• Keefe Bruyette upgraded AmeriCredit (NYSE: ACF) to Market Perform from Underperform as it believes the company's warehouse facility amendments substantially reduce the risk of bankruptcy in the near term. The firm has a $6 target on the stock.
  
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Suntech (NYSE: STP) to Market Weight from Underweight on valuation following the recent weakness. The firm has a $6 target on the stock.
  
• Banc of America/Merrill upgraded Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) to Buy from Neutral on valuation following the recent weakness and believes the company's guidance is achievable.
• Dr. Pepper Snapple (NYSE: DPS) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Digital River (NYSE: DRIV) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  
• Clorox (NYSE: CLX) was upgraded at Barclays to Equal Weight from Underweight.

Last week's preview raised the question of whether consumers were turning to comfort foods in these uncertain times, specifically in terms of second quarter earnings of Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) and Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD). Campbell's strong earnings growth topped expectations, while Krispy Kreme narrowed its loss, though it fell short of estimates.

This coming week should bring reports from more food-related companies, from cereal maker General Mills and food packager CongAgra to grocery chain Kroger, to the parent companies of restaurants Cracker Barrel, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Carl's Jr., and Hardees. Also look for reports from tech-related companies such as Oracle, Adobe, and Palm, as well as from financials Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, and from economic bellwether FedEx.

Here's what analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are expecting from some of the companies reporting earnings this week, as compared to their results from the same period of last year:

Most of us would be thrilled to invest in a stock that doubles our money, but it certainly isn't easy to find these stocks. According to data provider Capital IQ, in the last year only 1.4% of 6,700 stocks trading on the U.S. exchanges were able to double their price.

BusinessWeek started hunting some of these potentially great stocks by asking fund managers to choose those firms expected to provide 100% returns in the next few years. Of course, the resulting list is by no means a sure thing, since major factors such as the ongoing credit crisis and challenging market conditions could affect results in unpredictable ways.

But let's look at some of the strategies used when picking high-potential stocks.

Mary Lisanti, portfolio manager at the Adams Harkness Small Cap Growth Fund, focuses on young companies in the small-cap segment. She points to stocks like Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ: RBCN) and Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ: TITN), saying that investors can have a big advantage when they recognize potential before the market does.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) is up over 10% on strong earnings.

Apogee Enterprises (NASDAQ:APOG) is up on positive Cramer comments.

CDC (NASDAQ:CHINA) is off 7% on weak earnings.

Merck (NYSE:MRK) is off over 8% on news that one of its drugs was rejected by the FDA.

Stocks may trade differently in the pre-market than they do in the regular session.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com and the author of Ten Stocks Under $10.

Apogee Enterprises (NASDAQ: APOG) designs and develops value-added glass products, services and systems. The architectural products and services division makes and installs glass walls and windows for commercial and institutional buildings. The large-scale optical segment manufactures glass and acrylics for the custom picture framing market and produces optical thin-film coatings for consumer electronics displays. The Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is a leading commercial client. PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG) is a major competitor.

The firm pleased investors last week, when it reported Q4 EPS of 49 cents and revenues of $243.3 million. Analysts had been expecting 45 cents and $236.1 million. Management also guided FY09 EPS to $1.82-$1.94 ($1.72 consensus) and FY09 revenues to $987.6 million-$1.0 billion ($963.0M consensus). Company backlog was said to be at a record level. Jesup & Lamont subsequently reiterated its "buy" recommendation on the issue and declared a $28 price target.