Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ABT, AA, AB, MDRX, ADI, AVB, BBBY, BRCM, ESS, INTC, JIVE, LAMR, NOV, NWSA, NVDA, SLB, TASR, TXN, DK, PSX, MPC, WNR)

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) cut to Market Perform at Leerink Swann.

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) cut to Hold at Jefferies.

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB) reiterated Outperform and raised target to $18 at Credit Suisse.

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX) reiterated Buy with $15 target at Argus.

Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI) cut to Sector Perform with $41 target at RBC.

AvalonBay Communities Inc. (NYSE: AVB) started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) cut to Perform at Oppenheimer and reiterated Buy with $80 target at Argus.

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) raised to Outperform at RBC.

Essex Property Trust Inc. (NYSE: ESS) started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) cut to Sector Perform with $24 target at RBC.

Jive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: JIVE) raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Lamar Advertising Co. (NASDAQ: LAMR) added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) stared as Outperform at William Blair.

News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA) maintained Hold at Argus.

NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) cut to Sector Perform with $15 target at RBC.

Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) started as Market Perform at William Blair.

TASER International Inc. (NASDAQ: TASR) raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) cut to Sector Perform with $28 target at RBC.

Credit Suisse lowered its ratings to Neutral from Outperform on the independent refining sector: cut ratings by the same on Delek US Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DK), Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC), Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) and Western Refining Inc. (NYSE: WNR).

JON C. OGG