Analyst Upgrades

• Boeing (BA) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Alcoa (AA) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• BP (BP) to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.
• Office Depot (ODP) and Staples (SPLS) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• ON Semiconductor (ONNN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Kennametal (KMT) and Polyone (POL) to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Airgas (ARG) to outperform from market perform at William Blair.
• EchoStar (SATS) to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.

This post is one in a series in which more than 60 newsletter advisors share their Top Stock Picks for 2011. This special report is courtesy of TheStockAdvisors.com.

"Athletic apparel manufacturer Under Armour (UA) has been a solid performer in 2010, gaining 110% over the past year," notes Bernie Schaeffer.

The editor of Schaeffer's Investment Research explains, "The stock -- our top pick for 2011 -- has been in a strong uptrend since early September, and is trading above all major moving averages.

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

• Walgreen (WAG) and Triumph Group (TGI) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Focus Media (FMCN) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Home Depot (HD) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Arbitron (ARB) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Waddell & Reed (WDR) and Legg Mason (LM) to overweight from equal weight, and Janus Capital (JNS) to overweight from underweight, at Barclays.
• Central Euro Media (CETV) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• GenOn Energy (GEN) and Ntelos (NTLS) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Cooper Tire (CTB) to buy from neutral and Goodyear Tire (GT) to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Interesting development in the world of football sponsorships, as New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady decided to leave Nike (NKE) and jump ship to Under Armour (UA). This is a rather interesting decision for Brady, as NKE is a true heavyweight in the world of performance athletic apparel. But Brady's jump to UA shows that the company is here to stay.

Brady is set to appear in different in-store and advertising promotional campaigns. As part of the new deal, Brady will wear UA apparel and footwear while training and he will debut the new UA Fierce cleat.

Analyst Upgrades

• BB&T (BBT) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Janney Montgomery.
• Amylin (AMLN) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Leerink.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Morton's Restaurant (MRT) to outperform from market perform.
• Check Point (CHKP) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Excel Maritime (EXM) to buy from hold.
• JinkoSolar (JKS) was upgraded to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Compellent (CML) to overweight from neutral.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Crane (CR) to buy from neutral.
• Goldman upgraded Wisconsin Energy (WEC) to conviction buy from buy and American Electric (AEP) to buy from neutral.
• Motorola (MOT) was upgraded due to increasing carrier support by MKM Partners.
• Under Armour (UA) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Sterne Agee.

Baltimore-based performance-apparel firm Under Armour (UA) reported third-quarter earnings Tuesday morning, topping the results of a year ago and analysts' estimates. UA pulled in 68 cents per share ($34.9 million), which is 33% better than the 52 cents per share ($26.2 million) earned a year ago.

Moreover, the results were better than the 60 cents per share that Wall Street expected. UA noted that the results were boosted by roughly a nickel thanks to a lower-than-expected tax rate. As for sales, UA saw an increase of 22% to $328.6 million. The Street expected $322.4 million in sales.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) to buy from hold based on valuation. The firm keeps a $39 target on the stock.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Kenexa (KNXA) to overweight from neutral, citing a strengthening of trends for the company. The firm has a $29 price target on the stock.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Gaylord Entertainment (GET) to buy from neutral on expectations the company will benefit from strong trends in 2011. The firm raised its target for shares to $35 from $32.50.
• MeadWestvaco (MWV) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• EADS (EADSY) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

Under Armour, Inc. (UA) closed up $1.06 to $45.23. UA October put option implied volatility is at 48, January is at 52. This is above its 26-week average of 44, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Research In Motion Limited (RIMM) October 45 call volatility decreased 4%.

Chelsea Therapeutics International Ltd. (CHTP) October 7.50 call volatility decreased 57%.

Football season is right around the corner and you can expect athletic apparel stocks to benefit --- the question is, who will lead the way? Most people will assume Nike (NKE) --- a safe assumption given the company's wide spectrum of offerings, ranging from apparel to shoes. That said, I don't think that we can overlook NKE's competitor Under Armour (UA). For those not familiar with the company, UA makes performance athletic wear, ranging from underwear to camouflage hunting wear. A majority of UA's clothing offerings are made of the company's moisture-wicking and heat-dispersing fabrics, which help keep athletes dry during workouts and competition. The company's products are available on the Internet, through catalogs, and at more than 20,000 stores nationwide. Not only is UA a major competitor to NKE, but it is also the world's leading compression sports apparel brand - holding almost 80% of market share.

The exodus is set to begin. Rumors have pegged today as the day that Colorado is going to leave the Big 12 athletic conference for the "greener pastures" of the PAC-10.

This move will be the first in what will become the end of one of NCAA Football's most storied and most profitable athletic conferences. The Big 12 was one of the leaders of the NCAA Football world, but it is set to become nothing more than a carcass, left to be picked over by the major predators of the football world (most notably the PAC-10, SEC, and the Big Ten).

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court rejected the NFL's request for "broad antitrust law protection," deciding that each team must be considered separate when selling NFL branded items. This means that each team must be considered its own entity when it sells branded items like jerseys and caps.

The court's decision was unanimous, and it reversed a lower court's ruling that threw out an antitrust suit filed against the NFL by American Needle, which lost its contract for making official NFL hats to Reebok International.

Baseball season is officially under way and it's all a numbers game. Kiplinger has highlighted five stocks that may be in play --- Jarden, Under Armour, PepsiCo, Hibbett Sports and Siriius Radio-- so here is their pitch and my thoughts on taking a swing at any of them.

Oddly, the Kiplinger story makes note of the fact that baseball and investing are both driven by numbers, yet provides very few of them to support their thesis.

Analyst Upgrades

• RBC Capital upgraded FMC Technologies (FMC) to outperform from sector perform. The firm upgraded shares based on expectations that subsea order flow and backlog will be significantly higher than previous forecasts. The firm has a $70 target on shares.
• Citigroup upgraded ONEOK Partners LP (OKS) to buy from hold due to valuation and maintains a $65 price target on the stock.
• Needham upgraded Autodesk (ADSK) to buy from hold following the Q4 report and guidance. The firm has a $31 target on the stock.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Under Armour (UA) to equal weight from underweight, citing valuation. The firm raised its target to $27 from $23.
• EOG Resources (EOG) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• FPL Group (FPL) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Novo Nordisk (NVO) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.

The global recession has taken its toll on many companies, as have cheap knockoffs of products. When you can get a comparable product for half the price, why wouldn't you purchase the cheaper product? While such practices may not take a major bite out of the profits of athletic apparel companies like Nike (NKE) or Under Armour (UA), it is having a devastating impact on Russian company OAO Izhmash. Haven't heard of OAO Izhmash, if you haven't, I can almost guarantee that you have heard of its major product: the AK-47.