MOST NOTEWORTHY: Clayton, PharmaNet Development, Royal Bank of Scotland, Progressive Gaming and WSFS Financial were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• JMP Securities downgraded shares of Clayton Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: CLAY) to Market Perform from Outperform citing lack of visibility in the non-agency MBS market. William Blair also downgraded shares to Market Perform from Outperform after the company's in-line quarter, to reflect lowered estimates and uncertainty regarding a recovery time.
• Jefferies downgraded shares of PharmaNet Development Group Inc (NASDAQ: PDGI) to Hold from Buy as they believe departures of board and management executives have introduced new risk.
• The Royal Bank of Group PLC (NYSE: RBS) was lowered to Sell from Buy at Citigroup, as they are negative on the company's acquisition of ABN Amro Holding NV (NYSE: ABN).
• ThinkEquity downgraded shares of Progressive Gaming International Corporation (NASDAQ: PGIC) to Accumulate from Buy following Friday's announcement that it lost its post-trial motions and will proceed to appeals court in the Webb lawsuit. PGIC will have to post a $20M bond, which is more than the firm expected.
• B. Riley downgraded shares of WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: WSFS) to Neutral from Buy after they lowered their estimates to reflect the company's higher projected on-interest expense.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Goldman removed Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) from its Conviction Buy List.
• Calyon downgraded VeraSun Energy Corporation (NYSE: VSE) to Add from Buy.
• Merrill Lynch downgraded Aetna Incorporated (NYSE: AET) to Neutral from Buy.
• Friedman Billings downgraded Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE: BHI) to Market Perform from Outperform.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Tompkins plc (TKS), Commerce Bancorp (CBH), Tribune Co (TRB) and Progressive Gaming International Corp (PGIC) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Merrill Lynch upgraded shares of Tompkins plc (NYSE: TKS) to Neutral from Sell on valuation as they believe the company's exposure to the weak U.S. residential and automotive markets is priced into shares.

• RBC Capital raised Commerce Bancorp (NYSE: CBH) to Sector performer from Underperformer. They view the terms of the consent order as a positive and believe the company will now consider a sale given the resignation of CEO Vernon Hill. Keefe Bruyette also upgraded shares of Commerce to Market Perform from Underperform.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Tribune Co (NYSE: TRB) to Buy from Hold as they believe the going-private transaction will be completed.

• ThinkEquity upgraded Progressive Gaming (NASDAQ: PGIC) to Buy from Accumulate following a recent trip to Macau and marketing meetings with management that reinforced their confidence in the company's long-term viability and strong market positioning...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman upgraded Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ: COST) to Buy from Neutral.

• Wachovia raised The McClatchy Co (NYSE: MNI) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• InterOil Corp (AMEX: IOC) was upgraded to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James.

• JP Morgan added Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) to its Focus List.

• Banc of America added Archer Daniels Midland Co (NYSE: ADM) to Buy from Neutral.

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

In my continuing series of the top 25 stocks for the NEXT 25 years, the next name is Progressive Gaming Corp. (NASDAQ: PGIC). Progressive Gaming is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada and sells its products around the world. The stock is at $5.40 and carries a current market capitalization of $210 million. PGIC provides integrated casino and jackpot management solutions to the gaming world. The company has two major divisions: slot and table games and its systems division. The slot and tables division develops, licenses and distributes branded table games like the World Series of Poker, Texas Hold 'Em and Caribbean Stud. The slots part of the division offers branded games such as Garfield, the Beach Boys and many more.

The systems division is a bit more complex in nature. Progressive Gaming has developed an RFID (radio-frequency identification) system to track players habits and gaming successes at the blackjack tables. The chips employed in the betting process are tagged with an RFID chip thus allowing the casino to know in real-time, who is betting at which tables and how much. The system falls under the CasinoLink Enterprise umbrella. The gaming industry is a natural collector of customer information to allow for profit-modeling on a per customer basis. PGIC has the patented products to supply the casinos with a soup-to-nuts solution.

The beauty of the model for PGIC is the recurring revenues. Once a blackjack table has been retrofitted for about $5000, PGIC collects a daily royalty based on usage of the table and the RFID-tagged chips. The margins on this are enormous and highly profitable. The casino-based slot machines are also on a recurring revenue model.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Best Buy Co, Inc (BBY), Amazon.com, Inc (AMZN), aQuantive, Inc (AQNT) and AT&T (T) were today's most notable upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded shares of Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) to Buy from Neutral, telling customers valuation is discounting an earnings miss and reflects concerns about the company's capital allocation. The firm expects BBY to meet recent guidance and current Street estimates.
• Deutsche bank upgraded shares of Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Buy from Hold, citing expectations for operating margin improvement near-term and added growth and margin expansion longer-term from Web Services initiatives.
• JP Morgan upgraded shares of aQuantive (NASDAQ: AQNT) to Outperform from Neutral, citing valuation and stronger fundamentals as the firm expects Google's (GOOG) acquisition of DoubleClick to result in stable pricing during the integration process. aQuantive was also upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBSW and to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.
• AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital, as the firm believes shares have stronger growth prospects compared to the group based on wirelines cost cutting, churn and margin improvements at Cingular.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman upgraded shares of Progressive Gaming International Corp (NASDAQ: PGIC) to Neutral from Sell on valuation.
• Banc of America upgraded shares of Apollo Group, Inc (NASDAQ: APOL) to Buy from Neutral.
• Matrix upgraded shares of Ruth's Chris Steak House, Inc (NASDAQ: RUTH) to Hold from Strong Sell.
• Bear Stearns upgraded Rural Cellular Corp (NASDAQ: RCCC) to Outperform from Peer Perform.
• Merrill raised COTT Corp's (NYSE: COT) rating off the ground, upgrading shares to Neutral from Sell.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The automotive sector was today's most noteworthy initiation:

