Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX) to Hold from Sell on easing credit and liquidity concerns following the company's guidance. The firm raised its target on the stock to $7.50 from $4.
  
• UBS upgraded Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) to Buy from Neutral and raised their target to $90 from $65 as they expect pent-up replacement demand in enterprise to drive 2010 estimates higher and for the consumer smartphone opportunity to grow in 2009 and 2010.
  
• Goldman upgraded Suncor (NYSE: SU) to Conviction Buy from Sell and raised their target to $33 from $25 citing their bullish view on crude oil for 2H09 and 2010 and in the company's ability to lower operating and capital costs in the oil sands region.
• Canadian National (CNI) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
  
• Applied Micro Circuits (NASDAQ: AMCC) was lifted at Oppenheimer to Overweight from Neutral.
  
• QLogic (NASDAQ: QLGC) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.

The world's largest maker of farm equipment is due to report earnings on February 18 and the outlook is generally bleak. All of the major drivers behind Deere's (NYSE: DE) formidable business appear to be headed into a tailspin. Global agricultural commodity prices have come down significantly from peaks in 2007 and 2008, leaving farmers with less money to spend.

Terex (NYSE: TEX) is recently trading at $42.50 in pre-open trading, below its close of $47.32. TEX lowered 2008 EPS view to $6.35-$6.65 from $6.85-$7.15. TEX overall option implied volatility of 50 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Agco (NYSE: AG), global manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, closed at $56.10. AG overall option implied volatility of 49 is near its 26-week average, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Deere (NYSE: DE) closed at $66.53. DE overall option implied volatility of 40 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

CNH Global (NYSE: CNH), an agricultural and construction equipment manufacturer, closed at $35.17. CNH overall option implied volatility of 54 is near its 26-week average, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) closed at $67.73. CAT October option implied volatility of 32 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

MOST NOTEWORTHY: H&R Block, Talbots and SunPower were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Oppenheimer believes H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) has shown several catalysts over the past few months, most importantly the sale of its mortgage business. The firm, which upgraded shares to Outperform from Perform, believes the company's strong 2008 tax season will lead to future growth, and they think the stock can appreciate 20%+, as catalysts are not yet fully reflected in the stock.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded Talbots (NYSE: TLB) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company has several sources of cash to avoid a liquidity crisis, charge card EPS contribution provides good visibility, improved merchandise margins, and better merchandising.
  
• Credit Suisse raised SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) to Outperform from Neutral citing strength in Italy and other geographies.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Agco (NYSE: AG) was raised at Wachovia to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• UBS upgraded Metso Oyg (OTC: MXCYY) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• JMP Securities upgraded SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Market Perform from Underperform.
  
• Stifel upgraded eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) to Buy from Hold.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says lots of companies now thrive with crude up here.

Oil's not a tax on everything -- it's a tax on the consumer. That's what I come down to when I see the charts this weekend and ponder what's happening in so much of industrial America.

Company after company that I examine -- the new techs, as I call them -- actually benefit from higher oil prices. Or they can pass them on with ease, because of the worldwide demand being so strong.

Take all of the companies involved with making a Boeing (NYSE: BA) (Cramer's Take): Boeing itself, Alcoa (NYSE: AA) (Cramer's Take), Honeywell (NYSE: HON) (Cramer's Take) and Precision Castparts (NYSE: PCP) (Cramer's Take) being good examples. Each of these is necessary because the new Dreamliner burns lots less fuel, and with fuel the biggest airline cost, it stands to reason that higher energy prices make the plane more desirable even at a higher price point.

Or how about all of the companies involved with process and flow control and efficient motors: Parker-Hannifin (NYSE: PH) (Cramer's Take), Emerson (NYSE: EMR) (Cramer's Take), Eaton (NYSE: ETN) (Cramer's Take) and Flowserve (NYSE: FLS) (Cramer's Take). Those work higher with higher energy prices. CSX (NYSE: CSX) (Cramer's Take), Burlington Northern (NYSE: BNI) (Cramer's Take), Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) (Cramer's Take), Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) (Cramer's Take) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) (Cramer's Take) are smaller energy users than trucks, and they ship plenty of ethanol and fertilizer.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Citizens Republic Bancorp, Hess Corp and Sanderson Farms were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded shares of Citizens Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ: CRBC) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation following yesterday's sell-off, which they attribute in part to its removal from the Dow Jones Select Dividend Index. Shares were also raised to OUtperform from Perform at Oppenheimer following the sell-off.
  
