Ah, an upgrade of an old favorite of mine. Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL). I've owned this one in the past. Never lost money on it. I'd like to be back in Marvel. Only one problem.

Yesterday, Marvel, a company whose comic library competes with Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) and its own stable of superheroes, received an upgrade from JPMorgan. It now is in the Overweight camp. Before, it was merely Neutral. As you might expect, the stock reacted. There was no way the market was going to ignore this because, really, Marvel is one of those stocks that does show a lot of promise considering that the sequel to Iron Man is due out next summer. Shares closed over 5% higher on Wednesday in reaction to the headline. The professional traders must loved the action.

Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL), whose colleagues include Sony (NYSE: SNE), News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), and Viacom (NYSE: VIA), issued its first-quarter report on Tuesday.

The market liked what it saw. That's because the comic-book concern beat analyst estimates by a pretty significant margin. Hey, what else would you expect from the company that brought you Iron Man?

Marvel delivered 57 cents per share in income. According to analysts, Wall Street was hoping for 37 cents per share. Quite a surprise.

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

• Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) reported solid Q2 numbers despite competition from store brands.
• DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) missed Q4 expectations, sending shares lower.
• First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) said Q4 profit more than doubled due to strong demand.
• Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) posted a lower-than-expected profit on soft sales and lower margins.
• Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. (NASDAQ: HSII) earnings and revenue declined in Q4.
• Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) earnings beat low expectations even as revenue continued to decline.

Recently, I wrote a piece about my reluctance to believe that Marvel (NYSE: MVL) was necessarily a buy based on an upgrade. Well, Marvel released Q4 earnings this week, and I admit, they were impressive. Net sales were $224 million, and income was 80 cents per share. Both of those numbers more than doubled last year's stats. Expectations were for 71 cents per share for the bottom line.

If you followed the stock at all this week, you may have noticed that shares rallied on Tuesday when the earnings report was issued. Marvel would have made for an excellent trade ahead of the release. But that's all in the past. I have to concede that the performance did make me want to be back in Marvel. I've made money on the stock before, and I do believe in its long-term prospects.

I think the big question now is: Will this deadly market simply be too much for the Marvel bulls? My answer to that question is yes. Of course, I'm not the one who decides what the price action is going to be from this point on. That's the market's collective call. Maybe the shares will begin to trend higher. But I think that buying any stock this year is going to be an exercise in exasperation.

Marvel (NYSE: MVL) is a great company. It's got a lot of cool characters in its vast comic book portfolio. Spider-Man, Hulk, X-Men, you know them all. And it's a fun stock to both invest in and trade. It's a more direct play on movies than a Disney (NYSE: DIS) or a Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) is. I've made money on Marvel in the past. I don't currently own it, so I was pretty interested when I heard that Wedbush Morgan issued an upgrade this week.

Wedbush Morgan basically said that the market is undervaluing Marvel's potential. It sees a price target of $31. I myself think Marvel will break $30 yet again, but the problem I have is with sentiment. Exactly how will the market react to Marvel's shares this year?

Jordan Stein over at Minyanville wrote a great piece about how the economy is causing a little bit of deflation for the salaries of Hollywood stars. As an example, Stein pointed out how Disney (NYSE: DIS) doesn't want to go overboard in terms of compensating Nicolas Cage for his services in the next National Treasure feature. That's a popular franchise, and Cage is arguably a key to its success. But guess what? Doesn't matter, because money is tight, and Hollywood managements need to inject some sanity into negotiations.

Which, of course, has always been the problem. There's never been any sanity when it comes to negotiations in Tinsel Town. Stars are overpaid, and they take too much of the gross dollars generated by celluloid assets. If we were talking about private studios, I wouldn't mind. But I own shares of Disney and believe that overpaid talent is one reason why the stock hasn't done much over a decade.

