MOST NOTEWORTHY: Universal Electronics, BioMed Realty Trust and Allied Healthcare were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded Universal Electronics (NASDAQ: UEIC) to Hold from Buy following the company's disappointing guidance.
  
• Baird downgraded shares of BioMed Realty Trust (NYSE: BMR) to Neutral from Outperform and lowered their target to $26 as they believe shares are fairly valued.
  
• Allied Healthcare (NASDAQ: AHCI) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Friedman Billings following the lower-than-expected Q1 results.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Merrill Lynch downgraded Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) to Sell from Neutral.
  
• Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) was cut to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  
• Vital Images (NASDAQ: VTAL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• It was revealed yesterday that Terra Firma is among the potential bidders for Ford Motor Company's (NYSE: F) Jaguar and Land Rover brands, reported the Financial Times.
• There is a 40% to 45% risk that a recession will be triggered by the housing market downturn in the U.S., the CEO of Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) warned, the Financial Times reported.

OTHER PAPERS:

• From BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" column:
  
• Investors looking for fast growth in the $110 billion business-enterprise telecom market are betting on Time Warner Telecom (NASDAQ: TWTC), which offers broadband connections for data, high-speed Web access, local voice, and long-distance service.
• Plum Creek Timber (NYSE: PCL) is flying high despite the housing slump and market decline driven by the subprime mortgage crisis.
• Universal Electronics Inc (NASDAQ: UEIC), which makes the remote controls for TVs and other appliances, has caught the Street's eye.

WEBSITES:

• Unstrung.com reported that Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) is close to buying a WiMax base station company, according to sources, and one possible target is Alvarion (NASDAQ: ALVR).
• Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) is reportedly going to reduce the amount of money and effort it spends on premium services related to music, games, TV, and movies, reported TechCrunch.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Lululemon, NaviSite, Research in Motion, Palm and Motorola were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU) was initiated with a Neutral rating and $42 target at Credit Suisse on valuation.
• NaviSite Inc (NASDAQ: NAVI) was initiated with a Buy rating at Merriman after reporting solid Q4 results. Merriman expects the company's recent acquisitions to significantly increase margins.
  
• Citigroup believes Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) is not a pure momentum stock as fundamentals are driving share appreciation. They think the company's subscriber growth is beginning to hit critical mass and expect 15M subscribers within 12 months. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $115 target.
  
• Citigroup also initiated shares of Palm Inc (NASDAQ: PALM) with a Sell rating and $13.50 target, expecting the company's market share losses to continue to EPS to decline.
  
• Citigroup started Motorola Inc (NYSE: MOT) with a Hold rating and $20 target, as they believe its recovery may take longer than expected, noting its new silicon platform does not come out until 2H08.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Banc of America initiated On Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN), Mettler-Toledo International Inc (NYSE: MTD) and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (NYSE: TMO) with Buy ratings and a $16 target, $120 target and $65 target.
  
• Deutsche Bank started GSI Commerce Inc (NASDAQ: GSIC) and Universal Electronics (NASDAQ: UEIC) with Buy ratings and targets of $52 and $31, respectively.
  
• RBC Capital Markets resumed coverage of Whole Foods Market Inc (NASDAQ: WFMI) with an Outperform rating and $55 target.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Universal Electronics Inc (NASDAQ: UEIC), UST Inc (NYSE: UST) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Universal Electronics was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Hambrecht on expectations of solid results based upon favorable secular industry trends, new product introductions, and trends at its OEM customers. The firm expects the stock to appreciate the remainder of the year.
• UBS upgraded shares of UST to Buy from Neutral, as the firm believes the company will benefit from Altria Group Inc's (NYSE: MO) new smokeless tobacco product Snus. The firm believes the new product will increase smokeless tobacco awareness and has low overlap with UST's moist smokeless tobacco.
• Johnson & Johnson was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse on valuation and slightly lowered investor expectations; the firm still believes 2008 consensus estimates are too high.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Matrix, which believes sales are boosted by increasing demand for lower sodium soups and healthy beverages.
• JMP Securities upgraded shares of ChoicePoint Inc (NYSE: CPS) to Market Outperform from Market Perform.
• Cowen upgraded shares of SAIC, Inc (NYSE: SAI) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and growth opportunities.

As you acquire home entertainment systems, you inevitably acquire remote controls. When it gets to the point that you wish you had just one remote that controlled everything, there is a firm in Cypress, California that can help you.

Universal Electronics (NASDAQ: UEIC) provides pre-programmed wireless control products and audio-video accessories for home entertainment systems. The firm's One For All brand universal remote controls contain infrared codes that allow them to operate virtually any remote-capable device, including CD and DVD players, satellite receivers, surround sound systems, tuners, TVs, and VCRs. The company also sells devices that allow televisions, set-top boxes, stereos, automotive audio systems and cell phones to wirelessly connect with home networks and interactive services for delivery of digital entertainment and information. Its audio/video accessory line includes digital antennas, signal boosters, television brackets, cleaning products and micro-controllers. The firm holds 168 remote-related patents. Corporate clients include Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Hitachi (NYSE: HIT), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: SanDisk Corp (SNDK) was the only notable company initiated today:

• Nollenberger believes SanDisk Corp (NASDAQ: SNDK) is going through a "tough patch" due to oversupply in the market and feels Micron Technology (MU) offers a better risk/reward at current levels; the firm started SanDisk with a Neutral rating and $42 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• WR Hambrecht started Universal Electronics (NASDAQ: UEIC) with a Hold on valuation.

• CIBC initiated Iron Mountain Inc (NYSE: IRM) with a Sector Performer.

• SuperValu (NYSE: SVU) was initiated at Credit Suisse with an Outperform rating. The firm expects investors to not fully appreciate SuperValu's robust earnings power and free cash flow following acquisition of Albertson's stores.

• RBC initiated Kayne Anderson Energy Development (NYSE: KED) with a Sector Perform as the firm believes limited publicly-available information on private investments makes valuations problematic.

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