Analyst upgrades:

• RBC Capital upgraded Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) to Outperform from Sector Perform and said the company has attractive franchise value and earnings power, and is nearing the start of a credit driven earnings recovery. The firm raised its target to $22 from $19.
• Oppenheimer assumed coverage of Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) and upgraded shares to Outperform from Perform. The firm expects Amazon's revenue growth to re-accelerate over the next several quarters, making consensus estimates too conservative. Opco set a $130 price target on the stock.
• Barclays upgraded Ford (NYSE: F) to Equal Weight from Underweight and believes the company will report Q3 results above the Street. The firm raised its Q3 EPS estimate to 7 cents from 16 cents, vs. consensus of 21 cents, and its price target to $8 from $7.
• Charles River Labs (NYSE: CRL) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.
• Briggs & Stratton (NYSE: BGG) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• Sealed Air (NYSE: SEE) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.

Selling prevailed again today. We got more news on who the new cabinet members would be under Obama; we have an auto bailout in the works in D.C.; and the EU cut rates. Even the Bank of England came in with a rate cut much larger than expected at 150 basis-points. The economic numbers were again dismal, which is something we just have to get used to.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
DJIA: 8,696.19 -4.85%
NASDAQ: 1,608.70 -4.34%
S&P 500: 905 -5.01%

52-week lows
Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (NYSE: CRL) dropped the ball that it was cutting its guidance for 2008. The trends we saw in early August appear to be coming to a crashing halt. This stock was down 21% at $26.60 right before the close.

Pepco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: POM) did fairly well considering the company priced a secondary offering at $16.50 per share for 14 million shares. Shares were down only 2.6% at $17.12 right before the close.

Analyst upgrades:

• William Blair upgraded Parexel (NASDAQ: PRXL) to Outperform from Market Perform on increased conviction in the company's earnings growth outlook following channel checks.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded UDR Inc (NYSE: UDR) to Outperform from Market Perform and raised its target to $22 from $26 citing the company's approximate 8% implied cap rate on is vastly improved apartment portfolio.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) to Hold from Sell on valuation as they believe weak fundamentals are now priced into the stock.
• Goldman upgraded Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) to Buy from Neutral and added shares to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• StellarOne (NASDAQ: STEL) and Union Bankshares (NASDAQ: UBSH) were upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Baird.
  
• Bernstein upgraded DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) to Market Perform from Underperform.

Analyst downgrades:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded Align Tech (NASDAQ: ALGN) to Hold from Buy as they believe macroeconomic pressures will limit the company's ability to reach longer term growth expectations. Align's target was lowered to $8 from $14.
  
• Jefferies downgraded shares of Advanced Medical (NYSE: EYE) to Underperform from Buy and lowered its target to $9 from $28 following the company's lowered guidance as they believe macroeconomic pressures affecting LASIK volumes and the unanticipated slowdown in lens care should put continued pressure on the stock.
  
• ThinkPanmure expects the macro slowdown and credit crunch to slow Intel's (NASDAQ: INTC) growth and IT capex spending. The firm downgraded shares to Sell from Buy, lowered its 2009 EPS estimate to $1.01 from $1.35, vs. consensus of $1.46, and cut Intel's target to $12 from $24.
• MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) was lowered to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna.
  
• Charles River Labs (NYSE: CRL) was downgraded at William Blair to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Deutsche Bank cut Heinz (NYSE: HNZ) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA) to Hold from Buy.

Analyst initiations:

• Old Second Bancorp (NASDAQ: OSBC) was initiated with a Market Perform rating and $17 target at Keefe Bruyette. The firm believes the company's exposure to strong markets should generate above-average returns.
  
• Susquehanna assumed Affiliated Computer (NYSE: ACS) with a Positive rating and $55 target and is positive on the company's low levels of customer concentration and high levels of geographic diversification.
  
• Cowen resumed coverage of AnnTaylor (NYSE: ANN) with a Neutral rating, citing the company's share loss to competitors and top-line weakness..
• MetLife (NYSE: MET) was assumed with an Overweight rating at Morgan Stanley.
  
• JMP Securities initiated HFF Inc (NYSE: HF) with a Market Perform rating.
  
• Genpact (NYSE: G) was initiated at Susquehanna with a Neutral rating.

Analyst upgrades:

• Wachovia upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) to Outperform from Market Perform on expectations for greater pricing power given Goldman's position as the largest remaining independent securities firm.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Investment Technology Group Inc (NYSE: ITG) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company will take market share with the reshaping of the large wire-house brokerage community. The company's target was raised to $37 from $33.
• Broadpoint raised Hoku Scientific Inc (NASDAQ: HOKU) to Buy from Neutral as they believe the contract with Tianwei New Energy reduces financing risk.
• ACE Ltd (NYSE: ACE) and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE: TRV) were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Axcelis Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: ACLS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold and Evergreen Solar Inc (NASDAQ: ESLR) was lifted to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.

Analyst downgrades:

MOST NOTEWORTHY: BJ's Wholesale, Affiliated Managers and Yahoo! were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Citigroup downgraded shares of BJ's Wholesale (NYSE: BJ) to Hold from Buy on valuation and views a takeout as less likely given the current credit market conditions.
  
• Wachovia downgraded shares of Affiliated Managers (NYSE: AMG) to Market Perform from Outperform as they believe credit quality concerns and record commodity prices will hinder the company's recovery in equity flows.
  
• Thomas Weisel downgraded Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) to Underweight from Market Weight based on visibility into fundamentals and another potential reorganization that will likely be met with skepticism.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Third Wave (NASDAQ: TWTI) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Baird.
  
