Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Viacom (VIA) to buy from hold due to valuation and expectations that share buybacks will resume this year. The firm raised its price target on shares to $37 from $28.
• Canadian Natural (CNQ) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse. The firm upgraded shares based on valuation and the outlook for heavy crude.
• UBS upgraded Key Energy (KEG) to buy from neutral, citing increased E&P well spending, a possible shorter term rally in gas activity and improved utilization. Target raised to $12.50 from $9.50.
• Shire (SHPGY) was raised to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• PNC Financial (PNC) was upgraded at Bernstein to outperform from market perform.
• Pacer International (PACR) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded BB&T (NYSE: BBT) to Market Perform from Underperform as it believes downside risk has been reduced following the company's capital raise. The firm raised its target price to $23 from $15.
  
• Janney Montgomery upgraded FEI Company (NASDAQ: FEIC) to Buy from Neutral on expectations margins will improve and various country stimulus packages will provide benefits in 2010. The firm has a $31 target on the stock.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Tyco Electronics (NYSE: TEL) to Buy from Hold as it believes automotive headwinds are priced in and the company's long-term fundamentals are intact. The firm raised its target price to $25 from $19.
• Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
  
• J.B. Hunt (NYSE: JBHT) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
  
• Roper Industries (NYSE: ROP) was upgraded at Oppenheimer to Outperform from Perform.

Analyst upgrades:

• RW Baird upgraded LHC Group (NASDAQ: LHCG) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and expectations for raised 2009 guidance. The firm has a $36 target on the stock.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Swiss Reinsurance (OTC: SWCEY) to Buy from Hold following the CEO change as the firm views it as a positive move.
  
• Wachovia upgraded DuPont Fabros (NYSE: DFT) to Outperform from Market Perform because it thinks the company has taken major measures to mitigate its liquidity risk by obtaining additional debt. The firm also notes that the company signed several new leases.
• Goldman added Air Products (NYSE: APD) and Burger King (NYSE: BKC) to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• MSC Industrial (NYSE: MSM) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair.
  
• Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Ball (NYSE: BLL) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $45 from $41 as they believe recent capacity closures will be positive for beverage can operating rates.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Buy from Hold on valuation and the company's plans to preserve cash.
• ThinkPanmure upgraded Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to Accumulate from Sell and raised its target to $17 from $12 citing trough earnings in 2009 and lowered expectations.
• Viacom B (NYSE: VIA.B) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
  
• Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  
• Onyx Pharma (NASDAQ: ONXX) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Analyst downgrades:

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Pacer Int'l (PACR), ComScore (SCOR), Riverbed Technology (RVBD) and CBS Corp (CBS) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• William Blair believes Pacer Int'l (NASDAQ: PACR) is in a favorable industry, with growth-specific opportunities and short-term concerns and started shares with a Market Perform rating.

• William Blair starting ComScore (NASDAQ: SCOR) with an Outperform rating, believing the online marketing research sector will have 20%+ growth over the next 3-5 years.

• Nollenberger believes Riverbed (NASDAQ: RVBD) is positioned to gain market share and is a technology and product leader, starting shares with a Buy rating and $55 target. BMO

• Capital initiated CBS Corp (NYSE: CBS) with an Outperform and expects the stock is $1.74/share for 2007 and $2.03 in 2008 with upside should there be a levered buyback...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Life Time Fitness (NYSE: LTM) was started with a Buy rating and $67 target at ThinkEquity.

• Citigroup started Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) with a Buy rating.

• SMH Capital initiated Energen (NYSE: EGN) with a Buy.

• Keybanc started WABCO Holdings (NYSE: WBC) with a Buy rating.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Amazon.com, Inc (AMZN), WellCare Health Plans, Inc (WCG) and agricultural chemical stocks were today's more noteworthy downgrades:

• BWS Financial downgraded Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Hold from Buy citing valuation.

• Jefferies cut WellCare Health Plans Inc (NYSE: WCG) to Underperform from Hold and lowered their target to $69 from $80 as the firm believes higher-than-expected medical costs in Georgia will put significant pressure on earnings.

• Citigroup downgraded Agrium Inc (NYSE: AGU), CF Industries Holdings, Inc (NYSE: CF), Potash Corp (NYSE: POT) and Terra Industries Inc (NYSE: TRA) to Hold from Buy given the year-to-date share appreciation, as their analysis suggests near-term positive earnings revisions are near a peak and should slow going forward. Citigroup remains positive on the fertilizer industry over the long-term.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Keefe Bruyette downgraded Federated Investors, Inc (NYSE: FII) to Market Perform from Outperform citing the potential impact from Bank of New York Co (BK)/ Mellon Financial Corp (MEL) transactions.

