Analyst upgrades:

• Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) was upgraded to Buy at Citigroup. The firm views the recent sell-off in home building stocks as a buying opportunity and thinks Toll Brothers offers the best risk/reward in its coverage universe. Citi keeps a $23 price target on the stock.
• Kellogg (NYSE: K) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup following the Q3 results, as it believes the company's reduced spending and share buyback will serve as catalysts. The firm raised its price target on shares to $63 from $50.
• Rogers Communications (NYSE: RCI) and Telus (NYSE: TU) were upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital, which said the CRTC unexpectedly denied Globalive's wireless application. The analyst said Globalive was potentially the biggest of new wireless competitors and the decision removes a big threat to the group. Rogers price target was raised to $40 from $33; Telus to $44 from $36.
• Stanley (NYSE: SXE) was upgraded at Wells Fargo to Outperform from Market Perform after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 results and raised its FY10 guidance.
• Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) was upgraded at Bernstein to Outperform from Market Perform. The analyst believes Texas Instruments' core business earnings power is underappreciated and valuation is attractive. Target raised to $30 from $28.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) to Buy from Hold to reflect the company's better than expected Q3 results and improved volume outlook. Deutsche raised its target on shares to $100 from $72.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Motorola (NYSE: MOT) to Overweight from Market Weight and raised its target to $11 from $7 and said they expect Motorola to benefit from several upcoming catalysts that include new Android-based smartphone products and they believe the handset division could break even by year end of 2010.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Regal Entertainment (NYSE: RGC) and Cinemark (NYSE: CNK) to Buy from Neutral on expectations both companies will benefit from a strong box office in Q4. The firm has a $14 price target on Regal shares and a $13.50 target on Cinemark shares.
• Marshall & llsley (NYSE: MI) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
• F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
• William Blair upgraded Lindsay Corporation (NYSE: LNN) to Outperform from Market Perform.

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) kicks off another earnings season this week, and analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for another net loss for the third quarter. Can we take that as a sign of things to come, or as a bellwether for the economy? Well, barring a big downside surprise, this will be the third narrower quarterly loss for Alcoa. But while Alcoa beat estimates in July, it missed them in April. Alcoa's shares, on the other hand, are up 145.6% since the March low, which is well more than twice as much either the Dow or the S&P 500.

During its third quarter, New York-based Alcoa continued restructuring efforts, remained a part of the DJIA Sustainability Index, and declared a quarterly dividend. It is expected to report a net loss of $0.12 per share for the three months that ended in September. That compares to a profit of $0.37 in the same period of last year. Third-quarter revenue is forecast to have fallen 38.3% to $4.5 billion. Analysts so far expect to see a profit in the fourth quarter, but not for the full year. Alcoa has missed earnings expectations in three of the past four quarters. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 20.0%, again much better than the S&P 500. The First Call consensus recommendation is to hold AA; CNBC concurs that now is not the time to buy. At $12.82, shares are 30.0% higher than three months ago, but 33.4% lower than a year ago.

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

• Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) just beat low Q3 earnings estimates but revenue also declined.
• Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) earnings fell short of estimates but revenue was better than expected.
• Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL) posted better-than-expected Q4 earnings.
• Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) posted a surprise Q3 profit but shares rose slightly on the news.
• Dress Barn Inc. (NASDAQ: DBRN) reported modest growth in both net income and revenue in Q4.
• FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) said that its Q1 earnings and revenue dropped but its cash flow has improved.

I was reading through some articles this weekend, when I found one from BusinessWeek, questioning the viability of herbicide producer Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON).

The article focuses on the past six months, a period when MON shares have lagged behind the broader market, and then wonders if the stock is still a viable long-term investment. The story was prompted by last Thursday's earnings forecast for $3.10 to $3.30 per share in fiscal 2010, which was well short of the $4.10 that the Street expects.

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

• Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) was downgraded by one analyst ahead of next week's Q2 earnings report.
• Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) better-than-expected Q4 and full-year profit failed to impact the share price.
• FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) boosted its Q1 earnings guidance ahead of next week's quarterly report.
• JoS. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. (NASDAQ: JOSB) saw its Q2 earnings jump higher than expected.
• Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY) swung to a Q1 net loss as revenue plunged despite cost cuts.
• lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) strong Q2 numbers topped estimates and drove shares higher.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) to Market Perform from Underperform following the company's in-line quarter and extended buyback. The firm raised its target price on shares to $103 from $98.
• Merriman upgraded Cree (NASDAQ: CREE) to Buy from Neutral after transitioning coverage of the stock as it believes HB-LED chips are gaining momentum and that the company can top its recently raised guidance.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Glatfelter (NYSE: GLT) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q2 results due to falling net debt levels and valuation. The firm raised its target on shares to $14 from $8.
• Corporate Executive Board (NASDAQ: EXBD) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Baird.
• Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Unit Corp. (NYSE: UNT) was upgraded to Buy from Sell at Jesup & Lamont.

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded General Electric (NYSE: GE) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $15 from $13 citing reports that U.S. House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank has indicated regulatory reform will not require a separation of GE Capital.
• Syntel (NASDAQ: SYNT) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform by Wells Fargo. The firm upgraded the stock following the company's much better than expected Q2 EPS.
• Canaccord upgraded USANA (NASDAQ: USNA) to Outperform from Market Perform citing the strong Q2 report and earnings momentum. The firm has a $40 target on the stock.
• Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
• Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at FBR Capital.
• Tyco Electronics (NYSE: TEL) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

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

• Accenture Ltd. (NYSE: ACN) beat earnings expectations but revenue was hurt by currency effects.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) strong Q1 results beat estimates but same-store sales fell.
• CKE Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: CKR) lower Q1 earnings and strong sales both topped expectations.
• ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) higher Q4 earnings were in line with expectations, and shares slipped.
• Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) Q4 results were higher, but it warned of continuing challenges.
• Hennes & Mauritz (OTC: HMRZF) reported strong Q2 numbers, though same-stores sales slipped.

Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) pleasantly surprised the Street with a stronger-than-expected third-quarter profit. This morning, the company reported quarterly net income of $694 million, or $1.25 per share, besting analysts' expectations for a profit of $1.18 per share. Net sales arrived at $3.2 billion, down 11% from the year-ago period.

Additionally, Monsanto said it will create a separate division for its herbicides business, in order to "better align spending and working capital needs." The firm will also undergo a restructuring that will result in 900 lost jobs, or less than 4% of its global workforce. The change will translate to a fourth-quarter charge of roughly $350 million, or 41 cents to 47 cents per share.

Today was an unusually active day for extremely volume increases in several stocks which traded on news and rumors.

Shares in Sequenom (NASDAQ: SQNM) jumped over 10% on takevover rumors.

Rite Aide (NYSE: RAD) moved higher by 5% on larger than normal volume as it beat earnings estimates and Monsanto (NYSE: MON) traded up on strong numbers and took a number of agriculture stocks with it. Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) also benefited from earnings above Wall Street forecasts.

Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) traded higher as RBC upped its price target to $18 from $14, and MEMC (NYSE: WFR) fell on a downgrade from JPMorgan.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at VSInvestor.com.

This week brings a small flurry of end-of-the-calendar-quarter earnings reports. And for the most part, the expectations of the analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters aren't very high. Companies expected to report declining earnings in the most recently concluded quarter include America's Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT), Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY), ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG), Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL), Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. (NYSE: JTX), Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), and Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC).