Today's noteworthy downgrades include: CrossAmerica (CAPL) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird... Dillard's (DDS) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan... EOG Resources (EOG) downgraded at Oppenheimer... Fred's (FRED) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Stephens... Gap (GPS) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan... Goldman Sachs BDC (GSBD) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at SunTrust... Hi-Crush Partners (HCLP) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird... Intuit (INTU) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James... JD.com (JD) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley... Keryx (KERX) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Roth Capital... Lehigh Gas (LGP) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird... Lexicon (LXRX) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan... Marathon Oil (MRO) downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer... New Home Company (NWHM) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan... Parkway Properties (PKY) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital... Southcross Energy to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James... Stonegate Mortgage (SGM) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays... TELUS (TU) downgraded to Hold at Canaccord... TubeMogul (TUBE) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital... Viavi (VIAV) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital... Westlake Chemical (WLK) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman.

As previously reported, Deutsche Bank analyst David Begleiter upgraded Westlake to Buy from Hold with a price target of $174, up from $138. Shares have outperformed over the last 12 months, but the analyst argues its "not too late" as this outperformance has occurred despite weak fundamentals in each of Westlake's its commodity chains. Investors have focused on and rewarded Westlake for its building products business, a leading North American supplier in the premium roofing, sliding, trim and shutter, decorative stone and windows business. While stating that "sum of the parts stories rarely, if ever, work," the firm believes Westlake "could be on one of the rare sum of the parts stories does work."

Wells Fargo analyst Roger Read raised the firm's price target on Marathon Oil to $39 from $36 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. Based on robust operational momentum, the firm sees potential upside to FY24 U.S. onshore oil production estimate, translating to another year of higher-than-expected U.S. supply growth. Continued D&C efficiency improvements, incremental cost deflation, and a focus on high grading should combine to create positive momentum throughout 2024, Wells adds. Marathon remains the firm's top pick of oil-weighted E&Ps.