Notable Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (NYSE: OMER) (TSX: AP-U)

RBC Capital Markets upgraded real estate investment trusts - Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: AP-U) and Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (TSX: CAR-U) - to outperform from sector perform with a price target of C$ 36.00 and C$ 27.00 with upside potential of 16.8% and 14.7% respectively. Recently, AP-U announced that it has closed its previously announced public offering of 3.73 million units worth C$ 115 million. The company intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to fund upcoming capital projects, to fund anticipated future acquisitions, to retire mortgage indebtedness, to repay amounts drawn on its credit facility to fund recent acquisitions and for general trust purposes.

CIBC World Markets upgraded Canacol Energy Ltd (TSX:CNE), which is engaged in petroleum and natural gas exploration and development activities in Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador and Guyana, to sector perform from sector underperform with a price target of C$ 0.40 indicating an upside of 23.1% from current levels. Yesterday (Dec 4), CNE announced positive results from its Agueda 1 ST exploration well on the Labrador prospect on the LLA23 Exploration and Production Contract, located immediately to the north of the Corporation's Rancho Hermoso field in the Llanos Basin of Colombia. 

Dundee Securities Corp initiated coverage on New Zealand Energy Corp (TSXV: NZ), an oil and natural gas company engaged in the exploration, acquisition and development of petroleum and natural gas assets in New Zealand with a buy rating and assigned a 12-month price target of C$ 3.75, indicating an upside potential of 182% from current levels.

Argonaut Gold Inc (TSX: AR), which is engaged in production, exploration and acquisition of gold-bearing properties, development and processing, was initiated by RBC Capital Markets with an outperform rating. A 12-month price target of C$ 14.00 was assigned to the stock indicating an upside potential of 46.9% from the current levels.

Needham & Co upgraded Omeros Corp (NASDAQ: OMER), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of products focused on inflammation and disorders of the central nervous system, to buy from hold with a price target of $10.00 per share indicating an upside potential of 37% from current levels. The rating firm comments that OMER is expected to announce positive results from its Phase 3 trial of OMS-103HP in meniscectomy surgery, maintaining our neutral sentiment towards the outcome of the Phase 3 OMS103HP trial.

Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc (NYDE: HOS) and Tidewater Inc (NYSE: TDW), both provider of marine transportation services, with a neutral/attractive rating assigning a 12-months price target of $44.00 and $53.00 indicating an upside of 21% and 17% for each stock respectively.  

Analysts at Jefferies downgraded Olympic Steel Inc (NASDAQ: ZEUS), an US based metals service center primarily focusing on the direct sale and distribution of volumes of processed carbon, coated, aluminum and stainless flat-rolled sheet, coil and plate products, to hold from buy lowering the price target to $21.00 from the earlier target of $22.00 per share. Analyst Luke A Folta believes a continued pressure on the margins in U.S. flat rolled distribution and foresee a downside risk than upside to 2013 estimates.

HEICO Corp (NYSE: HEI), a manufacturer of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-approved jet engine and aircraft component replacement parts, was downgraded to sector perform from outperform at RBC Capital Markets with a price target of $39.00 (earlier target of $45.00).