MOST NOTEWORTHY: Motorola, Paccar, Pacific Sunwear, Talbots and RightNow Tech were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) to Buy from Neutral on valuation, and is positive on the company's free cash flow generation.
Wachovia raised Paccar Inc. (NASDAQ: PCAR) estimates to Market Perform from Underperform based on better-than-expected European performance.
Citigroup upgraded shares of Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) to Buy from Hold as they believe the demo division divestiture and improving product execution in core PacSun stores could drive accelerating EPS growth.
Citigroup also upgraded shares of Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB) to Hold from Sell on valuation but remains concerned about the company's long-term outlook.
Roth Capital upgraded RightNow Technologies (NASDAQ: RNOW) to Buy from Hold, as they are encouraged by RNOW's Q3 results and raised guidance and believes the worst is behind the company.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Goldman added Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) to its Conviction Buy List.
Thomas Weisel upgraded Akamai (NADAQ: AKAM) to Overweight from Market Weight.
Lehman upgraded Harley Davidson (NYSE: HOG) to Equal Weight from Underweight.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: The software sector, Ericsson, Paccar, Eni SpA and Valueclick were today's noteworthy downgrades:
Bear Stearns downgraded the software sector to Underweight from Market Weight, citing valuations and increased risk to 2008 IT budgets.
Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Lehman and to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan following the company's Q3 profit warning.
Paccar (NASDAQ: PCAR) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Wachovia. The firm believes Street estimates are too high due to weaker-than-expected North American unit production.
ABN Amro downgraded shares of Eni SpA (NYSE: E) to Sell from Hold as they expect the company to invest significantly more in its upstream activities than guidance suggests due to cost pressures.
Oppenheimer downgraded ValueClick (NASDAQ: VCLK) to Neutral from Buy following the Q3 pre-announcement and guidance.
ROO Group (NASDAQ: RGRP) was initiated with a Buy rating and a $3.75 target at Think Equity, which believes RGRP is positioned to capitalize as the Internet continues to grow as a broadcast medium for video.
Soleil initiated shares of Accuray Inc. (NASDAQ: ARAY) with a Buy rating and $30 target. The company is Soleil's top pick in radiation oncology.
Soleil also initiated shares of TomoTherapy Inc. (NASDAQ: TTPY) with a Buy rating and $25 target, as the firm believes all-in-one imaging and radiation oncology system in HiArt could become the new standard of care.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Elan Corp (NYSE: ELN) was initiated with an Outperform rating and $40 target at Leerink Swann, which added shares to the firm's Focus List as it is positive on the Tysabri opportunity.
Cree Inc (NASDAQ: CREE) was initiated with a Buy rating and $50 target at Amtech, as the firm believes the time for LED adoption has finally arrived and will accelerate in the future.
Nollenberger initiated shares of ZipRealty (NASDAQ: ZIPR) and Move, Inc (NASDAQ: MOVE) with Neutral ratings.
CIBC World Markets initiated shares of Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) with a Sector Underperformer rating and $38 target, expecting the company to be impacted by increasing competition.
BMO Capital Markets initiated shares of Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) with an Outperform rating and $10 target.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Motorola, Paccar, Pacific Sunwear, Talbots and RightNow Tech were today's noteworthy upgrades: .gif){kind=logo}
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