MOST NOTEWORTHY: Analog Semiconductors, Hill International and Varian Semi were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Lehman upgraded Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI), Fairchild Semi (NYSE: FCS), and Intersil Corp (NASDAQ: ISIL) to Overweight from Equal Weight. The firm believes Analog semis have one of the most attractive risk/reward profiles in technology and expects the group to outperform in 2008.
  
• B. Riley raised Hill International (NYSE: HIL) to Buy from Neutral following the company's Q4 results which they believe continued to reflect strong growth across both segments of the business.
  
• ThinkEquity upgraded Varian Semi (NASDAQ: VSEA) to Accumulate from Source of Funds citing valuation and expectations that the company will end up with over 70% of the overall implant market past 2008. The firm adds that scale and pricing power should drive upside to margins.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Collective Brands (NYSE: PSS) was raised to Buy from Hold at Soleil.
• JP Morgan upgraded Rockwell Collins (NYSE: COL) to Overweight from Neutral.
  
• UBS upgraded Cigna (NYSE: CI) to Buy from Neutral.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Sierra Pacific (SRP), Intersil (ISIL), Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Sierra Pacific (NYSE: SRP) to Hold from Buy on valuation and uncertainty over the company's Integrated Resource Plan investment program.
  
• Jefferies downgraded shares of Intersil (NASDAQ: ISIL) to Hold from Buy and lowered their target to $30 from $38 after their Asia channel checks indicated the first wave of cancellations for PWM ICs from the leading Taiwan Motherboard manufacturers.
  
• Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) were lowered to Neutral from Buy at UBS, citing credit pressures that will likely require increased reserves.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• First Marblehead (NYSE: FMD) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings.
  
• The firm also downgraded Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ: CASY) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) was lowered to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: NutriSystem, Under Armour, CME Group, Air France ADS and Kilroy Realty were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• NutriSystem (NASDAQ: NTRI) was upgraded to Strong Buy from Buy at Broadpoint on valuation, as they believe all concerns are overdone.
  
• Think Equities upgraded Under Armour (NYSE: UA) to Buy from Accumulate on valuation.
  
• Wachovia upgraded CME Group (NYSE: CME) to Overweight from Market weight, as they expect fed income volumes to benefit from a more active Federal Reserve.
  
• Goldman added Air France (NYSE: AKH) to its Pan-European Conviction Buy List citing valuation following the recent sell-off.
  
• Citigroup upgraded shares of Kilroy Realty (NYSE: KRC) to Buy from Hold on valuation, as they believe concerns are overblown and the company's underleveraged balance sheet can drive growth.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• UBS raised SXC Health Solutions (NASDAQ: SXCI) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Think Equities upgraded Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) to Accumulate from Source of Funds.
  
• DA Davidson & Co upgraded Texas Industries (NYSE: TXI) to Buy from Hold.
  
• Lehman upgraded Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ: ISIL) to Equal Weight from Underweight.
  
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded SEI Investments (NASDAQ: SEIC) to Outperform from Market Perform.

Competition among makers of electronic devices is intense and that gives component suppliers known for reliability and reasonable prices a solid advantage. When it comes to analog chips, many of the big name OEMs look to an outfit in Milpitas, California.

Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ: ISIL) is engaged in the design and manufacture of analog integrated circuits. Its product families address power management and signal processing functions. The firm offers a portfolio of application specific standard products and general purpose proprietary products for high-end consumer, industrial, communications, and computing markets. The company sells its devices to original equipment manufacturers, original design manufacturers and contract manufacturers in the United States, Europe and Asia. The Intersil customer list includes Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) and IBM (NYSE: IBM).

Shareholders were pleased last week to learn that the company is also a supplier of semiconductor components for the new Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPod nano. The stock popped on that news and has since moved into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling when they entered them. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the issue with six "strong buys," nine "buys," six "holds" and three "sells." Analysts expect a 23% growth rate, through the next year. The ISIL Price to Book ratio (1.86), Price to Free Cash Flow ratio (22.90), Operating Margin (20.15%) and Net Profit Margin (19.48%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutions own about 95% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 400 MidCap Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $22.42 and $35. A stop-loss of $28.60 looks good here. Note that the firm is expected to announce Q3 earnings and revenues in mid-October. Management issued upside guidance for those results, on September 4.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Steven Madden, Ltd (SHOO), Expedia, Inc (EXPE), Oracle Corp (ORCL) and Tim Horton's Inc (THI) round up today's noteworthy upgrade list:

• Steve Madden, Ltd (NASDAQ: SHOO) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Nollenberger as they believe Madden is well positioned going into the back half of 2007 with clean inventories and focused products.

• Matrix believes increasing marketing efforts and European growth are contributing to significant improvement in fundamental trends for Expedia Inc (NASDAQ: EXPE), and upgraded shares to Hold from Sell.

• Pacific Crest upgraded shares of Oracle Corp (NASDAQ: ORCL) to Outperform from Sector Perform to reflect improved channel checks and the probability of continued success.

• CIBC upgraded Tim Horton's (NYSE: THI) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer based on valuation...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Banc of America upgraded Intersil Corp (NASDAQ: ISIL) to Buy from Neutral.

• Bear Stearns upgraded Illumina, Inc (NASDAQ: ILMN) to Outperform from Peer Perform.

