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: VMware (VMW), Bed, Bath & Beyond (BBBY), Williams-Sonoma (WSM), Landstar System (LSTR) and Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) were the noteworthy initiations:

• Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on VMware (NYSE: VMW) with a Neutral rating citing valuation.

• Citigroup started Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) with a Hold rating, and cited the increasing competitive environment, slowing square footage growth and the weak housing market.

• Citigroup started Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) with a Sell rating and said the company has an inventory glut that could lead to markdown risk, there is raw material price inflation, and the weak housing market remains a material risk.

• Wachovia is cautious on Landstar System's (NASDAQ: LSTR) near-term growth rates and difficult end markets, starting shares with a Market Perform rating.

• Deutsche is positive on the potential of Acadia Pharmaceutical's (NASDAQ: ACAD) ACP-103 in schizophrenia, starting shares with a Buy rating...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Cowen initiated Theravance (NASDAQ: THRX) with an Outperform rating and Cubist Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CBST) with a Neutral rating.

• Raymond James initiated Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) with an Outperform and resumed coverage of McAfee (NYSE: MFE) with an Outperform rating.

• Goldman reinstated Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) with a Neutral rating.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Sepracor (SEPR) and Salesforce.com (CRM) top today's slender upgrade list.

Sepracor was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stanford Capital on the belief that the company could be acquired in the next 6-12 months, highlighting Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Schering-Plough (SGP) as potential bidders.

Pacific Growth Equities upgraded Salesforce.com to Buy from Neutral, citing checks that suggested a strong Q3 due to enterprise sales and continued momentum.

OTHER UPGRADES:

Robert W. Baird upgraded Cubist Pharmaceuticals (CBST) to Outperform from Neutral based on the recent sell-off in shares.

Borg Warner (BWA) was upgraded by KeyBanc/McDonald to Buy from Hold based on lowered Street expectations and sales backlog.

J.P. Morgan upgraded SpectraLink (SLNK) to Overweight from Neutral, citing the current turnaround, which is not reflected in its current share price.

Upgrade summaries provided courtesy of TheFlyOnTheWall.com.