Analyst upgrades:

• Piper Jaffray upgraded Viacom (NYSE:VIA) to Overweight from Neutral to reflect the improving ad market and better ratings at key cable networks. The firm raised its target on shares to $35 from $29.
  
• Baird upgraded Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) to Outperform from Neutral on valuation as it views the recent weakness as a buying opportunity. The firm keeps an $84 price target on shares.
  
• Jefferies upgraded Usana (NASDAQ:USNA) to Buy from Hold as it believes direct selling companies have been gaining momentum. The firm raised its target on shares to $44 from $37.
• AK Steel (NYSE:AKS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  
• First Merit (NASDAQ:FMER) was upgraded to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
  
• Spectra Energy (NYSE:SE) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Corning (NYSE: GLW) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $19 from $18.50, citing the improved LCD supply-demand outlook and improved sell-through ahead of the holiday season in China.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Newfield Exploration (NYSE: NFX) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $48 from $44 citing valuation and improved asset quality.
• Stifel upgraded Newfield Exploration and Ultra Petroleum (NYSE: UPL) shares to Buy from Hold based on strong fundamentals and a long-term positive view for the E&P sector. The firm has a $50 target on Newfield and a $58 target on Ultra Petroleum.
• TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.
• General Mills (NYSE: GIS) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Coca-Cola Femsa (NYSE: KOF) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Advanced Micro (NYSE: AMD) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $5.50 from $4.25 citing valuation and expectations for the company's competitive position and gross margins to improve.
• Barclays upgraded American Express (NYSE: AXP) to Overweight from Equal Weight citing long-term earnings growth as the company benefits from declining charge-offs and credit costs. The firm has a $38 target on the stock.
• JPMorgan upgraded Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) to Overweight from Neutral and raised its target to $22 from $19 citing the FTC approval for the acquisition of Jacobs Ranch mine and valuation.
• Bebe Stores (NASDAQ: BEBE) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
• Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at Piper Jaffray.
• Ashland (NYSE: ASH) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says there'll be a time to buy health care. But wait until the smoke clears.

Please don't tell me we are back in the world of no institutional memory again. That all that happened is we dropped enough points to freak everyone out, get the bears out of hibernation and then it is onward and upward. Nothing would shock me, especially the vehemence with which everyone hated the market again Monday.

If you replay what happened, most of the issues stemmed from statements made by the same Europeans that have said no more stimulus is needed, the same Europeans who have been in denial the whole way publicly, but believe me they have been stimulating like mad because their banks are a much larger size relative to their gross domestic product than ours and are in many ways worse off.

This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

For his top stock pick for 2009, market timing expert Sy Harding looks to medical products company, Zimmer Holdings (NYSE: ZMH).

In his Street Smart Report, the advisor looks at the maker of orthopedic implants, noting, "Currently trading at just 1.6 times books value, 2.3 times sales, and at 9.5 times earnings, the stock is a bargain."

Harding explains, "Zimmer designs and manufactures orthopedic implants, including joint, dental, and spinal replacements, as well as surgical instruments designed to aid in orthopedic surgery and post-operation rehabilitation.

"The company has been growing steadily from both rising sales of its own products, and from acquisitions. Its most recent acquisition was Abbott Spine, acquired from Abbott Labs for $360 million.

"The acquisition was funded from cash on hand and its already existing credit line, worth noting given how the credit crunch is causing problems for many companies. Zimmer's ratio of long-term debt to equity is only about 20% of its industry's average, and it maintains a high level of cash.

Health care has long been considered a recession-resistant business. Given the current economic challenges, it's little surprise that in our survey of favorite stocks for the coming year, a number of leading advisors turned to this classic defensive sector.

In this year's Top Stock Picks from 75 advisors report, we found an intriguing group of medical-related stocks, from speculation in emerging biotech to well-established pharmaceutical firms, and from medical products makers to medical services firms focused on increasing health care efficiency and early disease detection.

Mike Cintolo, editor of The Cabot Market Letter, thinks Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ: MYGN) could be a "big winner in 2009," The company is a lead in the new field of cancer predisposition testing. For Mike's full report, read Top Stock Picks '09: Myriad Genetics.

