Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) to Conviction Buy from Neutral and raised their target to $90 from $60. Goldman cites ICE's positioning and potential for upward EPS revisions for the upgrade.
  
• Jefferies upgraded FMC Technologies (NYSE: FTI) to Buy from Hold as they believe solid deepwater activity levels will lead to solid EPS results in 2009 and 2010. The firm raised their price target to $45 from $27.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation and expects significant improvement in basis differentials for the company's Barnett production starting the second half of Q2. The firm raised their price target to $60 from $50.
• Elan Corp (NYSE: ELN) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Piper Jaffray.
  
• Banco Santander (NYSE: STD) was upgraded at Keefe Bruyette to Outperform from Market Perform.

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

• Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) reported better-than-expected Q1 results due to cost cutting.
• Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) received several upgrades ahead of its Q4 report on the demise of Circuit City.
• Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) crushed analyst's expectations for Q4 as same-store sales rose.
• China Direct Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: CDII) Q4 earnings prospects resulted in an analyst's dowgrade.
• Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) posted better-than-expected Q3 earnings and lifted its 2009 guidance.
• Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER) was downgraded after it lowered its guidance.
• FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) fell short of Q3 earnings and revenue expectations due to economic conditions.

Defense firm Force Protection, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT; option chain) has tumbled more than 4% to slip below the $5 level today, despite reporting a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit last night. The company raked in a fourth-quarter profit of $11.7 million, or 17 cents per share, even as revenue tumbled 46% to $239.1 million. Ahead of the report, analysts surveyed by Reuters were expecting a profit of 11 cents per share on $211.7 million in revenue.

"The decline in revenues was primarily the result of lower revenues recognized on shipments of vehicles due to the substantial completion of production under the [Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected] program," said FRPT in a statement. "However, revenues related to the company's service and support business increased to $97.7 million," more than triple the year-ago figure of $27.5 million.

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.

One of the most common rebuttals to the naked short selling conspiracy theories is this: Name one company that has been hurt by naked short selling.

In a July 22nd interview with Fox Business, Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) CEO Patrick Byrne gave an example: Force Protection (NASDAQ: FRPT). "Makes vehicles for soldiers in Iraq. . . stock was at $25, got naked shorted down to $4, canceled the secondary. . . Some soldiers are going to die in Iraq this week because some hedge fund guys need a new Ferrari."

Oops. On August 14th, Force Protection dropped some bad news on its shareholders. In addition to having missed the deadline for filing its 10-K, the NASDAQ is now threatening to de-list Force Protection's stock for failing to file its 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2008. This comes after the company changed auditors and, back in March, disclosed "certain material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting."

And that is, according to a message Patrick Byrne left on a message board (View the post for a video of the interview) the "easiest way to explain this problem to Congressmen, Senators, and most Americans."

Note to Byrne: I, and I suspect many others, will be more convinced when a company without serious accounting/internal controls problems and/or a failed business model complains about naked short selling. So far we haven't heard anything like that.

Monday, May 26

• Markets closed for Memorial Day holiday.

Tuesday, May 27

• Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) (NYSE: VOD) to report preliminary earnings results for the year ending 3/13/08, conference call at 5:00am.
• Modine Manufacturing Co. (NYSE: MOD) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 11:00am.

Wednesday, May 28

• Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 9:00am.
• TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 5:00pm.

Nortel (NYSE:NT) is up over 8% on strong earnings.

Force Protection (NASDAQ:FRPT) is trading higher 14% on a new contract from the UK.

Investools (NASDAQ:SWIM) is off almost 26% on news that the SEC is conduting an informal inquiry.

NetSuite (NYSE:N) is down over 15% after posting weak quarterly numbers.

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

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

MAJOR PAPERS:

• To help stop Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) $44.6 billion takeover offer, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) is in talks with Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) about combining internet operations. Meanwhile, Microsoft is talking with News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) about a joint bid for Yahoo! And Yahoo! is is considering a possible advertising agreement with Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), the Wall Street Journal reported.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) is planning to launch a number of new web sites, and hopes to capture a variety of audiences including African-Americans, children and news followers.

WEB SITES:

• Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH) said it liquidated three investment funds, with assets valued at $1 billion as of February 29, because of "market disruptions," Bloomberg reported.
• Reuters reported that the U.S. Department of Defense approved the sale of 157 armored trucks to Britain. The trucks are built by Force Protection Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT), and the deal is valued at $125 million if all options are exercised.

Force Protection (NASDAQ:FRPT) gets sales for trucks in UK. Up almost 13% on the news.

LookSmart (NASDAQ: LOOK) is up 10% on comments on a positive Q1.

Millennium Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MLNM) is up over 50% on a buy-out bid from Takeda Pharmaceutical.

Virgin Media (NASDAQ:VMED) is off over 12% on news it is raising $1 billion.

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

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

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) is up over 3% on a brokerage upgrade.

Hoku (NASDAQ: HOKU) is up 10% on a new contract to install its solar-power systems.

