Analyst calls: GE, AMZN, AXP, VZ, WFC, RTP ...

Analyst upgrades:

Citigroup upgraded Bristol-Myers (NYSE: BMY) to Buy from Hold. Citigroup upgraded shares on their belief the company has one of the best three year growth rates among peers.
Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) was upgraded to Buy from Underperform at Merrill Lynch. Merrill upgraded Rio Tinto following the company's debt repayment plan announcement.
Credit Suisse upgraded Societe Generale (OTC: SCGLY) to Outperform from Neutral. Credit Suisse upgraded shares on valuation.
Alberto-Culver (NYSE: ACV) was added to Conviction Buy List; maintain Buy at Goldman.
American States Water Co. (NYSE: AWR) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jesup & Lamont.
Hawaiian Electric (NYSE: HE) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird.

Analyst downgrades:

UBS transferred coverage of General Electric (NYSE: GE) with a Neutral from Buy. UBS believes General Electric's credit loss assumptions may prove optimistic and that there is risk of disappointing 2009 earnings guidance at Tuesday's annual outlook meeting.
MasterCard (NYSE: MA) was downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at Cowen. Cowen downgraded Mastercard based on recent data that indicates deteriorating credit and debit purchase volume growth, which will impact growth targets.
Merrill Lynch downgraded Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) to Neutral from Buy. Merrill downgraded Wells Fargo citing valuation and the impact on earnings from the macro environment.
BJ's Wholesale (NYSE: BJ) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.
Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Cowen.

Analyst initiations:

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) was initiated with a Hold and a target of $54 at Jefferies. Jefferies prefers to wait on the sidelines due to valuation and a lack of visibility.
Jefferies initiated DuPont (NYSE: DD) with a Buy and a target of $33. Jefferies believes shares should rally before the economy turns and thinks the 7% dividend yield offsets significant risks to earnings.
American Express (NYSE: AXP) was initiated with a Sell at Citigroup. Citigroup sees downside to the stock and consensus estimates due to higher credit losses.
Verizon (NYSE: VZ) was reinitiated with an Outperform at Friedman Billings.
Banc of America initiated Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) with a Neutral.
Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) was reinitiated with a Market Perform at Friedman Billings.