"If you're looking for a trend-defying, against-the-grain stock pick, consider the oil drilling industry," says contrarian investor David Fessler.

The contributing editor to Investment U suggests, "If you're looking to get into the oil and gas sector without worrying about the next Gulf disaster, take a closer look at Rosetta Resources (ROSE), an independent oil and gas exploration, development and acquisition company that drills in the dirt instead of the ocean.

"Seasoned industry executives put together a plan build a profitable, land-based oil and gas exploration company from the ground up; this is now paying off big-time.

Analyst Upgrades

• Standpoint Research upgraded Bank of America (BAC) to accumulate from hold based on valuation.
• UBS upgraded First Solar (FSLR) to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $150 from $136. The firm believes global solar demand will be higher than expected in 2010 and 2011.
• Goldman upgraded Lowe's (LOW) to buy from neutral and has a $24 target on the stock. The firm upgraded shares given the company's margin recovery which will drive EPS growth in 2H10.
• Zep Inc. (ZEP) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Janney Montgomery.
• Rosetta Resources (ROSE) was upgraded to buy from neutral at SunTrust.
• Matrixx Initiatives (MTXX) was upgraded to buy from hold at Roth Capital.

Analyst Upgrades

• Wells Fargo upgraded T. Rowe Price (TROW) to outperform from market perform, citing strong flows and a potential recovery in the U.S. equity markets.
• UBS upgraded BorgWarner (BWA) to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $50 from $48. The firm expects BorgWarner to benefit from fuel economy regulation.
• Cowen upgraded Celgene (CELG) to neutral from underperform, citing improved fundamentals and valuation for the upgrade.
• TRW Automotive (TRW) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Finish Line (FINL) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Jazz Pharmaceutical (JAZZ) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.

The market started out up this morning due to strength in overseas markets, and then a downgrade hit Greece that took the market south. The markets remained in positive territory throughout most of the day and the question was whether or not the positive line would hold up after the markets went into the red-zone at the very end of the day.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,190.89 -20.18 (-0.20%)
S&P 500 1,089.66 -1.94 (-0.18%)
Nasdaq 2,243.96 +0.36 (0.02%)

Top Analyst Calls

Analyst Upgrades

• Piper Jaffray upgraded Psychiatric Solutions (PSYS) to neutral from underweight on expectations the company's merger with Universal Health (UHS) will close.
• Jefferies upgraded Intuit (INTU) to buy from neutral and has a $45 price target on the stock. The firm expects Intuit's 2011 tax season to be at least as good as 2010's and sees improvement in the SMB exposed businesses.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Unica (UNCA) to outperform from market perform. The firm upgraded the stock due to what it sees as improving trends in marketing spending, upcoming enhancements in the company's products and long-term opportunity for marketing software to exceed expectations.
• Textron (TXT) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• RightNow (RNOW) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Beazer Homes (BZH) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Halliburton (HAL) to outperform from market perform as it sees less headline risk from the Gulf of Mexico spill following Wednesday's House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing. The firm upped its target for shares to $44 from $35.
• FBR Capital also upgraded Morgan Stanley (MS) to outperform from market perform as it views the valuation as attractive following the recent pullback in shares. The firm maintains a $35 price target for shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Avnet (AVT) to buy from hold on valuation; it views the recent pullback as a buying opportunity. The firm raised its target for shares to $39 from $36.
• U.S. Steel (X) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• News Corp. (NWS) was upgraded to buy from hold at Argus.
• Sprint (S) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to buy from hold on valuation following the recent pullback in shares. The firm raised its target price on shares to $113 from $108.
• UBS upgraded General Dynamics (GD) to buy from neutral based on improved defense risk profile and stabilization in the business jet market. The firm raised its target to $80 from $70.
• FBR Capital upgraded SunTrust (STI) to outperform from market perform on expectations that regional banks will outperform the large money center banks in this environment. The firm raised its price target on shares to $28 from $22.
• SAP AG (SAP) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Thomson Reuters (TRI) was raised to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Rosetta Resources (ROSE) was upgraded at Wells Fargo to outperform from market perform.

Analyst upgrades:

• Wells Fargo upgraded Qualcomm (QCOM) to outperform from market perform. The firm believes key risks have been eliminated, such as the license dispute with Nokia (NOK) and litigation with Broadcom (BRCM), and thinks Qualcomm is well-positioned for handset unit shipments growth. Wells has a $50 to $60 target range on shares.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Juniper Networks (JNPR) to outperform from perform as it views shares as compelling at current levels and thinks the company is well positioned for 2010. Opco set a $31 price target on the stock.
• FBR Capital upgraded Frontline (FRO) to outperform from market perform after raising its rating on the tanker industry to overweight. The firm raised its target on shares to $33 from $23.
• PetSmart (PETM) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Career Education (CECO) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.
• Rosetta Resources (ROSE) was upgraded to buy from neutral at SunTrust.

