This post is part of my series featuring established companies and the smaller, more aggressive or innovative rivals that may eventually succeed them.

Applebee's is the largest casual dining restaurant chain in the United States, with nearly 2,000 units spread out over 49 states. Applebee's changed its formal name back in 1986 to Applebee's Neighborhood Bar and Grill to give it a local appeal. In November 2007, International House of Pancakes -- IHOP -- now formally known as DineEquity, (NYSE: DIN) bought out Applebee's for $2.1 billion. It's hard to imagine Applebee's and IHOP as DineEquity!

The casual dining sector is embracing a newer player with aspirations of a national roll out. That player is BJ's Restaurant and Brewery (NASDAQ: BJRI) based in Huntington Beach, California. BJ's offers an on-site brewery with its own beer recipes or a trusted third party's recipe.The chain serves gourmet salads, steaks, chops, fish, poultry and several other popular dishes. It also makes superb deep-dish pizza for both in-house dining and carry out.

BJ's has 72 units in the chain spread over 13 states with enormous room to grow. Being a California-based company, BJ's stronghold is California, but the concept has become popular in key restaurant markets like Florida and Arizona. The casual nature of the chain has an appeal in many large markets not yet penetrated. BJ's has yet to open a unit in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Georgia or Tennessee.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Corning, BTU International and RiskMetricks were today's noteworthy initiations:

• ThinkPanmure believes Corning (NYSE: GLW) is well-positioned to benefit from increased penetration of LCD panels into televisions, flat panel monitors, notebooks, and mobile handsets. Shares were initiated with an Accumulate rating and $31 target.
  
• Thomas Weisel said BTU International (NASDAQ: BTUI) is seeing strong order trends for the company's high margin solar sales in its in-line diffusion furnace and metallization products. The firm started shares with an Overweight rating and $15 target.
  
• RiskMetrics (NYSE: RMG) was assumed at JMP Securities with an Ootperform rating and $26 target. The firm expects RMG to benefit from greater focus on managing portfolio risk and on corporate governance issues.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) was initiated at ThinkPanmure with a Buy rating and $29 target.
  
• Gen-Probe (NASDAQ: GPRO) was assumed at William Blair with an Outperform rating.
  
• Baird initiated BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ: BJRI) with a Neutral rating and $13 target.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: K Swiss, BJ's Restaurants and Ford were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Merrill expects the turnaround at K Swiss (NASDAQ: KSWS) to be difficult given weakening retail sales. Shares were downgraded to Sell from Neutral.
  
• Jefferies cut shares of BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ: BJRI) to Hold from Buy due to the company's high relative exposure to the subprime mortgage markets.
  
• Ford (NYSE: F) was downgraded to Underperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns. The firm recommends taking some profits following the recent rally in shares. Shares were also cut to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan, citing valuation, and to Sell from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Wachovia cut EastGroup Properties (NYSE: EGP) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Goldman removed SL Green Realty (NYSE: SLG) from its Conviction Buy List.
  
• RBC Capital lowered Developers Diversified Realty (NYSE: DDR) to Sector Perform from Outperform.
  
• Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) was downgraded at JP Morgan to Neutral from Overweight.