Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded American Express (NYSE: AXP) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect improving credit trends following the July monthly data. The firm raised its target price on shares to $37.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Corning (NYSE: GLW) to Outperform from Perform as it believes 2010 estimates are achievable and concerns over falling LCD demand are overdone. The firm set a $19 price target on the stock.
• JPMorgan upgraded International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) to Overweight from Neutral on valuation and expectations domestic replacement orders will pick up. The firm has a $23 price target on shares.
• Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Pali Capital.
• Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Mechel Steel (NYSE: MTL) was upgraded to Neutral from Reduce at Nomura.

Analyst Upgrades

• Oppenheimer upgraded Genoptix (NASDAQ: GXDX) to Outperform from Perform and raised its target to $44 from $33 based on analysis of oncology testing reimbursement that indicates average revenue per case is within industry norms.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Legg Mason (NYSE: LM) to Hold from Sell citing reports that an activist investor, Nelson Peltz, has increased its stake in the company. The firm said fundamentals remain weak but the news will likely push shares higher.
• Suntrust upgraded VCA Antech (NASDAQ: WOOF) to Buy from Neutral citing reduced headwinds and favorable risk/reward. The firm has a $30 target on shares.
• SLM Corp. (NYSE: SLM) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
• Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO) and FMC Technologies (NYSE: FMC) were upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.

• Citigroup upgraded Abbott Lab (NYSE: ABT) to Hold from Sell on valuation following the stock's recent underperformance. The firm maintains a $48 price target.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Pepsi Bottling (NYSE: PBG) and Dr. Pepper Snapple (NYSE: DPS) to Buy from Hold as they believe carbonated soft drinks market is showing signs of stabilization. The firm raised its price target on Pepsi Bottling to $28 from $25 and on Dr. Pepper Snapple to $22 from $20.
  
• Baird upgraded CommScope (NYSE: CTV) to Outperform from Neutral and raised their target to $19 from $10 as they expect fundamentals to bottom in Q1 and ramp strongly in Q2 as wireless capex outlook improves.
• Sinopec Shanghai (NYSE: SHI) was raised to Buy from Sell at Goldman.
  
• TRW Automotive (NYSE: TRW) was upgraded at JP Morgan to Neutral from Underweight.

CommScope (NYSE: CTV) designs and manufactures electronic, coaxial and fiber-optic cable products for data networking, Internet access, wireless communications, telephony and other broadband applications. Among its offerings are high-bandwidth cables that deliver television, telephone and internet access through a single line. CommScope cables are also used in local area networks, residential video wiring and antennae-to-transmitter linking. Further, the firm is a leading provider of coaxial cable for satellite television providers. Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is a major customer. Corning (NYSE: GLW) is a major competitor.

The company surprised Wall Street last week, when it raised fiscal Q4 revenue guidance to $435-$445 million from prior guidance of $420-$440 million. Analysts had been looking for $434.23 million. Management also said it expected operating income to increase by 30-45 percent, year over year. Robert W. Baird subsequently reiterated its "outperform" rating on the shares. CTV shares popped on the news and then moved into a bullish "pennant" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit pennants moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Historically, North Carolina was well-known for tobacco, furniture production, and textiles. Though the Tar Heel state is still a leading textiles employer, both textiles and furniture production have been diminished by offshoring; North Carolina is one of the states most affected by job loss to other parts of the world. The state also remains a leader in tobacco production, but concerns about the loss of government subsidies have prompted many farmers to switch to other crops or to quit farming altogether.

Today, Charlotte, North Carolina, is known as the second largest financial center in the U.S., and the Raleigh-Durham area is a tech and research district. Carlisle Cos. (NYSE: CSL), Commscope Inc. (NYSE: CTV), and Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) can be found in the state.

The Forbes 2007 list of the 100 best mid cap stocks included two from North Carolina. One of those is Charlotte-based Carlisle, a manufacturer of such diverse products as brakes for heavy-duty trucks, roofing materials, food service equipment, and aerospace cabling assemblies. Carlisle appointed a new CEO in June, and in August it marked its 31st consecutive year of dividend increases. Carlisle's five-year EPS growth rate of 19.4% is better than its industry average, but less than the S&P 500. Earnings missed Wall Street estimates in the first three quarters of 2007, the company reporting 84 cents per share in the recent third quarter report, missing expectations by three cents, but 14 cents more than in the same period last year. The share price began to slide even before Carlisle trimmed its full-year guidance again in October, to open at $39.43 on Friday, down from the 52-week high of $51.57 in August.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: GPC Biotech, Akamai, Qwest, Shutterfly and LDK Solar were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• GPC Biotech (NASDAQ: GPCB) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman, to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank and to Underweight from Overweight at Lehman after the company's phase III trial of satraplatin to treat prostate cancer did not meet its primary endpoint.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM) to Hold from Buy on valuation following the recent rally as they believe concerns around slowing growth, margins and capital efficiency will limit upside.
  
• Qwest Communications (NYSE: Q) was downgraded to Sector Performer from Outperformer at CIBC and to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan following the company's disappointing Q3 results.
  
• Jefferies downgraded shares of Shutterfly (NASDAQ: SFLY) following the better-than-expected Q3 results due to valuation.
  
• Piper downgraded shares of LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) to Market Perform from Outperform, as they expect higher blended poly cost for the company due to tightening scrap poly supply and increased competition.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Maxwell Technologies (NASDAQ: MXWL) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities.
  
• UBS downgraded Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL) to Sell from Neutral.
  
• Merrill downgraded CommScope (NYSE: CTV) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Under Armour (NYSE: UA) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Raymond James.
  
