Best Buy (BBY) has done great things in recent years, even amid the economic downturn and a crunch in consumer spending. It has basically pushed Circuit City out of the market forever, held its own against the likes of Walmart (WMT) in flat-panel televisions and consumer electronics, and has launched various initiatives for the future.

Why keep itself to the consumer electronics space, then? At some point, could the largest consumer electronics retailer in the U.S. carry electric vehicles alongside those LCD televisions? Best Buy's recent push into individual "green" transportation indicates that the passenger vehicle of the future may not be something you visit a traditional automobile dealer for.

Analyst Upgrades

• Wells Fargo upgraded MasterCard (MA) to outperform from market perform on valuation as it views the sell-off in shares following the company's Q4 results as unwarranted.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Best Buy (BBY) to buy from neutral on valuation as it believes sentiment has gotten overly negative on the stock. The firm raised its target on shares to $44 from $42.
• Citigroup upgraded Gap (GPS) to buy from hold on valuation following the recent pullback in shares and the company's sales results. The firm raised its price target for the stock to $24 from $23.
• Starwood Hotels (HOT) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Baird.
• Murphy Oil (MUR) was upgraded to hold from sell at Collins Stewart.
• Motorola (MOT) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.

Best Buy (BBY) will be bringing a whopping 1,000 jobs to its UK operations in the next five years as it unleashes and builds the Geek Squad services brand outside the U.S. Citing an increased demand for consumer support after technology purchases, this is a great move for the leading U.S. consumer electronics retailer in its effort to grow internationally.

Although a handful of brands design to simplistic consumer tastes, most do not -- seeding a demand for help connecting and using everything from MP3 players to digital cameras to laptops and netbook PCs.

Analyst Upgrades

• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Amazon.com (AMZN) to buy from hold as it finds the risk/reward on shares attractive following the recent pullback and expects the company to report strong Q4 results. Kaufman maintains a $155 price target on the stock.
• Baird upgraded DeVry (DV) to outperform from neutral and raised its target to $76 from $62. The firm said they have increased confidence in DeVry's ability to navigate through the ERP implementation.
• Benchmark Co. upgraded McGraw-Hill (MHP) to buy from hold on expectations the company's momentum should continue throughout 2010 due to improving debt markets, increased IPO issuance and steady education funding. The firm raised its target price on shares to $42 from $32.
• Best Buy (BBY) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Rochdale.
• AK Steel (AKS) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Cooper Industries (CBE) was raised to buy from neutral at UBS.

Netflix Inc. (NFLX), the world's largest online movie rental service, is scheduled to discuss its fourth-quarter financial results and 2010 outlook in a conference call Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 6:00 PM (ET), hosted by CEO Reed Hastings and CFO Barry McCarthy. A live webcast of the call will be available at the company's website.

During the three months that ended in December, Netflix announced a partnership with Best Buy (BBY) and a note offering to institutional investors. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for earnings of 45 cents per share on revenue of $445.6 million, up from 38 cents per share and $359.6 million in the same period of last year.

After Walmart (WMT) announced home theater and other installation services in 2009, fellow retailer Target (TGT) will now be doing the same. Mostly, Target wants to be the retailer of choice for flat-panel televisions and grab installation services in that arena as well. Target's new install service will be provided by Zip Express Installation, and most likely won't affect Target in any way, shape or form.

Have you been into a Target or SuperTarget recently? The flat-panel television lineup and merchandising is absolutely atrocious compared to retailers like Walmart (which has stepped up its game considerably in consumer electronics), Best Buy (BBY) and even wholesale retailers like Costco Wholesale (COST). Is Target just playing the "me too" game or does it really think having this installation service will make those considering a flat-panel television flock to its doors?

Looking back on what became a tough end to a tough year for the retail sector, the one bright spot was the online sector. Shoppers whipped out their plastic at a record rate on Black Friday, a trend that continued throughout the season.

The Amazon (AMZN) Kindle killed the competition, reinforcing the status of the online channel as the future of the retail business. Social media, in particular, had its first real test this year, as many companies -- including Best Buy (BBY), JCPenney (JCP) and Target (TGT) -- used the likes of Twitter and Facebook to engage customers, publicize sales and generally increase revenue. The next stage in the evolution, of course, is to use shopping behavior to trigger viral results.

Target Corporation (TGT), a retailer that competes with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) and Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY), had some good news today for its shareholders. Management has decided to reinstate its stock buyback program. According to the press release, the company believes the economic environment has improved to the point where reducing some of its float could be a worthwhile investment.

