Analyst Upgrades

• HSBC upgraded Massey Energy (MEE) to overweight from neutral based on improved 2011 pricing power given industry supply-side discipline. Despite the upgrade, the firm cuts its price target to $40 from $54.
• Needham upgraded Blue Coat Systems (BCSI) to buy from hold following yesterday's announcement that Michael J. Borman has been named the new CEO. The firm has a $27 price target on the stock.
• Citigroup upgraded Teekay Offshore Partners (TOO) to buy from hold after the company announced shuttle tanker contracts to reflect improved operating performance. The firm raised its target for shares to $26 from $15.
• Prosperity Bancshares (PRSP) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Ceradyne (CRDN) was upgraded to buy from hold at Benchmark Co.
• CTC Media (CTCM) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Teekay Offshore Partners (TOO), a master limited partnership, transports and stores crude oil to offshore oil drillers; it operates the world's largest fleet of shuttle tankers, which carry oil from offshore production and storage facilities to onshore terminals," notes income expert Carla Pasternak.

The editor of High Yield Investing explains, "The partnership was designed to increase distributions, both to its parent company and to unitholders like you and me.

"The company holds a 75% share of the UK North Shore shuttle market and is the largest shuttle operator in Brazil. The partnership also operates a fleet of floating storage and floating storage production units, as well as crude oil tankers that carry oil across the seas.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: U.S. semiconductors, Teekay Offshore and Oplink Communications were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded the U.S. Semiconductor Sector, including Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Attractive from Neutral. The firm believes semi fundamentals are poised to improve in 2H08 and that valuations are reasonable.
  
• Wachovia upgraded Teekay Offshore (NYSE: TOO) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and increased distribution growth outlook following the acquisition of an additional 25% ownership interest in Teekay Offshore Operating, L.P.
  
• Merriman upgraded shares of Oplink Communications (NASDAQ: OPLK) to Buy from Neutral as it believes the company is an attractive takeover target following the Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR) and Optium (NASDAQ: OPTM) merger, given its low-cost Chinese manufacturing capacity and attractive $140M cash balance.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman upgraded Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Buy from Neutral and added shares to its Conviction Buy List.
  
• William Blair raised Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to Buy from Hold.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Athenahealth, Marvell Technology, Broadcom and Nvidia were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Athenahealth (NASDAQ: ATHN) was initiated with a Neutral rating at Goldman Sachs. Jefferies started shares of the stock with a Buy rating and $46 target, as they believe their estimates could prove conservative given potential upside from new and existing physicians adopting athenaClinicals.
• Kaufman Bros initiated Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) with a Hold rating and $18 target, as they believe near-term growth prospects remain uncertain and recommends waiting for more favorable entry points.
  
• The firm also initiated Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) with a Hold rating and $35 target, and believes the company's growth prospects are priced into shares following the recent rally, and started shares of Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) with a Buy rating and $42 target, as they believe the company's growth opportunity and competitive strength remain intact and would be buyers at current levels.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Goldman started shares of Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE) with a Neutral rating and $16 target.
  
• UBS initiated US BioEnergy (NASDAQ: USBE) with a Neutral rating.
  
• Bear Stearns inititated CarMax (NYSE: KMX) with an Underperform rating.
  
• Wachovia started Teekay Offshore Partners (NYSE: TOO) and Holly Energy Partners (NYSE: HEP) with Market Perform ratings.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ), Tekay Offshore Partners LP (TOO), Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc (AUXL) and Northwest Airlines Corp (NWA) were today's more noteworthy initiations:

• Friedman Billings started Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) with an Outperform rating and $53 target.

• Teekay Offshore (NYSE: TOO) was initiated with a Hold rating and $30 target by Deutsche Bank based on valuation.

• Banc of America noted that if approved, Auxilium Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ: AUXL) lead candidate, AA4500, could become a first-in-class therapy, with an over-$800M sales potential in niche markets, with no competition. Bank of America started AUXL with a Buy rating and $22 target.

• Northwest Airlines (OTC: NWACQ) was initiated at Morgan Stanley with an Equal Weight rating...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Banc of America assumed coverage of Gilead Sciences, Inc (NASDAQ: GILD) with a Buy rating and increased its target to $94 from $90. Banc of America also started Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: ARNA), Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: AMLN) and Celgene Corp (NASDAQ: CELG) with Neutral ratings.

• Credit Suisse assumed coverage of RF Micro Devices, Inc (NASDAQ: RFMD) with an Outperform rating.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: NYSE Group Inc (NYX), Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) and HomeBanc Corp (HMB) were today's more notable downgrades:

• JP Morgan downgraded shares of the NYSE Group Inc (NYSE: NYX) to Underweight from Neural to reflect their belief that the company's float will increase significantly in March due to the acquisition of Euronext and the lockup expiration. JP Morgan believes this could bring selling pressure.
  

• Credit Suisse downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ: PTEN) citing negative earnings impact from share losses and industry capacity additions.

• Shares of HomeBanc Corp (NYSE: HMB) were downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform with a $2.60 target at Friedman Billings based on continued losses and an unlikely sale given market conditions.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Wachovia downgraded Hub International Ltd (NYSE: HBG) to Market Perform from Outperform following news of a private-equity acquisition for $40 a share.

• UBS downgraded Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ: BBBY) to Neutral from Buy on valuation.

• Citigroup downgraded Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp (NYSE: BNI) to Hold from Buy.

• AG Edwards cut Teekay LNG Partners (NYSE: TGP) and Teekay Offshore Partners (NYSE: TOO) to Hold from Buy citing valuation.

• Raymond James downgraded shares of Marvel Entertainment Inc (NYSE: MVL) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Lazard downgraded Thoratec Corp (NASDAQ: THOR) to Sell from Hold with a $15 target. They recommend selling shares ahead of a likely FDA decision to call an advisory panel for HeartMate II.

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