Today's noteworthy upgrades include: Atwood Oceanics (ATW) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays... Dollar Tree (DLTR) upgraded to Top Pick from Outperform at RBC Capital... EMC (EMC) upgraded to Outperform from Underperform at CLSA... Electronic Arts (EA) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Atlantic Equities... First Quantum Minerals (FQVLF) upgraded to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James... Hanesbrands (HBI) upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman... Hudson Pacific (HPP) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley... Marriott (MAR) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Canaccord... Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK) upgraded to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna... Sage Group (SGPYY) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan... Telecom Italia (TI) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS... Teva (TEVA) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Guggenheim.

Mizuho lowered the firm's price target on Marriott to $260 from $263 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The analyst cites a more conservative view on RevPAR ahead of the Q1 report for the target drop. RevPAR trends have been slightly weaker than previously modeled, primarily in the United States, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals "announced that the Supreme Court denied Vanda's petition for a writ of certiorari in its HETLIOZ(R) Abbreviated New Drug Application litigation against Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., Apotex Inc. and Apotex Corp." CEO Mihael H. Polymeropoulos stated: "We are disappointed that the Supreme Court has decided not to hear our case and clarify the lower court standard for obviousness in patent law. However, we are pleased that our case has drawn attention to an area of law that has broad and significant implications in life sciences innovation."