Analyst Upgrades

• Barclays upgraded Visa (V) to overweight from equal weight following the Q1 report and guidance. The firm raised its target to $97 from $91.
• Merriman upgraded AOL (AOL) to neutral from sell on valuation and better trends in online advertising.
• Barrington upgraded Idex (IEX) to outperform from market perform following the results on expectations the company's 2010 sales and profits will recover. The firm set a $36 target on shares.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Rio Tinto (RTP) to neutral from underperform and BHP Billiton (BHP) to outperform from neutral.
• Posco (PKX) was raised to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• MetLife (MET) was upgraded at Keefe Bruyette to outperform from market perform.

Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded KBW, Inc (NYSE: KBW) to Market Perform from Underperform as it sees increased capital-raising opportunities for small and mid-sized banks and believes the company's quarter is off to a strong start. The firm raised its target price to $23 from $18.
• Pali Capital upgraded Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to Buy from Neutral on expectations the company's strategic shift towards advisory, distribution and retail will be monetized sooner than expected and its capital markets business is gaining traction. The firm set a $33 target on the stock.
• Baird upgraded Stericycle (NASDAQ: SRCL) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $58 from $55 based on valuation predictable earnings, and its market leading platform.
• Apollo Investment (NYSE: AINV) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HBC) was lifted at Goldman to Buy from Neutral.
• Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Citigroup downgrades O&G exploration and production companies: Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:APC), Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) and Noble Energy (NYSE:NBL) were all cut to Hold; Citi believes that the U.S. natural gas market is reasonably balanced today and needs a cold winter to draw down natural gas inventories enough to merit upticks.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) shares are trading up 2% in pre-market after the auto-maker was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley based on ample liquidity, signs of greater sense of urgency and major cost cutting initiatives.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was downgraded to Hold at A.G.Edwards, just one day after Merrill Lynch raised the banking giant to Buy from Neutral.

KBW Inc. (NYSE:KBW) quiet period from Wall Street ends, and be sure to expect more research calls: started as Neutral at B of A; started as Mkt Weight at Thomas Weisel.

Circuit makers downgraded at CIBC: Maxim (MXIM) & Linear Tech (LLTC) both downgraded to Sector Perform rating from Outperform..

Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT) cut to Neutral at Cowen (on lower November sell throughs).

Be sure to watch for Moody's and S&P and other International ratings agencies today to come out against Thailand. Normally, countries that limit accessibility and liquidity into and OUT OF their financial markets, tend to be cut by these agencies.

For additional coverage of today's research calls at 24/7 Wall St, click here. Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St., LLC; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.