Premiere Global Services shares surge 24 percent

Shares of Premiere Global Services Inc. shot up Monday after an Oppenheimer & Co. analyst upgraded the stock, expecting demand for the company's Web and teleconferencing software to persist despite the economic downturn.

The company's shares rose $1.45, or about 24 percent, to $7.55 despite a broad market downturn. That's still off by more than half from a 52-week high of $16.90, but up significantly from a multiyear low of $5.18 reached in late November.

Oppenheimer analyst Srinivas Anantha upgraded shares to "Outperform" from "Perform" and established an $11 price target.

In a note to investors, Anantha said new strategic initiatives and cost cutting should help the company generate healthy cash flow growth. Anantha said currency fluctuations may hinder growth somewhat in 2009, but added that he expects demand for the company's "services to hold up well in an economic downturn."