Analyst Upgrades

• Red Hat (RHT) and American Public (APEI) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• KBR (KBR) and Foster Wheeler (FWLT) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Bio-Rad (BIO) to outperform from market perform at Leerink.
• Oceaneering (OII) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• ASM International (ASMI) and Avid Technology (AVID) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Dominion Resources (D) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Nationwide Health Properties (NHP) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Vivus (VVUS) to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Intersil (ISIL) to buy from hold at Canaccord.

Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) to Hold from Sell as it believes the company's second half of 2009 is tracking better than expected due to retailer restocking. Deutsche raised its target on shares to $33 from $15 but thinks Garmin's long-term trends remain unfavorable.
• Goldman upgraded Fortune Brands (NYSE: FO) to Buy from Neutral citing potential EPS improvement driven by the Home division. Fortune Brands price target to $49 from $45. Note that the firm downgraded General Mills to Neutral from Buy.
• Oppenheimer upgraded FPIC Insurance (NASDAQ: FPIC) to Outperform from Perform to reflect the company's acquisition of Advocate MD and management's commitment to share repurchases. The firm set a $49 price target on the stock.
• PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG) and Olin Corp. (NYSE: OLN) were upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
• Synovus (NYSE: SNV) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Take-Two (NASDAQ: TTWO) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded Agilent (NYSE:A) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $24 from $22. The firm expects Agilent's YoY order declines to bottom in 1H09 and for growth to return in 1Q10.
  
• Despite downgrading the Equity REIT industry to Underweight from Market Weight, Friedman Billings upgraded Home Properties (NYSE:HME) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect the company's exposure to Washington, D.C. The firm thinks Washington has the potential for stable demand fundamentals.
  
• Keefe Bruyette raised Education Realty (NYSE:EDR) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect the company's improved liquidity outlook.
• Cullen/Frost (NYSE:CFR) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
  
• Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.
  
• FPIC Insurance (NASDAQ:FPIC) was lifted at Piper Jaffray to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst downgrades:

• Credit Suisse downgraded Deutsche Telekom (NYSE:DT) to Neutral from Outperform and France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) to Underperform from Neutral in conjunction with cutting the European Telecommunications Services sector to Market Weight from Overweight.
  
• Goldman downgraded Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) to Sell from Neutral and added shares to its Conviction Sell List. The firm, which lowered its target to $11 from $30, said HOG shares do not fully reflect the impact from unprecedented headwinds in global luxury motorcycle demand and credit.
  
• Jefferies downgraded Precision Cast (NYSE:PCP) to Hold from Buy following the recent rally as they believe near-term EPS growth will be challenging. The firm lowered its target to $72 from $75.
• AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein.
• Tenneco (NYSE:TEN) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.
• Burlington Northern (NYSE:BNI) was lowered to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Friedman Billings downgraded the Equity REIT sector to Underweight from Market Weight.

Analyst initiations:

• Ladenburg initiated Pentair (NYSE:PNR) with a Buy rating and $32 target. The firm believes the company's cost reduction and growth strategies will limit earnings declines from weak end markets.
  
• Fiat (Other OTC:FIATY) was initiated with a Hold rating at ING Group.
  
• Raymond James resumed coverage of Tailsman Energy (NYSE:TLM) with a Market Perform rating.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The Cable and Satellite Pay TV industry and FPIC Insurance were today's noteworthy initiations:

• UBS assumed coverage of The DIRECTV Group Inc (NASDAQ: DTV) and Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) with Buy ratings and Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE: TWC), Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) and DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) with Neutral ratings.
• Suntrust is positive on FPIC Insurance Group Inc's (NASDAQ: FPIC) valuation and book value growth. The firm initiated shares with a Buy rating and $50 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Morgan Stanley started Citadel Broadcasting Corporation (NYSE: CDL) with an Equal Weight rating.
• UBS initiated Accuray Incorporated (NASDAQ: ARAY) with a Neutral rating and $11.50 target.
• Credit Suisse reinstated Ternium SA (NYSE: TX) with a Buy rating.