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.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Brightpoint (NASDAQ: CELL) to Buy from Hold on expectations global handset units will trough in 2009, leading to a higher multiple for the stock. Citi raised its target on shares to $9 from $6.50.
• FBR Capital upgraded Rosetta Resources (NASDAQ: ROSE) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation and believes drilling results in Q3 and Q4 should serve as near-term catalysts. The firm raised its target on shares to $15.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Echelon (NASDAQ: ELON) to Neutral from Underweight following the company's contract announcement with Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK). The firm raised its target on shares to $10 from $6.
• Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Schawk (NYSE: SGK) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Baird.
• Alpha Natural (NYSE: ANR) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital.

Last December, over 100 stocks were featured in our Top Picks for 2007 report. Now, at mid-year, we turn to the 20 advisors whose picks showed the strongest gains to get an update on their previous picks, as well as a new favorite stock for the second half of the year.

Chris Mayer, editor of Capital & Crisis, chose Rosetta Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: ROSE) as his top pick for 2007. The stock rose 32%, as of June 1, 2007. Here is Chris's original recommendation for Rosetta and his new favorite stock for the rest of 2007.

Updating Rosetta, the advisor now says, "I continue to like ROSE, which should increase production greatly this year. The company is in good financial shape. It still has a relatively low-risk portfolio of drilling projects.

"I also feel good about the future of natural gas prices. In a world where we're draining the conventional natural gas wells at a fast rate, large fields of relatively untapped gas potential in the lower 48 are going to be worth a lot. Rosetta has that in its Rio Vista interests.

The company also keeps blowing away estimates. In the March quarter, earnings came in 33% better than analysts expected. In December, they beat the consensus by 24%. All of this and it still trades for a reasonable multiple -- only 14 times next year's (too low) estimate."

See all 20 stocks the advisors picked for the second half of 2007.

Last December, over 100 stocks were featured in our Top Picks for 2007 report. Now, at mid-year, we turn to the 20 advisors whose picks showed the strongest gains to get an update on their previous picks, as well as a new favorite stock for the second half of the year.

Chris Mayer, editor of Capital & Crisis, chose Rosetta Resources (NASDAQ: ROSE) as his favorite stock for 2007, which rose 32% as of 6/1/07. Here is his original recommendation for Rosetta and his current opinion on the stock.

For his new top pick, National Fuel Gas Co. (NYSE: NFG), he says, "I love companies with 'hidden assets,' things that have been lying around gathering dust but suddenly turn into something very valuable. It's like finding an old Mickey Mantle baseball card in Dad's attic.

"One stock that is a hidden asset in the Appalachians is National Fuel Gas. Like an old baseball card, it's been around a long time. NFG incorporated in 1902, though its predecessor companies are much older. It is an integrated gas utility. This means it is involved in every aspect of natural gas, from the bottom of the well to the burner tip.

"NFG has its own exploration and development company, with oil and gas reserves across many states (45% of production is oil). It has a regulated utility serving 727,000 customers in New York and Pennsylvania.

"It owns nearly 3,000 miles of pipeline, along with 32 storage fields. NFG also owns over 100,000 acres of black cherry hardwood in Pennsylvania. Finally, NFG has a small energy broker business with some 25,000 customers.

On today's STOP TRADING segment on CNBC, Jim Cramer said the market is acting like it is immune to falling. Even subprime lenders, First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN) and Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE:CFC) are rising without a deal yet.

Cramer again talked about Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) and the Black & Decker Corp. (NYSE:BDK) showing and that the fact it is happening ahead of the Fed announcement tomorrow is a good indicator.

On natural gas being up 11% and crude up 8%, Cramer agreed with SunTrust's call to be in natural gas. SunTrust's picks are ATPG, BBG, BEXP, CHK, EOP, EPEX, ROSE. The one Cramer noted as the play in the area if you are a true believer is Grey Wolf Inc. (NYSE:GW).

I learned something from Jessica Lee Rose, aka Lonelygirl15, aka Bree. If you make a lie pretty enough, no one will mind being deceived.

Jessica started posting her videos, in character as the 16-year-old home-schooled Midwestern teenager Bree, on YouTube. She used the screenname Lonelygirl15 and became a huge success.

Then one day, she was outed as an actress living in New Zealand. Zoinks! But instead of angering fans and being excoriated by Oprah, Jessica only became more famous and (strangely) kept posting daily videos, still in character. She now posts on her own site, lonelygirl15.com, and hobnobs with the rich and conventionally famous.

Now her video series has reached true entertainment status and she's got guest stars -- most glamorously, Katharine McPhee of American Idol fame. She appears as a girl Bree's roommate (and love interest) Daniel brings home from a bar. Rose is so well-loved despite her deceptions that she was named #1 in Forbes.com's "The Web Celeb 25" ranking, and has been reported to have secured movie deals. Want more indications of fame? A recent Law & Order episode had a character reminiscent of Bree (in the episode, the video star is kidnapped in an elaborate scripted ploy to get "ransom" money from viewers, and inevitably, someone is murdered).

Bree's life, full of mystery and glamour in the midst of an ordinary teen's existence, is everyone's dramatization of their own problems -- the makings of a blockbuster, in my opinion. If you're going to lie on the internet, it seems, make your lie dramatic and beautiful and everyone will love it.