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

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) said its Q3 profit declined despite the popularity of Guitar Hero.
• Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) said Q3 revenue surged and its offered impressive cash flow numbers.
• Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) easily beat Q3 earnings estimates and raised its full-year guidance.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) lower Q1 results topped estimates and sent shares higher.
• Cognizant Technology Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: CTSH) was upgraded following its strong Q3 results.
• Corporate Executive Board (NASDAQ: EXBD) received an analyst's upgrade following the Q3 results.

Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B) to Outperform from Perform following the better-than-expected Q3 results to reflect an improving outlook for all the company's segments. The firm raised its target on shares to $36.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded C.R. Bard (NYSE: BCR) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company's underlying growth trends will improve. The firm raised its target on shares to $88 from $78.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm upgraded the stock after Cognizant reported better-than-expected Q3 results.
• Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG) was upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital.
• Digital River (NASDAQ: DRIV) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Collins Stewart and to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Steris (NYSE: STE) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.

Analyst upgrades:

• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Computer Sciences (NYSE: CSC) and Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) to Buy from Hold on better demand trends as it believes overall enterprise IT spending is turning more positive. The firm raised its target on Computer Sciences to $62 from $54 and on Cognizant to $45 from $42.
• Citigroup upgraded E-Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC) to Buy from Hold as it believes loan less trends have improved and the company could potentially be acquired. Citi raised its target on shares to $2.30 from $1.50.
• Auriga upgraded Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to Buy from Hold as it believes consensus expectations for 2010 are too low, but admits the company's Q1 results could be fairly weak. Auriga believes Microsoft is coming up to its "most powerful product cycle in many years" and raised its price target on shares to $30 from $24.
• Motorola (NYSE: MOT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Fidelity Southern (NASDAQ: LION) was upgraded to Neutral from Reduce at SunTrust.
• Sonoco Products (NYSE: SON) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) to Market Perform from Underperform following the company's in-line quarter and extended buyback. The firm raised its target price on shares to $103 from $98.
• Merriman upgraded Cree (NASDAQ: CREE) to Buy from Neutral after transitioning coverage of the stock as it believes HB-LED chips are gaining momentum and that the company can top its recently raised guidance.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Glatfelter (NYSE: GLT) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q2 results due to falling net debt levels and valuation. The firm raised its target on shares to $14 from $8.
• Corporate Executive Board (NASDAQ: EXBD) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Baird.
• Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Unit Corp. (NYSE: UNT) was upgraded to Buy from Sell at Jesup & Lamont.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded VMware (NYSE: VMW) to Hold from Underperform on expectations June quarter revenue will be inline-to-slightly-better and negative revisions to September quarter revenue will not be as great as in the most recent two quarters. The firm raised its target on shares to $25 from $20.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Blue Nile (NASDAQ: NILE) to Buy from Hold on valuation following the recent pullback and believes expectations for Q2 are reasonable. The firm has a $50 price target on the stock.
  
• FBR Capital upgraded Bronco Drilling (NASDAQ: BRNC) to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation as it believes negative sentiment will ease. The firm raised its target on shares to $4 from $3.
• Unilever (NYSE: UL) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
  
• Posco (NYSE: PKX) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  
• Gol Linhas Aereas (NYSE: GOL) was upgraded to Buy from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Analyst Upgrades

• Merriman upgraded Regal Entertainment (NYSE: RGC) to Buy from Neutral as the analyst is less concerned about Q2 box office performance following the Transformers 2 opening weekend.
• Baird upgraded Ball (NYSE: BLL) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $52 from $46 citing cost cutting initiatives, a volume trough in Q1, and expected earnings growth.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded JCPenney (NYSE: JCP) to Overweight from Equal Weight. The firm cites valuation and gross margin opportunity for the upgrade. The firm has a $35 target on shares.
• KB Home (NYSE: KBH) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
• Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Wachovia.
• Lloyds Banking (NYSE: LYG) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Cree (NASDAQ: CREE) to Outperform from Perform as they believe LEDs are beginning to gain traction in general lighting applications.
  
• Jefferies upgraded Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) to Hold from Underperform following the acquisition by MidAmerican Energy. The company's target was increased to $25 from $20.
  
• RBC upgraded the Banking sector to Overweight from Underweight following the governments "massive assault" on the financial crisis. RBC believes government actions that include the potential creation of a Resolution Trust Corporation, the creation of federal insurance for money market fund investors and the ban on short selling will result in higher bank stock prices through year end; Wilmington Trust (NYSE: WL), KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) and Pacific Capital Bancorp (NASDAQ: PCBC) were upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform.
  
• Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Piper.
  
• UBS upgraded Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• Gap (NYSE: GPS) was upgraded to buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Analyst downgrades:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Thomson Reuters (NASDAQ: TRIN) to Sell from Buy as they believe uncertainty in the financial sector will hinder growth.
  
