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.

Analyst Upgrades

• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Fluor (FLR) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Macy's (M) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ), JA Solar (JASO) and HeartWare (HTWR) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Ashford Hospitality (AHT) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• RenaissanceRe (RNR) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• DCT Industrial (DCT) to market perform from underperform at Wells Fargo.
• Coeur d'Alene Mines (CDE) and Silver Standard (SSRI) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Weatherford (WFT), Hercules (HERO), GulfMark Offshore (GLF), Tidewater (TDW) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to buy from hold, and Diamond Offshore (DO) to hold from underperform, at Jefferies.
• Ritchie Bros. (RBA) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• AstraZeneca (AZN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.

Analyst Upgrades

• Yingli Green (YGE) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• National Semiconductor (NSM) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• DuPont (DD) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Blackboard (BBBB) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Kindred Healthcare (KND) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Peabody Energy (BTU) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Savvis (SVVS) to buy from neutral and InterActiveCorp (IACI) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded CSX (CSX) to neutral from sell.
• General Cable (BGC) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Chart Industries (GTLS) and Dresser Rand (DRC) to overweight from equal weight.
• Blackrock (BLK) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Zions Bancorp (ZION) to neutral from underperform and GameStop (GME) to outperform from neutral.
• Honeywell (HON) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Panera Bread (PNRA) was upgraded to buy from neutral at SunTrust.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded Colgate (CL) and Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) to buy from hold.
• Wells Fargo upgraded IDACORP (IDA) to outperform from market perform.
• Union Pacific (UNP) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Goldman upgraded Quicksilver (KWK) to neutral from sell.
• Republic Airways (RJET) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded GAMCO Investors (GBL) to neutral from underperform.
• Senior Housing (SNH) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.

JA Solar (JASO) is participating at Solar Power International, the largest B2B solar event in North America, which began Tuesday. JASO overall option implied volatility of 63 is below its 26-week average of 68 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Noble Corp. (NE) rallied 3% today as stock prices for deepwater offshore drillers are rallying from the announcement from President Obama's Administration that the drilling moratorium is being lifted. Overall option implied volatility of 39 is near its 26-week average, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Today was a mixed day where traders and investors alike could not decide whether to trade cautiously or whether to take on risk again. More technology concerns were prevalent and the newest jobs data led traders to believe that the non-Farm payrolls data will come in weaker on Friday.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 10,967.65 +22.93 (0.21%)
S&P 500 1,159.97 -0.78 (-0.07%)
Nasdaq 2,380.66 -19.17 (-0.80%)

The latest Beige Book from the Fed showed that growth is definitely decelerating. The good news is that even the pygmies have figured that out by now. Stock traders and bond traders have been fighting over whether the slower growth means a double-dip recession or just anemic growth. There were only a few reports to watch, but many stocks and sectors were on the move.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 10,387.54 +46.85 (0.45%)
S&P 500 1,098.90 +7.06 (0.65%)
Nasdaq 2,228.87 +19.98 (0.90%)

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades

This morning, JA Solar Holdings (JASO) announced that it has signed multiple supply agreements with "several customers" to provide solar cells in 2011. The company will supply the solar cells from January 2011 through December 2011, but they are accompanied with prepayments or the delivery.

The company's CEO Dr. Peng Fang stated, "We are seeing very strong demand for our technologically advanced, high-quality products from our diverse global customer base ... Our customers view JA Solar as a reliable supplier partner and rely on JA to provide them with their 2011 product requirements."

Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Salesforce.com (CRM) to Buy from Neutral based on positive feedback on the Chatter product and increasing confidence the company can beat FY11 guidance. The firm raised its price target to $111 from $90.
• Leerink upgraded Vivus (VVUS) to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm believes Qnexa issues raised by the FDA are labeling and marketing issues, and not approval issues. The firm expects a positive panel vote for Qnexa.
• Goldman upgraded AK Steel (AKS) to Buy from Netural citing lower iron ore prices. The firm has a $17 price target on the stock.
• Kinder Morgan Energy (KMP) was upgraded to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Shire (SHPGY) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Canadian National (CNI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James.

Today was a wishy-washy day. We started out strong with overseas trading in stocks, but the G20 debt cut pledge seems unbelievable and is still in the years ahead rather than today. Judges upheld Sarbanes-Oxley, except for one issue, which was an attack against the measure of corporate governance. Financial regulatory reform may have just run into another snag after Senator Robert Byrd, a democrat from West Virgina, died at the age of 92 ahead of a key vote this week. Consumer spending also rose 0.2%, but income rose 0.4%, and that is being taken somewhat cautiously, despite being positive.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,138.52 -5.29 (-0.05%)
S&P 500 1,074.56 -2.20 (-0.20%)
Nasdaq 2,220.65 -2.83 (-0.13%)

Top Analyst Calls

Analyst Upgrades

• Thomas Weisel upgraded Deckers Outdoor (DECK) to overweight from market weight following channel checks. The firm also raised its target for shares to $170 from $162.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Amerigroup (AGP) to buy from hold as it believes the company is well positioned to benefit from health care reform. The firm upped its target for shares to $42 from $38.
• Cowen upgraded Cubist Pharmaceuticals (CBST) to outperform from neutral, citing increased conviction in Cubicin's patent exclusivity.
• OmniVision (OVTI) was upgraded to strong buy from buy at Needham.
• Take-Two (TTWO) was upgraded to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
• Wells Fargo (WFC) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Sterne Agee.

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

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) received an analyst's upgrade ahead of next week's Q4 earnings report.
• Acer Inc. reported its highest quarterly earnings in almost three years due in part to growth in shipments.
• Baidu Inc. (BIDU) swung to a better-than-expected Q4 profit, with strong revenue growth, and offered rosy guidance.
• Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) offered an upside surprise as well as full-year earnings above Wall Street estimates.
• Coinstar Inc. (CSTR) strong quarterly results and guidance, as well as litigation concerns, failed to inspire Wall Street.
• Coca-Cola Co. (KO) posted strong Q4 and full-year earnings results due to growth in emerging markets.

On Thursday, solar firm JA Solar Holdings (JASO) upped its outlook for the year. The company shares rallied 9% Thursday as JASO topped the consensus estimate with its fourth-quarter earnings report by three cents. In addition, JASO raised its outlook for the fiscal year.

The company noted that it will produce solar panels with roughly 1.1GW of capacity during 2010 in an attempt to respond to growing global demand. For this reason, the company believes that an expected decline in average selling prices will be offset by increased sales. As a result of this news, Raymond James upped JASO to outperform from market perform with a target price of $6.50.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Wells Fargo (WFC) to buy from hold as it believes the TARP repayment should remove uncertainty and that the company will report strong Q4 results. The firm raised its target price on shares to $36 from $29. Keefe Bruyette upgraded Wells Fargo to market perform from outperform following the TARP repayment and raised its target on shares to $28 from $24.
• Wells Fargo believes News Corp's (NWS) newspaper and TV station segments are finally outperforming budget, while cable nets continue to perform well. The firm upgraded shares to outperform from market perform and has a $16 to $17 Valuation range.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Starwood Hotels (HOT) to buy from underperform as they expect "strong cyclical recovery in lodging earnings" in late 2010. The firm raised its target to $40 from $25.
• ArcelorMittal (MT) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• JA Solar (JASO) was upgraded to hold from sell at ThinkEquity.
• Acxiom (ACXM) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Stephens.