Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup (C) to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Cubist Pharma (CBST) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Pentair (PNR) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Heritage Financial (HFWA) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• SL Green Realty (SLG) and Digital Realty (DLR) to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• MGM Resorts (MGM) to neutral from Sell at Janney Capital.
• Ciena (CIEN) to buy from neutral and Olin (OLN) to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Mellanox (MLNX) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• ConocoPhillips (COP) and Canadian Natural (CNQ) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• IDEX (IEX) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Ctrip.com (CTRP) to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• Linear Technology (LLTC) and Analog Devices (ADI) to hold from sell at Auriga.
• Quicksilver (KWK) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.

Analyst Upgrades

• Thomas Weisel upgraded Deckers Outdoor (DECK) to overweight from market weight following channel checks. The firm also raised its target for shares to $170 from $162.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Amerigroup (AGP) to buy from hold as it believes the company is well positioned to benefit from health care reform. The firm upped its target for shares to $42 from $38.
• Cowen upgraded Cubist Pharmaceuticals (CBST) to outperform from neutral, citing increased conviction in Cubicin's patent exclusivity.
• OmniVision (OVTI) was upgraded to strong buy from buy at Needham.
• Take-Two (TTWO) was upgraded to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
• Wells Fargo (WFC) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Sterne Agee.

The weekly jobless claims set the tone for a positive day, but the Obama speech comments today may have set the tone for a slightly worse unemployment reading tomorrow. Harsh comments against Ben Bernanke at his reconfirmation hearing also dominated the news today. We also saw a very weak ISM services number. Everything led investors to take profits before tomorrow's key unemployment data.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,437.64 -15.04 (-0.14%)
S&P 500 1,099.92 -9.32 (-0.84%)
Nasdaq 2,173.14 -11.89 (-0.54%)

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Key analyst upgrades

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Bank of America (BAC) to outperform from market perform to reflect its positive view of the company's $20.5M common equity raise and $45B TARP repayment. The firm believes the $20.5B capital raise is lower than some expected and that Bank of America could potentially announce a new CEO by year-end. FBR raised its price target on shares to $20 from $15.
• JPMorgan upgraded Kennametal (KMT) to overweight from neutral. The firm, which has a $30 target on the stock, cites the recent pullback in shares and believes increased industrial production in 2010 could be a positive catalyst for the company.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Ternium (TX) to outperform from neutral and raised its target to $40 from $31. The firm upgraded shares based on expectations for further improvements in profitability.
• G-III Apparel (GIII) was upgraded to overweight from market weight at Thomas Weisel.
• Cubist Pharma (CBST) was raised to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• AvalonBay (AVB) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded American Express (NYSE: AXP) to Buy from Hold and added the stock to its Top Picks Live list following the company's investor day. Citi believes American Express' credit trends are improving and raised its price target on shares to $36 from $28.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Gardner Denver (NYSE: GDI) to Buy from Neutral after meeting with management to reflect expectations for EPS growth in 2010 and valuation. The firm has a $38 target on the stock.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) to Buy from Underperform and raised its target to $87 from $49 based on strong copper fundamentals.
• Cbeyond (NASDAQ: CBEY) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
• Gibraltar Industries (NASDAQ: ROCK) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• Fortress (NYSE: FIG) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded WebMD (NASDAQ: WBMD) shares to Buy from Hold on valuation following the company's Q4 results and outlook. The firm maintains a $25 target on the stock.
  
• Goldman upgraded Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T (NYSE: T) to Buy from Neutral based on valuation and expectations for 2010 earnings growth.
• Roth upgraded Maxwell Tech (NASDAQ: MXWL) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q4 results to reflect strong ultracapacitor sales growth and gross margin improvement. The firm maintains a $12 target on the stock.
• Nara Bancorp (NASDAQ: NARA) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Friedman Billings.
• Cubic (NYSE: CUB) was upgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
  
• Terex (NYSE: TEX) was lifted to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: UCBH Holdings, National Atlantic Holdings and J Sainsbury were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Friedman Billings downgraded UCBH Holdings (NASDAQ: UCBH) to Market Perform from Outperform. The firm said the departure of auditor PWC could not have come at a worse time following the recent CFO replacement and the credit-quality-related adverse change to Q4 earnings in the 10-K.
  
• Citigroup cut National Atlantic Holdings (NASDAQ: NAHC) to Hold from Buy after the company announced plans to merger with a subsidiary of Palisades Safety and Insurance.
  
• Goldman removed J Sainsbury (OTC: JSAIY) from the Conviction Buy List on fears that stagflation could impact earnings.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Suntrust cut Goodrich Petroleum (NYSE: GDP) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Cubist Pharma (NASDAQ: CBST) was downgraded to Market Weight from Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
  
• ING lowered Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE: BBV) to Hold from Buy.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Kenneth Cole, Tempur Pedic, Biogen Idec, Cubist Pharma and ShoreTel were today's noteworthy initiations:

• B. Riley started shares of Kenneth Cole (NYSE: KCP) with a Neutral rating and $21 target, citing a lack of near-term catalysts and the challenging environment for footwear companies.
  
• William Blair resumed coverage of Tempur Pedic International (NYSE: TPX) with an Outperform rating, and finds the current valuation attractive for long-term investors.
  
• Banc of America assumed coverage of Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) with a Neutral rating and $79 target, as they see less than 50% probability of a sale at current prices and expect shares to trade back to pre-announcement levels in the mid-to-high $60s if no sale is made.
  
• Cubist Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CBST) was initiated with a Sector Performer rating at CIBC, citing competitive headwinds.
  
• ShoreTel (NASDAQ: SHOR) was initiated with a Neutral rating at Nollenberger on valuation.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• UBS initiated CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) with a Buy rating and Rite Aid (RAD) and Walgreen (WAG) with Neutral ratings.
  
• Caris initiated Starent Networks (NASDAQ: STAR) with an Average rating and $23 target.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: St. Jude Medical (STJ), Juniper Networks (JNPR), Satyam Computer (SAY), Clearwire (CLWR) and Citrix Systems (CTXS) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• St. Jude Medical's (NYSE: STJ) upgrade to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia was based on signs of an ICD recovery and reasonable valuation.

• Baird upgraded shares of Juniper (NASDAQ: JNPR) to Outperform from Neutral following better-than-expected guidance; Goldman upgraded Juniper to Buy from Neutral.

• Satyam (NYSE: SAY) was upgraded to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna citing better than expected growth.

• Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR) was upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns following the announcement that Sprint (S) and Clearwire will form a Nationwide 4G/Wimax Network.

• Citrix (NASDAQ: CTXS) was upgraded at Jefferies to Buy from Hold as they believe the strong customer response to Presentation Server Platinum Edition and the pipeline buildup related to NetScaler 8.0 bode well for the second half of 2007...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Lehman raised DSW Inc (NYSE: DSW) to Overweight from Equal-Weight.

• Goldman upgraded shares of Labor Ready (NYSE: LRW) to Neutral from Sell.

• Rodman upgraded shares of Encysive Pharma (NASDAQ: ENCY) to Market Perform from Underperform.

• Lazard upgraded Cubist Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CBST) to Neutral from Sell.

• Selective Insurance (NASDAQ: SIGI) was upgraded at Fox Pitt to In Line from Underperform.

• Raymond James upgraded Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) to Strong Buy from Market Perform.

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