Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) has taken the next step to delete more costs from its bottom line by sending the management of its nationwide wireless network to Sweden's Ericsson. The deal -- valued at up to $5 billion -- will allow Sprint to offset its declining subscriber revenue and numbers with lowered costs.

Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) is recently down $2.32 to $35 in pre-open trading. RIMM lowered Q3 earnings guidance. Deutsche Bank has a Sell rating on RIMM. RIMM December option implied volatility of 140 is above its 26-week average of 72 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Motorola (NYSE: MOT) closed at $4.27. MOT overall option implied volatility of 95 is above its 26-week average of 69 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) closed at $13.64. NOK will host Capital Markets day in New York on December 4. Smith Barney says: "Margin targets to be lowered but how bad will 09 get?" NOK December option implied volatility of 84 is above its 26-week average of 61 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) is recently up 10 cents to $7 in pre-open trading. Cowen says: "Reducing global handset industry, Sony Ericsson, on further weakness." ERIC overall option implied volatility of 78 is above is 26-week average of 62 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is recently down $2.27 to $89.70 in pre-open trading. Kaufman Bros says "Maintain Buy. We continue to believe AAPL is one of the better names to own in this tough economy given its strong fundamentals." AAPL overall option implied volatility of 74 is above its 26-week average of 56 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

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

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) to Buy from Hold on valuation with the stock down 65% in two months as they believe the company has a "best-in-class fundamental story." The firm lowered its target to $25 from $30.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) to Overweight from Equal Weight on valuation and believes near-term cost reductions could provide a positive catalyst.
• Citigroup upgraded New York Times (NYSE: NYT) to Hold from Sell and lowered its target to $5.50 from $7 on valuation and believes the dividend cut will boost the company's liquidity.
• Pantry (NASDAQL PTRY) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings.
• LECG Corp (NASDAQ: XPRT) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI) was upgraded at RBC Capital to Outperform from Sector Perform.

Analyst downgrades:

• Jefferies downgraded Suntech (NYSE: STP) to Hold from Buy and lowered its target to $6 from $25 as they believe concerns about a convert refinancing in February 2010 will continue to weigh on the stock.
• Credit Suisse cut Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) to Underperform from Outperform due to expectations for a decline in wireless infrastructure spending.
• ING downgraded shares of Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Hold from Buy as they believe it will be challenging for the company to execute asset sales planned at reducing debt in the current environment.

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

• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reported strong Q3 results but warned of softness ahead.
• Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) beat earnings expectations and lifted its full-year forecast.
• AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) Q3 results were worse than expected despite the iPhone's popularity.
• Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) beat expectations but lowered its revenue guidance.
• Dice Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DHX) reported solid Q3 results despite the financial crisis.
• E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) widened its Q3 net loss and revenues shrank.
• Gannett Inc. (NYSE: GCI) just missed earnings estimates as advertising revenues declined.
• Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) posted solid Q3 results that topped analysts' expectations.
• Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) missed Q3 earnings expectations despite popularity American Girl.
• McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) easily beat Q3 earnings estimates and lifted its dividends.
• Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) posted strong Q3 numbers but warned of slowing subscriber growth.
• Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) Q3 profits tripled due to cost cutting and sales of pain pill Lyrica.
• Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) topped earnings estimates, sending shares higher.
• Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) posted Q3 results that topped analysts' expectations.
• Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) slashed its earnings forecast on weakness in flat panel TVs and digital cameras.
• Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) reported better-than-expected Q3 results.
• 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) solid Q3 results topped Wall Street expectations and it offered full-year outlook.
• VMWare Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Q3 earnings surged on strong growth in services revenue.

For more earnings highlights from this week, see Apple, Boeing, Microsoft, Yahoo!, UPS, American Express and others.

