Analyst Upgrades

• NYSE Euronex (NYX) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• General Dynamics (GD) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Deere (DE), Parker-Hannifin (PH) and ExlService (EXLS) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Aflac (AFL) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Wynn Resorts (WYNN) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Amdocs (DOX) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Juniper (JNPR) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
• Rudolph Tech (RTEC) and KLA-Tencor (KLAC) to perform from underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Hershey (HSY) and Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Micron (MU) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP) to buy from hold and raised its price target for shares to $40 from $28 following the company's acquisition of Qualitest. The firm believes the deal makes financial and strategic sense. Shares were also upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer with a $40 price target following the company's acquisition of Qualitest. The firm views the deal as potentially transformative for Endo.
• Goldman upgraded Carnival (CCL) to buy from neutral, citing low supply growth and cost-cutting measures. The firm also raised its price target to $44 from $36.
• Needham upgraded Jabil Circuit (JBL) to strong buy from buy with a $23 target.
• Siliconware Precision (SPIL), United Microelectronic (UMC) and Advanced Semiconductor (ASX) were upgraded to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Check Point (CHKP) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Raymond James (RJF) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Ticonderoga.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Norfolk Southern (NSC) to overweight from neutral, citing the company's leverage to coal and position relative to peers. The firm has a $68 price target for shares.
• Benchmark upgraded Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) to hold from sell based on a more favorable earnings outlook and reduced dividend risk.
• UBS upgraded Costco (COST) to buy from neutral based on valuation. The firm raised its price target to $63 from $62.
• Visa (V) was upgraded to gonviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• KLA-Tencor (KLAC) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Texas Instruments (TXN) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.

Analyst Upgrades

• Auriga upgraded Allscripts (MDRX) to buy from hold to reflect valuation and potential synergies from the company's pending merger with Eclipsys (ECLP). The firm upped its target price for shares to $20 from $19.
• SunTrust upgraded Newell Rubbermaid (NWL) to buy from neutral based on completion of its turnaround plan, stabilizing end markets and favorable comparisons. The firm has a $25 price target on the stock.
• Morgan Joseph upgraded C.R. Bard (BCR) to buy from hold based on valuation and upside to estimates from the share buyback program. The firm has a $97 price target on the stock.
• Shire (SHPGY) was upgraded to buy from hold at Lazard Capital.
• Onyx Pharma (ONXX) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• AvalonBay (AVB) was upgraded to neutral from sell at UBS.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded JPMorgan (JPM) to buy from hold on valuation as it finds the risk/reward on shares attractive following yesterday's sell-off. Citi keeps a $48 price target on the stock.
• Oppenheimer upgraded International Game Tech (IGT) to outperform from perform as it believes fundamentals for slot suppliers will improve over the next two years. The firm has a $29 price target on the stock.
• SunTrust believes Perry Ellis (PERY) is now positioned to deliver stronger margins and significant reductions in charge-backs. Shares were upgraded to buy from neutral.
• Nordstrom (JWN) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Tyson Foods (TSN) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Consol Energy (CNX) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says markets are up big worldwide, and hedge funds will be scrambling to keep up.

Let's say you're a hedge fund manager. You check your screens in the morning. You look around the world. And you know what you see? Green arrows everywhere. Markets up huge: Canada up 27%, Mexico up 16%, Brazil up 62%, Hong Kong up 26%, U.K. up 10%, China up 59% and just about every Asia market up gigantically.

Oh, and the Nasdaq up 11%.

Double digits everywhere.

And you realize, "Oh boy, am I behind."

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Consol Energy (NYSE: CNX) to Buy from Hold following the company's lowered guidance as 2009 is fully contracted with a 26% price increase. The firm raised its target to $40 from $38.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) to Buy from Hold on valuation as it thinks the sell-off on the company's Q4 miss and cautious guidance is overdone.
  