• Piper cut MIPS Technologies (NASDAQ: MIPS) to Neutral from Buy as they believe estimates are at risk following the departure of ChipIdea's co-founder. The company's target was lowered to $3.70 from $8.
  
• Jefferies downgraded GSI Commerce (NASDAQ: GSIC) to Hold from Buy on valuation as they view the risk/reward less compelling following the recent rally.
• Host Hotels (NYSE: HST) was downgraded at Baird to Neutral from Outperform.
  
• Wachovia downgraded Accenture (NYSE: ACN), Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) and Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY) to Market Perform from Outperform.

Analyst initiations:

• Jefferies initiated Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) with an Underperform rating and $38 target and thinks the company's sales and margins are at risk with negative comp trends getting worse.
  
• Cantor believes Lawson Software (NASDAQ: LWSN) has a powerful franchise while the stock trades at a 33% discount to peers. Shares were assumed with a Buy rating and $8 target.
  
• Stanford started Mentor (NYSE: MNT) with a Buy rating and $32 target and thinks the company is poised to benefit from growing global demand for products and services that make people look younger and more attractive.
• Scripps Networks (NYSE: SNI) was initiated at UBS with a Neutral rating and $43 target.
  
• BMO Capital initiated Costco (NASDAQ: COST) and BJ's Wholesale (NYSE: BJ) with Market Perform ratings and a $72 target and $42 target, respectively.
  
• Isle of Capri (NASDAQ: ISLE) was initiated at Goldman with a Sell rating and $6 target.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH) provides information technology consulting and technology services in North America, Europe, and Asia. Specialties involve business process consulting, custom systems development, data warehousing, customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning system implementation, and software testing services. The firm serves companies in the financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, retailing, telecommunications, and information services markets. The client list includes such names as Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), Aetna (NYSE: AET) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK).

The Street was surprised earlier in the month, when the company reported Q4 EPS of 34 cents and revenues of $600 million. Analysts had been looking for 31 cents and $594.4 million. Management also guided Q1 EPS to 32 cents (32 cent consensus), Q1 revenues to at least $640 million ($632.24M consensus), FY08 EPS to $1.50 ($1.47 consensus) and FY08 revenues to at least $2.95 billion ($2.87B consensus). Stifel Nicolaus subsequently reiterated its "buy" recommendation on the shares and declared a $43 price target

Cognizant Technology (NASDAQ: CTSH) is up 14% on good earnings.

Aruba Networks (NASDAQ: ARUN) is trading down 23% on a weak quarterly report.

MBIA (NYSE: MBI) is off 12% on news of a secondary offer to raise money.

comScore (NASDAQ: SCOR) is selling off 13% on a weak quarter.

Stocks may trade differently in the pre-market than they do in the regular session.

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

Last week Forbes released its annual list of the fastest growing tech stocks, and it shouldn't be much of a surprise that Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) topped the list, with nearly $15 billion in sales, representing five-year sales growth of 155%, and 30% EPS growth. To make the list, companies had to have significant sales growth over the past year and five years, as well as a good earnings forecast for the next three to five years. Companies with significant legal problems or corporate governance issues were excluded.

Rounding out the top five were Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), Ceradyne Inc. (NASDAQ: CRDN), Euronet Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT), and FalconStor Software Inc. (NASDAQ: FALC). Some other familiar names that made the list this year include Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT), L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL), Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE), and Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH). Cognizant has been on Forbes list since its inauguration six years ago. For the full list, see the Forbes article.

Also of interest was the Forbes Fast 15, companies that didn't make the list mentioned above, but which Forbes thought were worth keeping an eye on for their potential. Engineering software maker Ansys Inc. (NASDAQ: ANSS), semiconductor maker Atheros Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHR), Brubaker BioSciences Corp. (NASDAQ: BRKR), and scoreboard maker Daktronics Inc. (NASDAQ: DAKT) top that list. For the full list, see the Forbes article.

So if, like Aaron Katsman, Georges Yared, and Jim Cramer, you are bullish on tech stocks, then there's plenty on the Forbes lists worth taking a look at.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Infosys Technologies, Cognizant and Ansys and were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Infosys Technologies (NASDAQ: INFY) was initiated with a Buy rating and $54 target at Kaufman, as their checks indicate no signs of a slowdown in the Indian software services market. They believe the stock is getting no premium for its defensive nature.
  
• Kaufman also initiated Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) with a Hold rating and $35 target and believes the company's less defensive revenue mix could cause its P/E multiple to trend below rivals.
  
• Ansys (NASDAQ: ANSS) was initiated with a Hold rating and $39 target at Jefferies. The firm recommends waiting for a better entry point given the peak operating margins, a more challenging macro backdrop and tougher comps.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Wachovia initiated Invesco (NYSE: IVZ) with a Market Perform rating.
  
• Dynegy (NYSE: DYN) was assumed with a Buy rating and $9.50 target at Merrill.
  
