Analysts Upgrades And Downgrades: AEG, CRIC, CGG, MBT

Amidst the positive opening of the U.S. market, several stocks were either upgraded or downgraded by analysts and rating agencies. Some notable stocks are discussed here.

Aegon NV (NYSE: AEG), which provides life insurance, pensions, and asset management products and services worldwide, is downgraded to Neutral from Buy by analysts at Goldman Sachs. They state that while shares have underperformed the insurance sector this year, they have fewer options available to it should the interest rate environment remain low for a prolonged time period. Shares of AEG were down 0.53 percent, or $0.02, to trade at $3.72.

China Real Estate Information Corp. (Nasdaq: CRIC), which provides real estate information, consulting, advertising, promotional event, and online services in China, is downgraded by analysts at the Street to Sell from Hold with a price target of $5. In its fiscal 2011 third quarter, CRIC posted a loss of $413 million, or $2.94 per share, down from earnings of $6.6 million, or 4 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Shares of CRIC fell 3.59 percent, or $0.17, to trade at $4.57.

CGGVeritas (NYSE: CGG), which provides geophysical services and equipment to the oil and gas exploration and production industries in France and internationally, is initiated with a Hold rating at Collins Stewart. CGG has been ranked in the top 2 percent of the UK Government's Carbon Reduction Committee league table published in November 2011. The league table ranks organizations participating in the CRC on how well they manage their energy efficiency. Out of over 2,000 companies listed, CGGVeritas was the highest ranked company from the oil and gas industry. Shares of CGG added 4.99 percent, or $0.94, to trade at $19.79.

Mobile Telesystems OJSC (NYSE: MBT), which provides telecommunications services primarily in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, and Belarus, is upgraded to Buy from Neutral by analysts at UBS. MBT reported 4.7 percent increase in its q! uarter-o ver-quarter consolidated revenues to $3,275 million in its FY11 Q3. Shares of MBT gained 2.32 percent, or $0.34, to trade at $15.

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