Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $6 from $5 based on cost trends, valuation, and expectations the company can beat expectations over the next six months.
• Oppenheimer upgraded E-House (NYSE: EJ) to Outperform from Perform following the company's better-than-expected Q2 results. The firm has a price target of $27 on shares.
• JPMorgan upgraded Avery Dennison (NYSE: AVY) to Overweight from Neutral and has a $33 target on the stock. The firm cites valuation for the upgrade following the recent underperformance and expects the company's margins to expand as demand rebounds.
• Citigroup (NYSE: C) was upgraded to Buy from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Taubman Centers (NYSE: TCO) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.
• First Niagara (NASDAQ: FNFG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney Montgomery.

Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Nokia (NYSE: NOK) to Buy from Neutral as it believes the company's product portfolio is recovering.
  
• Canaccord upgraded Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $450 from $300. The analyst said industry checks indicate deteriorating search conditions have started to improve in late March and notes that the market is already pricing in a weak Q1.
  
• Wachovia upgraded CGI (NYSE: GIB) to Outperform from Market Perform. In addition to valuation, the firm cited the company's defensive profile, comfort with its fiscal 2009 estimates, and its expectation that the company will continue to have strong signings.
• Siliconware Precision (NASDAQ: SPIL) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC.
  
• Matrixx Initiatives (NASDAQ: MTXX) was lifted to Buy from Hold at Roth Capital.

Analyst upgrades:

• Barclays upgraded Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE) to Overweight from Equal Weight. The firm believes Spectra's valuation is attractive and that the dividend is secure.
• Soleil upgraded Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) to Buy from Hold on valuation following the recent pullback and maintains a $45 target on the stock.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ: ORLY) to Outperform from Underperform on valuation and the company's better than expected sales and earnings acceleration. The firm has a $38 target on the stock.
• Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) was removed from Goldman's Conviction Sell List.
  
• Intercontinental Hotels (NYSE: IHG) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
  
• Valspar (NYSE: VAL) was lifted to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.

Analyst upgrades:

• Banc of America upgraded shares of Pepsi Bottling (NYSE: PBG) to Buy from Neutral on valuation as they expect better leverage in FY09 and believe an overly bearish outlook is priced in. The company's target was raised to $37 from $35.
  
• Goldman upgraded Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) to Neutral from Sell and said Q3 results were worse than expected but not as bad as the decline in shares suggests. The analyst said WaMu's capital and reserves appear stable and that the company might be able to avoid another capital raise. WaMu's target was raised to $4 from $5.
  
• Greenhill & Co (NYSE: GHL) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
  
• F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) was upgraded at JP Morgan to Overweight from Underweight.
  
• Baird upgraded Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) to Outperform from Neutral.

Analyst downgrades:

• Jefferies downgraded PharmaNet Development (NASDAQ: PDGI) to Underperform from Buy following the lowered guidance as they believe the company's execution and cost control problems have not been solved. The company's target was lowered to $15 from $27.
  
• JP Morgan downgraded shares of Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) to Underweight from Neutral to reflect their weak outlook for the company's Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) handset unit.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Danaher (NYSE: DHR) to Hold from Buy on valuation and concerns about the company's FX exposure.
  
• Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) was cut to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
  
• Portugal Telecom (NYSE: PT) was lowered to sell from Neutral at UBS and to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
  
• Quality Systems (NASDAQ: QSII) and BioScrip (NASDAQ: BIOS) were downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Piper.

Analyst initiations:

• Jefferies initiated Massey Energy (NYSE: MEE) with a Buy rating and $80 target. The firm expects substantial margin improvement, free cash flow, and earnings growth with eastern utility coal inventory levels under pressure and a robust export and met coal market.
  
• William Blair started BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: BMRN) with an Outperform rating. The firm expects strong EPS growth during 2008-2010, thinks the company's pipeline is underappreciated by the Street, and feels expectations have been reset to a reasonable level.
• Friedman Billings initiated the Lodging sector with a Market Weight rating, starting InterContinental Hotels (NYSE: IHG) and Marriott (NYSE: MAR) with outperform ratings and targets of $16 and $34, respectively, and Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT) with a Market Perform rating.
• Citigroup initiated Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO) with a Buy rating and $126 target.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Hotels, Continental AG and VNUS Medical were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Marriott International (NYSE: MAR), Intercontinental Hotels (NYSE: IHG) and Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH) to Perform from Outperform to reflect recent weakness in the leisure segment and expectations for weakening transient business travel.
  
