MOST NOTEWORTHY: Energy East, SunTrust Banks and Suncor were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Energy East (NYSE: EAS) to Buy from Hold on valuation, pointing out the return on the transaction if the Iberdrola/EAS merger deal closes is 21.9%. The firm raised their target to $28.50 from $25.50.
  
• Baird upgraded SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI) to Outperform from Neutral citing valuation and notes the company is unlikely to need to raise capital.
  
• CIBC raised Suncor (NYSE: SU) to Outperformer from Sector Performer following news that Alberta's Energy Resource Conservation Board has lifted restrictions on production on the company's Firebag SAGD project.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Sterling Bancshares (NASDAQ: SBIB) was lifted to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.
  
• Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) was upgraded at Morgan Stanley to Equal Weight from Underweight.
  
• Kinetic Concepts (NYSE: KCI) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: American International Group, Energy East and BG Group Plc were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of American International Group (NYSE:AIG) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they see limited downside at current levels. They believe the stock is "poised for over 35% upside in the next twelve months" and raised their target price to $42 from $41.
  
• Jefferies raised Energy East (NYSE:EAS) to Hold from Underperform to reflect the growing pressure from politicians to influence the final NYPSC order in the merger approval proceeding. The firm raised their target price to $25.50 from $16.50.
  
• Bernstein upgraded shares of BG Group (NASDAQ:BRGYY) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company should benefit from the tightness in the global liquefied natural gas market.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Total SA (NYSE:TOT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman and added to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Wachovia lifted CarMax (NYSE:KMX) to Market Perform from Underperform.
  
• Pike Electric (NYSE:PEC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Winn-Dixie Stores (WINN), TIB Financial Corp (TIBB), Energy East Corp (EAS), Baidu.com, Inc (BIDU) and SINA Corp (SINA) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Friedman Billings upgraded shares of Winn-Dixie Stores (NASDAQ: WINN) to Outperform from Market Perform citing valuation, sustainable Q3 margins, and share gains from both Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and Publix.

• Sandler raised TIB Financial Corp (NASDAQ: TIBB) off the ground, to Hold from Sell, citing valuation.

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Energy East (NYSE: EAS) to Hold from Sell after Iberdrola agreed to acquire the company.

• Pacific Crest upgraded both Baidu.com (NASDAQ: BIDU) and SINA Corp (NASDAQ: SINA) to Outperform from Sector Perform following their trip to Asia, citing China's strong online ad market. They believe Baidu.com is benefiting from its sales-force integration and SINA Corp's brand strength should lead to further market-share gains...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Lehman upgraded Celgene Corp (NASDAQ: CELG) and Genzyme Corp (NASDAQ: GENZ) to Overweight from Equal Weight.

• Matrix USA upgraded Jo-Ann Stores (NYSE: JAS) to Sell from Strong Sell.

• Dolby Laboratories (NYSE: DLB) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

• Wachovia raised U-Store-It Trust (NYSE: YSI) to Market Perform from Underperform.

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