MOST NOTEWORTHY: Novartis, AIG, Diageo, and BEA Systems were today’s noteworthy downgrades:

• HSBC downgraded Novartis (NYSE: NVS) to Underweight from Neutral, as they believe the company’s mid-single digit pharma sales growth is not sustainable.
• AIG (NYSE: AIG) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform by Keefe Bruyette due to their concerns about the company’s deteriorating profit trends.
• Diageo (NYSE: DEO) was lowered to Neutral from Buy by Goldman Sachs to reflect a lack of near-term catalysts.
• Deutsche Bank downgraded BEA Systems (NASDAQ: BEAS) to Hold from Buy, as they
  believe it is likely that the acquisition will shut in April.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) was dropped to Hold from Buy by Morgan Joseph.
• Jackson Hewitt (NYSE: JTX) was dropped to Neutral from Buy at FTN Midwest.
• Roth Capital downgraded Collagenex (NASDAQ: CGPI) to Hold from Buy.
• Credit Suisse lowered MFA Mortgage (NYSE: MFA) to Neutral from Outperform.

Original post by Eric Buscemi

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