• RBC Capital downgraded Beckman Coulter (NYSE: BEC) to Sector Perform from Outperform.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Today's noteworthy upgrades included Lockheed Martin (LMT), Raytheon (RTN), Hartford Financial (HIG), Seagate Technology (STX) and CommScope (CTV):

• JP Morgan upgraded two defense stocks today: Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight on valuation;

• Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) was raised to Overweight from Neutral, with expectations for the company to post above average organic growth driven by strong bookings. The firm also raised Raytheon's 2008 EPS estimate to $3.80 from $3.60, well above the consensus estimate.

• AG Edwards believes Hartford Financial's (NYSE: HIG) recent weakness has created a buying opportunity and upgraded shares to Buy from Hold.

• Seagate (NYSE: STX) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Brean Murray as checks indicate a healthy seasonal uptick in demand for drives and PCs in 2H07.

• CommScope (NYSE: CTV) was Upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Morgan Keegan based on higher 2007 and 2008 expectations along with accretion from the Andrew acquisition...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• BMC Software (NYSE: BMC) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.

• Friedman Billings raised Kimco Realty (NYSE: KIM) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Merck (NYSE: MRK) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at AG Edwards.

• Int'l Speedway (NASDAQ: ISCA) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Matrix USA.

• JP Morgan added Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH) to its JP Morgan Focus List.

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

The goal of the communications infrastructure firm is to keep people connected through phone, video and wireless devices. There is a Hickory, North Carolina firm that has been a pretty good operator along that line, but it just made a deal to acquire a successful competitor and will be getting even better.

CommScope Inc. (NYSE: CTV) designs and manufactures electronic, coaxial and fiber-optic cable products for data networking, Internet access, wireless communications, telephony and other broadband applications. Among its offerings are high-bandwidth cables that deliver television, telephone and Internet access through a single line. CommScope cables are also used in local area networks, residential video wiring and antennae to transmitter linking. Further, the firm is a leading provider of coaxial cable for satellite television providers. Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is a major customer. Corning (NYSE: GLW) is a major competitor.

The company surprised the Street last week, when it raised Q2 revenue guidance to $500-$510 million from prior guidance of $490-$510 million. Analysts had been looking for $499.9 million. The same day, CommScope also announced the acquisition of communications infrastructure firm Andrew Corporation (NASDAQ: ANDW). Friedman Billings, Oppenheimer and Robert Baird subsequently made positive comments about the strategic aspects of the move. The stock popped into the initial stage of a bullish "pennant" consolidation pattern on the news. Prices 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 six "strong buys," three "buys" and two "holds." Analysts expect a 15% average annual growth rate through the next five years. The CTV Price to Sales ratio (2.09), Price to Cash Flow ratio (18.01), Price to Free Cash Flow ratio (30.02), Sales Growth rate (23.63%), EPS Growth rate (200.00%), Return on Assets (11.46%) and Return on Equity (23.57%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages.

Institutional investors hold about 95% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 400 MidCap Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $27 and $59.82. A stop-loss of $51.50 looks good here. Note that the firm is expected to report Q2 results late this month.

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

We usually don't notice communication infrastructure equipment, until it fails to work. An outfit known for making such equipment good enough to ignore is headquartered in Hickory, North Carolina.

CommScope Inc. (NYSE:CTV) is a leader in the design and manufacture of cable and connectivity solutions for communication network links to the customer. Products include electronic, coaxial and fiber-optic cables for data networking, Internet access, wireless communications, telephony and other broadband applications. CommScope cables are also used in local area networks, residential video wiring and antennae to transmitter linking. Further, the firm is a leading provider of coaxial cable for satellite television providers.

The company surprised the Street last week, when it raised Q1 revenue guidance to $415-$425 million from prior guidance of $390-$410 million. Analysts had been looking for $404.8 million. Stifel Nicolaus, Oppenheimer and Friedman Billings subsequently declared the stock a "buy." The CTV price popped on the news and then moved into a bullish "pennant" consolidation pattern. It is expected to exit that pattern with another upside move.

Brokers recommend the issue with four "strong buys," three "buys" and four "holds." Analysts expect a fifteen percent average annual growth rate, through the next five years. The CTV Price to Sales ratio (1.62), Price to Book ratio (3.51), Price to Cash Flow ratio (15.77), Price to Free Cash Flow ratio (30.19), EPS Growth rate (33.33%) and Return on Equity (20.64%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages.

Institutional investors hold about 95% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 400 MidCap Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $25.74 and $43.67. A stop-loss of $37.95 looks good here. Note that the firm is expected to report Q1 results in late April.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Digital River Inc (DRIV) was today's only notable initiation.

• American Technology initiated Digital River Inc (NASDAQ: DRIV) with a Buy rating and $65 target. The firm believes Q1 guidance could be weak, but feels weakness would be short-lived as investors gain a better understanding of Digital River's Microsoft Corp- (NASDAQ: MSFT) driven revenue and margin upside in the second-half of 2007...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Merriman initiated Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc (AMEX: IDP) with a Buy rating and put fair value at $10-$12 a share.

• Merrill Lynch reinstated Nvidia Corp (NASDAQL NVDA) and KLA-Tencor Corp (NASDAQ: KLAC) with Buy ratings.

• Jefferies initiated CommScope Inc (NYSE: CTV) with a Buy rating and $37.50 target; they believe CommScope is a solid play with trends such as increasing competition among cable operators and wireline service providers as well as increasing bandwidth consumption by enterprises.

• Raymond James started Keystone Automotive Inds Inc (NASDAQ: KEYS) with a Market Perform rating.

• Roth Capital initiated G. Willis Food Int'l Ltd (NASDAQ: WILC) with a Buy rating and 48 target; Roth expects the largest marketer and distributor in Israel of kosher food products to grow at a 15%-20% rate over the next several years.

• JP Morgan initiated Covanta Holding Corp (NYSE: CVA) with a Neutral rating on valuation.

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