Upgrades
* J.P. Morgan Securities LLC on May 17 upgraded NiSource Inc.
* Separately, J.P. Morgan on May 10 raised its rating on First Solar Inc. to "overweight" from "neutral." First Solar has "excellent revenue and earnings visibility," although its earnings growth is range-bound by the lack of pricing power in a global commodity market, according to the brokerage.
* CFRA Equity Research on May 9 lifted its opinion on Ameren Corp. shares to "hold" from "sell." Analyst Christopher Muir also raised his 12-month target price by $4 to $58 on higher peer valuations.
* Mizuho Securities USA LLC on May 7 upgraded FirstEnergy Corp. to "buy" from "neutral" based on valuation and the potential for the company to be acquired.
* CFRA on May 4 raised its rating on Consolidated Edison Inc. shares to "sell" from strong sell" on the view that the company will have fewer cost savings going forward.
* Bank of America Merrill Lynch on May 4 upgraded Pinnacle West Capital Corp.
* J.P. Morgan on May 3 upgraded TerraForm Power Inc. "overweight" from "neutral" after the company's first-quarter results met expectations.
* Citigroup Inc. on May 1 upgraded Eversource Energy to "neutral" from "sell," saying offshore wind helps support the company's growth story. The brokerage also cited a potential for corporate merger and acquisition as a reason for the upgrade.
Downgrades
* Bank of America Merrill Lynch on May 16 downgraded AES Corp. to "neutral" from "buy" on view that company is now fairly valued.
* J.P. Morgan on May 14 lowered its investment opinion on Ormat Technologies Inc. to "neutral" from "overweight," citing molten lava threat at the Puna Geothermal Venture I in Hawaii.
* Mizuho Securities USA on May 7 downgraded ALLETE Inc. to "neutral" from "buy" and increased its price target to $75.50 from $70.50, citing valuation.
* CFRA downgraded Edison International to "hold" from "buy" but raised the 12-month target price by $2 to $66.
Coverage initiations
* UBS Investment Bank on May 1 started coverage of Hydro One Ltd. with a "sell" rating and a C$19 price target. The firm cited the June 7 Ontario election and the Avista Corp.
* Morgan Stanley resumed coverage of AES Corp. at "equal-weight" and a $13.50 price target on improving cash flow profile, The Fly reported.
Notable reiterations
* Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc. reiterated its "outperform" rating on Avangrid Inc., after its Vineyard Wind LLC joint venture with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners K/S was selected in the 800-MW offshore wind auction in Massachusetts.
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