Analyst upgrades:

• JPMorgan upgraded Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) to Overweight from Underweight to reflect performance and sales improvements, as well as benefits from the weakening U.S. dollar. The firm has a $94 target on the stock.
• Oppenheimer upgraded FormFactor (NASDAQ: FORM) to Outperform from Perform after channel checks indicated orders are recovering. The firm raised its target on shares to $30 from $22.
• KeyBanc upgraded Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK) to Buy from Hold citing the company's MRAP-ATV contract win, which they view as a "game changer." The firm has a $30 target on the stock.
• Novellus (NASDAQ: NVLS) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
• Ternium (NYSE: TX) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Cathay General (NASDAQ: CATY) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at B. Riley.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Glu Mobile, American International and Federated Investors were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded Glu Mobile (NASDAQ: GLUU) shares to Sell from Hold after channel checks indicated that licensing costs are rising sharply for the mobile rights to popular content.
  
• Morgan Stanley cut American International (NYSE: AIG) to Equal Weight from Overweight citing expectations for larger than expected CDS losses vs. management's forecast.
  
• UBS downgraded Federated Investors (NYSE: FII) to Neutral from Buy citing reduced attractiveness for money markets given yield.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Virgin Mobile (NYSE: VM) was downgraded to Market Weight from Overweight at Thomas Weisel and to Sell from Neutral at Merrill.
  
• Oppenheimer cut ORBComm (NASDAQ: ORBC) to Perform from Outperform.
• PNC Financial (NYSE: PNC) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Chico's FAS (CHS), MetroPCS (PCS), Federated Investors (FII) and Tibco (TIBX) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Roth Capital believes Chico's FAS (NYSE: CHS) growth will be back on track given the changes within the merchandise organization and recent infrastructure investments, and initiated shares with a Buy rating and $24 target.

• Pacific Crest believes MetroPCS's (NYSE: PCS) low-cost business model creates opportunities and that its large market focus should drive outperformance, and initiated shares with an Outperform rating.

• JMP Securities believes near-term upside in Federated Investors (NYSE: FII) could be seen with hurricane season and resumed coverage of Federated Investors with an Overweight rating and $178 target.
  

• Pacific Crest believes 2007 is a transition year for Tibco (NASDAQ: TIBX) and started shares with a Sector Perform rating...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• BWS Financial initiated Rentrak (NASDAQ: RENT) with a Buy rating and $20 target.

• HSBC started Lukoil (OTC: LUKOY) with an Overweight rating.

• Pacific Crest started shares of On Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN) with an Outperform rating and $16 target.

• BMO Capital initiated Ares Capital (NASDAQ: ARCC) with an Outperform rating and $18 target.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Genesit Energy LP (GEL), EnerNoc (ENOC) and Comcast (CMCSA) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Genesis Energy (AMEX: GEL) was initiated with a Buy rating and $40 target at Stanford, as the firm believes the company's affiliation with Denbury Resources and pending acquisition of petroleum products, terminals, and transportation businesses from the Davison family will drive rapid growth.

• EnerNoc Inc (NASDAQ: ENOC) was initiated with a Hold rating and $42 target at Jefferies, due to valuation. EnerNoc was also initiated at Morgan Stanley with an Equal Weight rating and $40 target.

• Stifel expects Comcast (OTC: CMCSA) to benefit from higher penetration levels of DVR and HDTV set-top boxes over the next several years and initiated shares with a Buy rating and $34 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Select asset managers were initiated at Credit Suisse:

• AllianceBernstein (NYSE: AB), Affiliated Managers (NYSE: AMG), Fortress Investment (NYSE: FIG), Invesco (NYSE: IVZ), Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) and T Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW) were initiated with Outperform ratings.

• Blackrock (NYSE: BLK), Calamos Asset Mgmt (NADAQ: CLMS), Eaton Vance Corp (NYSE: EV), Federated Investors (NYSE: FII), Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS), Legg Mason Inc (NYSE: LM) and Waddell & Reed (NYSE: WDR) were initiated with Neutral ratings.

• Deutsche Bank initiated Ryland Group (NYSE: RYL) with a Buy rating and $52 target, as well as Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) and Meritage Homes Corp (NYSE: MTH) with Hold ratings and a $23 target and $29 target, respectively.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Websense Inc (WBSN), Dow Jones & Co, Inc (DJ), Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD), US Airways Group, Inc (LLC), Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc (HOT) were today's more noteworthy downgrades:

• Jefferies downgraded Websense Inc (NASDAQ: WBSN) to Underperform from Hold with a $20 target to reflect slowing growth in the URL market, near-term business disruption from the pending SRF deal and summer software seasonality.

• Dow Jones & Co (NYSE: DJ) was cut to Hold from Buy at Gabelli and to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.

• Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Prudential.

• Merrill Lynch downgraded US Airways Group (NYSE: LCC) to Neutral from Buy.

• Goldman downgraded Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT) to Neutral from Buy to reflect the weaker-than-expected quarterly fundamentals reported by the major hotel companies. The firm believes investors should stay away from the lodging sector...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• JP Morgan cut Federated Investors, Inc (NYSE: FII) to Underweight from Neutral on valuation.

• Genesco Inc (NYSE: GCO) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Piper Jaffray.

• UBS cut Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ) to Neutral from Buy.

• Tibco Software Inc (NASDAQ: TIBX) was cut to Hold from Buy at Jefferies.

• Baird downgraded Watts Water Technologies, Inc (NYSE: WTS) to Underperform from Neutral.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Amazon.com, Inc (AMZN), WellCare Health Plans, Inc (WCG) and agricultural chemical stocks were today's more noteworthy downgrades:

• BWS Financial downgraded Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Hold from Buy citing valuation.

• Jefferies cut WellCare Health Plans Inc (NYSE: WCG) to Underperform from Hold and lowered their target to $69 from $80 as the firm believes higher-than-expected medical costs in Georgia will put significant pressure on earnings.

• Citigroup downgraded Agrium Inc (NYSE: AGU), CF Industries Holdings, Inc (NYSE: CF), Potash Corp (NYSE: POT) and Terra Industries Inc (NYSE: TRA) to Hold from Buy given the year-to-date share appreciation, as their analysis suggests near-term positive earnings revisions are near a peak and should slow going forward. Citigroup remains positive on the fertilizer industry over the long-term.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Keefe Bruyette downgraded Federated Investors, Inc (NYSE: FII) to Market Perform from Outperform citing the potential impact from Bank of New York Co (BK)/ Mellon Financial Corp (MEL) transactions.

• Jefferies cut Amerigroup Corp (NYSE: AGP) to Underperform from Hold with a $25 target.

• Stephens downgraded Pacer International, Inc (NASDAQ: PACR) to Equal Weight from Overweight.

• Atlantic Equities downgraded Adobe Systems Inc (NASDAQ: ADBE) to Neutral from Overweight.

• Harman International Industries Inc (NYSE: HAR) was taken down to Hold from Buy at Gabelli.

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