When we last left Joy Global (JOYG), first discussed here on June 15, 2009, at a price of $38.05, it had cleared $60 resistance in October. At which time the view was "consider the shares now, or lose out on a decent gain in the current economic expansion."

If you considered the shares then, you made the correct move, as JOYG has powered higher, and is pushing the $90 level. Hence, now is good time to consider taking some profits, if you bought near $60. If bought at the $38.05, I'd cash out at least 50% of my position.

Joy Global (JOYG) has done incredibly well over the last 12 months as a stock. Fundamentally, things appear okay, too. I noticed the move that the maker of mining equipment made Wednesday after it reported quarterly earnings and decided to have a look.

My colleague Connie Madon covered the bullet points of the company's latest quarter. Shareholders surely enjoyed the numbers. The market responded accordingly, sending the stock up almost 7% to $85.78. To put that rise in perspective, the 52-week high is currently set at $87.11. In case you're wondering, yes, that 52-week high was hit during the intraday session.

Moody's gave a warning to Spain and the Greeks rioted again. CPI showed tame inflation and industrial capacity was close to two-year highs. We also had at least four IPOs and the Senate passed the Bush tax-cut extension for two years. The markets looked set for a rally but the end of day trading again failed to materialize into a win for the bulls. Here were today's closing bell levels:

DJIA: 11,457.47, -19.07 (0.17%)
S&P 500: 1.235.23, -6.36 (0.51%)
NASDAQ: 2,617.22, -10.50 (0.40%)

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades

Here's an interesting company. Joy Global (JOYG) is the only worldwide surface and underground mining equipment company. With underdeveloped countries screaming for raw materials, Joy Global is in a sweet spot, providing equipment to mining companies around the globe.

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Joy Global's fourth quarter earnings were up 18% year over year. Profit was at $146.3 million or $1.39 a share, up from $124 million of $1.20 a share last year. Revenue rose to $1.05 billion. Gross margin rose 37.9% from 32.4%.

U.S. stock futures are trading lower Wednesday morning as investors are awaiting inflation and manufacturing data. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 43 points to 11,378.00 and S&P 500 futures lost 5.50 points to 1,231.30. Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 9.50 points to 2,204.50.

U.S. stocks closed higher yesterday, with the blue-chip Dow index rising 0.42%.

Analyst Upgrades

• Sprint (S) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at Piper Jaffray.
• Cree (CREE) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Morgan Keegan.
• Brocade (BRCD) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• JPMorgan upgraded WuXi PharmaTech (WX) to overweight from neutral.
• Barclays upgraded ITC Holdings (ITC) to overweight from equal weight.
• Centene (CNC) was upgraded to outperform from underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Senior Housing (SNH) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• UBS upgraded Hovnanian (HOV) to neutral from sell.
• GeoResources (GEOI) was upgraded to accumulate from neutral at Madison Williams.
• Compellent (CML) was upgraded to hold from sell at Canaccord.

This may be your last chance to scoop-up shares of Joy Global (JOYG), first discussed here on June 15, 2009 at a price of $38.05, and earn an out-sized gain during the current economic expansion.

JOYG, a manufacturer and servicer of mining equipment, is on-track to capitalize on the development of emerging markets, and that should drive impressive gains in orders, revenue, and margins.

Joy's management has prudently restructured production capacity to meet slower growth conditions, and also transferred production to lower-cost regions. Joy's shares should outperform the Dow and S&P, assuming credit markets continue to heal.

Analyst Upgrades

• Soleil upgraded Thor Industries (THO) to buy from hold after the company said its accounting review will not lead to changes to previously taken accounting positions. The firm raised its target for shares to $45 from $28.
• Citigroup upgraded Family Dollar (FDO) to buy from hold, citing valuation and its positive view on the dollar store industry. The firm upped its target for shares to $47 from $44.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Albany Molecular (AMRI) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation and a stabilizing core business.
• Goldman Sachs (GS) upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.
• BP (BP) was raised to buy from hold at RBS.

The shares of Joy Global Inc. (JOYG), first discussed here on June 15, 2009, at a price of $38.05, have pulled-back in-sync with the Dow's recent downdraft, but that doesn't change the company's promising future. Here's why:

A manufacturer and servicer of mining equipment, Joy Global is on-track to capitalize on the development of emerging markets, and that should drive impressive gains in orders, revenue, and margins. Even with sovereign debt issues clouding the European GDP growth story, global GDP growth still should be adequate, with impressive growth in Asia, provided Europe's woes do not substantially decrease the supply of credit globally.

The shares of Joy Global (JOYG), which I first wrote about on June 15, 2009, at a price of $38.05, overcorrected with the Dow's late January/early February correction -- dipping below the key, 50-day moving average.

Had the stock remained there, that would have been a danger sign. However, JOYG found support near $45 and has since pushed back up the 50-day moving average, keeping the uptrend intact.

Joy Global Inc. (JOYG), manufacturer and servicer of mining equipment, is on-track to capitalize on the development of emerging markets, which is a major reason I'm reiterating my buy rating for the company's shares, first recommended on June 15, 2009 at a price of $38.05. If you bought JOYG in June, you're up about 40%.

When the global economic expansion hits take-off stage, it will most likely be led by emerging markets, who are building-out their infrastructure networks and using more energy on a per capita basis, yearly. And that means they'll need mining equipment, which benefits JOYG. Firmness in the commodity market provides an additional tailwind.

When the global economic expansion hits take-off stage, it will most likely be led by emerging market nations, who are building-out their infrastructure networks and using more energy on a per capita basis, yearly. And that's good news for mining equipment companies, which is why I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for Joy Global (NASDAQ: JOYG), first recommended on June 15, 2009 at a price of $38.05.

If you bought manufacturer and servicer of mining equipment company Joy Global then, you're up about 26%. If you didn't, this may be the last time to establish a position and earn an outsized gain with JOYG during this economic cycle.

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.

Joy Global appears to be turning the corner, hence a Buy rating has been generated here, with a tight Sell/Stop Loss.

Institutional investors have recently bid-up shares on the thesis that the global recession is bottoming, which would mean good things for mining equipment supplier Joy Global (Nasdaq: JOYB).

Much of the attention this week will no doubt be on how the impending General Motors (NYSE: GM) bankruptcy will shake out, as well as the usual economic concerns: Has the housing market bottomed? Will oil prices keep rising? Is the employment situation getting any better? And so on (see highlights of the economic calendar below).

What probably won't get much attention are quarterly earnings, as the earnings season for this quarter winds down. But there are a few reports that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters have high hopes for.