares climbed 7.76 percent to $142.99 in pre-market trading.

Top Downgrades

• Analysts at Bank of America downgraded Greif, Inc. GEF from Buy to Neutral. Greif shares rose 4.78 percent to close at $60.45 on Thursday.
• Craig-Hallum downgraded Ambarella Inc AMBA from Buy to Hold. Ambarella shares rose 0.69 percent to close at $54.40 on Thursday.
• Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded CRH Medical Corp CRHM from Overweight to Neutral. CRH Medical shares rose 1.02 percent to close at $2.47 on Thursday.
• Oppenheimer downgraded America First Multifamily Investors ATAX from Outperform to Perform. America First Multifamily Investors shares fel 0.81 percent to close at $6.15 on Thursday.

Top Initiations

• Analysts at DA Davidson initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services, Inc. PFS with a Neutral rating. The price target for Provident Financial is set to $25. Provident Financial shares closed at $24.85 on Thursday.
• Analysts at Baird initiated coverage of MAXIMUS, Inc. MMS with a Neutral rating. The price target for MAXIMUS is set to $64. MAXIMUS shares closed at $60.78 on Thursday.
• Stifel Nicolaus reinstated coverage on AvalonBay Communities Inc AVB with a Buy rating. The price target for AvalonBay Communities is set to $209. AvalonBay Communities shares closed at $187.73 on Thursday.
• KeyBanc reinstated coverage on VMware, Inc. VMW with a Sector Weight rating. VMware shares closed at $108.10 on Thursday.
• Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus reinstated coverage on Essex Property Trust Inc ESS with a Buy rating. The price target for Essex Property Trust is set to $294. Essex Property Trust shares closed at $265.97 on Thursday.
• Analysts at Citi initiated coverage on Minerva Neurosciences Inc NERV with a Buy rating. The price target for Minerva Neurosciences is set to $11. Minerva Neurosciences shares closed at $6.05 on Thursday.
• Bernstein initiated coverage on DowDuPont DWDP with an Outperform rating. The price target for 1st Constitution Bancorp is set to $79.
• Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Global Medical REIT Inc GMRE with an Overweight rating. The price target for Global Medical REIT is set to $12. Global Medical REIT shares closed at $8.45 on Thursday.