Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP) to buy from hold and raised its price target for shares to $40 from $28 following the company's acquisition of Qualitest. The firm believes the deal makes financial and strategic sense. Shares were also upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer with a $40 price target following the company's acquisition of Qualitest. The firm views the deal as potentially transformative for Endo.
• Goldman upgraded Carnival (CCL) to buy from neutral, citing low supply growth and cost-cutting measures. The firm also raised its price target to $44 from $36.
• Needham upgraded Jabil Circuit (JBL) to strong buy from buy with a $23 target.
• Siliconware Precision (SPIL), United Microelectronic (UMC) and Advanced Semiconductor (ASX) were upgraded to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Check Point (CHKP) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Raymond James (RJF) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Ticonderoga.

Analyst Upgrades

• Piper Jaffray upgraded Edwards Lifesciences (EW) to overweight from neutral and raised its target price for shares to $77 from $53 after The New England Journal of Medicine reported the company's PARTNER Trial met primary endpoints.
• UBS upgraded Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP) to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $36 from $25. UBS is positive on Endo's creative strategic deals and believes the switch to Opana TRF from Opana ER will be easy. Additionally, the analyst believes pipeline expectations are very low.
• BMO Capital upgraded Nvidia (NVDA) to outperform from market perform based on expectations that share loss in the core GPU business will stop, Tegra momentum and valuation. The firm raised its price target to $16 from $9.
• FirstEnergy (FE) and Allegheny Energy (AYE) were upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Mylan (MYL) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman. Warner
• Chilcott (WCRX) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Boston Properties (BXP) and BioMed Realty Trust (BMR) to outperform from market perform after introducing 2011-2012 estimates for the sector. The firm raised its target on Boston Properties to $74.50 from $70 and on BioMed Realty to $17 from $15.50.
• Citigroup upgraded Sysco (SYY) to buy from hold after its channel checks indicated the company's trends are gradually improving. The firm raised its target on shares to $34 from $28.
• Stephens upgraded Smithfield Foods (SFD) to overweight from equal weight on expectations the company's hog production profitability will improve. The firm raised its target price on shares to $20 from $16.
• Nokia (NOK) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at BMO Capital.
• Suntech (STP) was upgraded to market weight from underweight at Thomas Weisel.
• Forest Oil (FST) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded Reynolds American (RAI) to buy from hold to reflect its improved outlook for the company's market share and pricing. Citi also sees a greater chance of British American Tobacco (BTI) bidding for the rest of Reynolds American it doesn't already own. The firm raised its target price on Reynolds to $59 from $52.
• Stephens upgraded Simmons First National (SFNC) to overweight from equal weight to reflect the company's balance sheet and potential for accretive FDIC-assisted acquisitions. The firm raised its target on shares to $32 from $29.
• FBR Capital upgraded Astoria Financial (AF) to market perform from underperform on expectations the company's net charge-offs will peak in the fourth quarter, limiting downside risk. The firm raised its target on shares to $11 from $10.
• First Solar (FSLR) was upgraded to buy from hold at Collins Stewart.
• Brown-Forman (BF.B) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• Juniper (JNPR) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.

Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $265 from $170, citing higher iPhone expectations, new partnerships, and likely upward revisions to Street estimates driven by gross margins.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm views a possible deal between end General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal positively, as it thinks NBC will provide higher-margin growth for Comcast.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Michael Baker (AMEX: BKR) to Buy from Neutral after the company completed the sale of its Energy business. The firm raised its target on shares to $46 from $40.
• Jefferies assumed coverage of Endo Pharma (NASDAQ: ENDP) and upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold. The firm cites valuation, a strong base business, and solid cash flow for the upgrade, and has a $30 target price on shares.
• Marten Transport (NASDAQ: MRTN) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
• U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Allergan (NYSE: AGN) to Buy from Hold to reflect increased estimates for Botox and its belief Latisse guidance looks conservative. The firm raised its target on shares to $57 from $45.
  
• Jefferies upgraded Texas Instruments (TXN) to Hold from Underperform after channel checks indicated business is strengthening. Jefferies believes Texas Instruments' September quarter guidance will come in better than expected and raised its target on shares to 23 from $16.
  
• FBR Capital upgraded Peabody Energy (BTU) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect "strong" long-term steel and steam demand trends from China and India. The firm raised its target on shares to $44 from $36.
  