• Buckingham raised Kohl's Corp (NYSE: KSS) to Strong Buy from Neutral.

• Matrix USA raised Titanium Metals Corp (NYSE: TIE) to Buy from Hold.

• Merrill Lynch upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc (NASDAQ: KLIC) to Buy from Neutral.

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

From DVD recorders to computers and LCD TVs to satellites, if your electronic devices need analog chips, there is a firm in Milpitas, California that has you covered.

Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ: ISIL) is engaged in the design and manufacture of analog integrated circuits. Its product families address power management and signal processing functions in the high-end consumer, industrial, communications, and computing markets. The company sells its devices to original equipment manufacturers, original design manufacturers and contract manufacturers in the United States, Europe and Asia. Customers include Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) and IBM (NYSE: IBM). Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) is a major competitor.

Intersil surprised the Street last week, when it reported Q1 EPS of 29 cents and revenues of $167.7 million. Analysts had been looking for 28 cents and $164.7 million. Management also guided Q2 EPS to 30-31 cents (30 cent consensus) and Q2 revenues to $173-176 million ($170.95 million consensus). The CEO attributed the favorable outlook to a positive book-to-bill ratio and reduced inventory levels at distributors.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Merck & Co (MRK), Intersil Corp (ISIL), Nautilus Group (NLS) and Pacific Sunwear (PSUN) were some of today's more noteworthy upgrades:

• Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK ) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs to reflect the company's continued revenue strength and raised guidance. They believe strong execution continues.
• JP Morgan upgraded Intersil Corp NASDAQ: ISIL) to Overweight from Neutral based on improving fundamentals.
• Matrix USA upgraded shares of Nautilus Group (NYSE: NLS) to Hold from Strong Sell after this week's sell-off.
• Pacific Sunwear of California (NASDAQ: PSUN) was added to Freidman Billing's Top Picks List, believing the turnaround is taking hold following strong March comps.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman added L-3 Communications Hlds (NYSE: LLL) to its Conviction Buy List and raised its target to $105 from $95.
• McCormick Corp (NYSE: MKC) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia citing core performance in both Industrial and Consumer, including a nominal boost in long-term growth outlook.
• Bear Stearns upgraded shares of Ventana Medical Systems (NASDAQ: VMSI) to Outperform from Peer Perform, citing the company's solid base business outlook and Symphony potential.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Ocwen Financial (NYSE: OCN) to Outperform from Market Perform.
• JP Morgan upgraded TJX Cos (NYSE: TJX) to Neutral from Underweight expecting merchandising initiatives and marketing spending to drive growth.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Kraft Foods, Inc (KFT), Healthways, Inc (HWAY), PepsiCo (PEP) and Lam Research Corp (LRCX) were some of today's more noteworthy upgrades:

• Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Kraft Foods Inc (NYSE: KFT) to Equal Weight from Underweight on valuation. UBS upgraded shares to Buy from Neutral on expectations the company may benefit from a purchase of Cadbury Schweppes' (CSG) confectionary unit; UBS believes Kraft could purchase Cadbury's confectionery unit for $20.8B and still see 7% accretion in 2008.
• Elsewhere, Goldman Sachs upgraded Healthways Inc (NASDAQ: HWAY) to Neutral from Sell on valuation.
• Bernstein raised PepsiCo's (NYSE: PEP) rating to Outperform from Market Perform with a $77 target, expecting the soft-drink maker to outperform rival Coca-Cola (KO) by more than 10% over the next year.
• Citigroup upgraded Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ: LRCX) to Hold from Sell to reflect a more bullish 2-3 year memory capex view and the firm believes customers of Samsung/Hynix continue to have an upward bias.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Vodafone PLC (NYSE: VOD) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank on valuation.
• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Intersil Corp (NASDAQ: ISIL) to Overweight from Neutral.
• Dreamworks Animation SKG, Inc (NYSE: DWA) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Pali Capital.
• Sappi Ltd (NYSE: SPP) was raised to Buy from Sell at Merrill Lynch.
• JP Morgan added VCA Antech, Inc (NASDAQ: WOOF) to its Focus List with a $46 target, citing the company's near-term growth prospects.

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

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) cut to Underweight at Prudential -- they must not think a buyout is coming. Stock down 1%. Alcan Inc. (NYSE:AL) also cut to Neutral at Prudential.

Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ:BWLD) cut to Hold at Jefferies. Stock indicated down 1%.

Fortress Investment Group (NYSE:FIG) is trading up 4% pre-market as brokers initiate coverage: started as a Buy at Banc of America and Goldman Sachs, as a Hold at Citigroup and as Overweight at Lehman Brothers.

Sapient Corp. (NASDAQ:SAPE) raised to Outperform at Bear Stearns; stock trading up 3%.

Goldman Sachs Keynote:
NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) Raised to Buy; replaces LLTC on AMERICAS BUY LIST.
Still has National Semi (NYSE:NSM) and Intersil (NASDAQ:ISIL) as Buys in analog chip sector;
Linear Tech (NASDAQ:LLTC) downgraded from Buy to Neutral.
GSI Commerce (NASDAQ:GSIC) raised from Neutral to a Buy with 25% upside to new $24.00 target.
Goldman Sachs full research summary here.

Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St., LLC; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.