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:

• Merriman upgraded Taser (NASDAQ: TASR) to Buy from Neutral as it believes current valuation levels do not reflect the company's market opportunities and that the law enforcement funding in President Obama's stimulus plan will boost sales in Q4 and FY10.
  
• Goldman upgraded Macy's (NYSE: M) to Buy from Neutral and added shares to its Conviction Buy List based on reduced balance sheet concerns and improved risk/reward. The firm also raised their target to $8.25 from $8.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO) to Neutral from Underweight and raised its target to $29 from $19 following the better-than-expected Q2 report. The analyst continues to prefer Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT).
• Goldman removed Universal Am (NYSE: UAM) from the Conviction Sell List.
  
• McDermott (NYSE: MDR) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
  
• Canadian Natural (NYSE: CNQ) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says they're too important to just let them go.

You never want to buck the financials. I have said over and over again that the group is too important to make let go. Can we really envision a world without Citigroup (NYSE: C) (Cramer's Take) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) (Cramer's Take) common stock? Can we envision a world where PNC (NYSE: PNC) (Cramer's Take) and Bank of New York (NYSE: BK) (Cramer's Take) and State Street (NYSE: STT) (Cramer's Take) are no more? A world where Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) (Cramer's Take) and JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) (Cramer's Take) don't make it?

It's funny when you put it that way, because we know that if those stocks weren't in the S&P 500, if we just took them out, we would be feeling like we should be buying, buying, and buying judging from the very nice pullbacks we have had to above the lows of October and November now that we are oversold.

Tons of charts, from Forest Labs (NYSE: FRX) (Cramer's Take) to AT&T (NYSE: T) (Cramer's Take), from Disney (NYSE: DIS) (Cramer's Take) to Eaton (NYSE: ETN) (Cramer's Take), all sorts of charts from all sorts of industries, charts like Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) (Cramer's Take) and BP (NYSE: BP) (Cramer's Take) and Nucor (NYSE: NUE) (Cramer's Take), if they hold here, will embolden people to come in. As will IBM (NYSE: IBM) (Cramer's Take) on Wednesday.

Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Shanda Interactive (NASDAQ: SNDA) to Outperform from Perform following the company's better-than-expected quarter to reflect its growth acceleration in the casual games platform and margin improvements.
  
• SAIC (NYSE: SAI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform following the solid Q2 report and guidance.
  
• Susquehanna upgraded Zumiez (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) to Positive from Neutral citing positive August comps, revised merchandising, easier comps, and solid financial position.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Pharm Product Development (NASDAQ: PPDI) and Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Novellus (NASDAQ: NVLS) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst downgrades:

• Morgan Stanley downgraded the Semiconductor Capital Equipment sector to In-Line from Attractive citing optimistic expectations for Q4 orders following the recent bounce in stocks. The firm downgraded Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) to Underweight from Overweight and KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) KLAC to Equal Weight from Overweight.

Forest Laboratories (NYSE: FRX) develops branded and generic drug products, as well as non-prescription pharmaceuticals. Offerings include Lexapro, for the treatment of depression, Namenda for Alzheimer's disease, Benicar for hypertension, and Campral for the maintenance of alcohol abstinence. Other products include treatments for diaper rash, colic, cystic fibrosis, hypertension, eczema and psoriasis. The company is working in collaboration with other firms to develop treatments for asthma, schizophrenia, chronic pain and anxiety. Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) are major competitors.

