Upgrades & Downgrades: Research Analysts Rush To Downgrade Research In Motion

Volume was light but gains heavy, shares surging for a fourth straight session after a quintet of central banks pledged to act in concert against Europe’s debt threat. Still, it may be too soon to break out the bubbly; while Paul Samuelson’s 1966 quip that “The stock market has predicted nine of the last five recessions” remains as apt as ever, economists now set the odds at only one in three. Yesterday for a change Greece wasn’t the word -- rogue was, in publishing and elsewhere. UBS (UBS) tumbled 10.02%, the NYSE’s poorest performer, after Kweku Adoboli was accused of blowing $2 billion for the bank. Equities overall not only shrugged this off, but also saw the steepest increase in consumer prices since September 2008. (Although it must be noted Playboy (PLA) is admirably attempting to fight inflation single handedly.)

Nuts everywhere, already basking in a Winklevii pitch for pistachios, had twin pieces of good news with a Goldman upgrade of J.M. Smucker (SJM) and Diamond Foods (DMND), founded by a group of walnut growers, gaining 6.48%. Working Mother magazine again named Bank of America (BAC), whose 3.97% gain paced all Dow advancers, a top ten company to work for. Which may come as a surprise to Sally Krawcheck, let go last week from the firm’s ‘Mother Merrill’ unit. Today Treasury Secretary Tim Geither, his boss with one eye on the poles, heads to Warsaw. It’s quadruple options expiration, and in economics analysts expect an uptick in the University of Michigan’s preliminary September consuumer sentiment survey at 9:55AM Eastern.

Initiations

Allergan (AGN): The Botox maker is begun with a Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Internet Stocks: Barclays launches Overweights on Linkedin (LNKD), Demand Media (DMD), InterActiveCorp (IACI), and Shutterfly (SFLY). It has Underweights on WebMD Health (WBMD) and OpenTable (OPEN).

Citigroup (C): The bank is begun with a Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Vitesse Semiconductor (VTSS): VTSS is initiated with a Hold at Wunderlich, which has a price target of $3.50.

Plexus (PLXS): Goldman Sachs has a new Neutral on PLXS.

Alternative Energy Stocks: Deutsche Bank has Holds on Trina Solar (TSL), SunPower (SPWRA), JinkSolar (JKS), ReneSola (SOL), First Solar (FSLR), Suntech Power (STP), Yingli Green (YGE), Veeco Instruments (VECO), and Itron (ITRI). Its Buys include MEMC Electronic (WFR), and Cree Inc (CREE). For related content, see The Solyndra Scandal: Background, Updates, and Analysis.

A123 Systems (AONE): AONE gets picked up at Overweight by Piper Jaffray.

Biomarin Pharmaceuticals (BMRN): RBC Capital rolls out Outperform rated coverage on BMRN.

Raptor Pharmaceuticals (RPTP): Staying in the sector, RPTP is resumed with an Outperform recommendation and $11 price objective at Oppenheimer. It cites promise in DR Cysteamine, an improved reformulation of the already approved drug Cystagon to treat a rare genetic condition.

McCormick & Schmick’s (MSSR): The seafood chain, a takeover target, is a new Buy at Capstone.