Analyst Upgrades

• Credit Suisse upgraded AT&T (T) to outperform from neutral and has a $35 target on the stock. Credit Suisse believes the impact from AT&T's loss of iPhone exclusivity will be less than expected and that the stock should benefit from its earnings growth and dividend yield.
• Goldman upgraded Freeport McMoRan (FCX) to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $94 from $79 based on improving copper fundamentals.
• Benchmark Co. upgraded Valueclick (VCLK) to vuy from hold on expectations Google Instant (GOOG) could drive marketing traffic. The firm raised its target price for Valueclick shares to $15 from $11.
• Best Buy (BBY) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Research In Motion (RIMM) was upgraded to buy from sell at Societe Generale.
• CarMax (KMX) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB) to Buy from Hold based on valuation. The firm, which has a $50 target on the stock, believes Tysabri PML cases are reflected in shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) to Buy from Hold as it finds the valuation attractive and believes the company's sales are benefiting from stabilization in California and share gains. Deutsche raised its target on shares to $45 from $36.
• RBC Capital upgraded Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) to Outperform from Sector Perform and raised its target to $39 from $36 citing valuation and views it as a low risk option on a global economic recovery.
• Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at RBS.

Radiant Systems (NASDAQ: RADS) provides hardware systems and software used to manage site operations in a variety of retail settings. Products include touch-screen point-of-sale devices, self-service kiosks, integrated back-office systems and centralized data management systems designed for use in restaurants, cinemas, convenience stores and general retail locations. Customers include Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Kroger (NYSE: KR).

Investors were pleased last week, when SunTrust offered a positive assessment of the firm's prospects and then the company issued a positive quarterly summary. Management reported Q4 EPS of 27 cents and revenues of $70.3 million. Analysts had been expecting 22 cents and $68.9 million. The company also guided Q1 EPS to 15-16 cents (16 cent consensus), Q1 revenues to $60-$70 million ($63.61M consensus), FY08 EPS to 84-86 cents (76 cent consensus) and FY08 revenues to $305-$308 million ($282.45M consensus). Wedbush Morgan subsequently reiterated its "buy" rating on the shares.

As I mentioned in my recent Investing in Georgia post, the "Empire State of the South" has a diverse industrial output that ranges from peaches and peanuts to aircraft manufacturing and tourism (much of which is taking a hit from this year's severe drought in the South).

Georgia is home to such corporate giants as Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO), The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD), and United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS), and the state also has just been named the second-best U.S. state in which to do business by Site Selection magazine. Georgia has been in the top four on that list for the past four years.

The Peach State is also home to Acuity Brands Inc. (NYSE: AYI) and Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN), which I examined previously, as well as RPC Inc. (NYSE: RES) and Radiant Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: RADS), covered here. RPC and Radiant both made Fortune's 2007 list of the 100 fastest growing companies in U.S. It was Radiant's first time on that list, and Radiant has also been named one of the fastest growing tech companies in Georgia for the third straight year.