MOST NOTEWORTHY: Synthesis Energy, Lamar Advertising and Urban Outfitters were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Merriman believes Synthesis Energy Systems Inc (NASDAQ: SYMX) is well-positioned as it begins to leverage its exclusive global license for U-GAS technology and commences the deployment of its coal-to-methanol production facilities in China. The firm started shares with a Buy rating.
• Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ: LAMR) was initiated with a Buy rating and $51 target at Jefferies, as they believe shares are oversold at current levels.
• William Blair believes Urban Outfitters Inc (NASDAQ: URBN) will benefit from both strong sales and a steep margin recovery in the coming two years. The firm assumed coverage of Urban with an Outperform rating.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Lehman started United Rentals Inc (NYSE: URI) with an Equal Weight rating and $22 target.
• Credit Suisse assumed coverage of Mellanox Technologies (NASDAQ: MLNX) with a Neutral rating.
• EPIQ Systems Inc (NASDAQ: EPIQ) was initiated with a Market Perform rating at Wachovia.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The Semiconductor Production Equipment sector, General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Advanced Micro (NYSE: AMD) topped the massive list of downgrades this morning.

• Goldman Sachs downgraded the Semiconductor Production Equipment sector to Cautious from Neutral, citing expectations for weakness in NAND and DRAM in 2007; the firm also downgraded Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) and Credence Systems (NASDAQ: CMOS) to Sell from Neutral.

• General Motors (NYSE: GM) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Bank of America, telling clients it expects market share for the first-half of 2007 to be lower, along with a sharp fourth-quarter decline in new product volume due to overpricing.

• ThinkEquity also downgraded Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) to Sell from Buy with a $15 target, as they believe inventory in the channel is building and prices are falling; furthermore, the broker believes Advanced Micro has little opportunity of meeting the high expectations for margins it set on its recent analyst day.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) was downgraded to Sell from Hold with a $34 target at Citigroup citing valuation that reflects aggressive long-term operating margins.

• Wachovia downgraded shares of Cox Radio 'A' (NYSE: CXR) to Underperform from Market Perform and recommended investors to swap out of Cox and into their top 2007 picks: Lamar Advertising 'A' (NASDAQ: LAMR) or Entravision Communication 'A' (NYSE: EVC).

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

On tonight's MAD MONEY show on CNBC Jim Cramer was comparing new, and old, media stocks. While his first pick was Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT), with its focus on digital advertising, his second pick was decidedly old media. Cramer mentioned that the companies buying the billboards are a good "play." In that market, Cramer thinks Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR) is a winner. Could it be? Yep, the "A" word... he thinks it could even be an acquisition target. There is a new rating system for outdoor advertising, and the company doesn't even have 1% of its billboards as digital.

LAMR is up almost 2% in after-hours trading at $64.43. It closed up 0.5% at $63.30 in regular trading and has a $44.99 to $63.36 trading range over the last 52-weeks. So it is at a new high and the only time it was ever this high was back at the 1999-2000 turn when the ad economy was on fire. It has a $6.4 billion market cap and he thinks a management buyout or private equity offer could provide a floor for the stock.

He thinks this is more acquirable than Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCO).

[Photo CodyR]

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Video Game-makers and Apple (APPL) top today's list of initiations:

• Oppenheimer initiated THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) and Activision Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) with Buy ratings and Electronics Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) with a Neutral rating and $60 target.
• Caris initiated Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) with an Above Average rating and $100 target; the firm considers Apple "a winner" in the consumer electronics space and sees two key catalysts for 2007: the iPhone and a wider-screen video iPod.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• American Tech initiated Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ENDP) with a Buy, and believes that Endo is positioned to benefit from both market share gains and overall market growth.
• RBC capital Markets initiated Restoration Hardware Inc. (NASDAQ:RSTO) with an Outperform rating and $12 target, saying that Restoration has reinvented its core brand and has multiple revenue growth opportunities.
• Jefferies believes Lamar Advertising Co. (NASDAQ:LAMR) digital transformation is driving higher revenues and expanding margins and initiated it with a Buy rating and $73 target.

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