An invasion of U.S. oil fields by Asian buyers is happening. Recently, companies from Korea, China and India have bought land in the oil-rich states of Texas, Colorado and Wyoming, according to Reuters.

In one of the biggest land deals, Korea National Oil (KNOC) bought one-third of Anadarko Petroleum's (APC) land holdings in South Texas for $1.55 billion. The purchase of 80,000 acres is located in the Eagle Ford Shale section, which is believed to have rich deposits of oil, natural gas and liquids, according to Reuters. KNOC also will receive 16,000 acres in the Pearsall Shale in South Texas.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC) is among the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the world, with about 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent of proved reserves. The company explores and produces natural gas, crude oil, condensate and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its major operations are located onshore United States and in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Anadarko also has operations in Algeria, Brazil, China, Ghana, Indonesia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and other countries. Its main competitors are ExxonMobil, BP, ConocoPhillips and Chevron.

Analyst Upgrades

• Electronic Arts (ERTS) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Helix Energy (HLX) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Quest Software (QSFT) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• LTX-Credence (LTXC) to buy from hold at Needham.
• Anadarko (APC) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Walgreen (WAG) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Pericom (PSEM) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.

Analyst Upgrades

• Diamond Offshore (DO) to conviction buy from sell and Baker Hughes (BHI) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Frontier Communications (FTR) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Syntel (SYNT) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo, to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank and to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Kulicke & Soffa (KLIC) and Fiserv (FISV) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• 3M (MMM) to neutral from underweight and Tyco (TYC) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Collective Brands (PSS) and Nordstrom (JWN) to overweight from equal weight, as well as Foot Locker (FL) to equal weight from underweight, at Morgan Stanley.
• Amazon.com (AMZN) to buy from hold at Lazard Capital.
• Yamana Gold (AUY) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.

Sometimes, when you give a stock time to let the dust settle, the dust doesn't settle. Anadarko Petroleum (APC) is in that category. I first wrote about Anadarko here on May 14, 2009, at a price of $43.55,

Anadarko, which owns a 25% interest in the Macondo well, where BP's (BP) Deepwater Horizon oil rig blew up and leaked in the Gulf of Mexico, stated in June that under its joint operating agreement related to the lease, BP is responsible for damages caused due to gross negligence. Anadarko simultaneously withheld payment on $1.2 billion in invoices submitted by BP.

Analyst Upgrades

• Canaccord upgraded Whole Foods (WFMI) to buy from hold based on the company's solid growth outlook. The firm has a $49 target on the stock.
• Bernstein upgraded Mylan (MYL) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation and expectations that its generic business will grow over then next two years. The firm has a $22 target on the stock.
• Jefferies upgraded Omega Healthcare (OHI) to buy from hold with a $26 target based on the company's earnings outlook, valuation and upside from its SNF portfolio.
• Procter & Gamble (PG) was upgraded to buy from hold at Argus.
• Ryland Group (RYL) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Deere (DE) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Longbow.

The costs to BP (BP) associated with cleanup, containment, relief well drilling and damage claims arising from the Gulf oil spill has exceeded $3 billion, the London-based energy giant reported Monday.

This includes $147 million in payments to individuals, businesses and governments affected by the spill, which began April 20, but not the $20 billion escrow account that BP agreed on June 16 to set up at President Obama's insistence.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Anadarko Petroleum (APC) to overweight from neutral on valuation as it views the recent pullback in shares as excessive. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered its target for shares to $82 from $90.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Office Depot (ODP) to perform from underperform and upped its target for shares to $7 from $3 after raising its estimates for companies in the Office Products Retail space. The firm expects trends to accelerate for the sector due to moderating unemployment pressures. In conjunction with the upgrade, Opco raised its target for OfficeMax (OMX) to $26 from $21 and target for Staples (SPLS) to $30 from $28. Both stocks remain outperform rated.
• C.K. Cooper upgraded iRobot (IRBT) to buy from hold with a $30 price target following the company's analyst day.
• Seadrill (SDRL) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Vodafone (VOD) was upgraded to neutral from reduce at Nomura.

On April 20, 2010, a BP (BP) oil rig ruptured and toppled into the ocean, killing 11 crew members and initiating a massive oil spill. Now, BP engineers have deployed a 98-ton container with which they hope to contain the primary oil leak.

An estimated 210,000 gallons have poured into the gulf each day since the leak began. So far, efforts to stop the gushing oil have been unsuccessful. First, robots tried to shut the valves that control the oil flow. This did not work. So now this four-story metal "funnel" has been suspended just above the oil leak. Engineers hope to lower it onto the sea floor within days. Doing so requires pin-point precision, and they are battling darkness and high underwater pressure.

Analyst Upgrades

• SunTrust upgraded Anadarko Petroleum (APC) to buy from neutral. The firm believes weakness related to the oil spill disaster is overdone and is a buying opportunity. The firm set an $82 price target on the stock.
• JPMorgan upgraded NII Holdings (NIHD) to overweight from neutral following the company's Q1 results. The firm has a $55 price target on the stock.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Columbia Banking (COLB) to outperform from market perform following the company's secondary offering due to valuation. The firm has a $30 price target on the stock.
• Clean Harbors (CLH) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Janney Montgomery.
• Digital River (DRIV) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at First Analysis.

Anadarko Petroleum (APC), which I first wrote about here on May 14, 2009, at a price of $43.55, is still on my list of favorites. Here's why:

Look for Anadarko to post a modest revenue increase in FY2010 on higher oil prices and lower costs, following a 2009 that saw Anadarko sell noncore assets. Firming natural gas prices, and more than 10 new, deepwater exploration wells in Ghana, the Gulf of Mexico, and Brazil, among other sites, adds to the positive story.

So much for oil plummeting to $30 per barrel on a supply glut. The price of oil, the world's most vital commodity, is currently largely divorced from supply/demand fundamentals, and that's one reason I'm reiterating my buy rating for oil/natural gas company Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC), first recommended on May 14, 2009. at a price of $43.55. If you bought APC in May, you're up about 45%.

Look for APC to post a 2% to 4% production increase in FY2009, followed by a 4% to 5% rise in FY2010. Further, institutional investors are looking past this year's likely bottom-line loss, and toward better quarters in FY2010 -- which is a major reason Anadarko's stock is up substantially since May.

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

• Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) reported that its Q4 profit tripled but it fell short of estimates.
• Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) met earnings estimates but it is getting more pressure from Carl Icahn.
• BP (NYSE: BP) surprised Wall Street with a multibillion dollar Q4 loss due to lower oil prices.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) beat Q2 estimates but warned that incoming orders have declined.
• Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) reaffirmed its previous Q4 guidance, which pleased investors.
• Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) topped Q2 earings estimates and it announced job cuts.
• Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) Q4 earnings fell on higher claim expenses and lower investment income.
• JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) adjusted earnings were in line with estimates but revenue fell.