• Elan Corp (ELN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  
• Affymetrix (AFFX) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
  
• ASML Holding (ASML) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) Q1 profit fell despite strong sales of Plavix and Abilify.
• Check Point Software Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: CHKP) was downgraded based on its guidance.
• Domino's Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) strong Q1 results were boosted by early debt retirement.
• DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) strong Q1 results were driven by Madagascar 2.
• Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ENDP) Q1 results led to an analyst's downgrade.
• E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) widened its Q1 loss, sending shares sharply lower.

Analyst upgrades:

• Stephens upgraded Arris (NASDAQ: ARRS) to Overweight from Equal Weight following the company's Q1 results and raised its target on shares to $15 from $8.
  
• Goldman upgraded Goodyear Tire (NYSE: GT) to Neutral from Sell and raised their target to $11 from $7 citing better earnings prospects and stabilizing volumes.
  
• KeyBanc upgraded Parkway Properties (NYSE: PKY) to Hold from Underweight citing the company's improved balance sheet and valuation.
• Digital River (NASDAQ: DRIV) was raised to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
  
• Barclays (NYSE: BCS) was raised to Buy from Sell at Royal Bank of Scotland.
  
• First Potomac (NYSE: FPO) was upgraded at RBC Capital to Sector Perform from Underperform.

Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded OceanFreight (NASDAQ:OCNF) to Perform from Underperform on valuation and a lack of negative catalysts following the recent weakness.
  
• UBS raised Micron (NYSE:MU) to Buy from Neutral citing supply cuts which should improve prices. The target remains $5.
  
• Jesup & Lamont upgraded Atlas Air (NASDAQ:AAWW) to Buy from Hold is positive on the company's 20 year blocked space agreement with DHL and expects the stock to continue higher.
• AK Steel (NYSE:AKS) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List and upgraded to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Goldman also upgraded Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Digital River (NASDAQ:DRIV) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Stanford.

Analyst downgrades:

• Stephens downgraded shares of Titan Machinery (NASDAQ:TITN) after their survey of farmers indicated declining sales of agricultural equipment. The firm lowered their target to $19 but believes Titan Machinery's long-term growth story remains intact.
  
• Jefferies downgraded Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) and Blyth (NYSE:BTH) to Underperform from Hold as they believe the further deterioration in the U.S. consumer macro environment could pressure near-term results. The firm lowered its target on Helen of Troy to $13 from $16.50 and on Blyth to $5.50 from $8.
  
• UBS cut Indevus (NASDAQ:IDEV) to Neutral from Buy and lowered its target to $5.50 from $5 following the acquisition offer by Endo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENDP).
• AECOM Tech (NYSE:ACM) was lowered to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
  
• Amerisafe (NYSE:AMSF) was downgraded at Oppenheimer to Perform from Outperform.
  
• Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Piper Jaffray.

Analyst initiations:

• KeyBanc initiated Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) with a Buy rating and $22 target. The firm believes the Urban Outfitters and Antropologie divisions are under penetrated and have visible growth.
  
• Kaufman Bros. started SuccessFactors (NASDAQ:SFSF) with a Hold rating and $7 target and believes the current demand backdrop could be worse than reflected in current consensus estimates.
  
• CarMax (NASDAQ:KMX) was initiated at Baird with a Neutral rating and $10 target. The firm is impressed with CarMax's business model but does not see a way around the near-term economic headwinds.
• Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) and Sunlife Financial (NYSE:SLF) were assumed with Equal Weight ratings at Morgan Stanley.
  
• Oppenheimer started Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ:PSUN) with a Perform rating.
  
• Kite Realty Trust (NYSE:KRG) was initiated with a Buy rating at Janney Montgomery.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: NutriSystem, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Corporate Express NV, Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings and BioFuel Energy were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• NutriSystem (NASDAQ: NTRI) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Lazard and to Buy from Strong Buy at Broadpoint following its lowered Q3 guidance.
  
• Jefferies downgraded shares of Endo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ENDP) to Hold from Buy after Impax Laboratories (NASDAQ: IPXL) filed a Paragraph IV challenge against Opana ER yesterday to reflect the potential for a generic version of Opana ER arriving as early as 2010 and the possibility of a similar threat against Lidoderm.
  
• Corporate Express (NYSE: CXP) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at ING, as they believe the new CEO's long-term targets are overly ambitious.
  
