Analyst Upgrades

• Xilinx (XLNX) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Orion Energy (OESX) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Goodyear Tire (GT) to buy from fair value at CRT Capital.
• RadioShack (RSH) to neutral from underperform at Wedbush.
• Novo Nordisk (NVO) to buy from neutral at Goldman.

Cooper Tire & Rubber (NYSE: CTB) rallied to $15.60 on September 14 on news President Obama decided to side with the United Steelworkers and impose temporary tariffs on Chinese car tires. CTB October option implied volatility is at 66, November and January is at 68; below its 26-week average of 79, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Goodyear Tire (NYSE: GT) closed at $17.78. GT overall option implied volatility of 56 is below a level of 190 from November 2008 and above its 52-week low of 54 from July, according to I Volatility, suggesting larger price movement.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Thomas Weisel downgraded Motorola Inc (NYSE: MOT) to Market Weight from Overweight based on the general uncertainty in the company's core markets and the likelihood that the spin off may not occur for several quarters.
• Piper believes Williams-Sonoma Inc (NYSE: WSM) faces a challenging environment, and their checks reveal weakness at Pottery Barn. Shares were cut to Neutral from Buy.
• ThinkPanmure downgraded Synchronoss Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: SNCR) to Accumulate from Buy. The firm expects a strong Q1 report but expects shares to sell-off following the Q1 conference call due to modest guidance and the lack of a major customer win announcement.

• RBC Capital downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia Halifax (NYSE: BNS) to Underperform from Sector Perform.
• JP Morgan cut The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: GT) to Neutral from Overweight.
• Goldman removed Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc (NYSE: POT) from its Conviction Buy List.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Goodyear Tire (GT) and Nvidia (NVDA) top today's modest-sized list of upgrades.

• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYES:GT) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Merrill Lynch citing improved third-quarter results and improved relations with unions.
• Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital Markets following their strong third-quarter report.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• IMAX Corp (NASDAQ:IMAX) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Merriman. The firm noted that IMAX Corp.'s third-quarter results were below expectations but they were looking beyond the first-half of 2007 for a rebound in operating trends.
• American Tech upgraded Thermo Electron (NYSE:TMO) to Buy from Neutral, citing the Fisher Scientific (FSH) merger for its rational.

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

Earlier this month I wrote about how employees at 16 different Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) plants went on strike after talks between the company and the United Steelworkers (USW) failed to reach a compromise for a new labor contract. One of the main problems at that time was the decision by the company to close two of its factories. Today the company announced that its plans for closing at least its Tyler, Texas plant are going forward.

With today's news, some 1,100 workers must now face the prospect of looking for a new job. The plant has been in operation since 1962, with an average output of around 25,000 tires per day.

The feud between the company and the USW has not improved and harsh words are being thrown between the two. In reaction to today's news, the USW called the plant closing a slap in the face, and said that Goodyear should be trying to do more for its employees, especially since they took pay cuts, job losses and other concessions back in 2000 in an attempt to help the company get back on its feet.

"Now they seem committed to stripping away health care benefits from those who made the turnaround possible and to further close plants and abandon the business," said Tom Conway, USW vice president . "Their foolishness is outweighed only by their greed." Goodyear claims that the union has refused to help the company remain competitive in an increasingly competitive global economy.