Stock Upgrades, Downgrades from TheStreet.com Ratings

LSI Corp.(LSI Quote) sells silicon-to-system products that create and store digital information. It has been downgraded to a sell from a hold. The company swung to a loss of $140.6 million in the third quarter compared with a profit of $43.61 million in the same period last year, and its return on equity greatly decreased over the same period. This is a sign of major weakness within the corporation. LSI's stock price has fallen by 40% in the last 12 months, and while this has made it cheaper (in proportion to its earnings over the last year) than most other stocks in its industry, the stock is still not a good buy right now. LSI Corp. had been rated a hold since April 2007.

Sonic Automotive(SAH Quote) is an automotive retailer. It has been downgraded to a hold from a buy. The company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently, and third-quarter EPS increased 6.1% to 70 cents a share from 66 cents a share in the same period last year. It also saw its revenue grow by 5.7% in the third quarter compared with the same period last year. Sonic's debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87 is high overall and when compared with the industry average, suggesting that the current management of debt levels should be re-evaluated. In addition, the company maintains a quick ratio of 0.24, which demonstrates an inability to cover short-term cash needs. Sonic had been rated a buy since October 2007.