"Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) is a Danish pharmaceutical company that focuses on diabetes care and biopharmaceuticals," notes Nicholas Vardy.

The editor of the Global Bull Market Alert explains, "Novo Nordisk is a quiet giant, employing 30,000 people in 76 countries; we think investors could double their money with this profit machine.

"More than 200 million people worldwide suffer from some form of diabetes. Patients with type 1 (juvenile) diabetes can't make insulin at all and need to inject it their whole lives.

Analyst Upgrades

• Xilinx (XLNX) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Orion Energy (OESX) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Goodyear Tire (GT) to buy from fair value at CRT Capital.
• RadioShack (RSH) to neutral from underperform at Wedbush.
• Novo Nordisk (NVO) to buy from neutral at Goldman.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Dollar Tree (DLTR) to neutral from underweight and $48 price target.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Time Warner Cable (TWC) to outperform from neutral and raised its price target to $70 from $59, citing growth in wireline HST demand.
• Needham upgraded NetScout (NTCT) to buy from hold with a $29 price target, citing channel checks that indicate industry spending on network monitoring software may be improving.
• Nstar (NST) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Novo Nordisk (NVO) was upgraded to hold from sell at Societe Generale.
• Air France-KLM (AFLYY) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Credit Suisse.

In a review of the pharmaceutical sector, Chuck Carlson selects his favorite International stocks which also offer direct-purchase plans for U.S. investors.

Here's a look at two of these stocks -- United Kingdom-based AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) and Denmark-based Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) -- from his The DRIP Investor, a newsletter focused on long-term, high quality investments.

"AstraZeneca is a leading pharmaceutical firm. The company boasts a portfolio that includes 11 products that generate more than $1 billion each in annual sales.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• B. Riley downgraded shares of World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) to Neutral from Buy on valuation with the stock only 1% below their target price. However, B. Riley admits shares may move higher during the next 30-35 days, due to the upcoming WrestleMania event in Orlando, FL.
  
• Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill on valuation and a lack of near-term catalysts; shares were also lowered to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns.
  
• ING lowered Nestle (OTC: NSRGY) to Hold from Buy as they expect organic growth to slow in 2008.

• Banc of America downgraded Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• HSBC downgraded Repsol SA (NYSE: REP) to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• Del Monte Foods (NYSE: DLM) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Bear Stearns upgraded The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) to Outperform from Peer Perform, as they expect it to post solid earnings short-term with potential upside, and over the long-term due to its upgraded business model.
• Bernstein raised its rating on Novo Nordisk AS (NYSE: NVO) to Outperform from Market Perform, as they believe consensus estimates do not reflect the company's growth potential.
• Merriman upgraded shares of Equinix Inc (NASDAQ: EQIX) to Buy from Neutral on valuation following the recent sell-off. The firm expects strong Q4 results.

• BG Group Plc (OTC: BRGYY) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• PetSmart Inc (NASDAQ: PETM) was raised to Buy from Neutral by Goldman Sachs.
  
• Bear upgraded Urban Outfitters Inc (NASDAQ: URBN) to Peer Perform from Underperform.