In terms of estimates, 3Com did well. The market was expecting 5 cents per share. The analyst community was obviously worried that the recession was going to hamper profit growth more than it did. Of course, who could blame the analysts, right? After all, 3Com did see a better than 8% slide in top-line sales.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Adtran (NASDAQ: ADTN) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company will benefit from the broadband Stimulus funds.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) to Overweight from Equal Weight based on relative valuation and views the company as a "survivor." Additionally, the analyst lowered 2009 industry estimates but believes it is the last cut for the year and is incrementally more positive on the sector.
• Morgan Stanley also upgraded EXFO Electro-Optical (NASDAQ: EXFO) to Overweight from Market Weight based on valuation.
• Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Ascent Solar (NASDAQ: ASTI) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
• Mechel Steel (NYSE: MTL) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.

• Bernstein upgraded Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation as it believes threats to the core business are priced in at current levels and upside catalysts may come from pipeline news. The firm raised its target on shares to $65 from $57.
• Stephens upgraded CyberSource (NASDAQ: CYBS) to Overweight from Equal Weight on valuation as it believes the recent pullback creates a buying opportunity. The firm raised its target on shares to $16 from $14.
• JPMorgan upgraded Magna (NYSE: MGA) and Tenneco (NYSE: TEN) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations global auto production has sequentially bottomed with European light vehicle production rebounding in Q2. The firm also sees a short-term trading opportunity in TRW Automotive (NYSE: TRW), but keeps a Neutral rating on the stock.
• SINA Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.
• Cogent Communications (NASDAQ: CCOI) was raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.

Ciena (NASDAQ: CIEN), a business that sells various networking and software products for fiber-optic and broadband technologies, and whose colleagues include Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), reported late Thursday a difficult second quarter. Revenues declined by 40%. For the bottom line, Ciena said it lost 25 cents per share on an adjusted basis. Last year at this time, Ciena made an adjusted 40 cents per share. And in terms of expectations, the company was only supposed to lose 9 cents per share. Guess there wasn't a chance of that, huh?

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is recently up 67 cents to $19.88 in pre-open trading. CSCO will replace General Motors (GM) in the Dow Jones Industrial Averages -- DJIA. CSCO June option implied volatility of 36 is below its 26-week average of 47, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Travelers (NYSE: TRV) is recently trading at $41.87 in pre-open trading, above its close of $40.66. TRV will replace Citigroup (NYSE: C) in the DJIA. TRV June and July option implied volatility of 37 is below its 26-week average of 54, according to Track Data, indicating decreasing price movement.

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

"Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), the bellwether company when it comes to performance in the tech industry, is hanging tough," says growth stock expert Toby Smith.

In his ChangeWave Investing he explains why "investors should own this stock before the economy shifts into a higher gear." Here's his review.

"As a true dominator, Cisco is beautifully positioned in several long-term secular trends including cloud computing and data center build-outs, unified communications, web-based video and telepresence.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) closed at $390. The New York Times says: "New mood in antitrust may target Google." The WSJ reported Silicon Valley and GOOG are under a new tough phase antitrust scrutiny. GOOG June option implied volatility is at 32, below its 26-week average of 49 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) closed at $19.75. CSCO's Unified Computing System (UCS) is expected to ship in June. CSCO June option implied volatility of 35 is below its 26-week average of 48, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

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

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

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) shares rose even though it reported a wider loss for the quarter.
• American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) posted better-than-expected Q1 results but warned of challenges.
• Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) reported a net loss and slumping revenues for the first quarter.
• Center Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: CLFC) was downgraded following its Q1 earnings report.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) posted lower Q3 earnings that still topped analysts estimates.

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) reported Q3 stats after the bell on Wednesday. How did the tech company that runs with the likes of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR), and Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) fare? Very well, thank you.

Well, let me clarify that. Cisco saw a lot of declines in its numbers, but we all know what the most important thing to investors is: beating the Wall Street analysts. In this regard, Cisco's management did just fine. As I observed in my earnings preview piece, the call was for Cisco to do somewhere around 25 cents per share. Well, the company bested that figure by an awesome nickel on an adjusted basis.

Tech investors will be looking forward to seeing how Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) made out in the third quarter. The networking entity, whose colleagues include Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR), and Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), will be reporting Q3 numbers on Wednesday, May 6, after the market closes. According to analysts, Cisco is not expected to grow the bottom line. The call is for 25 cents per share. If that figure is hit, then it will represent a drop of more than 30% on a year-over-year basis.

Here's the bright side, though. Cisco has beat the analysts at their game in recent times. Quite frankly, I think Cisco should be able to come ahead of estimates this week. I don't necessarily see why the trend will break. It's not like the stock has been telling the market that it will. Shares of Cisco have been doing well.