"With high-quality stocks on sale, now seems an opportune time to look for bargains among small and midcap blue chips," suggests Richard Moroney.

In his Upside Stocks advisory, which uses the quantitative-based Quadrix ratings system, he says, "We've found several 'Best Buys' with superior year-ahead potential."

Here, the analyst looks at Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO), Catalyst Health (NASDAQ: CHSI) and Hornbeck Offshore (NYSE: HOS).

Analyst upgrades:

• B. Riley upgraded Finish Line (NASDAQ: FINL) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the potential for improving trends in second half of 2009. The firm raised its target on shares to $10.50 from $9.
• Merriman upgraded OptionXpress (NASDAQ: OXPS) to Neutral from Sell following the company's better than expected Q2 results. The firm notes higher commissions per trade more than offset weak DARTs and the decline in customer additions in the quarter.
• RBC Capital upgraded Gardner Denver (NYSE: GDI) to Outperform from Sector Perform and raised its target to $34 from $28 citing the additional scale of restructuring, better tone to end-markets, and few downside catalysts. Baird upgraded Gardner Denver to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $35 from $32 based on a bottom in fundamentals and compelling valuation.
• BE Aerospace (NASDAQ: BEAV) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital.
• Shire (NASDAQ: SHPGY) was upgraded to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
• UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

• Citigroup upgraded WebMD (NASDAQ: WBMD) shares to Buy from Hold on valuation following the company's Q4 results and outlook. The firm maintains a $25 target on the stock.
  
• Goldman upgraded Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T (NYSE: T) to Buy from Neutral based on valuation and expectations for 2010 earnings growth.
• Roth upgraded Maxwell Tech (NASDAQ: MXWL) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q4 results to reflect strong ultracapacitor sales growth and gross margin improvement. The firm maintains a $12 target on the stock.
• Nara Bancorp (NASDAQ: NARA) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Friedman Billings.
• Cubic (NYSE: CUB) was upgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
  
• Terex (NYSE: TEX) was lifted to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.