Analyst Upgrades

• Oppenheimer upgraded Teva (TEVA) to outperform from perform. The firm expects the company to generate strong 2H10 earnings and thinks the competition created by Novartis's (NVS) Gilenia will be limited.
• Citigroup upgraded Celanese (CE) to buy from hold, citing valuation and the company's move to add assets in China, as well as possible takeover interest.
• Needham raised Stereotaxis (STXS) to buy from hold as the firm thinks that strong clinical data recently announced by the company could result in faster adoption rates of its robotic surgery.
• BMO Capital upgraded Smurfit-Stone Container (SSCC) given strength in the containerboard market.
• Melco Crown (MPEL) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Goldman Sachs raised Temple-Inland (TIN) to buy from neutral.
• Barclays upgraded Lloyds Banking (LYG) to equal weight from underweight.

Analyst Upgrades

• ThinkEquity upgraded Intel (INTC) to buy from hold and has a $25 target on the stock. The firm believes guidance will prove conservative and strong execution, new product cycle, Win7 cycle and corporate PC-Server refresh will drive shares higher.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Holly Energy (HEP) to outperform from market perform after increasing its valuation ranges for small cap pipeline MLPs. The firm raised its valuation range for Holly to $43 to $45.
• SunTrust upgraded Watsco (WSO) to buy from neutral as it believes the carrier joint venture will serve as a long-term catalyst. The firm has a $67 price target on the stock. William Blair upgraded Watsco to outperform from market perform ahead of the company's Q4 results to reflect valuation and improving economic conditions.
• Staples (SPLS) and Office Max (OMX) were upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Kellogg (K) was raised to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Advanced Micro (AMD) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Troubled Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) is searching for a replacement for CEO Gary Forsee, and expects to have a new person in place by December, reported the Wall Street Journal.
• Two Bear Stearns Companies (NYSE: BSC) collapsed mortgage related hedge funds, that lost $1.6B, have drawn an investigation from the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn, NY, reported the Wall Street Journal.
• The Financial Times reported that the U.K. economy will be affected by the global credit crisis, according to Chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling, who said that while the U.K. economy is in a strong position to ride out the impact, growth projections will be lowered from the current 2.5%-3%.

OTHER PAPERS:

• From BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" section:
  
• Sotheby's (NYSE: BID) has benefited from Wall Street's equity market gains, with high-end investors piling money into art, and Rommel Dionisio of Wedbush Morgan Securities sees the stock going to $60 in a year.
• Amid concern that it might miss the Street's Q3 forecast, is Polycom (NYSE: PLCM) oversold at $26? Yes, says Greg MacArthur, president of investment outfit Viewpoint2000.
• Stereotaxis (NASDAQ: STXS) makes a computerized magnetically controlled navigation system that guides devices used in minimally invasive cardiac arrhythmia surgery, and Standard & Poor's rates the stock a Buy, in part because of its order backlog of $55 million.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Seagate Technology (STX), Analog Devices inc (ADI) and Whole Foods Market Inc (WFMI) were some of today's notable upgrades:

• AG Edwards upgraded Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX) to Buy from Hold citing improving fundamentals as the company ramps 1.8" drives in the first quarter, with a potential Apple (AAPL) qualification, and market share gains in notebooks.

• ThinkEquity upgraded Analog Devices Inc (NYSE: ADI) to Accumulate from Source of Funds, with a target of $38, as they believe the improvement in bookings are sustainable; Citigroup also upgraded Analog Devices, to Buy from Hold, to reflect the company's earnings expectations.

• William Blair upgraded Whole Foods Market Inc (NASDAQ: WFMI) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and the benefits of the Wild Oats Markets (NASDAQ: OATS) acquisition; HSBC upgraded shares of Whole Foods to Neutral from Underweight, with a $52 target, and UBS upgraded shares to Buy from Neutral based on the acquisition.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Prudential upgraded Goldcorp inc (NYSE: GG) to Neutral from Underweight citing the increase in gold prices and a potential increase in Penasquito mine reserves.

• Stifel upgraded QMed Inc (NASDAQ: QMED) to Buy from Hold on improved revenue visibility.

• IHOP Corp (NYSE: IHP) was upgraded at Raymond James to Outperform from Market Perform with a $64 target.

• Bernstein upgraded Commerce Bancorp Inc (NYSE: CBH) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Stereotaxis Inc (NASDAQ: STXS) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs following its better-than-expected fourth quarter.

• RBC upgraded Labopharm Inc (NASDAQ: DDSS) to Outperform from Sector Perform.

• Morgan Stanley upgraded National Semiconductor Corp (NYSE: NSM) to Overweight from Equal Weight citing improving fundamentals and valuation.

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