MOST NOTEWORTHY: Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Advanced Medical were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) to Overweight from Neutral on valuation, as they believe current levels provide an attractive entry point. JP Morgan thinks their bearish view on 2008 growth and margins has been priced into shares.
  
• JP Morgan added Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) to its U.S. Focus List, as the firm believes current sentiment is overly bearish, that printing share gains are healthy and costs savings should continue.
• Jefferies upgraded shares of Advanced Medical (NYSE:EYE) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they believe the stock is oversold at current levels.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
  
• Lehman upgraded Peugeot (PEUGY) to Overweight from Equal Weight.
  
• UBS raised Illumina (ILMN) to Buy from Neutral.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: GameStop (GME), Brocade (BRCD), Tween Brands (TWB), Plantronics (PLT) and Arcelor Mittal (MT) were today's more notable upgrades:

• First Albany sees upside potential in GameStop (NYSE: GME) through 2008 and upgraded shares to Strong Buy from Buy.

• JMP Securities upgraded Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) to Market Outperform from Market Perform on valuation.

• Tween Brands (NYSE: TWB) was upgraded to Buy from Sell on valuation at Matrix USA.

• JMP Securities' checks indicate Altec Lansing's im600 iPod docking station/FM radio is selling better than expected, and upgraded shares of Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) to Market Outperform from Market Perform.

• Merrill upgraded shares of Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the company's inclusion in the Euro Stoxx 50 Index in September as well as the positive global carbon steel environment...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Pepsi Bottling (NYSE: PBG) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC.

• Morgan Stanley raised RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD) to Equal Weight from Underweight.

• Matrix upgraded Barr Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: BRL) to Buy from Hold.

• Jefferies upgraded Advanced Medical (NYSE: EYE) to Hold from Underperform.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Advanced Medical (EYE) and PDL BioPharma (PDLI) topped today's list of downgrades.

• Merril Lynch, Citigroup, Credit Suisse and BMO Capital Markets all downgraded Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (NYSE:EYE) after the company's product recall.
• First Albany downgraded PDL BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDLI) to Underperform from Neutral after news of Hoffman-LaRoche (RHHBY) discontinuing the co-development of Daclizumab for organ transplant patients.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• LongBow Research downgraded The Black & Decker Corp. (NYSE:BDK) to Neutral from Buy, citing slowing fundamentals as well as increased competition for the rationale.
• Credit Suisse downgraded Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. (NASDAQ:SSCC) to Neutral from Outperform citing container board prices that are near peak levels.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).