Stock Upgrades, Downgrades From TheStreet.com Ratings

Each weekday, TheStreet.com Ratings updates its ratings on the stocks it covers. The proprietary ratings model projects a stock's total return potential over a 12-month period, including price appreciation and dividends. Buy, hold or sell ratings designate how the Ratings group expects these stocks to perform against a general benchmark of the equities market and interest rates.

While the ratings model is quantitative, it uses both subjective and objective elements. For instance, subjective elements include expected equities market returns, future interest rates, implied industry outlook and company earnings forecasts. Objective elements include volatility of past operating revenue, financial strength and company cash flows.

Freight forwarding services and logistics services provider Target Logistics has been downgraded to a hold from a buy. Its gross profit margin of 30.1% in the third quarter of its fiscal 2007 is lower than what is desirable, having decreased from the same quarter in 2006. Also, the company's net profit margin of 0.80% trails that of the industry average. Its return on equity of 7.5% in the same quarter was down from the year-earlier period and is significantly below that of the industry average. The company's stock price has declined 31.7% in the past 12 months. Target Logistics had been rated a buy since February 2007.

Blackbaud provides software and related services for nonprofit organizations. It has been downgraded to a hold from a buy. Even though the company has a strong debt-to-equity ratio, the quick ratio of 0.42 demonstrates an inability to pay short-term obligations. Net income increased by 3.5% in the first quarter of 2007 compared with the same period one year ago, significantly underperforming the S&P 500 and the software industry. While the company has seen its stock price increase 22.3% in the past year, there is currently no conclusive evidence that warrants the purchase or sale of this stock. Blackbaud had been rated a buy since January 2007.