Jerry Moyes is definitely persistent. Over the past month or so, he has been pursuing the buyout of Swift Transportation Co., Inc. (NASDAQ: SWFT), a major trucking company. Then again, back in the mid 1960s, he founded Swift (yes, he started with only one truck).

His initial bid was $29, but it was simply not enough for the company to accept. So, he upped the bid to $31.55, which was enough. In all, the deal comes to about $2.74 billion.

Interestingly enough, back in late 2005, things did not look so good for Moyes. He had to leave the company because of a $1.25 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over insider trading allegations.

But, given his current stake in Swift of roughly 26% and the willingness of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to arrange financing, Moyes now will have his company back.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

With oil prices still fairly high and signs of a slowing economy, it does not seem likely for the second largest trucking company to be the target of a buyout.

And that's exactly what has happened to Swift Transportation Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: SWFT). There is now an offer for $29 per share. The offer came yesterday from Swift's former CEO, Jerry Moyes. He is also the company's largest shareholder.

Why is he no longer CEO, you might ask. Well, he had to pay a settlement regarding insider trading allegations (I guess he's a bit of a stock junkie). Interestingly enough, I guess he may be back in charge.

As is the case with any savvy negotiator, it looks like his initial volley is a low bid. After all, Swift's stock price surged $5.79 in yesterday's session to close $0.84 above the buyout price. In other words, investors are betting that the bid will be hiked.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Swift Transportation (SWFT), JetBlue (JBLU) and Southwest (LUV) top today's list of upgrades.

• Following Director Moyer's offer to buy Swift Transportation, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWFT) for $29 a share, the company was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Wachovia, to Peer Perform from Underperform at Bear Stearns and to Neutral from Sell at Bank of America.
• JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ:JBLU) was upgraded by Raymond James to Outperform from Market Perform following the October traffic report.
• Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) was upgraded to Outperform from Underperform at Credit Suisse based on valuation.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Medimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman, Billings Ramsey, citing Numax data and increased sales expectations for the drug.
• Finally, H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) was upgraded to Buy from Sell at Soleil. The firm believes H&R Block's decision to explore strategic alternatives could lead to a possible sale of the whole company or certain parts of the company.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Swift Transportation (NASDAQ:SWFT) was downgraded by J.P. Morgan to Neutral from Overweight, citing weaker than expected Q3 guidance. Swift was also downgraded by Robert. W. Baird to Underweight from Equal Weight based on the macro headwinds and the upcoming tough Q4 and Q1 comps. Baird lowered Swift's price target to $25 from $33.
• ThinkEquity downgraded Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to Sell from Source of Funds. The firm believes Q4 revenues may be significantly below expectations given the soft environment and order trends.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) to Underweight from Equal weight based on valuation.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Lehman Bros. downgraded Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ: CHKP) to Equal Weight from Overweight on valuation and the uncertain growth outlook.
• Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) was downgraded by Morgan Stanley to Equal Weight from Overweight on valuation.
• Bear Stearns downgraded Phelps-Dodge (NYSE: PD) to Peer Perform from Outperform, citing weakness in copper fundamentals.
• A.G. Edwards downgraded EMC Corp (NYSE: EMC) to Hold from Buy on valuation along with expectations for limited upside potential.

Research provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).