Jefferies upgraded Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) to Buy from Hold on valuation with the stock down 65% in two months as they believe the company has a "best-in-class fundamental story." The firm lowered its target to $25 from $30.
Morgan Stanley upgraded Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) to Overweight from Equal Weight on valuation and believes near-term cost reductions could provide a positive catalyst.
Citigroup upgraded New York Times (NYSE: NYT) to Hold from Sell and lowered its target to $5.50 from $7 on valuation and believes the dividend cut will boost the company's liquidity.
Pantry (NASDAQL PTRY) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings.
LECG Corp (NASDAQ: XPRT) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI) was upgraded at RBC Capital to Outperform from Sector Perform.
Analyst downgrades:
Jefferies downgraded Suntech (NYSE: STP) to Hold from Buy and lowered its target to $6 from $25 as they believe concerns about a convert refinancing in February 2010 will continue to weigh on the stock.
Credit Suisse cut Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) to Underperform from Outperform due to expectations for a decline in wireless infrastructure spending.
ING downgraded shares of Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Hold from Buy as they believe it will be challenging for the company to execute asset sales planned at reducing debt in the current environment.
The earnings crunch begins in earnest this coming week, with companies from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) to Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) and Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) scheduled to report results for the quarter just ended. But with the ongoing turmoil in the markets, much attention is on the tech and financial sectors. This week will provide plenty to mull over on both counts.
Wall Street expectations for tech stocks are fairly optimistic. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are looking for chip maker Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) and software/service company iGate Corp. (NASDAQ: IGTE) to be the sector's biggest earnings gainers of the week. Altera is expected to report earnings of 30 cents per share (up 33.3% from a year ago) on revenue of $355.1 million. Altera had previously forecast flat sales for the quarter, and shares fell to a 52-week low last week. iGate is expected to report earnings of 14 cents per share (up 42.9%) on revenue of $55.6 million. India-based iGate recently spun off its Mastech consulting services. Shares are down 45.0% in the past three months, and also reached a new 52-week low last week.
San Jose-based Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS), on the other hand, is expected to report that net income tumbled 90.4% from a year ago to 4 cents per share, on revenue of $245.6 million. Novellus fell to a 52-week low early last week, and shares are down 44.5% year to date.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Blackboard, Starwood Hotels and ACE Ltd were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Baird upgraded Blackboard (NASDAQ:BBBB) to Outperform from Neutral based on two new state-wide deals with New Mexico and North Carolina, K-12 growth, and up-selling and cross-selling opportunities. The firm raised Blackboard's target to $45 from $38.
Wachovia raised Starwood Hotels (NYSE:HOT) to Outperform from Market Perform citing valuation, high international exposure, and secure capital structure and dividend.
Citigroup upgraded shares of ACE Ltd (NYSE:ACE) to Buy from Neutral on valuation, as they believe additional selling from the company's redomestication to Switzerland will be offset by short covering. They view the recent weakness as an attractive buying opportunity and raised their target to $63 from $58.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Abercrombie & Fitch, China Unicom and Toronto Dominion were today's noteworthy downgrades:
Friedman Billings downgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) to Market Perform from Outperform citing soft comps which could impact EPS expectations in 2H08 and SG&A investing.
China Unicom (NYSE: CHU) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse and to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley as the company's phone asset sales garnered a lower-than-expected price.
RBC Capital downgraded Toronto Dominion (NYSE: TD) to Sector Perform from Outperform citing expense initiatives in domestic retail banking which are hurting operating leverage, loan losses in U.S. banking, and muted capital markets revenues.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
William Blair cut Littelfuse (NASDAQ: LFUS) to Market Perform from Outperform.
Linear Tech (NASDAQ: LLTC) was downgraded at UBS to Neutral from Buy.
Abiomed (NASDAQ: ABMD) was lowered to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Analog Semiconductors, OrthoVita and First Solar were today's noteworthy initiations:
Morgan Stanley initiated Analog Semiconductors with an In Line rating. The firm assumed National Semiconductor Corp (NYSE: NSM) with an Overweight rating and $26 target and is the firm's top pick; Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) and Linear Tech (NASDAQ: LLTC) were initiated with Equal Weight ratings and a $32 target and $34 target, respectively.
Barrington believes OrthoVita (NASDAQ: VITA) is the market share and technological leader of the biomaterials market. The firm assumed shares with an Outperform rating and $4 target.
Canaccord Adams believes First Solar's (NASDAQ: FSLR) management and business model are among the best of any PV company and that execution has led to strong profitability plus a successful aggressive capacity ramp. Shares were started with a Buy rating and $325 target.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Morgan Stanley initiated Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) and Domino's Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) with Equal Weight ratings and targets of $40 and $15, and also initiated McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) and Burger King (NYSE: BKC) with Overweight ratings and targets of $65 and $34.
Lehman initiated Alcoa (NYSE: AA) with an Overweight rating and $44 target.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Williams, Kilroy Realty and Dynavax Tech were today's noteworthy upgrades:
RBC upgraded shares of Williams (NYSE: WMB) to Outperform from Sector Perform to reflect their expectation for three years of double-digit production growth in the company's E&P business.
Kilroy Realty (NYSE: KRC) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral as they believe the current valuation does not reflect the company's pure asset value.
Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Dynavax Tech (NASDAQ: DVAX) to Outperform from Perform as they expect positive phase III results for Heplisav around mid-2008, driving shares higher.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: FormFactor, Inc (FORM), Graco Inc (GGG), China Telecom (CHA), Sempra Energy (SRE) and Unica Corp (UNCA) were today's noteworthy downgrades:
JP Morgan cut FormFactor (NASDAQ: FORM) to Underweight from Neutral citing expected competition from Micronics Japan, which has successfully ramped up production at its new advanced probe card factory.
