Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded CapitalSource (NYSE: CSE) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation as it sees an attractive risk/reward at current levels. The firm raised its target on shares to $5 from $3.
• Kaufman Bros. upgraded The Knot (NASDAQ: KNOT) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q2 results to reflect stable national advertising and a better bottom-line outlook. The firm raised its target on shares to $11 from $8.50.
• Baird upgraded Obagi Medical (NASDAQ: OMPI) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $10 from $7 following the strong Q2 report. The firm believes business bottomed in Q1 and the outlook is improving.
• IPC The Hospitalist Co. (NASDAQ: IPCM) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
• King Pharma (NYSE: KG) was upgraded at BofA/Merrill to Buy from Hold.
• Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN) was upgraded to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company's top-line growth rate could be more sustainable than expected and its operating margins could recover given due to less retail discounting. The firm raised its price target on shares to $97 from $65.
  
• UBS upgraded King Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: KG) to Buy from Sell based on expectations that Sandoz will settle patent litigation regarding Skelaxin after last weeks settlement of Clarinex with Schering-Plough (SGP).
  
• Jefferies upgraded Reliance Steel (NYSE: RS) to Buy from Hold as it believes steel prices and demand are close to near-term bottoms. The firm raised its target on the stock to $44 from $25.
• Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America/Merrill.
  
• Nestle (OTC: NSRGY) was lifted to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was upgraded at Wachovia to Outperform from Market Perform.

Analyst upgrades:

• JP Morgan upgraded Altria (NYSE: MO), citing the company's 25% cash return to shareholders by 2010 and its market leadership.
  
• RBC Capital upgraded Core Laboratories (NYSE: CLB) based on its solid balance sheet and liquidity, strong market positions, and technology-driven products.
  
• RBC Capital believes Schlumberger's (NYSE: SLB) earnings will decrease the least vs. its peers through 2010 and notes its breadth of products/services.
• Tellabs (NASDAQ: TLAB) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
  
• Bally Tech (NYSE: BYI) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Analyst downgrades:

• Goldman downgraded Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) citing consumer spending concerns and valuation.
  
• Merrill downgraded JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) citing expectations for credit costs to get worse in the US.
  
• Wachovia downgraded a handful of names, including Chesapeake (NYSE: CHK), in the Exploration & Production space as they believe natural gas prices have more downside in order to balance supply/demand fundamentals.

King Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: KG - option chain) stock is falling today after the FDA said it cannot approve the company's abuse-resistant pain drug Remoxy, which it had developed with Pain Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PTIE). If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on KG.

This morning, KG opened at $9.39. So far today the stock has hit a low of $8.89 and a high of $9.45. As of 11:30, KG is trading at $9.43, down $0.53 (-5.3%). The chart for KG looks neutral and S&P gives KG a 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an April bear-call credit spread above the $12.50 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 13.6% return in four months as long as KG is below $12.50 at April expiration. King would have to rise by more than 58% before we would start to lose money.

KG hasn't been above $12.60 at all in the past year and shown resistance around $10.25 recently.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in KG or PTIE.

The focus of last week's preview was on oil and energy companies, and we saw that big oil had a good week, reporting better-than-expected results and record profits driven by high prices in the third quarter. Energy-related companies are well represented again this week and expectations in general remain high.

Early in the week, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial anticipate that the big earnings gainers will include EOG Resources Inc. (NYSE: EOG), Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC), and Cimarex Energy Co. (NYSE: XEC), which are expected to post profits of $2.24 per share (up 64.7% from a year ago), $1.48 per share (up 52.7%) and $2.26 per share (up 61.1%) respectively. All three of them have offered positive surprises in recent quarters, and analysts on average recommend buying EOG and Anadarko. Other expected big earnings gainers early in the week include Forest Oil Corp. (NYSE: FST), Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD), Comstock Resources Inc. (NYSE: CRK), and MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA). The earnings of phosphates producer Innophos Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: IPHS) are expected to have risen 92.3% to $3.37 per share. Innophos beat estimates in the previous quarter by a whopping 210%, and analysts have been impressed with Innophos's lack of debt and pricing gains despite the slowing economy, so, on average, they recommend buying IPHS.

Also early in the week, analysts expect Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT), Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (NASDAQ: KALU), and Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE: OSK) to report that their profits fell 52.9% to $0.33 per share, 45.1% to $0.67 per share, and 41.2% to $0.67 per share, respectively. These companies have tended to beat estimates in recent quarters, and the consensus recommendations of analysts are to buy them. However, PMI Group Inc. (NYSE: PMI), one of the largest private mortgage insurance providers in the U.S., is expected to take another hit as the housing slump drags on. The California-based company is expected to have widened its net loss from $1.04 per share a year ago to $2.43 per share in the most recent quarter. Its shares are down 84.5% from a year ago, and have been trading recently near their 52-week low.

King Pharma (NYSE: KG) is recently up 25c to $10.49.

KG, a vertically integrated pharmaceutical company with September total revenues of $544 million. It has been rumored as a takeover candidate in the past.

KG call option volume of 5,241 contracts compares to put volume of 366 contracts. KG January option implied volatility of 70 is above its 26-week average of 46 according to Track Data, suggesting larger upside price fluctuations.

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

Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) recently down 12c to 20.43. Goldman says: "We believe that it is likely that CMCSA submits a bid in the 700 MHz auction by the 12/3 deadline, either by itself or with a partner(s) because it is a long term imperative." CMCSA December and January option implied volatility of 27 is below its 26-week average of 32 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing risk.

King Pharma (NYSE: KG) is recently up 37c to $10.71 on renewed buyout chatter. KG December 12.5 calls have traded 103 times on transaction volume of 4,259 contracts, above its open interest of 796 contracts. KG December & January option implied volatility of 65 is above its 26-week average of 43 according to Track Data, suggesting option traders expect KG to trade above $12.75 in the next three weeks.

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

Monday October 1

* Beijing Med-Pharm Corporation (NASDAQ: BJGP) to hold a conference on the acquisition with Sunstone Pharma at 9am.

Tuesday October 2

* Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) to report monthly sales at 1pm, General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) to report monthly sales at 2pm.
* PDUFA date for Biovail Corporation (NYSE: BVF)/Depomed Inc (NASDAQ: DEPO)/King Pharmaceutical Inc's (NYSE: KG) Glumetza for glycemic control in diabetic adults.

Wednesday October 3

* Threshold Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: THLD) to discuss Glufosfamide results from Phase III Clinical Trial at 4:30pm.

Thursday October 4

* Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 10am.
* Lawson Software (NASDAQ: LWSN) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.
* Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 5pm.

Friday October 5

* PDUFA date for Bristol Myers Squibb's (NYSE: BMY) Abilify for the treatment of schizophrenia and manic episodes associated with Bipolar I Disorder.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: VeraSun Energy (VSE), BioFuel Energy (BIOF), Electronic Arts (ERTS) and Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Citigroup initiated shares of VeraSun Energy (NYSE: VSE) and BioFuel Energy with Buy ratings, as the firm believes the ethanol industry is reaching an inflection point as profitability should be much improved in 2008.

• BioFuel (NASDAQ: BIOF) was also initiated with a Hold rating at AG Edwards on valuation and an Overweight rating at JP Morgan, who believes BioFuel has good growth prospects but trades at a discount relative to peers.

• Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) was initiated with a Neutral rating at Cowen, citing the company's rich valuation and mixed growth outlook.

• Cowen resumed coverage of Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) with an Outperform rating, as the firm believes TTWO is positioned for a strong 2H07 given the Grand Theft Auto IV and other titles...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• CDC Corporation (NASDAQ: CHINA) was initiated with a Buy rating and $12 target at Montgomery.

• Oppenheimer started shares of Chelsea Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CHTP) with a Buy rating and $12 target.

• Banc of America initiated shares of Charming Shoppes (NASDAQ: CHRS) with a Neutral rating and $11 target.

• Raymond James initiated shares of Geokinetics (AMEX: GOK) with a Market Perform rating.

• King Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: KG) was initiated at Goldman Sachs with a Neutral rating and $19 target.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Dow Chemical (DOW), Smart Modular (SMOD), Wolverine World Wide (WWW), Win-Dixie Stores (WINN) and Blue Nile (BLUE) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• UBS is positive on the ethylene cycle over the next two years and believes Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) can beat 2008 consensus estimates, initiating shares with a Buy rating.

• JMP Securities started Smart Modular (NASDAQ: SMOD) with a Strong Buy as a unit volume growth theme without much dependence on commodity memory chip pricing.

• Citigroup expects further upside given Wolverine World Wide's (NYSE: WWW) strong portfolio of brands, further growth opportunities through line extensions and international growth. The firm started Wolverine World Wide with a Buy rating and $33 target.

• Winn-Dixie Stores (NASDAQ: WINN) was started with a Market Perform rating, citing low levels of profitability and unproven ability to drive sustainable profitable sales.

• American Technology believes the valuation of Blue Nile (NASDAQ: NILE) leaves little room for upside, despite a highly attractive business model and strong fundamentals, and started shares with a Sell rating and $45 target...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Susquehanna started King Pharma (NYSE: KG), Sepracor (NASDAQ: SEPR) with Neutral ratings and Sciele Pharma (NASDAQ: SCRX) with a Positive rating.

• Citigroup initiated shares of Quicksilver Inc (NYSE: ZQK) with a Hold rating.

