MOST NOTEWORTHY: Fiserv, Arbitron and Anadarko Petroleum were today's noteworthy upgrades:
JMP Securities upgraded Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV) to Outperform from Market Perform citing a reversal of the Bank of America in-house risk, potential re-branding initiatives, and relative pricing stability.
Bear upgraded Arbitron (NYSE: ARB) to Outperform from Peer Perform citing PPM earnings growth potential, strong industry position, defensive nature of shares, and it views the company as an acquisition target.
Lehman raised Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) to Overweight from Equal Weight citing relative valuation and strong U.S. gas exposure.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Goldman added Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) to its Conviction Buy List.
During Thursday's trading, Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) hit an all-time high of $78.75 and closed at $77.62. Anadarko was one of my first recommendations after I started writing for BloggingStocks, and is nearing 100% appreciation from the $40 price tag it had when we acquired it.
The 10-year chart below indicates the strong long-term performance of Anadarko, rising about 500% and paying dividends to boot. I cannot say the stock is a bargain at recent highs, but I can emphatically state that this company belongs on your watch list.
Day one of the two-day FDA Anesthetic/Life Support Drugs & Drug Safety/Risk Management Advisory Committees meeting: Purdue Pharma's NDA for Oxycontin.
Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) to report Q1 earnings; conference call Tuesday at 10:00am.
Tuesday, May 6
Day two of the two-day FDA Anesthetic/Life Support Drugs & Drug Safety/Risk Mgmt Advisory Committees meeting: Cephalon's (NASDAQ:CEPH) sNDA for Fentora.
Molson Coors (NYSE:TAP) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 12:00pm.
Bernstein also upgraded shares of BP PLC (NYSE: BP) and BG Group (NYSE: BRG) to Outperform from Market Perform.
Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ: CHKP) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings, citing checks that indicate a strong product cycle for the company's beefed up VPN/firewall product portfolio.
ValueClick (NASDAQ: VCLK) was upgraded at Citigroup to Buy from Hold on valuation, as they believe the recent correction provides a compelling entry point.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Apple (AAPL), Ariba (ARBA), EMC Corp (EMC), Anadarko Petroleum (APC) and RealNetworks (RNWK) were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) was upgraded to Buy from Hold with a $160 target at Citigroup following yesterday's pullback; they believe Mac should remain strong through year-end, Q3 consensus estimates look conservative and believe production cuts should not be a surprise.
Roth Capital upgraded shares of Ariba (NASDAQ: ARBA) to Buy from Hold as they believe shares work higher over then next few quarters; they expect seasonally strong September and December quarters and believe that revenue bottomed last year.
Goldman added EMC Corp (NYSE: EMC) to its Conviction Buy List, citing Q2 results and multiple product cycles.
Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital following better than expected Q2 results and guidance.
RealNetworks (NASDAQ: RNWK) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Soleil on valuation after reporting solid Q2 earnings...
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
BWS Financial raised Xoma (NASDAQ: XOMA) to Buy from Hold.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: WebEx Communications, Inc (WEBX), Avaya Inc (AV), Tractor Supply Co (TSCO), Nokia (NOK) and Mattel, Inc (MAT) were some of today's noteworthy downgrades:
Wachovia downgraded shares of WebEx Communications Inc (NASDAQ: WEBX) to Market Perform from Outperform to reflect the company's pending acquisition by Cisco Systems (CSCO).
Bank of America cut Avaya Inc (NYSE: AV) to Neutral from Buy with a $13 target after taking in account the company's acquisition of Ubiquity Software Corp Plc. The firm believes sales may miss consensus for the next few quarters, while gross operating margins could disappoint.
CIBC downgraded Tractor Supply Co (NASDAQ: TSCO) to Sector Performer from Sector Outperformer. The firm sees some moderate upside for shares of TSCO but says it will be incrementally more difficult to achieve without a major fundamental driver in the near-term.
WestLB AG downgraded shares of Nokia (NYSE: NOK) to Reduce from Hold.
Mattel Inc (NYSE: MAT) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital on valuation.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
First Albany downgraded Cerner Corp (NASDAQ: CERN) to Neutral from Buy.
