RealMoney

Today's noteworthy upgrades include: Alon USA Energy (ALJ) upgraded to Hold from Sell at Tudor Pickering... Aveo Pharmaceuticals (AVEO) upgraded to Sector Perform at RBC Capital... Calavo Growers (CVGW) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens... D.R. Horton (DHI) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities... DiamondRock (DRH) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird... Eni SpA (E) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS... Gigamon (GIMO) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays... HMS Holdings (HMSY) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Dougherty... Juniper (JNPR) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman... KB Home (KBH) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities... Ladder Capital (LADR) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo... Melco Crown (MPEL) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan... Netgear (NTGR) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman... Oasis Petroleum (OAS) upgraded to Neutral from Reduce at SunTrust... PBF Energy (PBF) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse... PulteGroup (PHM) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Buckingham... Reckitt Benckiser (RBGLY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies... Ryland Group (RYL) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities... Statoil (STO) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS... UTi Worldwide (UTIW) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital... VMware (VMW) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at Piper Jaffray... Whiting Petroleum (WLL) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Guggenheim.

Zelman upgraded PulteGroup to Outperform from Neutral.

BTIG analyst Carl Reichardt raised the firm's price target on PulteGroup to $133 from $122 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after its Q1 earnings beat. The outperformance was driven by delivery volume, gross margin, financial services income and a lower tax rate, though these were partially offset by lower average selling prices, SG&A ex-the benefit and land sales profit, the analyst tells investors in a research note. BTIG maintains that PulteGroup's high relative returns, conservative balance sheet, balanced product mix and scale advantages over many smaller peers are underappreciated.

Reports Q1 revenue $3.95B, consensus $3.58B. "PulteGroup reported outstanding financial results that included first quarter records for home sale revenues of $3.8 billion, gross margins of 29.6% and earnings per share of $3.10, all of which helped to drive a return on equity* of 27.3%," said PulteGroup President and CEO Ryan Marshall. "Our strong financial performance reflects both favorable demand conditions and our balanced operating model that allows us to more effectively meet the individual needs of first-time, move-up and active-adult consumers. After more than a decade of underbuilding, it is estimated that our country has a structural shortage of several million homes," added Marshall. "Given PulteGroup's broad operating platform and deep product portfolio, along with the powerful incentive programs we can offer to help improve the overall affordability equation, we are well positioned to expand our market share while helping to provide much needed new housing stock."