As noted earlier, RBC Capital upgraded American Axle (AXL) to Outperform from Sector Perform. Analyst Joseph Spak says that the company will benefit from a "stronger for longer" U.S. auto cycle, while concerns about its debt in the wake of its acquisition of Metaldyne Performance (MPG) are overdone. Spak expects the company's free cash flow growth to generate about $11 per share for equity holders by 2019, and he says that the company's pro-forma sales and EBITDA margin guidance beat his expectations. Finally, Spak thinks that synergies from the Metaldyne deal could beat expectations. Target to $23 from $16.