Analyst Upgrades

• Air Products (APD) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Zimmer (ZMH) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• SunPower (SPWRA) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Brocade (BRCD) to buy from hold at Wunderlich and at ThinkEquity.
• Duke Energy (DUK) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• NewStar Financial (NEWS) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Hormel Foods (HRL) to hold from sell at Soleil.
• Inspire Pharma (ISPH) to hold from sell at Duncan-Williams.
• Alnylam (ALNY) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Weight Watchers (WTW) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Raytheon (RTN) and Toreador Resources (TRGL) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.

Option traders appear to be setting up for a bullish move on iShares Barclays 7 to 10 Year Treasury (IEF). Traders plowed into 4,342 new call option contracts -- 3.33 times the average volume -- on the stock on Wednesday. And we know that traders were eager to get into this trade because 99% of the trades came in on the ask price.

It looks like traders are trying to get into these Treasuries ahead of the Fed, just in case it moves ahead with more quantitative easing. The ETF closed Wednesday at $97.39, down 0.17% during the past month.

Amphenol Corporation (NYSE: APH) makes electrical connectors and cables for communications, medical, aerospace, military and industrial systems. The firm's connectors are used in computers, aircraft, cars, office equipment and medical instruments. Its coaxial cable goes to cable TV clients and its flat-ribbon cables are used with computer and telecommunications products. Amphenol ships to more than 10,000 customer locations around the world.

Investors were pleased last week, when the firm reported Q2 EPS of 61 cents and revenues of $846.8 million. The Street had been looking for 58 cents and $815.5 million. The CEO noted that growth was broad-based, with particular strength in the global communications, military and commercial aerospace markets. Management also guided Q3 EPS to 59-61 cents (59 cent consensus), Q3 revenues to $825-$840 million ($826.8M consensus), FY08 EPS to $2.34-$2.38 ($2.33 consensus) and FY08 revenues to $3.278-$3.308 billion ($3.26B consensus). Deutsche Securities subsequently reiterated its "buy" rating on the stock and RBC Capital Markets repeated its "outperform". Both firms boosted their price targets to $57.

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

• AFLAC Inc. (NYSE: AFL) reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter.
• Ambac Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: ABK) posted a wider-than-expected loss; shares hit new low.
• Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) beat Q2 estimates on strength in the managed services businesses.
• Amphenol Corp. (NYSE: APH) beat expectations in the first quarter and raised its guidance.
• Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) posted a larger-than-estimated Q1 loss.
• Aptar Group Inc. (NYSE: ATR) posted record Q1 results and raised its Q2 guidance.
• Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Q1 earnings plunged on further housing-related write-downs.
• Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) narrowly beat earnings expectations on cost cutting.
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) beat analysts' estimates for the first quarter.
• Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) reported a wider-than-forecast loss on subprime-related write-downs.
• Cree Inc. (NYSE: CREE) earnings slipped while revenues soared 29%.
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) reported worse-than-expected Q1 earnings on discontinued product charge.
• Gannet Inc. (NYSE: GCI) beat low expectations as earnings and revenue continue slump.
• Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings on international strength.
• JAKKS Pacific Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) missed Q1 expectations on restructuring and litigation costs.
• Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) beat EPS estimates by a penny, as revenue jumped 10%.

Amphenol Corporation (NYSE: APH) makes electrical connectors and cables for communications, medical, aerospace, military and industrial systems. The firm's connectors are used in computers, aircraft, cars, office equipment and medical instruments. Its coaxial cable goes to cable TV clients and its flat-ribbon cables are used with computer and telecommunications products. Amphenol ships to more than 10,000 customer locations around the world.

Investors were pleased last week, when the firm reported Q1 EPS of 54 cents and revenues of $770.7 million. The Street had been looking for 51 cents and $748.1 million. The CEO noted particular strength in the military, commercial aerospace, wireless infrastructure and mobile device markets. Management also guided Q2 EPS to 57-59 cents (55 cent consensus), Q2 revenues to $820 million ($775.44M consensus), FY08 EPS to $2.26-$2.31 ($2.23 consensus) and FY08 revenues to $3.21 billion ($3.15B consensus). Deutsche Securities and Lehman Brothers subsequently reiterated "buy" ratings on the issue.

High technology components are only as good as the connectors and cables linking them all together. A leader in the art of fashioning these vital links is headquartered in Wallingford, Connecticut.

Amphenol Corporation (NYSE: APH) makes electrical connectors and cables for communications, medical, aerospace, military and industrial systems. The firm's connectors are used in computers, aircraft, cars, office equipment and medical instruments. Its coaxial cable goes to cable TV clients and its flat-ribbon cables are used with computer and telecommunications products. Amphenol ships to more than 10,000 customer locations around the world.