Piper Jaffray downgraded Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM) to "sell" from "neutral", according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that Citigroup cut VMWare (NYSE:VMW) to "hold" from "buy" and cut its price target to $33 from $52.

Deutsche Bank downgraded TRW (NYSE:TRW) to "hold" from "buy", according to MarketWatch.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan according to 24/7 Wall St. The financial website also reports Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Douglas A. McIntyre

MOST NOTEWORTHY: RF Micro Devices, Western Digital and Boyd Gaming were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Jefferies downgraded shares of RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD) to Hold from Buy to reflect the continued softness in the China Market after Asian channel checks suggested the March quarter will be weak.
  
• Citigroup downgraded shares of Western Digital (NYSE: WDC) to Hold from Buy, as they believe the HDD industry is nearing a cyclical peak. They also view the likelihood of consolidation as less likely given the current conditions.
  
• Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD) was lowered to Neutral from Add at Calyon following its Q4 report.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• JP Morgan downgraded BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA), Lea Corporation (NYSE: LEA) and TRW Automotive Holdings (NYSE: TRW) to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• Merrill lowered Edison International (NYSE: EIX) to Neutral from Buy.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: JDSU (JDSU), MasterCard (MA), GlobalSanta Fe (GSF), Molson Coors (TAP) and TRW Inc (TRW) were today's notable upgrades:

• BMO Capital upgraded JDSU (NASDAQ: JDSU) to Market Perform from Underperform based on valuation and good industry fundamentals.

• AG Edwards considers MasterCard (NYSE: MA) a defensive payments play, upgraded shares to Buy from Hold, and would use weakness to build positions in the stock.

• GlobalSanta Fe (NYSE: GSF) was upgraded at Bernstein to Market Perform from Underperform based on the merger with Transocean (RIG).

• Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman based on valuation and potential increased free cash flow in 2008.

• TRW Inc (NYSE: TRW) was upgraded to Buy from Sell at Goldman...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Thomas Weisel raised Network Appliance (NASDAQ: NTAP) to Overweight from Market Weight.

• Suntrust upgraded Goodrich Petroleum (NYSE: GDP) to Neutral from Reduce.

• Fossil (NASDAQ: FOSL) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Piper Jaffray.

• Keybanc raised Macy's (NYSE: M) rating to Buy from Hold.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO), Continental (CAL) and Caterpillar inc (CAT) complete the list of notable downgrades:

• Citing peak employee productivity and margin expansion difficulties, Citigroup downgraded Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) from its previous Buy rating and assumed the company with a Hold rating.

• Goldman Sachs downgraded Continental Airlines Inc (NYSE: CAL) to Sell from Neutral on valuation.

• JP Morgan assumed coverage of Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT) with an Underweight rating, downgraded from its previous Neutral rating.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Following CIBC's outlook for the Paper & Forest sector through 2008, the firm downgraded Bowater Inc (NYSE: BOW) to Sector Underperformer from Sector Performer. The broker believes pulp, paper and packaging prices are near cyclical highs.

• Goldman Sachs expects a slowdown in revenue growth and margins in 2007 for TRW Automotive Holdings Corp (NYSE: TRW) and added the company to its America's Conviction Sell List.

• USA Truck Inc (NASDAQ: USAK) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Morgan Keegan following the trucking company's disappointing Q4, guidance and lack of near-term catalysts.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Fortune Brands (FO) and Altria Group (MO) were today's more notable downgrades:

• JP Morgan downgraded Fortune Brands (NYSE: FO) to Neutral from Overweight on valuation and the weak outlook for home and hardware sales.

• Altria Group (NYSE: MO) was downgraded by Deutsche Bank to Hold from Buy with a $95 target, citing its valuation, ex-Kraft, is more in line with its tobacco peers.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• CheckPoint Software Tech (NASDAQ: CHKP) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform with a $19 target at Freedman Billings, with expectations that 2007 will be a difficult transition year.

• Matrix USA downgraded shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD) to Hold from Buy on valuation.

• Goldman Sachs downgraded TRW Automotive Hldg (NYSE: TRW) to Sell from Neutral and was added to the America's Sell List; they believe rising costs, a less favorable product mix and commercial steering business headwinds will weigh on revenue growth and margins in 2007.

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