Chuck Carlson, editor of The DRIP Investor, sees both quality and potential in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY). For Chuck's full report, read Top Stock Picks '09: Bristol-Myers Squibb.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: American Eagle, Nokia and Nestle were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Oppenheimer downgraded shares of American Eagle (NYSE: AEO) to Perform from Outperform after news Chief Merchandise Officer Susan P. McGalla will leave the company, as they now have less confidence in the company's second half rebound.
  
• Credit Suisse cut Nokia (NYSE: NOK) to Neutral from Outperform as they believe the company's global smartphone market share is unsustainable in near term due to competition from Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).
• Societe Generale downgraded shares of Nestle (OTC: NSRGY) to Sell from Buy as they believe higher raw-materials costs and a slowdown in the U.S. will weigh on 2008 results.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Zimmer Holdings (NYSE: ZMH) was lowered to Market Weight from Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
  
• Goldman cut Taiwan Semi (NYSE: TSM) to Neutral from Buy and Tim Hortons (THI) to Sell from Neutral.

Zimmer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZMH) is recently up $1.22 to $83.63 on renewed and unconfirmed buyout chatter. ZMH, a leader in designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing reconstructive orthopedic surgical products, is expected to report EPS on October 25. ZMH call option volume of 5,379 contracts compares to put volume of 125 contracts. ZMH November option implied volatility of 28 is above its 26-week average of 23 according to Track Data, suggesting slightly larger price risk.

Corus Bankshares Inc. (NASDAQ: CORS) is an active commercial real estate lender nationwide, specializing in condominium, hotel, office and apartment loans. CORS had outstanding commercial real estate loans and construction commitments of $8 billion as of June 30, 2007. CORS is expected to report EPS on October 16. CORS October option implied volatility of 80 is above its 26-week average of 59 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: QLogic (QLGC), Cnet Networks (CNET), Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), Darden Restaurants (DRI) and Anadys Pharma (ANDS) were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• QLogic (NASDAQ: QLGC) was cut by several firms:
  
• QLogic was cut to Neutral from Outperform and removed from JP Morgan's Focus List due to the lack of catalysts to drive shares higher.
  
• Caris cut shares to Average from Above Average and Pacific
  
• Crest downgraded QLogic to Sector Perform from Outperform as the company's profits decline.

• Citigtroup downgraded CNet Networks (NASDAQ: CNET) to Hold from Buy as they no longer expect material revenue growth acceleration and operating leverage in 2H07; First Albany cut shares to Neutral from Buy.

• HSBC downgraded shares of Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM) to Neutral from Overweight to reflect worse than expected pricing pressures.

• Matrix downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) to Hold from Buy on increasing competition and rising costs.

• Piper cut Anadys Pharma (NASDAQ: ANDS) to Underperform from Outperform following the company's announcement that it has discontinued development of ANA975...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• First Albany cut Zimmer Holdings (NYSE: ZMH) to Buy from Strong Buy.

• Bear Stearns downgraded AutoNation (NYSE: AN) to Peer Perform from Outperform.

• Piper Jaffray downgraded Volcom (NASDAQ: VLCM) and Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Bernstein downgraded Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) to Underperform from Market Perform.

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

Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) announced the acquisition this morning of Swiss company Plus Orthopedics for $889 million in cash. This will solidify Smith & Nephew's position as the number 4 global player. The other three major firms are Stryker Corp. (NYSE:SYK), Zimmer Holdings (NYSE:ZMH), and soon to be acquired Biomet Inc. (NASDAQ:BMET). Biomet is undergoing due diligence by a group of private equity firms led by the Blackstone Group. The transaction is expected to close by October of this year.

The orthopedic sector has the wind at its back. The approval process for an orthopedic device is rigorous, but not as lengthy as the cardiac device sector. The marketplace is global in nature and the demographics are about to enter the sweet spot.

