UPDATE 4-Fresenius looking to boost output after hurricane damage at rival Baxter Updates Oct 8 story to add additional Fresenius comment, paragraph 4 FRANKFURT, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Germany's Fresenius FREG.DE said it was checking options to speed up the start of new production lines of medical equipment at a North Carolina facility to help mitigate potential shortages from hurricane damage to rival Baxter's BAX.N site in the same state.

BUZZ-Top of the Street: Roche, Fresenius, BASF, AstraZeneca, Rational, PSP Swiss Property, Swiss Prime Site A round-up of notable broker activity this morning from Europe's top-ranked* analysts: ** Deutsche Bank cuts Roche ROG.S to "sell" from "buy", citing limited catalyst due to a risk of Roche creating a lot of sunk cost for little ultimate return ** J.P.Morgan upgrades Fresenius FREG.DE to "overweight" from "neutral" as it sees earnings compression at the German healthcare group coming to an

BUZZ-'Medicine is starting to work', JPM upgrades Fresenius ** J.P.Morgan upgrades Fresenius FREG.DE to "overweight" from "neutral" as it sees earnings compression at the German healthcare group coming to an end ** The broker says Fresenius delivered results above expectations in each of the last four quarters and management made progress in improv

EUROPE RESEARCH ROUNDUP-Banco, Shell, WH Smith Sept 12 (Reuters) - Securities analysts revised their ratings and price targets on several European companies, including Banco, Shell and WH Smith on Thursday. HIGHLIGHTS * ABN Amro Bank NV ABNd.AS : JP Morgan raises to neutral from underweight * Banco Bpm BAMI.MI : JP Morgan raises to neutral from underweight * Shell Plc SHEL.L : Berenberg cuts target price to 3,100p from 3,400p * UMG UMG.AS : Citigroup cuts target price to EUR 26 from EUR 29.50 *

UPDATE 6-Nestle replaces CEO Schneider with company veteran Freixe Adds Freixe's age and background in paragraph 15, and further comment, no other changes By John Revill and Richa Naidu ZURICH/LONDON, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Nestle NESN.S is replacing CEO Mark Schneider with company veteran Laurent Freixe, the Swiss food group said on Thursday, marking a change of leadership as it faces a challenge to grow sales.