MOST NOTEWORTHY: Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, General Motors and Anglo American were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) was downgraded to Reduce from Buy at WestLB and to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse following the company's Q3 profit warning.
  
• WestLB downgraded shares of Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) to Reduce from Hold following Ericsson's profit warning, as they believe Alcatel-Lucent's mobile business will face top-line and margin issues.
  
• Bear Stearns downgraded shares of General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) to Underperform from Peer Perform after learning that benefits from the new union contract will be lower than expected in 2008 and 2009. The broker recommends swapping into Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F).
  
• HSBC downgraded shares of Anglo American (NASDAQ: AAUK) to Neutral from Overweight on valuation. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Anglo to Equal Weight from Overweight also on valuation, as they see better value elsewhere in the sector.
  

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Merrill Lynch downgraded Westpac Banking Corporation (NYSE: WBK) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Piper Jaffray.
  
• Citigroup downgraded SRA International (NYSE: SRX) to Hold from Buy.
  
• UBS downgraded THQ Inc (NASDAQ: THQI) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Lehman Brothers downgraded Syngenta (NYSE: SYT) to Equal Weight from Overweight.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Kenexa Corp (KNXA), CACI International (CAI), SI International (SINT), Tyco Electronics (TEL) and YUM! Brands (YUM) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• ThinkEquity started Kenexa Corp (NASDAQ: KNXA) with an Accumulate rating, citing the company's attractive business model that can deliver high-value, high-margin content, but questions the company's plans to compete with best-of-breed vendors.

• Banc of America initiated CACI International (NYSE: CAI) with a Neutral, citing the challenging budget environment and margin trends.

• Banc of America believes shares of SI International (NASDAQ: SINT) offers a compelling risk/reward given the improving civilian funding environment and upside potential from recent M&A activity, and assumed coverage with a Buy rating and $38 target.

• Tyco Electronics (NYSE: TEL) was started with a Hold rating at Deutsche Bank, citing risks to the company's potential turnaround.

• Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) was re-initiated with an Outperform rating at Friedman Billings on valuation and considers any stock price weakness from the increased costs as a buy opportunity.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Banc of America assumed the following Government IT Services companies with Buy ratings: SRA International (NYSE: SRX) and SI International.

• Banc of America assumed the following Government IT Services companies with Neutral ratings: CACI International, MTC Technologies (NASDAQ: MTCT), SAIC (NYSE: SAI), and ManTech International Corp (NASDAQ: MANT).

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Playboy Enterprises (PLA) and Altria Group (MO) topped today's list of downgrades:

• RBC Capital Markets downgraded Playboy Enterprises (NYSE: PLA) to Sector Performer from Outperformer, citing a lack of improvement in its domestic TV and publishing business in the fourth quarter; the firm believes a restructuring is inevitable.

• Goldman Sachs removed Altria Group (NYSE: MO) from the Conviction Buy List, citing valuation.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Stanford downgraded SRA Int'l Inc (NYSE: SRX) to Hold from Buy, with a $24 target to reflect the company's lower-than-expected guidance.

• Deutsche Bank downgraded Vodafone Group PLC ADS (NYSE: VOD) to Hold from Buy, citing valuation.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: eBay Inc (EBAY), Corning inc (GLW) and Best Buy Co Inc (BBY) were the most notable upgrades today:

• Following the company's strong quarter, Piper Jaffray upgraded eBay Inc (NASDQ: EBAY) to Market Perform from Underperform, with a $30 target.

• Citigroup upgraded Corning Inc (NYSE: GLW) to Buy from Hold, with a $29 target, based on the revised strategy of maintaining price stability by opting to give up some market share in the seasonally weaker first-half of the year; Corning was also added to JP Morgan's Focus List.

• Bank of America upgraded Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE: BBY) to Buy from Neutral, with a $59 target, and expects TV margins to be better in the second-half of 2007.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• UBS upgraded shares of Broadcom Corp (NASDAQ: BRCM) to Buy from Neutral, with a $38 target, citing reduced concerns in networking and positive Bluetooth checks.

• Stanford believes the negative news has already been priced into the SRA International Inc (NYSE: SRX) and upgraded shares to Buy from Hold, with a $39 target.

• Wedbush upgraded shares of Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL) to Hold from Sell as they believe "Cooking Mama" for Nintendo Co Ltd ADR (OTC: NTDOY) is helping to cause a turnaround and find bankruptcy unlikely now.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Dominion Resources (D), Caremark RX (CMX), Intel (INTC) and CVS Corp (CVS) top today's extensive list of downgrades.

• Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE:D) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank and to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies. Both firms cited the E&P sale that would lead to near-term dilution.
• Caremark Rx, Inc. (NYSE:CMX) was downgraded at Wachovia to Market Perform from Outperform citing the merger with CVS Corp (CVS) valued Caremark RX too low. First Albany and FTN Midwest also downgraded Caremark RX to Neutral, citing the merger with CVS Corp.
• Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) was downgraded at Merrill Lynch to Neutral from Buy, citing weakened demand and increased capacity.
• CVS Corp (NYSE:CVS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank citing the uncertainties of the Caremark RX (CMX) merger. CVS Corp was also downgraded by William Blair to Market Perform from Outperform.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Morgan Stanley downgraded MasterCard, Inc. (NYSE:MA) to Equal Weight from Overweight.
• Robert W. Baird downgraded SRA Int'l (NYSE:SRX) to Neutral from Outperform based on lower than expected organic revenue near-term, federal agencies to operate under CR beyond mid-November, recruiting retention challenges and valuation.

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