UPDATE: Bank of America Upgrades Genworth Financial

According to a research report published this morning, Bank of America has upgraded Genworth Financial GNW from Underperform to Neutral. Bank of America commented in the report, " We are upgrading our rating on GNW from Underperform to Neutral largely unrelated to the 1Q earnings release last night (operating EPS of $0.06 and we think $0.08 adjusting for one time items, both below our $0.09 estimate and the $0.13 consensus). Since Genworth reported 2011 results (February 3rd), the share price is down over 30%, largely on the preannouncement of a 1Q loss in Australia Mortgage Insurance (MI) and a delay of the partial IPO of this unit. With the recent loss in Australia and continued losses in U.S. MI, the share price reflects extreme negative sentiment, in our view." Bank of America maintains its $8 PO on Genworth Financial, which closed yesterday at $6.15.