MOST NOTEWORTHY: Applied Materials (AMAT), Southern Union (SUG), Alcatel-Lucent (ALU), Lamar (LAMR) and Trump Entertainment (TRMP) led the noteworthy upgrade list today:

• UBS upgraded shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) to Buy from Neutral as they expect the company to benefit from increased capital spending by Rexchip, the joint venture of Elpida and Powerchip. After speaking to contacts, UBS believes shipments to Rexchip will total around $640M in 2007.

• Southern Union (NYSE: SUG) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

• Credit Suisse upgraded shares of Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) to Outperform from Neutral on improved earnings visibility and the potential for incremental cost savings.

• SMH Capital upgraded shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ: LAMR) to Buy from Neutral after the conference call indicated the run rate for digital deployment is increasing, while capex per board is declining. The firm thinks the Street may be overlooking the potential for significant earnings acceleration into 2008.

• Nollenberger upgraded shares of Trump Entertainment Resorts (NASDAQ: TRMP) to Neutral from Sell based on valuation and believes fair value is $14/share...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• SunTrust upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) to Buy from Neutral.

• Raymond James raised Steak n Shake (NYSE: SNS) to Market Perform from Underperform.

• Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) upgraded shares to Buy from Hold.

• Buckingham upgraded Blackrock Inc (NYSE: BLK) to Strong Buy from Neutral.

• RBC Capital upgraded US Auto Parts Network (NASDAQ: PRTS) to Outperform from Sector Perform.

• HSBC raised Chartered Semiconductor (NASDAQ: CHRT) to Neutral from Underweight.

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

When I went to college, I ventured far from my safe liberal hippie Portland, Ore. home -- all the way to a little town in Virginia. Robert E. Lee's horse was buried a few feet from my freshman dorm room, if that's any description. And that's when I was introduced to Krispy Kreme.

My immediate reaction? Eww! "Krispy Kreme" sounded like something that had been left in the hall's refrigerator since the early 80s. I didn't even try the doughnuts until five years later, and swayed by a friend who loved them and the convenient location in New York's Penn Station, I grew to hunger for their swift sugary rush. When I moved back to Portland at about the same time embarked on its wild expansion across the U.S., I jumped on the bandwagon and bought a little stock.

A year later everything in my portfolio was doing brilliantly with the marked exception of Krispy Kreme, which had lost roughly two-thirds of its value, closed 100 of its 400 stores, and initiated a program of franchise buybacks that is now being "informally inquired" about by the SEC. I let it sit there, soaking up the juice thrown off by winners like eBay, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) and J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) with its nutritionally empty sweetness. It's still there, and let me tell you, I'm not planning on utilizing those 12 shares as a down payment on my retirement vacation home.

That's why when I saw Prudential had initiated with a 'Buy' and a $15 price target. My reaction was one of gaping, open mouth.