Analyst Upgrades

• Applied Materials (AMAT) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Air Products (APD) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Youku.com (YOKU) and Pinnacle West (PNW) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Stryker (SYK) and Zimmer (ZMH) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Zions Bancorp (ZION) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Alnylam (ALNY) to buy from hold at Needham.
• AK Steel (AKS) to buy from hold at KeyBanc.

Analyst Upgrades

• Research In Motion (RIMM) to buy from sell and Gap (GPS) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Archer Daniels (ADM) and Airgas (ARG) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• NCR Corp. (NCR) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Valero Energy (VLO) to top pick from sector perform and Western Refining (WNR) to outperform from underperform at RBC Capital.
• Fred's (FRED) to overweight from neutral at JP Morgan.
• Marsh & McLennan (MMC), Willis Group (WSH) and Brown & Brown (BRO) to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.
• Host Hotels (HST) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• La-Z-Boy (LZB) to strong buy from market perform at Raymond James.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) to buy from neutral.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Pulte Group (PHM) to neutral from underperform. Note that Citigroup downgraded the stock.
• Ameristar Casinos (ASCA) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Merriman.
• Citigroup upgraded Kimco Realty (KIM) to hold from sell.
• Mistras (MG) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Devon Energy (DVN) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Garmin (GRMN) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at PacCrest.

Analyst Upgrades

• Sterne Agee upgraded Wynn Resorts (WYNN) to buy from neutral and has a $115 price target on the stock. The firm believes Encore Macau will drive further share gains near-term.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded PPL Corp. (PPL) to buy from hold and said the equity offering and the the stipulation reached in the KY utilities' rate cases removes important overhangs. The firm has a $30 price target on the stock.
• UBS upgraded CarMax (KMX) to buy from neutral based on forecasts for higher consumer forecast income and positive used car trends. The firm has a $28 target on the stock.
• Aeropostale (ARO) was upgraded to outperform from underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Cardinal Financial (CFNL) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Baird.
• Pinnacle West (PNW) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Southern Copper (SCCO) to buy from hold to reflect valuation and positive near-term catalysts. The firm raised its target for shares to $38 from $35.
• JMP Securities upgraded Ultimate Software (ULTI) to outperform from market perform. The firm cites the company's expanding employee base for the upgrade. The firm has a $40 target on the stock.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Aeropostale (ARO) to neutral from underweight following the company's Q4 results and raised its target for shares to $31 from $24.
• Kennametal (KMT) was upgraded to sell from conviction sell at Goldman.
• Lifetime Brands (LCUT) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Barrington.
• Volvo (VOLVY) was upgraded to overweight from underweight at JPMorgan.

While the IPO market has been meager over the past year, there still have been some bright spots, such as the offerings of e-learning companies. Some of the notable deals include Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI) and Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ: LOPE). The shares of both companies are up over 40% since their IPOs.

Well, to get a piece of the action, another e-learning operator has filed to go public: Archipelago Learning.

• RW Baird upgraded LHC Group (NASDAQ: LHCG) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and expectations for raised 2009 guidance. The firm has a $36 target on the stock.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Swiss Reinsurance (OTC: SWCEY) to Buy from Hold following the CEO change as the firm views it as a positive move.
  
• Wachovia upgraded DuPont Fabros (NYSE: DFT) to Outperform from Market Perform because it thinks the company has taken major measures to mitigate its liquidity risk by obtaining additional debt. The firm also notes that the company signed several new leases.
• Goldman added Air Products (NYSE: APD) and Burger King (NYSE: BKC) to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• MSC Industrial (NYSE: MSM) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair.
  
• Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

• Empire District Electric (NYSE:EDE) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies on valuation. The firm raised its target to $18.50 from $16.
  
• Actividentity (NASDAQ:ACTI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Soleil and its target was increased to $3.25 from $2.50 on valuation.
  
• Merrill upgraded Phototronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) to Buy from Underperform citing cost reductions, the amended credit agreement, and expectations for growth after the January quarter.

• Roth Capital downgraded RTI Biologics (NASDAQ:RTIX) to Hold from Buy and lowered its target to $3 from $6 following its negative Q4 negative pre-announcement.
  
• Morgan Joseph said Ceradyne (NASDAQ:CRDN) will not ship any new X-SAPI body armor in Q4 due to a contract protest by a competitor. The Army has decided to seek new bids but CRDN management expects to win a similar order in late January with deliveries expected in late 1Q09. Shares were downgraded to Hold from Buy.

• William Blair initiated Grand Canyon (NASDAQ:LOPE) with an Outperform rating. The firm believes the company has strong growth prospects amid a favorable industry backdrop.
  
• Keefe Bruyette resumed coverage of Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) with a Market Perform rating and $12.50 target, citing financial guaranty market instability.
• Capital Source (NYSE:CSE) was reinstated with a Neutral rating at Credit Suisse.
  
• Yongye Biotechnology (OTC:YGYB) was initiated with a Buy rating and $3.50 target at Roth Capital.

• Axys Tech (NASDAQ: AXYS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Morgan Joseph based on valuation.
  
• Elizabeth Arden (NASDAQ: RDEN) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Wedbush on valuation and the success of the company's Viva La Juicy launch.

• Keefe Bruyette downgraded Greenhill & Co. (NYSE: GHL) and Evercore Partners (NYSE: EVR) to Market Perform from Outperform on valuation and lowered its estimates to reflect slower than initially expected M&A advisory transactions. Greenhill's target was lowered to $66 from $72 and Evercore's was cut to $14.50 from $16.
  
• Collins Stewart downgraded shares of Thermage (NASDAQ: THRM) to Hold from Buy following the Reliant acquisition to reflect integration and balance sheet concerns.

• Roth Capital views American Oriental (NYSE: AOB) as a cash-rich, multi-faceted pharmaceutical company that is well equipped to handle unforeseen changes in China's Health care market. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $10 target.
  
• Jesup & Lamont believes Bristow Group (NYSE: BRS) is well positioned in current downturn as the majority of its business is in production platforms and drilling rigs. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $37 target.
  
• Barrington initiated BWAY Holding (NYSE: BWY) with an Outperform rating and $9 target. The firm believes the company is an early cycle business that should benefit from cost reduction activity.
• Grand Canyon (NASDAQ: LOPE) was assumed with a Buy rating and $21 target at Piper Jaffray.

Grand Canyon Education Inc. will end the four-month IPO drought when it goes public this month. According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), "The company plans to sell 10.5 million shares at a price between $16 and $18, $2 lower than originally planned, and will list on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol LOPE. Credit Suisse Group and Merrill Lynch & Co. are the lead underwriters. The deal is expected to begin trading Nov. 20."

Grand Canyon Education Inc. was formed when Grand Canyon University, then a struggling public college, was taken private by Significant Education LLC in January of 2004. The school's roots go back to 1949 when it was established as a Christian university by the Arizona Southern Baptists. The school's list of notable alumni is mainly athletes: former Major League Baseball players Tim Salmon and Chad Curtis, along with Ultimate Fighter Efrain Escudero.

The company may be adversely effected by tightening in the student loan market, which is likely to have a disproportionate effect on for-profit colleges. On the other hand, economic woes may inspire more workers to go back to school to seek more specialized training. So far shares of for-profit college operators like DeVry Inc. (NYSE: DV) and Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) have held up extremely well in comparison to the broader market.

For more information, read the registration statement here.