• Goldman upgraded Hess (NYSE: HES) to Buy from Neutral citing the company's leverage to higher oil prices. The firm said oil is likely to hit $150-$200/bbl in the next 6-24 months.
  
• Stephens upgraded shares of Sanderson Farms (NASDAQ: SAFM) to Overweight from Equal Weight as they expect industry fundamentals to improve in FY09.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Baird raised Stellent (NASDAQ: STEL) to OUtperform from Neutral.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded Preferred Bank (NASDAQ: PFBC) to Market Perform from Underperform.
  
• Agco (NYSE: AG) was upgraded at Goldman to Buy from Neutral.
• Lehman upgraded SLM Corp (NYSE: SLM) to Overweight from Equal Weight.

Goldman Sachs upped Agco (NYSE:AG) to "buy" from "neutral" and downgraded CNH Global (NYSE:CNH) from "buy" to "neutral" according to MarketWatch.

UBS downgraded HSBC (NYSE:HBC) to "neutral" to "buy" according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that Morgan Stanley downgraded Valero (NYSE:VLO) to "neutral" from "overweight".

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Back in my hedge fund days, we did a TON of work on U.S. egg prices. This was back in 2003-2004 in the throes of the Atkins craze. Pasta companies, companies with a lot of exposure to grain, and anything anti-Atkins was taking a hit. Even the great, Weight Watchers (NYSE: WTW), with just a great business model and brand, was getting whacked. It looked like Atkins, and its seemingly lethal blend of high fat and high protein, was going to stay.

We decided to play this trend by purchasing Cal-Maine Foods (NYSE: CALM), a huge distributor of eggs to the likes of Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and other huge grocery outfits. Based in Jackson, Mississippi, and run by an effervescent CEO, Fred Adams, Cal-Maine rode record egg prices those couple of years. In 2003 alone, the stock was up almost 1000%.

What Mr. Adams told us then was that although Atkins was helping to increase demand for eggs, the egg itself was making a comeback. Once shunned as solely a cholesterol-delivery device, the egg is back in fashion and recognized for its overall health benefits.

Ever wonder what became of some of those big-time agricultural equipment companies that passed into history ... names like International Harvester, Case and Massey Ferguson? Well, a Dutch outfit got the first two, but Massey Ferguson was picked up by an American firm headquartered in Duluth, Georgia.

AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AG) is a global manufacturer of agricultural equipment, offering a full product line of tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage, tillage equipment and implements. The firm markets such brands as AGCO, Massey Ferguson and Fendt through more than 3,200 independent dealers and distributors in over 140 countries. It has acquired Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT)'s high-tech MT series tractor line, as part of a strategy to expand its offerings. Deere (NYSE: DE) is a major competitor.

Back in December, I recommended AGCO Corp. (NYSE: AG) as a strong long-term pick. It was trading in the low $30s then, and is now over $45 after a solid 2007. The second quarter results, which were announced in early August, showed net income up about 50% from the second quarter of 2006, with net income for the first six months up more than 50% over the first six months of 2006. This was off net sales growth of 18% and 16% for the same respective periods -- a sign AGCO has greatly improved its margins and is making some money.

This growth for the first six months was driven mostly by the European/Middle East and the South American markets, with meager growth in North America. But August tractor sales were just announced, and AGCO's North American sales were up quite a bit year over year: 12% for 40-100 horsepower tractors, 32% for 100+ horsepower tractors, and 32% for total combine sales. (Sales of the smaller, 40-100HP tractors were down 5%.) Given that North America has always been AGCO's weakest market -- it has played third fiddle to John Deere and CNH -- this could bode very well for the stock. So it's no surprise that Bear Stearns wrote a favorable analysis of the company, and predicted a12-month price target of $68 -- or a growth of nearly 50% from its current price.

