Analyst Upgrades

• Thoratec (THOR) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• TW Telecom (TWTC) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• TAL Education (XRS) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Amedisys (AMED) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Analyst Downgrades

• Navigators (NAVG) to neutral from outperform at Macquarie.
• El Paso Electric (EE) to hold from buy at Jefferies.
• Hancock Holding (HBHC) to hold from buy at Wunderlich.
• California Water Service (CWT) and American States Water (AWR) to neutral from buy at Janney Capital.
• Mednax (MD) to hold from buy at Deutsche Bank.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded New York Community Bancorp (NYB) to outperform from market perform following the FDIC-assisted acquisition of AmTrust. The firm raised its target price on shares to $16 from $11.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Brocade (BRCD) to outperform from perform to reflect valuation, low investor expectations, and the company's potential to gain market share in IP/Ethernet switching. The firm set a target price of $8.50 on shares.
• Stifel Nicolaus upgraded National Health Investors (NHI) to buy from hold following the announcement that the litigation vs. Care Foundation has been dismissed. The firm has a $37 target on the stock.
• American Express (AXP) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• ACE Ltd. (ACE) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Kohl's (KSS) was raised to outperform from neutral at Baird.