Forest Labs pleased investors last week when it reported Q3 EPS of 96 cents and revenues of $998.2 million. Analysts had been looking for 75 cents and $946.6 million. Management also guided FY08 EPS to $3.35-$3.45, above prior guidance of $3.10-$3.20 and Street consensus of $3.06. The CEO noted that the company expects to report clinical trial results for several late-stage products during the remainder of the calendar year. Lehman Brothers, Roth Capital and AmTech Research subsequently reiterated "buy" ratings on the stock. Raymond James initiated the shares with a "strong buy." The shares popped into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern on the news. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Altogether, brokers now recommend the issue with eleven "strong buys," ten "buys," twelve "holds" and one "sell." The stock's Price Book ratio (3.90), EPS Growth rate (23.35%), Operating Margin (22.46%) and Net Profit Margin (14.94%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 95% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 500 Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $34.89 and $57.97. A stop-loss of $33.95 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com. He does not hold positions in any of the stocks mentioned above.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Och-Ziff Capital, FactSet, Forest Labs and certain optical component maker and provider stocks were today's noteworthy initiations.

• Och Ziff Capital Management Group (NYSE: OZM) was initiated with an Overweight by JP Morgan, which believes the company should be able to better sustain and build its earnings power than traditional asset managers in the challenging market conditions.
  
• JP Morgan started FactSet Research Systems (NYSE: FDS) with a Neutral, as the firm is looking for a better entry point given the probability of an upcoming financial data and analytics spending slowdown.
  
• Forest Labs Inc. (NYSE: FRX) was initiated with a Buy by Roth Capital, which cited Lexapro and the company's near-term EPS as reasons for the rating.
  
• Thomas Weisel initiated optical component maker and provider companies Avanex Corp. (NASDAQ: AVNX), Bookham Inc. (NASDAQ: BKHM), Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR), Optium Corp. (NASDAQ: OPTM), Opnext Inc. (NASDAQ: OPXT), and Oplink Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: OPLK) with Market Weight ratings, as the firm expects the unfavorable industry structure to create margin volatility.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• JP Morgan assumed coverage of American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) with an Overweight rating.
• Morgan Stanley initiated Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ: EGLE) with an Equal Weight.

Mylan Lab (NYSE: MYL), a leading pharmaceutical company, closed at $13.53. Goldman Sachs says, "Upgrading to Buy with $19 price target, we see a bottom in shares." MYL overall option implied volatility of 46 is above its 26-week average of 39 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Forest Labs (NYSE: FRX), a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company, closed at $36.71. Cowen says "current pipeline is more valuable than generally perceived, and we believe FRX shares can outperform the market by 15-20% as pipeline viability improves." FRX overall option implied volatility of 44 is above its 26-week average of 37 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Daily Options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Monday October 29

• VNUS Medical Technologies (NASDAQ: VNUS) patent infringement lawsuit against Angiodynamics (NASDAQ: ANGO), Diomed Holdings (AMEX: DIO), Vascular Solutions (NASDAQ: VASC) begins.
• Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.

Tuesday October 30

• Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 8am.
• MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 11am.
• U.S. Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 2pm.

Wednesday October 31

• Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 8am.
• Smith Micro Software (NASDAQ: SMSI) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 2pm.

Thursday November 1

• PDUFA date for Forest Laboratories (NYSE: FRX) and Mylan Laboratories' (NYSE: MYL) Nebivolol for hypertension.
• Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) to report October sales at 1pm.
• General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) to report October sales at 2pm.

Friday November 2

• PDUFA Date for Sciele Pharma's (NASDAQ: SCRX) Sular formulation
• PDUFA Date for GlaxoSmithKline's (NYSE: GSK) Variza for major depression disorder

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Banco Santander, Acorda Therapeutics, Agruim, Annaly Capital and ImmunoGen were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• UBS upgraded shares of Banco Santander (NYSE: STD) to Buy from Neutral as they expect the acquisition of ABN Amro Holding NV (NYSE: ABN) assets in Brazil and Italy to boost earnings in 2008 and 2009.
  
• Friedman Billings added Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ACOR) to its Top Picks List, as they have confidence in fampridine-SR's safety profile.
  
• Agrium (NYSE: AGU) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC on valuation, as they believe the outlook for wholesale and retail is robust with all three nutrients at historical high levels.
• Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS, citing likely further FED cuts, benefits from recent secondary, and BVPS growth.
  
