Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation following the company's Q4 results but lowered its target on shares to $134 from $137.
• Citigroup upgraded Calpine (NYSE: CPN) to Buy from Hold on valuation following Wednesday's sell-off. The firm believes Harbinger's share sale reflects an issue with the shareholders, not with the company, and raised its price target on the stock to $16.50 from $13.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Knight Transportation (NYSE: KNX) to Neutral from Underperform and raised its target to $17 from $16 based on valuation and the improved freight environment.
• Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.
• Webster Financial (NYSE: WBS) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
• Dr. Reddy's Labs (NYSE: RDY) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company's domestic retail business is improving while input cost inflation pressures are beginning to moderate. Citi raised its target on shares to $32 from $28.
• Jefferies upgraded Sybase (NYSE: SY) to Buy from Hold as it believes slowing core IPG licenses in the second half of 2009 are now reflected in guidance. The firm raised its target on shares to $41 from $34.
• Canaccord said Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) decision to ad video functionality into the iPod lineup is "very positive" as it expands its market into the low-end camcorder area. The firm, which upgraded shares to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $200 from $150, also views the launch of iPhone 3GS in all countries by the end of Q4 as another catalyst.
• Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Societe Generale.
• Renasant Corp. (NASDAQ: RNST) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
• America Movil (NYSE: AMX) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Pali Capital.

"Inflationary fears and the desire to generate higher returns in non-dollar assets should boost BRIC stocks (Brazil, Russia, India and China)," says Chuck Carlson in his The DRIP Investor.

"Despite the run-up this year, BRIC stock markets are still reasonably valued. Russia, India, and Brazil all trade at price/earnings ratios similar to the U.S.

"And while China's stock market does trade at a premium to the U.S., China's economic growth will swamp that of the U.S. this year and for the foreseeable future.

This post is part of a series in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked financial experts to name their top stock pick if McCain or if Obama wins the election.

Which stocks would benefit from a victory by either Senator John McCain or Senator Barack Obama? To help investors sort through the sectors and stocks best positioned to benefit in a post-election environment, we posed this question to some of the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

Importantly, this is not a partisan report; each participating advisor has provided a favorite stock for both candidates, focused not on political preferences but unbiased stock analysis. Below we feature those stocks and ETFs that the advisors believe will be the winners depending on which candidate prevails.

McCain Stocks:

Roger Conrad - Comcast (NYSE: CCW)
Gregg Early - Elbit Systems (NASDAQ: ESLT)
Elliott Gue - Paladin Resources (Toronto: PDN)
Doug Fabian - Market Vectors Nuclear Energy (NYSE: NLR)
Vivian Lewis - Barclays (NYSE: BCS)
Bill Martin - CGG Veritas (NYSE: CGV)'
Yiannis Mostrous - Lonking Holdings (OTC: CIMHF)
Carla Pasternak - Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (NYSE: EVT)
Nate Pile - SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD)
John Reese - General Dynamics (NYSE: GD)
Nathan Slaughter - USEC (NYSE: USU)
Paul Tracy - Shaw Group (NYSE: SGR)
Kelley Wright - CenturyTel (NYSE: CTL)
Tom Vass - Molex (NASDAQ: MOLX)
Martin Hutchinson - Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK), EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG)

Obama Stocks:

Roger Conrad - SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR)
Gregg Early - AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV)
Elliott Gue - SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR)
Doug Fabian - Industrial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLI)
Vivian Lewis - Cosan (NYSE: CZZ)
Bill Martin - Geron (NASDAQ: GERN)
Yiannis Mostrous - Dr. Reddy's (NYSE: RDY)
Carla Pasternak - Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP)
Nate Pile - Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)
John Reese - American Eagle (NYSE: AEO)
Nathan Slaughter - Fluor (NYSE: FLR)
Paul Tracy - Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy (NYSE: GEX)
Kelley Wright - Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH)
Tom Vass - Ingersoll Rand (NYSE: IR)
Martin Hutchinson - Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR)

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street" reported that analysts believe investors should take a look at some Indian pharmaceutical stocks, including two of the subcontinent's biggest generics makers, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited (NYSE: RDY) and Cipla Ltd.
• According to the Wall Street Journal's "Heard in Asia," shares of India's three largest tech and outsourcing companies by sales, Infosys Technologies Limited (NASDAQ: INFY), Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT), may be worth a look by investors despite some near-term volatility.

OTHER PAPERS:

• David Letterman is seeking his own deal with the Writers Guild of America which would allow his show to return to air on CBS Corporation's (NYSE: CBS) CBS station in early January even if the strike is continuing, the New York Times reported.
• According to the UK Times, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is expected to name Tata as the preferred bidder for its Jaguar and Land Rover units.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• According to a person briefed on the situation, Merrill Lynch & Co Inc's (NYSE: MER) CEO Stan O'Neal was negotiating the terms of his forced departure on Sunday and the departure is expected to be announced on Monday. The top contenders for the CEO position are said to be BlackRock Inc's (NYSE: BLK) CEO Laurence Fink and NYSE Euronext Inc's (NYSE: NYX) CEO John Thain, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• The WSJ also reported that Alibaba.com raised $1.5B after the company priced its IPO at HK$13.50, at the top-end of the HK$12-$HK13.50 range. Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) holds a 39% stake in Alibaba Group.

