Analyst upgrades:

• Wells Fargo upgraded Prudential (PRU) to outperform from market perform. The firm thinks the company is in a better position than its peers and will be able to more effectively exploit M&A opportunities.
• UBS upgraded Reliance Steel (RS) to buy from neutral based on potential growth through M&A and valuation. The firm raised its target to $50 from $49.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Eastman Chemical (EMN) to buy from hold on expectations the company's portfolio transformation will drive higher normalized earnings power, which the firm believes is not fully reflected in consensus estimates. Deutsche raised its target price on shares to $70 from $62.
• Amylin Pharma (AMLN) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Cephalon (CEPH) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Acuity Brands (AYI) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer is seeing signs of a coming boom, but he's still being cautious here.

If you had to define the early cycle, if you had to outline what stocks should be soaring coming out of a recession into a boom and which ones should be faltering, you would have to say the action in this market in the last month is the quintessential behavioral pattern.

What are the components of the early cycle? First, it's the homebuilders. As is typical coming out of a recession, the stocks precede the bottom of housing. That's exactly what's happening with the lowest permits and highest affordability and best mortgage rates and massive inventory. Everywhere, except on Wall Street reporting, the bottom is bursting out. When you read the lead story in the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer, and it is all about the thousands of prospective homebuyers heading south to pick up condos and homes for half of what they were worth two years ago -- or even less -- and you know that virtually no one has broken ground in the Sunshine State in a year, you can bet that the bottom's actually behind us. This housing market has wiped out all but the most stable private builders and even the public ones are merging as we know from Pulte (NYSE: PHM) (Cramer's Take) and Centex (NYSE: CTX) (Cramer's Take). So, in the next cycle, you can see some profitability developing year over year even though the new homes don't have much margin because the foreclosed homes next door are going for a song. And don't believe this won't change the dynamic of future foreclosures. In most areas, rent is higher than the interest on mortgages, so you will find that second or third job needed to stay in your home. The incentive structure's radically different than a year ago.

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) to Buy from Neutral based on valuation and a potential margin rebound at Linens N' Things.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK) to Hold from Sell on valuation and believes expectations have been reset to a reasonable level. The company's target was lowered to $27 from $33.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded shares of Ceradyne (NASDAQ: CRDN) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation following the recent weakness and thinks the Army will move forward with a larger XSAPI procurement in FY09. The firm raised their target to $30 from $26.
• Goldman added Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  
• Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst downgrades:

Sometimes you find a great company at a great price and when you dig deeper you find you have to pass on it. Too bad, because the metrics on Autoliv Inc. (NYSE: ALV) are pretty fantastic. It is the world's #1 producer of car safety equipment, with 80 production facilities in 28 countries around the world and includes 20 test tracks. I like the segment of the automobile market the company is positioned in and feel auto safety will continue to be an expanding opportunity. Here are the numbers that attracted me to Autoliv:

• Price-to-earnings P/E: 12.52 (TTM)
• Price-to-sales P/S: 0.78 (TTM)
• Price-to-book P/B: 1.92 (TTM)
• Price-to-earnings P/CF: 6.82 (TTM)

These are great numbers, but there is more:

• Return-on-equity ROE: 17.0
• Long Term Debt-to-Equity (MRQ) 0.5
• Dividend Yield 2.63%

MOST NOTEWORTHY: British Airways plc (BAB), Ryanair Holdings plc (RYAAY), Cox Radio, Inc (CXR) and Autoliv Inc (ALV) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of both British Airways (NYSE: BAB) and Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ: RYAAY) to Hold from Sell on valuation.

• Credit Suisse upgraded shares of Cox Radio Inc (NYSE: CXR) to Neutral form Underperform on valuation following the stock's recent pullback. Bear Stearns also upgraded Cox Radio to Outperform from Peer Perform on valuation.

• Merrill Lynch upgraded shares of Autoliv Inc (NYSE: ALV) to Neutral from sell.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Wachovia upgraded Heelys, Inc (NASDAQ: HLYS) to Outperform from Market Perform following positive channel checks, which could lead to upside to the Street's Q1 EPS estimate of 18c, and valuation.

