Analyst upgrades:

• Netflix (NFLX) upgraded to Buy from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Rockwell (ROK) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
• Chico's (CHS) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital.
• Ann Taylor (ANN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• Meredith (MDP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• CarMax (KMX) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
• Family Dollar (FDO) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
• Siliconware Precision (SPIL) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie.
• Amedisys (AMED) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
• TRW Automotive(TRW) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Magna (MGA) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.

The shares of Research In Motion Limited (RIMM), which I first wrote about on May 5, 2009, at a price of $77.07, rebounded last autumn, rising to about $62 from $42, following a 2010 swoon that came within a whisker of the $42 sell/stop loss.

Look for RIMM's 2011 revenue to jump 35% to 40% on strong sales of BlackBerry wireless e-mail devices -- a device that has become the standard in large corporations/public institutions, and that has started to gain traction in the consumer segment. Unit sales and subscriber growth remain adequate, but average selling prices are likely to continue to trend lower amid increased competition.

The BlackBerry is still the device of choice among corporate users, according to Research In Motion's recent third-quarter earnings report. The Canadian smart phone maker (RIMM) announced a 40% growth in shipments from a year ago to 14.2 million units.

Record shipments helped revenues rise 40% from last year to $5.48 billion. Of this, 62% of sales came from devices, 15% from services an 3% from software and other areas. RIM says it added 5.1 million net new BlackBerry accounts during the third quarter, raising its base to 55 million.

U.S. stock futures are lower this morning, as investors await data on leading indicators. Moody's Investors Service downgraded Ireland's credit rating by five notches. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7 points to 11,424, while those for the S&P 500 lost 1.20 points to 1,237.30. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 moved down 3.25 points to 2,216.00.

US stocks closed higher on Thursday, driven by better-than-expected economic reports. The DJIA gained 0.36% yesterday.

Data on leading economic indicators for November will be released 10 a.m. ET.

Analyst Upgrades

• Amgen (AMGN) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Goodrich Petroleum (GDP) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Tutor Perini (TPC) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Covidien (COV) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Sara Lee (SLE) and Comcast (CMCSA) to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Research In Motion (RIMM) to outperform from sector perform at FBN Securities.

Analyst Upgrades

• Google (GOOG) to outperform from neutral at Wedbush.
• Nike (NKE) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Apollo Group (APOL) to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• JDSU (JDSU) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• NetApp (NTAP) to overweight from equal weight and Verigy (VRGY) to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.
• RSC Holdings (RRR) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Exelon (EXC) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Aon (AON) and Willis Group (WSH) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• BMC Software (BMC) to outperform from neutral at Cowen.

Analyst Upgrades

• Research In Motion (RIMM) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Citigroup (C) to buy from hold at ISI Group.
• Integrated Silicon (ISSI) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Kinross Gold (KGC) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.

Analyst Upgrades

• Qualcomm (QCOM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• JPMorgan upgraded Allegheny Tech (ATI) to overweight from neutral.
• NetApp (NTAP) was upgraded to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Estee Lauder (EL) was upgraded to perform from underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Citigroup upgraded Suntech (STP) to hold from sell.

CPI and some overseas stability hopes on the ECB heading to Ireland helped stocks hold up most of the trading day. Unfortunately, the Federal Reserve noted that banks will have to undergo new stress tests before they can repay investors and reinstate higher dividends. Donald Trump even said he might consider running for President. Shares rolled over in the last 90 minutes after it looked like a positive close was in the bag. That put the verdict of up or down as being a coin toss right up to the close.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,007.88 -15.62 (-0.14%)
S&P 500 1,178.59 +0.25 (0.02%)
Nasdaq 2,476.01 +6.17 (0.25%)

Top Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades

"Research In Motion (RIMM) is clearly undervalued at 9.7 times forward EPS; investor's concerns regarding the intense competition in the smart phone market have caused the stock price to decline 26% during the past seven months," says value investor J. Royden Ward.

The editor of Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter explains, "We believe exciting new product introductions will boost sales and earnings growth more than expected during the next couple of years.

Research in Motion (RIMM - option chain) shares are rising today after the company's Co-CEO Jim Balsillie told Bloomberg that the company will begin rolling out its tablet computer, the Playbook, in the US during the first quarter of 2011. RIMM will launch the device globally during the second quarter. He also told Bloomberg, "There's a lot of demand and we are seeing a lot of interest from international retailers." Balsillie added that the company has not been losing corporate smartphone customers to its rivals Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG), noting that RIMM's smartphone software platform should surpass AAPL's in the third quarter of 2011. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on RIMM.

RIMM opened this morning at $55.30. So far today the stock has hit a low of $55.27 and a high of $57.87. As of 12:15, RIMM is trading at $57.78 up $2.78 (5.0%). The chart for RIMM looks bullish and S&P gives RIMM a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded Reliance Steel (RS) to buy from neutral and The Buckle (BKE) to neutral from sell.
• RAM Energy (RAME) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Rodman & Renshaw.
• RBC Capital upgraded H&E Equipment (HEES) and Cameco (CCJ) to outperform from sector perform, and Denison Mines (DNN) to sector perform from underperform.
• Alexandria Real Estate (ARE) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Investment Technology (ITG) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Wedbush.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded BP (BP) to buy from neutral.
• STEC (STEC) was upgraded to buy from hold at Needham.
• MCG Capital (MCGC) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Corporate Office (OFC) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• Citigroup upgraded K-Sea Transportation (KSP) and Post Properties (PPS) to hold from sell.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Embraer (ERJ) to buy from underperform.
• Wilmington Trust (WL) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.
• Parkway Properties (PKY) was upgraded to hold from sell at Stifel Nicolaus.

Analyst Upgrades

• Barclays upgraded Western Digital (WDC) to overweight from equal weight.
• LDK Solar (LDK) was upgraded to buy from hold at Needham.
• Legg Mason (LM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Agilent (A) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Dean Foods (DF) to outperform from market perform and Developers Diversified (DDR) to market perform from underperform.
• Deutsche Bank also upgraded Developers Diversified, to buy from hold.
• Northrop Grumman (NOC) was upgraded to sell from conviction sell at Goldman.
• MYR Group (MYRG) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.

Research In Motion (RIMM) closed up 5.9% to $54.76. Total call option volume of 219,000 contracts (107,000 puts). November call option implied volatility is at 43, December is at 47, and January is at 45, versus its 26-week average of 43, according to Track Data.

IBM (IBM) closed up 0.60% to $140.67 on the board of directors authorizing $10 billion in additional funds for use in the company's stock repurchase program. Total call option volume of 32,000 contracts (19,000 puts). November call option implied volatility is at 17, December is at 19, January is at 21, versus its 26-week average of 22, according to Track Data. Large call volume suggests traders positioning for upside price movement.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.