Today's stock Up/Downgrades (AMLN, HRB, HIG, LYG, RJET, RAD, ANF, ADSK, DLB, DWA, IL, NVDA, PRU, ROVI, SMG, WAG)

Upgrades

Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMLN) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets.

H & R Block (NYSE:HRB), the tax preparation services provider, was upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer. The firm set its target price at $19.

Hartford Financial (NYSE:HIG), the Connecticut based insurer and financial services firm, was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Lloyds Banking (NYSE:LYG) was upgraded to a Buy from Add at WestLB.

Republic Airways (NASDAQ:RJET), the airline holding company offering branded and fixed-fee airline services, was upgraded to a Buy from Hold at Dahlman Rose. The firm set its target price at $8.

Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD), the drugstore chain operator, was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

 Market Close : November 8th, 2011

Symbol	Name	Support	Resistance
AA	ALCOA ORD	10.05	11.02
AAPL	APPLE ORD	390.75	426.70
ABT	ABBOTT LABORATORIES ORD	48.96	55.61
AMAT	APPLIED MATERIAL ORD	11.88	12.53
AMGN	AMGEN ORD	54.63	59.05
AXP	AMERICAN EXPRESS ORD	48.91	52.35
BAC	BANK OF AMERICA ORD	6.30	7.43
BMY	BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB ORD	30.89	33.20
C	CITIGROUP ORD	28.40	34.40
CSCO	CISCO SYSTEMS ORD	17.53	18.60
CVX	CHEVRON ORD	100.79	110.01
DD	E I DU PONT DE NEMOURS ORD	46.21	48.96
DELL	DELL ORD	15.04	16.43
DIS	WALT DISNEY ORD	33.31	36.60
DOW	DOW CHEMICAL ORD	26.10	29.56
DUK	DUKE ENERGY ORD	19.17	20.73
EBAY	EBAY ORD	30.70	33.10
EMC	EMC ORD	23.58	25.09
EMR	EMERSON ELECTRIC ORD	45.17	51.96
EP	EL PASO ORD	16.30	25.73
F	FORD MOTOR ORD	11.02	12.65
FSLR	FIRST SOLAR ORD	45.55	52.70
GE	GENERAL ELECTRIC ORD	16.11	17.50
GILD	GILEAD SCIENCES ORD	40.12	42.98
GLW	CORNING ORD	13.71	15.62
GS	GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP ORD	102.09	118.07
HAL	HALLIBURTON ORD	33.92	38.18
HD	HOME DEPOT ORD	34.58	36.50
HES	HESS ORD	58.44	66.49
HON	HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL ORD	50.41	54.20
HPQ	HEWLETT PACKARD ORD	25.35	28.57
IBM	INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES ORD	176.17	188.07
INTC	INTEL ORD	23.28	25.20
JNJ	JOHNSON & JOHNSON ORD	60.83	65.86
JPM	JPMORGAN CHASE ORD	31.84	37.54
KFT	KRAFT FOODS CL A ORD	31.88	36.30
KO	COCA-COLA ORD	63.34	68.20
LLY	ELI LILLY ORD	35.69	38.73
LOW	LOWES ORD	20.34	22.48
LUV	SOUTHWEST AIRLINES ORD	8.26	9.28
MCD	MCDONALD'S ORD	83.74	92.86
MDT	MEDTRONIC ORD	33.11	35.54
MO	ALTRIA GROUP ORD	25.27	28.14
MRK	MERCK & CO ORD	33.70	35.50
MS	MORGAN STANLEY ORD	15.44	19.67
MSFT	MICROSOFT ORD	25.70	27.50
ORCL	ORACLE ORD	31.80	33.81
OXY	OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM ORD	87.32	98.38
PEP	PEPSICO ORD	58.50	63.62
PFE	PFIZER ORD	17.05	20.12
PG	PROCTER & GAMBLE ORD	62.37	65.34
PM	PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL ORD	67.75	72.49
Q	QWEST COMMUNICATIONS INTE ORD	6.50	6.98
QCOM	QUALCOMM ORD	49.78	56.96
S	SPRINT NEXTEL ORD	2.47	2.82
SIRI	SIRIUS XM RADIO ORD	1.64	1.86
T	AT&T ORD	27.55	29.80
TGT	TARGET ORD	51.12	56.00
TXN	TEXAS INSTRUMENT ORD	29.64	31.95
UNH	UNITEDHEALTH GRP ORD	44.80	50.00
UTX	UNITED TECHNOLOGIES ORD	74.36	79.97
VZ	VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS ORD	35.46	37.44
WAG	WALGREEN ORD	32.32	34.38
WFT	WEATHERFORD INTL ORD	14.10	16.62
XOM	EXXON MOBIL ORD	75.45	82.20
YHOO	YAHOO! ORD	14.75	16.70

Downgrades

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF), the specialty retailer, was downgraded to a Neutral from Buy at SunTrust.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK), the design software Company, was downgraded to a Neutral from Buy at Bank of America Merrill.

Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) was downgraded to a Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

Dreamworks Animation (NYSE:DWA) was downgraded to a Sell from Neutral at Janney Capital Markets.

IntraLinks Holdings (NYSE:IL) was downgraded to a Hold from Buy at Jefferies.

NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), the world leader in visual computing technologies, was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at JMP Securities.

Prudential (NYSE:PRU), the insurance and retirement services provider was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Rovi Corp. (NASDAQ:ROVI), the provider of digital entertainment technology solutions, was downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at Credit Agricole and to a Hold from Buy at Brean Murray. Rovi was also downgraded to a Neutral from Buy at Collins Stewart, while setting its target price at $40.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG), the largest marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products in the world, was downgraded to a Neutral from Buy at SunTrust.

Walgreen (NYSE:WAG), the operator of retail drugstores offering pharmacy services and general merchandise was downgraded to a Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

5 Stock Christmas stockings stuffers for 2010 and 2011

•Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO)


•Conexant Systems (Nasdaq: CNXT)

•Health Management Associates (NYSE: HMA)

•Jamba (Nasdaq: JMBA)

•L-1 Identity Solutions

Some of these names might surprise you. For example, L-1 Identity Solutions showed French aerospace leader Safran enough potential that Safran decided it wanted to buy most of the company. Almost great? Even familiar names can still offer some of the best opportunities. Perhaps we've just forgotten the potential they still hold.



And smoothie maker Jamba is reinventing itself by expanding beyond just fruit drinks. It's blending new opportunities by offering warm drinks and food to take on Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) and fruit-based energy drinks that will squarely challenge Hansen Natural. As the 170,000-plus CAPS members have chosen these companies as less obvious sources for tomorrow's great buys, let's see why they might merit your attention.



In the sight of greatness?

Given that it just stumbled, with same-store sales falling 1% for November following a 2% drop in October, it might be surprising to find retailer Aeropostale on this list. Even laggard Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) was able to report another month of strong comps.



Yet along with Buckle, Aeropostale has been one of the outstanding retail success stories throughout this recession. The market's overreaction to the sales news created a buying opportunity that even private equity investors noticed. The retailer has hired Barclays to advise it on preventing a hostile takeover attempt.



Assuming that management succeeds in fending off any potential bidders, CAPS member echeverria says the retailer remains best in class:



ROIC best in it's industry; great inventory control, clean balance sheet. Recent sell off is an over reaction! [Aeropostale] will outperform it's peers over the next five years.

More than 91% of the CAPS members rating the retailer expect it to outperform the broad market averages. Tell us on the Aeropostale CAPS page whether you believe that it can gain altitude again.



Dirt cheap?

Fabless semiconductor maker Conexant Systems has been diligently paring down its debt-laden balance sheet using equity offerings made earlier this year. Coupled with its sales of various product lines in order to concentrate on its core business, Conexant should be able to create value for shareholders again.



It hasn't been an easy path; the semi shop anticipates a significant sequential revenue decline in its legacy businesses for this quarter. Still, CAPS member TechSci has high hopes for Conexant's new graphics chip.



Not sure whether Conexant is right for your portfolio yet? Add the stock to your watchlist to get all our Foolish news and analysis on the company aggregated for you.



A big opportunity

Mergers and acquisitions is one of the themes running throughout a number of the companies listed today. It's possible that Community Health Systems' lowball bid for hospital operator Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC) in November will actually be an opening for Health Management Associates to buy Tenet. Analysts suspect that HMA is the only real alternative (aside from private equity) to make a realistic bid for Tenet. But although Wall Street has cast a pall over Community's offer, Community still might come back with a higher bid that Tenet shareholders would jump at.



Thus, investors comparing Health Management Associates to either Community or Tenet may find HMA the better choice. Rate or read about the hospital operator on the Health Management Associates CAPS page, and add the stock to the Fool's free portfolio tracker.



A great opportunity for you

Investor sentiment suggests these four-star investments still seem to be on their way to five-star greatness, but it pays to start your own research on these stocks on Motley Fool CAPS. Read a company's financial reports, scrutinize key data and charts, and examine the comments your fellow investors have made