Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) to Buy from Hold on valuation as it finds the risk/reward on shares attractive at current levels. The firm raised its target price to $22 from $20.
  
• FBR Capital upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) to Outperform from Market Perform after channel checks indicated recent sales are driving increased traffic and easing market share losses. The firm raised its target price on shares to $37 from $21.
• Barclays upgraded Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) to Overweight from Equal Weight as it believes the company is well positioned for a rebound in advertising and that the valuation is compelling at current levels. The firm raised its target on shares to $20 from $15.
• Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) was raised to Overweight from Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
  
• U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) and CB Richard Ellis (NYSE: CBG) were upgraded at Goldman to Neutral from Sell.
  
• Dolby Laboratories (NYSE: DLB) was upgraded at JP Morgan to Overweight from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) to Neutral from Sell and Advanced Semiconductor (NYSE: ASX) to Buy from Neutral as it is seeing early signs of stabilization in the semiconductor industry.
  
• Jefferies upgraded VCA Antech (NASDAQ: WOOF) to Hold from Underperform as it does not see significant downside in the stock given the low expectations. It raised its target price to $22 from $15.
  
• Baird upgraded Sigma Designs (NASDAQ: SIGM) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $16 from $9 as it expects revenue growth to resume in 2009 driven by IPTV end-demand.
• Goldman removed Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) from the Conviction Sell List.
  
• Portfolio Recovery (NASDAQ: PRAA) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Keefe Bruyette.
  
• Post Properties (NYSE: PPS) was upgraded at Deutsche Bank to Hold from Sell.

Analyst upgrades:

• Barclays upgraded the Integrated Oil sector to Positive from Neutral citing valuations. Note that Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight based on valuation.
  
• After Force Protection (NASDAQ: FRPT) reported that its 1H08 sales increased more than 200%, Stanford thinks that Force Protection could be poised for several new opportunities in 2009 and they believe the company's risk is already priced into the stock; the firm raised Force Protection to Hold from Sell.
  
• Cowen expects eHealth (NASDAQ: EHTH) to benefit from the steady decline in employer-sponsored health insurance offered by small businesses and reduced regulatory risk, among other reasons. The firm upgraded shares to Outperform from Neutral.
• Allied Capital (NYSE: ALD) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital.
  
• Caris upgraded Carmike Cinemas (NASDAQ: CKEC) to Above Average from Average.
  
• International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE: IFF) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.

Dolby Laboratories (NYSE: DLB) is engaged in the development and delivery of sound processing and noise reduction systems for the entertainment industry. The firm makes its own products and licenses its technology to other manufacturers. It has about 1000 patents and 870 trademarks worldwide. In film, the Dolby Digital format has become an audio standard, being employed in more than 42,000 movie theaters. American engineer and physicist Ray Dolby founded the firm in London in 1965 and moved it to San Francisco in 1977. Sony (NYSE: SNE) is a major competitor.

The company surprised the Street late last month, when it reported fiscal Q1 EPS of 42 cents and revenues of $150.2 million. Analysts had been looking for 32 cents and $134.4 million. Management also guided FY08 EPS to $1.34-$1.44 ($1.37 consensus) and FY08 revenues to $575-$615 million ($588.94M consensus).

When you go to the movies and see that the show you have picked features "Dolby" sound, you know you are in for a treat. Some may think that "Dolby" is a technical term, but it is actually the name of the American physicist who invented the high quality audio technology that has enhanced the entertainment experience for four decades now.

Dolby Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: DLB) is engaged in the development and delivery of sound processing and noise reduction systems for the entertainment industry. The firm makes its own products and licenses its technology to other manufacturers. It has about 950 patents and 850 trademarks worldwide. In film, the Dolby Digital format has become an audio standard, being employed in more than 42,000 movie theaters. Physicist Ray Dolby founded the firm in London in 1965 and moved it to San Francisco in 1977. Sony (NYSE: SNE) is a competitor.

The company surprised the Street earlier in the month, when it reported Q4 EPS of 39 cents and revenues of $129 million. Analysts had been looking for 24 cents and $121.3 million. Management also guided FY08 EPS to $1.27-$1.37 ($1.22 consensus) and FY08 revenues to $560-$600 million ($536.04M consensus). Kaufman Brothers and Ferris Baker Watts subsequently declared the stock a "buy". DLB shares popped on the news and have since settled into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Winn-Dixie Stores (WINN), TIB Financial Corp (TIBB), Energy East Corp (EAS), Baidu.com, Inc (BIDU) and SINA Corp (SINA) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Friedman Billings upgraded shares of Winn-Dixie Stores (NASDAQ: WINN) to Outperform from Market Perform citing valuation, sustainable Q3 margins, and share gains from both Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and Publix.

• Sandler raised TIB Financial Corp (NASDAQ: TIBB) off the ground, to Hold from Sell, citing valuation.

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Energy East (NYSE: EAS) to Hold from Sell after Iberdrola agreed to acquire the company.

