The analysts are out in force today, handing out upgrades, downgrades, and price-target/earnings adjustments in a fashion that could fairly be called "willy-nilly." (In fact, the original title for this post was "Touched By an Analyst," though that proved overly controversial.) A few specific comments from the Wall Street pros caught my eye for various reasons read on for today's brokerage-firm commentary on Altria Group (MO), Hansen Natural (HANS), and Netflix, Inc. (NFLX).

• One day after Philip Morris International (PM) debuted on the Street, parent company Altria Group (MO: scorecard, quote, chart) was slapped with a downgrade from "overweight" to "equal-weight" at Morgan Stanley. The analyst also slashed its MO price target from $30 to $26, citing "reduced potential for outsized returns" as compared to the rest of its sector. Morgan Stanley tempered its discontent by stating that MO could be more attractive in a year or so. MO shares are down more than 2%, but the stock's long-term uptrend along its 10-month and 20-month moving averages remains intact.
• The mercenaries at Goldman Sachs downgraded my beloved PepsiCo (PEP) shares earlier today, but they also handed out an upgrade for Hansen Natural (HANS: scorecard, quote, chart) . Analyst Judy E. Hong claims that HANS has been undervalued on Wall Street, and raised her rating on the shares from "neutral" to "buy" to prove her affection. Hong noted that HANS's 20% decline in March "creat[es] an entry point too attractive to ignore." A good portion of Wall Street apparently agrees; HANS is 11% higher today, and has clambered atop its recently resistant 10-day and 20-day trendlines.
• Netflix (NFLX: scorecard, quote, chart) rounds out our trifecta of analyst-affected stocks today. Piper Jaffray added NFLX to its alpha list, stating its belief that Blockbuster (BBI) is not "focused" on its online DVD rental business. Piper Jaffray said that BBI's fourth-quarter earnings "confirm that Netflix is gaining share in DVD by mail as Blockbuster is focusing on its retail channel and overall profitability." The broker reiterated its "buy" rating and $40 price target on NFLX. The stock has added more than 2% today after meeting up with support from its 20-day moving average.