Analyst Upgrades

• Akamai (AKAM) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Aetna (AET) to Outperform from market perform at Leerink.
• Hot Topic (HOTT) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Colonial Properties (CLP) upgraded to Outperform from market perform at FBR Capital and to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Altera (ALTR) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• American Reprographics (ARC), CarMax (KMX) and American Campus (ACC) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Zebra Tech (ZBRA) to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• IMAX (IMAX) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Basic Energy (BAS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Mednax (MD) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• UTi Worldwide (UTIW) to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Analyst Upgrades

• BB&T (BBT) and Aflac (AFL) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Kodiak Oil & Gas (KOG) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Zhongpin (HOGS) to neutral from reduce at Global Hunter.
• Marathon Oil (MRO), Noble Energy (NBL) and Manulife Financial (MFC) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Carrizo Oil & Gas (CRZO) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Comerica (CMA) to buy from neutral at Rochdale.

Analyst Upgrades

• Parker-Hannifin (PH) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• JDSU (JDSU) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Noble Corp. (NE) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Cerner (CERN) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Cintas (CTAS) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• American States Water (AWR) to buy from hold at Brean Murray.
• National Semiconductor (NSM) and Texas Instruments (TXN) to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• Lululemon (LULU) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
• DuPont Fabros (DFT) to top pick from outperform at RBC Capital.

Analyst Upgrades

• Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Boston Scientific (BSX) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Windstream (WIN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Expeditors (EXPD) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• A123 Systems (AONE) to neutral from underperform and Chesapeake Midstream (CHKM) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• AvalonBay (AVB) to outperform from neutral and Post Properties (PPS) to neutral from underperform at Cowen.

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) is a developer, owner and operator of destination casino resorts. It operates in the U.S., Macau, and Singapore. Competitors include Wynn Resorts, Limited (WYNN), MGM Resorts International (MGM), SJM (HKG:0880), Galaxy (HKG:0027) and Harrah's among others.

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) overall option implied volatility is at 50, according to Track Data, below its 26-week average of 55 into its release of Q4 EPS on February 3, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Electronic Arts (ERTS) February and March option implied volatility is at 40, according to Track Data, near its 26-week average of 39 into its release of Q3 EPS on February 2, suggesting non-directional price movement.

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

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) gapped higher out of the gate Monday morning, as traders cheered the latest round of data from Macau. Casino revenues in the popular gambling destination rose 58% in 2010 to a record 188.34 billion patacas, or roughly $23.51 billion, according to the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

Revenue for the month of December ballooned 66.4% to an all-time monthly high of 18.883 billion patacas, or approximately $2.36 billion.

Analyst Upgrades

• Advance Auto Parts (AAP) was upgraded to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Macquarie upgraded Gen-Probe (GPRO) and Beckman Coulter (BEC) to neutral from underperform.
• Tyco (TYC) was upgraded to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Cousins Properties (CUZ) to buy from underperform.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Energy Conversion (ENER) to equal weight from underweight.
• Thermo Fisher (TMO) was upgraded to buy from hold at Auriga.

Massey Energy (MEE) closed up $4.80 to $46.94 on reports that Alpha Natural (ANR) may buy the company, DJ says. December and January 55 calls are active on total call volume of 58K contracts, compared to put volume of 23K puts. November call option implied volatility is at 53 and January is at 48, compared to its 26-week average of 52. Increasing option volume suggests traders are positioning for price movement.

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) closed down 29 cents to $18.23, near a six-month low after EPS, elections, FOMC meeting and October employment report.

CBOE option volume leaders today: Bank of America (BAC), Las Vegas Sands (LVS) JPMorgan (JPM) and Citigroup (C).

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

Analyst Upgrades

• State Street (STT) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Roth Capital upgraded Intel (INTC), Marvell Technology (MRVL) and Nvidia (NVDA) to buy from neutral.
• Bebe Stores (BEBE) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Janney Montgomery.
• W&T Offshore (WTI) was upgraded to buy from accumulate at Global Hunter.
• Citigroup upgraded International Rectifier (IRF) and Timberland (TBL) to hold from sell.
• Watson Pharma (WPI) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Atmel (ATML) was upgraded to strong buy from buy at Needham.
• Ashford Hospitality (AHT) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Oppenheimer upgraded MetroPCS (PCS) to outperform from perform.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Vivus (VVUS) to overweight from neutral.
• Citigroup upgraded Corn Products (CPO) to buy from hold.
• Maxim Integrated (MXIM) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Cardinal Health (CAH) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Citigroup upgraded Monster Worldwide (MWW) and EchoStar (SATS) to buy from hold, as well as Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to buy from sell.
• BMO Capital upgraded Potash (POT) and Barrick Gold (ABX) to outperform from market perform.

Analyst Upgrades

• KeyBanc upgraded Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to hold from underweight based on Singapore performance and a potential revaluation of the yuan.
• ThinkEquity upgraded Seattle Genetics (SGEN) to buy from hold based on the positive SGN-35 HL data. The firm raised its price target to $16 from $12.
• Merriman upgraded Applied Signal (APSG) to buy from neutral with a $28 to $31 valuation range, citing greater confidence in earnings estimates and the company's recent contract wins.
• Siliconware Precision (SPIL) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.
• Pulte Group (PHM) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Greenbrier (GBX) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Morgan Keegan.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded Costco (COST) to buy from neutral based on valuation, improving fundamentals and potential catalysts. The firm raised its price target to $68 from $62.
• Soleil upgraded MGM Resorts (MGM) to buy from hold, citing valuation, easing balance sheet concerns and a multiyear convention recovery. The firm upped its target for shares to $14 from $13. Note, Soleil also downgraded Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to hold from buy.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) to overweight from neutral with a $59 price target following the company's better-than-expected Q2 results.
• Dell (DELL) was upgraded to buy from outperform at CLSA.
• CommScope (CTV) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• EnCana (ECA) was upgraded to sector outperformer from sector performer at CIBC.