Company News for March 09, 2011

•Citi (NYSE:C) analyst Mark Mahaney upgraded online travel company Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) from “Hold” to “Buy ”rating with a target price of $29 per share

•Home builders Pulte Group (NYSE:PHM) reported an uptick in sales contracts. The company reported seasonal pickup in traffic which increased 13% month-to-month

•Payment-service company MoneyGram International Inc. (NYSE:MGI) reported a recapitalization deal with affiliates of Thomas H. Lee Partners and of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS)

•Southwest Airlines Co’s (NYSE:LUV) passenger traffic in February rose 13% to more than 5.64 billion revenue passenger miles from 5 billion revenue passenger miles recorded a year earlier

•Hutchinson Technology Inc (NASDAQ:HTCH) announced a restructuring plan. The maker of disk-drive components also warned of a decline in shipments in its fiscal second quarter

•Citigroup (NYSE:C) downgraded chip maker National Semiconductor Inc (NYSE:NSM) from “Hold” to “Sell” rating

•Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) analyst Matt O’Connor reiterated PNC Financial Services Group Inc (NYSE:PNU) with a “Buy” rating after meeting with company management

•Retailer Casey’s General Stores Inc (NASDAQ:CASY) reported its third-quarter profit missing the Street’s expectations

•Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) analyst Daniel Oppenheim upgraded M.D.C. Holdings Inc (NYSE:MDC) from “Neutral” to "Outperform" rating increasing the target price from $25 to $28