Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup (C) to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Cubist Pharma (CBST) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Pentair (PNR) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Heritage Financial (HFWA) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• SL Green Realty (SLG) and Digital Realty (DLR) to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• MGM Resorts (MGM) to neutral from Sell at Janney Capital.
• Ciena (CIEN) to buy from neutral and Olin (OLN) to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Mellanox (MLNX) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• ConocoPhillips (COP) and Canadian Natural (CNQ) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• IDEX (IEX) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Ctrip.com (CTRP) to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• Linear Technology (LLTC) and Analog Devices (ADI) to hold from sell at Auriga.
• Quicksilver (KWK) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.

Analyst Upgrades

• Oracle (ORCL) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Accenture (ACN) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Advanced Energy (AEIS) and Applied Materials (AMAT) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Spreadtrum (SPRD) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Healthcare Realty Trust (HR) and Tortoise Energy Capital (TYY) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Global Payments (GPN) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• CBS (CBS) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Sonic (SONC) to outperform from neutral at Cowen.

Analyst Upgrades

• Ryder (R) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• HCP (HCP) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Hertz Global (HTZ) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Lincoln National (LNC) to buy from neutral and T. Rowe Price (TROW) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Protective Life (PL) and Janus Capital (JNS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Newell Rubbermaid (NWL) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• National Instruments (NATI) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Team Health (TMH) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Analyst Upgrades

• Union Pacific (UNP) and Polycom (PLCM) were upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Time Warner Cable (TWC) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• LaSalle Hotel (LHO) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Graco (GGG) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Valley National (VLY) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Credit Suisse (CS) was upgraded to hold from sell at RBS.
• U.S. Bancorp (USB) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Penn National (PENN) and Riverbed (RVBD) were upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Goodrich (GR) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• Amazon.com (AMZN) upgraded to buy from average at Caris.

Analyst Upgrades

• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Baidu (BIDU) to buy from hold and raised its target price for shares to $690 from $540 after Google (GOOG) said it has stopped censoring its search services on Google.cn in China. The firm believes the Chinese government is likely to restrict access to Google's site now, a move that would benefit Baidu.
• Baird upgraded Autoliv (ALV) to outperform from neutral and raised its target to $60 from $47. The firm cites valuation and strong revenue performance for the upgrade.
• Jesup & Lamont upgraded Tiffany (TIF) to buy from hold following the company's Q4 results and better-than-expected guidance. The firm has a $55 price target for shares.
• Automatic Data Processing (ADP) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Cowen.
• American Superconductor (AMSC) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Saks (SKS) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded Gymboree (NASDAQ: GYMB) to Outperform from Perform following the company's Q2 results to reflect valuation and square footage growth from Crazy 8. The firm has a $52 target on the stock.
• KeyBanc upgraded Lululemon (NASDAQ: LULU) to Buy from Hold on expectations sales and margins will improve in the near-term due to clean inventory levels. The firm recommends a pair trade of long Lululemon, short Under Armour (NYSE: UA).
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Allied Capital (NYSE: ALD) to Market Perform from Underperform following the company's Q2 results and raised its target on shares to $3.50 from $1.
• Jack in the Box (NASDAQ: JACK) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
• LogMeln (NASDAQ: LOGM) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Barclays (NYSE: BCS) was reinstated with an Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $6 from $5 based on cost trends, valuation, and expectations the company can beat expectations over the next six months.
• Oppenheimer upgraded E-House (NYSE: EJ) to Outperform from Perform following the company's better-than-expected Q2 results. The firm has a price target of $27 on shares.
• JPMorgan upgraded Avery Dennison (NYSE: AVY) to Overweight from Neutral and has a $33 target on the stock. The firm cites valuation for the upgrade following the recent underperformance and expects the company's margins to expand as demand rebounds.
• Citigroup (NYSE: C) was upgraded to Buy from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Taubman Centers (NYSE: TCO) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.
• First Niagara (NASDAQ: FNFG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney Montgomery.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the parade of earnings declines to continue into the final week of February, with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (NYSE: MSO), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD), Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN), Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M), DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA), Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD), Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE: RY), Del Monte Foods Co. (NASDAQ: DLM), Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS), Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB), RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH), and H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) all expected to post lower earnings for the most recent quarter. Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP), Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS), and Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: CTB) are expect to have swung to a loss.

Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU) to Buy from Neutral and lowered its target to $26 from $35 citing valuation.
  
• Gabelli upgraded Media General (NYSE:MEG) to Hold from Sell because the firm thinks that Harbinger Capital has sold most of its shares in the company. As a result, the firm thinks the stock will be under less selling pressure.
  
• Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Merrill Lynch.
• Centene (NYSE:CNC) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Ralcorp (NYSE:RAH) was upgraded at Credit Suisse to Outperform from Neutral.
  
• Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.

• Keefe Bruyette downgraded Healthcare Realty(NYSE:HR) to Market Perform from Outperform on concerns the company's development activity could be dilutive to near-term earnings.
  
• Citigroup downgraded Satyam (NYSE:SAY) to Sell from Buy as they believe the company's acquisition plans, and subsequent cancellation of the deals, will lessen investor confidence in the name.
  
• Oppenheimer downgraded Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to Perform from Outperform citing Steve Jobs cancellation of his annual key note speech at Macworld on January 6. The analyst said the unexpected announcement underscores Apple's long-term dependence on Job's health and its lack of succession plan.
• Baird downgraded Carlisle NYSE:CSL)to Neutral from Outperform.
  
• Gibraltar Industries (NASDAQ:ROCK) was downgraded at Piper Jaffray to Sell from Buy.
  
• NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) was cut to Accumulate from Buy at ThinkPanmure.

• Citigroup believes the acquisition of Barr enhances Teva's (NASDAQ:TEVA) growth. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $52 target.
  
• Suntrust initiated American Express (NYSE:AXP) with a Reduce citing slowing growth and greater-than-industry deterioration in credit quality.
  
• Roth Capital initiated The Buckle (NYSE:BKE) with a Hold rating and $17 target citing the deteriorating macro environment.
• Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Allegheny Tech (NYSE:ATI) were assumed with Neutral ratings and targets of $52 and $26, respectively, at UBS.
  
• Digital Realty (NYSE:DLR) was initiated at Piper Jaffray with a Buy rating.
  
• Mylan (NYSE:MYL) was started with an Overweight rating and $15 target at JP Morgan.

Analyst upgrades:

• Piper upgraded Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the company's strong competitive position and low valuation. The firm does not expect Intel to miss Q3 estimates.
  
• Goldman upgraded shares of Deutsche Telecom (NYSE: DT) to Buy from Neutral and added the stock to the Conviction Buy List as they believe the dividend is well covered.
  
• Wachovia upgraded Landstar System (NASDAQ: LSTR) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation and potential near-term catalysts from hurricane-related activities.
• Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings.
  
• Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) was upgraded at JMP Securities to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Baird lifted Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) to Neutral from Underperform.

• Jefferies downgraded VCA Antech (NASDAQ: WOOF) to Underperform from Buy as they believe reduced consumer spending and rising unemployment levels will hurt the company's hospital and lab volumes in FY09. The company's target was lowered to $25 from $35.
  
• Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Total System (NYSE: TSS) to Perform from Outperform to reflect the challenging macro environment and the customer portfolio risk from bank consolidation.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Fluor (NYSE: FLR) to Buy from Hold to reflect the company's strong performance and backlog in Q4 and raised their target to $190.50 from $158.
  
• Baird upgraded Forward Air (NASDAQ: FWRD) to Outperform from Neutral citing near-term growth initiatives that are gaining traction.
  
• Citigroup also upgraded shares of McDermott (NYSE: MDR) to Buy from Hold to reflect the company's strong Q4 performance and rising commodity prices.

• RBC Capital upgraded Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR) and ProLogis (NYSE: PLD) to Top Pick from Outperform.
  
• Credit Suisse raised China Unicom (NYSE: CHU) to Outperform from Neutral.
  
• Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) and Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.

The Forbes/Slatin Real Estate Report, edited by industry expert Peter Slatin, is a professional-level newsletter geared to the more sophisticated real estate investor.

Along with his own insights and advice on investment opportunities in the sector, one feature of the service is its monthly interviews with REIT-sector equity analysts. Below, I share some highlights from Slatin's interview with Jordan Sadler of KeyBanc Capital, who discusses some of his current favorite ideas among REITs.

FORBES/SLATIN: KeyBanc is focused on the U.S. What are you seeing here?

SADLER: My view, initiated last October, was a cautious outlook overall. The recent M&A squeezed shares. We continue to feel that way. REITs are trading at a level where it's hard to justify incremental investment across the space, although you can be tactical with names that are more attractive.

FORBES/SLATIN: In your universe of tactical moves, what stands out?

SADLER: Our top pick was Digital Realty Trust (NYSE: DLR), and it continues to be. It has fundamental drivers that are significantly differentiated from most of their REIT brethren. That, in theory, should be able to generate excess profit until competition gets hip, which seems to be slowly happening. For their type of building, there is limited supply, and a ton of demand, from financial services, Internet and enterprise companies and channel users.