This post is part of Japan: A Special Report for Investors.

"Japan continues to reel from the aftershock of the magnitude 8.9 earthquake and subsequent tsunamis; among the hardest hit is the nuclear industry, which supplies 30 percent of the country's electricity" notes utility sector expert Roger Conrad.

The editor of The Utility Forecaster explains, "There's still a lot we don't know about the crisis. We've seen a massive selloff of in all things nuclear.In my view, this drop will be reversed as the situation calms down.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: RF Micro Devices, Western Digital and Boyd Gaming were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Jefferies downgraded shares of RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD) to Hold from Buy to reflect the continued softness in the China Market after Asian channel checks suggested the March quarter will be weak.
  
• Citigroup downgraded shares of Western Digital (NYSE: WDC) to Hold from Buy, as they believe the HDD industry is nearing a cyclical peak. They also view the likelihood of consolidation as less likely given the current conditions.
  
• Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD) was lowered to Neutral from Add at Calyon following its Q4 report.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• JP Morgan downgraded BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA), Lea Corporation (NYSE: LEA) and TRW Automotive Holdings (NYSE: TRW) to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• Merrill lowered Edison International (NYSE: EIX) to Neutral from Buy.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Vonage Holdings Corp (VG), General Maritime Corp (GMR), Newmont Mining Corp (NEM) and Edison International (EIX) were some of today's notable downgrades:

• Citigroup cut Vonage Holdings Corp (NYSE: VG) to Sell from Hold on patent litigation concerns as the firm believes the risk to profitability has increased.

• General Maritime Corp (NYSE: GMR) was downgraded to Sell from Hold on valuation with a $23 target.

• Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE: NEM) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at HSBC.

• Lehman downgraded shares of Edison International (NYSE: EIX) to Equal-Weight from Overweight on valuation.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Deutsche Bank cut Volvo (NASDAQ: VOLV) to Sell from Hold. Friedman, Billings, Ramsey downgraded shares of SafeNet, Inc (SFNT) based on the Vector acquisition.

• CIBC downgraded Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd (NYSE: AEM) to Sector Perform from Outperform on valuation as the firm expects an upcoming downward correction due to lower zinc prices.

• Ryan Beck cut Fulton Financial Corp (NASDAQ: FULT) to Market Perform from Outperform with a $16 target; SunTrust Robinson downgraded shares to Neutral from Buy due to the early payment defaults.

• Matrix cut Christopher & Banks Corp (NYSE: CBK) to Sell from Hold on valuation.

• Golden Star Resources Ltd (AMEX: GSS) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital.

• UBS cut Ingersoll-Rand Co Ltd (NYSE: IR) to Neutral from Buy with a $47 target.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Amgen, Inc (AMGN), Secure Computing Corp (SCUR), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Level 3 Communications (LVLT) were some of today's more notable downgrades:

• UBS downgraded shares of Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) to Reduce from Neutral as the firm believes most Medicare carriers will drop reimbursement for Aranesp in certain types of anemia due to safety concerns.

• Goldman Sachs cut Secure Computing Corp (NASDAQ: SCUR) to Sell from Neutral, citing valuation.

• Thomas Weisel believes Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) will have a difficult time regaining lost channel share from Intel (INTC) without additional price cuts, downgrading shares to Market Weight to Overweight.

• Buckingham cut Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ: LVLT) to Accumulate from Strong Buy on valuation.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Edison International (NYSE: EIX) to Hold from Buy.

• Wachovia downgraded shares of Countrywide Financial Corp (NYSE: CFC) to Underperform from Market Perform on concerns that subprime weakness has spread to other sectors of the residential mortgage market.

• Ferris Baker Watts downgraded shares of Comstock Homebuilding (NASDAQ: CHCI) to Hold from Buy to reflect the uncertainty regarding the company's lender relationships and homebuilding market outlook.

• Citigroup downgraded shares of StanCorp Financial Group (NYSE: SFG) to Hold from Buy on valuation and recommends swapping money into Assurant, Inc (AIZ).

• JP Morgan cut AngloGold Ashanti Ltd (NYSE: AU) to Underweight from Neutral.

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