Sometimes, a big market washout like we had on Friday, when the S&P 500 fell 10 points and the Dow was down 170 points at its worst level, can reveal an awful lot about individual stocks. It's days like these when the winners stick out like sore thumbs and reveal just how much demand there is for their shares. On Friday, there was a collection of such stocks.

All the following names have had astounding gains in the past year, and it sure looks like they are prepared to continue on that same trajectory. These stocks stuck out like a sore thumb on Friday because of significant buying interest in a terrible broad market tape. None of the moves in these names was driven by news

Riverbed Technology (RVBD - option chain) shares are rising today on reports that the company is in negotiations to buy Radware (RDWR) for $47 per share. Rival Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) reportedly has offered $45 per share for RDWR. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on RVBD.

RVBD opened this morning at $35.50. So far today the stock has hit a low of $34.58 and a high of $36.91. As of 12:20, RVBD is trading at $34.99 up 0.17 (0.5%). The chart for RVBD looks neutral and S&P gives RVBD a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

The market won't let QE2 go ahead of the G20 meetings. Now the talk is that the second wave of quantitative easing is mostly priced in, as well as fears of ongoing currency wars. The markets were mixed at the open, but shares were lower by the close on the DJIA, and trying to hold on to positive in the NASDAQ and S&P500.

Here were the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,132.26 -14.31 (-0.13%)
S&P 500 1,183.05 +2.79 (0.24%)
Nasdaq 2,479.39 +19.72 (0.80%)

Top Analyst Calls
Next Week's Top Earnings

Analyst Upgrades

• Union Pacific (UNP) and Polycom (PLCM) were upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Time Warner Cable (TWC) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• LaSalle Hotel (LHO) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Graco (GGG) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Valley National (VLY) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Credit Suisse (CS) was upgraded to hold from sell at RBS.
• U.S. Bancorp (USB) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Penn National (PENN) and Riverbed (RVBD) were upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Goodrich (GR) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• Amazon.com (AMZN) upgraded to buy from average at Caris.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Lubrizol (LZ) to Hold from Sell following the company's analyst day citing its continued pricing power in lubricants. Citi upped its target price for shares to $115 from $82.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Viacom (VIA) to Buy from Neutral citing the company's ratings improvement, 2011 film slate, and video game pipeline. The firm has a $45 price target for shares.
• BMO Capital resumed coverage on Gammon Gold (GRS) with an Outperform from a Market Perform following the its equity issue. The firm has a $12.50 price target on the stock.
• Comerica (CMA) and First Horizon (FHN) were upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Prudential (PRU) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
• Itron (ITRI) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Stifel Nicolaus.

Option traders appear to be setting up for a bullish move on Cogent Inc. (COGT). Traders plowed into 1,571 new call option contracts -- 3.27 times the average volume -- on the stock on Friday. And we know that traders were eager to get into this trade because 99% of the trades came in on the ask price.

Recently, 3M Company (MMM) announced that it was going to acquire Cogent for $10.50 per share. The stock closed Friday at $11.01, up 19.53% during the past month.

As companies increase collaboration across many offices, it's getting much more complicated to manage information technology resources. But Riverbed Technology (RVBD) has been working on solutions to this problem for some time. Its main focus is on so-called wide area network (WAN) optimization.

This is a red-hot market and Riverbed is certainly a key beneficiary as it demonstrated in its latest quarterly release reported late Thursday. Shares of the company soared as much as 11% in Friday's trading. And given the growth ahead for the company -- and the strong momentum -- the good news for investors should continue.

Analyst Upgrades

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded East West Bancorp (EWBC) to outperform from market perform after the company acquired assets from Washington First International Bank. The firm has a $21 price target for shares.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Amylin (AMLN) to overweight from neutral, citing valuation and Bydureon's profile. The firm maintains a $26 price target for shares.
• Soleil upgraded MGM Mirage (MGM) to hold from sell, citing signs of stabilization in Vegas and valuation. The firm upped its target for shares to $13 from $11.10.
• T. Rowe Price (TROW) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• JetBlue (JBLU) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• NetEase.com (NTES) was upgraded to buy from hold at Standpoint Research.

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

• Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) lower Q1 earnings were better than expected but it lowered its full-year outlook.
• McDonald's Corp. (MCD) solid Q1 numbers were driven by its value menu, McCafe, and strength overseas.
• Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) topped Q1 earnings expectations and cash from operations rose, but shares declined.
• Netflix Inc. (NFLX) shares were lifted after its strong Q1 earnings beat consensus estimates.
• PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) fell short of Q1 revenue estimates but beat earnings per share expectations by a penny.

Last year, Riverbed Technology (RVBD) wound-up as the number two company on the Forbes America's Fastest-Growing Tech Companies list. Based on its latest earnings report, it looks like the company will maintain it top ranking.

Riverbed develops sophisticated networking technology -- called wide area network (WAN) optimization -- that helps with collaboration within companies. The solution is affordable and often has a quick payback.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Robert Half (NYSE: RHI) to Hold from Sell following the company's Q2 results, believing the worst may be behind the company. Citi raised its target on shares to $24 from $18.
• Goldman upgraded AnnTaylor (NYSE: ANN) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $13 from $6.50, citing improved merchandising and inventories.
• Baird upgraded TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI) to Outperform from Underperform and raised its target to $12 from $9, citing the better-than-expected Q2 report and guidance, strong balance sheet, and valuation.
• F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Sanmina (NASDAQ: SANM) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) to Hold from Sell citing reduced legacy risks and strength in the fixed income franchise.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Fuel Systems (NASDAQ: FSYS) to Buy from Neutral based on valuation, the OEM market in Europe for alternative transportation is growing faster than expected, and the $30M equity raise was smaller than expected.
• Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform by FBR Capital. The firm believes that the company will benefit from copper supply issues over the long term, and it thinks the stock has reached an attractive entry point.
• Black & Decker (NYSE: BDK) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
• American Tower (NYSE: AMT) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
• EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) was upgraded at Barclays to Overweight from Equal Weight.

This post was written by Minyanville Contributor Smita Sadana.

A stock that I am keenly watching today is Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ: RVBD), which is up in this down market. Minyans might remember that we had concluded a successful long trade in this stock. For more please see my note on April 24th.

Here are some thoughts on the new technical picture:

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

• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reported strong Q1 results easily beat expectations.
• Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings, helped by home refinancing.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) reported its first quarterly loss since 1992 and cut its revenue outlook.
• Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) posted Q1 earnings that were in line with expectations, but shares fell.
• eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings despite a decline in sales.

• Earnings beat expectations. RVBD reported EPS of 13 cents vs. consensus of 10 cents. The revenue number was also higher.
  
  
• Several brokers have enthusiastically raised their targets for RVBD. Lazard Capital raised the price target from $14 to $17, and Wedbush and William Blair upgraded the stock.
  
  
• The percentage of float shorted was 21% at the beginning of April. This stands out as the most interesting piece of data for a trader like me. Given the ignition provided by the good earnings announcement, wouldn't the shorts rush to cover?