Stephens upgraded shares of Ann Taylor (NYSE: ANN) to Overweight from Equal Weight to reflect the company's restructuring program, reductions in inventory and share repurchase program.
AIMCO (NYSE: AIV) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
UBS upgraded D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) to Neutral from Sell.
Argus believes BigBand Networks (NASDAQ: BBND) is succeeding by adding new customers and driving new business with existing customers. Shares were upgraded to Buy from Hold.
ThinkPanmure expects Capella Education (NASDAQ: CPLA) to attract students at a faster rate in the coming quarters and to improve operating margins. The firm raised shares to Buy from Accumulate and raised its target to $60 from $62.
Advanced Medical (NYSE:EYE) was lifted to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies.
"We've looked at several ways to play anticipated growth in wind energy; we've also considered titanium makers for that industry's ties to the production of lightweight, modern aircraft," notes Bill Martin.
In his BullMarket.com, he explains, "While the two trends might not appear to have much in common at first glance, Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL) offers a way to play both the aircraft and wind markets.
"The connection is the lightweight, composite materials Hexcel makes that are used by producers in both sectors. Hexcel develops and manufactures advanced structural materials.
"It is the largest U.S. producer of carbon fiber; the world's largest weaver of reinforcement fabrics; and the number-one producer of composite materials.
"Its product was initially developed for the aerospace industry, but is now used in a wide range of applications -- from golf clubs to satellite arrays, and from the rotor blades of wind turbines to life-saving monocoques for Formula 1 race cars.
"It's been a rollercoaster ride for Hexcel's stock in the past 12 months. The shares hit their one-year peak of $27.19 in December 2007; by January 22nd they had plummeted to $17.. The shares rebounded through May, only to fade again. Year to date, HXL is off about 15%.
Hexcel Corporation (NYSE: HXL) is a leading advanced structural materials company. It develops, manufactures and markets lightweight, high-performance materials, including carbon fibers, reinforcements, prepregs, honeycomb, matrix systems, adhesives and composite structures. The firm's materials are found in such diverse products as aircraft components, bullet-resistant vests, auto parts, golf clubs, window blinds and printed circuit boards. Customers include General Electric (NYSE: GE), Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) and Boeing (NYSE: BA). BP plc (NYSE: BP) is a major competitor.
The company surprised the Street earlier in the week, when it reported Q1 EPS of 23 cents and revenues of $344.5 million. Analysts had been expecting 20 cents and $314.1 million. The CEO noted that sales for commercial aerospace were up sharply, across the board. Management also guided FY08 EPS to the high end of the range 90-95 cents (93 cent consensus).
"Despite the recent economic slowdown, Hexcel (NYSE: HXL) is seeing its market for carbon-fiber-based aerospace products and parts boom," says energy sector expert Elliott Gue.
The contributing editor to Personal Finance explains, "And in addition to growing aerospace demand, the firm has growing markets in wind power and nuclear power." Here is his review.
"Hexcel makes lightweight carbon-fiber parts used on modern aircraft designs. New aircraft designs such as the 787 incorporate far higher carbon-fiber content than older planes, so Hexcel is becoming an increasingly important supplier.
"The aerospace demand cycle isn't directly tied to demand for air travel. Airlines and aircraft leasing firms typically plan their purchases of new planes many years in advance; the aerospace cycle is highly visible and longer-term in nature.
"Currently, demand for modern fuel-efficient aircraft such as the 787 Dreamliner from Boeing (NYSE: BA) is booming. Hexcel recently reported fourth quarter results and offered management's outlook for the year ahead. Just over 50% of the company's total sales come from the commercial aerospace market.
"The market is booming: Sales surged more than 21% compared to the fourth quarter of 2006 in constant dollar terms. Hexcel sells to both Airbus and Boeing which have a combined acklog of nearly 7,000 planes that have been ordered but not yet delivered.
"Alternatives may not be an important source of electricity, but they are the fastest-growing subsector in the energy space," says energy sector expert Elliott Gue in Personal Finance. Here, he looks at wind power.
"The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that wind power will grow by more than 7%, encouraged by generous government subsidies. Compare that to just 1.5% annualized projected growth in total electricity demand.
"The world's largest wind turbine producer, Vestas Wind Systems (OTC: VWSYF), fell on hard times back in 2005. It priced some of its turbines too aggressively and saw a surge in warranty claims because of defective components.
