Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) to Buy from Hold on valuation and the company's exposure to a potential upturn in international drilling. The firm raised its target on shares to $80 from $56.
• UBS upgraded Allegheny Tech (NYSE: ATI) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $43 from $31 and believes the end of jet engine and other destocking will result in an initial recovery into 2010, even before an order ramp into 2011.
• Merriman upgraded Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ACOR) to Buy from Neutral based on the favorable FDA panel outcome and set a $30-$33 target range on the stock. Baird upgraded Acorda to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $28 from $24. Following the panel review, Baird expects Amaya to be approved in 1H10 and would be buyers into the mid/high $20s.
• Chicago Bridge & Iron (NYSE: CBI) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• PG&E (NYSE: PCG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Newfield Exploration (NYSE: NFX) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Corning (NYSE: GLW) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $19 from $18.50, citing the improved LCD supply-demand outlook and improved sell-through ahead of the holiday season in China.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Newfield Exploration (NYSE: NFX) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $48 from $44 citing valuation and improved asset quality.
• Stifel upgraded Newfield Exploration and Ultra Petroleum (NYSE: UPL) shares to Buy from Hold based on strong fundamentals and a long-term positive view for the E&P sector. The firm has a $50 target on Newfield and a $58 target on Ultra Petroleum.
• TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.
• General Mills (NYSE: GIS) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Coca-Cola Femsa (NYSE: KOF) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded Western Digital (NYSE: WDC) and Seagate (NASDAQ: NSTX) to Outperform from Neutral citing better than expected industry conditions. The firm believes supply has tightened, resulting in price increases in certain market segments.
  
• RBC Capital upgraded XTO Energy (NYSE: XTO) to Outperform from Sector Perform citing free cash flow and stable growth.
  
• Goldman upgraded Manpower (NYSE: MAN) to Neutral from Sell and raised its target to $29 from $20 based on balanced risk/reward.
• Energy Conversion (NASDAQ: ENER) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  
• Infineon (NYSE: IFX) was raised to Hold from Sell at RBS.
  
• NetSuite (NYSE: N) was upgraded to Acummulate from Source of Funds at ThinkEquity.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: American Axle, Knight Transportation and Newfield Exploration were today's noteworthy upgrades.

• Citigroup upgraded shares of American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc (NYSE: AXL) to Buy from Hold on valuation following the recent sell-off and recommends switching out of General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) and into AXL; the firm downgraded GM to Hold from Buy.
• Wachovia upgraded Knight Transportation Inc (NYSE: KNX) to Outperform from Market Perform as they expect the company to benefit earlier from capacity leaving the TL market.
• KeyBanc raised Newfield Exploration Company (NYSE: NFX) to Buy from Hold based on production growth visibility, Rockies value, and increased estimates.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• LCA Vision Incorporated (NASDAQ: LCAV) was upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital.
• Deutsche Bank raised Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico SA (NYSE: PAC) to Buy from Hold
Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE: BHI) to Buy from Neutral.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Venoco, Newfield Exploration and Regions Financial were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Venoco (NYSE:VQ) to Buy from Hold on increased confidence in the company's 5%-10% 2008 production growth target.
  
• Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings. The firm said there has been significant progress in the economics of NFX's Woodford play.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) to Hold from Sell on valuation, as they their concerns are now priced into shares.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• ASML Holdings (NASDAQ:ASML) was raised at Merrill to Buy from Neutral.
  
• UBS upgraded Forest Oil (NYSE:FST) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Bear upgraded Gaylord Entertainment (NYSE:GET) to Outperform from Peer Perform.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Sunoco, Primedia, WPP Group, Publicis and Newfield Exploration were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Sunco Inc (NYSE: SUN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Banc of America, as the firm believes Sunoco's valuation discount is justified since its net margin/barrel is almost $2.50 below its closest peer due to inferior assets.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Primedia Inc (NYSE: PRM) to Hold from Buy on valuation.
  
• Citigroup downgraded shares of WPP Group (NASDAQ: WPPGY) to Hold from Buy and shares of Publicis Groupe (NYSE: PUB) to Sell from Hold to reflect their more cautious view of the advertising sector.
  
• Goldman sees better catalysts at other E&Ps and downgraded Newfield Exploration Company (NYSE: NFX) to Neutral from Buy.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Jefferies downgraded Macrovision Corporation (NASDAQ: MVSN) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Merrill Lynch downgraded American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) to Sell from Neutral.
  
• Citigroup downgraded Bachoco (NYSE: IBA) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Wimm-Bill-Dan Foods (NYSE: WBD) was downgraded to Sell from Buy at UBS.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: General Motors Corp (GM), DaimlerChrysler (DCX), Mattel, Inc (MAT), Nvidia Corp (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Lehman upgraded shares of General Motors (NYSE: GM) to Equal-Weight from Underweight with a $30 target following the Chrysler sale as the firm believes GM will now take a tougher stance on its labor negotiations.

• UBS upgraded shares of DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE: DCX) to Buy from Neutral on the Chrysler sale and valuation. The broker believes the core Daimler unit looks inexpensive.

• Mattel Inc (NYSE: MAT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Matrix USA to reflect increasing sales growth.

• ThinkEquity upgraded shares of Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) to Buy from Sell as the firm believes AMD could beat expectations for the next several quarters, likely affecting NVDA's chipset business and driving shares higher.

• ThinkEquity upgraded shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) to Buy from Sell citing strong Dell Inc (DELL) orders. Following Nvidia's comments on its quarterly report and channel checks, the firm now believes AMD is poised to beat expectations for the next several quarters and is truly a going concern...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Citigroup upgraded EnCana Corp (NYSE: ECA) to Hold from Sell.

• BMO Upgraded Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE: LVS) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Banc Of America raised Marathon Oil Corp (NYSE: MRO) to Buy from Neutral with a $125 target.

• Newfield Exploration Co (NYSE: NFX) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

• Credit Suisse upgraded Ralcorp Holdings, Inc (NYSE: RAH) to Outperform from Neutral.

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