• RBC Capital upgraded shares of ImmunoGen (NASDAQ: IMGN) to Outperform from Sector Perform based on valuation, growing pipeline, valuable technology platform, and potential as an acquisition candidate.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Soleil upgraded ExpressJet Holdings (NYSE: XJT) to Hold from Sell.
  
• Goldman upgraded Assurant (NYSE: AIZ) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Merill upgraded Forest Labs (NYSE: FRX) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Domtar (NYSE: UFS) to Buy from Hold.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: UBS AG, ProLogis, AMB Property, Navteq and PDL BioPharma were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of UBS (NYSE: UBS) to Neutral from Underweight as they believe the company can start fresh after yesterday's pre-announcement.
  
• Banc of America upgraded shares of ProLogis (NYSE: PLD) and AMB Property (NYSE: AMB) to Buy from Neutral to reflect their positive outlook on global industrial REITs and believes they are positioned to benefit from global demand for industrial space.
  
• Navteq Corporation (NYSE: NVT) was upgraded at Deutsche Bank to Hold from Sell to reflect the acquisition by Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK).
  
• Wachovia raised shares of PDL BioPharma Inc (NASDAQ: PDLI) to Outperform from Market Perform following the CEO resignation and potential sale of the company.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Thor Industries (NYSE: THO) was upgraded to Buy from Gradually Accumulate at Soleil.
  
• Gabelli upgraded Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) to Hold from Sell.
  
• Forest Laboratories (NYSE: FRX) was upgraded at Citigroup to Hold from Sell.
  
• Roth Capital upgraded Conexant Systems (NASDAQ: CNXT) to Hold from Sell.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Refiners, MasTec, Cognos, Forest Labs and Reuters Group were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Bernstein upgraded shares of Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO), Tesoro Corporation (NYSE: TSO), Sunoco Incorporated (NYSE: SUN) and Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) to Market Perform from Underperform.
• MasTec Incorporated (NYSE: MTZ) was upgraded to Buy from Accumulate at Think Equity and to Buy from Hold at SMH Capital on valuation following yesterday's sell-off.
• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Cognos Incorporated (NASDAQ: COGN) to Overweight from Neutral citing solid end demand, expanded sales capacity, indications that C8 adoption should see an uptick, and the Applix Inc (NASDAQ: APLX) acquisition.
• Forest Laboratories Inc (NYSE: FRX) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies, as the firm believes Forest's victory in the Lexapro patent case eliminates a major overhang and returns the focus to the company's pipeline.
• Lehman upgraded shares of Reuters Group (NASDAQ: RTRSY) to Overweight from Equal Weight to reflect benefits from the company's merger with Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC).

OTHER UPGRADES:

• UBS upgraded shares of General Mills Inc (NYSE: GIS) to Buy from Neutral.
• Thornburg Mortgage (NYSE: TMA) was upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital Markets.
• CIBC World Markets upgraded EDO Corporation (NYSE: EDO) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer.
• Bernstein upgraded shares of Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Outperform from Market Perform and shares of Anglo American (NASDAQ: AAUK) to Market Perform from Underperform.

UST (NYSE: UST) volatility Flat; UST down 6%; Altria Group (NYSE: MO) testing Marlboro Moist Smokeless tobacco. UST, a leading producer and marketer of moist smokeless tobacco products (Skoal, Copenhagen), is recently down $3.06 to $48.91. MO announced the introduction of Marlboro Moist Smokeless tobacco into test market. MO had been frequently mentioned as possibly interested in UST. UST has a market cap of $7.7 billion with quarterly March 2007 total revenue of $447 million. UST September option implied volatility of 26 is near its 26-week average of 23 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price risk.

