Late yesterday, Janus Capital Group (NYSE:JNS) reported second-quarter earnings of 10 cents per share compared to a net loss of $5.22 per share in the first quarter. The first-quarter results included charges of $5.21 per share.

The company also announced that it is going to offer $150 million in new common stock, along with $150 million of convertible senior notes due in 2014. According to the company, the notes will be convertible under certain circumstances into cash, shares of JNS stock, or a combination of the two - depending on what the company chooses. The company will use the money raised and other cash to buy back as much as $400 million of the aggregate principal amount of the firm's outstanding 2011, 2012, and 2017 senior notes.

Analyst upgrades:

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) to Overweight from Equal Weight as they expect the company to benefit from higher natural gas prices in 2010. The firm has a $34 target on shares.
• Citigroup upgraded Energy Conversion (NASDAQ: ENER) to Hold from Sell on valuation is it finds the risk/reward balanced at current levels. The firm raised its target price to $16 from $13.
• Jefferies upgraded Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ: LCUT) to Buy from Underperform to reflect reduced liquidity concerns and an improved outlook for Global Direct Sellers. The firm raised its target price to $4 from $2.
• American Eagle (NYSE: AEO) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
• TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) was upgraded at Barclays to Overweight from Equal Weight and to Outperform from Netural at Credit Suisse.
• STEC Inc (NASDAQ: STEC) was raised to Overweight from Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer is seeing signs of a coming boom, but he's still being cautious here.

If you had to define the early cycle, if you had to outline what stocks should be soaring coming out of a recession into a boom and which ones should be faltering, you would have to say the action in this market in the last month is the quintessential behavioral pattern.

What are the components of the early cycle? First, it's the homebuilders. As is typical coming out of a recession, the stocks precede the bottom of housing. That's exactly what's happening with the lowest permits and highest affordability and best mortgage rates and massive inventory. Everywhere, except on Wall Street reporting, the bottom is bursting out. When you read the lead story in the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer, and it is all about the thousands of prospective homebuyers heading south to pick up condos and homes for half of what they were worth two years ago -- or even less -- and you know that virtually no one has broken ground in the Sunshine State in a year, you can bet that the bottom's actually behind us. This housing market has wiped out all but the most stable private builders and even the public ones are merging as we know from Pulte (NYSE: PHM) (Cramer's Take) and Centex (NYSE: CTX) (Cramer's Take). So, in the next cycle, you can see some profitability developing year over year even though the new homes don't have much margin because the foreclosed homes next door are going for a song. And don't believe this won't change the dynamic of future foreclosures. In most areas, rent is higher than the interest on mortgages, so you will find that second or third job needed to stay in your home. The incentive structure's radically different than a year ago.

Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Nokia (NYSE: NOK) to Buy from Neutral as it believes the company's product portfolio is recovering.
  
• Canaccord upgraded Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $450 from $300. The analyst said industry checks indicate deteriorating search conditions have started to improve in late March and notes that the market is already pricing in a weak Q1.
  
• Wachovia upgraded CGI (NYSE: GIB) to Outperform from Market Perform. In addition to valuation, the firm cited the company's defensive profile, comfort with its fiscal 2009 estimates, and its expectation that the company will continue to have strong signings.
• Siliconware Precision (NASDAQ: SPIL) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC.
  
• Matrixx Initiatives (NASDAQ: MTXX) was lifted to Buy from Hold at Roth Capital.

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

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported a narrower Q3 net loss and reaffirmed its outlook.
• Barclays (NYSE: BCS) earnings and dividend prospects resulted in an analyst's downgrade.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC) posted its 19th straight quarter of positive growth.
• Choice Hotels International Inc. (NYSE: CHH) better-than-expected Q3 report led to an upgrade.
• Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) reported strong Q3 numbers and maintained its revenue outlook.
• DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) better-than-expected Q3 results driven by Kung Fu Panda.
• Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) reported another record profit in Q3 driven by record high fuel prices.
• Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) reported a better-than-expected Q3 profit and offered guidance.
• Hercules Inc. (NYSE: HPC) posted lower Q3 earnings and anounced [regulatory] approval of its buyout.
• Janus Capital Group Inc. (NYSE: JNS) weaker-than-expected results led to an analyst's downgrade.
• Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM) swung to a smaller-than-expected Q2 net loss and shares soared.
• Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) dismal Q3 results managed to beat low earnings expectations.
• Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) Q3 results included lower revenue and a net loss due to economic conditions.
• Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q) unimpressive Q3 numbers fell short of estimates.
• Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) swung to a greater-than-expected net loss due in part to competition.
• Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ: TXRH) missed Q3 estimates and warned of flat full-year earnings.
• Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) strong Q3 results included a gain from a sale of a refinery.
• Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) beat Q4 earnings expectations after adjustment for litigation-related charges.
• Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE: WHR) fell short of revenue estimates and announced job cuts.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Legg Mason (NYSE: LM) to Buy from Hold on valuation following the recent sell-off, as they find the risk/reward attractive at current levels. However, the firm lowered their target to $23 from $44.
  
