Analyst Upgrades

• Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• tw telecom (TWTC) to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• Agree Realty (ADC) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Millicom (MICC) to buy from neutral at Nomura.
• BioMed Realty (BMR) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Realty Income (O) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Analyst Upgrades

• Tiffany (TIF) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Kellogg (K) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Citizens Republic (CRBC) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Research in Motion (RIMM) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• MWI Veterinary Supply (MWIV) and Elster (ELT) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Paetec Holding (PAET) and Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• New Gold (NGD) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Aviat Networks (AVNW) to buy from hold at Needham.
• Abiomed (ABMD) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Animal Health (AHII) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• PNM Resources (PNM) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

Analyst Upgrades

• Piper Jaffray upgraded MWI Veterinary Supply (MWIV) to overweight from neutral and raised its target for shares to $50.
• UBS believes Nokia (NOK) is well positioned for smartphone growth. The firm upgraded shares to buy from neutral and has a $19.55 price target.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Cedar Fair (FUN) to outperform from market perform. After the company's merger agreement with Apollo was terminated, the firm thinks the company will be able to refinance its debt, removing an uncertainty.
• Darden (DRI) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• KeyCorp (KEY) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Bank of Ireland (IRE) was upgraded to hold from sell at RBS.

Investors searching the stock universe for a defensive play in today's uncertain, sluggish market may want to consider MWI Veterinary Supply Inc. (NASDAQ: MWIV).

MWI Veterinary is looking at sales gains of its flea/tick product, as a result of fewer distributors in this pet care segment. Behind regular physicals and vaccinations, flea & tick control medication is the most common service received at veterinary clinics, with about 40% of U.S. dogs receiving treatment.

Another positive: MWIV's footprint is large -- it serves more than 15,000 veterinary clinics.

Also significant is MWIV's sector: pet care. Historically, pet care as a sector has held its own during sluggish economic conditions. The sector exhibits defensive qualities because pet care, like the purchase of clothes, soap, shampoo and cereal, is an area Americans historically don't cut back during tougher economic conditions.

MWIV currently trades around $36. The Reuters 2007 and 2008 EPS consensus estimates are $1.39 and $1.62.

MORE NOTEWORTHY: InterMune, Inc (ITMN), Riverbed Technology, Inc (RVBD), Credence Systems Corp (CMOS) and MWI Veterinary Supply, Inc (MWIV) were today's more notable initiations:

• American Technology started InterMune Inc (NASDAQ: ITMN) with a Buy rating and $29 target as the firm believes the recent share weakness in InterMune provides a buying opportunity. The firm expects significant news flow from the ITMN-191 program over the next 12 months to provide positive catalysts to shares.

• Pacific Crest initiated Riverbed Technology Inc (NASDAQ: RVBD) with an Underperform rating and $22 target, citing valuation.

• Credit Suisse started Credence Systems (NASDAQ: CMOS) with an Underperform rating and $3 target.

• JP Morgan started MWI Veterinary (NASDAQ: MWIV) with an Overweight rating, saying industry fundamentals are favorable and MWIV's growth prospects are strong.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• UBS & Merrill Lynch both started Duncan Energy Partners (NYSE: DEP) with a Neutral rating.

• Employers Holdings, Inc (NYSE: EIG) was initiated with an Equal-Weight rating at Morgan Stanley.

• Needham initiated Cascade Microtech, Inc (NASDAQ: CSCD) with a Buy rating and $18 target.

• Credit Suisse assumed coverage of Teradyne, Inc (NYSE: TER) and Amkor Technology (NASDAQ: AMKR) with a Neutral rating and $17 target.

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