• Jefferies cut Amerigroup Corp (NYSE: AGP) to Underperform from Hold with a $25 target.

• Stephens downgraded Pacer International, Inc (NASDAQ: PACR) to Equal Weight from Overweight.

• Atlantic Equities downgraded Adobe Systems Inc (NASDAQ: ADBE) to Neutral from Overweight.

• Harman International Industries Inc (NYSE: HAR) was taken down to Hold from Buy at Gabelli.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Weyerhaeuser Co (WY), Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc (JTX), Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ) and Coldwater Creek Inc (CWTR) were some of today's more noteworthy upgrades:

• UBS upgraded shares of Weyerhaeuser Co (NYSE: WY) to Neutral from Reduce citing the stock's recent weakness.

• Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service (NYSE: JTX) to Equal Weight from Underweight on valuation as the firm believes yesterday's sell-off was overdone.

• Hewlett-Packard Co (NYSE: HPQ) was upgraded to buy from Neutral at American Technology on valuation.

• Coldwater Creek (NASDAQ: CWTR) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Bank of America based on the company's favorable risk/reward.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• BB&T upgraded shares of Pacer International, Inc (NASDAQ: PACR) to Buy from Hold citing the company's operational changes and new $100M shares' repurchase.

• Goldman upgraded Spherion Corp (NYSE: SFN) to Neutral from Sell.

• SkyWest, Inc (NASDAQ: SKYW) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at Prudential.

• Bear Stearns upgraded shares of Sonic Corp (NASDAQ: SONC) to Outperform from Peer Perform on expectations of an acceleration in partner drive-in same store sales and system wide unit expansion.

• Citigroup upgraded Corinthian Colleges, Inc (NASDAQ: COCO) to Buy from Hold after a company visit as the firm believes expectations are finally low enough and recent initiatives are taking hold. Further, Citigroup believes takeover speculation will limit downside as their analysis suggests an LBO could work.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Cadbury Schweppes ADS (CSG) and Buckeye Partners (BPL) were today's most notable rating changes.

• Wachovia started Cadbury Schweppes ADS (NYSE: CSG) with an Outperform rating. They said Cadbury's long-term global confectionery opportunities are among the best in the industry and the recent buyout of its U.S. Dr. Pepper/Seven-Up bottling unit provides high-leverage cash flow.

• Buckeye Partners Ltd (NYSE: BPL) was initiated with an Underperform rating and a $48 target at RBC based on valuation.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Stanford initiated AudioCodes Ltd (NASDAQ: AUDC) with a Buy rating and $15 target. The firm believes AudioCodes is an inexpensive play on the migration to packet networks.

• Stifel initiated William Partners LP (NYSE: WPZ) with a Buy rating and $46.50 target.

• AG Edwards started BioMarin Pharmaceutical inc (NASDAQ: BMRN) with a Buy rating and $25 target.

• Pacer International Inc (NASDAQ: PACR) was initiated with a Hold rating at Stifel.

• Morgan Stanley started Lyondell Chemical Company (NYSE: LYO) with an Overweight rating and $38 target.

• Buckingham initiated Chattem Inc (NASDAQ: CHTT) with an Accumulate rating and $64 target, citing high margins, cash flow and reduced debt.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: HSBC Holdings Plc (HBC), Suncor Energy Inc (SU) and Apple Inc (AAPL) topped today's list of downgrades:

• HSBC Holdings Plc (NYSE: HBC) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan, as the firm believes the loan loss from the U.S. mortgage business may be 20% worse than expected. They recommend investors to short HBC shares and use any rally to add short positions.
• Suncor Energy Inc (NYSE: SU) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Freidman Billings, citing fair valuation, higher capital costs and downside potential from crude oil prices.
• Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) was removed from Goldman Sachs' Conviction Buy List.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Roche Holdings (OTC: RHHBY) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
• Pacer Int'l Inc (NASDAQ: PACR) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $33 target at Baird after the company's disappointing fourth-quarter report.
• Baird downgraded Host Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: HST) to Neutral from Outperform on valuation.
• Sina Corp (NASDAQ: SINA) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Piper Jaffray due to valuation after the company's solid quarter.
• JP Morgan downgraded AK Steel Holding Corp (NYSE: AKS) to Neutral from Overweight as they believe an acquisition of the company is not likely imminent given recent insider selling.
• Raymond James downgraded Time Warner Telecom Inc (NASDAQ: TWTC) to Outperform from Strong Buy.
• Oppenheimer downgraded FMC Corp (NYSE: FMC) to Neutral from Buy.
• AG Edwards downgraded Simon Property Group Inc (NYSE: SPG) to Hold from Buy on valuation.

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