• Merriman raised First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) to Buy from Neutral after the company showed "industry leading growth" in Q3. The firm has a 12-month price target range of $185 to $195 per share.
• Ladenburg upgraded KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) to Buy from Neutral.
• Citigroup upgraded shares of Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ: SLAB) to Buy from Hold on valuation and expects the company to post above average industry growth in 2009.
• Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
  
• Associated Estates Realty (NYSE: AEC) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
  

Analyst downgrades:

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded shares of Colonial Bancgroup (NYSE: CNB) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation following the recent weakness and believes the company will be eligible to receive TARP funds. Morgan Stanley believes the company's valuation adequately reflects risk to the loan portfolio; the firm raised shares to Equal Weight from Underweight.
• Merrill upgraded Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML) to Buy from Underperform and believes their valuation reflects the worst-case for bad news.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Trimble Navigation to Outperform from Perform on valuation as they believe the company's long-term growth story is intact.
• Celestica (NYSE: CLS) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.
• KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
• Wachovia raised EastGroup Properties (NYSE: EGP) to Outperform from Market Perform.

Analyst downgrades:

• UBS cut Barclays (NYSE: BCS) to Neutral from Buy as they believe capital raises could negatively impact earnings and that the dividend is likely to be cut.
• JP Morgan downgraded Discovery Holdings (NASDAQ: DISCA) to Underweight from Neutral based on valuation and the deteriorating economic outlook.
• Friedman Billings downgraded shares of Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS) to Underperform from Market Perform and lowered its target to $7 from $23 as they see further risk to the downside following the company's weaker-than-expected results.
• LKQ Corp (NASDAQ: LKQX) was cut to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital.
• Affymetrix (NASDAQ: AFFX) was lowered to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• RightNow Tech (NASDAQ: RNOW) was downgraded at Baird to Neutral from Outperform.

Analyst upgrades:

• Merrill upgraded shares of AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) to Neutral from Underperform to reflect the company's pipeline momentum and lack of negative catalysts.
  
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation as they believe DB should trade at a higher multiple.
• Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) was raised at HSBC to Overweight from Neutral.
• American International (NYSE: AIG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Analyst downgrades:

• Merrill cut Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) to Underperform from Neutral as the firm sees better opportunities elsewhere in the sector.
  
• Merriman downgraded Rackable Systems (NASDAQ: RACK) to Neutral from Buy following the company's mixed Q2 results to reflect its customer concentration and fluctuating margins.
• Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS) was downgraded at JP Morgan to Underweight from Neutral.
  
• Fortress (NYSE: FIG) was cut to Sell from Hold at Citigroup.

Analyst initiations:

• UBS believes Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has a competitive advantage and their checks indicate new Macs, new iPhone colors and potentially new iPods may come early on in the second half of 2008. The firm initiated shares with a Buy rating and $195 target. UBS also initiated Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) at Neutral.
• KeyBanc initiated Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) with an Underweight rating and $25 target based on slowing core growth at Bed Bath and likely margin erosion from the ramp in growth at Christmas Tree Shops and buybuy Baby.
• Infineon (NYSE: IFX) was initiated with a Buy rating at Deutsche Bank.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The Brokers and Asset Managers sector, Pacific Sunwear and Metabasis Therapeutics were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded the Brokers and Asset Management sector to Attractive from Neutral as they believe an inflection point has been reached for stocks with minimal credit exposure, or where exposure is marked to market. Goldman expects the problem to shift to regional banks and specialty finance from brokers. As such, Goldman upgraded American Express (NYSE: AXP), Metlife (NYSE: MET), Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK), Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN), Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS) and NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Wachovia upgraded Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation, merchandising improvements, operating efficiencies, favorable product mix, and reductions in underperforming categories.
  
• Rodman & Renshaw raised Metabasis (NASDAQ: MBRX) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation given the potential for MB07803.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• HSBC raised Novartis (NYSE: NVS) to Neutral from Underweight.
  
• UBS (NYSE: UBS) was upgraded at Morgan Stanley to Equal Weight from Underweight.

In today's Barron's, investors will find the annual Lipper/Barron's Fund Families Survey. This survey, a pretty comprehensive look at performance of mutual fund families across different asset classes and investment strategies.

This year take-aways:

• Growth worked: Those funds that performed best definitely had a bias towards growth.
• International exposure: Funds that bought stocks with substantial foreign operations fared better.
• Avoiding pitfalls: Underexposure to potential "minefields like major banks, housing companies, and retailers" helped boost performance.
• High grade: Those funds that owned highest-quality bonds performed best.

