Analyst Upgrades

• Tiffany (TIF) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Kellogg (K) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Citizens Republic (CRBC) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Research in Motion (RIMM) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• MWI Veterinary Supply (MWIV) and Elster (ELT) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Paetec Holding (PAET) and Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• New Gold (NGD) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Aviat Networks (AVNW) to buy from hold at Needham.
• Abiomed (ABMD) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Animal Health (AHII) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• PNM Resources (PNM) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deere (DE) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• American Eagle (AEO) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• FedEx (FDX) and Shaw (SJR) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Superior Energy (SPN) and Rowan Cos. (RDC) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Tesoro (TSO) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Mechel (MTL) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• SunPower (SPWRA), LDK Solar (LDK) and First Solar (FSLR) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.

LDK Solar (LDK - option chain) shares are rising today to notch a new 52-week high after the company reported Q3 earnings last night, posting a profit of $29.4 million, or 27 cents per share, on revenue of $675.6 million. Analysts had forecast a profit of 43 cents per share on revenue of $628.1 million. LDK also forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $710 to $750 million. Analysts have forecast revenue of $594 million. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on LDK.

LDK opened this morning at $14.85. So far today the stock has hit a low of $14.25 and a high of $15.10. As of 12:20, LDK is trading at $14.45 up 0.96 (7.1%). The chart for LDK looks neutral and S&P gives LDK a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Analyst Upgrades

• Barclays upgraded Western Digital (WDC) to overweight from equal weight.
• LDK Solar (LDK) was upgraded to buy from hold at Needham.
• Legg Mason (LM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Agilent (A) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Dean Foods (DF) to outperform from market perform and Developers Diversified (DDR) to market perform from underperform.
• Deutsche Bank also upgraded Developers Diversified, to buy from hold.
• Northrop Grumman (NOC) was upgraded to sell from conviction sell at Goldman.
• MYR Group (MYRG) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.

Solar provider LDK Solar (LDK) rallied a bit in pre-open and early trading thanks to an upgrade from Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. The brokerage elevated LDK to buy from underperform, which is a two-level upgrade. The ratings house based its upgrade on the fact that it sees lower risks of oversupply.

Technically, LDK may need a bit more than this rally to help it finally break through overhead resistance. The stock is trading in the $6 region thanks to the upgrade, but it needs far more momentum. The shares face double-barreled resistance from their 10- and 20-week moving averages. These trendlines are descending through the upper reaches of the $6 region, and are quickly falling toward LDK's current position.

The solar power industry is no doubt a fascinating long-term thesis; future solutions for global energy needs, ones that involve alternatives to oil-based platforms, will be in demand. Even so, that doesn't mean I have to like LDK Solar (LDK) after its fourth-quarter report.

According to TheFly.com, LDK Solar didn't score a win in the analyst expectations game. The call was for 12 cents per share. On an adjusted basis, the Chinese solar entity brought in only 3 cents per share. The top line was okay, but as indicated, margin quality wasn't necessarily the greatest. According to Reuters, management is counting on margin improvement in the coming year. That's cool.

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

• American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO) Q3 results were so-so, and it declined to offer a Q4 outlook.
• Benihana Inc. (BNHNA) was downgraded following its weaker-than-expected Q2 results.
• Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings revenue fell short of estimates.
• Deere & Co. (DE) Q4 earnings easily topped low expectations and its cash flow is strong.
• Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR) strong Q3 numbers topped the Street view and it offered Q4 and full-year guidance.
• Eastman Chemical Co. (EMN) earnings prospects led one analyst to upgrade the stock.

Talk about stocks that have fallen far and fast. LDK Solar (LDK) was looking to add a bit of momentum with its earnings report, as the stock is battling overhead resistance from its 20-week moving average. This trendline has pushed the stock lower for a majority of 2009 and 2008, during which LDK has dropped from its late-2008 high of $52.40 to its current perch near the $8 level.

