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 both 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 forecasted company earnings. Objective elements include volatility of past operating revenue, financial strength and company cash flows.

Discount air carrier JetBlue(JBLU Quote) has been downgraded to a sell from a hold. The company's 3.06 debt-to-equity ratio is higher than the airline industry average. TheStreet.com Ratings also feels that JetBlue's gross profit margin is lower than what is desirable, coming in at 25.2%. In spite of these weaknesses, the company's stock remains relatively expensive in relation to its peers, which tends to reduce the upside potential. JetBlue had been rated a hold since November 2006.

TheStreet.com Ratings has initiated coverage of oil and gas driller Exco Resources(XCO Quote) with a sell rating. The company lost 85 cents per share in the first quarter of fiscal 2007 after earning 36 cents per share in the same quarter a year earlier. In spite of this, XCO's stock price has actually shot up 36.7% over the past 12 months. TheStreet.com Ratings does not feel this trend is likely to continue. In fact, the sharp appreciation of the stock over the past year should be a sign prompting investors to seek better opportunities elsewhere....