MOST NOTEWORTHY: UBS AG, Cepheid and ICT Group were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Credit Suisse upgraded shares of UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) to Outperform from Neutral on valuation, as they believe the current share price implies a negative valuation of the company's securities unit.
• Piper upgraded shares of Cepheid (NASDAQ: CPHD) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the better-than-expected quarter to date GeneXpert placements and management's bullish outlook during their Annual Health Care Conference.
• ICT Group (NASDAQ: ICTG) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Friedman Billings following the company's reiteration of guidance last night. The firm believes shares are near a floor and that the company could be an attractive takeout candidate once business stabilizes.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded British Airways (OTC: BAIRY) to Buy from Hold.
• Lehman upgraded the packaging sector to Positive from Neutral and upgraded AptarGroup (NYSE: ATR) to Equal Weight from Underweight.
• JP Morgan upgraded Potash Corp. (NYSE: POT) to Overweight from Neutral.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Spectra Energy (SEP), ComScore (SCOR) and Data Domain (DDUP) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Spectra Energy (NYSE: SEP) was initiated with a Buy rating and $32.50 target at Citigroup, with an Overweight rating and $32 target at Lehman Brothers and with an Overweight rating at Wachovia. Citigroup believes SEP provides investors above-average distribution growth driven by stable cash flows with little or no direct exposure to commodity prices. Wachovia is positive on SEP given its multi-year growth profile and high quality assets.

• ComScore (NASDAQ: SCOR) was initiated with an Outperform rating and $28 target at FBRC on valuation. The company was also initiated at Jefferies with a Hold rating and $25 target, citing valuation, although the firm believes the company is well positioned to benefit from the market demand for Web traffic data/analytics. Deutsche Bank initiated shares of ComScore with a Buy rating and $28 target.

• Data Domain (NASDAQ: DDUP) was started at Pacific Crest with an Outperform rating and $30 target and the firm expects growth to exceed 50% annually for at least the next two years.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• ThinkEquity started shares of Altair Nanotechnologies (NASDAQ: ALTI) with a Buy rating and $6 target.

• ThinkEquity transferred coverage of Blue Coat Systems (NASDAQ: BCSI) with a Buy rating and raised its target to $63 from $51.

• Stifel started shares of ICT Group (NASDAQ: ICTG) with a Buy rating and $20 target.

• B. Riley started shares of Charles & Colvard (NASDAQ: CTHR) with a Buy rating and $8 target.

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