Family Dollar Stores (FDO) confirmed that it has received an unsolicited conditional proposal from Trian Group to acquire the company at a price in the range of $55 to $60 per share in cash. Family Dollar Stores overall option implied volatility of 25 is near its 26-week average of 27, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Air Products (APD) withdrew its offer to purchase Airgas (ARG). Airgas overall option implied volatility of 33 is above its 12-week average of 28, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

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

Analyst Upgrades

• Research In Motion (RIMM) to buy from sell and Gap (GPS) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Archer Daniels (ADM) and Airgas (ARG) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• NCR Corp. (NCR) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Valero Energy (VLO) to top pick from sector perform and Western Refining (WNR) to outperform from underperform at RBC Capital.
• Fred's (FRED) to overweight from neutral at JP Morgan.
• Marsh & McLennan (MMC), Willis Group (WSH) and Brown & Brown (BRO) to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.
• Host Hotels (HST) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• La-Z-Boy (LZB) to strong buy from market perform at Raymond James.

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.

Analyst Upgrades

• Procter & Gamble (PG) upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Capital One (COF) upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Airgas (ARG) upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Broadcom (BRCM) upgraded to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• Lululemon (LULU) upgraded to hold from underperform at Jefferies.
• DryShips (DRYS) upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.

It goes without saying that contrarian plays are not the preferred investment in these circle, but there are exceptions, and Airgas (NYSE: ARG) is one

Airgas is the U.S.'s largest distributor of packaged gases and welding, safety and related products. In general, analysts see a choppy FY2009 for Airgas, with revenue expected to fall 5-10%, on both lower demand and pricing pressure.

Air Products (NYSE: APD) reported Q1 EPS of 97 cents versus consensus estimates of 97 cents. APD sees Q2 EPS 80 cents -90 cents versus consensus estimates of $1.07. APD closed at $52.64. February option implied volatility of 68 is above its 26-week average of 50, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Praxair (NYSE: PX), a large industrial gas company, closed at $59.21. PX is scheduled to report Q4 EPS on January 28. PX February option implied volatility of 57 is above its 26-week average of 48, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Airgas (NYSE: ARG) closed at $37.03. ARG will release EPS on January 28. ARG February option implied volatility of 71 is above its 26-week average of 57, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

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

Praxair (NYSE: PX) closed at $50.06 Monday. PX is scheduled to report Q3 EPS on October 29. Deutsche Bank lowered EPS estimates for PX to reflect the strengthening U.S. dollar and the slowdown in global GDP growth. PX November option implied volatility of 87 is above its 26-week average of 38 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Air Products (NYSE: APD) closed at $47.30 Monday. APD overall option implied volatility of 77 is above its 26-week average of 38 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Airgas (NYSE: ARG) closed at $31.40 Monday. ARG November option implied volatility of 97 is above its 26-week average of 44 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

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

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

• Activision Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) posted stellar results on the popularity of Guitar Hero and Transformers.
• Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) beat Q4 estimtates with record earnings and raised its guidance.
• Amkor Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: AMKR) beat Q1 expectations on strong demand for wireless.
• Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) reported strong Q1 results that beat Wall Street estimates.
• Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE: B) beat Q1 expectations on its "global reach" and raised its 2008 guidance.
• Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) beat Q1 expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
• DirecTV Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DTV) posted better-than-expected results and announced share buybacks.
• Double-Take Software (NASDAQ: DBTK) beat Q1 expectations and raised its Q2 and 2008 guidance.
• Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) profits surged in the first quarter on record high gold prices.
• ICON plc (NASDAQ: ICLR) beat Q1 expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
• Marvel Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: MVL) easily beat Q1 estimates and raised its full-year guidance.
• Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) reported a surge in Q1 profits that beat Wall Street estimates.
• Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA) beat Q1 expectations and lifted its Q2 and 2008 forecasts.
• Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) beat Q4 expectations and raised its Q1 outlook.
• Transocean Inc. (NYSE: RIG) Q1 profits more than doubled due to soaring oil prices.
• Unilever (NYSE: UL) posted strong results, with revenues beating estimates for the first time in six years.
• UTStarcom Inc. (NASDAQ: UTSI) released a preliminary guidance well above expectations.
• Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) posted better-than-expected results on success of its theme parks.

Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) is the largest U.S. distributor of industrial gases, medical gases, specialty gases and welding equipment. The firm is also one of the largest U.S. distributors of safety products, the largest U.S. producer of nitrous oxide and dry ice, the largest liquid carbon dioxide producer in the Southeast, and a leading distributor of process chemicals, refrigerants, and ammonia products. More than 14,000 employees work at over 1,100 locations, including branches, retail stores, gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities and distribution centers.

The firm surprised investors earlier in the week, when it reported fiscal Q4 EPS of 78 cents and revenues of $1.09 billion. Analysts had been looking for 73 cents and $1.07 billion. The CEO noted that strategic product categories (healthcare, research, environmental, food & beverage) posted 11% organic growth in the quarter. The EPS figure was a company record. Management also guided Q1 EPS to 79-81 cents (74 cent consensus) and FY09 EPS to $3.24-$3.40 ($3.10 consensus).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: U.S. Auto Parts, DealerTrack and AspenBio Pharma were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Piper downgraded shares of U.S. Auto Parts (NASDAQ: PRTS) to Neutral from Buy following the company's Q4 results.
  
