Analyst Upgrades

• Valero Energy (VLO) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Changyou.com (CYOU) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Albermarle (ALB) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• ICU Medical (ICUI) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Check Point (CHKP) to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• FMC Corporation (FMC) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Rangold Resources (GOLD) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Global Cash Access (GCA) to buy from hold at Duncan-Williams.

Not satisfied to wear the crown among fast-food companies, McDonald's (MCD) continues to strive toward new ways to attract customers into its establishments in the off-peak hours. The company has already launched a salvo at Starbucks (SBUX) with its McCafe concept of lattes and cappuccinos, and now it is moving into the smoothie market. You may remember the company first unveiled the concept at the Winter Olympics, with familiar faces such as Picabo Street endorsing the frozen beverages.

After roughly a year of research and iteration, the smoothies are coming to a McDonald's near you next month, in two flavors -- Strawberry Banana and Wild Berry. Meanwhile, MCD is using some of its Austin and Michigan stores to test "frozen juice blends."

Below are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks. Click through to the original posts for more details.

• Ann Taylor Stores Corp. (ANN) shares rallied on heavy volume after it posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings.
• AutoZone Inc. (AZO) Q3 earnings easily beat consensus expectations and same-store sales rose sharply.
• Borders Group Inc. (BGP) posted a wider operating loss, decreasing gross margin, and a same-store sales decline.
• Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) posted strong Q3 results and offered guidance, boosting shares on a down-market day.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) posted better-than-expected Q3 results, due in part to a surge in membership sales.

Jamba (JMBA), parent company of Jamba Juice, is a lousy stock. Look at the three-year chart to see what I mean (click on the "three-year" mark once you get there). The one-year chart shows a different story; it actually looks like an interesting stock from that perspective. However, what it says to me is that it is nothing more than a low-priced trading vehicle. No offense, of course. Just stating the facts.

And now, we have an earnings report to consider, one that was released after the bell on Wednesday. For the first quarter, the business lost 13 cents per share versus a loss of 19 cents per share in the year-ago frame. Same-store sales for company-owned locations dropped over 3%.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: SLM Corp, Tempur Pedic and ITT Corp were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Morgan Stanley downgraded SLM Corp. (NYSE: SLM) to Underweight from Equal Weight citing the impact on earnings from reduced government subsidies and disrupted capital markets.
  
• Tempur Pedic (NYSE: TPX) was cut to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan citing the consumer slowdown and increased competition.
  
• Credit Suisse downgraded ITT Corp. (NYSE: ITT) to Neutral from Outperform citing the surprised management changes announced last night.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Cowen downgraded TechTarget (NASDAQ: TTGT) to Neutral from Outperform.
  
• Merriman lowered Jamba (NASDAQ: JMBA) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• LSI Corp. (NYSE: LSI) was downgraded at Merrill to Neutral from Buy.

As the leveraged buyout market (LBO) tightens amid the backdrop of more expensive debt, deal makers are looking to ride new investment vehicles to make their minions money.

We've seen a surge in popularity in what's called a "Special Purpose Acquisition Company," or SPAC. Bloomberg had a good article this morning on advent of the SPAC and what's happening in the industry as a whole. These companies, also called blank-check companies, are IPO'd after raising their funds. Once public, the founding management team needs to make an acquisition in a given time-frame. Shareholders decide on an individual basis whether they like the deal or not. If they like it, great. If not, they tender their shares and receive their money back.

Essentially, it's a hedged bet on management that their industry expertise will lead to a smart acquisition.

Bloomberg says that since the start of 2003, 144 blank-check companies have sold shares, raising $18.1 billion, with 13 of the deals coming before 2005, according to SPAC Analytics.

Jamba Juice (NASDAQ: JMBA) has been an extremely disappointing performer since it went public through its acquisition by a special purpose acquisition vehicle.

Shares closed at $3.39 on Monday, down from a 52-week high of $11.25 on this day of last year -- A spread of 365 days between the current price and the 52-week high is usually a sign of a difficult stretch.

Perhaps things are getting better: Jamba Juice has reached a deal with Nestle to sell its products at groceries stores in eight states in the western United States. The plan is to eventually expand the program nationally, perhaps internationally, and also target convenience stores and other possible outlets. Nestle (OTC: NSRGY) will manufacture and distribute the beverages.

With its stock in the toilet in light of operational underperformance, this may be just what Jamba needs. But as anyone who witnessed the Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ: KKD) saga can attest, rapid expansion by a premium stand-alone specialty food retailer into mass market distribution can lead to bad results: big losses and irreparable damage to the brand.

Savvy marketing and responsible stewardship of the Jamba franchise on the part of management could make this a big success. But if the company's performance as a public company is any indication, that's not something investors should bet on.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Next year Nestle USA will sell Jamba Inc's (NASDAQ: JMBA) Jamba Juice at stores in eight states in the western U.S., according to the Wall Street Journal.
• Last May Canadian information provider The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC) bought Reuters Group Plc (NASDAQ: RTRSY) for GBP8.7B. While the deal was beneficial to Reuters, the credit crunch could have a severe impact on its bottom line over the next few years, the Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street" said.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The Detroit News reported that the United Auto Workers signed a new contract with Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F).

WEB SITES:

• Jeffrey Zucker, General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal media unit would be interested in DreamWorks SKG if it were to become available, Bloomberg reported.
• According to 21st Century Business Herald's website, Baosteel Group's Chairman, Xu Lejiang, said the company is considering making a bid for Rio Tinto Plc (NYSE: RTP).