• Pacific Crest upgraded both Baidu.com (NASDAQ: BIDU) and SINA Corp (NASDAQ: SINA) to Outperform from Sector Perform following their trip to Asia, citing China's strong online ad market. They believe Baidu.com is benefiting from its sales-force integration and SINA Corp's brand strength should lead to further market-share gains...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Lehman upgraded Celgene Corp (NASDAQ: CELG) and Genzyme Corp (NASDAQ: GENZ) to Overweight from Equal Weight.

• Matrix USA upgraded Jo-Ann Stores (NYSE: JAS) to Sell from Strong Sell.

• Dolby Laboratories (NYSE: DLB) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

• Wachovia raised U-Store-It Trust (NYSE: YSI) to Market Perform from Underperform.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Audio company Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: DLB) posted good 2Q 2007 earnings. Total revenue was up 23% to $129 million. Net income was $39.1 million, or diluted EPS of $0.34. This is $11 million more than 2Q 2006. As expected, Dolby booked $7.7 million in additional revenue due to the favorable outcome of a contract dispute. Stock-based compensation was down slightly for the quarter to $4.8 million. Given these 2Q numbers, Dolby CEO Bill Jasper forecasts FY revenue in the $435-450 million range, with net income in the $110-115 million range. Diluted EPS would then be in the $0.95-$1.00 range, with stock-based compensation expenses of more than $20 million.

Dolby is trying to expand on two fronts, by entering new markets as well as by introducing new products such as digital TV into existing markets. Dolby is facing a number of pressures. As innovative products come on to the market, Dolby faces pricing pressure on its existing products. It depends on the computer gaming sector for substantial revenues, but there may be problems ascertaining the accuracy of the amount of royalties due and when those are to be paid. Dolby is plagued by the movie pirating industry in China, which deprives the company of royalties owed it. Additionally, Dolby is affected by the general state of the motion picture production industry. Dolby is trying to launch digital camera and audio technology in new markets, but the level of demand for these new products is difficult to gauge with a high degree of accuracy. The company has said it will grow by acquisition if necessary.

Deborah Jeane Palfrey, recently accused of running a prostitution ring serving Washington's elite, is upset about her stocks. After the government froze her assets, Reuters reports that she pleaded with a federal judge to let her sell her 5,000 shares of Dolby Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: DLB), citing valuation concerns: "I believe it's reached its peak. I don't want it to waste away."

This is another reason to avoid high-turnover investing and stick with index funds for the long-term: If you are indicted on charges of running a ring of call-girls, the government could freeze your assets and not allow you to continue trading actively.

Another thing sex has in common with investing: Most people think they can be above average but the vast majority will have to settle for average or below-average performance -- no matter how much they spend on products that will supposedly enhance their performance.

On today's STOP TRADING! segment on CNBC, Jim Cramer said that he thinks Dolby Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: DLB) will have a good quarter "despite the DC Madam wanting to sell the stock because she thought it had reached a high point." All of the jokes about the "madam" and "brothel" would have been funny, except that they were so obvious. The real long and short of it is that the D.C. Madam, according to CNBC, wanted to sell her shares in Dolby and was noted as a stock picker with a $2 million portfolio.

Jim Cramer did have some bullish picks: Two he wants to buy ahead of earnings are Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) and Under Armour (NYSE: UA). He thinks Under Armour is still a great investment and he doesn't want to get in front of the train by betting against it. Proctor &Gamble (NYSE: PG) is one that Cramer thinks is getting a higher re-valuation with earnings Tuesday morning.

If it wasn't for at least the attempt at making the DC Madam story funny, today might have been better titled, "Stop Yawning!"

On tonight's MAD MONEY show on CNBC, Jim Cramer had a new pick that is up and, he says, is heading higher. He was blown away by Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB) 45% recent climb. He said it is everywhere and in everything you hear. Cramer calls it "the Microsoft of the digital experience."

It closed at $28.95 tonight, up from $23 recently and up from a low of well under $20 over the last year. He thinks the past doesn't matter and this is going higher. The stock soared after its last earnings release, in which the company beat analyst estimates by $0.11 and management guided higher, but he doesn't think it soared enough. The new information they divulged signals to Cramer that the estimates are too low and need to go higher. The estimate is $0.83 to $0.92 projected for next year, but Cramer said he would eat his yellow hard hat if the company doesn't earn $1.07 next year (he then said he thinks they'll do $1.00 next year).

Naturally Dolby is a leader in the music market, but Cramer said this is also a "stealth play" on the new flat panel TV's because the HD requires to have new Dolby-compliant specs. The company has a huge margin on its licensing, and the company has even been able to squeeze royalties out of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), not an easy task. The company's balance sheet is strong, with $4.55 in cash per share. It trades with a lower multiple than its growth rate.

For a reference DLB has been public less than two years, and it came public at just under $25.00 in early 2005. DLB has trailing EPS of $0.80 and has a 36 P/E ratio. Now at $30.00 this is a new all-time high.