Analyst Upgrades

• Apollo Group (APOL) was upgraded to sector perform from underperform at RBC Capital. The firm has a $75 target on the stock.
• JPMorgan raised Westlake Chemical (WLK) to overweight from neutral.
• Morgans Hotel (MHGC) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.

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

• Advance Auto Parts Inc. (AAP) was downgraded due to concerns about its 2010 earnings outlook.
• Analogic Corp. (ALOG) received an analyst's downgrade after it reported weaker-than-expected earnings.
• AutoZone Inc. (AZO) strong Q1 results beat earnings expectations, but shares rose only a little.
• BWAY Holding Co. (BWY) received an analyst's upgrade following release of its Q4 results.
• Casey's General Stores Inc. (CASY) topped Q2 earnings estimates but lower revenue fell short.
• Ciena Corp. (CIEN) shares plummeted after it fell short of its earnings expectations for Q4.

Analyst Upgrades

• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Yahoo! (YHOO) to buy from hold after channel checks indicated display advertising is seeing continued improvement in pricing and demand. The firm finds the risk/reward profile on Yahoo! shares attractive at current levels and raised its price target on the stock to $20 from $19.
• Citigroup upgraded Edwards Lifesciences (EW) to buy from hold following the company's investor meeting as it believes new product launches will serve as catalysts in 2010. Citi raised its target on shares to $101 from $72.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded BWAY Holding (BWY) to buy from hold following the company's Q4 results and raised its target on shares to $22 from $17.
• Clearwire (CLWR) was upgraded to buy from sell at Soleil.
• Nokia (NOK) was raised to hold from sell at Societe Generale.
• NCR Corp. (NCR) was upgraded at JPMorgan to overweight from neutral.

Analyst upgrades:

• Axys Tech (NASDAQ: AXYS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Morgan Joseph based on valuation.
  
• Elizabeth Arden (NASDAQ: RDEN) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Wedbush on valuation and the success of the company's Viva La Juicy launch.

Analyst downgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette downgraded Greenhill & Co. (NYSE: GHL) and Evercore Partners (NYSE: EVR) to Market Perform from Outperform on valuation and lowered its estimates to reflect slower than initially expected M&A advisory transactions. Greenhill's target was lowered to $66 from $72 and Evercore's was cut to $14.50 from $16.
  
• Collins Stewart downgraded shares of Thermage (NASDAQ: THRM) to Hold from Buy following the Reliant acquisition to reflect integration and balance sheet concerns.

Analyst initiations:

• Roth Capital views American Oriental (NYSE: AOB) as a cash-rich, multi-faceted pharmaceutical company that is well equipped to handle unforeseen changes in China's Health care market. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $10 target.
  
• Jesup & Lamont believes Bristow Group (NYSE: BRS) is well positioned in current downturn as the majority of its business is in production platforms and drilling rigs. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $37 target.
  
• Barrington initiated BWAY Holding (NYSE: BWY) with an Outperform rating and $9 target. The firm believes the company is an early cycle business that should benefit from cost reduction activity.
• Grand Canyon (NASDAQ: LOPE) was assumed with a Buy rating and $21 target at Piper Jaffray.

Even as the holiday season ramps up and the calendar quarter begins to wind down, earnings reports continue to dribble in. Among the companies scheduled to release quarterly results this coming week, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are expecting BWAY Holding Co. (NYSE: BWY), Powell Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: POWL), and Esterline Technologies Corp. (NYSE: ESL) to be among the biggest earnings gainers.

Atlanta-based packaging and container producer BWAY is expected to report fiscal fourth-quarter profits that are 65.6% higher than in the same period of last year, or $0.32 per share on revenues of $265.2 million (+4.9%). BWAY topped estimates in the previous two quarters -- by 44.9% in the third quarter. Those results sent shares to a new 52-week high. But shares have fallen 62.7% in the past three months, and they are now trading near a multiyear low of $4.11 per share.

Houston-based energy equipment maker Powell is expected to report fiscal fourth-quarter profits that are 62.7% higher than a year ago, or $0.59 per share. Revenues are forecast to be 14.2% higher, or $171.8 million. Powell beat expectations in the past three quarters -- by 20.2% in the third quarter. The share price has fallen 47.7% in the past three months, and the consensus recommendation is to buy POWL.

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

• Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) earnings potential due to its denosumab is expected to rise substantially.
• Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) beat low Q2 expectations but forecast a loss in Q3.
• BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (NYSE: BJ) beat Q2 profit estimates and announced share buybacks.
• BWAY Holding Co. (NYSE: BWY) topped Q3 expectations on cost containment and increased productivity.
• Fuqi International Inc. (NASDAQ: FUQI) beat Q2 expectations and offered Q3 and full-year guidance.
• Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) reported higher Q2 earnings but lower sales, dragged down by Old Navy.
• Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ) reported strong Q3 earnings results due to its global reach.
• Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) Q2 results fell more than expected, but it reaffirmed its earnings forecast.
• Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH) may post preliminary results (another loss) before Sept.
• Lowe's Cos. Inc. (NYSE: LOW) posted better-than-expected Q2 profits but offered a cautious sales forecast.
• Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. (NASDAQ: PSUN) weak guidance lead to analyst downgrades.
• Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) posted strong Q2 results and announced an aquisition.
• VeriFone Holdings Inc. (NYSE: PAY) offered a positive outlook, which sent shares soaring.

