Analyst upgrades:

• Barclays upgraded Exxon (XOM) to overweight from equal weight based on a higher production growth outlook. The firm, which raised its target to $92 from $90, expects Exxon to have organic growth of more than 3% in 2010 and an average growth rate of 2.6% between 2009 and 2013.
• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Palm (PALM) to buy from hold citing the recent pullback in shares and indications that Verizon (VZ) will carry webOS phones as early as 1H10. The firm has a $16 target on the stock.
• Piper Jaffray raised Medicis (MRX) to neutral from underweight and raised its target to $20 from $16. Following a management meeting, Piper said they have increased confidence in Soldyn risk and LipoSonix's safety profile.
• Illinois Tool Works (ITW) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Devon Energy (DVN) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Carmike Cinemas (CKEC) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merriman.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Today's noteworthy initiations were Monolithic Power, Emergency Medical Services, Amsurg and EnergySolutions.

• Monolithic Power (NASDAQ: MPWR) was initiated with a Buy at Am Tech, which predicted that Monolithic Power will have significant design win momentum that should result in stronger than expected revenue growth. The firm thinks the company will be able to grow 20% in its 2008, thanks to its new products and competitive prices.
  
• Emergency Medical Services (NYSE: EMS) was initiated with a Sell, target $15 at Citigroup. Citigroup believes EMS's earnings contribution from insurance releases and prior period adjustments is not sustainable.
  
• AMSurg (NASDAQ: AMSG) was initiated with a Buy, target $32 at Citigroup. Citigroup said it is positive on AMSurg given its history of FCF per share growth, low out of network exposure, little debt risk, and acquisition pipeline.
  
• EnergySolutions (NYSE: ES) was initiated with a Market Perform, target $26 at FBRC. Friedman Billings expects EnergySolutions to trade at a slight discount to peers given its leverage balance sheet and perceived slower growth.

OTHER INITIATION:

• VMWare (NYSE: VMW) initiated with a Market Weight at Thomas Weisel, based on valuation. Thomas Weisel believes VMWare is uniquely positioned to benefit from trends toward centralized IT resources, on-demand delivery and greater efficiency.
• Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) was initiated with an Overweight, target $37 at Thomas Weisel. Thomas Weisel believes Citrix Systems is uniquely positioned to benefit from trends toward centralized IT resources and on-demand delivery given its product line that targets the data center.

Wachovia upgrades Countrywide (NYSE:CFC) from "underperform" to "market perform" according to Briefing.com. The news service also writes that Moody's put CIT's (NYSE:CIT) ratings on review for possible downgrade.

Lazard Capital Markets reiterated it "buy" rating on Energy Solutions (NYSE:ES) according to MarketWatch.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: First Bancorp. and Volcom were today's noteworthy initiations:

• B. Riley initiated First Bancorp. (NYSE: FBP) with a Buy rating, citing the company's balance sheet growth, reduced expenses and strong capital base.
  
• Volcom Inc. (NASDAQ: VLCM) was also initiated with a Buy rating by B. Riley, as the firm believes the company can grow its business through further penetration into domestic markets, brand extension into new categories and increased demand for its brands.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Energy Solutions (NYSE: ES) was initiated with an Equal Weight rating by Morgan Stanley.
• Goldman Sachs started El Paso Pipeline (NYSE: EPB) with a Buy rating.
• 3PAR Inc. (NYSE: PAR) was initiated with an Outperform by RBC Capital Markets.

Going into the IPO for EnergySolutions (NYSE: ES), there appeared to be quite a bit of demand. The shares priced at $23, which was above its $19-$21 range. Although in today's trading, the stock has barely moved.

EnergySolutions is a technology provider for the nuclear services industry. That is, the company helps with things like in-plant support services, operation of nuclear reactors, logistics, and decontamination and decommissioning (D&D).

In fact, the D&D division has perhaps the most promise. Keep in mind that the U.S. government is in the process of shutting down a variety of old power plants. The cost could reach as much as $300 billion. What's more, it looks like the federal government will shell out $50 billion on the initiatives over the next couple years.