The good news is that a news event like an earnings report could lend momentum to any squandering stock, so let's see what LDK reported. The solar panel producer earned 27 cents per share in the third quarter, far worse than last year's same-quarter earnings of 77 cents per share. Quarterly revenue was nearly halved, as LDK brought in $281.9 million compared to $542 million.

Though the earnings season is winding down, and the coming week includes the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., plenty of reports are still due out. And analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters don't seem to be expecting too many turkeys among this week's bunch.

Leading U.S. meat processor Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN), which has just named a new chief executive officer and a new chief operating officer, is expected to report fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $0.26 per share, up from $0.14 in the same period of last year. But revenue is expected to total $6.9 billion, or 4.3% less than a year ago. The full-year forecast is for a profit of $0.25 per share (-16.7) on $26.4 billion (-3.9%) in sales. This dividend payer has offered upside surprises in the past two quarters, topping estimates by 11 cents per share in the third quarter.

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

• AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) reported better-than-expected Q3 results but shares fell anyway.
• Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) posted strong Q3 results but shares sold off on a disappointing guidance.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC) said lower Q1 earnings fell short of analysts expectations.
• Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) topped Q3 profit and revenue estimates, lifting shares.
• Geron Corp. (NASDAQ: GERN) posted a narrower-than-expected Q3 loss, sending shares sharply higher.
• Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) reported lower Q2 earnings and sales on weak demand for cars.

Today was potentially a pivotal day. There was a technician calling for a possible peak in the S&P and that was partly on yesterday's dollar strength. Then came the disappointing consumer confidence data. Amazingly, we had a very mixed market close picture today depending on which group of stocks you were looking at.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,882.17 +14.21 (0.14%)
S&P 500 1,063.41 -3.54 (-0.33%)
Nasdaq 2,116.09 -25.76 (-1.20%)

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LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) was broadly higher Tuesday after boosting its top-line guidance for the third quarter. The alternative energy issue now anticipates revenue of $270 million to $290 million for the period, compared to its earlier forecast for $240 million to $270 million. Analysts' consensus expectations call for third-quarter revenue of just $249.9 million, according to Thomson Reuters.

LDK added that it now expects wafer shipments for the third quarter to range between 310 megawatts (MW) and 330 MW, up from its previous view of 260 MW to 300 MW. Simultaneously, the firm dropped its forecast for module shipments -- instead of 10 MW to 20 MW, LDK is now looking for module shipments of 5 MW to 10 MW.

After the closing bell sounds this afternoon, LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) will report quarterly earnings. Expectations are pegged at a loss of 91 cents per share for the solar firm, so what can you expect in the wake of the report? Let's take a look at LDK's technical prospects and what an earnings miss or stronger-than-expected earnings could do for the company.

First things first, LDK manufactures and sells solar wafers to other solar manufacturers, both in China (the company's home) and across the globe. The company performed well in the past, when the new global conscience had companies and individuals looking for cleaner forms of energy. Unfortunately, this little thing called a recession occurred, pulling many customers away from LDK and hurting the company on the bottom line.

LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK - option chain) stock is falling today after the company announced a weak forecast for Q2 revenue last Thursday after the close. Today's weakness in oil futures is also not helping LDK stock. 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 LDK.

This morning, LDK opened at $10.20. So far today the stock has hit a low of $9.66 and a high of $10.52. As of 12:15, LDK is trading at $9.87, down $1.04 (-9.5%). The chart for LDK looks bearish and S&P gives LDK a negative 2 STARS (out of 5) sell ranking.

Stocks opened up on the day and stayed up on the day, despite closing well off of the highs. We had three key economic reports hit at once as the Institute for Supply Management gave the June ISM Manufacturing data, while we saw pending home sales data and new construction spending data mixed for May. These actually ended up being contradictory numbers, and then the oil inventories did nothing to support higher oil prices.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 8,504.06 +57.06 (0.68%)
S&P 500 923.33 +4.01 (0.44%)
Nasdaq 1,845.72 +10.68 (0.58%)

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