However, I'm not so sure that things are changing that much in Hollywood. If you read the entire article that Stein referenced, you'll note that it implies that individuals such as Will Smith and Johnny Depp aren't seeing reductions in their compensation packages. It might be great that Mickey Rourke may have been offered only $250,000 by Marvel (NYSE: MVL) for an opportunity to be in the Iron Man sequel, but unless bigger stars see reductions in their bottom lines, then the system cannot truly change.

So, I'm still trying to figure out a strategy for the coming year for my portfolio. Stocks are starting to feel a little better to me, but I'm very, very cautious about timing in terms of trades. For instance, I'd rather wait until we see a substantial pullback from the recent rally before taking some of my cash on the sidelines and putting it to work. But I've got two ideas in the movie sector that I'm looking at: DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) and Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL).

First off, both are great companies. No, not every move they make is perfect (example: Marvel still can't properly monetize its Incredible Hulk property with a decent film). But both stocks have held up relatively well, in my opinion, during the financial implosion. Both stocks are also below their respective 52-week high's and above their respective 52-week low's. That's not a bad position to be in (although I should point out that I generally would like to get these two around their 52-week low's). But which stock has the edge?

Well, Marvel's shares have been strong lately. According to the AOL quote at the time of this writing, Marvel is in the green in all time frames (year-to-date, one-month, one-year, etc.). DreamWorks Animation is in the red in a couple spots, but for the most part, it's been performing somewhat similarly to Marvel. I don't really see that much of a difference in terms of strength. Plus, both are arguably essentially equal in terms of valuation (at least in my opinion).

Well, I've finally done it. I sold my entire position of Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL). It wasn't an easy decision.

When I covered Marvel's latest earnings report, I alluded to the issue of emotion. My emotion, to be specific. I stated that it most likely would be in my best interest to get out of the stock since there really weren't many catalysts coming up in 2009 to propel the stock higher.

In fact, it would be easy to make the argument that, since the market has been so haywire and irrational, one must take profits when one has a profit to indeed take. Marvel is just such a stock in my portfolio. I have several paper losses, but Marvel retains its green status on my board. I love the company's story on a long-term basis, absolutely adore it, but I think it is incumbent upon every trade and investor to build a cash stash that can be used for opportunities the market may throw their way.

The Marvel position that I liquidated on Tuesday was one I owned for quite a while. It had a nice profit attached to it. I feel good about preserving that capital, especially since Marvel is lower today (at least, it's lower as I write this; as we all know, that could change in a heartbeat).

Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) management recently spoke to analysts at its Investor Day conference. Here's the transcript. We all know the deal about these conferences: companies want to put their best foot forward and convince Wall Street that, if things are going good they are about to get even better, or, if things are going bad they won't be as bad as people thought and they will be improving either soon or on a long-term basis. You can bet that it was the latter tone taken by Team Hasbro at the event. In fact, CEO Brian Goldner said something which I thought was quite amazing: did you know that there actually will be a Christmas this year?

Frankly, I had my doubts. Of course, even though there will be a Christmas, and even though Santa will be delivering a lot of toys to kids this holiday season, it's not going to be a pleasant one for toy manufacturers. We're in a bad recession, folks, which is about to wreak psychological havoc on even the strongest consumer mind. Hasbro wants investors to know that parents will buy the stuff on their children's lists. Hasbro is further betting that the company's products will be on a lot of those lists.

The brand equity inherent in its portfolio was mentioned as a particular strength, one that will help keep margins strong and defend the company against competition not only from the likes of Mattel (NYSE: MAT) and JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK) but also from companies that put out more generic playthings. Management also mentioned that Hasbro is in a position of financial strength because of its cash flow, and that it remains confident that revenue expansion can go beyond increases in costs and expenses.

