• Jefferies upgraded Abiomed (NASDAQ: ABMD) to Hold from Underperform on valuation as it believes concerns over the company's Impella heart pump are priced in at current levels. The firm lowered its target price to $7 from $8.
  
• Suntrust upgraded Somanetics (NASDAQ: SMTS) to Neutral from Reduce. The firm believes most of the risk is out of Somanetics shares and that the Q1 report could be a positive catalyst.
  
• Banc of America/Merrill upgraded shares of Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and believes the company's revenue trends are improving.
• China Petroleum & Chemical (NYSE: SNP) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Hexcel (NYSE: HXL) and Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

The earnings crunch is in full swing, and here are a few of the highlights of this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Allegheny Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ATI) posted lower fourth-quarter profits but record full-year sales.
• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) posted strong results and offered bullish guidance (see transcript).
• Concur Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: CNQR) revenue soared and it offered revised guidance.
• Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE: CFC) posted a bigger-than-expected loss for the fourth-quarter.
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) beat earnings expectations but fell short of revenue estimates.
• EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) beat estimates but shares were dragged down by VMware results.
• Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) shocked investors and missed earnings expectations (see transcript).
• Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) beat estimates as revenue soared.
• Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) sidestepped the subprime mess and fourth-quarter earnings soared.
• MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) reported a $2.3 million loss due to mortgage write downs.
• Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) posted a $1.6 million loss and lowered its full-year guidance.
• Monster Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST) posted strong results despite weakness in North America.
• ScanSource Inc. (NASDAQ: SCSC) beat earnings estimates but matched revenue forecasts.
• Somanetics Corp. (NASDAQ: SMTS) beat estimates and offered revised guidance.
• Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) beat expectations on revenue growth from overseas.
• UBS (NYSE: UBS) reported a record loss for the fourth quarter due to the subprime crisis.
• VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) missed revenue forecasts, sending shares tumbling.
• Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) posted unimpressive results, but beat earnings expectations (see transcript).

For additional BloggingStocks earnings highlights, see Exxon, Boeing, Halliburton, Sony, UPS, Honda, and others and McDonald's, Kraft, P&G, Verizon, MasterCard, 3M, and others.

Somanetics Corporation (NASDAQ: SMTS) is engaged in the development, manufacture, and marketing of medical devices. Its primary offering is the INVOS System, a non-invasive monitoring device that provides continuous information about changes in blood oxygen saturation levels in patients at risk for restricted blood flow. The INVOS System has applications in cardiac and carotid artery surgery, pediatric and neonatal ICU, and diabetic patient surgeries. The firm also develops and markets the CorRestore patch, for use in cardiac repair and reconstruction. The company has operations in North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Japan.

The firm pleased investors last week, when it reported Q4 EPS of 19 cents and revenues of $11.3 million. Analysts had been looking for 17 cents and $10.9 million. Management also guided FY08 revenues to $50 million, versus the $49.39 million Street estimate. The stock popped into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern on the news. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, the price appears to be in the process of executing that breakout.

The ability to closely monitor blood oxygen saturation levels is vital to the success of major surgery cases. Devices made by an outfit in Troy, Michigan allow for such monitoring in a non-invasive fashion.

Somanetics Corporation (NASDAQ: SMTS) is engaged in the development, manufacture, and marketing of medical devices. Its primary offering is the INVOS System, a non-invasive patient monitoring device that provides continuous information about changes in blood oxygen saturation levels in patients at risk for restricted blood flow. The INVOS System has applications in cardiac and carotid artery surgery, pediatric and neonatal ICU, and diabetic patient surgeries. The firm also develops and markets the CorRestore patch, for use in cardiac repair and reconstruction. The company has operations in North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Japan.

The firm pleased investors last week, when it reported solid Q2 results and issued upside guidance for FY07 revenues. In discussing the favorable outlook the CEO cited recent data showing that use of the INVOS System in coronary artery bypass graft surgery cut major organ morbidity and mortality by 73%. It also significantly shortened ICU stays. The stock popped into the initial stage of a bullish "pennant" consolidation pattern on the news. Prices frequently exit pennants moving in the same direction they were traveling when they entered them. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the issue with two "buys" and three "holds." Analysts see a 42% growth rate through the next year. The stock's Price to Book ratio (2.76), Sales Growth rate (23.4%), Operating Margin (23.58%), Net Profit Margin (35.83%), Return on Assets (17.91%), Return on Investment (18.35%) and Net Income per Employee ($138.7k) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 57% of the outstanding shares. Over the past 52 weeks, SMTS has traded between $15.07 and $24.75. A stop-loss of $16.85 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.