Analyst Upgrades

• Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Boston Scientific (BSX) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Windstream (WIN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Expeditors (EXPD) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• A123 Systems (AONE) to neutral from underperform and Chesapeake Midstream (CHKM) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• AvalonBay (AVB) to outperform from neutral and Post Properties (PPS) to neutral from underperform at Cowen.

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

• Goldman upgraded Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) to buy from neutral.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Pulte Group (PHM) to neutral from underperform. Note that Citigroup downgraded the stock.
• Ameristar Casinos (ASCA) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Merriman.
• Citigroup upgraded Kimco Realty (KIM) to hold from sell.
• Mistras (MG) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Devon Energy (DVN) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Garmin (GRMN) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at PacCrest.

Analyst Upgrades

• JMP Securities upgraded Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) to outperform from market perform based on valuation and checks that indicate strength in enterprise PCs, high growth geographies and light laptops. The firm has a $50 target on the stock.
• RBC Capital upgraded Rio Tinto (RTP) to outperform from sector perform, citing the company's improving growth plans and attractive risk profile.
• Goldman upgraded FormFactor (FORM) to neutral from sell, but lowered its price target to $6 from $10. The firm cites valuation for the upgrade.
• MCG Capital (MCGC) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• CRH (CRH) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• Melco Crown (MPEL) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.

Insurance companies just bought themselves a year. Claiming that a proposed tax on health insurance would force them to charge higher premiums, carriers were able to convince senators to defer this particular measure for a year.

This comes as a benefit to UnitedHealth Group (UNH), WellPoint (WLP) and smaller companies writing health insurance policies. Manufacturers of medical devices have won some relief, as well, though the drug business didn't. An earlier plan to tax cosmetic medical procedures was also scrapped.

Medtronic (NYSE: MDT), a manufacturer of a whole host of medical devices involved with the management of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, released its Q1 data on Tuesday. Revenues increased 6%, and adjusted earnings per share came in at 79 cents (some of the adjustments were related to restructuring and litigation issues).

The company was able to grow the adjusted-per-share bottom line by 10%. In addition, according to Reuters, Medtronic beat estimates by a penny. Shareholders should keep in mind, however, that the quarter benefited from an extra week.

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

• AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) posted a smaller-than-expected Q2 net loss as steel prices rise.
• Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) posted a better-than-expected Q2 profit on strong overseas sales.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) shares jumped after it beat earnings, missed revenues, and offered guidance.
• DuPont (NYSE: DD) shares declined after it posted a higher-than-expected profit but lower revenue.
• Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) disappointing results were a sign that the bulls are in charge, said Jim Cramer.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Q2 earnings and sales declined, dragged down by finance and NBC units.

Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX), an expert in medical devices and a colleague of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), reported earnings for the second quarter on Monday after the closing bell. Wall Street liked the results. Shares of the company were bid higher by 5.8% in the after-hours session.

Net sales increased 7%. On an adjusted basis, Boston Scientific made 20 cents per share. According to Earnings.com, the business was supposed to bring in only 13 cents per share. Thus, management did a superb job of beating the analysts at their precious game. Unfortunately, Boston Scientific made the same amount of adjusted profit in the year-ago period, so there wasn't any growth on the bottom line.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Spartech (NYSE: SEH) to Buy from Hold as it sees further upside following the company's "strong" Q2 results. The firm raised its target on shares to $10 from $2.50.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Clorox (NYSE: CLX) to Outperform from Underperform. The firm believes the company's FY10 outlook is conservative, providing room for upside, and that the valuation is compelling at current levels. Opco set a $70 price target on the stock.
• Goldman upgraded Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $20 from $16, citing reduced balance sheet concerns following the capital raise. Note that AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy.
• PG&E (NYSE: PCG) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• Pool Corp. (NASDAQ: POOL) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair.
• Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Aruba Networks (NASDAQ: ARUN) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q3 results to reflect improved visibility. The firm raised its target price to $6.50 from $3.
• Citigroup upgraded Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) and Potash (NYSE: POT) to Buy from Hold and Agrium (NYSE: AGU) to Hold from Sell as it believes stronger grain fundamentals more than offset China contract risk. The firm raised its target on Mosaic to $72 from $48, on Potash to $145 from $83 and on Agrium to $55 from $36.
• Fulton Financial (NASDAQ: FULT) Was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.
• Noble Corp. (NYSE: NE) was upgraded at Deutsche Bank to Buy from Hold.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) got approval for its new drug-coated stent. The products are used to open clogged arteries, often in the place of by-pass surgery. The field has been dominated by deeply troubled medical device company Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX). It looks that the weakened company is in for much more pain.

According to The Wall Street Journal, ABT "received regulatory approval for its Xience V drug-coated stent, which is expected to be the top seller in the roughly $2 billion U.S. market because it appears to be more effective than rival devices." Boston Scientific will sell the new Abbott product, but with 40% of the revenue going to its rival, it is hard to see how that is a good deal.

BSX has been beaten by competition at almost every turn. It took on tremendous debt when it bought medical device company Guidant. It faced trouble when some Guidant products hit quality control issues. Boston Scientific stents came under criticism a year ago, when medical research questioned how effective they were.

BSX traded at almost $45 in 2004. It is now at about $12. With new competition and a bad balance sheet, that is not likely to change much.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.