Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Capital One (NYSE: COF) to Buy from Hold as it believes the credit cycle is starting to recover for U.S. credit cards and an improving economy will support bank credit stabilization. The firm raised its target on shares to $44 from $28.
• JPMorgan upgraded Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to Overweight from Neutral on valuation and believes the stock market recovery will serve as a catalyst.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) to Buy from Hold after its channel checks indicated a sooner-than-expected order ramp and stabilizing pricing trends. The firm raised its target on shares to $46 from $39.
• COTT Corp. (NYSE: COT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
• Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) to Buy from Hold on valuation following the recent weakness and expects positive seasonality in the second half of 2008.
  
• Gilat Satellite (NASDAQ: GILT) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair on valuation.
• Cott Corp (NYSE: COT) was raised at UBS to Neutral from Sell.
  
• EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Bernstein.
  
• Integra LifeSciencues (NASDAQ: IART) was raised to Buy from Hold at Argus.

Analyst downgrades:

• Jefferies downgraded shares of Marvell Tech (NASDAQ: MRVL) to Hold from Buy on HDD inventory concerns and share loss at Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) after checks indicated MRVL likely lost the design for the RIM Javelin to Freescale. The firm lowered their target to $15 from $22.
  
• Oppenheimer downgraded Integrated Device (NASDAQ: IDTI) to Perform from Outperform as they believe the upcoming Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) server memory transition will pressure shares for several quarters.
  
• Broadpoint downgraded shares of Healthaways (NASDAQ: HWAY) to Neutral from Buy as they see few near-term catalysts.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Scientific Games, COTT Corp and Houston Wire & Cable were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Scientific Games (NASDAQ: SGMS) to Overweight from Equal Weight as they believe investors are underestimating the company's opportunity in China and sees potential upside to estimates.
  
• CIBC upgraded COTT Corp (NYSE: COT) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer citing the company's re-focus on Retail Brands and adding talent to the board.
  
• William Blair raised Houston Wire & Cable (NASDAQ: HWCC) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation and the company's continued large project growth.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH) was raised to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
  
• Pepsi Bottling (NYSE: PBG) and Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) were upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
  
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) to Outperform from Market Perform.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Cott Corp, Hartford Financial, Allstate and Valero Energy were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Lehman upgraded Cott Corp (NYSE: COT) to Equal Weight from Underweight citing recent management changes, a focus on CSD business, and new product discipline.
  
• Bernstein believes the entire non-life insurance group is oversold and that it is time to buy; the firm upgraded Hartford Financial (NYSE: HIG) and Allstate (NYSE: ALL) to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank on valuation with the stock trading at a -30% discount to NAV while the asset market for U.S. refineries is strong.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman added Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) to its Conviction Buy List.
  
• RBC Capital upgraded BJ Services (NYSE: BJS), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) and Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ: PTEN) to Outperform from Sector Perform.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded the Semiconductor Capital Equipment sector to Overweight from Market Weight.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Circuit City, Best Buy, COTT Corp and o2 Micro were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Wachovia started shares of Circuit City Stores Inc (NYSE: CC) with a Market Perform rating, citing low visibility into near-term fundamentals and low conviction in EPS.
• The firm also started shares of Best Buy Incorporated (NYSE: BBY) with a Market Perform rating, citing low visibility into holiday sales and product margin trends and valuation.
• Gabelli started COTT Corporation (NYSE: COT) with a Hold rating, as they believe the company's Q3 was disappointing. The firm thinks COTT lacks pricing power, and would look for margin improvement and successful non-carbonated soft drink penetration from the company before recommending the stock
• Thomas Weisel started shares of o2 Micro International Limited (NASDAQ: OIIM) with an Overweight rating and $24 target. The firm believes the company is in good position to compete in the high growth markets of power management, advanced lighting and security and surveillance

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Goldman started shares of Heartland Payment Systems (NYSE: HPY) with a Buy rating and VeriFone Holdings, Inc (NYSE: PAY) and Total System Services Inc (NYSE: TSS) with Neutral ratings.
• Gasco Energy Inc (AMEX: GSX) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Morgan Keegan.
• Morgan Joseph resumed coverage of Stage Stores Inc (NYSE: SSI) with a Hold rating.

Hansen Natural (NASDAQ: HANS) implied volatility Flat as HANS near record high. HANS markets and distributes beverages. HANS has a market cap of $4.69 billion. Goldman Sachs says "we continue to be optimistic about the company's prospects for the full-year and into 2008 based on; 1) distribution benefits from the Anheuser Busch (NYSE: BUD) agreement, and 2) the positive early read on the newly launched Java Monster." HANS October option implied volatility of 43 is near its 17-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price risk.

Cott (NYSE: COT) volatility Elevated as COT sells off 18% on lower guidance. COT, a supplier of retailer brand beverages, is recently down $1.89 to $8.27.COT lowered financial guidance, citing weaker than expected volumes and higher input costs. BMO Capital Markets says "if there is good news, it is that some degree of the profit warning may already be priced into the share price." COT announced on 4/13/07 "COT has responded to interested parties that have approached the Company, and is exploring the potential benefits of participating in possible industry consolidation." COT October option implied volatility of 56 is above its 26-week average of 40 according to Track Data, indicating larger price fluctuations.

Daily Options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Toll Brothers (TOL), COTT Corp (COT), Tim Hortons (THI) and Linktone (LTON) were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Banc of America downgraded shares of Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) to Sell from Neutral, citing expected deterioration in luxury sales due to mortgage distress in the marketplace.

• COTT Corp (NYSE: COT) was cut to Hold from Buy at Stifel, citing the difficult macro environment and continued profit declines.

• Tim Hortons (NYSE: THI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman, citing valuation, and notes that fundamentals remain favorable.

• Montgomery cut Linktone (NASDAQ: LTON) to Hold from Buy, citing the sudden decline in its wireless VAS revenues following Q2 results...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Banc of America downgraded Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV) and Standard Pacific (NYSE: SPF) to Neutral from Buy.
  

• Merrill Lynch cut AutoNation (NYSE: AN) and American Axle (NYSE: AXL) to Sell from Neutral.

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

Each week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission publishes a report known as the Commitments of Traders Report ("COT"), which breaks down aggregate trader positions ( "open interest") in certain futures and options markets into three categories: commercial, non-commercial, and nonreportable.

According to the CFTC, commercial operators, or "hedgers," are "engaged in business activities hedged by the use of futures or option markets." Non-commercial operators, or "large speculators," include individuals and firms, such as hedge funds, that engage in large-scale speculative buying and selling. Nonreportables, or "small speculators," comprise all other participants, including individual traders.