Shares of international shipping giant FedEx Corp. (FDX) are selling off in early morning trading after the company posted fiscal first quarter results that were a bit shy of analyst estimates.

As we noted in our FedEx earnings preview, analysts had been expecting to see the company report earnings of $1.21 for the quarter, but actual results came in a bit lower at $1.20.

International shipper FedEx (FDX) will get its chance to impress Wall Street tomorrow when it reports its fiscal first quarter results.

Headed into tomorrow's report, analysts are expecting to see earnings of $1.21 per share. During the same period last year the company had earnings of $0.58.

Last week, the Fed's Beige Book report confirmed that the economy continues to grow, but at a slower pace than in previous periods. This week will bring plenty of economic data to either support or contrast with the Fed's findings.

• Monday: Federal government budget balance for August
• Tuesday: Business inventory numbers from July, TIPP Economic Optimism Index for September, retail sales data from August
• Wednesday: Industrial production in August, Empire State Manufacturing Survey for September, Import Price Index for August
• Thursday: Producer Price Index for August, Philly Fed Survey for September, the Current Account Balance in the second quarter, jobless claims for last week
• Friday: preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, Consumer Price Index for August, real earnings data for August

Analyst Upgrades

• Janney Montgomery upgraded Microsoft (MSFT) to buy from neutral with a $30 price target, citing valuation and expectations for strong Q4 results.
• UBS upgraded SanDisk (SNDK) to buy from neutral based on favorable pricing and mobile design win momentum. The firm raised its target to $55 from $46.
• BMO Capital upgraded Medtronic (MDT) to outperform from market perform based on valuation and its product pipeline. The firm has a $48 price target on the stock.
• Lorillard (LO) and Qualcomm (QCOM) were upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Monsanto (MON) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• FedEx (FDX) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.

Analyst Upgrades

• UBS upgraded UPS (UPS) and FedEx (FDX) to buy from hold based on recent weakness and leverage to a recovery. The firm raised its price target on UPS to $74 from $72 and on FedEx to $100 from $97.
• Bernstein upgraded Medicis (MRX) to outperform from market perform based on valuation and said the company has been executing well over the past few months. The firm has a $28 price target on the stock.
• Citigroup upgraded Weingarten Realty (WRI) to buy from hold, citing valuation and the company's improved balance sheet. The firm maintains a $24 price target for shares.
• Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's (LOW) were upgraded to market perform from underperform at BMO Capital.
• NextEra Energy (NEE) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Baird.
• Nokia (NOK) was upgraded to neutral from reduce at WestLB.

FedEx (FDX), a package delivery service operating in the same industry as United Parcel Service (UPS), is experiencing something of a disconnect between its earnings report and its stock performance. I'm writing this early in the trading session, so things could change later on, but my screen is currently showing a quote of $80.77 for FedEx, which means the equity is down 2.7%. Volume should be robust by the end of the day.

According to this article, the company made $1.33 per share. This was more than double the adjusted profit that was reported in the year-ago frame, and it was a penny better than analyst projections. What gives?

Ostensible bellwether FedEx Corp. (FDX) is scheduled to step into the earnings spotlight this week. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expect this Memphis-based transportation and package delivery giant to report that its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled from a year ago to $1.32 per share.

FedEx's revenue for the three months that ended in May is expected to total $9.0 billion, which is 15.2% higher than the same period of last year. FedEx's per-share earnings have not fallen short of consensus estimates in the past four quarters. The First Call recommendation of 23 analysts is to buy FDX and has been for more than 90 days. Shares have retreated from April's 52-week high of $97.75 and closed last week at $80.63.

Financial advisor Ian Wyatt has launched a new investment service, The 100K Portfolio; he suggests, "My goal is to grow my $100,000 portfolio to $1 million over ten years.

Among his initial position is FedEx (FDX). He explains, "This is the type of company that you can buy today and own worry free for years to come.

"We are looking for companies that have a strong management team in place with an ability to control costs. I want to own stocks that deliver dependable earnings, and have strong balance sheets and steady earnings that aren't dependent on cheap credit or consumer excesses.

Last Friday, we learned the economy added 123,000 jobs, the most in three years. Investors everywhere are now waiting for the Dow to cross the 11,000 mark and hoping that the 6% added to the major indexes in March will happen once again in April as we enter earnings season.

Personally, I don't think Dow 11,000 really means anything. But I'll admit I'm pretty fired up about the upcoming first-quarter earnings season. Since the first quarter of 2009 was arguably the worst part of the recession, favorable year-over-year comparisons will lead to blowout results for most companies. In fact, I expect the S&P 500's operating earnings to be up almost 70% during the first quarter on average. With numbers like that, it's easy to imagine the market will post significant gains.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) received an analyst's downgrade following its disappointing earnings report and guidance.
• Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. (CBI) improved earnings prospects prompted one analyst to upgrade the stock.
• Cintas Corp. (CTAS) lower Q3 earnings topped analysts' expectations, and it reiterated its Q4 earnings guidance.
• CRA International Inc. (CRAI) received an analyst's downgrade following its earnings results for Q1.
• Discover Financial Services (DFS) reported a net loss for Q1 due to a needed boost to its loan loss reserves.