MOST NOTEWORTHY: Barclays, Grant Prideco and Force Protection were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Goldman downgraded shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) to Sell from Neutral and added the stock to their Conviction Sell List citing credit concerns. They believe negative headlines on writedowns will continue to weigh on shares.
  
• Banc of America downgraded shares of Grant Prideco (NYSE: GRP) due to its acquisition by National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV).
• Collins Stewart downgraded shares of Force Protection (NASDAQ: FRPT) to Underperform from Buy after the company did not receive MRAP vehicles ordered last night. They believe shares are likely to trade at book value of $3.58 or lower in the short term and set a target price of $2.90.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Keefe Bruyette removed Navigators Group (NASDAQ: NAVG) from its Best Ideas List.
  
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Petro-Canada (NYSE: PCZ) to Underweight from Equal Weight.
  
• Jefferies downgraded Exelon (NYSE: EXC) to Hold from Buy.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Alcoa (AA), Rigel Pharma (RIGL), Isis Pharma (ISIS), Cytokinetics (CYTK) and F5 Networks (FFIV) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• RBC believes shares are expensive, but feels Alcoa (NYSE: AA) has put itself in play and a bid for the company is possible. The firm resumed coverage with a Sector Perform rating and a $51 target.

• Credit Suisse initiated Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RIGL) with an Outperform rating, believing R788 in ITP alone justifies current value, while RA and pipeline provide potential upside.

• Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ISIS) was initiated with a Buy rating and $17 target at Jefferies; the firm believes Isis's pipeline holds promise and appears under appreciated at the current valuation.

• Credit Suisse is positive on Cytokinetics (NASDAQ: CYTK) congestive heart failure candidate CK-453 and views the market as undeserved, starting shares with an Outperform rating and $15 target.

• Unterberg initiated shares of F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) with a Market Perform based on valuation...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Credit Suisse initiated Mobile Mini (NASDAQ: MINI) with a Neutral rating.

• Art Technology (NASDAQ: ARTG) was initiated with a Buy rating at Pacific Growth.

• Banc of America started Grant Prideco (NYSE: GRP) share with a Buy rating and $67 target.

• Morgan Joseph initiated Harris Stratex Networks (NASDAQ: HSTX) with a Buy rating.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Lockheed Martin (LMT), CastlePoint Holdings, Ltd (CPHL) and OraSure Technologies, Inc (OSUR) were today's notable upgrades:

• Matrix USA started Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) with a Strong Buy rating, believing steady demand from defense spending and communications systems is allowing the company to continue to build impressive fundamental trends.

• Piper believes CastlePoint'sHoldings Ltd (NASDAQ: CPHL) relationship with Tower Group allows it immediate access to a high quality book of business, strong relationships in the industry and the ability to efficiently place capital overnight. Piper Jaffray stated shares of CastlePoint with an Outperform rating and a $20 target.

• Lazard started Orasure Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: OSUR) with a Buy rating and $12 target based on new production launches and new CDC HIV testing guidelines...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• UBS started Grant Prideco, Inc (NYSE: GRP) with a Neutral rating.

• Banc of America started Bon-Ton Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: BONT) with a Buy rating and $64 target.

• Roth Capital transferred coverage of Web.com, Inc (NASDAQ: WWWW) with a Buy rating and $8 target.

• City National Corp (NYSE: CYN) was started with a Hold rating at AG Edwards.

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

The Volatility Index S&P 500 Options-VIX is down 1.64 to 13.60.

Monster Worldwide (NASDAQ: MNST): implied volatility and volume low as MNST rallies on upgrade. MNST is recently up $2.19 to $49.74. MNST has market cap of $6.3 billion. Smith Barney upgraded MNST from Hold to Buy on EPS leverage, robust customer position, potential for share buybacks and positive review of new website. MNST call option volume of 688 contracts compares to put volume of 289 contracts. MNST option implied volatility of 35 is below its 26-week average of 38 according to Track Data, indicating decreasing stock price risk.

Grant Prideco (NYSE: GRP): implied volatility suggests flat risk; rally continues on report. GRP, engaged in drill stem technology development and drill pipe products and services, is recently up $1.95 to $47.16. RBC Capital Markets says, "GRP possible target of Vallourec. GRP jumped 5.6% yesterday due in large part to a story in Challenges magazine citing Vallourec as a suitor. There is a clear industrial fit in the drill pipe and premium connections businesses. However it strikes us as odd that VK would be pursuing an acquisition concurrently with announcing a special dividend." GRP traded 9,482 contracts March 7. GRP call option volume of 2,282 contracts compares to put volume of 844 contracts. GRP April option implied volatility of 40 is near its 26-week average of 42 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional risk.

Option volume leaders today were: KBR (NYSE: KBR), Haliburton (NYSE: HAL), Altria (NYSE: MO) & Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).

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