MOST NOTEWORTHY: IberiaBank, Dynamic Materials and Barr Pharmaceuticals were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded shares of IberiaBank (NASDAQ: IBKC) to Market Perform from Underperform after the company announced that Pulaski has assumed the insured deposits of ANB Financial of Bentonville, Arkansas.
  
• KeyBanc upgraded Dynamic Materials (NASDAQ: BOOM) to Buy from Hold citing stability in base business, valuation, and the added benefit associated with a European competitor being acquired.
  
• Cowen raised Barr Pharma (NYSE: BRL) to Outperform from Neutral citing the recent pullback.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman added McGraw-Hill (NASDAQ: MHP) to its Conviction Buy List.
  
• RBC Capital raised RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) to Sector Perform from Underperform.
  
• Sirius Satellite (NASDAQ: SIRI) was upgraded at Merrill Lynch to Neutral from Sell.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Specialty pharmaceutical companies make up today's most noteworthy list:

• The Bank of America initiated Shire plc (NASDAQ: SHPGY), Mentor Corp (NYSE: MNT), Alcon, Inc (NYSE: ACL) and Allergan, Inc (NYSE: AGN) with Buy ratings and initiated Cephalon, Inc (NASDAQ: CEPH), Forest Laboratories, Inc (NYSE: FRX), Sepracor Inc (NASDAQ: SEPR) with Neutral ratings. Bank of America's top pick is Shire plc as the firm expects the company to launch six products or product extensions by mid-2008, followed by Mentor Corp, as the conversion to silicone breast implants should drive a period of stronger-than-expected sales and earnings.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) was initiated at Buckingham with an Underperform rating and General Motors (GM) was started with a Neutral rating.

• Nollenberger believes Under Armour, Inc (NYSE: UA), started with a Buy rating, is positioned to outperform the market based on the strength of its brand name and demand through the continued introduction of new products along with European growth.

• Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NYSE: BRL) was initiated with an Equal Weight rating and $53 target at Morgan Stanley.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Time Warner (TWX), Yahoo! (YHOO) and Cisco Systems (CSCO) top today's list of upgrades.

• Time Warner, Inc. (NYSE:TWX) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Cowen. The firm expects improved results from AOL, cable and filmed entertainment. In addition, Cowen said Time Warner is poised to break out of their three-year trading range of $15-$20.
• Yahoo!, Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) was added to the Focus List of American Tech. The firm said Yahoo! shares are "significantly oversold" and positioned for a major bounce. They felt Yahoo was trading as if Panama is already a failure and recommend buying aggressively at these levels.
• Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) was added to Goldman Sachs American Conviction Buy List. Goldman said Cisco's November 8th earnings will support their growth outlook and show evidence of new product ramps.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Longbow upgraded SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRF) to Buy from Neutral based on near-term momentum in the auto and handset business.
• Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE:CPB) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at Prudential on valuation.
• Citigroup said the Pliva acquisition broadens Barr Pharmaceauticals, Inc. (NYSE:BRL) pipeline and suggest upside to estimates, leading the firm to upgrade Barr to Buy from Neutral.

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