• Charles Rivers Labs (NYSE: CRL) was lowered at Goldman to Neutral from Buy.
  
• United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) was downgraded at Baird to Neutral from Outperform.
  
• SAIC, Inc (NYSE: SAI) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Fortress, ITT Educational Service and Kendle International were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) was initiated with a Hold rating and $18.50 target at Jefferies. The firm expects near-term volatility given the increasingly difficult private equity market.
  
• Banc of America assumed coverage of ITT Educational Service (NYSE: ESI) with a Buy rating and $130 target and believes the recent weakness creates an attractive entry point as they see continued margin expansion and upside to Street estimates.
  
• Susquehanna expects Kendle International (NASDAQ: KNDL) to benefit from positive trends in the Clinical Research Organization industry, expanded customer base and geographical reach, integration of Charles Rivers Laboratories (NYSE: CRL), and backlog. The firm started shares with a Positive rating.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• China Security & Surveillance (NYSE: CSR) was initiated with an Overweight rating and $30 target at Lehman.
  
• Morgan Stanley started Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM) with an Equal Weight rating and $39 target.
  
• Goldman resumed coverage of AU Optronics (NYSE: AUO) and Clorox (NYSE: CLX) with Neutral ratings.

Outsourcing helps biomedical firms initiate more drug candidates and move them through the pipeline faster, while controling development costs. A recognized source of the assistance needed to smooth the process is headquartered Wilmington, Massachusetts.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE: CRL) offers products and services required by pharmaceutical and biotechnical research organizations. Its Research Models and Services unit provides the purpose-bred rodents used in the development of new drugs, devices and therapies. The unit also offers vaccine support and in vitro technology products for testing of medical devices and injectable drugs. The Preclinical Services segment conducts a variety of research programs, including Phase I trials. The company operates from facilities in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Suntech Power (STP), MetroPCS (PCS), Micron Tech (MU) and Charles River Labs (CRL) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• JP Morgan initiated shares of Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP) with a Neutral rating, citing valuation. The firm prefers the stock to peers given the company's larger scale, solid supplier relationships and exposure to new technologies.
  
• JP Morgan also started shares of MetroPCS Communications (NYSE: PCS) with a Neutral rating, as it likes the company's model, but sees greater upside in peers like Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR), Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S), Leap Wireless (NASDAQ: LEAP) and Rogers Communications (NYSE: RCI).
  
• William Blair believes Charles River Labs (NYSE: CRL) is the best pure-play investment in preclinical development given its dominant franchise in animal disease models, and started shares with an Outperform rating.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Gabelli initiated shares of Tenaris SA (NYSE: TS) with a Buy rating and $68 target.
  
• RBC Capital started shares of Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) with a Sector Perform rating and $39 target.
  
• CDC Corporation (NASDAQ: CHINA) was started at ThinkEquity with a Buy rating and $11 target.
  
• Suntrust started shares of Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) with a Neutral rating.

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

Outsourcing helps biomedical firms initiate more drug candidates and move them through the pipeline faster, while controlling development costs. A recognized source of the assistance needed to smooth the process is headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE: CRL) offers products and services required by pharmaceutical and biotechnical research organizations. Its Research Models and Services unit provides the purpose-bred rodents used in the development of new drugs, devices and therapies. The unit also offers vaccine support and in vitro technology products for testing of medical devices and injectable drugs. The Preclinical Services segment conducts a variety of research programs, including Phase I trials. The company operates from facilities in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. It is in the final stages of establishing a preclinical services joint venture in China.

The firm surprised the Street earlier in the month, when it reported Q1 EPS of $0.64 and revenues of $291.2 million. Analysts had been expecting $0.61 and $279.8 million. Management also guided FY07 EPS to $2.43-$2.53 ($2.49 consensus) and FY07 revenues to $1.16-$1.19 billion ($1.17B consensus). CRL shares popped on the news and have since been defining a bullish "pennant" consolidation pattern. Equities frequently exit pennants moving in the same direction they were traveling when they entered them. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the issue with three "strong buys," two "buys" and seven "holds." Analysts see a 14% average annual growth rate through the next five years. The CRL Price to Book ratio (2.10), Price to Cash Flow ratio (16.06), EPS Growth rate (38.03%), Operating Margin (18.18%) and Net Profit Margin (12.36%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages.

The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 400 MidCap Index. Institutional investors hold about 95% of the outstanding shares. Over the past 52 weeks, CRL has traded between $33.73 and $52.30. A stop-loss of $45.50 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) offers animal research models, principally purpose-bred rats, mice and other rodents required in research and development for new drugs, devices and therapies. It also manages drug trials.

The firm surprised the Street last month when it guided 2006 non-GAAP earnings per share to $2.15-$2.21 from a previous guidance of $2.12-$2.18. Analysts had been looking for $2.19. Management also guided 2007 non-GAAP EPS to $2.43-$2.53, versus consensus of $2.48. The stock's shares popped on the news and have since been defining a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Equities frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling when they entered them. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the issue with two "strong buys", one "buy" and eight "holds". Analysts see a fourteen percent growth rate, through the next year. The CRL P/E ratio (21.57), PEG ratio (1.54), Price to Sales ratio (2.68), Price to Book ratio (1.86), Price to Cash Flow ratio (11.86) and Net Profit Margin (13.52%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages.

The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 400 MidCap Index. Institutional investors hold about 95 percent of the outstanding shares. Over the past twelve months, CRL has traded between $33.73 and $51.50. A stop-loss of $38.00 could look good here. Note that the firm is next expected to report quarterly results in early February.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.