CIBC's checks suggest that challenges still remain in Graco's (NYSE: GGG) contractor segment and is likely to impact results, downgrading shares to Sector Performer from Sector Outperformer.
Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of China Telecom (NYSE: CHA) to Hold from Buy to reflect slower user growth as the company added 77% fewer fixed-line customers in the first five months of 2007.
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) was cut to Outperform from its Top Pick rating at RBC Capital following the company's JV announcement with the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBSPY).
Jefferies downgraded shares of Unica (NASDAQ: UNCA) to Hold from Buy after the company reported lower than expected Q3 licenses to reflect too much variance in execution...
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Linear Technology Corp (LLTC), Anheuser-Busch (BUD), Best Buy (BBY), Bankrate (RATE) and Ensco International (ESV) were today's more noteworthy downgrades:
Linear Technology Corp (NASDAQ: LLTC) was cut to Sell from Neutral at Merrill citing slowing revenue growth and valuation...
AG Edwards downgraded Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) to Hold from Buy on valuation...
Goldman said Best Buy's (NYSE: BBY) fundamentals remain at risk after the Q1 report and cut shares to Neutral from Buy...
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Microsoft (MSFT), Career Education Corp (CECO), Verizon Communications (VZ), Transocean Inc (RIG) and GlobalSanteFe Corp (GSF) were some of today's notable downgrades:
Davenport cut shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to Neutral from Buy citing concerns of a potential Yahoo! (YHOO) acquisition, which would significantly dilute earnings.
Gabelli downgraded shares of Career Education (NASDAQ: CECO) to Hold from Buy as the firm believes turnaround efforts at the University segment are not gaining traction.
With the greater dependence on midwater floaters, AG Edwards believes Transocean Inc (NYSE: RIG) now has a more balanced risk/reward and cut shares to Hold from Buy.
AG Edwards also cut GlobalSanteFe (NYSE: GSF) to Hold from Buy based on the company's greater dependence on international jackups and balanced risk/reward.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Four analog semiconductors, Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) and United Technologies Corp (UTX) were today's more noteworthy initiations:
Archer Daniels Midland Co (NYSE: ADM) was initiated with a Neutral rating at Banc of America based on expected declines in ethanol margins. JP Morgan started shares with an Overweight rating.
United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) was started with a Strong Buy rating at Matrix USA with a $90 intrinsic value...
Merrill Lynch started BigBand Networks, Inc (NASDAQ: BBND) with a Neutral rating, ThinkEquity started shares with an Accumulate rating and $19 target, Jefferies started them with a Buy rating and Cowen started shares with an Outperform rating.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Netflix, Inc (NFLX), Blockbuster Inc (BBI), The Mosaic Company (MOS) and Domino's Pizza, Inc (DPZ) were some of today's noteworthy downgrades:
First Albany cut Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) to Neutral from Buy to reflect weak industry subscriber additions.
Pacific Crest downgraded Linear Technology Corp (NASDAQ: LLTC) to Sector Perform from Outperform based on secular headwinds and an increase in DOI to 82 days.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) opened at $31.70. So far today the stock has hit a low of $31.68 and a high of $32.21. As of 1:00 , TXN is trading at $31.99, up $0.68 (2.2%).
After hitting a one year high of $36.40 nearly a full year ago, the stock sagged to a year low of $26.77 in July. The stock has been mostly flat in the low $30's over the past three months. TXN is rising today on the heels of competitor Linear Technology's (NASDAQ: LLTC) stellar earnings report. Investors anticipate good things from TXN's own earnings release, which is scheduled next week. Recent technical indicators for TXN have been bearish and steady, while S&P gives the stock a very positive 5 STARS (out of 5) strong buy rating.
For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a July bull-put credit spread below the $27.50 range. TXN hasn't been below $27.50 in the past year except for a few days back last summer and has shown support around $29.50 recently. This trade could be risky if TXN's earnings (due out 4/23) disappoint, but even if this happens, this position could be protected by the strong historical support around $28.
Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about.
Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) cut to Underweight at Prudential -- they must not think a buyout is coming. Stock down 1%. Alcan Inc. (NYSE:AL) also cut to Neutral at Prudential.
Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ:BWLD) cut to Hold at Jefferies. Stock indicated down 1%.
Fortress Investment Group (NYSE:FIG) is trading up 4% pre-market as brokers initiate coverage: started as a Buy at Banc of America and Goldman Sachs, as a Hold at Citigroup and as Overweight at Lehman Brothers.
Sapient Corp. (NASDAQ:SAPE) raised to Outperform at Bear Stearns; stock trading up 3%.
Goldman Sachs Keynote: NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) Raised to Buy; replaces LLTC on AMERICAS BUY LIST. Still has National Semi (NYSE:NSM) and Intersil (NASDAQ:ISIL) as Buys in analog chip sector; Linear Tech (NASDAQ:LLTC) downgraded from Buy to Neutral. GSI Commerce (NASDAQ:GSIC) raised from Neutral to a Buy with 25% upside to new $24.00 target. Goldman Sachs full research summary here.
Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St., LLC; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.
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Analyst upgrades:
The earnings crunch begins in earnest this coming week, with companies from 
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Before the bell: Wall Street headed higher; automakers, retailers in focus
Waiting for the other shoe to drop: The looming credit crisis
Bet on T&A with J&J (JNJ)
