Analyst Upgrades

• Sprint (S) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at Piper Jaffray.
• Cree (CREE) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Morgan Keegan.
• Brocade (BRCD) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• JPMorgan upgraded WuXi PharmaTech (WX) to overweight from neutral.
• Barclays upgraded ITC Holdings (ITC) to overweight from equal weight.
• Centene (CNC) was upgraded to outperform from underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Senior Housing (SNH) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• UBS upgraded Hovnanian (HOV) to neutral from sell.
• GeoResources (GEOI) was upgraded to accumulate from neutral at Madison Williams.
• Compellent (CML) was upgraded to hold from sell at Canaccord.

Analyst upgrades:

• BMO Capital upgraded Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and the company's growth outlook. The firm has a price target of $125 on the stock.
• Morgan Keegan upgraded WESCO (WCC) to Outperform from Market Perform ahead of Thursday's earnings report based on valuation and expectations for stronger than expected sales.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Bank of Marin (BMRC) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $40 price target following the company's Q2 results.
• BHP Billiton (BHP) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
• PPG Industries (PPG) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Schnitzer Steel (SCHN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) to Buy from Hold as they believe the company's fee elimination coupled with 2009 industry trends could lead to market share gains and that the valuation is compelling at current levels. Citigroup raised its price target to $14 from $9 on EXPE shares.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Lukoil (OTC: LUKOY) to Outperform from Neutral as it believes lower taxes and the ruble's decline will increase profitability.
  
• Soleil upgraded Jo Ann Stores (NYSE: JAS) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company's sales results in the first half of 2009 could top expectations. The firm raised its target price to $20 from $16.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  
• Bayer AG (OTC: BAYRY) was lifted to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America/Merrill.
  
• ManTech (NASDAQ: MANT) was raised at Wachovia to Outperform from Market Perform.

Analyst upgrades:

• Piper upgraded shares of Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) to Buy from Neutral following the company's negative Q3 pre-announcement as it believes the launch of Pre will drive longer term profitability. Piper raised its target price on shares to $10 from $4.
  
• Jefferies upgraded Monotype Imaging (NASDAQ: TYPE) to Buy from Hold as it believes the valuation is compelling at current levels and the company's debt is manageable. Despite upgrading, Jefferies lowered its target price to $4 from $6.
  
• Citigroup raised Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) to Hold from Sell as it believes the company's productions cuts and lower dividends are positive.
• Celanese (NYSE: CE) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman and added to the firm's Conviction Buy List.
  
• Aegon (NYSE: AEG) was lifted at UBS to Neutral from Sell.
  
• Sun Healthcare (NASDAQ: SUNH) was upgraded at Stephens to Overweight from Equal Weight.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Dynamic Materials, Allergan and Sun Micro were among today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Dynamic Materials (NASDAQ: BOOM) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan following the Q1 report based on margin risk from steel costs and availability.
  
• Allergan (NYSE: AGN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies ahead of the Q1 report on May 7 based on potential deceleration in Botox and breast implants, which could result in multiple contractions.
• Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) was downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear, citing the disappointing earnings report for the downgrade.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• ManTech (NASDAQ: MANT) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Cowen based on valuation and expectations for decelerating growth in 2H08.
  
• Silver State Bancorp (NASDAQ: SSBX) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Sandler O'Neil.

ManTech International Corporation (NASDAQ: MANT) provides information technology services, primarily to agencies of the United States government. Company operations involve systems engineering, software development, security architecture, information assurance, network and infrastructure protection, communications integration and engineering support. Clients include the intelligence community; the Departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security and Justice; and the space community. Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) is a major competitor.

The stock has been on the move for the past three months, advancing through a positive trading channel in response to such developments as the acquisition of Homeland Security contractor McDonald Bradley, better-than-expected Q3 EPS and sales figures, upside guidance for Q4 numbers, subsequent affirmation of Q4 guidance, upside estimates for FY08 results and favorable analyst remarks. The price is currently consolidating at the base of that channel, where oversold MACD, Momentum and Stochastic technical parameters suggest the potential for a rise back toward the top. Correspondence of the stock's 90-day moving average to the channel base backs the rebound notion.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Kenexa Corp (KNXA), CACI International (CAI), SI International (SINT), Tyco Electronics (TEL) and YUM! Brands (YUM) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• ThinkEquity started Kenexa Corp (NASDAQ: KNXA) with an Accumulate rating, citing the company's attractive business model that can deliver high-value, high-margin content, but questions the company's plans to compete with best-of-breed vendors.

• Banc of America initiated CACI International (NYSE: CAI) with a Neutral, citing the challenging budget environment and margin trends.

• Banc of America believes shares of SI International (NASDAQ: SINT) offers a compelling risk/reward given the improving civilian funding environment and upside potential from recent M&A activity, and assumed coverage with a Buy rating and $38 target.

• Tyco Electronics (NYSE: TEL) was started with a Hold rating at Deutsche Bank, citing risks to the company's potential turnaround.

• Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) was re-initiated with an Outperform rating at Friedman Billings on valuation and considers any stock price weakness from the increased costs as a buy opportunity.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Banc of America assumed the following Government IT Services companies with Buy ratings: SRA International (NYSE: SRX) and SI International.

• Banc of America assumed the following Government IT Services companies with Neutral ratings: CACI International, MTC Technologies (NASDAQ: MTCT), SAIC (NYSE: SAI), and ManTech International Corp (NASDAQ: MANT).

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