"But the stock appears back on track. Warranty provisions are down to 5% of revenues. Profit margins surged 4 percentage points year-over-year because of more rational turbine pricing. Vestas' current backlog stands at EUR4.1 billion (US $6.03 billion), up more than 30% year-over-year.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: BioForm Medical, Hexcel and Genesis Energy were today's noteworthy initiations:
Jefferies initiated BioForm Medical (NYSE: BFRM) with a Buy rating and $12 target and believes the risk/reward is positive given the company's differentiated technology and the strong growth dynamics of the dermal filler market. They also think the possibility of a takeout provides a valuation floor in the stock.
UBS believes Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL) will grow faster than other aerospace suppliers given the production ramp in composite rich aircraft. The firm assumed coverage with a Buy rating and $30 target.
Wachovia expects Genesis Energy (AMEX: GEL) to benefit from recently announced acquisitions, strong tertiary oil recovery activity by Denbury Resources (NYSE: DNR) in Mississippi, and growing industrial gas segment, starting shares with an Outperform rating..
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Banc of America initiated Dollar Tree Stores (NASDAQ: DLTR) with a Neutral rating and $30 target.
Composite materials -- putting two building materials together to make them stronger than they would be on their own -- have been around for as long as mankind has been building structures. But we've come a long way since we first figured out that straw and mud together can make a brick, and modern composite materials, like carbon fiber, are becoming increasingly important in a number of technology markets, especially the aeronautics field.
Lightweight and super-strong, Goldman Sachs estimates at the next generation of aircraft could be made up of as much as three-fourths composite material, and this is why I think there are some great opportunities to be found in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE: HXL), a California-based company that has been making technologically advanced composite materials since the 1940s.
Hexcel's strongest sales have always been to the aeronautics industry. The company's longstanding relationship with Boeing (NYSE: BA), among other aircraft builders, has kept profits high over the past year, with operating earnings up 26% in the last quarter.
"There are several ways to play the airline industry without buying the airlines themselves." explains Benjamin Shepard, a research editor for Personal Finance. Here, he looks seven stocks that are poised to profit as the sector "gets its wings again."
Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL), he notes, is the largest producer of woven carbon-fiber sheets, which are extremely important for both Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner, as well as for the new Airbus A380. He rates thes tock a buy up to 25.
Aircastle (NYSE: AYR) and Genesis Lease (NYSE: GLS) are both aircraft leasing companies and publicly traded partnerships, and both are holdings in the Personal Finance model portfolio. He notes, "As airlines continue their recovery and passenger volume rises, older planes must be replaced and new planes added to the fleets."
Both partnerships, he notes, are based in Ireland and lease to both passenger airlines and cargo companies around the world. He says, ""Aircastle and Genesis are excellent bets on the continued growth of air travel and pay dividends of around 6% and 8%, respectively."
Even before Neil Armstrong, the foot-pads of the Apollo 11 lunar landing module made the first footprints on the moon. Those pads were made of a crushable honeycomb foil manufactured by a Stamford, Connecticut innovator in the development of special purpose materials.
Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) is a leading advanced structural materials company. It develops, manufactures and markets lightweight, high-performance materials, including carbon fibers, reinforcements, pre-impregnated materials,laminates, adhesives and composite structures. The firm's materials are found in such diverse products as aircraft components, bullet-resistant vests, auto parts, golf clubs, window blinds and printed circuit boards. Customers include General Electric (NYSE: GE), Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) and Boeing (NYSE: BA). BP plc (NYSE: BP) is a major competitor.
The company surprised the Street earlier in the week, when it reported Q1 EPS of 17 cents and revenues of $328.7 million. Analysts had been expecting 15 cents and $308.5 million. Management also guided FY2007 revenues to the range $1.25-1.30 billion ($1.28B consensus). The CEO particularly cited a rebound in Space & Defense revenues for the solid first quarter figures.
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Analyst upgrades:
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Composite materials -- putting two building materials together to make them stronger than they would be on their own -- have been around for as long as mankind has been building structures. But we've come a long way since we first figured out that straw and mud together can make a brick, and modern composite materials, like carbon fiber, are becoming increasingly important in a number of technology markets, especially the aeronautics field. 
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