• Longbow started Mips Tech (NASDAQ: MIPS) with a Buy rating and $12 target.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Amgen (AMGN), Wendy's (WEN), webMethods (WEBM), Global Crossing (GLBC) and International Securities Exchange (ISE) topped out today's noteworthy downgrades:

• A host of companies shot down Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) today:
• Lazard cut the drugmaker to Sell from Buy while Citigroup cut them to Sell from Hold. JP Morgan and HSBC downgraded Amgen to Neutral from Overweight while Morgan Stanley cut shares to Equal-Weight from Overweight.

• Elsewhere, Wendy's Int'l (NYSE: WEN) was downgraded by Citigroup to Hold from Buy on valuation.

• Deutsche Bank cut shares of webMethods Inc (NASDAQ: WEBM) to Hold from Buy as they expect the software AG merger to go through.

• Global Crossing (NASDAQ: GLBC) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank following the company's Q1 miss and revised guidance.

• The International Securities Exchange (NYSE: ICE) was downgraded at Banc of America given potential risks to the Eurex bid. They are not counting on rival bids and recommend moving to the sidelines...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• HSBC downgraded Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Neutral from Overweight.

• Morgan Stanley downgraded King Pharma (NYSE: KG) to Equal Weight from Overweight. Pacific

• Crest downgraded Actions Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ACTS) to Sector Perform from Outperform.

• Raymond James downgraded ServiceMaster Co (NYSE: SVM) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Soliel downgraded Tweeter Home Entertainment (NASDAQ: TWTR) to Hold from Buy.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required)

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Brinker International Inc (EAT), National Semiconductor Corp (NSM), and three select transportation stocks were today's more notable upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Brinker International Inc (NYSE: EAT) to Buy from Neutral with a $38 target, citing valuation following the recent sell-off.

• National Semiconductor Corp (NYSE: NSM) was upgraded to Accumulate from Source of Funds with a $28 target at ThinkEquity, following the company's Q3 report and guidance.

• Three transportation companies were upgraded at Stifel: Con-Way Inc (NYSE: CNW), FedEx Corp (NYSE: FDX) and Universal Truckload Services Inc (NASDAQ: UACL) were upgraded to Buy from Hold to reflect attractive valuations.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Credit Suisse upgraded Office Depot, Inc (NYSE: ODP) to Outperform from Neutral.

• JMP Securities upgraded Texas Instruments Inc (NYSE: TXN) to Market Outperform from Market Perform ahead of the mid-quarter upgrade. Texas Instruments was also upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel.

• Calyon Securities upgraded Halliburton Co (NASDAQ: HAL) to Add from Neutral on valuation.

• Bernstein upgraded Charles Schwab Corp (NASDAQ: SCHW) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• BMO Capital Markets upgraded Cognos Inc (NASDAQ: COGN) to Outperform from Market Perform. BMO believes Cognos will receive additional business due to Oracle Corp's (NASDAQ: ORCL) acquisition of Hyperion Solutions Corp (NASDAQ: HYSL) and also see a greater chance that Cognos itself could be acquired.

• Cowen upgraded King Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: KG) to Neutral from Underperform citing Skelaxin's new label approval, which likely delays a generic.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: FedEx Corp (FDX) and Applied Materials Inc (AMAT) were today's notable upgrades:

• Morgan Keegan upgraded FedEx Corp (NYSE: FDX) to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm said recent data indicates that the company's core business segments are well-positioned for operational improvements given current initiative; data also indicates that we may have reached a bottom in the economy and can potentially expect a soft landing.

• Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ: AMAT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold with a $25 target at First Albany and Stanford, as they believe the company's memory cycle is better than investors may think.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc (NYSE: CCE) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Bernstein because the firm no longer sees any major negative catalysts ahead.

• Apria Healthcare Group Inc (NYSE: AHG) was upgraded to Hold from Sell with a $30 target at Deutsche Bank. The firm said Apria reported a solid fourth quarter and near-term momentum was more clear.

• JP Morgan upgraded King Pharmaceuticals inc (NYSE: KG) to Neutral from Underweight on valuation and the potential of a prolonged delay of generic Skelazin.

• Citigroup upgraded Ciena Inc (NASDAQ: CIEN) to Buy from Hold, but still considers JDS Uniphase Corp (NASDAQ: JDSU) their top pick for capacity exposure.

• Jefferies raised Applebee's Int'l Inc (NASDAQ: APPB) to Hold from Underperform to reflect the company's decision to seek strategic alternatives.

• Prudential upgraded Nasdaq Stock Market Inc (NASDAQ: NDAQ) to Neutral from Underweight with a $30 target.

• JMP Securities upgraded KB Home (NYSE: KBH) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $60 target.

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