• Wachovia upgraded Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) to Outperform from Market Perform because the firm thinks the outlook of the company's two main markets is improving. The firm believes the company's valuation is attractive. Thomas Weisel upgraded Boston Scientific to Overweight from Market Weight citing valuation and improving fundamentals.
• Goldman added MasterCard (NYSE: MA) to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Accuray (NASDAQ: ARAY) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  
• KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America/Merrill.

Analyst upgrades:

• KeyBanc upgraded Epicor (NASDAQ: EPIC) to Buy from Hold based on several near-term catalysts that include possible convertible debt repurchases, reasonable Q4 results, a proxy fight, and a boost from the Epicor 9 product cycle in 2H09.
  
• KeyBanc also upgraded AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) to Buy from Hold based on relative valuation and said the company could benefit from lower iron ore, scrap natural gas, and labor inputs.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Lennar (NYSE: LEN) to Overweight from Neutral based on relative valuation.
• Marriott (NYSE: MAR) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Raymond James (NYSE: RJF) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Wachovia.
  
• Deere (NYSE: DE) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

Analyst downgrades:

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Red Hat (NYSE:RHT) to Buy from Hold after their checks indicated Red Hat's November quarter results will be in-line due to solid Jboss sales. The firm also believes a potential new partnership with Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) could provide share upside.
  
• Barclays upgraded Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) to Overweight from Equal Weight as they believe the company's competitive position will strengthen during the current downturn and that the company will gain share.
• JP Morgan upgraded YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ:YRCW) to Neutral from Underweight following the announcement that the company and the Teamsters will vote on contract modifications.
• Del Monte Foods (NYSE:DLM) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
  
• Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) was upgraded at Morgan Stanley to Equal Weight from Underweight.
  
• Reliant Energy (NYSE:RRI) was lifted to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.

Analyst downgrades:

• B. Riley downgraded shares of Hot Topic (NASDAQ:HOTT) to Neutral from Buy to reflect a lack of visibility into 2009 and valuation but raised their target price to $9.30 from $8.20.
• Citigroup cut KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ:KLAC) to Hold from Buy to reflect their more offensive stance on the semi group as they view KLA-Tencor as a more defensive name. The firm lowered their target to $22 from $31.
• KeyBanc downgraded Arch Chemicals (NYSE:ARJ) to Underweight from Hold citing global economic headwinds, the stronger dollar, pension costs, and continued weakness in North American housing, among other reasons.
  
• Jo Ann Stores (NYSE:JAS) was cut to Hold from Buy at Soleil.
• Calyon downgraded Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) to Outperform from Buy.
• Amdocs (NYSE:DOX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman.

General Motors (NYSE: GM), Ford (NYSE: F) and Chrysler executive will return to Congress on Wednesday. After facing less than a receptive Senate Tuesday, they will appear before a House committee today to plead for a "bridge loan" to give them a massive infusion of cash they need to stay afloat in their race against the clock. GM's CEO Wagoner "warned that the failure of the U.S. auto industry could lead to a loss of 3 million jobs within the first year and ripple throughout communities around the country," saying it would be a "catastrophic collapse." GM shares traded 2.9% lower and Ford's 2.4% lower in premarket action (8:04 am). GM shares have been plunging over 15% by midday trading and Ford's by nearly 25% as Senate lowers bailout expectations, seeking to compromise.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) is delaying jet deliveries by as much as 10 weeks as it attempts to recover from a strike by its machinists, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. BA shares were down 2.6%, with the market, by midday trading.

Toyota (NYSE: TM) -- The troubles in the auto industry don't affect just American carmakers.Toyota said Wednesday it will reduce production in the U.S. to cope with slowing sales there. It will stop production at all its plants in the U.S. and Canada for two extra days next month, and cut about half of 500 temporary workers at a plant in Georgetown, Kentucky by March. It will also reduce production of two models. TM shares were down 4% by midday trading.

