How about a little upgrade with your Tuesday morning breakfast? Morgan Stanley thought it was a good idea, boosting General Mills (NYSE: GIS) to Overweight from Equal-Weight and added it was late in making the upgrade.

The brokerage cited valuation as the reason for the upgrade, noting that GIS is "one of the best positioned" companies in the realm of food. Morgan Stanley felt that this was not reflected in GIS's valuation, so it upped the food firm and raised its price target to $72 from $64.

Brokerage firm Barclays this morning raised its price target on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) from $188 to $208. The new target represents a premium of 25.8% to AAPL's closing price on Wednesday. Additionally, Barclays reiterated its upbeat Overweight rating on the shares.

In a note to clients, analyst Ben Reitzes cited Apple's solid product pipeline and strong free cash flow outlook. "New products should begin to flow again within a few weeks," said Reitzes. "We are more upbeat about the long-term prospects for the iPhone & Mac lines with potential new products."

According to recent analyst opinion, Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) is a business you should be wary of buying right now. This item reports on a reduction in the price target for the maker of the iconic motorcycle. Edward Aaron over at RBC Capital Markets thinks that earnings and demand won't be great for the company; he slashed his belief of what the shares are worth by $2 to $16 per share.

Harley-Davidson has certainly recovered from its 52-week low made back in March of this year. The stock bounced back from $7.99 to a price of $16.55 as of this writing.

Tech stock VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) is broadly higher today on the heels of an upbeat note from Goldman Sachs. VMW was added to the brokerage firm's Conviction Buy list, with Goldman noting an expected boost in sales. The firm also thinks that VMW is better-positioned than many of its competitors to ride out the economic recession.

In addition to the Conviction Buy nod, Goldman also hiked its price target on VMW to $29, representing a premium of 22.8% to the equity's Tuesday closing price. The stock could attract additional price-target increases during the short term, as Thomson Reuters pegs its average 12-month target from analysts as $23.31 -- a modest discount to yesterday's close.

Analyst Douglas Harned of Sanford C. Bernstein chopped his price targets on several defense stocks today, including Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT). "Trends in the defense budget remain the most important driver of defense stocks, and the cash flow outlook is strong for the defense businesses," said Harned in a note to clients.

Harned cut LMT's price target from $104 to $96, but he reiterated an "outperform" rating on the stock. Lockheed Martin remains the analyst's top pick in the defense sector, thanks to its strong overall growth potential and support from its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Despite his forecast for a reduction in supplemental defense budgets, Harned expects the F-35 program will remain fully funded.

The shares of PrivateBancorp (NASDAQ: PVTB) wasted no time in finding a fresh annual low this morning after the Chicago-based bank announced plans to slash its dividend by 87%. The quarterly payout will now be one penny per share, down from 7.5 cents per share. On the heels of this report, the stock quickly slipped to $9.65, marking its lowest price since September 2002.

"Given the current economic and regulatory environment, we felt this was a prudent step to take to further enhance our capital position and our liquidity," said President and CEO Larry D. Richman in a statement.

The shares of Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ: LVLT) are sinking deeper into penny-stock territory this morning following a damaging price-target cut from analysts at Citigroup. The brokerage firm slashed its price target on LVLT from $2.00 to 50 cents, and reiterated its Sell rating on the stock.

After closing Monday at 94 cents, LVLT is slipping ever closer this morning to that hypothetical "support at zero." In fact, following yesterday's all-out bearish note on General Motors (NYSE: GM), one has to wonder if Deutsche Bank will soon be slapping another of its famous goose-egg targets on Level 3. The stock has closed seven out of the past 13 sessions south of the $1 level, and its descending 10-day and 20-day moving averages have provided stubborn resistance in recent months.

In fact, while many analysts have already denounced LVLT, there's still room for potential downgrades or price-target cuts. Zacks reports two Buy or better ratings from brokerage firms, and these bulls may soon be shamed into lowering their opinions (if so, they would join six analysts who consider the stock a Hold, and six who deem it a Sell or Strong Sell).