• JMP Securities cut DealerTrack (NASDAQ: TRAK) to Market Perform from Strong Buy as they believe future market share losses to RouteOne are more significant than previously believed.
  
• Oppenheimer has concerns that most of AspenBio Pharma's (NASDAQ: APPY) market value is tied to the AppyScore test for appendicitis, while available clinical data may not be sufficient to drive adoption. The firm lowered APPY to Perform from Outperform.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Wachovia cut Reddy Ice (NYSE: FRZ) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Deutsche Bank lowered its rating on Valspar (NYSE: VAL) and Airgas (NYSE: ARG) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Goldman downgraded Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW) to Neutral from Buy.

The earnings crunch is in full swing, and here are a few of the highlights of this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) beat expectations and raised its guidance.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) beat estimates and said the 787 Dreamliner was on schedule.
• Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (NYSE: BNI) fourth-quarter profits fell on rising fuel costs.
• Crane Co. (NYSE: CR) beat expectations and raised its guidance.
• Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) profits fell due to rising costs of raw materials.
• Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) posted the largest annual and quarterly profit ever by a U.S. company.
• Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) beat earnings expectations due to strong international growth.
• Honda Motor Co. (NYSE: HMC) posted record earnings for the third quarter on demand for fuel efficiency.
• JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) posted a narrower-than-expected loss.
• Nissan Motor Co. (NASDAQ: NSANY) posted strong results due in part to U.S. sales of the Rogue.
• Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) fourth-quarter profit surged, leading to its best yearly results ever.
• Paraexel International Corp. (NASDAQ: PRXL) beat estimates and offered revised guidance.
• Ratheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) posted strong fourth-quarter results and offered optimistic guidance.
• RightNow Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: RNOW) posted a loss, though revenues were up.
• Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) posted solid results on TV sales and the game division's return to the black.
• Stanley Works (NYSE: SWK) posted solid results despite the housing slump due to strength overseas.
• United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) met earnings estimates due to a pension-related charge.
• US Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) fourth-quarter and full-year profits declined on acquisition costs and job cuts.
• Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) beat expectations despite a profit decline of 49%.

For additional BloggingStocks earnings highlights, see Yahoo!, Google, Amazon, Countrywide, Merck, UBS and others and McDonald's, Kraft, P&G, Verizon, MasterCard, 3M and others.

Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) is the largest U.S. distributor of industrial gases, medical gases, specialty gases and welding equipment. The firm is also one of the largest U.S. distributors of safety products, the largest U.S. producer of nitrous oxide and dry ice, the largest liquid carbon dioxide producer in the Southeast, and a leading distributor of process chemicals, refrigerants, and ammonia products. More than 14,000 employees work at over 1,100 locations, including branches, retail stores, gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities and distribution centers.

The firm surprised investors earlier in the week, when it reported fiscal Q3 EPS of 67 cents and revenues of $1.01 billion. Analysts had been looking for 65 cents and $1.0 billion. Management also guided Q4 EPS to 72-74 cents, versus Street consensus of 71 cents.

When corporate types start talking about expansion by acquisition, folks naturally think of the technology sector. The practice works just fine elsewhere, though. There is an outfit in Radnor, Pennsylvania that exerts much pressure in the gas distribution game, by virtue of more than 350 acquisitions over the past 21 years.

Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) is the largest U.S. distributor of industrial gases, medical gases, specialty gases and welding equipment. It is also one of the largest U.S. distributors of safety products, the largest U.S. producer of nitrous oxide and dry ice, the largest liquid carbon dioxide producer in the Southeast, and a leading distributor of process chemicals, refrigerants, and ammonia products. More than 11,000 employees work at over 900 locations, including branches, retail stores, gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities and distribution centers.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: CNOOC Ltd (CEO), NYSE EuroNext (NYX), Time Warner Cable (TWC), Digital River (DRIV) and Home Depot (HD) topped today's more noteworthy upgrades:

• Credit Suisse upgraded shares of CNOOC Ltd (NYSE: CEO) to Outperform from Neutral to reflect projections for output growth...

• Piper upgraded NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) to Market Perform from Underperform as they believe the risk/reward is balanced following the completion of the Euronext acquisition. They believe shares can move higher if the company's market share is stabilized...

• Bear upgraded shares of Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) to Outperform from Peer Perform citing the integration of the L.A. systems, which they feel is progressing smoothly, and potential for increased equity returns...

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Digital River (NASDAQ: DRIV) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they find the risk/reward attractive at current levels and believe new customers such as Microsoft (MSFT) and Electronic Arts (ERTS) will diversify the company's revenue base...

• Home Depot (NYSE HD) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel following the company's sale of its HD Supply unit, as well as its $22.5B repurchase program...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Morgan Stanley raised Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) to Overweight from Equal Weight.

• RBC Capital upgraded Allos Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ALTH) to Outperform from Sector Perform.

• Merrill Lynch was upgraded Centene Corp (NYSE: CNC) to Neutral from Sell.

• BB&T upgraded Airgas (NYSE: ARG) to Buy from Hold.

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