• Societe Generale downgraded shares of Continental AG (OTC: CTTAY) to Sell from Buy on valuation, as they recommend taking profits following the recent rally.
  
• Piper downgraded shares of VNUS Medical (NASDAQ: VNUS) to Neutral from Buy on valuation following the company's patent victory.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Goldman removed China Netcom (NYSE: CN) from the Conviction Buy List.
  
• RBC Capital downgraded Crown Castle (NYSE: CCI) and American Tower (NYSE: AMT) to Sector Perform from Outperform.
  
• Trimble Navigation (NASDAQ: TRMB) was cut to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Monster Worldwide, Business Objects, Arcelor Mittal, Walgreen and Sealy Corp were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Wachovia downgraded shares of Monster Worldwide (NASDAQ: MNST) to Market Perform from Outperform citing increased risk of an economic slowdown and execution issues in its N.A. Careers segment.
  
• Credit Suisse downgraded shares of Business Objects (NASDAQ: BOBJ) to Neutral from Outperform on valuation with shares above their $46 target.
  
• Banc of America downgraded Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) to Neutral from Buy on valuation. The firm also downgraded Walgreen (WAG) to Sell from Buy, as they see further downside following the Q4 miss and believes the problems in Q4 are company-specific and not industry-wide.
  
• Citigroup downgraded shares of Sealy Corporation (NYSE: ZZ) to Sell from Hold following the Q3 results, as they believe Sealy faces increased competitive pressures at the high end of the market where the best margins are derived.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Goldman Sachs removed Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Nucor (NYSE: NUE) from its Conviction Buy List.
  
• Merrill Lynch added Intercontinental Hotels (NYSE: IHG) to its Least Preferred List.
  
• ABN Amro downgraded Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Soleil downgraded Leap Wireless (NASDAQ: LEAP) to Hold from Buy.

Can't stand the thought of leaving your loved one behind while you travel? Is your pooch pal a bit too paunchy? These dilemmas are business opportunities eagerly embraced by American business.

For example, Bringyourpet.com is a web site that will help you find hotels that welcome both you and your closest companion. I did some research and found:

Planning a trip to NYC? The Hotel Pennsylvania in Manhattan allows up to four dogs per room at $25 each.

The Crown Plaza Union Square in downtown San Francisco offers its luxury accommodations to pooches under 30 pounds.

But neither matches the welcome of the Hotel Monaco in Chicago. Its special PAWS Pet Package includes --

• A welcome letter from Stevie Nix, the Hotel's honorary dog mascot
• For dogs, a doggy bed and bowl and a welcome treat at check-in
• For cats, a bowl, a disposable litter box and a special kitty treat at check-in
• Ten percent of the proceeds donated to PAWS (Pets Are Worth Saving) Chicago
• The Hotel concierge staff also arranges pet walking and sitting services along with day care, grooming and spa services

Additionally, the hotel offers Guppy Love, a complimentary goldfish to keep the guest company during his stay.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: In addition to Genomic Health (GHDX) and Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), airliners Continental Airlines (CAL) and ExpressJet Holdings (XTJ) were some of today's most notable initiations:

• RBC Capital Markets started Genomic Health Inc (NASDAQ: GHDX) with an Underperform rating, with a $17 target. The firm views shares as fairly valued and believes competitive noise and FDA concerns will weigh on shares.

• HSBC started Intercontinental Hotels (NYSE: IHG) with an Overweight rating, believing asset sales and stronger than expected room growth could prove near-term positive catalysts.

• Soliel started both Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) and ExpressJet Holdings Inc (NYSE: XJT) with Sell ratings.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• William Blair started Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALXN) with an Outperform rating. They believe Alexion's lead compound, Soliris, is the key driver of shareholder value, and they believe the company is well positioned to receive final FDA approval.

• Bear Stearns initiated Baldor Electric Company (NYSE: BEZ) with an Outperform rating.

• RBC initiated Hologic, Inc (NASDAQ: HOLX) with an Outperform rating.

• Citigroup started GMarket Inc (NASDAQ: GMKT) with a Sell rating and $18 target, citing valuation.

• Drew Industries, Inc (NYSE: DW) was initiated with a Buy rating and $35 target at Ferris Baker Watts.

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