Ratings on (AET) (AIG) (ALKS) (AMTD) (ANN) Upgraded

Ratings on Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET), American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG), Alkermes Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS), TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ: AMTD) and AnnTaylor Stores Corp. (NYSE: ANN) were upgraded by analysts.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) upgraded Aetna Inc. (AET) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price targetof $56.00 on the company, up from $47.00.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) upgraded American International Group,

Inc. (AIG) from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform”

rating.

Cowen upgraded Alkermes Inc. (ALKS) from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating.

Wells Fargo & Co. upgraded TD Ameritrade (AMTD) from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating.

Wedbush upgraded AnnTaylor Stores Corp. (ANN) to an “outperform” rating. They have a $38.00 price target on the company.

Ratings on (ALU) (AMTD) (ANF) (ASEI) (CLI) Downgraded

Analysts downgraded their ratings on Alcatel Lucent (NYSE: ALU), TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ: AMTD), Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF), American Science And Engineering Incorporated (NASDAQ: ASEI) and Mack-Cali Realty Corp. (NYSE: CLI) today.

Societe Generale downgraded Alcatel Lucent (ALU) from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) downgraded TD Ameritrade (AMTD) to a “neutral” rating.

Susquehanna downgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating.

The Benchmark Company downgraded American Science And Engineering Incorporated (ASEI) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. They have a price target of $90.00 on the company.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) downgraded Mack-Cali Realty Corp. (CLI) from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating.

TD Ameritrade (AMTD) Joins GE (GE), Coke (KO), McDonalds (MCD), Visa (V), AT&T (T) As USOC Sponsor

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:AMTD) has reportedly signed on to be a sponsor for the U.S. Olympic Committee, the first in the online broker segment to do so.

They will join others like Acer, Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Visa (NYSE:V), Anheuser-Busch (NYSE:BUD), AT&T (NYSE:T), Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW), Atos Origin, BMW Group NA, BP (NYSE:BP), General Electric (NYSE:GE), McDonald's (NYSE:MCD), Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), Samsung, Panasonic (NYSE:PC), and Omega, which are already sponsors of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Under terms of the deal, TD Ameritrade will sponsor the U.S. Olympic team competing at the 2012 Olympics in London, and will have marketing presence on NBC, which will broadcast the 2012 Summer Games.

Fred Tomczyk, president and CEO for TD Ameritrade, said, “We make a promise each day to our clients and associates – to relentlessly strive to exceed their expectations. We believe this sponsorship – with an organization whose values so closely mirror our own – is an extension of that promise. We look forward to celebrating and sharing this pride of sponsorship with all of our clients, associates and shareholders.”

In a separate sponsorship category are "Official" USOC sponsors, which include Allstate (NYSE:ALL), Deloitte, Hilton Worldwide, Nike (NYSE:NKE), Tyson (NYSE:TSN), Jet Set Sports and United Airlines

USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said in a statement, “TD Ameritrade believes in supporting America’s athletes, and in the power and inspiration of their journeys. It is a company that upholds the Olympic ideals in its own industry, and we are happy to have them on board. This agreement ushers in a new era of partnership and cooperation between the USOC and NBC. Working together, we can bring the U.S. Olympic movement to new audiences and to new heights.”

TD Ameritrade was trading at $21.77, up $0.44, or 2.06 percent, as of 2:39 PM EST.

TD Ameritrade's (NASDAQ:AMTD) Earnings Power on Upward Trajectory

Citing the 25 percent earnings increase over the previous quarter, Barclays said they see TD Ameritrade's (NASDAQ:AMTD) continuing on an upward trajectory.

Barclays noted, "Evidenced by the 25% gain in quarterly EPS vs. the prior quarter, we believe that AMTD's earnings power remains solidly on an upward trajectory as trading volumes have rebounded from seasonal lows, interest rate pressures appear to have crested, and the firm's net new asset growth rate remains at peer-leading double-digit annual rates. Supported by these organic and environmental tailwinds, we have increased confidence in our 2011 EPS estimate ($1.10) and believe that our new 2012 EPS estimate ($1.40) is a good starting point, depending on the aggressiveness of the firm's efforts to extend the IDA portfolio for higher yields and strategic deployment of its cash (likely dividends, buybacks and/or acquisitions).

"On that basis, we are not surprised to have seen the shares rise meaningfully over the last several months, up 45% since the end of August (vs. 23% gain in the S&P500). While we continue to recommend AMTD shares on a relative basis vs. our coverage for long-term investors, we believe the momentum of the rise may begin to slow, especially if Toronto Dominion (NYSE: TD) begins to unwind some of the excess above 45% limit that it currently has, potentially directly to AMTD as it still has a sizeable buyback program that did not get exercised to the degree it had hoped to due to the rise in the share price."

Barclays reiterates an "Overweight" rating on TD Ameritrade (AMTD), which closed Wednesday at $20.95, dropping $0.21, or 0.99 percent. Barclays raised their price target on TD Ameritrade from $20 to $22.

TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ:AMTD) Client Metrics Ahead of Expectations

Based on stronger than expected client metrics, FBR Capital is raising their EPS estimate for 2011 on TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ:AMTD).

FBR said, "We are reiterating our rating and price target on AMTD following the release of client metrics this morning, which were modestly ahead of expectations, driven by further trading momentum. We continue to believe that the underlying core client asset growth and cash flow generation of Ameritrade's overall business remain strong, giving management the flexibility to redeploy meaningful levels of capital back to shareholders while also keeping powder dry for additional accretive acquisitions...Due to the stronger-than-expected DART growth, we are raising our FY11 EPS estimate to $1.03 from $1.02. We are maintaining our FY12 estimate of $1.21."

FBR Capital maintains an "Outperform" on TD Ameritrade, which closed at $18.62 Tuesday, up $0.01, or 0.05 percent. They have a price target of $20 on them.