Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Target (NYSE: TGT) to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $52 from $45 citing reduced inventories, some credit stability, and an improved back-to-school period.
• Credit Suisse said concerns regarding Safeway's (NYSE: SWY) price position are overblown and that earnings risk is limited. The firm upgraded shares to Outperform from Neutral and raised the target price to $25 from $22.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ) to Outperform from Perform as it believes the story is underappreciated following the recent sector rally. The firm has a $14 price target on the stock.
• CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) was upgraded to buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
• Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at FTN Equity.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Pericom, St. Jude Medical and CDC Corp were today's noteworthy initiations:

• B. Riley believes Pericom (NASDAQ: PSEM) is in the early stages of a product cycle-driven growth and feels shares are significantly undervalued at current levels. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $18 target.
  
• Rodman & Renshaw started St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ) with a Market Outperform rating and $50 target. The firm is positive on St. Jude's recent investments in its CRM product portfolio and sales organization, which should increase competitiveness and facilitates continued market share gains.
  
• CDC Corp (NASDAQ: CHINA) was initiated at Cantor with a Buy rating and $6 target, as they believe the stock is significantly undervalued due to the complexity of the company's corporate structure and poor financial disclosure. The firm believes this gap will close after the company lists at least one of its subsidiaries this year.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Kevin Dann initiated Orion Marine Group (NASDAQ: OMGI) with a Buy rating and $18 target.
  
• JP Morgan initiated Chimera Investment (NYSE: CIM) with a Neutral rating.
  
• Credit Suisse started Perrigo Company (NASDAQ: PRGO) with a Neutral rating and $40 target.

Do you suffer from heartburn? Your dreams may have just been answered. Perrigo (NASDAQ: PRGO), the world's largest manufacturer of over-the-counter pharmaceutical products for the store brand market, announced that the Food & Drug Administration has granted final approval to partner Dexcel Pharma Technologies Ltd. for OTC generic heartburn tablets.

As the exclusive U.S. marketer and distributor of Omeprazole for the over-the-counter market, Perrigo said it expects to begin shipments during the first quarter, with full-year annual sales estimated between $150 million and $200 million.

While Perrigo is officially a U.S. company, Dexcel Pharma Technologies Ltd. is headquartered in Israel. This drug is poised to be the biggest drug ever for Perrigo. Perrigo's Chairman and CEO Joseph C. Papa said, "The approval from the FDA is the final regulatory step for this exclusive product launch, which we expect to be the largest product in Perrigo's 120-year history. While we are excited about the opportunity, we will obviously continue investing in research and development to add more new products to our product offering. The launch of Omeprazole is another example of Perrigo's dedication to make quality health care more affordable."

This is a huge win for the health-care supplier. The company raised guidance for 2008 to between $1.32 and $1.47 per share, between 20-25 cents higher than its previous forecast.

Perrigo has been a huge winner in 2007, and sure looks poised to continue moving upward in 2008.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. Disclosure: Writer owns shares in PRGO and is long the stock as of 12/11/07.