Analyst Action: New Stock Ratings

A sampling of new stock ratings issued Tuesday by Wall Street equity analysts:

* Antec Corp. (ANTC; $41.25, down $8.44) was downgraded to “hold” from “buy” by Josephthal & Co.

* Casella Waste Systems Inc. (CWST; $19.06, up 50 cents) was rated new “strong buy” by Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown.

* Circuit City Stores (CC; $42.69, down $1.06) was downgraded to “neutral” from “buy” by Salomon Smith Barney.

* Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM; $83.88, unchanged) was reinstated “recommend list” by Goldman, Sachs & Co.

* Hughes Electronics Corp. (GMH; $94, down 69 cents) was downgraded to “hold” from “accumulate” by Prudential Securities.

* InterVU Inc. (ITVU; $77.50, up $3.63) was rated “strong buy” in new coverage by Wedbush Morgan Securities.

* Primus Knowledge Solutions (PKSI; $49.25, down 31 cents) was rated “strong buy” in new coverage by Seidler Cos.

* Sage Inc. (SAGI; $24.13, down $1.44) was rated “strong buy” in new coverage by Prudential Securities.

* Santa Fe International Corp. (SDC; $21.56, down 69 cents) was raised to “strong buy” from “hold” by Southcoast Capital.

* U.S. Bancorp (USB; $26, up 38 cents) was downgraded to “hold” from “strong buy” by Ryan Beck & Co.

* Vignette Corp. (VIGN; $112.13, down $3.38) was rated “strong buy” in new coverage by Seidler Cos.