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

Vivo Participacoes(VIV Quote) provides cellular telecommunications services in Brazil. It has been upgraded to a hold from a sell. The company's net losses narrowed in the second quarter to $119.92 million from $228.21 million in the same period last year. Its revenue increased by 38.38% over the same timeframe. Vivo Participacoes' stock price has risen by 81.58% in the last 12 months, and TheStreet.com Ratings' hold rating indicates that additional investment is not recommended at this time. The company had been rated a sell since October 2005. ...