Analyst Upgrades

• Cree (CREE) and Rubicon Technology (RBCN) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• Children's Place (PLCE) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Lockheed Martin (LMT) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Copano Energy (CPNO) to outperform from market perform at Morgan Keegan.
• Motorola Mobility (MMI) to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• Parker-Hannifin (PH) to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Akamai (AKAM), ShoreTel (SHOR), AMB Property (AMB) and ProLogis (PLD) to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Analyst Upgrades

• Verizon (VZ), FEMSA (FMX), Vornado (VNO), Duke Realty (DRE) and AvalonBay (AVB) to buy from neutral, as well as Carnival (CCL) to conviction buy from buy, at Goldman.
• Symantec (SYMC) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Copano Energy (CPNO), DCP Midstream (DPM) and Inergy (NRGY) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• SYNNEX (SNX) to strong buy from buy at Needham.
• Eli Lilly (LLY) to hold from sell at Hapoalim.
• World Wrestling (WWE) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.

Option traders appear to be setting up for a bullish move on Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (PTEN). Traders plowed into 3,378 new call option contracts -- 10.21 times the average volume -- on the stock on Tuesday. And we know that traders were eager to get into this trade because 94% of the trades came in on the ask price.

Patterson-UTI faces resistance just below $17. The stock closed Tuesday at $16.19, up 9.42% during the past month.

Option traders also look like they are preparing for a bearish move on iShares iBoxx $ Invest Grade Corp Bond (LQD). Traders bought 10,043.00 new put option contracts -- 7.92 times the average volume -- on the stock. A full 100% of these trades also came in on the ask price.

The stock closed Tuesday at $111.52, up 1.09% during the past month.

Analyst upgrades:

• Morgan Keegan upgraded Copano Energy (CPNO) to Outperform from Market Perform based on the $300M capital infusion it received from TPG Capital.
• Wells Fargo upgraded SunTrust (STI) to Market Perform from Underperform following the company's Q2 results citing improving credit quality trends and valuation.
• UBS upgraded Baidu (BIDU) to Buy from Neutral based on solid fundamentals following the strong Q2 report and guidance and valuation. The firm raised its price target to $92 from $69.
• Baxter (BAX) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• JetBlue (JBLU) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Soleil.
• Penn Virginia GP (PVG) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.

Analyst downgrades:

• Piper Jaffray downgraded Beckman Coulter (BEC) to Neutral from Overweight following the company's weaker than expected Q2 results and lowered guidance. The firm lowered its target for shares to $60 from $74. Shares were also downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies and to Neutral from outperform at Baird following the company's reduced guidance.
• Keefe Bruyette cut AmeriCredit (ACF) to Market Perform from Outperform following the acquisition by General Motors (GM, MTLQQ).
• FBR Capital downgraded SunTrust (STI) to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered its price target to $27 from $34. The analyst believes larger banks are better positioned than regionals due to greater prospects of reserve releases.
• Travelers (TRV) was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer.
• Lender Processing (LPS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman.
• Penn Virginia Resource (PVR) was downgraded to Sector Perform at RBC Capital.

Analyst initiations:

• ThinkEquity assumed coverage of SanDisk (SNDK) with a Buy rating.
• Macquarie initiated Allergan (AGN) with an Outperform rating and $75 price target.
• Macquarie also initiated Cooper Companies (COO) with an Outperform rating and $45 price target.
• NCR Corp (NCR) was initiated with a Hold rating at KeyBanc.
• CryoLife (CRY) was started at Benchmark Co. with a Buy rating and $8 target.
• China New Borun (BORN) was initiated with an Overweight rating and $7.40 target at Piper Jaffray.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Illinois Tool Works (ITW) to buy from hold, citing valuation and the company's strong revenue performance. The firm has a $60 price target for shares.
• Goldman upgraded PPD Inc. (PPDI) to buy from hold and raised its price target to $31 from $28. The firm expects strong top line growth and bookings momentum for the upgrade.
• Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Insituform Technologies (INSU) to buy from hold based on higher estimates for sewer rehab and energy. The firm has a $31 target on the stock.
• Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Wisconsin Energy (WEC) and Northeast Utilities (NU) were upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Rockwell Collins (COL) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Analyst Upgrades

• Auriga upgraded Allscripts (MDRX) to buy from hold to reflect valuation and potential synergies from the company's pending merger with Eclipsys (ECLP). The firm upped its target price for shares to $20 from $19.
• SunTrust upgraded Newell Rubbermaid (NWL) to buy from neutral based on completion of its turnaround plan, stabilizing end markets and favorable comparisons. The firm has a $25 price target on the stock.
• Morgan Joseph upgraded C.R. Bard (BCR) to buy from hold based on valuation and upside to estimates from the share buyback program. The firm has a $97 price target on the stock.
• Shire (SHPGY) was upgraded to buy from hold at Lazard Capital.
• Onyx Pharma (ONXX) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• AvalonBay (AVB) was upgraded to neutral from sell at UBS.

Copano Energy (NASDAQ: CPNO) - Volatility Elevated into EPS & lower energy prices. CPNO is an energy company with natural gas gathering and intrastate transmission pipeline assets and natural gas processing facilities Oklahoma & Texas Gulf coast region. WTI Crude futures are down 3.56% to $72.79 according to Track Data. CPNO will announce EPS on 8/8. CPNO August option implied volatility of 41 is above its 12-week average of 20 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Enterprise Products (NYSE: EPD) - Implied volatility of 40 above 26-week average of 17. EPD transports natural gas, NGL's and crude oil through more than 35,000 miles of onshore and offshore pipelines. EPD September put implied volatility of 40 is above its 26-week average of 17 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP) - September volatility Elevated. KMP owns or operates 26,000 miles of pipelines and approximately 150 terminals. KMP September option implied volatility of 50 is above its 26-week average of 14 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.