Analyst Upgrades

• Best Buy (BBY) was upgraded to top pick from outperform at RBC Capital, as the firm thinks the company's valuation is inexpensive while it will perform well during the holiday season.
• Credit Suisse upgraded CF Industries (CF) to outperform from neutral, citing favorable fundamentals in nitrogen and phosphate markets.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ) was raised to buy from hold by Jefferies, which cited expectations for higher selling prices next year and cost savings from sourcing more components internally.
• BMO Capital upgraded RC2 Corp. (RCRC) to outperform from market perform as the firm believes that RC2's baby products are performing better than previously expected.
• Ericsson (ERIC) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merril.
• ProLogis (PLD) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• Constellation Energy (CEG) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Transocean (RIG) to outperform from market perform as it believes congressional hearings and reports indicate the company's blowout preventer at the Deepwater Horizon likely worked properly. The firm has an $87 price target for shares.
• Auriga upgraded First Solar (FSLR) to buy from hold as it believes the recent sell-off in shares as created an attractive entry point. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered its target for shares to $138 from $147.
• Soleil upgraded Priceline.com (PCLN) to buy from hold, citing a favorable risk-reward profile. Despite the upgrade, the firm lowered its target for shares to $230 from $250.
• Blackrock (BLK) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Abbott (ABT) was upgraded to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Exxon Mobil (XOM) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.

Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded BT Group (NYSE: BT) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company's Q4 results could remove uncertainty and cost cutting initiatives could drive upside.
  
• Baird upgraded Stanley Works (NYSE: SWK) to Outperform from Neutral and raised their target to $42 from $34 citing valuation, solid execution, and growth potential.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) to Buy from Hold as it believes the recent sell-off presents an attractive buying opportunity. The firm believes Netflix has one of the best earnings outlooks in the internet sector and increased its target price to $52 from $37.
• AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  
• Joy Global (NYSE: JOYG) and Bucyrus (NYSE: BUCY) were raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) to Outperform from Perform on expectations that upcoming regulatory events, mainly approvals of Mozobil and 2,000L Myozyme, will serve as positive catalysts.
  
• Ladenburg analyst Dick Bove raised Bank of New York (NYSE: BK) to Buy from Neutral as he now believes the Russian lawsuit is turning in the bank's favor and is no longer a significant risk.
  
• Societe Generale upgraded UBS (NYSE: UBS) to Buy from Hold on valuation and the company's deal with the Swiss government.
  
• Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ :BBBY) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Friedman Billings.
  
• RC2 Corp (NASDAQ: RCRC) was lifted at Wachovia to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Cintas (NASDAQ: CTAS) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.

Analyst downgrades:

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Puget Energy, RC2 Corp and Marvel Entertainment were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Baird upgraded Puget Energy (NYSE: PSD) to Outperform from Neutral citing valuation on a stand-alone basis and sees additional upside if the merger with Macquarie is approved this fall.
  
• Piper upgraded shares of RC2 Corp (NASDAQ: RCRC) to Buy from Neutral following the Children's Publishing Division acquisition as they view it as a good strategic fit and find RCRC shares attractively valued.
  
• RBC upgraded Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL) shares to Outperform from Sector Perform to reflect the company's visible earnings growth and valuation.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• ASML Holdings (NASDAQ: ASML) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman. The firm also added shares to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Invitrogen (NASDAQ: IVGN) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR) and Credence (NASDAQ: CMOS) to Hold from Sell.

It is starting to sound like a broken record, but today we get news of more recalls of toys made in China. Today's annoucement involves around a little more than 600,000 items of children's toys and jewelry.

The culprit of today's recall is once again excessive amounts of lead paint in the products. About one-third of today's announced recalls by the Consumer Product Safety Commission involve the popular Thomas & Friends toy line.

Earlier this summer, RC2 (NASDAQ: RCRC), maker of the toy product line had a recall of around 1.5 million items, and today's recall involves another 200,000 more of the popular toys.

It definitely seems like there are going to be more recalls coming as more intense scrutiny gets applied to Chinese imports. With the upcoming Christmas shopping season parents are definitely going to be cautious of what they buy, and rightfully so. For a complete list of products recalled in today's recall and in past months recalls, you can find a comprehensive list on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's website.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Getty Images (GYI), Jackson Hewitt (JTX), Electronic Data (EDS), RC2 Corp (RCRC) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Deutsche Bank cut Getty Images (NYSE: GYI) to Sell from Hold citing deterioration in its core business. Gabelli downgraded Getty Images to Hold from Buy after the company lowered guidance to reflect the changing industry dynamics.

• Goldman cut Jackson Hewitt (NYSE: JTX) to Sell from Neutral citing near-term risks that include the renegotiation of the HSBC (HBC)/RAL contract, the DoJ/IRS investigation, and decreasing performance in tax.

• Jefferies downgraded Electronic Data Systems (NYSE: EDS) to Hold from Buy to reflect the company's slowing cash flow improvement.

• Wedbush downgraded RC2 Corp (NASDAQ: RCRC) to Buy from Strong Buy on the lower sales forecast for 2007. Soleil cut shares to Hold from Gradually Accumulate to reflect uncertainty over the Thomas recall and increased competition.

• Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform based on valuation...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Lazard downgraded Kyphon (NASDAQ: KYPH) to Hold from Buy.

• SMH Capital cut Aventine Renewable Energy (NYSE: AVR) to Sell from Neutral.

• Credit Suisse downgraded AutoDesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) to Neutral from Buy.

• UBS cut SABMiller (OTC SBMRY) to Reduce from Neutral.

• CIBC downgraded Marvell Tech (NASDAQ: MRVL) to Sector Performer from Outperformer.

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

In a voluntary recall, toy maker RC2 (NASDAQ: RCRC) has taken specific toys off the shelves from its line of Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway figurines. The company said earlier this week that the surface paint on some items manufactured between January 2005 and April 2006 contain lead.

Lead paint has historically been a problem in homes with children because, if ingested, the element can cause neurological problems that may impact behavior and learning. So far, there have been no reports of illness or injury due to the paint.

Upon reading this news brief, my first move was to email my oldest friend, whose five-year-old son, Ethan, has a slew of toys from the Thomas collection. In fact, Ethan currently lives for three things (after his parents and sister): Disney movies, his dog and best friend George, and his Thomas the Tank collection. Sure enough, some of his items were included in the recall, and they've been packaged for shipping. Too young to comprehend the dangers of lead paint, he's naturally beside himself with devastation, but safety, of course, is first.

Concerned parents can visit the Totally Thomas website, which lists the more than two dozen specific toys impacted by the recall. Those toys with a code "WJ " or "AZ" on the bottom of the toy are not part of the recall. The company has now agreed to pay for the return shipping for all consumers who request it. This PDF shows close-up photos of all the trains involved.

RCRC officials estimate that the company will suffer a second-quarter charge of $1 million to $2 million relating to this recall. In midday trading, the shares have managed to gain 1%.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.