Ready to make some serious money? Wall Street Warrior Timothy Sykes isn't playing around -- he wants to make you rich. In this edition of StockWatch: Between the Bells, the MSN Money host and author of An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund riffs -- and dances -- on a fistful of market strategies.

Tim has three daring tips for you. Digital content storage provider Isilon Systems (NASDAQ: ISLN) is sitting at an all-time low, more than 70% off its high at the start of the year, and looks priced to buy. Genetics biotech Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) is currently trading around $52; Tim sees ILMN climbing to $60. Sound a little too risky? Tim suggests checking out The Bruce Fund (BRUFX), a mutual fund focusing on domestic common stock, convertible bonds and zero-coupon government bonds.

Considering a short-selling strategy? Tim calls out China Precision Steel (NASDAQ: CPSL), which has jumped more than three-fold in little more than a week and looks set to slide.

Jamba Juice (NASDAQ: JMBA), meanwhile, is giving Tim fits -- revenues are up while same-store sales are slipping. He advises to stay away from JMBA.

Enjoy the clip, and let us know which of your favorite stock gurus you'd like to hear from in the next StockWatch: Between the Bells!

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Old Dominion Freight (ODFL), Jamba (JMBA), AMD (AMD), Orbitz Worldwide (OWW) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX) were today's notable initiations:

• Baird is positive on Old Dominion's (NASDAQ: ODFL) growth opportunities, valuation, 2008 improving truck fundamentals, and a potentially seasonally stronger Q4, starting shares with an Overweight rating and $36 target.

• Merriman initiated Jamba (NASDAQ: JMBA) with a Buy rating, as the company aggressively expands its store base beyond California.

• BMO Capital believes AMD (NYSE: AMD) may lose the Intel platform integrated graphics market, and sizeable Intel platform discrete graphics market share. The firm initiated AMD shares with an Underperform rating and $10 target.

• Soleil has concerns regarding Orbitz Worldwide's (NYSE: OWW) decelerating growth and poorer business mix vs. competitors and started shares with a Hold rating and $13 target.

• Credit Suisse initiated Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) with a Neutral rating and $61 target, citing the recent UnitedHealth (UNH) contract loss, slowing growth, and valuation for its Neutral rating...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• McDermott (NYSE: MDR) and Capella Education (NASDAQ: CPLA) were initiated with Buy ratings at Citigroup.

• JMP Securities started ShoreTel (NASDAQ: SHOR) with a Market Outperform rating.

• Credit Suisse initiated LabCorp (NYSE: LH) with an Outperform rating.

• FTN Midwest started Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) with a Buy rating.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: HouseValues, Inc (SOLD), Fortune Brands (FO), D.R. Horton (DHI), Dicks Sporting Goods (DKS) and USG Corp (USG) were some of today's noteworthy initiations:

• Cantor believes HouseValues (NASDAQ: SOLD) may be a lagging indicator of the broader real estate market. As such, it may see its customer and revenue bases contract further in the face of still-sluggish housing data and started shares with a Hold rating.

• Pali Research initiated Fortune Brands (NYSE: FO) with a Neutral rating based on valuation.

• The firm also believes D.R. Horton's (NYSE: DHI) risk to book value and profitability is higher than some of the competition since the company has taken significantly less land charges. Shares were initiated with a Hold rating.

• Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) was initiated with an Outperform at Baird and is positive on Dick's store expansion, market leadership, margin opportunities and fundamentals.

• USG (NYSE: USG) was initiated with a Sell rating at Banc of America, believing wallboard price and profit declines will be worse than expected due to lower housing starts and less spending on remodeling. Their analysis suggests another leg down for housing...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Morgan Joseph started Jamba, Inc (NASDAQ: JMBA) with a Buy rating.

• Wachovia started Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) with a Market Perform rating.

• Baird started Golfsmith International Holdings (NASDAQ: GOLF) with a Neutral rating.

• Merrill Lynch initiated Bayer AG (NYSE: BAY) with a Buy rating and UBS initiated QLogic (NASDAQ: QLGC) with a Neutral rating.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Jamba, Inc (JMBA), Quiksilver Inc (ZQK), Volcom, Inc (VLCM) and Interactive Data Corp (IDC) were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Oppenheimer believes Jamba (NASDAQ: JMBA) is in the early stages of a solid top- and-bottom-line growth story and is one of the few opportunities today that offers sizable square foot growth, revenue and earnings growth, all with several years of visibility.

• Quiksilver Inc (NYSE: ZQK) was initiated with an Accumulate rating and $14 target at ThinkEquity.

• ThinkEquity also initiated shares of Volcom Inc (NASDAQ: VLCM) with a Buy rating.

• AG Edwards started Interactive Data Corp (NYSE: IDC) with a Buy rating.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Merrill Lynch resumed coverage of Merck & Co, Inc (NYSE: MRK) with a Neutral rating.

• Matrix USA started coverage of Loral Space & Communications Ltd (NASDAQ: LORL) with a Strong Buy rating and $72 intrinsic value.

• AG Edwards initiated shares of Atheros Communications, Inc (NASDAQ: ATHR) with a Buy rating.

• Stifel initiated Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc (NASDAQ: PEET) with a Hold rating.

• Bear Stearns started Genworth Financial, Inc (NYSE: GNW) with an Outperform rating and $42 target.

• Morgan Stanley started Nova Chemicals Corp (NYSE: NCX) with an Equal Weight rating.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).