Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded shares of AllianceBernstein (NYSE: AB) to Outperform from Market Perform as they find AB's risk/reward attractive given its attractive long-term business model. Wachovia upgraded Watson Pharma (NYSE: WPI) and Teva Pharma (NASDAQ: TEVA) to Outperform from Market Perform citing valuations and positive drivers for generics that include patent expirations and market share expansion.
• UBS raised Lloyds TSB Group (NYSE: LYG) to Neutral from Sell on expected pricing power following the HBOS (OTC: HBOOY) acquisition.
• Otter Tail (NASDAQ: OTTR) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• GFI Group (NASDAQ: GFIG) was upgraded at Citigroup to Hold from Sell.
• Merrill upgraded Logitech (NASDAQ: LOGI) to Neutral from Underperform.

• JP Morgan downgraded shares of Lloyds TSB Group to Underweight from Neutral on capital concerns and believes the HBOS acquisition is not in the best interest of shareholders.
• Stephens downgraded Universal Truckload (NASDAQ: UACL) to Equal Weight from Overweight on valuation and concerns about a slowdown in the flatbed sector. The firm's target remains $28.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: GFI Group, Wells Fargo and Cirrus Logic were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Goldman downgraded GFI Group Inc (NASDAQ: GFIG) to Neutral from Buy following the company's announcement that credit chief, Donal Fewer, left the company to go to a rival firm and that about two dozen brokers may defect to follow him.
• Oppenheimer cut Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) to Underperform from Perform as they believe the company is under-reserved by at least $4.5B and that there is significant room for multiple contraction.
• Cirrus Logic Inc (NASDAQ: CRUS) was downgraded at Jefferies to Hold from Buy on valuation, as they believe the risk/reward is no longer favorable at current levels.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Baird cut Ryder System Inc (NYSE: R) to Neutral from Outperform.
• Caterpillar Incorporated (NYSE: CAT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia and to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
• Goldman removed Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL) from its Conviction Buy List.