Keefe Bruyette downgraded A.G. Edwards, Inc (NYSE: AGE) to Market Perform from Outperform on valuation.
Rodman & Renshaw downgraded shares of Genentech, Inc (NYSE: DNA) to Market Perform from Outperform citing a slowdown in near-term growth and valuation that reflects most of its future growth.
MOST NOTEWOTHY: ConocoPhillips (COP), InfoSpace, Inc (INSP), Verizon Communications (VZ) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) were some of today's more notable downgrades:
Goldman Sachs downgraded ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) to Neutral from Buy.
Stanford cut InfoSpace Inc (NASDAQ: INSP) to Sell from Hold as the firm believes shares are overvalued since the company has no clear plans to reignite growth.
Buckingham downgraded Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) to Neutral from Accumulate.
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) was cut to Hold from Strong Buy at Matrix as the firm believes growing competition is driving down selling prices and narrowing margins.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
Goldman downgraded Anadarko Petroleum Corp (NYSE: APC) to Sell from Neutral.
Merriman cut Fiberstars, Inc (NASDAQ: FBST) to Neutral from Buy.
Bank of America downgraded Dollar General (NYSE: DG) to Neutral from Buy.
Cantor cut AudioCodes Ltd (NASDAQ: AUDC) to Hold from Buy following the company's lowered Q1 outlook.
Citigroup downgrades O&G exploration and production companies: Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:APC), Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) and Noble Energy (NYSE:NBL) were all cut to Hold; Citi believes that the U.S. natural gas market is reasonably balanced today and needs a cold winter to draw down natural gas inventories enough to merit upticks.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) shares are trading up 2% in pre-market after the auto-maker was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley based on ample liquidity, signs of greater sense of urgency and major cost cutting initiatives.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was downgraded to Hold at A.G.Edwards, just one day after Merrill Lynch raised the banking giant to Buy from Neutral.
KBW Inc. (NYSE:KBW) quiet period from Wall Street ends, and be sure to expect more research calls: started as Neutral at B of A; started as Mkt Weight at Thomas Weisel.
Circuit makers downgraded at CIBC: Maxim (MXIM) & Linear Tech (LLTC) both downgraded to Sector Perform rating from Outperform..
Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT) cut to Neutral at Cowen (on lower November sell throughs).
Be sure to watch for Moody's and S&P and other International ratings agencies today to come out against Thailand. Normally, countries that limit accessibility and liquidity into and OUT OF their financial markets, tend to be cut by these agencies.
For additional coverage of today's research calls at 24/7 Wall St, click here. Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St., LLC; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.
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In a recent Barron's article, Andrew Barry found five such mavericks and the names that were among their top holdings as of September 30, when the last 13-F reports were filed. Sure, your timing might be off because the information is 45 days old, but these investments can at least shed light on what the best brains are thinking and possibly indicate similar plays in hot sectors.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Comverse Technology (CMVT) and Anadarko Petro (APC) top today's extensive list of downgrades.
Comverse Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMVT) was downgraded at Goldman Sachs to Sell from Neutral following the announcement that additional errors were found in the company's accounting practices. Susquehanna also downgraded Comverse to Neutral from Positive on the news. (post from yesterday)
Bernstein downgraded Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:APC) to Underperform from Market Perform on concerns that Anadarko is divesting growth assets in order to pay down debt.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
JP Morgan downgraded Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) to Underweight from Neutral citing valuation, slowing cash flow growth and contracting margins. In addition, JP Morgan recommended investors to swap out of Bed Bath & Beyond and into Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) , which was upgraded to Overweight today.
Prudential downgraded Spectrum Brands, Inc. (NYSE:SPC) to Neutral from Overweight following fourth-quarter results.
Buckingham downgraded Timberland Co. (NYSE:TBL) to Neutral from Accumulate citing valuation following the company has put itself up for sale.
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MOST NOTEWORTHY: Fiserv, Arbitron and Anadarko Petroleum were today's noteworthy upgrades:
During Thursday's trading, 
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