Goldman Sachs upgraded Caterpillar Inc the stock to neutral from sell and bumped up its price target by $16 to $64, citing improved cost control by the company and a stronger outlook for construction equipment demand.

Recent macro data foreshadows potential for a sharper construction recovery and CAT's cost control has clearly improved, benefiting from aggressive first-quarter actions, analyst Jerry Revich said,

Revich also expects strong commodity outlook to drive capital expenditure in the mining sector and sees a jump in global construction equipment sales as investments in the construction market increase.

However, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded the stock to sell from hold, saying profit will rise only with sales in 2010, offering little operating leverage.

Shares of Caterpillar closed at $59.61 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Fareha Khan in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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