Sears shares rise as analyst upgrades company

Sears shares rose $2.20, or 2.9 percent, to $75.89 during midday trading. It was a reverse from earlier in the day, when Sears hit a 52-week low of $72.56.

Since the beginning of the year, the stock has fallen 28 percent.

Standard & Poor's Equity Research analyst Jason Asaeda raised his rating of Sears to "Hold" from "Sell," since the stock is trading below his 12-month price target of $78.

"We continue to see opportunity for the company to strengthen merchandising and marketing at both its Kmart and Sears retail chains," Asaeda wrote in a client note.

However, he said amid a weak retail environment, there is a lack of prospects for a near-term material improvement in the Hoffman Estates, Ill., company's sales and profit. Asaeda reiterated his full-year earnings expectation of $2.10 per share.