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

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) beat Q3 profit expectations and announced share buybacks.
• Ambac Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: ABK) Q3 net loss widened for various reasons, sending its shares lower.
• Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) earnings prospects could benefit from difficulties at Circuit City (NYSE: CC).
• Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) reported a smaller-than-expected Q3 loss and same-store sales up a bit.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) earnings were essentially flat and revenue rose marginally.
• Fluor Corp. (NYSE: FLR) better-than-expected Q3 earnings sent its shares soaring.
• General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) delayed its Q3 report and briefly halted trading of its stock.
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) Q3 earnings easilly topped analysts' expectations.
• Marvel Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: MVL) Q3 results soared due to Iron Man and Incredible Hulk.
• MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) greater-than-expected Q3 loss was due in part to residential mortgage exposure.
• News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) fell short of Q1 estimates and warned of the coming slowdown.
• Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) beat analysts' Q4 expectations but lowered its guidance.
• Revlon Inc. (NYSE: REV) reported unimpressive Q3 results, though the cash-flow statement was decent.
• Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) reported strong Q3 results but lowered its full-year outlook (see transcript).
• Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) Q3 profits slipped but it beat Wall Street expectations by a penny.
• Whole Foods Market Inc. (NYSE: WFMI) lowered full-year forecast garnered interest from private equity.

Also, our Obama Picks include companies whose earnings could benefit from the outcome of the presidential election.

For more earnings highlights from this week, see Ford, Toyota, Goldman Sachs, Disney, Sprint, ADM and others.

Upcoming quarterly reports include AIG (NYSE: AIG), Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), Tyson (NYSE: TSN), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), Macy's (NYSE: M), Dr Pepper (NYSE: DPS), Kohl's (NYSE: KSS), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), JCPenney (NYSE: JCP).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Marvel (NYSE: MVL), whose competitors include media companies such as Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), reported Q3 numbers on Tuesday. Revenues increased a whopping 48% to $182.5 million. Earnings per diluted share soared 42% to $0.64. And net cash from operations was more powerful than a locomotive (wait, I might be mixing universes with that metaphor): they went up more than ten times, coming in at $172.2 million.

All of that is impressive. It shows that Marvel's movie model can bring in the money. Projects such as Iron Man, distributed by Viacom (NYSE: VIA), and The Incredible Hulk, distributed by General Electric's (NYSE: GE) Universal, helped to drive the quarter.

However, as this article points out, Marvel isn't expecting much from 2009. Why's that? Because there are no new self-produced movies scheduled for release in that calendar year. That's going to drive long-term shareholders crazy, since I'd have to assume the stock won't be doing much during that time period. Traders might get some opportunities if the stock becomes volatile, but either way, there really are no big catalysts on the horizon.

Has Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Tropic Thunder succeeded where the Joker has failed? Has the film beaten Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) The Dark Knight? According to early estimates at Boxofficemojo, it has. Can you believe it? Tropic Thunder, which stars Ben Stiller, right now has $26 million to its credit, enough to capture the top spot. That number will change most likely when final tallies are in, but it doesn't matter, since The Dark Knight is believed to have taken in a little under $17 million over the three-day weekend at domestic multiplexes, giving it a second-place finish. This is good news for shareholders of Viacom, who have so far been pretty happy with the studio's successful summer output. Box-office hits like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Marvel's (NYSE: MVL) Iron Man have powered the media company.

Now, Time Warner's new animated flick, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, actually did worse than I expected. It came in third with $15 million. I admit, I totally misread this one. Believe it or not, I thought the film might do a huge number, like between $40 million and $50 million. I'm not sure the box-office dynamics at this time of year would have supported a statistic like that for this kind of film. And I guess I overestimated the number of geeks out there who were waiting to see it during the first weekend out. I really blew it on that one. News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) horror flick Mirrors came in fourth place, while Pineapple Express, distributed by Sony (NYSE: SNE), came in fifth. I saw Express last week. Cool movie.

