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RBC Capital is upbeat on British gas owner Centrica (LON:CNA) and has flipped its rating on the shares to 'outperform' from 'underperform', saying it has "fundamentally" changed its view on the stock.
It reckons the energy group is ahead of peers in terms of embracing the connected world, where customers can control home heating remotely.
That comes via its Hive business launched in 2013.
"We see Hive leading to a fundamental brand reappraisal among consumers, differentiating CNA from other suppliers, refreshing the Services offering, delivering cost savings and creating new revenue streams."
Centrica in the UK has a market share of around 40% in gas and 25% in electricity, making it the number one supplier in each market, analyst John Musk notes.
He has also kicked up the target price on the shares to 320p from 240p previously.
The next key event, says Musk, will be the strategy day on July 30.
"We think this will focus on four areas of efficiency, scaling back E&P, US growth and positioning the Connected Home at the heart of the growth strategy," he said.
Downgrades however were more on analysts' radars today.
US heavyweight Citi has slashed Genel Energy's (LON:GENL) target price to 580p from 900p though it does repeat a 'buy' on the shares.
It comes as part of the brokers take on the upcoming results from the European explorers and producers (E&P's), a sector that has had a "very difficult year", buffeted by a tough macro environment, project execution issues and - for the Kurdistan-focused names - political uncertainty.
Enquest (LON:ENQ) is held at 'neutral' but the target cut to 50p from 63p, while Ophir is cut to 137p from 170p.
Tullow (LON:TLW), meanwhile, has its target pinched to 350p from 500p.
Away from oil, Ladbrokes (LON:LAD), the High Street bookie, also gets attention from Citi, which repeats a 'sell' rating and clips the target price to 100p from 125p previously.
It says it has reservations of last week's announced merger with Gala Coral, especially around dual branding and leverage and a long delay while the CMA deliberates on the potential deal means protracted uncertainty.
"Ladbrokes Coral hopes to persuade the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that market share should be considered on a more holistic basis to reflect the growth of online gaming. The process could take a year."
"Ladbrokes’ new strategy distanced itself from previous management missteps but does not propose any radical solutions to improving performance, in our view."
Big cap miner Anglo American (LON:AAL) attracts the attention of Investec today, which colourfully notes the firm is turning round - but that it's a big ship. The rating is 'hold' and the target is put under review.
Analyst Marc Elliott said the unexpectedly strong interims gave cause to "dig into" the numbers and examine the likelihood of it delivering the much needed US$1.5bn of further cost-cutting.
"We believe much progress has been made, especially in coal, and that there is a good chance of the necessary savings being achieved. The one-off positives of H1 are unlikely to be repeated," he said.
Elsewhere, in small caps today, the latest resource update for Shanta Gold's (LON:SHG) flagship New Luika mine in Tanzania has increased the miner's confidence in the operation's long term future.
The indicated underground resources for both BC and Luika now stand at a total of 2.2 million tonnes (Mt) at 6.5 grams per tonne (g/t) for around 475,000 oz of gold.
Afterwards, City firm Investec said it was an "encouraging" result giving confidence in New Luika potential.
"We look toward regional exploration work to give confidence in further extending the mine life of the asset beyond 6-7 years. Today’s news also follows last week’s positive production update," it noted.
Mariana Resources (LON:MARL) today reported more high gold and copper grades from Hot Maden in Turkey and commissioned a maiden resource estimate to firm up the site’s value.
Intercepts from the latest three holes all returned impressive grades, with two showing gold at up to 46 grams per tonne (g/t) and 34.5 g/t over significant widths.
RFC Ambrian said completing a resource estimation phase would be further positive catalyst for the stock, moving towards quantifying the potential value of the project.
Mariana has a free carry on this stage of exploration with Turkish partner Lidya funding it in return for a 70% stake. Around 4,000 metres (m) of the 10,000m planned has been drilled so far.