Oppenheimer downgraded Level 3 (NASDAQ:LVLT) from Market Perform to Underperform, according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that Citigroup intiated KB Home (NYSE:KBH) with a Hold.

Petro-Canada (NYSE:PCZ) was cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank, according to 24/7 Wall St. The financial news site also reports that Tween Brands (NYSE:TWB) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.

Douglas A. McIntyre

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Credit Suisse, Masimo and Marvell Tech were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Bear upgraded Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) to Peer Perform from Underperform as they believe the company's balance sheet will stabilize and the company's Private Banking business is holding up well in difficult conditions. Goldman, which raised shares to Neutral from Sell, believes the worst is over regarding the market downturn.
• Citigroup upgraded Masimo Corporation (NASDAQ: MASI) to Buy from Hold citing expectations of a strong Q1 report, expected FDA approval for hemoglobin monitoring in 2H08, and valuation.
• Marvell Technology Group Ltd (NASDAQ: MRVL) was raised at Friedman Billings to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and improved business conditions.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman raised LM Ericsson Telephone Company (NASDAQ: ERIC) to Neutral from Sell.
• JP Morgan upgraded Big Lots Inc (NYSE: BIG) to Overweight from Neutral.
• Petro-Canada (NYSE: PCZ) was upgraded at CIBC to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Barclays, Grant Prideco and Force Protection were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Goldman downgraded shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) to Sell from Neutral and added the stock to their Conviction Sell List citing credit concerns. They believe negative headlines on writedowns will continue to weigh on shares.
  
• Banc of America downgraded shares of Grant Prideco (NYSE: GRP) due to its acquisition by National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV).
• Collins Stewart downgraded shares of Force Protection (NASDAQ: FRPT) to Underperform from Buy after the company did not receive MRAP vehicles ordered last night. They believe shares are likely to trade at book value of $3.58 or lower in the short term and set a target price of $2.90.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Keefe Bruyette removed Navigators Group (NASDAQ: NAVG) from its Best Ideas List.
  
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Petro-Canada (NYSE: PCZ) to Underweight from Equal Weight.
  
• Jefferies downgraded Exelon (NYSE: EXC) to Hold from Buy.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Apple (AAPL), large-cap semis, and CDC Corp (CHINA) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was initiated with a Buy rating and $160 target at Banc of America, as the firm still sees a significant amount of upside in the stock from Mac share gains, strong iPod unit growth, and the iPhone, which they believe is being underestimated.

• Caris believes investors should focus on companies with strong product cycles that are gaining market share. They resumed coverage of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) and National Semiconductor (NASDAQ: NSM) with Above Average ratings, and resumed Advanced Micro (NYSE: AMD) with a Sell rating; Caris started Intel with a $26 target, Texas Instruments with a $41 target, National Semi with a $29 target, and AMD with a $10 target.

• CDC Corp (NASDAQ: CHINA) was initiated at Piper Jaffray with an Outperform rating and $11.50 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Banc of America started shares of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: SUNW) and Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) with Buy ratings and a $56 target, $6.25 target and $35 target, and shares of IBM Corp (NYSE: IBM) with a Neutral rating and $125 target.

• BMO Capital started shares of NuVasive (NASDAQ: NUVA) with an Outperform rating and $33 target.

• Raymond James initiated shares of Petro-Canada (NYSE: PCZ) with an Outperform rating.

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