Analyst Upgrades

• Exxon Mobil (XOM), Netflix (NFLX), Noble Corp. (NE), Pioneer Natural (PXD) and Noble Energy (NBL) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Cenovus Energy (CVE) to conviction buy from neutral and Atwood Oceanics (ATW) to neutral from sell at Goldman as well.
• Southern Company (SO) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Chevron (CVX) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Ryder (R), Entergy (ETR) and Seaspan (SSW) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Gerdau (GGB), Crown Castle (CCI) and American Tower (AMT) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Aon (AON) and Willis Group (WSH) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Ryland Group (RYL) to buy from neutral at Ticonderoga.

Analyst Upgrades

• Raymond James upgraded Research in Motion (RIMM) to outperform from market perform based on valuation. The firm has a $70 price target on the stock.
• Macquarie upgraded Halliburton (HAL) to outperform from neutral and has a $40 price target on the stock. The firm said recent pressure pumping activity is above their expectations and pricing has firmed.
• Canaccord upgraded Baldor Electric (BEZ) to buy from speculative buy, citing improving business trends and the upcoming mandatory transition to premium efficiency motors. The firm has a $47 price target on the stock.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Williams-Sonoma (WSM) to outperform from market perform.
• Medco Health (MHS) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Repsol (REP) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Analyst Upgrades

• B. Riley upgraded Prosperity Bancshares (PRSP) to buy from neutral after the company acquired 19 Texas branches of Missouri-based First Bank. The firm has a $45 price target on shares.
• JPMorgan upgraded Fortinet (FTNT) to overweight from neutral on valuation following the recent pullback in shares. The firm has a $20 price target on the stock.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Lamar Advertising (LAMR) to outperform from market perform. The firm believes the stock's risk/reward ratio is compelling, as its checks indicate that advertising continues to accelerate in Q1.
• Caterpillar (CAT) was upgraded to overweight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• SAP AG (SAP) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• BioMarin (BMRN) was raised to buy from hold at Roth Capital.

Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD), whose colleagues include Gap (NYSE: GPS) and Hanesbrands (NYSE: HBI), is one sexy company. It operates the Victoria's Secret chain of stores among other concepts. However, it's been having trouble increasing sales and income during the recession -- like every other retailer out there, of course. But the stock has been strong, and the bulls have yet more evidence that their thesis on the business might be justified.

Limited Brands reported second quarter results Wednesday after the close. Its adjusted earnings were 19 cents per share versus 27 cents per share in the comparable period last year. Total sales dropped 9.5%, and same-store revenues collapsed 9%. With numbers like those, where do I get the idea that the bulls might have a case?

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded BB&T (NYSE: BBT) to Market Perform from Underperform as it believes downside risk has been reduced following the company's capital raise. The firm raised its target price to $23 from $15.
  
• Janney Montgomery upgraded FEI Company (NASDAQ: FEIC) to Buy from Neutral on expectations margins will improve and various country stimulus packages will provide benefits in 2010. The firm has a $31 target on the stock.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Tyco Electronics (NYSE: TEL) to Buy from Hold as it believes automotive headwinds are priced in and the company's long-term fundamentals are intact. The firm raised its target price to $25 from $19.
• Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
  
• J.B. Hunt (NYSE: JBHT) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
  
• Roper Industries (NYSE: ROP) was upgraded at Oppenheimer to Outperform from Perform.

Imperial Tobacco (NYSE:ITY) was upped to "buy" from "neutral" by Citigroup, according to Marketwatch.

Oppenheimer downgraded Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) from "perform" to "under-perform" according to Briefing.com. The financial news service also reports that Soleil upgraded Ford (NYSE:F) from "sell" to "buy".

Credit Suisse writes that it expects Hanesbrands (NYSE:HBI) to post strong earnings for the last quarter, according to the AP.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• U.S. mall owner and operator General Growth Properties Inc (NYSE: GGP) is reportedly shopping its portfolio for capital to pay off $18.7B of debt coming due over the next four years to potential joint venture partners, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that Merrill Lynch & Co Inc (NYSE: MER) is expected to reported another quarterly loss this week, as well as up to $8B in new write-downs, a person familiar with the matter said. This would bring its total to more than $30B since October.
• The Financial Times reported that General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) is planning to invest up to $2B in China in acquisitions and other deals in order to double its revenues in the country...

WEB SITES:

• Barron's Online said Gildan Activewear Inc (NYSE: GIL), the leading maker of undecorated t-shirts and sweatshirts for the U.S. wholesale market, might be worth a look. All of the company's shirts are now made in Gildan-owned factories in Central America and Caribbean, allowing Gildan to achieve cost benefits of offshore manufacturing before competitors like Hanesbrands Inc (NYSE: HBI). Gildan has recently broadened its market with the acquisitions of two sock makers.

Full Disclosure: I was a huge Joe Montana fan back in his glory days with the 49ers, and I still have a huge poster of him on the wall in a closet.

Joe Montana's place as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time is secure but, sadly, the same cannot be said about his skills as a hedge fund honcho. According to a piece in The New York Post, "HRJ Capital, a California investment firm that counts the Hall of Fame quarterback on its roster, saw almost all of the gains ratcheted up so far this year at one of its hedge funds get wiped out as the housing crisis tackled the markets."

The fund of funds (a hedge fund that invests in other hedge funds) lost 12.3% in the first two weeks of August because of investments in hedge funds that had subprime exposure. Montana also has a couple former teammates with him at the firm, Ronnie Lott and Harris Barton.

Should investors in his fund be worried? Of course not! This is Super Joe! The Comeback Kid!

I wonder if he owns HanesBrands (NYSE: HBI), which plastered Montana's face all over television commercials in the early 1990s, and paid him a nice endorsement fee.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Logitech International SA (LOGI), Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC) and Human Genome Sciences (HGSI) were today's most notable initiations:

• Morgan Keegan started Logitech International SA (NASDAQ: LOGI) with an Outperform rating; the firm believes Logi is well positioned in the peripherals market and should continue to see solid growth driven by increasing PC use as multimedia devices.

• Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE: TWC) was initiated with an Overweight rating and $52 target at Prudential, as the firm sees upside to guidance and views valuation as reasonable.

• Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ: HGSI) was initiated with a Hold rating at Stanford, citing lack of visibility into Albuferon, LymphoStat-B and HGS-ETR programs for its rating...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Morgan Stanley initiated Hanesbrands Inc (NYSE: HBI) with an Overweight rating.

• Bernstein started M&T Bank Corp (NYSE: MTB) with a Market Perform rating and $121 target.

• MV Oil Trust (NYSE: MVO) was initiated at AG Edwards with a Buy rating, as the firm believes MV Oil offers investors tax-advantaged exposure to oil price volatility and development activity.

• Lehman Brothers started Downey Financial Corp (NYSE: DSL) with an Outperform rating and $80 target.

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