Catch up on today's top five analyst upgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. American Express (AXP) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill with the firm's analyst saying the third quarter earnings report points to better than expected billings and higher net interest income and should result in improved sentiment. 2. Kinder Morgan (KMI) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse, to Buy from Hold at Stifel, and to Outperform from Peer Perform at Wolfe Research. 3. MAA (MAA) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies and to Outperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities. 4. Banc of California (BANC) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at DA Davidson with analyst Gary Tenner citing a steep recent selloff that culminated with Tuesday's decline sparked by a negative Seeking Alpha post. The bank has refuted the most meaningful claim in the recent article and its just-released earnings beat expectations, driven by higher fee income levels, Tenner tells investors. 5. DragonWave (DRWI) upgraded to Hold from Sell at Desjardins with analyst Maher Yaghi saying the Sprint (S) contract announcement may be large enough to bring operations back into a cash neutral position. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

Truist lowered the firm's price target on Banc of California to $15 from $16 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares as part of a broader Q1 earnings recap research note on Regional and Community Banks. The firm now sees Fed funds rate forecast shifting to zero cuts in 2024 and four 25bps cuts in 2025, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Truist adds that its revisions reflect lower near term net interest income and lower fee income for the bank offset partially by lower operating expenses.

Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on American Express to $265 from $250 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm sees a good case for management to express greater confidence in or lean to the upper end of the EPS or revenue guide for 2024. With the macro haze fading, Wells believes investors will come away with a greater appreciation of the competitive position and moat.

Barclays lowered the firm's price target on Banc of California to $15 from $16 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares post the Q1 report. The company guidance was reiterated but Barclays sees a slower path to target profitability as the revenue side lags progress on expenses, the analyst tells investors in a research note.