Analyst upgrades:

• Merriman upgraded Dendreon (NASDAQ: DNDN) to Buy from Neutral on expectations shares will react positively to the full IMPACT data release on April 28. The firm thinks Provenge could represent the first cancer immunotherapy approved in the U.S. and raised its valuation range on the stock to $33-$34 from $18-$19.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Andersons (NASDAQ: ANDE) as it believes the valuation is attractive, investor expectations are low, and the company's fertilizer and rail segments could recovery in FY10. The firm has a $19 target on shares. Goldman upgraded the auto sector to Neutral from Cautious and added Ford (NYSE: F) to its Conviction Buy list. The analyst does not believe Ford will have to declare bankruptcy and sees the company benefiting from Chrysler share declines and GM's (NYSE: GM) reduced product offerings. Ford's price target is $6
• Banc of America/Merrill upgraded U.S. Airways (NYSE: LCC) to Buy from Underperform.
• Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Omnicare (NYSE: OCR) to Buy from Hold and raised their target to $37 from $24.50 following the company's Q2 results to reflect improving earnings visibility.
  
• Piper upgraded Motorola (NYSE: MOT) to Neutral from Sell following the company's Q2 results to reflect its continued execution in cost management. The firm raised its target to $9 from $7.
  
• Capital One Southcoast upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ: PTEN) to Add from Neutral based on additional new builds already under contract and rig reactivations. The firm raised its target to $36 from $32.

Analyst downgrades:

• Citigroup downgraded shares of ImClone (NASDAQ: IMCL) to Hold from Buy despite thinking the initial offer from Bristol Myers (BMY) will be raised, as they do not advise chasing shares at current levels. The company's target was raised to $73 from $56.
• First Mercury (NYSE: FMR) and Monster (NASDAQ: MNST) were downgraded at JP Morgan to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• Jefferies lowered Osiris Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OSIR) to Underperform from Hold.

Analyst initiations:

• Morgan Keegan initiated Cicso Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) with a Market Perform rating, citing the difficult macro environment; the firm believes 2H08 estimates will come down.
  
• Banc of America reinstated coverage of MF Global (NYSE: MF) with a Buy rating and $8.36 target.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Motorola, MF Global and Acorda Therapeutics were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Piper Jaffray downgraded shares of Motorola (NYSE: MOT) to Sell from Neutral after their June channel checks indicated continued market share losses in the company's North American handset business.
  
• Keefe Bruyette downgraded shares of MF Global (NYSE: MF) to Market Perform from Outperform on the anticipated dilutive effect of the company's convertible offerings.
  
• Friedman Billings downgraded Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ACOR) to Market Perform from Outperform citing valuation.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Xyratex (NASDAQ: XRTX) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird and to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.
  
• Goldman downgraded the U.S. Financial Sector and Consumer Discretionary Sector to Underweight from Neutral. Goldman removed Nucor (NYSE: NUE) from the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Merrill downgraded AU Optronics (NYSE: AUO) to Neutral from Buy.

Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) is off almost 8% on weaker-than-expected earnings.

Clear Channel (NYSE:CCU) is up over 12% on news of a court order that banks must fund a private equity buy-out.

MF Global (NYSE:MF) is up 9% on news that it has freed up $800 million in liquidity.

SAP (NYSE:SAP) is down 6% on bad news from riva Oracle.

Stocks may trade differently in the pre-market than they do in the regular session.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

While there was economic data today, everyone knew what today was about: the imploding takeunder of The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. (NYSE: BSC). While the markets were down miserably in pre-market trading, the U.S. did much better than overseas markets. Also, oil came down significantly closing out down $4.21 at $106.00. In fact, if you watched the news last night as the big "takeunder" became formalized, you really wouldn't believe the tape today. The NY Empire Manufacturing index for March came in at -22.2, down from the -11.7 reading in February; and Industrial Production for February came in at -0.5%, down from -0.1% in the prior reading. Below are the unofficial closes:

• DJIA 11,972.25 (+21.16; +0.18%)
• S&P500 1,276.60 (-11.54; -0.90%)
• NASDAQ 2,177.01 (-35.48; -1.60%)
• 10YR-TBond 3.314% (-0.107%)

As JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is getting most of these assets on the cheap, it was the standout of DJIA components today with a large rise of 10.3% to $40.31. But here are the ones that Wall Street is most scared about, and you'll see it in the price. Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) also rubbed off on other banks and brokers that were leveraged:

• Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: LEH) fell 19% to $31.75.
  
• UBS AG (USA) (NYSE: UBS) fell 11% to $24.66.
  
• MF Global Ltd. (NYSE: MF) fell a sharp 65% to $6.05.
• In addition, UBS downgraded many names in the sector this morning.

MF Global (NYSE: MF), a broker of exchange-listed futures and options, is recently down $10.99 to $6.50.

On Feb 28, MF recorded a bad debt provision of $141 million in response to unauthorized personal trading activity by one of the company's registered representatives.

MF call option volume of 2,540 contracts compares to put volume of 6,148 contracts. MF April option implied volatility of 222 is above its 26-week average of 49 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risk.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

MF Global (NYSE: MF), a broker of exchange-listed futures and options, is recently down $7.20 to $22.02 after disclosing a bad debt provision of $141 million in response to unauthorized personal trading activity by one of the company's registered representatives.

Deutsche Bank says: "this event, coupled with recent lawsuits and regulatory issues, seem to raise risk profile associated with MF."

MF call option volume of 7,924 contracts compares to put volume of 7,767 contracts. MF April option implied volatility of 68 is above its 26-week average of 41 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risk.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

On February 8, the hedge fund Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG) brought a $634.29 million equity offering to market amid great fanfare at a price of $18.50 per share. Although the stock closed at $31 on the first day of trading, it has since declined to $22.69.

On June 21, private equity firm Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) launched a $4.13 billion IPO, priced at $31 per share. Once again, while the initial euphoria helped push the stock to a first-day close of $35.06, it has since fallen to $26.46, significantly below the offering price.

On July 18, futures and options broker MF Global Ltd (NYSE: MF) was floated by parent Man Group PLC in a $2.92 billion offering. This time around, the shares closed at $27.55 on the first day of trading, a discount to the $30 issue price, and are currently changing hands at around $26.95 a share.

At this rate, I can't wait to see what happens with the next new issue in the financial services industry.

Michael Panzner is a 25-year veteran of the global stock, bond, and currency markets and the author of Financial Armageddon: Protecting Your Future from Four Impending Catastrophes and The New Laws of the Stock Market Jungle: An Insider's Guide to Successful Investing in a Changing World.