OTHER PAPERS:

• Ness Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: NSTC) was awarded a contract worth NIS 5 Million to convert the pension fund data managed by Opal Future Technologies, Globes reported.
• Indian company Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited (NYSE: RDY) is set to attempt to raise its share of the U.S. over the counter drug market by partnering with at least six more U.S. retail chains; the company plans to launch up to 10 drugs over the next 12 months that could become OTC offerings in the U.S., the Economic Times reported.

WEB SITES:

• According to TechCrunch, IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) may have submitted a letter of intent to acquire movie-centered social network Flixter over the last week or so.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group of India, has confirmed his interest in the Jaguar and Land Rover units of Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), according to the Wall Street Journal.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The Washington Post reported that Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD) has made a deal to sell its supply arm, HD Supply, for $8.5B, down from the original price of $10.3B, to a consortium of private equity firms headed by Carlyle Group, inside sources say.
• According to a sources with knowledge of the discussions, Altria Group Inc (NYSE: MO) is considering spinning off its Philip Morris International division as part of a restructuring plan to increase shareholder value, reported the New York Times.
• A Chinese technology company has expressed interest in buying Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX), reported the New York Times.
• According to senior industry analysts, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY) is eyeing U.S. based Bradley Pharmaceuticals Inc (NYSE: BDY), which is expected to be valued at between $380M-$400M, reported the Economic Times.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: PetSmart, Inc (PETM), Google (GOOG), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd (RDY) and Optimal Group Inc (OPMR) were today's more noteworthy downgrades:

• Stifel cut PetSmart Inc (NASDAQ: PETM) to Hold from Buy biting valuation.

• First Global downgraded shares of Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY) to Equal-Weight from Overweight after a U.S. court ruling appeared set to block generic competition to Japanese company Eisai Co, Ltd's (ESALY) ulcer drug Aciphex.

• B. Riley downgraded shares of Optimal Group (NASDAQ: OPMR) to Neutral from Buy to reflect increasing uncertainty regarding further legal actions, which may be taken by the U.S. Attorney's office against the company...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Friedman Billings downgraded Allied Defense Group (NYSE: ADG) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Sandler cut Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: BPFH) to Hold from Buy.

• Raymond James downgraded both HealthSpring, Inc (NYSE: HS) and Emageon, Inc (NASDAQ: EMAG) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Teck Cominco Ltd (NYSE: TCK) was downgraded to Sector Performer from Sector Outperformer at CIBC.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: United Rentals, Inc (URI), Nintendo Co (NTDOY), Shuffle Master, Inc (SHFL), CheckFree Corp (CKFR) and The Kroger Co (KR) were some of today's noteworthy downgrades:

• JP Morgan cut United Rentals Inc (NYSE: URI) to Underweight from Neutral believing the company's strategic alternatives and valuation upside are limited given slowing end markets and lack of sources to unlock value.

• Citigroup downgraded Nintendo Ltd (OTC: NTDOY) to Hold from Buy.

• Prudential downgraded Shuffle Master Inc (NASDAQ: SHFL) to Neutral from Outperform following a field trip to Macau, as they are incrementally more negative given competition in electronic table games and continued market share erosion in slots.

• JMP Securities cut CheckFree Corp (NASDAQ: CKFR) to Market Outperform from Strong buy and has a greater degree of certainty that Bank of America (BAC) is planning on moving its payment warehouse portion of online bill pay in-house over an unspecified period. The firm believes earnings can be impacted by 25c-30c annually.

• HSBC downgraded shares of The Kroger Co (NYSE: KR) to Neutral from Overweight.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• ThinkEquity downgraded KLA-Tencor Corp (NASDAQ: KLAC) to Accumulate from Buy.

• Cowen downgraded Salesforce.com, Inc (NYSE: CRM) to Neutral from Outperform and removed the company from its Focus List citing reduced visibility, lack of near-term catalysts and potential increased competition from Oracle Corp (ORCL) and Microsoft (MSFT).

• JP Morgan cut Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd (NYSE: RDY) to Underweight from Overweight to reflect the increased risk of changing market conditions in Germany.

• Matrix USA downgraded Coinstar, Inc (NASDAQ: CSTR) to Sell from Hold on valuation.

• Piper Jaffray cut Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (NASDAQ: CTSH) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• JMP Securities downgraded Dendreon Corp (NASDAQ: DNDN) to Market Outperform from Strong Buy.

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