Forest Labs (NYSE: FRX) volatility Elevated on patent challenge Appeal. FRX, a U.S. based pharmaceutical company, is recently down .48 to $37.74. FRX's Lexapro, an antidepressant accounting for 66% of FRX total revenue, is facing a patent challenge appeal.Buckingham Research says "LXP patent challenge appeal which we would expect to be resolved from an appellate decision over the next few months (we expect FRX to prevail in this case)." FRX call option volume of 9,195 contracts compares to put volume of 4,571 contracts. FRX September option implied volatility of 70 is above its 26-week average of 33 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Campbell Soup Co (CPB), Yum! Brands (YUM), NYSE Euronext (NYX), Forest Laboratories (FRX) and International Speedway Corp (ISCA) were some of today's noteworthy upgrades:

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) to Overweight from Neutral as they believe the company's entrance into Russia and China is not priced into shares. JP Morgan also added CPB to their Analyst Focus List.

• UBS upgraded shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) to Buy from Neutral based on higher estimates for international, potential debt leverage, and a potential minority spin-off of its China business.

• Lehman upgraded NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) to Overweight from Equal Weight on valuation following the recent weakness. They believe Q2 earnings and a potential S&P 500 Index addition could be a catalyst for gains.

• UBS upgraded Forest Labs (NYSE: FRX) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and their belief that the company will prevail in a patent dispute over Lexapro with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA).

• AG Edwards upgraded International Speedway (NASDAQ: ISCA) to Hold from Sell on valuation...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Hambrecht upgraded Micron Technology (NYSE: MU) to Buy from Hold.

• JMP Securities raised shares of Equifax (NYSE: EFX) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Ferris Baker Watts upgraded Unica Corp (NASDAQ: UNCA) to Neutral from Sell.

• Calyon upgraded Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) to Neutral from Sell.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Staples, Inc (SPLS), Sun Microsystems, Inc (SUNW), Forest Laboratories, Inc (FRX), AvalonBay Communities (AVB) and ConocoPhillips (COP) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Soleil upgraded shares of Staples, Inc (NASDAQ: SPLS) to Buy from Hold following the in-line Q1 results, as the firm believes management's initiatives will benefit the company for the remainder of the year.

• Matrix upgraded Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: SUNW) to Hold from Sell based on improved profitability and margins due to cost cuts.

• First Albany upgraded Forest Laboratories (NYSE: FRX) to Strong Buy from Neutral following positive preliminary results for Milnacipran in Fibromyalgia.

• AvalonBay Communities (NYSE: AVB) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital based on valuation.

• Bernstein upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) to Outperform from Market Perform...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Piper Jaffray upgraded Medtronic, Inc (NYSE: MDT) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Advanced Analogic Technologies Incorp (NASDAQ: AATI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Needham.

• CIBC raised Cypress Bioscience, Inc's (NASDAQ: CYPB) rating to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer.

• HSBC upgraded Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd (NYSE: AEM) and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd (NYSE: AU) to Overweight from Neutral.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Specialty pharmaceutical companies make up today's most noteworthy list:

• The Bank of America initiated Shire plc (NASDAQ: SHPGY), Mentor Corp (NYSE: MNT), Alcon, Inc (NYSE: ACL) and Allergan, Inc (NYSE: AGN) with Buy ratings and initiated Cephalon, Inc (NASDAQ: CEPH), Forest Laboratories, Inc (NYSE: FRX), Sepracor Inc (NASDAQ: SEPR) with Neutral ratings. Bank of America's top pick is Shire plc as the firm expects the company to launch six products or product extensions by mid-2008, followed by Mentor Corp, as the conversion to silicone breast implants should drive a period of stronger-than-expected sales and earnings.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) was initiated at Buckingham with an Underperform rating and General Motors (GM) was started with a Neutral rating.

• Nollenberger believes Under Armour, Inc (NYSE: UA), started with a Buy rating, is positioned to outperform the market based on the strength of its brand name and demand through the continued introduction of new products along with European growth.

• Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NYSE: BRL) was initiated with an Equal Weight rating and $53 target at Morgan Stanley.

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