Analyst upgrades:

• Credit Suisse upgraded Stancorp (NYSE: SFG) to Outperform from Neutral citing relative valuation and EPS visibility.
• Jefferies upgraded Cypress Semiconductor (NYSE: CY) to Hold from Underperform after its channel checks indicated the company's capacitive touch screen solution has design traction. The firm raised its target on shares to $10 from $7.50.
• FBR Capital upgraded Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect improving store channel checks, the company's brand focus and controlled inventory, as well as the firm's belief that guidance could be conservative. FBR raised its target on shares to $9 from $6.
• Advanced Micro (NYSE: AMD) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at JMP Securities.
• Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
• Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at RBS.

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Buy from Neutral and raised their target to $22 from $16 citing the renegotiated royalty agreement with Samsung.
• Goldman also upgraded Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT) to Buy from Sell and raised their target to $27 from $11 citing strong operating leverage as RevPAR recovers.
• KeyBanc upgraded Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN) to Hold from Underweight citing a recent improvement in freight demand.
• J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) was upgraded to buy from Underperform at Banc of America/Merrill.
• Savvis (NASDAQ: SVVS) was raised to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.
• Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) was upgraded at Citigroup to Buy from Hold.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: American Public Education and Micrus Endovascular were today's noteworthy initiations:

• William Blair initiated American Public Education (NASDAQ: APEI) with an Outperform rating, as they believe the company is still in the early stages of its growth.
  
• Gabelli believes Micrus Endovascular (NASDAQ: MEND) can sustain its rapid growth in the coming years and does not expect it to remain independent in the medium-to-long term. The firm started shares with a Buy rating.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Carrizo Oil & Gas (NASDAQ: CRZO) was initiated with a Neutral rating at JP Morgan.
  
• Goldman initiated Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) with a Neutral rating.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Time Warner, MedCath and Schlumberger were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• UBS upgraded shares of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and believes the company's focus on structural improvements and cost reductions will provide positive catalysts.
  
• MedCath (NASDAQ: MDTH) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia, as they view weakness following the Q1 miss due to a higher-than-expected option expense as a buying opportunity.
  
• Bear Stearns raised Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) to Outperform from Peer Perform, as they believe the company is well-positioned for the next oilfield service business cycle and valuation.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• SunTrust upgraded Carrizo Oil & Gas (NASDAQ: CRZO) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Eldorado Gold (NYSE: EGO) to Outperform from Neutral.
  
• Liberty Media (NASDAQ: LCAPA) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Lehman.

About a month ago, Zac Bissonnette highlighted an insightful Financial Times article by Mark Sellers, a well-known value investor. According to the article, Sellers focuses on two types of investments:

• Companies with economic moats/tangible asset values exceeding current market price (asset plays)
• "Optionality" investments

Throughout the article (which is free to read), Sellers highlighted a very interesting stock, Carrizo Oil and Gas (NASDAQ: CRZO). Rather than quoting Sellers, I'll remind you that you can read the article here. However, I would like to show you the stock's chart, which appears very interesting to me. As you can see, since featuring the stock in his article, it has fallen more than $5 per share.

While this certainly isn't a huge sell-off, I think it has created a very interesting buying opportunity for people who like Carrizo as a long term investment for a couple reasons. First and foremost, the stock is currently sitting right around a support level. In addition, the stock is very oversold here according to the stochastics, leading me to believe the support will hold. While hardcore value investors will argue that the buying price doesn't matter as long as the intrinsic value is significantly higher -- a concept I don't necessarily agree with -- I believe it always makes sense to buy stocks at logical and opportune times.

With the tremendous "free options" which aren't being priced into the stock, as Sellers outlined, and an attractive buying opportunity according to the chart, I think Carrizo is very interesting here.

On a sidenote, both Zac Bissonnette and I are big fans of Adams Golf (OTC BB: ADGO) -- a stock which we think holds a great "free option" potential. Basically, the stock's net current asset value covers much of the current market capitalization and, as a result, we believe the market is underestimating the future of the company's hybrid irons -- a product receiving solid reviews and visibility. For a more extensive take on this stock, please see Zac's post.

Disclosure: Kevin Kelly and Zac Bissonnette are long Adams Golf.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Komag Incorporated (NASDAQ: KOMG), commercial mortgage REITs, Getty Images Inc (NYSE: GYI) and Rural/Metro Corporation (NASDAQ: RURL) were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Komag was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Craig-Hallum, to Market Perform from Outperform at Piper Jaffray, to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank and to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W Baird & Co following the announcement it would be acquired by Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC).
  
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Commercial Mortgage REITs to Underweight from Neutral. Specifically, the firm downgraded shares of Capital Trust, Inc (NYSE: CT) to Equal Weight from Underweight and Gramercy Capital Corp (NYSE: GKK) to Underweight from Equal Weight, citing increased credit spreads and subordination levels.
  
• Getty Images was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Matrix as the firm believes margins are declining and sees downside to their $40/share intrinsic value calculation.
  
• Rural/Metro was downgraded by Ferris, Baker Watts to Neutral from Buy on valuation.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• PMI Group Inc (NYSE: PMI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded Palm, Inc (NASDAQ: PALM) to Sell from Hold.
  
• BMO Capital downgraded shares of Carrizo Oil & Gas Incorporated (NASDAQ: CRZO) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Cemex (NYSE: CX) to Equal Weight from Overweight.
  
• Barnes & Noble Inc (NYSE: BKS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Matrix.

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

In his Block Trader Oil & Gas, Peter Way follows the big hedge funds and market makers to find out what they are doing. Here's a look at his top oil plays.

He observes, "The hedgers at the NYMEX are protecting their crude oil positions in ways that indicate they see continuing upward pressure on prices."

Based on this hedging activity, he states, "The outlook for the next 12 expiration months that the by major players at the crude oil table suggest little lasting price weakness, and a general level prevailing above $70 over the remainder of the year."

What are the best stocks to buy to bet on the trend for firm oil prices? To decide, Peter Way looks at the buying patterns of market makers -- the big boys on the trading floor.

From their positions, he notes, "Among the large oil producers, China's CNOOC, Ltd. (NYSE: CEO), Canadian Natural Resources, Ltd. (NYSE: CNQ), and Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU) all combine historically strong odds and payoffs."

In addition, he notes positive market maker activity among oil exploration & production stocks. He explains, "With significant quantities of low-cost reserves already found, and prospects for additional finds tied up, these companies inevitably will get acquired by bigger producers whose customer demands exceed their yearly reserve findings."

For many, he says, it's just a matter of time. Notable stocks in the stock, he adds, are Holly Corp. (NYSE: HOC), Carrizo Oil & Gas (NASDAQ: CRZO), Range Resources (NYSE: RRC), Southwest Energy (NYSE: SWN), Ultra Petroleum (NYSE: UPL), and Talisman Energy (NYSE: TLM).

For more stock picks from the leading financial newsletter advisors, visit Steven Halpern's free daily website, TheStockAdvisors.com.