• Stifel upgraded VistaPrint Ltd (NASDAQ: VPRT) to Buy from Hold with a $43 target. The firm said risks from taxes and non-transaction revenue have been diminished to levels that allow them to focus on the core printing business.

• Ameristar Casinos, Inc (NASDAQ: ASCA) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.

• Bear Stearns upgraded Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc (NYSE: WDR) to Outperform from Peer Perform based on strong operating leverage and valuation.

• Potash Corp (NYSE: POT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The automotive sector was today's most noteworthy initiation:

• Prudential initiated the automotive manufacturers industry and automotive retail industry with Favorable ratings and the automotive parts and equipment industry with an Unfavorable rating. The firm initiated coverage on following stocks:
  
• Overweight-rated names included Autoliv Inc (NYSE: ALV), Group 1 Automotive, Inc (NYSE: GPI), Honda Motor Co, Ltd (NYSE: HMC), Johnson Controls, Inc (NYSE: JCI), Sonic Automotive, Inc (NYSE: SAH), & Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE: TM).
  
• Neutral Weight-rated names included AutoNation, Inc (NYSE: AN), DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX), Magna International Inc (NYSE: MGA) and United Auto Group, Inc (NYSE: UAG).
  
• Underweight-rated names included Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F), General Motors Corp (NYSE: GM) and Gentex Corp (NASDAQ: GNTX).

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Bernstein initiated JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) with a Market Perform rating and $54 target.

• Lehman started Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE: TWC) with a Neutral rating.

• Merriman initiated shares of Progressive Gaming International Corp (NASDAQ: PGIC) with a Buy rating, as the firm believes it is on the cusp of gaining meaningful market share of casino floors through its technologies and now is the time to get involved in shares.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: YRC Worldwide Inc (YRCW), AutoLiv Inc (ALV) and Chevron Corp (CVX) topped today's lists of downgrades:

• YRC Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ: YRCW) was downgraded by Credit Suisse to Neutral from Outperform and to Underperform from Neutral at Baird, both citing valuation.

• AutoLiv Inc (NYSE: ALV) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Citigroup with a $55 target to reflect North American production schedules concerns as well as the possibility of a slower-than-anticipated share buyback program.

• Chevron Corp (NYSE: CVX) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank with a $65 target, citing valuation.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Pali Capital downgraded Warner Music Group Corp (NYSE: WMG) to Sell from Neutral, with a $19 target. The firm believes estimates are too aggressive and Warner shares are now overvalued.

• JP Morgan downgraded shares of Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS) to Neutral from Overweight, citing valuation.

• Sanders Morris downgraded Playboy Enterprises (NYSE: PLA) to Hold from Buy, as they believe there is little visibility in the marketplace as to the timing of a Time Warner-based (TWX) SVOD agreement. The broker thinks management will issue below the consensus' 2007 guidance, or none at all, which they think will trigger bearish sentiment.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Kellogg Co (K) and the Auto & Truck Supplier Sector were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• JP Morgan downgraded Kellogg Co (NYSE: K) to Neutral from Outperform, citing reduced earnings growth.

• Baird downgraded the Auto & Truck Supplier Sector to Market Underweight citing valuation and lower estimates; the firm downgraded American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc (NYSE: AXL), Autoliv Inc (NYSE: ALV) and Modine Manufacturing Co (NYSE: MOD) to Underperform from Neutral.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• JP Morgan downgraded Juniper Networks Inc (NASDAQ: JNPR) to Market Perform from Outperform with a $22 target, explaining that although Juniper's December quarter showed improved revenue results, earnings guidance was disappointing given investment plans for 2007.

• Sanders Morris downgraded Benihana Inc (NASDAQ: BNHNA) to Buy from Strong Buy with a $38 target, noting that they cannot find enough catalysts that would push shares another 20% in the next six months; however, the firm is still bullish on Benihana's short-term and long-term outlooks.

• Credit Suisse downgraded Office Depot Inc (NYSE: ODP) to Neutral from Outperform, with a $41 target and believes that expectations to be overly optimistic.

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