Two more analysts following Community Health Systems have reiterated their 'hold' ratings on the company's shares after its first-quarter earnings report. But Joe France at Cantor Fitzgerald has lifted his target to $42 from $35 and Barclays Capital's Josh Raskin now sees the stock climbing to $50 rather than $48. CHS (Ticker: CYH) ended Wednesday trading at $44.72.

A fistful of analysts tracking Community Health Systems came out firing on Monday, raising their target prices for the company's stock following its fourth-quarter earnings report late last week. Here's a rundown:

• Joe France at Cantor Fitzgerald: Reiterate 'hold,' lift target from $28 to $35
• Josh Raskin at Barclays: Reiterate 'equalweight,' lift target from $36 to $48
• A.J. Rice at UBS: Reiterate 'buy,' lift target from $44 to $52
• Frank Morgan at RBC Capital Markets: Reiterate 'outperform,' tweak target from $45 to $46
• Ann Hynes at Mizuho: Reiterate 'neutral,' lift target from $39 to $41

The upside most of these researchers saw early Monday is now even bigger: CHS (Ticker: CYH) rose early but gave way along with most of the market and closed trading at $40.08, down more than 4 percent on the day.

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Joe France has lifted his price target for shares of hospital chain Vanguard Health Systems to $18 from $17. He has reiterated his 'buy' rating on the company, whose shares (Ticker: VHS) have climbed 40 percent over the past three months and are now changing hands around $14.70.

David Gagliano at Barclays Capital didn't do Noranda Aluminum shareholders any favors Thursday when he lowered his price target for the Franklin-based company to $7 from $8 following its Q4 report. Noranda (Ticker: NOR) shares gave up more than 11 percent Thursday but are recovering a bit this morning. In early trading, they were changing hands around $5.10.

Two firms following shares of LifePoint Hospitals on Tuesday raised their price target for the rural hospital chain. Both Joe France at Cantor Fitzgerald — to $50 from $35 — and analysts at WallachBeth — to $45 from $42 — see the Brentwood-based company's stock going higher. The twist: WallachBeth downgraded LifePoint, saying there are too many near-term headwinds following a so-so Q4 report. LifePoint shares (Ticker: LPNT) closed Tuesday trading at $44.86.

Cantor Fitzgerald hospital analyst Joe France has become the latest follower of HCA Holdings to give a big lift to his price target. France on Tuesday told clients he sees shares of the Nashville-based hospital giant climbing to $45, up from his previous target of $35. HCA shares (Ticker: HCA) closed Tuesday's trading at $37.50.

Analysts at Barclays Capital have launched coverage of various health care providers and real estate investment trusts with mostly equalweight ratings. Among the companies they suggest investors accumulate is nursing home operator Brookdale Senior Living. They see shares of the company climbing to $31 from their current levels of around $27 (Ticker: BKD).

Analyst Kevin Campbell at Avondale Partners has updated his models for Corrections Corp. of America and its main competitor, GEO Group, to account for their Q2 results and their plans to convert into real estate investment trusts. The result: He now has a $38 price target for Nashville-based CCA, up from $30. CCA shares (Ticker: CXW) closed Tuesday trading at $32.55 and have risen 60 percent year to date.

At Cantor Fitzgerald, Joe France has lifted his price targets for two local hospital operators. France now sees HCA Holdings (Ticker: HCA) climbing to $35 versus his previous target of $33 and expects Vanguard Health Systems shares (Ticker: VHS) can go to $15, up from 13.

Analyst Joe France at Cantor Fitzgerald has reiterated his 'buy' recommendation on shares of Vanguard Health Systems, which have erased their spring losses by rising 30 percent since Memorial Day. France now sees the stock going to $13, a level it last saw in August of last year. Vanguard this week reported a fiscal Q4 profit of more than $19 million.

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Joe France says investors shouldn't look to AmSurg for price appreciation in the near future. Initiating coverage with a 'hold' rating and a price target of $26, France says "the extent of the market's recovery is unclear" and that CEO Chris Holden and his team have their hands full integrating National Surgical Care. Shares of AmSurg (Ticker: AMSG) closed Monday trading just above $26 and are flat for the year.

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Joe France has launched coverage of a number of local health care names most notably hospital chain Community Health Systems, LifePoint and Vanguard. He says investors should be the latter two — Vanguard because it could be one of the industry's fastest growers and LifePoint because of its push into larger markets. When it comes to CHS, France says management's focus on integrating new acquisitions make it more of a long-term play.

Shares of all three companies are up more than 2 percent in Friday morning trading.