Waddell & Reed (NYSE: WDR) placed first in 2007 betting on companies participating in "major infrastructure plays throughout the world," like Fluor Corp. (NYSE: FLR) and Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE). Check out the Waddell & Reed Dividend Income Fund (WDVAX).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Genesit Energy LP (GEL), EnerNoc (ENOC) and Comcast (CMCSA) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Genesis Energy (AMEX: GEL) was initiated with a Buy rating and $40 target at Stanford, as the firm believes the company's affiliation with Denbury Resources and pending acquisition of petroleum products, terminals, and transportation businesses from the Davison family will drive rapid growth.

• EnerNoc Inc (NASDAQ: ENOC) was initiated with a Hold rating and $42 target at Jefferies, due to valuation. EnerNoc was also initiated at Morgan Stanley with an Equal Weight rating and $40 target.

• Stifel expects Comcast (OTC: CMCSA) to benefit from higher penetration levels of DVR and HDTV set-top boxes over the next several years and initiated shares with a Buy rating and $34 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Select asset managers were initiated at Credit Suisse:

• AllianceBernstein (NYSE: AB), Affiliated Managers (NYSE: AMG), Fortress Investment (NYSE: FIG), Invesco (NYSE: IVZ), Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) and T Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW) were initiated with Outperform ratings.

• Blackrock (NYSE: BLK), Calamos Asset Mgmt (NADAQ: CLMS), Eaton Vance Corp (NYSE: EV), Federated Investors (NYSE: FII), Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS), Legg Mason Inc (NYSE: LM) and Waddell & Reed (NYSE: WDR) were initiated with Neutral ratings.

• Deutsche Bank initiated Ryland Group (NYSE: RYL) with a Buy rating and $52 target, as well as Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) and Meritage Homes Corp (NYSE: MTH) with Hold ratings and a $23 target and $29 target, respectively.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Ethanol producers Novacea, Inc. (NOVC) and Aimco (AIV) were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Banc of America downgraded shares of Andersons Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDE) to Neutral from Buy, as well as VeraSun Energy (NYSE: VSE), Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ: PEIX) and Aventine Renewable Energy (NYSE: AVR) to Sell from Neutral. The firm believes new ethanol supply will depress ethanol's premium to gasoline, drive corn prices higher and pressure distillers' grains values.
• Novacea Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVC) was downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns based on valuation and lack of catalysts until 2H08; the firm believes the company's deal with Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP) is a positive.
• Aimco Properties (NYSE: AIV) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Lehman, as the firm does not view AIV as an attractive takeover target.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) was downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns based on valuation.
• UBS downgraded shares of Iomai Corp. (NASDAQ: IOMI) and ICICI Bank (NYSE: IBN) to Neutral from Buy.
• Goldman Sachs downgraded Parexel Intl. (NASDAQ: PRXL) to Neutral from Buy and PRA International (NASDAQ: PRAI) to Sell from Neutral.
• Janus Capital Group (NYSE: JNS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch.
• Security Bank (NASDAQ: SBKC) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Sandler, O'Neill & Partners on valuation.
• Bradley Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: BDY) was downgraded to Hold from Buy on valuation at Matrix USA.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Today's noteworthy upgrades include ConAgra Foods, Inc (CAG), Dell Inc (DELL), Ryland Group, Inc (RYL) and Volterra Semiconductor Corp (VLTR).

• Prudential upgraded shares of ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE: CAG) to Neutral from Underweight with a $26 target on valuation.
• Pacific Crest upgraded shares of Dell Inc (NASDAQ: DELL) to Outperform from Sector Perform as the firm believes new management, new products and supply chain cost realignments could boost operating margins.
• Ryland Group, Inc (NYSE: RYL) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
• Unterberg upgraded shares of Volterra Semiconductor (NASDAQ: VLTR) to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Friedman Billings upgraded Peabody Energy Corp (NYSE: BTU) to Outperform from Market Perform based on lack of CAPP exposure, growth profile, rising international demand and certain benefits from the scrubber trend.
• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Cincinnati Bell Inc (NYSE: CBB) to Overweight from Neutral, as the firm believes higher capex is reflected in the valuation and FCF should recover in 2008.
• Sandler upgraded First Charter Corp (NASDAQ: FCTR) to Buy from Hold based on valuation.
• Brean Murray has increased confidence in the success of Isle of Capri Casinos' (NASDAQ: ISLE) Isle casino, soon to open at Pompapno Park, and the considerable option value that should be embedded in shares related to a Florida gaming bill which would loosen restrictions on gaming at pari-mutual facilities. The firm upgraded shares to Buy from Hold on the news.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Pogo Producing Co (NYSE: PPP) to Hold from Sell to reflect the likelihood of corporate action over the near term, most likely the sale of the company in whole or in parts.
• Merill Lynch upgraded Janus Capital Group Inc (NYSE: JNS) and Calamos Asset Management, Inc (NASDAQ: CLMS) to Buy from Neutral.

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