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Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: STP, WMT, DIS, DNA, YHOO ...

Analyst upgrades:

Keefe Bruyette upgraded AmeriCredit (NYSE: ACF) to Market Perform from Underperform as it believes the company's warehouse facility amendments substantially reduce the risk of bankruptcy in the near term. The firm has a $6 target on the stock.
Thomas Weisel upgraded Suntech (NYSE: STP) to Market Weight from Underweight on valuation following the recent weakness. The firm has a $6 target on the stock.
Banc of America/Merrill upgraded Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) to Buy from Neutral on valuation following the recent weakness and believes the company's guidance is achievable.
Dr. Pepper Snapple (NYSE: DPS) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
Digital River (NYSE: DRIV) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Clorox (NYSE: CLX) was upgraded at Barclays to Equal Weight from Underweight.

Analyst upgrades:

William Blair upgraded Parexel (NASDAQ: PRXL) to Outperform from Market Perform on increased conviction in the company's earnings growth outlook following channel checks.
Friedman Billings upgraded UDR Inc (NYSE: UDR) to Outperform from Market Perform and raised its target to $22 from $26 citing the company's approximate 8% implied cap rate on is vastly improved apartment portfolio.
Citigroup upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) to Hold from Sell on valuation as they believe weak fundamentals are now priced into the stock.
Goldman upgraded Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) to Buy from Neutral and added shares to the Conviction Buy List.
StellarOne (NASDAQ: STEL) and Union Bankshares (NASDAQ: UBSH) were upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Baird.
Bernstein upgraded DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) to Market Perform from Underperform.

Analyst downgrades:

Deutsche Bank downgraded Align Tech (NASDAQ: ALGN) to Hold from Buy as they believe macroeconomic pressures will limit the company's ability to reach longer term growth expectations. Align's target was lowered to $8 from $14.
Jefferies downgraded shares of Advanced Medical (NYSE: EYE) to Underperform from Buy and lowered its target to $9 from $28 following the company's lowered guidance as they believe macroeconomic pressures affecting LASIK volumes and the unanticipated slowdown in lens care should put continued pressure on the stock.
ThinkPanmure expects the macro slowdown and credit crunch to slow Intel's (NASDAQ: INTC) growth and IT capex spending. The firm downgraded shares to Sell from Buy, lowered its 2009 EPS estimate to $1.01 from $1.35, vs. consensus of $1.46, and cut Intel's target to $12 from $24.
MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) was lowered to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna.
Charles River Labs (NYSE: CRL) was downgraded at William Blair to Market Perform from Outperform.
Deutsche Bank cut Heinz (NYSE: HNZ) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA) to Hold from Buy.

Analyst initiations:

Old Second Bancorp (NASDAQ: OSBC) was initiated with a Market Perform rating and $17 target at Keefe Bruyette. The firm believes the company's exposure to strong markets should generate above-average returns.
Susquehanna assumed Affiliated Computer (NYSE: ACS) with a Positive rating and $55 target and is positive on the company's low levels of customer concentration and high levels of geographic diversification.
Cowen resumed coverage of AnnTaylor (NYSE: ANN) with a Neutral rating, citing the company's share loss to competitors and top-line weakness..
MetLife (NYSE: MET) was assumed with an Overweight rating at Morgan Stanley.
JMP Securities initiated HFF Inc (NYSE: HF) with a Market Perform rating.
Genpact (NYSE: G) was initiated at Susquehanna with a Neutral rating.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Citizens Republic Bancorp, Hess Corp and Sanderson Farms were today's noteworthy upgrades:

Keefe Bruyette upgraded shares of Citizens Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ: CRBC) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation following yesterday's sell-off, which they attribute in part to its removal from the Dow Jones Select Dividend Index. Shares were also raised to OUtperform from Perform at Oppenheimer following the sell-off.
Goldman upgraded Hess (NYSE: HES) to Buy from Neutral citing the company's leverage to higher oil prices. The firm said oil is likely to hit $150-$200/bbl in the next 6-24 months.
Stephens upgraded shares of Sanderson Farms (NASDAQ: SAFM) to Overweight from Equal Weight as they expect industry fundamentals to improve in FY09.

OTHER UPGRADES:

Baird raised Stellent (NASDAQ: STEL) to OUtperform from Neutral.
Friedman Billings upgraded Preferred Bank (NASDAQ: PFBC) to Market Perform from Underperform.
Agco (NYSE: AG) was upgraded at Goldman to Buy from Neutral.
Lehman upgraded SLM Corp (NYSE: SLM) to Overweight from Equal Weight.

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