Watch for upcoming quarterly reports from Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Estée Lauder (NYSE: EL) , US Steel (NYSE: X), Aetna (NYSE: AET), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Qwest (NYSE:Q), Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Kellogg (NYSE: K), Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT), MetLife (NYSE: MET), Moody's (NYSE: MCO), Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), Avon (NYSE: AVP), CBS (NYSE: CBS), CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS), Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA), Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), Washington Post (NYSE: WPO).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded shares of Colonial Bancgroup (NYSE: CNB) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation following the recent weakness and believes the company will be eligible to receive TARP funds. Morgan Stanley believes the company's valuation adequately reflects risk to the loan portfolio; the firm raised shares to Equal Weight from Underweight.
• Merrill upgraded Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML) to Buy from Underperform and believes their valuation reflects the worst-case for bad news.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Trimble Navigation to Outperform from Perform on valuation as they believe the company's long-term growth story is intact.
• Celestica (NYSE: CLS) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.
• KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
• Wachovia raised EastGroup Properties (NYSE: EGP) to Outperform from Market Perform.

Analyst downgrades:

• UBS cut Barclays (NYSE: BCS) to Neutral from Buy as they believe capital raises could negatively impact earnings and that the dividend is likely to be cut.
• JP Morgan downgraded Discovery Holdings (NASDAQ: DISCA) to Underweight from Neutral based on valuation and the deteriorating economic outlook.
• Friedman Billings downgraded shares of Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS) to Underperform from Market Perform and lowered its target to $7 from $23 as they see further risk to the downside following the company's weaker-than-expected results.
• LKQ Corp (NASDAQ: LKQX) was cut to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital.
• Affymetrix (NASDAQ: AFFX) was lowered to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• RightNow Tech (NASDAQ: RNOW) was downgraded at Baird to Neutral from Outperform.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (ADR) (NASDAQ: ERIC), a telecom-related business whose colleagues include Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) and Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), reported earnings for the third quarter. And, unless I miss my guess, the market liked what it saw. As I write this, shares are up over 15%, and the trading volume is high. So, what's going on here?

Well, according to this source, revenue and profit for the quarter went beyond the expectations of analysts. The top line soared 13%. Nothing wrong with that. The bottom line, however, went down 28%, even though it exceeded what was expected. And then there was the gross margin improvement. A lot of times that can work wonders for a company's shares. Gross margin went from 35.6% to 37%. Wall Street was impressed.

Now, this is all well and good, but am I a buyer of Ericsson after the report? No. There are a few things to consider here. First, the global economy is a mess. Second, statements made by management in terms of the near future indicate a cautious stance. Third, there's no way I'm buying a stock that just rallied by a double-digit percentage in this market. Especially not a tech stock. There are harder ways to lose money. The 52-week low on the ADR's is about $6 per share, and I can easily see this one revisiting that level as we continue to get news on the economy throughout the quarter. Obviously, many investors out there disagree with me. But this is not the time to play momentum trader, in my opinion. I'm happy to sit on the sidelines in this case, even if I turn out to be wrong.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change without notice.

Wall Street's optimism in last week's preview about the earnings of tech stocks wasn't misplaced, as there were many more positive surprises than negative ones among the stocks we looked at. This week will bring plenty more data for investors in and watchers of the sector to mull over. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), for example, are expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial to post modest earnings gains from a year ago, to $1.11 per share (on $8.1 billion in sales), $0.72 per share (on $31.3 billion in sales), and $0.47 per share (on $14.8 billion in sales) respectively. All three of these companies ended the week closer to their 52-week lows than highs, and analysts on average consider them each a buy.

Here's a look at some of the week's biggest expected earnings gainers and decliners in the sector:

• Baidu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU): $1.25 per share (+44.0%) on revenues of $134.7 million (+103.2%)
• Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM): $0.44 per share (+38.6%) on revenues of $1.3 billion (+33.8%)
• QLogic Corp. (NASDAQ: QLGC): $0.31 per share (+29.0%) on revenues of $170.0 million (+21.2%)
• FLIR Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR): $0.32 per share (+28.1%) on revenues of $275.2 million (+44.0%)
• Juniper Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR): $0.30 per share (+26.7%) on revenues of $927.4 million (+26.2%)
• Waters Corp. (NYSE: WAT): $0.75 per share (+17.3%) on revenues of $391.6 million (+11.1%)
• Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX): $0.29 per share (+17.2%) on revenues of $8.7 billion (+57.3%)
• EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC): $0.19 per share (+10.5%) on revenues of $3.7 billion (+12.9%)

