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

• Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) reported a surprise Q3 profit due to cost cutting; revenue topped estimates as well.
• Avis Budget Group Inc. (NYSE: CAR) said a proposed offering of $250 million in notes could reduce earnings.
• Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) earnings prospects garnered it an upgrade from one analyst.
• Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) earnings prospects resulted in an upgrade from one analyst.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) lower Q4 earnings topped analysts' expectations, lifting shares.
• Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) higher Q4 earnings beat analysts' estimates but sales were just OK.

Monsanto (NYSE: MON) closed at $74.85. MON is expected to report Q4 EPS on October 7. On September 11 MON provided FY2009 EPS guidance at the low end of its $4.40-$4.50 view. MON October option implied volatility is at 44; November is at 36, versus its six-month average of 40, according to Track Data.

Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) closed at $45.96. MOS is scheduled to report Q1 EPS today. MOS October option implied volatility is at 67, November is at 54; verses its six-month average of 62, according to Track Data.

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

Agricultural manufacturer Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) is trading slightly lower in after hours trading this afternoon after the company posted lower than expected earnings for its fiscal first quarter.

Going into this afternoon's release, analysts had been expecting to see the company show earnings of 35 cents per share, but the company came in well below this estimate, with actual earnings of just 23 cents per share. During the same period last year the company had earnings of $2.65 per share.

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:

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) shares rose after it reaffirmed its full-year earnings and sales outlook.
• Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NASDAQ: ADP) will have low double-digit EPS growth, predicts one analyst.
• AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) posted a decline in earnings but a small rise in sales, sending shares lower.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) posted better-than-expected Q2 earnings and higher revenue.
• CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) rallied to a new 52-week high after topping analysts' Q2 earnings expectations.
• Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) reported better-than-expected Q3 results and raised its full-year guidance.

Late Friday, Potash Corp. (NYSE: POT) cut its 2009 earnings guidance due to "lower than forecasted potash sales volumes" stemming from "slow demand and limited restocking by fertilizer distributors around the world." The fertilizer company now forecasts earnings between $3.25 and $3.75 per share, down from an earlier forecast of $4 to $5 per share. The company also expects third-quarter, per-share earnings to hit at the low end of its determined range between 80 cents and $1.20. The consensus estimate calls for 93 cents per share.

POT had been a stellar performer, hitting a high in the $120 region earlier this year. However, the stock is now in the process of bouncing between the $84 level and its 20-week moving average. The current situation is currently better than the way 2008 ended.

Analyst upgrades:

• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Computer Sciences (NYSE: CSC) and Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) to Buy from Hold on better demand trends as it believes overall enterprise IT spending is turning more positive. The firm raised its target on Computer Sciences to $62 from $54 and on Cognizant to $45 from $42.
• Citigroup upgraded E-Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC) to Buy from Hold as it believes loan less trends have improved and the company could potentially be acquired. Citi raised its target on shares to $2.30 from $1.50.
• Auriga upgraded Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to Buy from Hold as it believes consensus expectations for 2010 are too low, but admits the company's Q1 results could be fairly weak. Auriga believes Microsoft is coming up to its "most powerful product cycle in many years" and raised its price target on shares to $30 from $24.
• Motorola (NYSE: MOT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Fidelity Southern (NASDAQ: LION) was upgraded to Neutral from Reduce at SunTrust.
• Sonoco Products (NYSE: SON) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Eight is enough ... of DJIA gains in days in a row, that is. There are many things that the market had going for it today, but sometimes good news can only propel a market for so many days ...

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,532.11 -48.52 (-0.51%)
S&P 500 1,028.36 -2.62 (-0.25%)
Nasdaq 2,028.04 +0.31 (0.02%)

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Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Aruba Networks (NASDAQ: ARUN) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q3 results to reflect improved visibility. The firm raised its target price to $6.50 from $3.
• Citigroup upgraded Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) and Potash (NYSE: POT) to Buy from Hold and Agrium (NYSE: AGU) to Hold from Sell as it believes stronger grain fundamentals more than offset China contract risk. The firm raised its target on Mosaic to $72 from $48, on Potash to $145 from $83 and on Agrium to $55 from $36.
• Fulton Financial (NASDAQ: FULT) Was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.
• Noble Corp. (NYSE: NE) was upgraded at Deutsche Bank to Buy from Hold.

The fertilizer sector is one sector that investors who can tolerate moderate risk should not pass up.

I'm Reiterating a Buy recommendation for Potash (NYSE: POT), re-established with a Buy recommendation here on March 31, 2009, and for Mosaic (NYSE: MOS), re-established here on April 3, 2009; and adding a Buy recommendation for Agrium (NYSE: AGU).

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

• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) easily topped Q4 earnings estimates but same-store sales fell.
• Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) forecast Q3 earnings that are well above analysts' estimates.
• Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) said it narrowed its loss in Q4 despite restructuring costs.
• Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. (NYSE: EXM) is expected to fall short of Q4 earnings expectations.
• Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) reported strong Q2 results and and raised its outlook for Q3.

Weak quarterly sales led to a substantial drop in third-quarter earnings for fertilizer firm Mosaic (NYSE: MOS). After the closing bell yesterday, the phosphate and potash producer reported third-quarter earnings of 13 cents per share, far lower than last year's same-quarter earnings of $1.17 per share.

Not only were the results far worse than a year ago, but they missed the Street's expectations for earnings of 24 cents per share. The current results did include a gain of $47.1 million (seven cents per share) for foreign currency transactions.

A new earnings reporting season kicks off this coming week with the quarterly report from Alcoa, the first Dow Jones industrial to report. But investors looking for early signs about the first quarter will be disappointed in what they see from the aluminum producer, assuming that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are neither too optimistic or too pessimistic about those results.

Agricultural entity Monsanto (NYSE: MON) reported Q2 numbers on Thursday. While some metrics were down, I came away from the earnings release thinking that the company is probably a good long-term holding. Short-term could be a different story, though, as the stock has had a run-up recently.

Sales increased 8% in the second quarter, but profits on a dollar basis decreased 3%. On an adjusted basis, however, net income beat Wall Street's expectations. Analysts were looking for $2.07 per share. Monsanto delivered $2.16 per share. Excellent.

Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) represents an exasperating play and it's understandable if investors don't want to consider it.

First recommended in this space in January 2008 when trading around $85, Mosaic, one of the world's leading producers of crop nutrients -- nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium -- and animal feed ingredients, quickly raced above $100. Then above $120, $130, and $140. It hit a high of $163.25 in the early summer of 2008.