Meanwhile, Thomson Financial pegs the average 12-month price target at $1.68, a premium of 87% to the equity's closing price on Monday. While more negative notes could drag the shares lower, there is a bright side -- from their current level, the shares could only lose about 85 cents.

Elizabeth Harrow is an analyst and financial writer in the research department at Schaeffer's Investment Research. She is featured in the video series Schaeffer's Daily Q&A on SchaeffersResearch.com.

Fertilizer firm Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) was hit with a price-target cut from analysts at UBS today. The brokerage firm slashed its target price from $150 to $130, but reiterated its Buy rating on the stock. It's been a schizophrenic day for the company, brokerage-wise; the late-breaking note from UBS effectively dashed the upward momentum POT gained this morning when Dundee upgraded the North American fertilizer sector to Overweight.

In fact, "schizophrenic" more or less sums up analyst activity on POT during the past several weeks. Following its third-quarter earnings report on October 23, Potash Corp. received no fewer than five price-target cuts, along with three reiterations of bullish Buy or better ratings, plus an upgrade. To make matters even more interesting, this is the second price-target cut UBS has issued on POT in the past week -- the first cut, on October 29, was from $165 to $150.

According to Thomson Financial, the deluge of downward revisions might not be over yet. POT's average 12-month price target is $115.98. This consensus estimate represents a rather healthy premium of 36% to the stock's closing price last Friday. Considering that POT shares have plummeted about 41% year-to-date, it seems safe to say that expectations might be too high for this Canadian import.

On October 3, the shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) dropped below the $100 mark for the first time since May 2007. In fact, the stock dropped last Friday to a new 52-week low of $85, representing a 19-month nadir for the iPhone parent. Today, this price plunge served as the catalyst for a valuation-based upgrade from Bernstein.

In a note to clients, Bernstein boosted its rating on AAPL from Market Perform to Outperform, and said that its "longer-term growth story remains intact." Analyst A.M. Sacconaghi added, "Investors appear to be valuing Apple on an earnings multiple, rather than on cash flow, which fundamentally undervalues the company given the huge deferred revenue growth associated with the iPhone."

Specifically, the brokerage firm estimates that the iPhone itself could add between $2.25 and $3.40 per share to cash flow above earnings in fiscal 2009.

However, following the stock's recent free-fall down the charts, Bernstein was forced to trim its price target on AAPL from $175 to $135. Credit Suisse followed suit, slashing its price target on the equity from $200 to $135. Despite today's gain of about 7% amid a massive rally in U.S. stocks, Apple shares could be vulnerable to more price-target cuts during the near term. Thomson Financial pegs the average 12-month price target at $176.33, a lofty premium of 82% to Friday's close at $96.80.

Elizabeth Harrow is an analyst and financial writer in the research department at Schaeffer's Investment Research. She is featured in the video series Schaeffer's Daily Q&A on SchaeffersResearch.com.

On a day when many telecom stocks were hit with downgrades, China Mobile Limited (NYSE: CHL) distinguished itself this morning by scoring an upgrade. Goldman Sachs raised its rating on CHL from "sell" to "neutral," while simultaneously trimming the stock's price target from HK$95 to HK$90. The price-target cut echoes a similar move made by Citigroup on Sunday; the brokerage firm cut its target on CHL from HK$120 to HK$100.

In response to today's mixed analyst comment, CHL is down more than 7% at midday. The equity has shed about 42% year-to-date, and its lengthy decline could prompt additional price-target cuts during the short term. According to Thomson Financial, China Mobile shares are trading about 60% south of their average 12-month price target of USD $81.01.

Today's upgrade from Goldman comes as CHL is approaching former support at the $44 level. This region buoyed the stock in early 2007 and earlier this month, which suggests that it could once again provide a floor for the shares. Unfortunately, though, the stock is also looking up at stiff technical resistance from its 10-week moving average, which means China Mobile might find itself bouncing sideways in the weeks to come. Or -- even more troubling -- a continued drop in the share price could spark an unwinding of widespread optimistic sentiment.

