MOST NOTEWORTHY: Abbott Lab, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Micromet were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Wachovia upgraded Abbott Lab (NYSE: ABT) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe their earlier concerns have been addressed. Past concerns included the potential for a negative outcome from the FDA panel on Xience and slowing prescription growth of lead drug Humira.
Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) were raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette citing recent government actions to stabilize the mortgage markets.
Micromet (NASDAQ: MITI) was upgraded at RBC Capital to Outperform from Sector Perform as they expect positive data for its lead candidate, MT103, by year-end.
OTHER UPGRADES:
ThinkEquity raised Atheros Comm (NASDAQ: ATHR) to Buy from Accumulate.
Goldman upgraded US Steel (NYSE: X) to Buy from Neutral.
General Electric (NYSE: GE) was upgraded at Merrill to Buy from Neutral.
Last week Forbes released its annual list of the fastest growing tech stocks, and it shouldn't be much of a surprise that Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) topped the list, with nearly $15 billion in sales, representing five-year sales growth of 155%, and 30% EPS growth. To make the list, companies had to have significant sales growth over the past year and five years, as well as a good earnings forecast for the next three to five years. Companies with significant legal problems or corporate governance issues were excluded.
So if, like Aaron Katsman, Georges Yared, and Jim Cramer, you are bullish on tech stocks, then there's plenty on the Forbes lists worth taking a look at.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Netflix (NFLX), NiSource (NI), TiVo (TIVO), Williams-Sonoma (WSM) and KLA-Tencor (KLAC) were today's more noteworthy downgrades:
Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) was cut to Hold from Buy at Needham to reflect the lowered subscriber guidance and their belief that things can get worse before getting better. Shares were also downgraded at Cowen, to Neutral from Outperform, and Lehman, to Equal Weight from Overweight.
NiSource (NYSE: NI) was cut to Underweight from Equal Weight at Lehman based on the expected increases in interest expense and taxes.
TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) was downgraded to Short from Sell at SMH Capital and believes the current valuation now reflects 20% penetration of the Comcast Corp (CMCSK)-owned digital sub base for the joint venture product bundle, which the firm considers aggressive. In addition, the firm believes TiVo's new pricing structure doesn't add much value.
Matrix cut Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) to Sell from Hold on valuation and deteriorating operating results.
Citigroup downgraded shares of KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) to Hold from Buy on valuation as they see risk to 2H07 estimates due to slower near-term cost savings and higher integration costs...
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
Friedman Billings downgraded American Express (NYSE: AXP) to Market Perform from Outperform.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Atheros Communications (ATHR), Analog Devices (ADI), Omniture (OMTR) and TriZetto Group (TZIX) were today's noteworthy initiations:
Oppenheimer expects a seasonally stronger 2H07 out of Atheros Communications (NASDAQ: ATHR) given continued growth from 802.11n design wins and started shares with a Buy rating.
AG Edwards believes Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) has plenty of room to gain additional market share and started shares with a Buy rating.
Jefferies believes Omniture (NASDAQ: OMTR) is positioned to benefit from the rapid growth of Web analytics, but has near-term valuation concerns, and started shares with a Hold rating.
Deutsche Bank started TriZetto (NASDAQ: TZIX) with a Buy rating, citing the company's diversified product mix and opportunities to drive adoption rate of consumer-driven health plans for their Buy rating...
OTHER INITIATIONS:
The Banc of America assumed the entertainment sector with a Market Weight rating and assumed coverage of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) and News Corp (NYSE: NWS.A) with Buy ratings and a $25 target and $26 target, respectively, as well as The Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS) and Viacom (NYSE: VIA.B) with Neutral ratings and a $37 target and $43 target, respectively.
JP Morgan started Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) with a Neutral rating.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: The more noteworthy downgrades today included eFunds Corp (EFD), Halliburton Co (HAL), Coventry Health Care, Inc (CVH), Fording Canadian Coal Trust (FDG) and US Steel Corp (X):
Citigroup downgraded shares of eFunds Corp (NYSE: EFD) to Sell from Hold to reflect an unfavorable risk/reward as they see little upside if the company sells itself and significant downside due to recent operational issues if the company is not sold.
Goldman cut Halliburton Co (NYSE: HAL) to Neutral from Buy based on valuation.
Bear Stearns cut Coventry Health (NYSE: CVH) to Peer Perform from Outperform based on valuation.
UBS cut US Steel Group (NYSE: X) to Reduce from Neutral based on valuation.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
Goldman downgraded the coal sector, citing the potential for fundamentals to disappoint. The firm downgraded Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) to Sell from Buy, Foundation Coal Holdings (NYSE: FCL) to Sell from Neutral, and Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR) to Neutral from Buy.
Matrix cut CBRL Group (NASDAQ: CBRL) to Sell from Hold.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Barnes Group Inc (B), MFA Mortgage Investments (MFA), Alberto-Culver Co (ACV), ZymoGenetics, Inc (ZGEN) and Genelabs Technologies (GNLB) were today's noteworthy initiations:
CIBC expects Barnes Group (NYSE: B) to benefit from the sustained upswing in the aerospace cycle and robust global execution, starting shares of with a Sector Outperformer rating.
JMP Securities is positive on MFA Mortgage Investments' (NYSE: MFA) organic yield improvement potential of its short duration portfolio and the company's modest leverage, starting shares with a Market Outperform rating.
William Blair started shares of Alberto-Culver Co (NYSE: ACV) with an Outperform rating, believing the company is one of the better long-term growth opportunities among mid-cap stocks in consumer products.
ZymoGenetics Inc (NASDAQ: ZGEN) was started with a Neutral rating at Oppenheimer, since the firm doesn't expect any important new clinical data until Q308.
Genelabs Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: GNLB) was started with a Buy at Oppenheimer, saying the company has a portfolio of early-stage programs in the treatment of Hep-C that have the potential to be best-in-class...
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Jamba, Inc (JMBA), Quiksilver Inc (ZQK), Volcom, Inc (VLCM) and Interactive Data Corp (IDC) were today's noteworthy downgrades:
Oppenheimer believes Jamba (NASDAQ: JMBA) is in the early stages of a solid top- and-bottom-line growth story and is one of the few opportunities today that offers sizable square foot growth, revenue and earnings growth, all with several years of visibility.
Quiksilver Inc (NYSE: ZQK) was initiated with an Accumulate rating and $14 target at ThinkEquity.
ThinkEquity also initiated shares of Volcom Inc (NASDAQ: VLCM) with a Buy rating.
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MOST NOTEWORTHY: Abbott Lab, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Micromet were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Last week Forbes released its annual list of the 
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