Analyst Upgrades

• Bunge (BG) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Textron (TXT) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• CSX (CSX) to buy from neutral and Pulte Group (PHM) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Aol (AOL) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Kohlberg Capital (KCAP) to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• Owens Corning (OC) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Jefferies (JEF) to buy from neutral at Ticonderoga.
• Harris (HRS) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.

Analyst Upgrades

• Valero Energy (VLO) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Changyou.com (CYOU) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Albermarle (ALB) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• ICU Medical (ICUI) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Check Point (CHKP) to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• FMC Corporation (FMC) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Rangold Resources (GOLD) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Global Cash Access (GCA) to buy from hold at Duncan-Williams.

This post is one in a series in which more than 60 newsletter advisors share their Top Stock Picks for 2011. This special report is courtesy of TheStockAdvisors.com.

"Founded in 1938, Owens Corning (OC) -- my top pick for 2011, is a leading manufacturer of building products, including insulation, roofing products, and composite materials," says George Putnam.

The editor of The Turnaround Letter explains, "The stock looks quite cheap, particularly for a company with such a strong business franchise in a temporarily depressed sector.

"Founded in 1938, Owens Corning (OC) is a leading manufacturer of building products, including insulation, roofing products, and composite materials; the stock looks quite cheap, particularly for a company with such a strong business franchise in a temporarily depressed sector," says George Putnam.

The editor of The Turnaround Letter explains, "From the early 1950s through the early 1970s some of the company's insulation products contained asbestos.

"This led to massive legal liabilities in the 1990s, which forced the company to file for bankruptcy in October 2000. Like most of the asbestos-related cases, Owens Corning's Chapter 11 proceedings were protracted and contentious.

Owens Corning (OC - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company warned that it can no longer meet the high end of its 2010 earnings outlook, as roofing shingles demand is down 35% in the third-quarter compared to the previous year. OC said domestic market demand for shingles will likely fall 10% in 2010. 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 OC.

This morning, OC opened at $24.15. So far today the stock has hit a high of $24.25 and a low of $23.05. As of 12:10, OC is trading at $23.51, down $1.25 (-5.0%). The chart for OC looks bearish.

Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) a building materials systems and composite solutions company, is expected to report Q1 EPS on April 30. OC May call option implied volatility is at 87, puts are at 97; above its 26-week average of 79, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

International Paper (NYSE: IP) closed at $8.80. IP is expected to report Q1 EPS in late April. IP May option implied volatility of 111 is above its 26-week average of 83, according to Track Data, suggesting large share price movement.

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

"President Obama has stated that he's been studying Roosevelt's first 100 days and the way out of the current economic mess will look a lot like the New Deal," says David Fessler.

The advisory panelist for The Oxford Club explains, "Seventy-five years after Roosevelt's inauguration, I think we will soon see President Obama get the ball rolling on his version of the New Deal, focused on two very specific areas: energy and infrastructure." Here, he looks at stocks poised to benefit.

"Saving energy will be one of his first initiatives. It's what will give us the quickest bang for our buck. Better insulation in homes, programmable thermostats, fluorescent bulbs, more fuel-efficient cars, energy management systems for use in larger-scale commercial buildings and beefed-up public transportation are just a few of the ways to save energy.

"The government will likely offer attractive tax incentives to rally support. So who stands to prosper from such initiatives?

"Big blue-chip companies, like Owens Corning (NYSE: OC), maker of insulated glass and building insulation; General Electric (NYSE: GE), manufacturer of wind turbines, energy control and infrastructure products; and Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI), maker of energy management systems (for buildings and vehicles) and hybrid vehicle batteries.

Analyst upgrades:

• Canaccord upgraded Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Buy from Hold citing valuation following the severe price decline following BHP Billiton's (NYSE: BHP) dropped bid.
• UBS upgraded Itron (NASDAQ: ITRI) to Buy from Neutral citing valuation and defensive business mix.
• Jefferies upgraded shares of HealthSouth (NYSE: HLS) to Buy from Hold on valuation and maintains a $13.50 target.
• Melco PBL Entertainment (NASDAQ: MPEL) was raised to buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• PG&E (NYSE: PCG) was upgraded at Merrill Lynch to Buy from Neutral.
• HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HBC) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Analyst downgrades:

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Suntech Power (STP), MetroPCS (PCS), Micron Tech (MU) and Charles River Labs (CRL) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• JP Morgan initiated shares of Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP) with a Neutral rating, citing valuation. The firm prefers the stock to peers given the company's larger scale, solid supplier relationships and exposure to new technologies.
  
• JP Morgan also started shares of MetroPCS Communications (NYSE: PCS) with a Neutral rating, as it likes the company's model, but sees greater upside in peers like Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR), Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S), Leap Wireless (NASDAQ: LEAP) and Rogers Communications (NYSE: RCI).
  
• William Blair believes Charles River Labs (NYSE: CRL) is the best pure-play investment in preclinical development given its dominant franchise in animal disease models, and started shares with an Outperform rating.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Gabelli initiated shares of Tenaris SA (NYSE: TS) with a Buy rating and $68 target.
  
• RBC Capital started shares of Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) with a Sector Perform rating and $39 target.
  
• CDC Corporation (NASDAQ: CHINA) was started at ThinkEquity with a Buy rating and $11 target.
  
• Suntrust started shares of Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) with a Neutral rating.

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