Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Cooper Industries (NYSE: CBE) to Buy from Hold on valuation as it believes commercial construction concerns are well known. The firm raised its target on shares to $40 from $37, and coupled the upgrade with a downgrade of Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) to Sell from Hold.
• Credit Suisse upgraded BJ Services (NYSE: BJS) to Neutral from Underperform following its acquisition by Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI). The firm raised its target to $17.
• Credit Suisse also upgraded Amkor Technology (NASDAQ: AMKR) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $8 from $7. The firm expects Amkor to benefit from near-term strength in the supply chain and the mix shift towards higher value packaging.
• Textron (NYSE: TXT) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Siemens (NYSE: SI) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
• Stanley Works (NYSE: SWK) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney Montgomery.

Analyst Upgrades

• McAdams Wright expects Dendreon's (NASDAQ: DNDN) near-term momentum to continue but has long-term concerns that Street estimates are too high. The firm upgraded shares to Hold from Sell.
• JPMorgan upgraded Ameristar Casinos (NASDAQ: ASCA) to Overweight from Neutral to reflect valuation, potential catalysts from Colorado's easing gaming regulations, and the company's strong free cash flow. The firm raised its target on shares to $24 from $20.
• Citigroup upgraded Valspar (NYSE: VAL) to Hold from Sell after channel checks indicated paint demand is shifting to big-box retailers, the company's primary sales channel. The firm raised its target on shares to $22 from $19.
• Vulcan Materials (NYSE: VMC) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Altera (NASDAQ: ALTR) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
• Spectra Energy (NYSE: SEP) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.

Analyst upgrades:

• Barclays upgraded Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE) to Overweight from Equal Weight. The firm believes Spectra's valuation is attractive and that the dividend is secure.
• Soleil upgraded Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) to Buy from Hold on valuation following the recent pullback and maintains a $45 target on the stock.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ: ORLY) to Outperform from Underperform on valuation and the company's better than expected sales and earnings acceleration. The firm has a $38 target on the stock.
• Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) was removed from Goldman's Conviction Sell List.
  
• Intercontinental Hotels (NYSE: IHG) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
  
• Valspar (NYSE: VAL) was lifted to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Sonus Networks (NASDAQ: SONS) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they find the risk/reward compelling at current levels. Jefferies has a $2 target on the stock.
  
• Dresdner upgraded HSBC (NYSE: HBC) to Buy from hold on valuation as they believe the dividend cut is fully priced in at current levels.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) to Neutral from Underweight on valuation as they recommend short positions take profits at current levels.
• Kellogg (K) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  
• RPM, Inc (NYSE: RPM) and Valspar (NYSE: VAL) were upgraded at KeyBanc to Buy from Hold.
  
• Omnicare (NYSE: OCR) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

Analyst downgrades:

• Jefferies downgraded Dune Energy (AXE: DNE) to Underperform from Hold to reflect weak commodity prices and the company's reduced financial flexibility. The firm lowered its target price to 10c from 30c.
• Baird downgraded NeuStar (NYSE: NSR) to Neutral from Outperform and lowered their target to $20 from $22 based on 2009 revenue concerns and the CFO's departure.
  
• UBS cut Viacom (NYSE: VIA) to Neutral from Buy and lowered its target to $18 from $27. The firm believes advertising declines will be worst than expected and that Film expectations are too high.
• Goldcorp (NYSE: GG) was lowered to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
  
• Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: KND) and Tenet Healthcare (THC) were downgraded at Barclays to Equal Weight from Overweight.
  
• Cynosure (NASDAQ: CYNO) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.

Analyst initiations:

• Keefe Bruyette believes Blackstone's (NYSE: BX) operating results and cash flow generation are likely to remain depressed well into 2009 given the weakening economy. The firm started shares with a Market Perform rating and $6 target.
  
