Analyst Upgrades

• Credit Suisse views Bank of America (BAC) as the "cheapest" large-cap bank and said the recent TARP repayment removes a significant overhang. The firm upgraded shares to outperform from neutral and raised its target to $21 from $17.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) to neutral from underweight following the company's better-than-expected Q3 results. The firm has a $43 price target on the stock.
• Caris upgraded Zumiez (ZUMZ) to above average from average following the company's better-than-expected December sales report. The firm raised its target on shares to $17 from $14.
• Humana (HUM) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.
• Zimmer (ZMH) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Applied Industrial (AIT) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Syneron Medical, Cellcom Israel, GATX Corp and TNS, Inc were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Merriman upgraded shares of Syneron Medical (NASDAQ:ELOS) to Buy from Neutral following the Q1 results to reflect the introduction of LipoLite and the company's global distribution channel. They believe shares can trade towards the $22-$26 level.
  
• Jefferies upgraded Cellcom Israel (NYSE:CEL) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q1 results to reflect its improved EBITDA outlook.
  
• Morgan Keegan upgraded GATX (NYSE:GMT) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company has increased opportunities to deploy capital given the current state of the market for railcars, which should result in share outperformance.
  
• Suntrust raised TNS, Inc (NYSE:TNS) to Buy from Neutral citing improved execution and the global shift towards electronic transactions.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Chevron (NYSE:CVX) was raised at UBS to Buy from Neutral.
  
• RBC Capital upgraded TeleTech Holdings (NASDAQ:TTEC) to Sector Perform from Underperform.
  
• Citigroup upgraded SINA Corp (NASDAQ:SINA) to Buy from Hold.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: HSBC Holdings, AstraZeneca, Syneron Medical, Talbots, BankUnited and First Fed Financial were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• UBS downgraded shares of HSBC Holdings(NYSE: HBC) to Neutral from Buy on valuation, rising customer defaults and slower growth at the company's the U.S. consumer-finance unit.
  
• UBS also downgraded AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) to Sell from Neutral, as they believe the company faces major risks from drug approvals, competition and lawsuits.
  
• Merriman downgraded shares of Syneron Medical (NASDAQ: ELOS) to Neutral from Buy following the company's Q3 earnings preannouncement due to near-term margin erosion and growth drivers that remain four quarters away.
  
• CIBC downgraded shares of Talbots (NYSE: TLB) to Sector Performer from Outperformer as they believe 2H07 expectations are too high given the current weakness in the Missy space.
  
• Friedman Billings downgraded BankUnited (NASDAQ: BKUNA) to Market Perform from Outperform and FirstFed Financial (NYSE: FED) to Underperform from Market Perform based on credit trends that are eroding faster than anticipated.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Merrill downgraded JMP Group (NYSE: JMP) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Baird downgraded Cabela's (NYSE: CAB) to Neutral from Outperform.
  
• Societe Generale downgraded Business Objects (NASDAQ: BOBJ) to Hold from Buy.

Jim Cramer on tonight's Mad Money was discussing a stock that was taken off the table after it ran huge. Cramer thinks that Syneron Medical Ltd. (NASDAQ:ELOS) really has the laser we're all looking for. He said he swapped out of it before in favor of Palomar Medical Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PMTI), but since it fell from $40 to under $25 it is cheap. There is a catalyst coming next month that could reverse the stock drop after two bad earnings misses from higher expenses. ELOS rolls out a dental laser next month that isn't just cosmetic. This one does the same thing as drilling teeth and there are 200,000 dentists versus 18,000 dermatologists.

ELOS was up a mysterious 6.8% today to $25.70 on 4-times normal volume. Did one of Cramer's cronies doll out a stock tip into people's Christmas stockings or in place of Hanukkah dradles today? This stock is up another 4.4% in after-Cramer hours.

Cramer said rumors were out there today that the company would be acquired by Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN), so that is his explanation for the run today. He thinks the buyer could be anyone since the company has only a $700M market cap. He thinks the worst is over. He nailed it once and said to take profits, but now he wants you back into ELOS.