Analyst upgrades:

• Banc of America/Merrill upgraded Gymboree (NASDAQ:GYMB) to Buy from Underperform and raised their target to $33 from $15 following the company's Q1 comparable store sales guidance.
  
• Oppenheimer upgraded Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) to Outperform from Perform after channel checks indicated the company's shipments are gaining momentum. The firm raised their price target on the stock to $35 from $20.
  
• Owens & Minor (NYSE:OMI) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse. The firm upgraded shares but lowered their target to $45 from $46 citing underappreciated earnings growth and valuation.
• Albermarle (NYSE:ALB) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Protective Life (NYSE:PL) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
  
• Maxim (NASDAQ:MXIM) was lifted to Buy from Hold at Canaccord.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: MedImmune, Inc (MEDI), Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) and Tractor Supply Co (TSCO) were some of today's more notable downgrades:

• Bear Stearns downgraded MedImmune Inc (NASDAQ: MEDI) to Peer Perform from Outperform based on limited upside over the next 6-12 months.

• Take-Two Interactive Software (Nasdaq: TTWO) was cut by Kaufman to Sell from Hold with a $17 target. Kaufman believes Take-Two is overvalued based on fundamentals.

• Tractor Supply (NASDAQ: TSCO) was downgraded by Matrix to Sell from Hold. The firm expects high livestock feed and fertilizer prices to cut demand for Tractor Supply's target customer base.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Martin Midstream Partners LP (NASDAQ: MMLP) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform based on valuation.

• Friedman Billings cut Opteum Inc (NYSE: OPX) to Underperform from Market Perform citing the mounting losses in sub-prime mortgage loans and notes that servicing rights are also under pressure.

• JP Morgan downgraded OMI Corp (NYSE: OMM) to Neutral from Overweight.

• Kaufman downgraded First Charter Corp (NASDAQ: FCTR) to Market Perform from Outperform, citing the macro environment for the downgrade.

• CIBC downgraded Saifun Semiconductors Ltd (NASDAQ: SFUN) to Sector Performer from Outperform after checks in Asia indicated that Hynix is no longer considering NROM as they believe SFUN's licensing momentum is diminishing.

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

Stock futures are lower in early morning indicating to a similar start for the stock market ahead of some key economic data due to be released today.

At 8:30 a.m., before markets open, the Labor Department will report February's consumer price index. Economists forecast a 0.3% increase compared to a 0.2% increase in January. Ex-food and and energy, core CPI is expected to rise 0.2% after gaining 0.3% in the previous month. Investors will be watching this inflationary measure closely as the Fed meets to discuss interest rate policy next week. What's more, yesterday's PPI surprise is causing further concerns inflationary pressures are sill strong.

Despite PPI coming much higher than expected yesterday and other indication about mounting inflation (at the wholesale level) and slower economic growth, markets finished on a positive note. The reason, many speculate, has to do with several options and futures contracts expiring today bringing buyers into the market. Corporate M&A activity also helped strengthened stocks yesterday.

Other economic data will be reported today: February capacity utilization and industrial production figures will be released just before markets open. March consumer confidence is due at 10:00 a.m., after the open, and is expected to show a slight drop.

The dollar dropped to a three-months low against the euro ahead of the coming U.S. economic data that could further point to weakening U.S. economy. The dollar also lost ground against the yen and 12 other currencies.
After falling to near $57 a barrel, oil prices rose this morning.

In corporate news:

OMI Corp. (NYSE:OMN), operator of a fleet of oil tankers, may put itself up for sale. The company hired advisers to explore sale and its board is reviewing several strategic alternatives.

Nissan Motor Co. (NASDAQ:NSANY) CEO Carlos Ghosn would give up the duty of overseeing operations in the Americas. The automaker shuffles top management as it heads for its first annual profit decline in seven years.