Analyst Upgrades

• Brinker (EAT) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Starbucks (SBUX) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Paccar (PCAR) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• CA Technologies (CA) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• PPL Corp. (PPL) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• ConocoPhillips (COP) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• First Defiance (FDEF) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• MasTec (MTZ) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Amdocs (DOX) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

The first Chinese hybrid car, the F3DM, will hit U.S. showrooms next year from BYD Co. Ltd. (BYD). BYD, which stands for Build Your Dream, sold 240,000 F3DMs last year and Warren Buffet likes the company so much that Berkshire Hathaway invested $230 million in BYD in 2008. In fact, the latest BYD model will be on display at Berkshire's big meeting in May, as reported in New York Times.

BYD is a diversified energy company. In addition to its hybrid models Its products include solar panels, solar shaded parking systems, home energy storage systems and charging equipment and LED lighting. BYD plans to open showrooms in the Los Angeles area.

China raised rates and US housing prices went down yet again. We even had yet another round of fund managers outed in the ongoing waves of insider trading charges. Somehow, some way, equities in the U.S. still made gains in what will be a seven day streak.

Here were Tuesday's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 12,233.15 +71.52 (0.59%)
S&P 500 1,324.57 +5.52 (0.42%)
Nasdaq 2,797.05 +13.06 (0.47%)

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades

Analyst Upgrades

• Athenahealth (ATHN), Ensco (ESV), Pride International (PDE) and Sinclair Broadcast (SBGI) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• CIRCOR (CIR) to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Urban Outfitters (URBN) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Shaw Group (SHAW) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• MGM Resorts (MGM) and Boyd Gaming (BYD) to buy from neutral, as well as Intrepid Potash (IPI) to neutral from underperform, at BofA/Merrill.
• Carlisle (CSL) to buy from neutral at SunTrust.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Dollar Tree (DLTR) to neutral from underweight and $48 price target.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Time Warner Cable (TWC) to outperform from neutral and raised its price target to $70 from $59, citing growth in wireline HST demand.
• Needham upgraded NetScout (NTCT) to buy from hold with a $29 price target, citing channel checks that indicate industry spending on network monitoring software may be improving.
• Nstar (NST) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Novo Nordisk (NVO) was upgraded to hold from sell at Societe Generale.
• Air France-KLM (AFLYY) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Credit Suisse.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP) to buy from hold and raised its price target for shares to $40 from $28 following the company's acquisition of Qualitest. The firm believes the deal makes financial and strategic sense. Shares were also upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer with a $40 price target following the company's acquisition of Qualitest. The firm views the deal as potentially transformative for Endo.
• Goldman upgraded Carnival (CCL) to buy from neutral, citing low supply growth and cost-cutting measures. The firm also raised its price target to $44 from $36.
• Needham upgraded Jabil Circuit (JBL) to strong buy from buy with a $23 target.
• Siliconware Precision (SPIL), United Microelectronic (UMC) and Advanced Semiconductor (ASX) were upgraded to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Check Point (CHKP) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Raymond James (RJF) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Ticonderoga.

Option traders appear to be setting up for a bullish move on CA Technologies (CA). Traders plowed into 13,932 new call option contracts -- 19.32 times the average volume -- on the stock on Monday. And we know that traders were eager to get into this trade because 98% of the trades came in on the ask price.

CA recently bounced off of support at $18 and is nearing resistance at $20.50. The stock closed Monday at $20.17, up 6.69% during the past month.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded Republic Services (RSG) to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $34 from $32. The firm cites valuation for the upgrade.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded MeadWestvaco (MWV) to buy from hold due to valuation and keeps a $29 price target for shares.
• UBS upgraded Symantec (SYMC) to buy from neutral.
• Lloyds Banking (LYG) upgraded to add from neutral at WestLB.
• Ternium (TX) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.

Over the years, Warren Buffett has focused his investments on mature categories, like railroads and utilities. While the returns are not high, the risk levels are much lower and it is easier to put large amounts of money to work.

But this does not mean Buffett has given up on growth plays. Just look at his investment in BYD, which is a Chinese company that builds cars and batteries. And yes, the company is growing like a weed.