Analyst upgrades:

• Merrill upgraded shares of General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Ford (NYSE: F) to Neutral from Underperform on expectations for fundamentals to improve in 2009.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Chubb (NYSE: CB) and Travelers Group (NYSE: TRV) to Buy from Hold as they expect the company to benefit from the AIG (NYSE: AIG) fallout. The firm raised Chubb's target to $57 from $56 and Travelers Group's target to $51.50 from $49.50.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded shares of SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) to Outperform from Neutral as they believe margin expansion can drive higher profitability.
• JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Argus.
• Goldman raised Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• NetLogic (NASDAQ: NETL) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Piper.

Analyst downgrades:

• JP Morgan downgraded Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) to Underweight from Neutral citing the company's early stage pipeline and generic competition.
  
• Merrill downgraded Unilever (NYSE: UL) to Neutral from Buy as they believe the incoming CEO is unlikely to bring a major restructuring or split up the company.

Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Shanda Interactive (NASDAQ: SNDA) to Outperform from Perform following the company's better-than-expected quarter to reflect its growth acceleration in the casual games platform and margin improvements.
  
• SAIC (NYSE: SAI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform following the solid Q2 report and guidance.
  
• Susquehanna upgraded Zumiez (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) to Positive from Neutral citing positive August comps, revised merchandising, easier comps, and solid financial position.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Pharm Product Development (NASDAQ: PPDI) and Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Novellus (NASDAQ: NVLS) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst downgrades:

• Morgan Stanley downgraded the Semiconductor Capital Equipment sector to In-Line from Attractive citing optimistic expectations for Q4 orders following the recent bounce in stocks. The firm downgraded Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) to Underweight from Overweight and KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) KLAC to Equal Weight from Overweight.

Analyst upgrades:

• JP Morgan upgraded O'Reilly (NASDAQ: ORLY) to Overweight from Neutral, citing increased demand and CSK acquisition synergies.
  
• Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform by RBC Capital, based on valuation and the firm's expectation that gold will rally.
  
• HSBC upgraded KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) to Overweight from Neutral with a $44 target.

Analyst downgrades:

• Bernstein dropped DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) to Underperform from Market Perform, citing continued weak operations, declining cash flow, and satellite sector headwinds, among other reasons.
  
• Macy's (NYSE: M) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy by Goldman Sachs based on valuation.
  
• Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) was also dropped to Neutral from Buy by Goldman based on valuation.
  
• UBS downgraded Dr Pepper Snapple (NYSE: DPS) to Neutral from Buy based on valuation.

Analyst initiations:

• Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) was started with a Buy rating by Kaufman Bros., which believes the core on-demand CRM application market is nowhere close to full penetration.
  
• Caris initiated Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) with a Below Average rating, citing the company's Zyprexa and Cymbalta patent expirations.
  
• Leerink Swann assumed coverage of Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) with an Outperform, as the firm predicts that the company's denosumab will allow the company to substantially increase its earnings starting in 2010.

HSBC upgrades KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) to Overweight from Neutral, according to Briefing.com. The news services also reports that Caris initiates Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) with a Below Average rating.

Comverge (NASDAQ: COMV) was cut to Neutral at Broadpoint Capital, according to 247wallst.com. DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) was cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), a technology company that provides solutions to industries involved with such things as semiconductors, flat panel displays and solar photovoltaic cells, and whose colleagues include KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) and LAM Research (NASDAQ: LRCX), reported earnings for the third quarter on Tuesday.

They weren't great. The top line decreased by 28%, coming in at $1.8 billion. Adjusted earnings per diluted share dropped well over 50% to 17 cents. Although these numbers are horrible, it should be noted that the company at least beat estimates of 14 cents per share.

Well, not to be a downer or anything, but Applied Materials is not the tech stock I want to be in right now. It is suffering through a dismal economic environment, and the growth rates just don't look good. Not only do you have these year-over-year declines, but you've also got sequential-quarter statistics showing a negative trend. Plus, new orders are down significantly, and the gross margin took a dive.

Is there any saving grace to the report? Yes. Cash flow from operations was essentially flat over the nine-month timeframe at almost $1.6 billion. Hey, flat is better than a decline, correct?