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

• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) earnings prospects may have encouraged the machinist union to strike.
• Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) Q3 results and weak guidance led shares to a new 52-week low.
• Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) lowered its Q3 earnings guidance below previous and analysts' forecasts.
• Dollar Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: DLLR) beat Q4 estimates and posted record 2008 results.
• Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) was downgraded because it could miss Q3 earnings expectations.
• Esterline Technologies (NYSE: ESL) topped Q3 expectations due to robust aerospace and defense markets.
• Joy Global Inc. (NASDAQ: JOYG) posted strong Q3 results due to a sharp increase in orders.
• Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) backed away somewhat from its previous 2008 earnings guidance.
• Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM) earnings prospects for the next several quarters led to an analyst downgrade.
• MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) mid quarter update warned of declining demand for chips.
• Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) was upgraded following a strong Q3 report.
• New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) ongoing losses haven't diminished Rupert Murdoch's interest in it.
• Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) warned that it would miss earnings estimates due in part to weak sales.
• Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: SNDA) better-than-expected Q2 led to an analyst upgrade.
• Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) Q2 earnings slipped while revenues rose, beating expectations.
• Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) Q3 results soared but cut its Q4 guidance.
• Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) was upgraded on its prospects for beating expectations.
• Terex Corp. (NYSE: TEX) warned that earnings for Q3 and Q4 would be lower than estimates.
• Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) posted better-than-expected Q2 results and offered full-year guidance.
• Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) reported its fourth straight quarterly loss, but it was smaller than expected.

Also, Jim Cramer discusses a decline in earnings resulting from a collapse of oil and oil services.

Upcoming quarterly reports include Korn/Ferry (NYSE: KFY), Pep Boys (NYSE: PBY), Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD), and Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

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

• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) net income nearly doubled, topping Wall Street estimates.
• American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) Q2 earnings fell well short of analysts estimates on credit crisis.
• Amphenol Corp. (NYSE: APH) beat Q2 expectations and offered Q3 and full-year guidance.
• A.O. Smith Corp. (NYSE: AOS) beat Q2 earnings estimates and boosted its full-year guidance.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) beat Q3 estimates but offered lower-than-expected guidance.
• Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) Q2 earnings tumbled but still beat Wall Street expectations.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) Q2 results missed estimates but it reaffirmed its full-year guidance.
• Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) crushed expectations but offered muted guidance.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) posted better-than-expected Q2 earnings and offered guidance.
• Ceragon Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ: CRNT) reported strong earnings on increased global demand.
• Charles Schwab Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHW) topped Q2 estimates on rises in new accounts and assets.
• CME Group Inc. (NYSE: CME) better-than-expected Q2 results lifted the share price from a 52-week low.
• Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) revised its Q2 and full-year guidance downward on market conditions.
• EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD) Q2 results beat expectations due to strength in agriculture.
• Ericsson LM TEL Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) Q2 profits tumbled due to costs of R&D and acquistions.
• E*Trade Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) had a bigger-than-expected Q2 loss on Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) losses.
• Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) posted a record quarterly loss, mostly one-time charges.

Sweden's Ericsson LM TEL Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) said this morning that it saw a 70% nosedive in profits for its second quarter due to R&D costs as well as activity related to recent acquisitions. Ericsson also commented that its primary business -- mobile equipment and infrastructure -- will likely experience a "flattish" market in 2008.

That didn't sit well with investors, who sank the stock over 5% in Stockholm where the company's shares are traded. The company's ADS price as of this afternoon was hovering right over $11.06 per share, even though the company did see a smallish sales gain of 2% year-over-year. The problem is that its profit was down to $320 million for the quarter compared to over $1 billion during the year-ago quarter.

One of the more interesting twists came from Ericsson's joint partnership in Sony Ericsson, the mobile phone handset company that had a great comeback in the 2005 to 2007 time frame but has seen sales drop sharply in 2008. In fact, Sony Ericsson saw a 97% drop in its recent Q2 earnings due to the company's inability to ship lower-end handsets to the hot mobile phone markets. As a result, Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), was in all the right places to take the market share Sony Ericsson missed by being absent in that space.

