Analyst Upgrades

• Macquarie upgraded Intel (INTC) to outperform from neutral and Advanced Micro (AMD) to neutral from underperform.
• Pfizer (PFE) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Capstead Mortgage (CMO) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Halliburton (HAL) to outperform from perform.
• Gilead (GILD) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Skilled Healthcare (SKH) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• Citigroup upgraded CapitalSource (CSE) to buy from hold.

Option traders are pushing up call option prices in the Diversified Utilities industry and are pushing up put option prices in the REIT - Diversified industry today.

Any time the volatility skews above 1.00, it is an indication that calls are more expensive than puts. Typically, when calls are more expensive than puts, it means the demand for calls is greater than the demand for puts because investors believe the stock is going to rise in the future, and they want to take advantage of that movement by buying calls.

The opposite is also true. Any time a volatility skews below 1.00, it is an indication that puts are more expensive than calls.

Without a doubt, I picked the worst possible time to buy MFA Mortgage (NYSE: MFA). Not long ago, I wrote about my desire to get in on MFA. Well, I did. And now I am paying for it, it seems.

I made a few buys between $7 and $10, starting at the high end of the range and then working down. Today, MFA got hit again; as I write this, it's trading around $6 (the low for the day so far is $5.96). My portfolio is certainly getting bloodier.

The mortgage REIT sector is having a tough time because of analyst price-target reductions and falling book values. Annaly Capital (NYSE: NLY) and Anworth Mortgage (NYSE: ANH) are feeling the heat. MFA also has been doing some reduction in terms of leverage, as this recent press release tells us. I'll be following the mnREIT story. For now, though, I'm not selling, and I think MFA is, as Merrill Ross, an analyst at Friedman Billings Ramsey, states, rather cheap at the moment (I know, I know, it can just get cheaper, can't it...).

Disclosure: Steven Mallas owns shares of MFA common and MFA preferred shares; positions can change at any time.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: eBay, Anworth Mortgage, Healthways, Coca-Cola and Mattel were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Soleil upgraded shares of eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) to Hold from Sell following the Q3 results due to improving near term fundamentals with diversification of revenue streams.
• JMP Securities raised estimates on Anworth Mortgage (NYSE: ANH) to Strong Buy from Market Outperform citing the lower cost of funding and the expected improvement in earnings.
  
• Healthways (NASDAQ: HWAY) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Broadpoint, as they believe the company's guidance implies it is well positioned into FY09.
  
• Gabelli upgraded shares of Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) to Buy from Hold as they believe strong international demand and the company's ability to execute will lead to double digit growth in coming years.
  
• Mattel (NYSE: MAT) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse. The firm views risk/reward as compelling.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• WestLB upgraded Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) to Hold from Reduce.
  
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Thornburg Mortgage (NYSE: TMA) to Market Perform from Underperform.
  
• Merrill Lynch upgraded Repsol SA (NYSE: REP) and Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) to Buy from Neutral.