MOST NOTEWORTHY: Level 3 Communications, BT Group and Limited Brands were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Merriman downgraded shares of Level 3 Communications Inc (NASDAQ: LVLT) to Neutral from Buy, as they believe the risks outweigh the rewards until the company can complete its integration and turn FCF positive.
• BT Group Plc (NYSE: BT) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Lehman to reflect the company's slowing revenue growth.
• Bear downgraded Limited Brands Inc (NYSE: LTD) to Peer Perform from Outperform, citing the unfavorable macro backdrop, execution issues and management turnover.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Societe Generale lowered its rating on GlaxoSmithKline Plc (NYSE: GSK) to Hold from Buy.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Cox Radio Inc (NYSE: CXR) to Equal Weight from Overweight.
• UBS dropped Anglogold Ashanti Limited (NYSE: AU) to Neutral from Buy.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: British Airways plc (BAB), Ryanair Holdings plc (RYAAY), Cox Radio, Inc (CXR) and Autoliv Inc (ALV) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of both British Airways (NYSE: BAB) and Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ: RYAAY) to Hold from Sell on valuation.

• Credit Suisse upgraded shares of Cox Radio Inc (NYSE: CXR) to Neutral form Underperform on valuation following the stock's recent pullback. Bear Stearns also upgraded Cox Radio to Outperform from Peer Perform on valuation.

• Merrill Lynch upgraded shares of Autoliv Inc (NYSE: ALV) to Neutral from sell.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Wachovia upgraded Heelys, Inc (NASDAQ: HLYS) to Outperform from Market Perform following positive channel checks, which could lead to upside to the Street's Q1 EPS estimate of 18c, and valuation.

• Stifel upgraded VistaPrint Ltd (NASDAQ: VPRT) to Buy from Hold with a $43 target. The firm said risks from taxes and non-transaction revenue have been diminished to levels that allow them to focus on the core printing business.

• Ameristar Casinos, Inc (NASDAQ: ASCA) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.

• Bear Stearns upgraded Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc (NYSE: WDR) to Outperform from Peer Perform based on strong operating leverage and valuation.

• Potash Corp (NYSE: POT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The Semiconductor Production Equipment sector, General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Advanced Micro (NYSE: AMD) topped the massive list of downgrades this morning.

• Goldman Sachs downgraded the Semiconductor Production Equipment sector to Cautious from Neutral, citing expectations for weakness in NAND and DRAM in 2007; the firm also downgraded Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) and Credence Systems (NASDAQ: CMOS) to Sell from Neutral.

• General Motors (NYSE: GM) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Bank of America, telling clients it expects market share for the first-half of 2007 to be lower, along with a sharp fourth-quarter decline in new product volume due to overpricing.

• ThinkEquity also downgraded Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) to Sell from Buy with a $15 target, as they believe inventory in the channel is building and prices are falling; furthermore, the broker believes Advanced Micro has little opportunity of meeting the high expectations for margins it set on its recent analyst day.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) was downgraded to Sell from Hold with a $34 target at Citigroup citing valuation that reflects aggressive long-term operating margins.

• Wachovia downgraded shares of Cox Radio 'A' (NYSE: CXR) to Underperform from Market Perform and recommended investors to swap out of Cox and into their top 2007 picks: Lamar Advertising 'A' (NASDAQ: LAMR) or Entravision Communication 'A' (NYSE: EVC).

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: In addition to Palm Inc. (PALM) and Research in Motion (RIMM), four prominent Airlines topped today's list of downgrades.

• Merrill Lynch downgraded shares of Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM) to Neutral from Buy following the company's reduced second-quarter outlook.
• BMO Capital Markets downgraded Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:RIMM) to Market Perform from Outperform, citing valuation.
• Benchmark, a boutique firm, downgraded Continental Airlines (NYSE:CAL), JetBlue Airways Corp (NASDAQ:JBLU), US Airways Grp (NYSE:LCC) and UAL Corp (NASDAQ:UAUA) to Hold from Buy, citing valuation.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Quest Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:QSFT) was downgraded at Pacific Crest to Sector Perform from Outperform based on poor visibility and option concerns.
• Finally, Citigroup said shares of Cox Radio (NYSE:CXR) and Cumulus Media, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMLS) have rallied on LBO speculation that is unlikely to prove out in the near-to-intermediate term and that 2007 growth expectations could prove to be optimistic; Citigroup downgraded both companies to Sell from Hold.

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