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

• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) Q1 earnings tumbled while revenues rose.
• Casella Waste Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CWST) posted a narrower-than-expected Q4 loss.
• CKE Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: CKR) Q1 earnings increased but its revenue slipped.
• Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) swung to a Q4 profit on strong sales at Olive Garden.
• Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) said it might not see Q2 profit growth on lower demand and shipping delays.
• General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) Q4 earnings declined but were in line with expectations.
• Gerber Scientific Inc. (NYSE: GRB) reported solid Q4 and full-year results that pleased investors.
• IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS) beat Q2 expectations and posted record quarterly cash flow from operations.
• Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) stronger-than-expected Q3 results led to an analyst's upgrade.
• KB Home (NYSE: KBH) widened its Q2 loss due to weak sales and falling prices.
• Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) beat Q1 expectations as consumers sought discounts on food and gas.
• Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) beat Q3 earnings estimates but fell short of revenue estimates.
• Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) posted better-than-expected Q4 results boosted by international strength.
• Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) posted strong Q4 results that topped analysts' expectations (see transcript).

"Wall Street has recently been very negative about Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN)," notes wireless sector expert Nikhil Hutheesing. In his Forbes Wireless Stock Watch, the advisor explains, "But things may not be as dire as they sounded last month and I think that with expectations down, the company will end up exceeding expectations in the second half of this year."

"One reason Wall Street has been negiative is that TXN's biggest wireless customer, Nokia, announced a fundamental shift, stating it would no longer depend mostly on Texas Instruments for its chips. Ericsson also said it had shifted to a multi-supplier strategy.

"Besides that, in April, at TXN's earnings conference, CEO Rich Templeton talked of a cloudy economy and said that his company had become become more conservative with its outlook for the second quarter.

"Meanwhile, I've spoken with a number of experts in the wireless area who tell me that orders for TI's chips are significantly higher for the second half of this year than they have been in previous years. These orders are even coming from Nokia. (So far, Nokia's muti-supplier strategy has not had an impact on Texas Instruments.)

MOST NOTEWORTHY: PFF Bancorp, Ericsson and TAL International Group were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• B. Riley upgraded shares of PFF Bancorp (NYSE: PFB) to Neutral from Sell on valuation with the stock trading at 11% of the last reported tangible book value of $14.37 at December 31, 2007.
  
• RBC Capital believes Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) will benefit from network builds in North America and Asia. Shares were raised to Outperform from Sector Perform.
• Baird upgraded TAL International Group (NYSE: TAL) to Outperform from Neutral based on solid container leasing demand, rising container costs, and more constrained capital conditions.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI) to Buy from Hold.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) to Neutral from Underweight.
  
• Goldman raised Marsh & McLennan (NYSE: MMC) to Neutral from Sell.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Credit Suisse, Masimo and Marvell Tech were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Bear upgraded Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) to Peer Perform from Underperform as they believe the company's balance sheet will stabilize and the company's Private Banking business is holding up well in difficult conditions. Goldman, which raised shares to Neutral from Sell, believes the worst is over regarding the market downturn.
• Citigroup upgraded Masimo Corporation (NASDAQ: MASI) to Buy from Hold citing expectations of a strong Q1 report, expected FDA approval for hemoglobin monitoring in 2H08, and valuation.
• Marvell Technology Group Ltd (NASDAQ: MRVL) was raised at Friedman Billings to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and improved business conditions.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman raised LM Ericsson Telephone Company (NASDAQ: ERIC) to Neutral from Sell.
• JP Morgan upgraded Big Lots Inc (NYSE: BIG) to Overweight from Neutral.
• Petro-Canada (NYSE: PCZ) was upgraded at CIBC to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer.

LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) shares are trading higher after CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg said the weak economy has not affected ERIC's customers' spending. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on ERIC.

After hitting a one-year high of $43.41 in July, the stock hit a one-year low of $17.04 in March. ERIC opened this morning at $20.82. So far today the stock has hit a low of $20.39 and a high of $20.83. As of 1:00, ERIC is trading at $20.59, up $0.20 (1.0%). The chart for ERIC looks neutral and improving, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 Stars (out of 5) Hold rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a July bull-put credit spread below the $15 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 8.7% return in just three and a half months as long as ERIC is above $15 at July expiration. Ericsson would have to fall by more than 27% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.