Today's noteworthy upgrades include: AXIS Capital (AXS) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital... Artisan Partners (APAM) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Citigroup... BCE (BCE) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital... Baidu (BIDU) upgraded to Buy from Hold at T.H. Capital... Brixmor (BRX) upgraded on upbeat fundamentals, valuation at Stifel... Buckeye Partners (BPL) upgraded on positive outlook at Stifel... California Water Service (CWT) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney Capital... Charles River Labs (CRL) upgraded at SunTrust... DCT Industrial (DCT) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Evercore ISI... EXCO Resources (XCO) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Stephens... Eversource (ES) upgraded to Hold from Sell at Evercore ISI... Federated National (FNHC) upgraded at Raymond James... Genuine Parts (GPC) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Sterne Agee CRT... Insulet (PODD) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Northland... Kennametal (KMT) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies... LinkedIn (LNKD) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Argus... MRC Global (MRC) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens... Madison Square Garden (MSG) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel... Olympic Steel (ZEUS) upgraded to Outperform from Underperform at Credit Suisse... Pinnacle West (PNW) upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital... Quantum (QTM) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Northland... Rent-A-Center (RCII) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James... Ritchie Bros. (RBA) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies... Royal Gold (RGLD) upgraded to Buy from Hold at BB&T... Standard Pacific (SPF) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Evercore ISI... Twitter (TWTR) upgraded on valuation at Stifel... UDR, Inc. (UDR) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Mizuho... United Natural Foods (UNFI) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Guggenheim... Whiting Petroleum (WLL) upgraded at Morgan Stanley... WisdomTree (WETF) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.

Baird analyst David Sunderland raised the firm's price target on California Water Service to $55 from $52 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm said Q1 results included the one-time benefit of the GRC beating consensus estimates on the top and bottom line.

HSBC analyst Charlene Liu lowered the firm's price target on Baidu to $145 from $157 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares following the company's developer conference. The firm says Baidu's advertising outlook remains more challenging than it expected. It cut estimates on weaker a macro envinrment.