Analyst Upgrades

• Goodrich (GR) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Ford (F) to neutral from underperform and CenterPoint Energy (CNP) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Dollar Financial (DLLR) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Alterra Capital (ALTE) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) and P.F. Chang's (PFCB) to buy from neutral, as well as SunTrust (STI) to neutral from sell, at Janney Capital.
• Arch Capital (ACGL), Axis Capital (AXS), PartnerRe (PRE), Everest Re (RE) and Transatlantic (TRH) to buy from hold, as well as W. R. Berkley (WRB) to hold from sell, at Citigroup.
• Optimer Pharm (OPTR) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Goodrich (GR), a company that supplies items to the aerospace and defense industries and whose competitors include Honeywell (HON) and United Technologies Corp. (UTX), issued its fourth-quarter results on Thursday. Friday, the shares hit a new 52-week high of $94.12 during the intraday session; they eventually settled down to $93.09, good for a gain of 0.6%, a move backed by above-average volume.

The 52-week low for the stock is $61.24, so the shares have come a long way over the last 12 months. The chart shows a nice uptrend that emerged from a round of sideways trading. How was the Q4 profit? Does it validate the bullish sentiment?

Friday's fourth-quarter GDP numbers offered more evidence that the economy is picking up steam, but one of the biggest obstacles to the recovery remains the stubbornly high unemployment rate. We'll find out whether there's been any movement on that front when employment data for January comes out this week. The Challenger Job-Cut report and ADP employment data are due Wednesday, and the government's unemployment rate on Friday. Another mild increase in jobs is expected, in line with the three-month average, but not enough to significantly reduce the unemployment rate.

Also look for the ISM manufacturing and nonmanufacturing indexes this week, as well as the Chicago PMI and the New York NAPM index. And Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will speak to the National Press Club on Thursday.

Analyst Upgrades

• Union Pacific (UNP) and Polycom (PLCM) were upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Time Warner Cable (TWC) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• LaSalle Hotel (LHO) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Graco (GGG) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Valley National (VLY) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Credit Suisse (CS) was upgraded to hold from sell at RBS.
• U.S. Bancorp (USB) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Penn National (PENN) and Riverbed (RVBD) were upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Goodrich (GR) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• Amazon.com (AMZN) upgraded to buy from average at Caris.

Aerospace business Goodrich Corp. (GR), whose related companies include Honeywell International (HON) and United Technologies (UTX), has been a good stock to own this year. The 52-week low for the shares is $53.57 while the 52-week high is $82.18, the latter being made earlier today. With a little more than two hours to go before the end of regular trading activities, the shares were exchanging hands at $79.55, a quote that reflects a gain of over 2%.

The twelve-month chart seems shows an attractive situation. From a technical viewpoint, it does appear as if more upside is in store for the equity. But what about the latest quarterly missive to investors?

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Ford (F) to buy from hold and raised its price target to $19.50 from $14.50, citing positive demand trends, sustainable market share gains and strong cash flow.
• BMO Capital upgraded MGM Resorts (MGM) to outperform from market perform with an $18 target, citing stabilizing metrics in Las Vegas.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded TRW Automotive (TRW) to buy from hold, citing better-than-expected production trends, and raised its price target for shares to $52 from $39.
• Dr. Reddy's Labs (RDY) was upgraded to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Pulte Group (PHM) was upgraded to neutral from sell at UBS and $8.50 price target.
• Vodafone (VOD) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Nomura.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Pioneer Natural (PXD) to outperform from market perform and raised its price target for shares to $85 from $60. The firm upgraded shares on expectations that returns from the company's Spraberry field will increase materially.
• Baird upgraded Acroda Therapeutics (ACOR) to outperform from neutral based on valuation and a new survey that indicates a strong uptake for Ampyra and improvements on the reimbursement front. The firm has a $40 target on the stock.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Nokia (NOK) to overweight from underweight based on checks that indicate strong orders and less than expected discounting for its upcoming N8 smartphone.
• GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and British American Tobacco (BTI) were upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Quality Systems (QSII) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at William Blair.
• Siemens (SI) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.

