Analyst Upgrades

• Expedia (EXPE) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Weatherford (WFT) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• MDC Holdings (MDC) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• AutoNavi (AMAP) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Ciena (CIEN) and Nvidia (NVDA) to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• Canadian Pacific (CP) to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.
• First Midwest (FMBI) and Quiksilver (ZQK) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Sonic (SONC) to neutral from negative at Susquehanna.
• MIPS Technologies (MIPS) to buy from hold at Benchmark Co.
• Arrow Electronics (ARW) and Avnet (AVT) to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Anadarko Petroleum (APC) to overweight from neutral on valuation as it views the recent pullback in shares as excessive. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered its target for shares to $82 from $90.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Office Depot (ODP) to perform from underperform and upped its target for shares to $7 from $3 after raising its estimates for companies in the Office Products Retail space. The firm expects trends to accelerate for the sector due to moderating unemployment pressures. In conjunction with the upgrade, Opco raised its target for OfficeMax (OMX) to $26 from $21 and target for Staples (SPLS) to $30 from $28. Both stocks remain outperform rated.
• C.K. Cooper upgraded iRobot (IRBT) to buy from hold with a $30 price target following the company's analyst day.
• Seadrill (SDRL) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Vodafone (VOD) was upgraded to neutral from reduce at Nomura.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: UBS AG, Ansys and AstraZeneca were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) to Buy from Hold after the company announced further write-downs and plans to boost capital.
  
• Jefferies upgraded shares of Ansys (NASDAQ: ANSS) to Buy from Hold as they like the Ansoft (NASDAQ: ANST) acquisition and feel yesterday's sell-off creates an attractive entry point.
  
• AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan following the positive Crestor study results.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Piper raised Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Goldman upgraded Hansen Natural (NASDAQ: HANS) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Vertex Pharma (NASDAQ: VRTX) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Wachovia and to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Dreamworks Animation, Pharmasset and Vertex Pharmaceuticals were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Jefferies initiated Dreamworks Animation (NYSE: DWA) with a Hold rating and $25 target. The firm believes the company needs stronger-than-expected box office performance to drive material share appreciation, which they view as a risky bet given recent non-Shrek film performance, slower DVD sales and a tough economy.
  
• Merriman assumed coverage of Pharmasset (NASDAQ: VRUS) with a Buy rating, as they believe the current share price does not adequately reflect the company's strong clinical data, potential for clinical milestones, or potential for revenue generation. They believe shares could trade to a fair value range of $20-24 in the next 12 months.
  
• Merriman initiated shares of Vertex Pharmaceutials (NASDAQ: VRTX) with a Neutral rating, and recommends investors hold pending a greater understanding of clinical timelines and results for other HCV drug candidates.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Merrill Lynch initiated Time Warner Telecom (NASDAQ: TWTC) with a Neutral rating.
  
• UBS initiated Protalix (AMEX: PLX) with a Buy rating and $6 target.
  
• Pacific Growth assumed United Online (NASDAQ: UNTD) and Internet Brands (NASDAQ: INET) with Buy ratings.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Kelly Services, Iron Mountain, Covenant Transportation and the biotech sector were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Merrill Lynch upgraded Kelly Services Inc (NASDAQ: KELYA) to Neutral from Sell and Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) to Buy from Neutral after they adjusted estimates in the group to reflect risks of a recession in the U.S.
  
• AG Edwards upgraded shares of Covenant Transportation Group (NASDAQ: CVTI) to Buy from Hold as they believe the stock is oversold after the company was able to renegotiate its debt covenants without significant cost increases.
• Bernstein upgraded the biotech sector citing valuation and typical seasonality for the group. The firm reiterated shares of Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN), Genentech Inc (NYSE: DNA), Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ: GILD), Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) with Outperform ratings...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Wedbush. The firm also upgraded shares of Kenexa Corporation (NASDAQ: KNXA) to Buy from Hold.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of United Microelectronics (NYSE: UMC) to Buy from Hold.
  
• UBS upgraded shares of Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) to Buy from Neutral on valuation.
  
• Lehman Brothers upped regulated utilities to Neutral from Negative, and Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE: PEG) and Wisconsin Energy Corporation (NYSE: WEC) to Overweight from Equal Weight.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Pfizer Inc (PFE), Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP), Xerox Corp (XRX), and Amazon.com, Inc (AMZN) were some of today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Prudential downgraded shares of Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) to Neutral from Overweight with a $29 target to reflect concerns about competition from generic medications and a lack of new products.

• Deutsche Bank cut both ExxonMobil Corp (NYSE: XOM) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) to Hold from Buy on valuation.

• Citigroup downgraded shares of Xerox Corp (NYSE: XRX) to Sell from Hold as the firm believes the acquisition of Global Systems could hurt profits in the short-term. The broker recommended trimming positions of Xerox on any strength.

• Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) was cut to Underperform from Market Perform at Piper Jaffray based on valuation...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Stifel lowered its rating of Jones Soda Co (NASDAQ: JSDA) to Hold from Buy on valuation.

• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Chevron Corp (NYSE: CVX) to Sell from Hold based on valuation.

• CIBC downgraded shares of Coventry Health Care, Inc (NYSE: CVH) to Sector Performer from Outperformer on valuation.

• Needham downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: VRTX) to Hold from Buy.

• Adtran, Inc (NASDAQ: ADTN) was cut to Sell from Hold at Brean Murray.

• JP Morgan removed Johnson Controls, Inc (NYSE: JCI) from its Focus List citing recent share strength.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Some of today's more notable upgrades include Nokia Corp (NOK), SanDisk Corp (SNDK), RealNetworks, Inc (RNWK) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (VRTX):

• Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Nokia Corp (NYSE: NOK) to Buy from Hold citing increased emerging markets demand, valuation, and expectations for upcoming N76 and Barracuda.

• Oppenheimer also upgraded SanDisk Corp (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Buy from Neutral with a $50 target, as the firm believes the worst of seasonal price declines has occurred and that 2007 Samsung royalty revenues appear intact.

• Goldman Sachs upgraded shares of RealNetworks Inc (NASDAQ: RNWK) to Neutral from Sell, citing valuation.

• Vertex Pharma Inc (NASDAQ: VRTX) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Bank of America, citing valuation.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• American Technology added Cephalon, Inc (NASDAQ: CEPH) to its Focus List as the firm believes the recent pullback provides a buying opportunity. The brokerage believes it sees a significant near-term catalyst with Nuvigil's PDUFA date of March 31, 2007.

• Lehman upgraded Xilinx, Inc (NASDAQ: XLNX) to Overweight from Equal-Weight. Goldman upgraded Amdocs Ltd (DOX) to Buy from Neutral with a $41 target; the firm expects Amdocs to benefit from the health 2007 telco fundamentals.

• UBS upgraded J.C. Penney Company (NYSE: JCP) to Buy from Neutral on valuation.

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Radian Group Inc (RDN) in conjunction with their upgrade of MGIC Investment Corp (MTG), to Buy from Hold, to reflect the planned merger.

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