A Look at New Stock Ratings

Among Wednesday’s new stock ratings by Wall Street analysts:

* Champion International (ticker symbol: CHA; close and change: $56.26, down $5.38) was downgraded to “market perform” from “buy” by J.P. Morgan Securities.

* Claire’s Stores (CLE; $19.38, down $1.25) was raised to “strong buy” from “hold” by JWGenesis Capital Markets, with a target price of $34.

* Medimmune (MEDI; $115, down $5.06) was downgraded to near-term “accumulate” from near-term “buy” by Merrill Lynch. But it was rated “buy” in new coverage by Salomon Smith Barney, with a target of $150.

* Safeway (SWY; $49, up $1.88) was raised to “buy” from “maintain position” by A.G. Edwards & Sons, with a target price of $60.

* 3M (MMM; $99.31, up 69 cents) was downgraded to “neutral” from “accumulate” by First Albany.

* Wet Seal (WTSLA; $15.06, down $1.88) was downgraded to “hold” from “buy” by First Union Capital Markets.