• Navios Maritime (NYSE: NMM) was started with an Overweight rating at JP Morgan.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Interpublic Group, Lionbridge, PetroChina and Collagenex were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: MNTA) to Hold from Buy and lowered their target to $6 following the FDA's non-approvable letter for M-Enox.
• Banc of America downgraded shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE: IPG) to Neutral from Buy to reflect the economic uncertainty and concerns regarding the company's relative revenue growth.
• Lionbridge Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: LIOX) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs following disappointing Q3 results and guidance.
• Credit Suisse downgraded PetroChina Company Limited (NYSE: PTR) to Underperform from Neutral based on lack of catalysts.
• Jefferies lowered its rating on Collagenex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: CGPI) to Hold from Buy to reflect a lack of near-term catalysts given the company's thin pipeline.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• JP Morgan removed Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ: CTSH) from its Focus List and downgraded Performance Food Group Company (NASDAQ: PFGC) to Underweight from Overweight.
• Friedman Billings downgraded Charlotte Russe Holding Inc (NASDAQ: CHIC) to Market Perform from Outperform.
• Jefferies downgraded Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE: FST) to Hold from Buy.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Staples, Office Depot, GlobalSCAPE and CytRx were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Jefferies initiated shares of Staples Inc (NASDAQ: SPLS) with a Hold rating and $22-$24 target. The firm finds the current valuation fair given the increased risk of excess store growth in the industry, increased promotional activity and deceleration of employment growth.
  
• Jefferies expects shares of Office Depot Inc (NYSE: ODP) to trade sideways given the company's accelerating store growth, greater promotional activity and execution issues. The firm resumed coverage with a Hold rating and $22-$24 target.
  
• Soleil started shares of GlobalSCAPE Inc (AMEX: GSB) with a Buy rating and $12 target, as they believe the company has the opportunity to grow revenues around 35%-40% annually and is an attractive acquisition candidate for suitors who address the corporate networking infrastructure marketplace.
  
• Cytrx Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTR) was initiated with a Buy rating and $6 target at Oppenheimer, as they are optimistic regarding the market potential of arimoclomol in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and sees several catalysts approaching over the next 12-18 months.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Deutsche Bank started shares of Alliance Imaging Inc (NYSE: AIQ) and Pediatrix Medical Group Inc (NYSE: PDX) with Hold ratings and target of $10.50 and $70, respectively.
  
• Credit Suisse started shares of Accenture Ltd (NYSE: ACN), Genpact Limited (NYSE: G) and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ: CTSH) with Outperform ratings and targets of $50, $20 and $53, respectively.

Its location among the mid Atlantic states has made New Jersey a transportation hub, a manufacturing and commerce center, and a source of plenty of investment opportunities. Twenty-four Fortune 500 companies are headquartered there. And four companies from New Jersey made Fortune's 2007 list of the fastest growing companies in the U.S.: Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH), Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG), inVentiv Health Inc. (NASDAQ: VTIV), and Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. (NYSE: JTX).

Cognizant has been on Fortune's list of fastest growing companies for the past five years. This Teaneck-based member of the S&P 500 is a global IT services firm with clients in the health care, financial services, and manufacturing industries. Cognizant's three-year annual revenue growth rate was 56 percent; its three-year annual earnings per share growth rate was 55 percent. The consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial is that Cognizant is a buy, and the company has beat Wall Street expectations for the past four quarters. The share price of $85.79 at close on Friday is up from the 52-week low of $67.60 in September. The price has risen since Cognizant announced a stock split and share repurchase program in September, and the Motley Fool has since dubbed Cognizant a hypergrowth stock.

Summit-based Celgene is a biopharmaceuticals firm involved in cancer treatment and stem cell research. Its three-year annual revenue growth rate was 48 percent; its three-year annual earnings per share growth rate was 33 percent. The consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial is that Celgene is a buy. The share price reached a 52-week high of $72.91 on Friday. The Motley Fool recognized Celgene for its sustainable competitive advantage over its rivals, and Jim Cramer also likes Celgene.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The technology and services sector, Cognizant, Infosys Technologies and Silicom Ltd were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Wachovia initiated shares of Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), Micron (NYSE: MU) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) with Outperform ratings and IBM (NYSE: IBM), AMD (NYSE: AMD) and Motorola (NYSE: MOT) with Market Perform ratings.
  
• CIBC started shares of Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) and Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY) with Sector Outperformer ratings and a $100 target and $60 target, respectively. The firm views risk/reward as favorable.
  
• Merriman initiated Silicom Ltd (NASDAQ: SILC) with a Neutral rating, citing valuation and low visibility into the quarter.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• BMO Capital started shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) with an Outperform rating.
  
• Solei initiated Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ: LECO) with a Buy rating and $114 target.
  
• Merrill initiated Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) with a Buy rating and $23 target.