MOST NOTEWORTHY: Och-Ziff Capital, FactSet, Forest Labs and certain optical component maker and provider stocks were today's noteworthy initiations.

• Och Ziff Capital Management Group (NYSE: OZM) was initiated with an Overweight by JP Morgan, which believes the company should be able to better sustain and build its earnings power than traditional asset managers in the challenging market conditions.
  
• JP Morgan started FactSet Research Systems (NYSE: FDS) with a Neutral, as the firm is looking for a better entry point given the probability of an upcoming financial data and analytics spending slowdown.
  
• Forest Labs Inc. (NYSE: FRX) was initiated with a Buy by Roth Capital, which cited Lexapro and the company's near-term EPS as reasons for the rating.
  
• Thomas Weisel initiated optical component maker and provider companies Avanex Corp. (NASDAQ: AVNX), Bookham Inc. (NASDAQ: BKHM), Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR), Optium Corp. (NASDAQ: OPTM), Opnext Inc. (NASDAQ: OPXT), and Oplink Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: OPLK) with Market Weight ratings, as the firm expects the unfavorable industry structure to create margin volatility.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• JP Morgan assumed coverage of American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) with an Overweight rating.
• Morgan Stanley initiated Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ: EGLE) with an Equal Weight.

Optium Corporation (NASDAQ: OPTM) designs and manufactures optical subsystems for use in telecommunications and cable TV network systems. Offerings include transceivers, transmitters, analog RF over fiber products, line cards, circuit packs, and optical add/drop multiplexer products. These devices deliver voice, video, and other data services for consumers and enterprises in the long haul, metropolitan, and access segments of telecommunications and cable TV networks. Major competitors include Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) and JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU).

The firm pleased investors last week, when it reported fiscal first quarter (Q1) earnings per share (EPS) of 8 cents and revenues of $36.1 million. Analysts had been expecting breakeven earnings and sales of $34.5 million. Management also guided Q2 revenues to $38-$39 million, versus Street consensus of $38.7 million. Needham subsequently reiterated its "buy" rating on the issue and boosted its price target to $14. OPTM shares popped on the news and then moved into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Altogether, brokers recommend the stock with one "strong buy", four "buys" and three "holds". Analysts expect a 30 % average annual growth rate, through the next five years. The OPTM PEG ratio (1.15), Price to Sales ratio (1.85), Price to Book ratio (1.70) and Sales Growth rate (20.36%) compare favorably with industry, sector, and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 30 % of the outstanding shares. Over the past 52 weeks, OPTM has traded between $6.64 and $27.19 A stop-loss of $8.00 looks good here if one were to invest in the company.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: EMC Corporation, Tesco PLC, SL Green Realty, Ariba and Motorola were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) was upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns on valuation. Shares were also upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup after coming off restriction to reflect the long-term benefits of virtualization and valuation.
  
• Tesco (OTC: TSCDY) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup on valuation and the company's growth prospects.
  
• SL Green Realty Corporation (NYSE: SLG) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Keybanc based on valuation. The firm views concerns regarding NYC office demand as overblown.
  
• Cowen expects FY07 to be a tough year for Ariba Inc (NASDAQ: ARBA) as benefits from the on-demand subscription model are realized. The firm upgraded shares to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Motorola Inc (NYSE: MOT) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital citing firming trends in its handset division.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Jefferies upgraded Optium Corporation (NASDAQ: OPTM) to Buy from Hold.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Susster Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SUSS) to Overweight from Neutral.
  
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Vishay Intertechnology (NYSE: VSH) to Overweight from Market Weight.
  
• Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL) was upgraded to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James.

Opnext, a maker of laser diodes, optical modules and pluggable modules, is expected to go public this week, and will trade under the symbol OPXT. Opnext is the second optical component company to come public in the last four months. Optium Corporation (NASDAQ: OPTM), a Chalfont, Pa-based company, came public in October 2006 at $17.50 and is now trading at $24.95.

Opnext has been funded by Hitachi and venture capital firm Clarity Group. Hitachi will be transferring some 670 patents to this start up.

The stock is supposedly going to be priced around $14 per share. With only two optical companies recently coming public, as one would expect, the financials for the company are pretty solid.

Supposedly, Opnext is strong in the 10-Gigabyte optical space and also has product for 40 gigabyte technology.

These optical components are very cyclical, as are most new higher growth industries. The upcycle in this space appears to be still in its early stage. It may be worth a spec on this IPO.