3M Company (MMM) is in the news today because of an investor meeting. Here's one bullet point from TheFly. The gathering brought my mind back to the stock. How is it looking these days?

Well, it's pulled back from the 52-week high. At the time of this writing, shares were fetching a price of $88.68. The top point for the year is currently set at $94.16; the low point is $67.98, so thankfully we're nowhere near that depressing level. (Could the bearishness become so bad that we eventually get close to that price? Don't even think it!).

Analyst Upgrades

• Molycorp (MCP) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Humana (HUM), HealthSpring (HS) and UnitedHealth (UNH) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Williams Cos. (WMB) to conviction buy from neutral and UBS (UBS) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• China Kanghui (KH) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Armstrong World (AWI) to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Time Warner (TWX) to buy from hold at Benchmark Co.
• Calpine (CPN) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• 3M Company (MMM) to neutral from underperform and Kirby (KEX) to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

The shares of 3M Company (MMM), first discussed here on April 20, 2009, at a price of $51.97, have meandered during the past three months, but I still like the business model at this stage. Here's why.

3M's 2011 revenue will likely increase 12% to 14%, after a 15% rise in 2010, propelled higher by strength in all business lines: industrial, health care, display and graphics, consumer/office, electronics/communications, and safety/security. Further, 3M's demonstrated innovation prowess and commitment to research/development make it a formidable industrial giant.

Analyst Upgrades

• Diamond Offshore (DO) to conviction buy from sell and Baker Hughes (BHI) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Frontier Communications (FTR) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Syntel (SYNT) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo, to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank and to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Kulicke & Soffa (KLIC) and Fiserv (FISV) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• 3M (MMM) to neutral from underweight and Tyco (TYC) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Collective Brands (PSS) and Nordstrom (JWN) to overweight from equal weight, as well as Foot Locker (FL) to equal weight from underweight, at Morgan Stanley.
• Amazon.com (AMZN) to buy from hold at Lazard Capital.
• Yamana Gold (AUY) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.

Analyst Upgrades

• Red Hat (RHT) and American Public (APEI) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• KBR (KBR) and Foster Wheeler (FWLT) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Bio-Rad (BIO) to outperform from market perform at Leerink.
• Oceaneering (OII) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• ASM International (ASMI) and Avid Technology (AVID) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Dominion Resources (D) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Nationwide Health Properties (NHP) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Vivus (VVUS) to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Intersil (ISIL) to buy from hold at Canaccord.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup assumed coverage of Illinois Tool Works (ITW) and upgraded shares to buy from hold with a $52 price target. Citi cites valuation and the company's successful execution for the rating change.
• UBS upgraded Rowan Companies (RDC) to buy from neutral based on better-than-expected dayrates in the high specification jack-up market. The firm raised its price target to $42 from $28.
• UBS also upgraded NetLogic (NETL) to buy from neutral and keeps a $33.50 target on the stock. The firm upgraded shares based on valuation and solid long-term outlook.
• AvalonBay (AVB) and BRE Properties (BRE) were upgraded to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.
• Covance (CVD) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Reynolds American (RAI) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

"For much of the market's rally since March 2009, the best-performing stocks were those that tilted toward the risky side. That is about to change," says Chuck Carlson.

The editor of The DRIP Investor explains, "Quality stocks -- larger companies with consistent track records, strong finances, industry leadership positions, and stable and growing dividends -- should lead the market going forward.

"Quality stocks now offer good relative value versus more aggressive stocks, and I suspect investors will be more focused on a value over the next 12 to 24 months.

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

• Coinstar Inc. (CSTR) shares surged following stronger-than-expected Q1 earnings driven by DVD rentals.
• Humana Inc. (HUM) shares traded lower despite the report of better-than-expected earnings for Q1.
• IMAX Corp. (IMAX) reported strong Q1 results that easily topped consensus estimates, but shares declined.
• Kellogg Co. (K) topped Q1 earnings expectations and announced a share buyback program.
• Office Depot Inc. (ODP) Q1 earnings fell short of consensus estimates and same-store sales declined.

Let's have a quick look at two Dow components. One is famous for its chemical products, while the other is known for its iconic sticky stationery.

Chemical manufacturer E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company (DD) was, at the time of this writing, down $1.16, or 2.8%, to $39.79. A disappointment, to be sure, since the stock has been doing so well over the last twelve months. The following chart shows the upward bias, and one might have expected a decent trading day after the first-quarter earnings were released.