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Deutsche Bank upgrades Wachovia (NYSE:WB) to "buy" from "hold" according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that Thomas Weisel initiated VMWare (NYSE:VMW) with a "market weight" rating.

Citigroup downgraded CB Richard Ellis Group (NYSE:CBG) to "hold" from "buy" according to the AP. The news service also writes that Moody's raised it outlook on NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) to "stable" from "negative."

Ford (NYSE:F) was raised to "hold" from "sell "at Citigroup according to 24/7 Wall St.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) -- May OTM puts more expensive than calls, suggesting downside Hedging. AAPL is expected to report EPS of 64 cents after the close tonight. AAPL call option volume of 56,543 contracts compares to put volume of 25,270 contracts. AAPL May 105 calls have traded 172 times on transaction volume 20,030 contracts. AAPL May 85 puts have traded 133 times on transaction volume of 8,659 contracts according to Track Data. AAPL May 85 puts are bid 55 cents, above its theoretical value of 42 cents. AAPL May 105 calls are bid 45 cents, below its theoretical value of 49 cents. AAPL options suggest downside hedging tendencies.

Navistar Intl. (NASDAQ: NAVZ) -- elevated implied volatility suggests Risk as NAVZ at record High. NAVZ, a truck, bus, engine manufacturer, is recently up $1.13 to $57.93. MAN AG, Hino, F, Fiat, Isuzu, PCAR, OSK, General Motors (NYSE: GM), DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX) and Iveco have been frequently mentioned as interested in doing acquisitions, partnerships or bolt-on deals. NAVZ over all option implied volatility of 46 is above its 26-week average of 41 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Option volume leaders today are: Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).

Daily Option Update is provided by Stock Options Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

World-class scientific instrument manufacturer and data monitoring company Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) was recently chosen to supply measuring instruments and data capture expertise to Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemicals Co. (ADR) (NYSE: SHI), China's largest producer and supplier of oil and petrochemical products.

Monetary details of the deal were not disclosed in the press release but Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has over $9 billion in annual revenue and serves more than 350,000 biotech companies, hospitals and various research institutions that capture and/or monitor data in real time.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has been involved in data collecting in the petrochemical industry for more than two decades. Its laboratory information management system (LMS) will be the standard for all data manipulation at Sinopec. Such standardization will enhance cost efficiencies, improve real-time data monitoring and reduce time to market. Thermo Fisher Scientific instruments and processes are already in use at multiple Sinopec laboratories in China.

Shares of both Thermo Fisher Scientific and Sinopec rose on the news. Thermo Fisher Scientific closed at $47.45, up $0.73, while shares of Sinopec were up $0.68 to close at $53.78.

In unrelated news, Thermo Fisher Scientific sold one of its divisions, Genevac, to Riverlake Equity Partners LP for an undisclosed sum. Genevac makes equipment used in pharmaceutical research.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Goodyear Tire (GT) and Nvidia (NVDA) top today's modest-sized list of upgrades.

• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYES:GT) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Merrill Lynch citing improved third-quarter results and improved relations with unions.
• Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital Markets following their strong third-quarter report.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• IMAX Corp (NASDAQ:IMAX) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Merriman. The firm noted that IMAX Corp.'s third-quarter results were below expectations but they were looking beyond the first-half of 2007 for a rebound in operating trends.
• American Tech upgraded Thermo Electron (NYSE:TMO) to Buy from Neutral, citing the Fisher Scientific (FSH) merger for its rational.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).