Analyst upgrades:

• Wells Fargo transferred coverage of Cooper Industries (NYSE: CBE) with an Outperform rating, upgraded from the previous analysts' Market Perform rating. The firm believes commercial construction will be of less of a headwind for the company than the Street thinks, and has a $38-$41 valuation range on the stock.
• Kaufman Bros. upgraded SuccessFactors (NASDAQ: SFSF) to Buy from Hold after channel checks indicated demand trends picked up in July. The firm raised its target on shares to $15 from $12.
• UBS upgraded eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) to Buy from Neutral and believes Marketplace transaction growth is "turning the corner." Additionally, the firm believes the secondary market represents a long-term opportunity for the company. The firm raised its target to $28 from $24.
• Novartis (NYSE: NVS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
• Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform AMC Monday at Bernstein.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Capital One (NYSE: COF) to Buy from Hold as it believes the credit cycle is starting to recover for U.S. credit cards and an improving economy will support bank credit stabilization. The firm raised its target on shares to $44 from $28.
• JPMorgan upgraded Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to Overweight from Neutral on valuation and believes the stock market recovery will serve as a catalyst.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) to Buy from Hold after its channel checks indicated a sooner-than-expected order ramp and stabilizing pricing trends. The firm raised its target on shares to $46 from $39.
• COTT Corp. (NYSE: COT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
• Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Marvel Entertainment, Macrovision and K-Sea Trans were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Thomas Weisel initiated Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL) with a Market Weight rating and $34 target citing valuation and lack of meaningful operational catalysts until 2010.
  
• Kaufman Bros. assumed Macrovision (NASDAQ: MVSN) with a Buy rating and $27 target. The firm believes the merger with Gemstar TV Guide creates a powerhouse in digital media technology licensing with a compelling financial model.
  
• Wachovia expects K-Sea Trans (NYSE: KSP) to benefit from stable petroleum product demand, longer-term contracts, and aggressive new building program. Shares were started with an Outperform rating.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Safe Bulkers (NYSE: SB) was initiated with a Neutral rating at Merrill Lynch and an Outperform rating and $25 target at Credit Suisse.
  
• Stephens initiated Life Time Fitness (NYSE: LTM) with an Overweight rating and $37 target and Town Sports (NASDAQ: CLUB) with an Equal Weight rating and $10 target.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Pacer Int'l (PACR), ComScore (SCOR), Riverbed Technology (RVBD) and CBS Corp (CBS) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• William Blair believes Pacer Int'l (NASDAQ: PACR) is in a favorable industry, with growth-specific opportunities and short-term concerns and started shares with a Market Perform rating.

• William Blair starting ComScore (NASDAQ: SCOR) with an Outperform rating, believing the online marketing research sector will have 20%+ growth over the next 3-5 years.

• Nollenberger believes Riverbed (NASDAQ: RVBD) is positioned to gain market share and is a technology and product leader, starting shares with a Buy rating and $55 target. BMO

• Capital initiated CBS Corp (NYSE: CBS) with an Outperform and expects the stock is $1.74/share for 2007 and $2.03 in 2008 with upside should there be a levered buyback...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Life Time Fitness (NYSE: LTM) was started with a Buy rating and $67 target at ThinkEquity.

• Citigroup started Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) with a Buy rating.

• SMH Capital initiated Energen (NYSE: EGN) with a Buy.

• Keybanc started WABCO Holdings (NYSE: WBC) with a Buy rating.

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

Tonight on CNBC's MAD MONEY, Jim Cramer talked about diet-plays for betting-to-win off the obesity of America. On weight loss, Cramer said there are ways to profit off the diet fad after the holidays. He wants to get into the weight-loss game before the companies report Q1 results. You can burn calories or cut down calories. There are some that earn major bucks and some to avoid.

As far as a health-club play, Cramer likes Lifetime Fitness (NYSE:LTM). He disagrees with a Prudential 'Underweight' rating; here's why he liked it and why it popped after he talked about it.

He discussed NutriSystems Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRI) as one that is just as dangerous to own now as it was before it recently got hit. He said they sell direct to the consumer instead of through retail outlets. He likes Weight Watchers International (NYSE:WTW). It has a better business model because it is like a profitable A-A. Here is the full note on that one. After Cramer panned it, NTRI fell 0.7% to $43.75 and that is after it fell 15% today. Its 52-week high is $76.33 and the low is $35.01. WTW popped over 1% to $54.77 in after-hours.

Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St., LLC; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The Gaming sector and CBS Corp (CBS) were the most notable companies on today's initiation list.

• Prudential initiated the Gaming sector with a Favorable rating,
  
• They initiated Boyd Gaming Corp (NYSE: BYD), Town Sports International Holdings (NASDAQ: CLUB), Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ: PENN), Shuffle Master Inc (NASDAQ: SHFL), Steiner Leisure Ltd (NASDAQ: STNR) and Great Wolf Resorts Inc (NASDAQ: WOLF) with Outperform ratings.
  
• Ameristar Casinos Inc (NASDAQ: ASCA), MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) and WMS Industries Inc (NYSE: WMS) were initiated with Neutral ratings.
• Underweight ratings were given to International Game Tech (NYSE: IGT), Isle of Capri Casinos Inc (NASDAQ: ISLE), Life Time Fitness Inc (NYSE: LTM), Pinnacle Entertainment Inc (NYSE: PNK) and Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc (NASDAQ: TRMP).

• UBS initiated CBS Corp (NYSE: CBS) with a Buy rating and $38 target, citing valuation, dividends and buybacks.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Nollenberger believes International Rectifier Corp (NYSE: IRF) is the way to play the trend for energy efficiency, initiating the company with a Buy rating and $60 target.

• Goldman Sachs resumed coverage of AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) with a Buy rating and Level 3 Communications inc (NASDAQ: LVLT) with a Neutral rating.

• Stanford started EDO Corp (NYSE: EDO) with a Hold rating and $25 target; the firm believes EDO can be a turnaround story in 2007, but they recommend investors to stay on the sidelines until after Q4 earnings given their concerns over the quarter and guidance.

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