Forget finance -- it's a rough day to be a handset maker. Following a widely panned earnings report from Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM), Finnish firm Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) was slapped with price-target cuts from JP Morgan and ING. What's more, Dresdner Kleinwort warned that RIM's weak gross-margin guidance will most likely be echoed by Nokia.

Digging into the various reports, JP Morgan and ING both slashed their price target on Nokia from 11 euros to 10 euros per share. JP Morgan reiterated its "underweight" rating, and said it still thinks Nokia can increase its market share -- just not as much as the company might have hoped. The brokerage firm also sees replacement cycles growing by 6.5 months in 2009.

Meanwhile, Dresdner Kleinwort backed its 'hold" rating and its 15-euro target price, but warned that gross margins across the sector will remain under pressure through 2010.

The barrage of bearish brokerage notes -- along with RIM's disappointing turn in the earnings spotlight -- has NOK more than 4% lower at midday. Today's plunge likely came as a disappointment to enthusiastic option players; yesterday, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) bought to open 25,322 calls on NOK, compared to just 346 puts.

Evergreen Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESLR) plunged to an all-time low of $3.30 on Tuesday, thanks to the widespread ripple effect caused by Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy filing. As Evergreen confessed to a potentially substantial Lehman-related loss, analysts rushed yesterday to hand out price-target cuts. Today, Citigroup bucked the trend by upgrading ESLR from "sell" to "hold."

The bullish note seems primarily based on increased transparency regarding the Lehman situation, as well as a sharp decline in the stock's valuation. In a note to clients, Citigroup clarified, "With ESLR more clearly defining its exposure to a Lehman Bros. bankruptcy, the worst-case scenario is now well-defined . . . these issues appear much better discounted at current levels."

In response to the upgrade, ESLR has added more than 13% today. The shares are trading around the $5 mark, though, which puts them in territory not previously explored since May 2005. The stock's year-to-date loss now totals 75% -- a stomach-churning plunge, for sure, but the stubbornly bullish sentiment among investors suggests that more downside may be in store for Evergreen Solar.

The shares of Wachovia Corporation (NYSE: WB) opened on a gain of nearly 6% this morning, thanks to a positive note from brokerage firm UBS. The analysts raised their price target on WB from $12.50 to $16, and reiterated a "neutral" rating. However, the stock has wasted no time in whittling its early morning gains, and slipped into negative territory before midday.

Yesterday, Wachovia shares closed lower after Friedman Billings & Ramsey reinitiated coverage at "underperform." No surprise there -- but, in today's session, the equity is declining on what should have been a bullish boost from UBS. In fact, most financial stocks are higher today following speculation on a potential buyout bid for Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH). The Select Sector SPDR Financial Fund (NYSE: XLF) is sitting on a gain of more than 2% at last check.

Newell Rubbermaid Inc (NYSE: NWL) held it analyst day with the investment community on Tuesday. Yesterday, Newell was getting upgraded across the board.

We began blogging about the merits of Newell's turnaround back in April when the stock was trading at $26, today the stock is around $31, up 19%. Merrill, Smith Barney and Oppenheimer have raised its price targets to $34-to-$35 price range.

In my opinion, the analysts' price targets are too low. Estimates are for Newell to earn $1.95 per share, but Newell will most likely earn over $2.00. Also, as the company exceeds earnings expectations, the P/E investors are willing to pay will go from 18x to 20x. I see Newell's stock price approaching $40 by the end of 2007.

Despite Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) bringing to Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) its concerns over potential copyright issues on YouTube, and despite all of the efforts the company is taking to streamline its operations, not "every" analyst is finding a new fresh positive bias on the stock.

This morning CIBC noted a lack of confidence in the ongoing turnaround and direction of Time Warner's AOL unit. The firm lowered its stock price target down to $20 from its previous $21 target, and maintained its Sector Perform rating on the stock. It feels the sum of the parts is now around that $20 level.

This follows the Merrill Lynch upgrade yesterday. So far the street has taken little interest in this research note this morning. CIBC is actually not even listed as one of the top eight analysts according to StarMine.

TWX is down 21 cents, or 1%, to $19.03 at 2:45 p.m. today after putting in a new 52-week high for a closing price of $19.24 yesterday.