MOST NOTEWORTHY: Mattel (MAT), UnitedHealth (UNH), Alcoa (AA), 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS) and Marathon Oil (MRO) were today's noteworthy upgrades: - Piper upgraded shares of Mattel (NYSE: MAT) to Outperform from Peer Perform on valuation and improving fundamentals and notes that product recalls have historically not had a lasting impact on sales.
- Goldman upgraded UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) to Neutral from Sell on valuation and expectations for improved profitability in 2H07.
- Alcoa (NYSE: AA) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings on valuation and expectations for a favorable report next week.
- JMP Securities has increased confidence in 1-800-Flowers.com's (NASDAQ: FLWS) management initiatives to drive leverage and operating margins following the Q4 report, upgrading shares to Outperform from Market Perform.
- Lehman upgraded shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO) to Overweight from Equal-Weight on valuation and expectations for strong oil and gas production growth...
OTHER UPGRADES:
- ThinkEquity upgraded F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) to Buy from Accumulate.
- Goldman upgraded the oil services sector to Attractive from Neutral based on the recent pullback; Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) and Hess (NYSE: HES) were also upgraded to Buy from Neutral.
Why is gold making a new high, trading at $1,118.00 per ounce?
Chasing Value: Ten stocks for 2010 -- Part 1 
Closing Bell: A six-day rally (AIG, REGN, M, MOT, PALM, RIMM)
