United Continental Shares Rise After Upgrade To Outperform From Market Perform

Shares of United Continental Holdings Inc. rose 4.6% in premarket trade Tuesday after the stock was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Raymond James. The analysts said they upgraded the stock because the company appointed two industry veterans, with Scott Kirby appointed as president and Andrew Levy as chief financial officer. Their appointment should start narrowing the company's margin gap, they say. They also note that competitive capacity is improving. The analysts have a $65 price target for the stock. Shares of United Continental have gained 4% in the past three months, in line the S&P 500's gain of 4%.