- Pentair (PNR +2.1%) and Roper Technologies (ROP +0.9%) are upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at J.P. Morgan, which believes the stocks have not received as much as credit as other electrical equipment and multi-industry stocks for anticipated Trump-related benefits.
- On PNR, given low expectations set in October and less stock appreciation due to an already low tax rate, the firm sees potential for relative upside to organic growth in a better economy and less downside in a sluggish/steady-state economy, all at an attractive discount.
- JPM downgrades TriMas (TRS +0.7%) to Neutral from Overweight, citing valuation following the stock's outperformance over the last three months; the firm also reiterates Honeywell (HON +0.5%), Ingersoll-Rand (IR +1%) and Danaher (DHR +0.3%) at Overweight, and Rockwell Automation (ROK +0.8%) at Underweight while naming General Electric (GE -0.2%) a "top avoid," expecting core operating performance to track below plan driven by weak fundamentals.