MOST NOTEWORTHY: American Axle, Knight Transportation and Newfield Exploration were today's noteworthy upgrades.

• Citigroup upgraded shares of American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc (NYSE: AXL) to Buy from Hold on valuation following the recent sell-off and recommends switching out of General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) and into AXL; the firm downgraded GM to Hold from Buy.
• Wachovia upgraded Knight Transportation Inc (NYSE: KNX) to Outperform from Market Perform as they expect the company to benefit earlier from capacity leaving the TL market.
• KeyBanc raised Newfield Exploration Company (NYSE: NFX) to Buy from Hold based on production growth visibility, Rockies value, and increased estimates.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• LCA Vision Incorporated (NASDAQ: LCAV) was upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital.
• Deutsche Bank raised Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico SA (NYSE: PAC) to Buy from Hold
Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE: BHI) to Buy from Neutral.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Today's noteworthy upgrades include Papa John's Int'l, Inc (PZZA), ExpressJet Holdings, Inc (XJT), Nvidia Corp (NVDA),Georgia Gulf Corp (GGC) and MasterCard (MA):

• Following Q1 results, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Papa John's Int'l, Inc (NASDAQ: PZZA) to Buy from Neutral, citing better-than-expected revenue growth, improved margins and acquisitions.

• Soleil upgraded shares of ExpressJet Holdings (NYSE: XJT) to Hold from Sell with a $7 target due to the likely absence of any real news until at least August.

• Deutsche Bank assumed shares of Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) with a Buy, up from Hold, as the firm believes Vista will accelerate NVDA's growth rates making their 2008 estimates conservative.

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Georgia Gulf Corp (NYSE: GGC) to Buy from Sell based on an improved near-term outlook.

• MasterCard (NYSE: MA) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Stifel based on the lenders impressive Q1 results and pricing power...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Baird upgraded Barnes Group Inc (NYSE: B) to Outperform from Neutral.

• Pacific Ethanol Inc (NASDAQ: PEIX) was raised to Hold from Sell at Hambrecht.

• LCA-Vision Inc (NASDAQ: LCAV) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Oppenheimer.

• Bernstein raised Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NYSE: BRL) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR) to Equal Weight from Underweight.

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

It's not immediately obvious that shining a laser beam into a person's eye might help correct their vision. That's how it happens, though, when a trained ophthalmologist is working the beam. If you need help along that line, there is a firm in Cincinnati, Ohio that would be glad to show you the light.

LCA-Vision (NASDAQ:LCAV) operates sixty laser vision centers for the correction of nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. Procedures treat vision problems by reshaping the cornea with computer-guided excimer lasers. The firm also offers photorefractive keratectomy, another corrective procedure. The centers are staffed by ophthalmologists, who perform the procedures, and optometrists, who carry out the pre-procedure evaluations and post-procedure follow-ups. LCA-Vision expects to open twelve to fifteen new centers this year.

The firm pleased investors earlier in the week, with word of solid quarterly numbers. It reported Q4 EPS of 34 cents and revenues of $58.8 million. The Street had been expecting 25 cents and $58.5 million. Management then predicted FY07 EPS of $2.05-$2.15 ($2.02 consensus). The share price popped on the news and has since been defining a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Stocks 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 two "strong buys", two "buys" and four "holds". Analysts expect a 21 percent average annual growth rate, through the next five years. The LCAV PEG ratio (1.27), Sales Growth rate (26.09%), Operating Margin (22.18%), Net Profit Margin (14.91%), Return on Assets (22.94%), Return on Investment (25.43%) and Return on Equity (27.30%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 600 SmallCap Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $29.90 and $58.25. A stop-loss of $40.65 looks good here.

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