Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded Talbots (NYSE: TLB) to Outperform from Market Perform as it believes the company's inventory and SG&A control should help earnings and the stock's risk/reward is compelling at current levels. The firm raised its target on shares to $7 from $5.
• ThinkEquity upgraded Human Genome (NASDAQ: HGSI) to Buy from Accumulate to reflect higher assumptions for the company's Lupus treatment Benlysta. The firm raised its target on shares to $26 from $18.
• KeyBanc upgraded Parkway Properties (NYSE: PKY) to Buy from Hold based on valuation, improving fundamentals, and stable capital position. The firm has a $17 target on the stock.
• HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HBC) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
• BioScrip (NASDAQ: BIOS) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Spartech (NYSE: SEH) to Buy from Hold as it sees further upside following the company's "strong" Q2 results. The firm raised its target on shares to $10 from $2.50.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Clorox (NYSE: CLX) to Outperform from Underperform. The firm believes the company's FY10 outlook is conservative, providing room for upside, and that the valuation is compelling at current levels. Opco set a $70 price target on the stock.
• Goldman upgraded Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $20 from $16, citing reduced balance sheet concerns following the capital raise. Note that AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy.
• PG&E (NYSE: PCG) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• Pool Corp. (NASDAQ: POOL) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair.
• Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.

Analyst upgrades:

• Stephens upgraded Arris (NASDAQ: ARRS) to Overweight from Equal Weight following the company's Q1 results and raised its target on shares to $15 from $8.
  
• Goldman upgraded Goodyear Tire (NYSE: GT) to Neutral from Sell and raised their target to $11 from $7 citing better earnings prospects and stabilizing volumes.
  
• KeyBanc upgraded Parkway Properties (NYSE: PKY) to Hold from Underweight citing the company's improved balance sheet and valuation.
• Digital River (NASDAQ: DRIV) was raised to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
  
• Barclays (NYSE: BCS) was raised to Buy from Sell at Royal Bank of Scotland.
  
• First Potomac (NYSE: FPO) was upgraded at RBC Capital to Sector Perform from Underperform.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Sovereign Bancorp (NYSE: SOV) to Buy from Hold on their belief Sovereign will merge with Banco Santander (NYSE: STD) according to the terms on their October 13 agreement.
  
• Jefferies upgraded Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) to Hold from Underperform on valuation as they believe the capital infusion from Leonard Green limits downside risk. The company's target was raised to $11 from $9.50.
  
• Banc of America upgraded Max Capital (NASDAQ: MXGL) to Buy from Neutral on valuation, the company's strategic changes to lower earnings volatility and their belief it is well positioned to benefit from an improved P&C marketplace.
• Qimonda (NYSE: QI) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Cowen.
  
• Health Net (NYSE: HNT) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.
  
• Parkway Properties (NYSE: PKY) was lifted to Market Perform from Underperform at Wachovia.

Analyst downgrades:

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Genentech, Digital River and Entercom Comm were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Jefferies downgraded Genentech (NYSE: DNA) to Hold from Buy and lowered their target to $67 from $85 following the panel vote against Avastin approval for first-line metastatic beast cancer. They believe an FDA approvable letter with request for more data is the most likely outcome on the 2/23/08 PDUFA date and lowered their estimates.
• Deutsche Bank downgraded Digital River (NASDAQ: DRIV) to Hold from Buy, as they expect shares to remain range-bound in the near-term given expectations or slower growth in 2008 and a lack of diversification away from Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC).
• Entercom Comm (NYSE: ETM) was lowered to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia following a revision in the firm's long-term growth rate for radio.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Wachovia downgraded the REIT office sector to Market Weight from Overweight, downgrading Corporate Office Properties (NYSE: OFC), Maguire Properties (NYSE: MPG) and Parkway Properties (NYSE: PKY) to Market Perform from Outperform.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Cisco Systems (CSCO), Finisar Corp (FNSR), Tenet Healthcare (THC), Best Buy (BBY) and Cascade Corp (CAE) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Bear Stearns upgraded shares of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) to Outperform from Peer Perform, with a $36 target, after the quarterly results as they believe revenue growth is sustainable and diversified. Bear expects Cisco to benefit from significant new product cycles over the next two years and believes investments in emerging markets are beginning to pay off.
  

• Merriman upgraded Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the improved outlook at their top customer, Cisco.

• Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Stifel, as the firm expects shares to remain range bound.

• Pali Capital raised shares of Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) to Buy from Neutral with a $55 target on valuation as they believe the bad news is already priced in.

• Cascade (NYSE: CAE) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Rodman & Renshaw on valuation.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Warner Music (NYSE: WMG) was upgraded to Buy from Sell with a $13 target at Citigroup.

• Citigroup also upgraded shares of Copa Holdings (NYSE: CPA) to Buy from Hold with a $71 target.

• Baird upgraded shares of Parkway Properties (NYSE: PKY) to Outperform from Neutral on valuation.

• Computer Sciences (NYSE: CSC) was raised to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies on valuation and improvement in bookings.

• Morgan Stanley upgraded ABB Ltd (NYSE: ABB) to Overweight from Equal Weight.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: SanDisk (SNDK), Lear (LEA) and Sunoco, Inc (SUN) were today's most notable upgrades:

• SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK) was upgraded at Goldman Sachs to Buy from Neutral because they expect an improved NAND pricing environment.
• Baird upgraded Lear Corp. (NYSE:LEA) to Neutral from Underperform, with a $36 target, following the buyout offer from Carl Icahn's American Real Estate Partners LP for $36 a share.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Sunoco, Inc (NYSE:SUN) to Buy from Hold due to better-than-expected demand as well as rising East Coast margins.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Merriman upgraded 8x8, Inc (NASDAQ:EGHT) to Buy from Neutral. The firm believes that by focusing on the SOHO VoIP market, 8x8, Inc has formed a solid revenue base from which to grow; the broker also finds shares undervalued.
• Wachovia upgraded shares of Parkway Properties, Inc. (NYSE:PKY) to Outperform from Market Perform based on relative valuations, as opposed to Highwoods Properties (HIW), which was downgraded today.
• Stifel took RealNetworks, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNWK) up to Hold from Sell on valuation.
  
• Goldman reinstated Catalina Marketing Corp. (NYSE:POS) with a Neutral, up from its previous Sell rating.
• American Technology added Silicon Image, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIMG) to its Focus List, as the firm believes its recent weakness provides investors with a buying opportunity.
• Matrix US upgraded MapInfo Corp. (NASDAQ:MAPS) to Hold from Sell based on valuation.

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