MGIC (NYSE: MTG) is off over 10% on a downgrade from Moody's.

Force Protection (NASDAQ: FRPT) is off 9% on a delisting notice from Nasdaq.

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

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

In a recent interview with The Register, Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) CEO Patrick Byrne told (his side of) the story of Force Protection (NASDAQ: FRPT), a maker of armored vehicles for the military. To hear Byrne tell it, this is company that is keeping our troops safe but that, because of naked short selling, has been unable to raise the capital necessary to fill orders.

Force Protection was down more than 20% yesterday after the company again delayed the filing of its 10-K, citing the "scope of the work to be performed to complete its analysis and to identify the material weaknesses in the Company's internal control over financial reporting, including the need to restate its financial statements." Darn those naked short sellers! Why did they mess up the company's internal controls? Oh wait. They didn't. And in the middle of this mess, the CEO resigned earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Overstock.com, the crown princess of the naked short selling victims, announced that it actually lost four cents more in 2007 than previously reported as a result of changes in its revenue recognition based on "accounting comments from the staff of the SEC."

Diebold (NYSE: DBD) is up 64% on a takeover offer from United Technologies (NYSE: UTX).

Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) is up 6% on news that it won a major military contract for jet tankers.

Boeing (NYSE: BA) is downover 4% on the loss of the jet tanker contract.

Force Protection (NASDAQ: FRPT) is off 20% on news that it will have to restate part of its 2007 earnings.

Deerfield Capital (NYSE: DFR) is off 14% on poor earnings.

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

Armored vehicle maker Force Protection (NASDAQ: FRPT) has been slammed down to the single digits on fears that its sole product might be on the way out because of cuts in government spending. Who knows? The CEO says the company is doing fine, but the downtrending stock price is much more convincing. If the stock price is meant to make up lost ground, it should have no problem breaking out past $6, which it has not been able to do for the past few months. I'd avoid until the stock shows some strength.

Within the past few days, IDM Pharmacueticals (NASDAQ: IDMI) has had a huge run-up from under $1 to nearly $4 and a substantial drop to just under $2 -- all due to some positive drug news that was already known since November 2007, and of course the CEO's optimism about European approval. Do I believe the CEO? Yeah right! My distrust of CEOs is dwarfed only by my distrust of biotech CEOs! This company is not in the same league as other recently hot biotechs like Savient Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SVNT) and Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RIGL). Avoid, with a short bias on any spikes.

When I wrote this article about A-Power Generation Systems (NASDAQ: APWR), all the variables were aligned for a great run-up. I wanted to hold, but the volume and share price didn't live up to my expectations, so I sold quickly. Now, this company, potentially the new First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) of wind energy, has nearly retraced to its original breakout area around $15, so the risk has gone down ... but so has the reward. If you're a long-term investor, this is a solid choice, but I need it to break its previous highs at $19 to make me a buyer again. Avoid, with a long bias if it breaks out.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Barclays, Grant Prideco and Force Protection were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Goldman downgraded shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) to Sell from Neutral and added the stock to their Conviction Sell List citing credit concerns. They believe negative headlines on writedowns will continue to weigh on shares.
  
• Banc of America downgraded shares of Grant Prideco (NYSE: GRP) due to its acquisition by National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV).
• Collins Stewart downgraded shares of Force Protection (NASDAQ: FRPT) to Underperform from Buy after the company did not receive MRAP vehicles ordered last night. They believe shares are likely to trade at book value of $3.58 or lower in the short term and set a target price of $2.90.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Keefe Bruyette removed Navigators Group (NASDAQ: NAVG) from its Best Ideas List.
  
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Petro-Canada (NYSE: PCZ) to Underweight from Equal Weight.
  
• Jefferies downgraded Exelon (NYSE: EXC) to Hold from Buy.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Ulta Salon, Force Protection and First Bancorp were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Wachovia believes Ulta Salon's (NASDAQ: ULTA) assortment of products and unique shopping experience will drive growth, starting shares with an Outperform rating. Shares were also initiated with an Overweight rating at JP Morgan, as they are positive on favorable industry dynamics, and ULTA's consistent growth and comps.
  
• Stanford initiated Force Protection (NASDAQ: FRPT) with a Sell rating and $5 target and expects the company will struggle to grow after 2008 due to its highly concentrated exposure to the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles program. They believe total MRAP demand is likely smaller than expected and that MRAP demand will peak in FY08.
  
• Kaufman Bros. believes shares of First Bancorp (NYSE: FBP) offer an attractive risk/reward despite economic softness in its Puerto Rico and southern Florida regional markets. They think most of the charge-offs have already occurred and find the sell-off overdone, and started shares with a Buy rating and $11 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Broadpoint initiated Cytori Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CYTX) and PhotoMedex (NASDAQ: PHMD) with Buy ratings.
  
• Morgan Stanley resumed coverage of Pinnacle Entertainment (NYSE: PNK) with an Overweight rating and $32 target.