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

• American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) blamed another big loss on housing and credit markets.
• Barrett Business Services Inc. (NASDAQ: BBSI) beat Q2 estimates and raised its Q3 guidance.
• Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) Q2 loss was three times more than analysts had predicted.
• Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) big loss was due to loan write-offs, but revenue rose 10%.
• HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HBC) reported a drop in profit and warned of more difficulties to come.
• InterContinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) posted Q2 results that were in line with Wall Street expectations.
• Marvel Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: MVL) posted strong Q2 results on Iron Man and Incredible Hulk movies.
• Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY) widened its Q2 net loss as revenues slumped.
• News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) posted strong Q4 results on asset gains, and warned of slower growth.
• Playboy Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: PLA) posted a worse-than-expected Q2 loss despite cost controls.
• Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) healthy Q4 and full-year results beat analysts' expectations.
• RadiSys Corp. (NASDAQ: RSYS) easily beat Q2 expectations on strong demand for wireless products.
• Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) net income slumped on declining AOL subscriber fees (see transcript).
• Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) beat Q3 earnings expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
• Whole Foods Market International (NASDAQ: WFMI) posted dismal results and suspended its dividend.

Marvel Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: MVL) reported earnings for the second quarter on Tuesday, and as one might imagine, even though the numbers were solid, the stock sold off. Hey, this is Marvel we're talking about here. Its shares can be volatile little suckers. They're used as trading instruments by many. I'm even questioning if I should have trimmed my position before the report. As I write this at 2 pm, the stock is off by almost 9%. Let's see what the stats tell us.

The top line rose by 55% to $156.9 million. The bottom line increased by a whopping 73% to $0.59 per diluted share. Talk about hulking up! According to Earnings.com, the call was for $0.45 per share. That's a $0.14 beat, and that freakin' rules.

As one might imagine, Iron Man, which was distributed by Viacom (NYSE: VIA), and The Incredible Hulk, placed in theaters by General Electric's (NYSE: GE) Universal, helped drive the results. The films gave Marvel some nice licensing revenues and foreign pre-sale monies. There were no contributions from the box-office side of things yet. Marvel will certainly see a good boost to its revenues if, down the line, the home-video release of the projects sell well (which I think they will). Judging from statements made in the conference call (transcribed at Seeking Alpha), we'll see most of the ancillary benefit from the movies next year. I was disappointed to see that publishing was weak (there were some tough comps there), but I'll tell you what was pretty strong: cash flow. Net cash from operations for the last six months more than doubled to over $68 million. And I love cash.

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

• Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) net income rose on membership growth and a hike in premium rates.
• Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) beat Q2 estimates, excluding charges related to its international cigarette unit.
• Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) Q2 profit doubled on higher prices and it offered upbeat guidance.
• Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Q2 net income rose on higher rates but missed expectations.
• Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) earnings were in line with expectations, but revenue fell short.
• Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) posted another record quarterly profit but Wall Street was looking for more.
• Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) missed Q2 revenue estimates as fuel prices depressed growth.
• IAC/InterActive Corp. (NASDAQ: IACI) swung to a Q2 loss on a one time charge, but revenue rose.
• Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) beat Q2 earnings expectations on price hikes, and raised its guidance.
• McAfee Inc. (NYSE: MFE) reported healthy Q2 results and announced an acquisition.
• MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) missed earnings expectations and lowered its full-year guidance.
• Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) reported record Q2 results and forecast a strong next quarter.
• Ryanair Holdings (NASDAQ: RYAAY) said Q1 profit tumbled on rising fuel prices and recession fears.
• Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) said it expects a narrower Q2 loss ahead of the merger.
• Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) swung to a Q3 loss on charges related to store closings.
• Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) Q2 earnings fell 67% but still beat Wall Street estimates.
• Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) posted better-than-expected earnings driven by Iron Man and Indiana Jones.

For more highlights from this week, see: General Motors, Motorola, Disney, Sony, Visa, CBS and others

Upcoming quarterly reports include Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Jack-in-the-Box (NYSE: JBX), Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI), Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), and Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.