Exxon Mobil (XOM) is the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the world and competes with other major oil companies like BP (BP), Chesapeake (CHK), Anadarko (APC) and Chevron (CVX). We have a near $79 price estimate for the company. In its earnings announcement, the company highlighted its replacement rate for its oil and gas reserves.

Analyst Upgrades

• General Growth (GGP) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• PPL Corp. (PPL) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Hudson City Bancorp (HCBK) to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• Hologic (HOLX) to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Cognex (CGNX) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Buckeye Partners (BPL) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Ericsson (ERIC) and Health Care REIT (HCN) to buy from neutral and Olin (OLN) to neutral from sell at UBS.
• Nalco (NLC) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Watts Water (WTS) to buy from hold at BB&T.
• McDermott (MDR) to buy from neutral at Pritchard.

Analyst Upgrades

• Google (GOOG) to outperform from neutral at Wedbush.
• Nike (NKE) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Apollo Group (APOL) to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• JDSU (JDSU) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• NetApp (NTAP) to overweight from equal weight and Verigy (VRGY) to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.
• RSC Holdings (RRR) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Exelon (EXC) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Aon (AON) and Willis Group (WSH) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• BMC Software (BMC) to outperform from neutral at Cowen.

• Citigroup upgraded Lubrizol (NYSE: LZ) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they believe economic weakness is already priced into the stock. Despite upgrading, Citigroup lowered their target price to $32 from $36.
  
• UBS believes AT&T (NYSE: T) consensus estimates are beatable and that the 7.1% dividend yield is safe. Additionally, the firm said a strike is possible when the unionized wireline employee contract expires on April 4th but expects the company to succeed in lowering healthcare benefits. Shares were upgraded to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) to Market Perform from Underperform as they believe guidance appropriately reset expectations and that the risk/reward is neutral at current levels. The firm lowered their target price to $16 from $17. Shares were also upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies after the Q1 results to reflect better-than-expected cost cuts and an attractive risk/reward at current levels.
• Lousiana Pacific (NYSE: LPX) was raised to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.
  
• OmniVision (NASDAQ: OVTI) was upgraded at Baird to Neutral from Underperform.

Analyst upgrades:

• Axys Tech (NASDAQ: AXYS) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Morgan Keegan on valuation.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Cemex (NYSE: CX) to Neutral from Underperform following the company's refinancing announcement.
  
• Patni Computer (NYSE: PTI) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

• Merriman downgraded Environmental Power (NASDAQ: EPG) to Neutral from Buy citing a lack of visibility into the company's capital raise and lowered their estimates to reflect a slippage in project schedules.
  
• Jefferies cut inVentiv Health (NASDAQ: VTIV) to Hold from Buy as they believe budget cuts at the company's client base make 2009 estimates too high. The firm lowered their target to $11 from $15.
  
• Oppenheimer downgraded RSC Holdings (NYSE: RRR) to Perform from Outperform to reflect the continued deterioration in non-residential construction and valuation following the recent rally.
• Smurfit-Stone (NASDAQ: SSCC) was lowered to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
  
• Distribucion Y Servicio (NYSE: DYS) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  
• Key Energy (NYSE: KEG) was downgraded at SMH Capital to Neutral from Accumulate.

• AECOM Technology (NYSE: ACM) was initiated with an Outperform rating and $34 target at Baird. The firm is positive on AECOM's diverse portfolio of services and global reach.
  
• Baird also initiated Checkpoint (NYSE: CKP) with a Neutral rating and $11 target, citing the weak macro environment.
  
• Thomas Weisel said Integra LifeSciences (NASDAQ: IART) has little exposure to economically sensitive areas of healthcare and has a varied mix of products that provide a platform for sustainable organic growth. Shares were initiated with an Overweight rating.
• Piper Jaffray assumed CBS Corp (NYSE: CBS) with a Neutral rating.
  
• BioMarin (NASDAQ: BMRN) was started at Stanford with a Hold rating.
  
• Websense (NASDAQ: WBSN) was initiated with an Equal Weight at First Analysis.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• JP Morgan downgraded Allegheny Tech (NYSE:ATI), Carpenter Tech (NYSE:CRS) and Haynes (NASDAQ:HAYN) to Neutral from Overweight based on the decline in nickel prices and its impact on nickel-based metals demand on valuation, as they find the risk/reward less attractive following the recent rally and increased raw material costs.
  
• Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Motorola (NYSE:MOT) to Underperform from Perform after channel checks indicated the company could miss Q2 handset guidance and continued market share losses.
• UBS said the risk/reward profile for owning Machinery stocks given macro challenges and valuations. The firm downgraded Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) to Sell from Neutral and United Rentals (NYSE:URI) and RSC Holdings (NYSE:RRR) to Neutral from Buy. Additionally, shares of Paccar (NASDAQ:PCAR) were cut to Sell from Neutral and Navistar (OTC:NAVZ) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy due to weak U.S. truck demand.
  

• Jefferies cut Hercules Inc (NYSE:HPC) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Goldman downgraded Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and DirecTV (NASDAQ:DTV) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Kevin Dann initiated shares of Penske Automotive Group Inc (NYSE: PAG) with a Buy rating and $25 target. The firm believes shares deserve a higher multiple given the company's reduced exposure to slower growing domestic brands combined with the increased penetration o luxury as a percentage of industry sales.
  
• CarMax Inc (NYSE: KMX) was also initiated at Kevin Dann with a Buy rating and $28 target, as they expect the multiple expansion to continue as confidence builds in the company's sales and expense strategy.
  
• Think Equities started shares of Towerstream Corporation (NASDAQ: TWER) with a Buy rating and $5 target and said the company is rapidly growing given robust demand fro high bandwidth services, market expansion, sales force growth, and higher ARPU services.
  
• Barrington believes Solera Holdings Inc (NYSE: SLH) is positioned to capture growth through technology adoption in claims processing by insurance companies, starting shares off with an Outperform rating and $27 target.
  
• Jefferies resumed coverage of Northstar Neuroscience Inc (NASDAQ: NSTR) with a Buy rating and $21 target, as they expect the company's Phase III EVEREST trial to yield positive positives, setting the stage for an FDA approval by Q109.

• Friedman Billings started shares of IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ: IPGP) with an Outperform rating and $28 target and added shares to its Top Picks List.
  
• The firm also resumed coverage of Rofin-Sinar Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: RSTI) with an Outperform rating and $92 target.
  
• ABN Amro started China Netcom Group Corporation (NYSE: CN) with a Hold rating and China Mobile Limited (NYSE: CHL) and China Unicom Limited (NYSE: CHU) with Buy ratings.
  
• UBS started RSC Holdings Inc (NYSE: RRR) with a Neutral rating.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of National Grid (NYSE: NGG) to Buy from Hold as they believe the Keyspan deal will be positive for shareholders.
• Goldman upgraded shares of Shire Plc (NASDAQ: SHPGY) to Buy from Neutral and added the stock to their Conviction Buy List on valuation and expected gains in the ADHD market.
  
• On Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia on valuation.
  
• Enbridge Inc (NYSE: ENB) was raised to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC World Markets, as the firm sees an attractive 3-year return potential as new projects come into service and expects the stock's relative underperformance to come to an end.

• Visteon Corporation (NYSE: VC) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.
  
• RSC Holdings (NYSE: RRR) and Greenfield Online Inc (NASDAQ: SRVY) were upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Lehman Brothers.
  
• Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
  
• Stifel upgraded Health Care REITs, including Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE: HR), LTC Properties Inc (NYSE: LTC) and Ventas Inc (NYSE: VTR), to Buy from Hold.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Coverage on AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) was resumed with a Buy rating at Deutsche Bank. The firm believes the company's change in EPS guidance to a cash basis is likely to lead to significant increases to EPS estimates.

• Lehman initiated Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) with an Overweight rating, THQ Inc (NASDAQ: THQI), RSC Holdings (NYSE: RRR) and Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI) with Equal-Weight ratings and Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) with an Underweight rating...

• Sirtris Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SIRT) was initiated by Rodman with an Outperform rating, at JP Morgan with an Overweight rating, at JMP Securities with a Market Outperform rating and at CIBC with a Sector Outperformer rating.

• RSC Holdings (NYSE: RRR) was initiated at Baird with an Outperform rating, at Morgan Stanley with an Overweight rating, at CIBC with a Sector Outperform rating and at Deutsche Bank with a Buy rating.