Not every analyst agrees; a UBS analyst predicted that corn prices could fall, which would hurt AGCO's sales (It is very much dependent on farm incomes), and called the stock a "sell." Personally, I lean toward the Bear Stearns analysis. AG has developed a very strong position in South America, where there's a huge amount of growth potential given the huge amount of farmland and the region's growing interest in stability and democracy. It's still a volatile region in terms of farm profits, so it will never be a sure bet, but I think AGCO stands to do very well from its operations there.

Type of Stock: The third-largest farm equipment manufacturer in the world.

Price Target: I think as long as you buy below $50 and prepare to hold it through any dips caused by short-term pricing issues, you'll do quite nicely with AGCO.

Hilary Kramer is a financial editor and money coach for AOL and an authority on investing. Visit her at www.hilarykramer.com

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Today's most noteworthy upgrades were Reynolds American, Inc (RAI), PRA International (PRAI), Wendy's International (WEN), 3M Company (MMM) and PMC-Sierra, Inc (PMCS):

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Reynolds American Inc (NYSE: RAI) to Neutral from Underweight to reflect the company's solid 2007 outlook and improved cigarette mix.

• Baird raised PRA International (NASDAQ: PRAI) to Neutral from Underperform.

• Wendy's International (NYSE: WEN) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight with a $26 target at Prudential.

• 3M Company (NYSE: MMM) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Prudential...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Bear Stearns upgraded shares of ArvinMeritor, Inc (NYSE: ARM) to Outperform from Underperform.

• Roth Capital raised WPT Enterprises (NASDAQ: WPTE) to Hold from Sell.

• Soleil upgraded the semiconductor sector to Overweight from Underweight, believing a recovery in fundamentals is likely over the next 6 months and expecting shares to outperform over the next 12 to 18 months.

• First Albany upgraded shares of Xilinx, Inc (NASDAQ: XLNX) to Buy from Neutral to reflect operating leverage and the end of the inventory concern.

• Wachovia upgraded shares of Agco Corp (NYSE: AG) to Market perform from Outperform.

• Deutsche Bank raised Dover Corp (NYSE: DOV) to Buy from Hold.

• Corning (NYSE: GLW) was upgraded at Goldman to Buy from Neutral with a $31 target.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

On today's STOP TRADING segment on CNBC, Cramer was discussing the semiconductor upgrades and how that brief interest in tech is over again. He said Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:BRCM) was looking a little better. He could make the case for it as a buy if he wanted to, Cramer said, but at the same time, most chip names aren't and investors should wait. Cramer simply doesn't trust the group.

Cramer isn't very positive on Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE:CHK) but he still likes Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE:SLB) and Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX).

Interestingly enough, while Cramer said AGCO Corp. (NYSE:AG) may be the worst (and it is down today) he still thinks the agricultural sector is rising and he'd buy it just because of the sector. He thinks agriculture is oil.

Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St., LLC; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Level 3 Communications (LVLT) and the Machinery Sector were the most notable initiations today.

• Credit Suisse initiated Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ: LVLT) with an Outperform rating and $7.50 target; the firm expects Level 3 to continue to benefit from strong demand for higher data usage.

• Morgan Stanley initiated the Machinery Sector with an In-Line rating.
  
• Within the sector, Deere & Co (NYSE: DE) was started with an Overweight rating and $116 target, Terex Corp (NYSE: TEX) with an Equal Weight rating and $67 target, and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT) & Agco (NYSE: AG) with Underweight ratings and targets of $52 & $25 respectively.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Baird initiated Alcatel-Lucent ADS (NYSE: ALU) with a Neutral rating and $15 target citing valuation and integration risks.

• Ferris Baker Watts initiated Navigators Group (NASDAQ: NAVG) with a Sell rating and $43 target; the firm said Navigators' balanced growth will serve to reduce underwriting/EPS volatility when the next highly active catastrophe season surfaces.

• Prudential initiated Allergan Inc (NYSE: AGN) with an Overweight rating and $138 target; the firm expects 2007 to be another strong year driven by medical aesthetics products acquired from Inamed in last year.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).