For more highlights from this week, see: Hershey, Heinz, Burger King, Foot Locker, Saks and others

Upcoming quarterly reports include Big Lots (NYSE: BIG), Borders (NYSE: BGP), Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP), Tivo (NASDAQ: TIVO), Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL), Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD), and Tiffany (NYSE: TIF).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

BWAY Holding Company (NYSE: BWY), headquartered in Atlanta, is a leading North American manufacturer and distributor of metal and rigid plastic containers for the industrial and consumer products markets. The Metal Packaging segment specializes in steel paint cans, aerosol cans, pails and ammunition boxes. The Plastics Packaging unit provides injection-molded and blow-molded bottles and drums for petroleum products, agricultural chemicals, paints, inks, edible oils, adhesives and sealants. The ICL Industrial Containers division is Canada's leading supplier of plastic and steel pails. Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) and Crown Holdings (NYSE: CCK) are major competitors.

The firm surprised the Street last week, when it reported fiscal Q3 EPS of 41 cents and revenues of $274 million. Analysts had been looking for 28 cents and $271.6 million. In discussing the successful quarter, the CEO noted increased productivity, better cost containment and the effects of new products. Management also guided FY08 EPS to 70-75 cents, versus Street consensus of 53 cents.

Plastic and metal containers may be about as humdrum as possible, but they're in constant demand and can produce excellent profits for a leading packaging company like Bway Holding Company (NYSE: BWY). This is a new stock that just went public in June, and last week Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) initiated analyst coverage of the company and issued a positive report on BWY predicting that the stock will grow to $19 within the next 12 months. This would be a nice jump for a stock that's currently trading around $14 -- representing a 35% upside premium -- and if it's right, BWAY could make you some nice profit.

Goldman was most bullish on BWY's margins; they've been strong and have been improving, with net income up 20% in the second quarter of 2007 over the second quarter of 2006. Based on its excellent fundamentals, Goldman is expecting a strong third quarter and a strong 2008 and 2009. BWY's products are used for such a wide range of products, the company stands little chance of losing revenues, and it has been acquiring other companies to achieve its growth. As BWY merges these acquisitions into its systems, it should continue to drive up profits alongside its revenues, and this looks like a company with a good long-term outlook.

The IPO price of $15 was a bit lower than had been expected, and BWY issued fewer shares than expected as well (just over 10 million were issued, while nearly 12 million had been expected). Some analysts and investors seem to see this as a sign of the company's weakness, but I think it merely means you have a chance to grab the shares at a more reasonable price. The next earnings statement is on August 7. If you're going to buy this one, I'd do it before then.

Type of Stock: A large and successful packaging and container producer that has just gone public.

Price Target: I'd try to buy this one below $14 if possible, to maximize whatever upside we see over the coming months.

Hilary Kramer is a financial editor and money coach for AOL and an authority on investing. Visit her at www.hilarykramer.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: CKE Restaurants (CKR), Capella Education (CPLA), IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI), Liberty Media (LINTA) and BWAY Holding (BWY) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• JP Morgan started CKE Restaurants (NYSE: CKR) with a Neutral rating, citing near-term margin concerns.

• Barrington believes Capella Education (NASDAQ: CPLA) is one of the fastest growing companies within its group in every aspect including enrollment, earnings and revenue.

• Stifel started IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) with a Buy rating, believing there is a 60% chance of a material event occurring within the next 6 months. Stifel believes QVC is the best interactive retailing operator given its 22% EBITDA margins and 16% operating margins.

• Banc of America initiated BWAY Holding (NYSE: BWY) with a Neutral rating, citing a balanced risk/reward. JP Morgan started shares of BWY with an Overweight rating on valuation...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Lehman initiated Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) with an Underweight rating.

• Montgomery initiated Sigma Designs (NASDAQ: SIGM) with a Buy rating.

• Stifel initiated Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) with a Hold rating.

• JMP Securities started BFC Financial (AMEX: BFF) with a Market Outperform rating.

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

Wall Street's equity market offers a solid slate this week - with five IPOs and ten Secondaries on the docket.

Those deals tentatively scheduled to price include:

IPOs:

• Day Undetermined:
  • The Blackstone Group (BX), a 133.3M-share IPO. Morgan Stanley and Citigroup are the lead managers. Filing range: $29.00-$31.00.
• Tuesday
  • Biofuel Energy (BIOF), a 9.5M-share IPO for this ethanol company. JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, and AG Edwards are the lead managers. Filing range: $16.00-$18.00.
• Wednesday
  • Bway (BWY), an 11.765M-share IPO for this container company. Goldman Sachs and the Bank of America are the lead managers. Filing range: $16.00-$18.00.
  • GeoVera Insurance (GEOV), a 5.99M-share IPO for this residential insurance company. JP Morgan Chase and Merrill Lynch are the lead managers.
• Thursday
  • Aegerion Pharmaceuticals (AEGR), a 5M-share IPO for this cardiovascular medicines company. Lehman Brothers is the lead manager. Filing range: $12.00-$14.00.