• Citigroup assumed coverage of Boeing (BA) and upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold due to its positive view on the aerospace cycle and valuation. The firm raised its target for shares to $80 from $73.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Motorola (MOT) to Overweight from Underweight citing expectations for higher handset margins driven by Android. The analyst raised Android unit shipping estimates and earnings estimates. The firm raised its price target on shares to $9.75 from $8.75.
• Susquehanna upgraded SINA Corporation (SINA) to Positive from Neutral and has a $50 target on the stock. The firm said Sina'a Twitter like service called 'Sina Weibo' has seen exponential growth and will crate huge value for the company.
• AOL (AOL) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
• Frontier Communications (FTR) was upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital and to Buy from Hold at Hudson Square.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Analyst Upgrades

• Bernstein upgraded Boeing (BA) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation. The firm also raised its price target to $81 from $80.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Thomas & Betts (TNB) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation and an expected recovery in North American nonresidential construction.
• RBC Capital upgraded Susquehanna (SUSQ) to outperform from sector perform and has a $14 target on the stock. The firm thinks the stock's valuation is attractive as its decline in response to the European debt crisis and financial regulatory reform has been overdone.
• Priceline.com (PCLN) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Genzyme (GENZ) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• RightNow (RNOW) was upgraded to overweight from market weight at Thomas Weisel.

Analyst Upgrades

• Susquehanna upgraded Yahoo! (YHOO) to positive from neutral. The firm, which has a $19 price target on the stock, cites the steep decline in shares for the upgrade.
• UBS upgraded Time Warner Cable (TWC) to buy from neutral. The firm believes fears regarding FCC reclassification of broadband are "overblown" and that industry fundamentals are bullish. The firm has a $57 target on the stock.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Stifel Financial (SF) to outperform from market perform on valuation following the recent pullback in shares. The firm has a $64 price target for the stock.
• Boeing (BA) was upgraded to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• RBC Capital upgraded Southern Union (SUG) to sector perform from underperform.
• Rubicon Technology (RBCN) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.

Analyst Upgrades

• ThinkEquity upgraded InterMune (ITMN) to buy from hold following the FDA advisory committee's approval of Esbriet. InterMune was also upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Radian (RDN) to neutral from underweight with a $9 target. The firm believes the company will not have to raise capital as the government is allowing it to increase its leverage ratio beyond historic maximum levels.
• JPMorgan upgraded ExlService (EXLS) to neutral from underweight following the company's Q4 results.
• Lockheed Martin (LMT) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.
• Analog Devices (ADI) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Goodrich (GR) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.

Analyst Upgrades

• Canaccord upgraded BHP Billiton (BHP) to buy from hold. The firm expects BHP Billiton to emerge from the downturn with better operating margins and less dependence on an economic recovery. The firm also upgraded Rio Tinto (RTP) to buy from neutral but expects BHP Billiton to outperform near-term.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Raymond James (RJF) to market perform from underperform after raising estimates to reflect higher revenues and lower loan loss provisioning. Despite the upgrade, the firm remains cautious on the stock.
• Goldman upgraded InterActiveCorp (IACI) to buy from neutral. The firm upgraded shares based on improved momentum for its Search and ServiceMagic units and its belief that Ask.com may be an acquisition target. The firm believes Microsoft (MSFT) could be a logical acquirer for the unit once it receives approval for the Yahoo! (YHOO) partnership.
• Baidu.com (BIDU) was raised to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Symantec (SYMC) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.

Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) to Buy from Hold on expectations that stable volumes and a better outlook for currency and commodities will lead to higher earnings visibility. The firm raised its price target on shares to $62 from $52.
• FBR Capital upgraded Goodrich (NYSE: GR) to Outperform from Market Perform as it finds the stock's valuation compelling following the recent pullback. The firm raised its target on shares to $65 from $46.
• William Blair upgraded Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) to Outperform from Market Perform after channel checks indicated demand is accelerating as the firm finds the stock's valuation compelling at current levels.
• Robbins & Myers (NYSE: RBN) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Viacom B (NYSE: VIA.B) were upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill, while News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Nucor (NYSE: NUE) to Buy from Hold to reflect its positive outlook for steel and expectations the company will return to profitability in Q4. Citi raised its target price on shares to $57 from $46.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Given Imaging (NASDAQ: GIVN) to Outperform from Perform to reflect solid PillCam Colon data and expected margin improvement. The firm has a $25 target on shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Genworth (NYSE: GNW) to Buy from Hold following the $600M capital raise as it believes liquidity at the holding company has improved. The firm raised its target on shares to $18 from $7.
• Washington Federal (NASDAQ: WFSL) was upgraded to Outperform from Underperform at FBR Capital.
• Carnival (NYSE: CCL) was upgraded to Sell from Conviction Sell at Goldman.
• Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Weeden.

Summer is winding down and so is another earnings season. Most of the S&P 500 have reported results for the past quarter, but there are still a few things of note coming up this week.

In its second quarter, Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: SNDA), one of the largest entertainment media companies in China, announced plans for an IPO for its Shanda Games business and bought a majority stake in music producer and distributor.