Analyst upgrades:

• FBR upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to reflect strong channel checks over the Black Friday weekend. The firm raised its target on shares to $46 from $39.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Safeway (SWY), citing improvements in pricing.
• Baird upgraded US Bancorp (USB) based on valuation. The firm raised its target price to $29 from $25.
• HSBC Holdings (HBC) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Genzyme (GENZ) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Deere (DE) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.

Analyst upgrades:

• Bernstein upgraded Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC) to Outperform from Market Perform based on relative valuation and expectations the company will repay TARP without a capital raise. The firm raised its target to $34 from $26.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Ticketmaster (NASDAQ: TKTM) to Overweight from Market Weight and raised its target to $12 from $8 citing dynamic ticket pricing and the potential merger with Live Nation (NYSE: LYV).
• Citigroup upgraded Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) to Hold from Sell after channel checks indicated retail sales have improved since Q2. The firm raised its target on shares to $26 from $14.
• McDermott (NYSE: MDR) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank.
• General Electric (NYSE: GE) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

To the surprise of many, China is now a major player in the world automobile market. Vehicle sales have risen 28% so far this year.

Full-year sales may reach 12 million vehicles, according to Chen Bin, director of the industry. Compare this to U.S. sales, which may reach 10.5 million this year.

Analyst upgrades:

• Credit Suisse upgraded shares of Novartis (NYSE: NVS) to Neutral from Underperform as they believe the stock's defensive characteristics justify a premium valuation.
  
• Merrill raised Dreamworks (NYSE: DWA) to Buy from Neutral and has increased confidence in DWA's sustainable success following the performance of Kung Fu Panda and new revenue streams.
  
• Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) was raised to Buy from Hold at Stanford on valuation.
  
• Goldman upgraded Smurfit-Stone (NASDAQ: SSCC) and Canadian National (NYSE: CNI) to Buy from Neutral and added International Paper (NYSE: IP) to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Northern Trust (NASDAQ: NTRS) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Merrill.

Analyst downgrades:

• Jefferies downgraded shares of Savvis (NASDAQ: SVVS) to Hold from Buy and lowered the target to $17 from $20 to reflect decreasing visibility from economic headwinds and expectations for increased capex.
  
• Citigroup downgraded Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) to Sell from Hold as they believe fundamentals are not in-line with the current valuation following the recent rally.
  
• Merrill lowered their General Electric (NYSE: GE) estimates below consensus and downgraded shares to Neutral from Buy citing increased fundamental pressures on the company's GE Capital unit. GE's target was cut to $28 from $37.50.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) to Buy from Hold on valuation, as they see a long-term buying opportunity following the recent correction. The firm maintains a $29 target.
• Moody's (NYSE: MCO) was upgraded to Overweight from Underweight at Lehman.
  
• Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Merrill Lynch.

Analyst downgrades:

• Jefferies downgraded shares of Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT) to Hold from Buy on concerns about the company's ability to hit expectations and drive margin expansion in the face of an eroding CDMA revenue stream. The firm lowered their target to $7.25 from $11.
  
• B. Riley cut Charlotte Russe (NASDAQ: CHIC) to Neutral from Buy on concerns about how well the company can perform with the interim management team, especially in light of the current retail environment. The firm lowered their target to $14 from $17. Roth Capital downgraded shares to Sell from Hold to reflect the management uncertainty and lowered their target to $9 from $14.
  
• Goldman cut Warner Music (NYSE: WMG) to Sell from Neutral and Deere (NYSE: DE) to Neutral from Buy.

Analyst initiations:

• Banc of America expects top-line growth at Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) to be driven by Denosumab and for investors to look to the stock for biotech exposure following the potential acquisition of Genentech (NYSE: DNA). The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $70 target.
• Sirius Satellite (NASDAQ: SIRI) was initiated at JP Morgan with a Neutral rating.
  

MOST NOTEWORTHY: PetSmart, Banco de Chile and Xerium Technologies were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• JP Morgan upgraded PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM) to Overweight from Neutral citing the company's position in a relatively strong category, benefits from food inflation, and margin improvements.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Banco de Chile (NYSE: BCH) to Buy from Hold as they expect greater earnings power following the acquisition of Citibank Chile.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Xerium Tech (NYSE: XRM) to Buy from Hold on the success of the company's debt renegotiation. The firm also raised the company's target to $7 from $2.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman Sachs added State Street (NYSE: STT) and Lorillard (NYSE: LO) to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Banc of America.
  
• William Blair raised American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC) to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Cameco (NYSE: CCJ) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.