FedEx (FDX) released an earnings report earlier today; for a summary of the results, see this item.

With one hour to go before the end of Thursday's session, the stock is up 4% to $88.68. Volume of shares is heavy and convincing. I should therefore jump on the bandwagon and buy, correct? Go with the flow? I don't think so. Yes, it's a pretty good move. But I might be more comfortable buying if the stock were closer to its 52-week high of $98.52. Such strength would give me pause for consideration.

Package delivery giant and economic bellwhether FedEx Corp. (FDX) reported Thursday that its third-quarter earnings fell 3% to $231 million, or 73 cents per share, due to rising fuel prices and harsh winter weather.

FedEx also warned that earnings for the current quarter and the entire year could be reduced by the ongoing unrest in the Middle East, and that it's too soon to estimate the affect of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

For more on the results and FedEx's forecasts for the current quarter and full year, see FedEx Earnings Slip on Higher Fuel Prices.

The shares of FedEx Corp. (FDX), first discussed here on April 13, 2009, at a price of $50.98, have ascended to the stratosphere near $97. That makes the present a decent time to consider taking some profits of the table, if you're in near $51.

However, investors who can tolerate the risk can maintain their full position in FDX and go for an even bigger gain, as the company remains well-positioned for growth.

Analyst Upgrades

• Dominion (D) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Corinthian Colleges (COCO) to outperform from underperform at RBC Capital.
• Canadian National (CNI) to sector outperformer from sector performer at CIBC.
• DragonWave (DRWI) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Infosys (INFY) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• SL Green Realty (SLG), Lexington Realty (LXP) and Taubman Centers (TCO) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Sunstone Hotel (SHO) to buy from neutral and Extra Space Storage (EXR) to buy from hold at KeyBanc.

Scanning over the news for FedEx (FDX) it seems that a decent amount of pundits would like to pin the potentially weak open on the delivery firm's weak second quarter earnings and revenue results. Let's dig into the report a bit and see if this blame is well placed.

The shipping company announced that its second-quarter profit dropped to 89 cents per share ($283 million) from last year's same-quarter earnings of $1.10 per share ($345 million). Taking charges out of the equation, FedEx earned $1.16 per share, short of the consensus estimate of $1.31 per share. Revenue came in at $9.63 billion, which is 12% better than the results from a year ago.

FedEx Corp. (FDX), the world's leading package delivery service and an ostensible bellwether of the U.S. economy, will dance its way onto the earnings stage this week. Also, with the holiday shopping season well underway, Best Buy Co. (BBY) and Discover Financial Services (DFS) are scheduled to offer up their most recent quarterly results.

Here's a closer look at what the analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are expecting from these three, plus a peek at the week's economic calendar.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deere (DE) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• American Eagle (AEO) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• FedEx (FDX) and Shaw (SJR) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Superior Energy (SPN) and Rowan Cos. (RDC) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Tesoro (TSO) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Mechel (MTL) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• SunPower (SPWRA), LDK Solar (LDK) and First Solar (FSLR) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.

FedEx Corp. (FDX), its summer correction over, has resumed its regularly-scheduled pattern: north.

As forecast, shares have risen to about $87 from $70 this summer, and I obviously still like the shares at this juncture. Here's why.

Delivery giant FedEx's fiscal 2011 revenue will likely jump about 10% to 12%, followed by a comparable rise in fiscal 2012. Further, the aforementioned revenue growth rates represent more than enough good news to keep institutional investors piling into FDX.

Analyst Upgrades

• Soleil upgraded Baxter (BAX) to buy from hold on expectations the company will benefit from supply disruptions at privately-held plasma manufacturer Octapharma. The firm raised its price target for shares to $56 from $45.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Dolby (DLB) to buy from hold, citing valuation following the recent underperformance of shares. The firm upped its price target to $75 from $70.
• Bernstein upgraded Alexion (ALXN) to outperform from market perform based on increased Soliris forecasts for PNH and potential in aHUS. The firm also raised its price target to $75 from $60.
• Agrium (AGU) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Roche (RHHBY) was upgraded to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• BMO Capital upgraded Energizer (ENR) to outperform from market perform.

Shares of international shipping giant FedEx Corp. (FDX) are selling off in early morning trading after the company posted fiscal first quarter results that were a bit shy of analyst estimates.

As we noted in our FedEx earnings preview, analysts had been expecting to see the company report earnings of $1.21 for the quarter, but actual results came in a bit lower at $1.20.

International shipper FedEx (FDX) will get its chance to impress Wall Street tomorrow when it reports its fiscal first quarter results.

Headed into tomorrow's report, analysts are expecting to see earnings of $1.21 per share. During the same period last year the company had earnings of $0.58.

Last week, the Fed's Beige Book report confirmed that the economy continues to grow, but at a slower pace than in previous periods. This week will bring plenty of economic data to either support or contrast with the Fed's findings.

• Monday: Federal government budget balance for August
• Tuesday: Business inventory numbers from July, TIPP Economic Optimism Index for September, retail sales data from August
• Wednesday: Industrial production in August, Empire State Manufacturing Survey for September, Import Price Index for August
• Thursday: Producer Price Index for August, Philly Fed Survey for September, the Current Account Balance in the second quarter, jobless claims for last week
• Friday: preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, Consumer Price Index for August, real earnings data for August

Analyst Upgrades

• Janney Montgomery upgraded Microsoft (MSFT) to buy from neutral with a $30 price target, citing valuation and expectations for strong Q4 results.
• UBS upgraded SanDisk (SNDK) to buy from neutral based on favorable pricing and mobile design win momentum. The firm raised its target to $55 from $46.
• BMO Capital upgraded Medtronic (MDT) to outperform from market perform based on valuation and its product pipeline. The firm has a $48 price target on the stock.
• Lorillard (LO) and Qualcomm (QCOM) were upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Monsanto (MON) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• FedEx (FDX) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.

Analyst Upgrades

• UBS upgraded UPS (UPS) and FedEx (FDX) to buy from hold based on recent weakness and leverage to a recovery. The firm raised its price target on UPS to $74 from $72 and on FedEx to $100 from $97.
• Bernstein upgraded Medicis (MRX) to outperform from market perform based on valuation and said the company has been executing well over the past few months. The firm has a $28 price target on the stock.
• Citigroup upgraded Weingarten Realty (WRI) to buy from hold, citing valuation and the company's improved balance sheet. The firm maintains a $24 price target for shares.
• Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's (LOW) were upgraded to market perform from underperform at BMO Capital.
• NextEra Energy (NEE) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Baird.
• Nokia (NOK) was upgraded to neutral from reduce at WestLB.