With 78 million U.S. baby boomers alone, and another 80 million-plus baby boomers in the European markets, the aging of this group is ripe for the sector. New hips, knees, elbows and shoulders will see record recipients as each year unfolds. Besides the basic joint-replacement products, the spinal sector is also expected to see massive growth. Minimally invasive surgical procedures are expanding the addressable market as the risk profile for such surgeries is significantly less. The dread of osteoporosis affects nearly 700,000 women in the United States alone.

Barron's on-line featured an article this weekend about the 78 million baby boomers. The jist of the article is that this generation of 43-61-year-old consumers have the greatest amount of discretionary dollars to spend on anything from Botox injections to Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) cross-over vehicles. The author mentioned several companies that are catering to this rising and approaching retirement group.

Whether it is Pulte Homes (NYSE:PMH) with its 51 communities aimed at the 55+ year old to Chico's (NYSE:CHS) and Talbots (NYSE:TLB) gearing their clothing lines to the baby boomers, the jury is in: this generation will have high expectations to go along with their fat wallets.

The article did not go into the depth of cutting-edge companies. I'm talking about players that won't just make our lives a bit more convenient.or pleasurable, but will vastly improve them. Companies like Zimmer Holding (NYSE:ZMH) and Stryker (NYSE:SYK) that manufacture the latest in artificial knees, hips, shoulders and elbows so that we weekend warriors can continue with our athletic exploits. Or companies like Genentech (NYSE:DNA) and Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) that are developing drugs to effectively treat cancers and other serious maladies such as Hepatitis-B, arthritis and HIV.

A brave research analyst at Deutsche Securities raised his price target this morning for Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ZMH) from $90 to $94. I am not really sure what a stretch this is, but let's take the price target raising here as good news. More importantly, let's take it as a good sign. A sign of accelerating momentum and growth in the business.

I wrote earlier this week that Zimmer Holdings is one of the four mega-players in the orthopedic device space. With the aging of Baby Boomers, new knees, hips, shoulders, etc. will be in increasing demand. But what sets Zimmer apart from its chief competitors, Stryker Corp. (NYSE:SYK), Biomet Inc. (NASDAQ:BMET), and Smith and Nephew plc (ADR) (NYSE:SNN) is its patented minimally invasive surgical (MIS) techniques and technology. It is cleaning up with the surgeons, who make the decisions of which products to buy.

The other area that distinguishes Zimmer Holdings is its strength in the ever-growing field of spinal-surgery. Zimmer has a whole host of products and devices for MIS spinal surgery. Spinal compression fractures caused by trauma and the ever-evil osteoporosis can now be more successfully treated with MIS than what used to be a large incision surgery.

Zimmer is the better long-term play in the orthopedic device space and as Baby Boomers continue to age, the growth rate for Zimmer will be strong. It also has and should maintain for the years to come a significant competitive advantage.

Georges Yared is the author of "Baby Boomer Investing...Where do we go from here?" and " Stop Losing Money Today." For more info go to http://www.georgesyared.com

The orthopedic device/replacement market is as competitive as any in the medical world. Biomet, Inc. (NASDAQ:BMET) is going private; Stryker Corp. (NYSE:SYK) and Smith and Nephew plc (ADR) (NYSE:SNN) both have impressive margins. As we baby Boomers age, but want to remain active, we'll need new hips, elbows, knees, etc. So the demographic shift is playing to all of these companies' sweet spot.

The long-term winner however is Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ZMH). This Warsaw, Indiana-based company figured early on that the key decision maker in whose knee or hip goes into a patient belongs with the surgeon. ZMH perfected a minimally invasive surgical (MIS) technology and has trained thousands of surgeons with the technique. Of course, with the technique comes Zimmer products and devices.

The orthopedic game is different from the cardiac device game in that the doctor chooses the device of preference. In the cardiac game, usually the hospital administrator chooses the devices. ZMH aggressively marketed and trained the surgeons, by-passing the hospital buying staff. The MIS techniques benefit first and foremost the patient, then of course comes the insurance companies absorbing less costly procedures and hospital stays. ZMH should be looking for top-line and bottom-line growth in the 15% per year range for the foreseeable future.

Georges Yared is the author of "Baby Boomer Investing...Where do we go from here?" and "Stop Losing Money Today." For more info visit his website here.