Analyst Upgrades

• Janney Montgomery upgraded MasterCard (MA) to buy from neutral. The firm has a $250 price target on the stock.
• Lazard upgraded Frontline (FRO) to hold from sell following the better than expected Q1 report.
• Knight Capital (NITE) was upgraded at BMO Capital to outperform from market perform. The firm cites valuation and improved fundamentals for the downgrade. The firm has an $18 price target on the stock.
• Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Carnival (CCL) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Computer Sciences (CSC) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Analyst upgrades:

• Merriman upgraded Dendreon (NASDAQ: DNDN) to Buy from Neutral on expectations shares will react positively to the full IMPACT data release on April 28. The firm thinks Provenge could represent the first cancer immunotherapy approved in the U.S. and raised its valuation range on the stock to $33-$34 from $18-$19.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Andersons (NASDAQ: ANDE) as it believes the valuation is attractive, investor expectations are low, and the company's fertilizer and rail segments could recovery in FY10. The firm has a $19 target on shares. Goldman upgraded the auto sector to Neutral from Cautious and added Ford (NYSE: F) to its Conviction Buy list. The analyst does not believe Ford will have to declare bankruptcy and sees the company benefiting from Chrysler share declines and GM's (NYSE: GM) reduced product offerings. Ford's price target is $6
• Banc of America/Merrill upgraded U.S. Airways (NYSE: LCC) to Buy from Underperform.
• Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Sprint Nextel, Safeway, PharmaNet Development, Millennium Pharmaceutical and Telefonica were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Wachovia upgraded shares of Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company is within six months of reaching a sustainable turnaround in subscriber growth and that investor expectations can not get much lower.
• CIBC upgraded shares of Safeway Stores Inc (NYSE: SWY) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer after the company's strong quarter in a challenging environment.
• Jefferies raised its rating on PharmaNet Development Group Inc (NASDAQ: PDGI) to Buy from Hold as they believe the company should achieve leverage in margins after executing its turnaround.
• Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: MLNM) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird. The firm said expectations for Millennium and Velcade are low and would be buyers for the quarter given the ASH meeting and downstream pipeline visibility.
  
• Telefonica SA (NYSE: TEF) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup following the company's earnings growth guidance.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Lehman Brothers.
• UBS upgraded NII Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: NIHD) to Buy from Neutral.
• Goldman Sachs added Knight Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ: NITE) to its Conviction Buy List.
• RBC Capital upgraded Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY) to Outperform from Market Perform.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The exchange sector, Progenics Pharma, Tyco Electronics and PharMerica were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Keefe Bruyette initiated coverage on Exchange Sector: The firm started shares of CME Group Inc (NYSE: CME), NYMEX Holdings Inc (NYSE: NMX) and NYSE Euronext Inc (NYSE: NYX) with Outperform ratings and a $669 target, $147 target and $90 target, respectively. The firm also started shares of Investment Technology Group (NYSE: ITG), Nasdaq Stock Market Inc (NASDAQ: NDAQ) and IntercontinentalExchange Inc (NYSE: ICE) with Underperform ratings and a $47 target, $36 target and $158 target, respectively, and shares of Knight Capital Group (NASDAQ: NITE) with an Underperform rating and $13 target.
  
• Progenics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: PGNX) was added to Friedman Billings' Top Picks list and its Outperform rating was maintained. The firm has a high degree of confidence in the success of the MNTX Ph III studies in post-operative ilieus, as well as the FDA approval of the subcutaneous injection in terminally ill patients with opiod-induced constipation around the 1/31/07 PDUFA date.
• RBC believes margin expansion will drive long-term appreciation in Tyco Electronics Ltd (NYSE: TEL) and started shares with an Outperform rating and $41 target.
• PharMerica Corporation (NYSE: PMC) was initiated with an Underperform rating at Bear Stearns. The firm believes PMC will be pressured by customer losses and generic reimbursement cuts and sees shares trading in $12-$13 range.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Ryanair Holdings (NASDAQ: RYAAY) was initiated with a Market Outperform rating at Avondale.u
• Banc of America initiated shares of Town Sports International (NASDAQ: CLUB) with a Sell rating and $15 target.
  
• Goldman started shares of Genesis Lease Ltd (NYSE: GLS) and Aircastle Ltd (NYSE: AYR) with Neutral ratings.