• Oppenheimer views Brinks (NYSE: BCO) as a pure-play secure logistics company and feels it is well positioned to take advantage of a recent decline in acquisition prices. The firm has an Outperform rating and $32 target on the stock.
• Kellogg (NYSE: K) was initiated with a Buy rating and $52 target at Janney Montgomery.
• Avery Dennison (NYSE: AVY) was started at Barclays with an Equal Weight rating.
• Medco Health (NYSE: MHS) was initiated with a Market Perform rating and $59 target at Bernstein.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: U.S. Auto Parts, DealerTrack and AspenBio Pharma were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Piper downgraded shares of U.S. Auto Parts (NASDAQ: PRTS) to Neutral from Buy following the company's Q4 results.
  
• JMP Securities cut DealerTrack (NASDAQ: TRAK) to Market Perform from Strong Buy as they believe future market share losses to RouteOne are more significant than previously believed.
  
• Oppenheimer has concerns that most of AspenBio Pharma's (NASDAQ: APPY) market value is tied to the AppyScore test for appendicitis, while available clinical data may not be sufficient to drive adoption. The firm lowered APPY to Perform from Outperform.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Wachovia cut Reddy Ice (NYSE: FRZ) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Deutsche Bank lowered its rating on Valspar (NYSE: VAL) and Airgas (NYSE: ARG) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Goldman downgraded Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW) to Neutral from Buy.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Walgreen, CBS Corp, SL Green Realty, Brandywine Realty Trust and Navteq were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill and to Market Perform from Outperform following its weak Q4 report. Merrill sees limited upside following the worse-than-expected quarter.
  
• CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank to reflect the company's soft rating trends and poor local advertising growth.
  
• Banc of America downgraded shares of SL Green Realty (NYSE: SLG) and Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN) to Neutral from Buy. The firm downgraded shares of SL Green to reflect their more cautious stance on the office sector and believes uncertainty over cap rates will limit share upside, and downgraded shares of Brandywine to reflect a lack of near-term catalysts and their more cautious stance on the office sector.
  
• Navteq Corporation (NYSE: NVT) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS and to Market Perform from Outperform at JMP Securities following its acquisition by Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK).

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Goldman Sachs removed Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) from its Conviction Buy List.
  
• The firm downgraded Air Products & Chemicals (NYSE: APD) to Neutral from Buy and Valspar Corporation (NYSE: VAL) to Sell from Neutral.
  
• CIBC downgraded Axcan Pharma (NASDAQ: AXCA) to Sector Performer from Sector Outperformer.
  
• Humana Inc (NYSE: HUM) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Today's notable upgrades include SanDisk Corp (SNDK), Cabela's Inc (CAB) and Knightsbridge Tankers Ltd (VLCCF):

• CIBC upgraded shares of SanDisk Corp (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer with a $50 target. The firm finds the risk/reward compelling due to a rebounding NAND outlook for Q4 and 2008 and the probability of Hynix signing a watershed licensing deal.

• Matrix USA upgraded Cabela's Inc (NYSE: CAB) Inc to Hold from Sell as retail operations have improved, providing a boost to fundamental trends.

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Knightsbridge Tankers (NASDAQ: VLCCF) Ltd to Neutral from Underweight based on valuation and increased time-charter contract coverage.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Merrill Lynch upgraded Gilead Sciences, Inc (NASDAQ: GILD) to Buy from Neutral to reflect improved prospects for long-term growth of the company's HIV-franchise.

• UBS resumed coverage of Express Scripts, Inc (NASDAQ: ESRX) with a Buy rating, up from its previous Neutral rating.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Valspar Corp (NYSE: VAL) with a Buy from Hold and $34 target.

• HSBC upgraded Dow Chemical Co (NYSE: DOW) to Overweight from Neutral as the firm believes a joint venture with Reliance could trigger a valuation re-rating with a higher multiple, offsetting any EPS dilution.

• Caris upgraded Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX) to Above Average from Average as the firm believes Seagate has too many structural advantages over the competition.

• Buckingham upgraded TJX Cos (NYSE: TJX) to Strong Buy from Accumulate with a $33 target.

• Lehman Brothers upgraded Volkswagen ADS (OTC: VLKAY) to Equal-Weight from Underweight.

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