• JP Morgan downgraded Aventine Renewable (NYSE: AVR) and BioFuel Energy (NASDAQ: BIOF) to Neutral from Overweight, citing weaker fundamentals in ethanol pricing.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• JP Morgan downgraded Charlotte Russe (NASDAQ: CHIC) and The Wet Seal (NASDAQ: WTSLA) to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• Goldman downgraded Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ: MPWR) and Hansen Natural (NASDAQ: HANS) to Neutral from Buy; Goldman removed National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM) from its Conviction Buy List.

Monday August 13

• Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 9:45am.
• PDUFA date for Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc's (NASDAQ: IDEV) Sanctura XR, an overactive bladder drug.

Tuesday August 14

• The Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 9am. Home Depot is expected to post substantial Q2 revenue/EPS declines, but equally important will be the company's comments: with the housing sector expected to remain sluggish through at least late 2007, analysts will evaluate whether HD can overcome that headwind with a new focus on customer service, demographic trends that suggest increased home repair/remodeling, and 20-year high homeownership rates that suggest steady house goods demand.
• District Court California: Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) to request an injunction related to Qualcom Incorporated's (Nasdaq: QCOM) infringement of 3 Broadcom cellular baseband patents.

Wednesday August 15

• Macy's Inc (NYSE: M) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 10:30am.
• PDUFA date for GPC Biotech's (NASDAQ: GPCB) Satraplatin for treatment of hormone refractory prostate cancer.

Thursday August 16

• JC Penney Co Inc (NYSE: JCP) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 9:30am.
• Hewlett Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 5pm. Analysts will evaluate HPQ's ability to maintain momentum in its innovative imaging/printing group, which is expected to help HPQ post solid Q3 revenue gains.

Friday August 17

• Quantum Corporation (NYSE: QTM) to hold annual shareholder meeting at 12pm.
• PDUFA Date for Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc's (NASDAQ: ENDP) and Vernalis PLC's (OTC: VNLSY) Frova, for menstrually-related migraine headaches.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Dendreon Corp (DNDN), Cubic Corp (CUB), Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDO), Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) were today's notable downgrades:

• JMP Securities downgraded shares of Dendreon Corp (NASDAQ: DNDN) to Market Underperform from Market Perform based on the company's uncertain product pipeline and the recent SEC filing that revealed that certain officers and directors are facing potential shareholder lawsuits regarding trading activities.
  

• Friedman Billings cut Cubic Corp (AMEX: CUB) to Underperform from Market Perform on valuation.

• RBC Capital downgraded Endo Pharmaceuticals (OTCBB: ENDP) to Sector Perform from Outperform following the company's withdrawal of guidance pertaining to its NDA for the Ketoprofen patch.

• Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) was cut to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan on valuation. UBS cut Royal Dutch Shell to Neutral from Buy on valuation...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Robinson Humphries downgraded Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) to Neutral from Buy.

• Montgomery downgraded shares of Taleo Corp (NASDAQ: TLEO) to Hold from Buy.

• Credit Suisse downgraded AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) to Neutral from Outperform.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc (ENDP) and Coldwater Creek (CWTR) were today's most notable initiations:

• First Albany initiated Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: ENDP) with a Strong Buy rating and $41.25 target; the firm believes the company's strong balance sheet can be used to strengthen the pipeline through the acquisition of product rights or companies.

• Thomas Weisel started Coldwater Creek Inc (NASDQ: CWTR) with an Underperform rating based on the fourth-quarter miss, and believes appreciation could be limited here.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Yamana Gold Inc (NYSE: AUY) was initiated with a Sector Performer rating and $20 target at CIBC, explaining that Yamana's production profile is expected to expand by 150% in the next two years, making it one of the fastest-growing gold companies in North America.

• Oppenheimer considers PF Chang's China Bistro's (NASDAQ: PFCB) valuation attractive and started the restaurant chain with a Buy rating and $53 target.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Armor Holdings and Cheesecake Factory were the most notable upgrades this morning.

• Lehman Brothers upgraded Armor Holdings (NYSE: AH) to Overweight from Equal Weight, following details of the President's $100B 2007 defense budget supplemental.

• Raymond James upgraded Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE) to Outperform from Market Perform following the company's better than expected forth quarter comps and revenues.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Shares of Novel Inc (NASDAQ: NOVL) were upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform by JMP Securities; the firm said Novell's release of Open Enterprise Server 2 may help stop declines in the combined Netware/OES product lines.

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Endo Pharmaceuticals Hlds (NASDAQ: ENDP) to Buy from Hold, with a $35 target, to reflect improving Opana prescriptions and the resolution of the Penwest dispute, which the broker believes removes uncertainty and adds earnings visibility.

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