Analyst upgrades: CVX, AXA and EMAG

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Chevron, AXA and Emageon were today's noteworthy upgrades:

Bears Stearns upgraded shares of Chevron (NYSE:CVX) to Outperform from Peer Perform after raising their oil price assumption for 2008 to $75 per barrel from $60 per barrel. They believe CVX should benefit from stronger earnings.
AXA (NYSE:AXA) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse, as they believe positive Q4 sales results will ease concerns on the impact of the economic slowdown.
Friedman Billings raised its rating on Emageon (NASDAQ:EMAG) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and the belief that the Q4 EPS turnaround is on track.

OTHER UPGRADES:

Punk, Ziegel upgraded Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM) and Key Corp (NYSE:KEY) to Market Perform from Sell.
Lehman upgraded CaviumNetworks (NASDAQ:CAVM) to Overweight from Equal Weight.
StatoilHydro (NYSE:STO) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at ING.