This buyback is a continuation of a $10 billion program begun back in November 2007. About half of that sum has already been spent; the remainder of the allocation is expected to be used up in two to three years. So, this isn't an aggressive move, certainly. And, as always, evolving market conditions can affect the intended schedule.

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

• Ark Restaurants Corp. (ARKR) shares declined after Q4 earnings fell short of consensus expectations.
• Azz Inc. (AZZ) Q3 net income fell more than expected but the company reaffirmed its earnings outlook.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) reported strong Q3 results, sending shares to a new 52-week high.
• Best Buy Inc. (BBY) declined to lift its earnings forecast despite strong December sales, send shares lower.
• Constellation Brands Inc. (STZ) lower Q3 earnings topped expectations and revenue declined as well.

Best Buy (BBY - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company announced this morning that its same-store sales rose 8.2 percent in December, topping analysts' forecasts of a 7.9 percent rise. However, shares of the stock are falling this morning after the company said it would not lift its earnings forecast, raising questions among some analysts about the strength of BBY's margins. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on BBY.

This morning, BBY opened at $40.64. So far today the stock has hit a high of $40.86 and a low of $40.02. As of 12:05, BBY is trading at $40.09, down $1.45 (-3.5%). The chart for BBY looks neutral and S&P gives BBY a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Deutsche Bank has reiterated its buy rating and a $48 price target on electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY). The price target implies expected upside of nearly 19% from BBY's closing price on Tuesday.

"BBY reported that Black Friday comps were up double digits. While we expect some slowdown from that level, store checks show that trends remain solid throughout December," wrote Deutsche Bank in a note to clients. "This, coupled with an easy comparison should enable positive high single digit comps domestically. We also believe that web sales, which were up 20% in 3Q continue to grow, which helps comps. Also, TV pricing remains relatively rational, which should help offset some of the margin decline from mix to laptops."

Revenue hasn't been as fast to change as end-user sentiment, but all that looks like it's coming to an end next year. Social networking site Facebook, which passed 350 million users last month, is poised to move ahead of rival MySpace in ad revenue in 2010, according to a report from eMarketer. The research firm expects Facebook to rake in $605 million in ad spend next year, compared to $385 million for MySpace, which is a News Corp. (NWS) property.

According to Debra Aho Williamson, senior analyst at eMarketer and author of Social Network Ad Spending: 2010 Outlook, "As more marketers incorporate social networks in their business, they will no longer look at them as siloed destinations. Instead, they will look to increase the impact of their social network presence by linking it to other marketing initiatives, both online and offline."

The first estimates for the holiday shopping season have come in. MasterCard (MA) Advisors unit SpendingPulse, which tracks retail spending, puts the result at a year-over-year increase of 3.6%. This includes all form of payment and does not factor in gas and auto sales. The increase comes relative to the 2008 holiday season, which was the worst season in decades for retailers thanks to the global financial crisis.

Says Kamalesh Rao, director of economic research at SpendingPulse, "Last year the economy and consumer spending were in free fall. This year we're talking about an environment that has stabilized, that has seen a leveling off." But, that doesn't mean it's turned the corner yet. Holiday spending isn't enough to cure what ails us.

Best Buy (BBY) was the big winner in this year's fourth quarter. It took the lion's share of consumer electronics sales after competitors Circuit City and CompUSA shut down earlier in the year.

No doubt, there was enhanced competition from mega-retailer Wal-Mart (WMT) and online behemoth Amazon.com (AMZN). But Best Buy managed to nip at customer heels with deep discounts on flat-panel televisions and laptop PCs that just weren't seen at the competition (yes, I looked). Laptops for $299 and 32" flat-panel TVs for $249 are probably loss leaders by a big margin -- but those prices make a dent on consumer psychology.

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

• Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) shares rose after lower Q4 earnings and revenue beat analysts' expectations.
• Best Buy Inc. (BBY) shares sold off despite better-than-expected Q3 results due to the lower gross margin.
• Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) warned that Q4 earnings would come in lower than the Street view
• Discover Financial Services (DFS) shares were up after it reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings.
• First Solar Inc. (FSLR) offered a solid 2010 outlook but the consensus EPS estimate is high in the range.
• General Mills Inc. (GIS) strong Q2 results included better-than-expected earnings and a rosy outlook.