Stock Upgrades, Downgrades From TheStreet.com Ratings

Matrix Service (MTRX Quote) provides construction, repair and maintenance services, primarily to the downstream petroleum and power industries. It has been downgraded to hold from buy. The company's revenue growth of 36.2% in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2007 compared with the same period last year outpaced the industry average of 24.6%.

Matrix has a largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, as well as a stock price that has increased by 41.69% in the past 12 months. However, the company's net income decreased by 41.9% in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year, compared with the same period last year, and net operating cash flow decreased 46.53% to $5.27 million over the same period. Matrix Service had been rated a buy since August 2006.

First Community Bancshares(FCBC Quote) operates as the holding company for First Commercial Bank. It has been upgraded to buy from hold. The company's strengths include revenue growth, expanding profit margins and a two-year pattern of EPS growth.

Its net income increased to $7.44 million in the second quarter of 2007, up from $7.29 million in the same quarter last year. Strengths such as these outweigh the fact that the company's stock has declined by 1.63% in the past 12 months. First Community Bancshares had been rated a hold since August 2005.

TheStreet.com Ratings has initiated coverage on open-ended mutual fund trust Advantage Energy Income Fund(AAV Quote). It has been rated a sell. The company's stock has declined by 29.94% in the last 12 months, and on the basis of its current price in relation to the company's earnings, it is still more expensive than most of the other companies in its industry.

Its EPS declined to 4 cents a share in the second quarter of 2007 compared with 38 cents a share in the same period last year; it has not demonstrated a clear trend in earnings over the past two years. Despite having a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, it is higher than that of the industry average, and its return on equity trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.

Additional ratings changes are listed below.

Stock Upgrades, Downgrades
Company Name	Ticker	Country Code	Change	New Rating	Former Rating
Allied Waste Industries	AW	USA	Upgrade	Buy	Hold
CPI	CPY	USA	Downgrade	Hold	Buy
Embotelladora Andina	AKO.A	USA	Upgrade	Buy	Hold
Matrix Service	MTRX	USA	Downgrade	Hold	Buy
NN	NNBR	USA	Downgrade	Sell	Hold
SRS Labs	SRSL	USA	Downgrade	Hold	Buy
Versant	VSNT	USA	Downgrade	Hold	Buy
First Community Bancshares	FCBC	USA	Upgrade	Buy	Hold
Metalico	MEA	USA	Upgrade	Buy	Hold
Advantage Energy Income Fund	AAV	USA	Initiation	Sell	n/a
Geopetro Resources	GPR	USA	Downgrade	Sell	Hold
Orsus Xelent Technologies	ORS	USA	Downgrade	Sell	Hold
Source: TheStreet.com Ratings