• Prudential initiated the automotive manufacturers industry and automotive retail industry with Favorable ratings and the automotive parts and equipment industry with an Unfavorable rating. The firm initiated coverage on following stocks:
  
• Overweight-rated names included Autoliv Inc (NYSE: ALV), Group 1 Automotive, Inc (NYSE: GPI), Honda Motor Co, Ltd (NYSE: HMC), Johnson Controls, Inc (NYSE: JCI), Sonic Automotive, Inc (NYSE: SAH), & Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE: TM).
  
• Neutral Weight-rated names included AutoNation, Inc (NYSE: AN), DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX), Magna International Inc (NYSE: MGA) and United Auto Group, Inc (NYSE: UAG).
  
• Underweight-rated names included Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F), General Motors Corp (NYSE: GM) and Gentex Corp (NASDAQ: GNTX).

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Bernstein initiated JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) with a Market Perform rating and $54 target.

• Lehman started Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE: TWC) with a Neutral rating.

• Merriman initiated shares of Progressive Gaming International Corp (NASDAQ: PGIC) with a Buy rating, as the firm believes it is on the cusp of gaining meaningful market share of casino floors through its technologies and now is the time to get involved in shares.

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

Back on the 16th of February I wrote a positive article on the company Progressive Gaming International Corp. (NASDAQ: PGIC). My BloggingStocks article explained why I liked the stock on my website at $6.65 back in October, and in mid-February it was trading at $9.32. Rather than suggest to readers to sell the shares and capture the 40%+ profit, I suggested they add to their positions as the best lay ahead for the company. I was wrong, plain and simple.

As a stock picker, I do my homework and research as much as humanly possible. I check and double -- even triple -- check sources, analysts and portfolio managers, but sometimes, we (I) just get it wrong. We are still dependent on human beings acting on plans and forecasts and sometimes it just does not work out according to plan. Yesterday PGIC closed at $4.20, down $.73 on huge volume as the company reported that "suspicious trading activity" took place on its stock on March 23rd. Also, the company badly missed its fourth quarter estimates for revenues and earnings and forward estimates were reduced for 2007.

Progressive Gaming has some extremely valuable technology for the gaming and casino industry. Its technology has been placed in several bell-weather casinos both in the United States and internationally. PGIC does have high barriers to entry, but the company has not yet fulfilled its mission of consistency with revenues and earnings. It might do so and some portfolio managers I know are taking a serious look at this company as a turnaround play. The problem is turnarounds take time and patience. The thesis of my February recommendation was based on strong and solidifying fundamentals, with momentum entering 2007. That has not materialized.

Progressive Gaming has a lot of value due to patents granted, serious customer relationships and valuable technology, but the year 2007 looks very difficult and challenging for this company. I think, barring a takeover play, the shares will be quiet money for the year.

Mea culpa, I was wrong and apologize for this suggestion...

Georges Yared is the author "Stop Losing Money Today" and "Baby Boomer Investing." Please visit www.georgesyared.com

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Campbell Soup Company (CPB) and Wyerhaeuser Company (WY) topped today's modest-sized list of downgrades:

• Goldman Sachs downgraded Campbell Soup Co (NYSE: CPB) to Sell from Neutral with a $40 target and added the company to its America's Sell List as they see minimal upside over the next year.

• UBS cut Wyerhaeuser Co (NYSE: WY) to Reduce from Neutral on valuation.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: CTB) was downgraded at Deutsche Bank to Hold from Buy on valuation.

• Progressive Gaming International Corp (NASDAQ: PGIC) was cut to Accumulate from Buy at ThinkEquity.

• Lazard downgraded Insmed Inc (NASDAQ: INSM) to Hold from Buy following the litigation settlement with Tercica, Inc (NASDAQ: TRCA) as they see a lack of revenues for the next 2-3 years

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

In my book "Stop Losing Money Today" I used Progressive Gaming International Corp. (NASDAQ:PGIC) in several examples of when to buy, sell and when to buy more. Now the real thing is presenting itself to us...and it is a beautiful thing.

PGIC is at $9.32 and I was recommending it at $6.65 per share. Now, more than ever, this stock is a table pounding buy, even after it has moved up about 40%. The perfect storm is forming right in front of us. Let's examine it carefully.

PGIC is a multi-product company focused in the gaming/entertainment sector. It is a global leader in integrated casino management systems. It has become the "go to" company.

PGIC has innovative and unique technology for slot machines and table games of all types. The slot machine products are server-based extending out to "dumb terminals" thus allowing for changes on the fly. The ITS, or Intelligent Table Systems, allows for a casino to better understand its customers habits and betting patterns. PGIC retrofits a table game and outfits it with RFID-embedded betting chips.