Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Polaris Industries (NYSE: PII) to Buy from Hold after channel checks indicated the company's sales trends improved through September. The firm raised its target on shares to $49 from $33.
• Jefferies upgraded Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) to Hold from Underperform after channel checks indicated IT spending will be strong in the second half of 2009, but the firm finds the stock fully valued at current levels. Jefferies raised its target on shares to $40 from $32.
• Pali Captital upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and expectations that lower pricing and international growth will be catalysts going forward. The firm set a $45 price target on shares.
• Plum Creek Timber (NYSE: PCL) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
• Advanced Micro (NYSE: AMD) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• PPD Inc. (NASDAQ: PPDI) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the stimulus over there is actually working.

The most "dismissable" part of this advance, the one that I keep hearing about as a reason we shouldn't trust it, is that it is all "driven by China," as if somehow therefore it is phony and has to end.

To me, this is a preposterous analysis. I would think that anything driven by U.S. is phony and had to end. But China? They have trillions in reserves. They have a population where hundreds of millions of people don't have the most rudimentary of appliances. They have shovel-ready projects galore. They don't have unions or municipal bonds or problems balancing their state government budgets or runaway pensions. They have no legacy industries or big health care problems (at least when it comes to affording it, not when it comes to quality, which is probably pretty suspect). They have proved time and again that they can grow their economy at about 8% and when it falters they can get it right back on track, which is what they have done this time again.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says a revenue beat from the world's largest chipmaker reminds us why we own stocks.

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) (Cramer's Take) still has it. It has the ability to galvanize like no other stock on the Nasdaq. It can energize and fulfill and make people feel all is right in the world.

The signs for this one were everywhere. Samsung last week saying that it is the new bull market in semis. Taiwan Semi (NYSE: TSM) (Cramer's Take) saying it. Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) (Cramer's Take) saying it. SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) (Cramer's Take), with its flash memory cards, saying it. Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) (Cramer's Take) saying it. Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) (Cramer's Take) saying it. Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) (Cramer's Take) saying it.

But nobody was listening.

"For two years chips stocks have unequivocally stunk; the industry has been mired in a host of problems, including massive overcapacity and shrinking demand," says Toby Smith, adding, "But that's changing."

In his ChangeWave Investing, he suggests, "One recommendation in this sector is SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK), the leader in flash memory -- one of the strongest segments in semis today."

"For the second quarter in a row the semiconductor sector is showing major signs of momentum that are so good that the industry ranked at the top of the nearly 20 industries we track each quarter.

"The bottom line is that these results clearly indicate that it is time to be invested in the semis, and the best way to do this is with two short-term plays.

Technology sector expert Paul McWilliams offers an intriguing look at the new iPhone from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to uncover what tech companies are supplying components.

In his Next Inning -- a newsletter that focuses solely on high tech stocks -- the advisors offers a look at the players inside the iPhone.

McWilliams explains, "A few interesting notes have come from the folks busily tearing down the new Apple iPhone 3G S since its launch.

Analyst upgrades

• Baird upgraded Con-Way (NYSE: CNW) and Old Dominion (NASDAQ: ODFL) to Outperform from Neutral due to the benefits of a likely bankruptcy of YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW). Old Dominion's target was raised to $40 from $26 and Con-Way's was raised to $42 from $22.
• Citigroup upgraded Pride International (NYSE: PDE) to Hold from Sell as it believes higher valuation levels are warranted with the upcoming spin-off of Seahawk Drilling. Citi raised its target on shares to $25 from $18.
• Jesup & Lamont upgraded FedEx (NYSE: FDX) to Buy from Hold with a $63 target as it believes the worst is largely behind the company.
• Hewitt Associates (NYSE: HEW) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
• ArvinMeritor (NYSE: ARM) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says besides the basket plays, you can nibble at the parts suppliers like Taiwan Semi and SanDisk.

The pain of coming in on a day like today is unfathomable. But get used to it. We have first of the month and Mutual Fund Monday and roaring Asian markets and worldwide stimulus. The money coming in over the transom seems to be accelerating as people sense that the GM (NYSE: GM) (Cramer's Take) news is long in the stock market and there doesn't seem to be a crisis at hand that can stop us today. I say "today" because I am sure by the end of the day the higher-inflation/higher-taxes mob will have ginned up something to make the markets less appetizing than they seem.

But I think you shouldn't be so daunted about coming in here. Our markets are way behind so many others, including Europe -- that's probably a mistake at this point -- but most especially anything China.

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Buy from Neutral and raised their target to $22 from $16 citing the renegotiated royalty agreement with Samsung.
• Goldman also upgraded Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT) to Buy from Sell and raised their target to $27 from $11 citing strong operating leverage as RevPAR recovers.
• KeyBanc upgraded Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN) to Hold from Underweight citing a recent improvement in freight demand.
• J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) was upgraded to buy from Underperform at Banc of America/Merrill.
• Savvis (NASDAQ: SVVS) was raised to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.
• Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) was upgraded at Citigroup to Buy from Hold.

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

• American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) Q1 profit blew away estimates, sending shares soaring.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) topped analysts expectations and offered conservative guidance.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) reported better-than-expected results but warned that if faced challenges.
• Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) topped Q3 profit estimates and announced the start of quarterly dividends.
• Continental Airlines Inc. (NYSE: CAL) widened is net loss in Q1 but still beat low Wall Street estimates.

SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK - option chain) shares are headed higher today after reporting a first-quarter loss of $208 million, or 92 cents per share. SNDK's adjusted loss of 48 cents per share was not as bad as the 76-cent loss forecast by analysts. 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 SNDK.

SNDK opened this morning at $14.86. So far today the stock has hit a low of $14.69 and at 11:30 is trading at the intraday high of $15.68, up 1.97 (14.4%). The chart for SNDK looks neutral and S&P gives SNDK a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Analyst upgrades:

• KeyBanc upgraded Greenbrier (NYSE: GBX) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company has options to forestall covenant violations or bankruptcy, event if conditions deteriorate further.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) to Market Perform from Underperform citing low expectations, favorable FTC settlement, progress on cost cutting, and valuation.
  
• JP Morgan believes First Merit (NASDAQ: FMER) is one of the best positioned Midwest banks to weather the storm and notes its compelling valuation and capital levels. The firm upgraded shares to Overweight from Neutral.
• Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America/Merrill.
  
• Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP) was lifted to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.

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

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported a huge Q4 loss on a charge and the economic slowdown.
• Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) fell short of Q4 expectations but announced a dividend increase.
• Carlisle Companies Inc. (NYSE: CSL) Q4 numbers resulted in an analyst's upgrade.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) warned that its earnings would fall well below expectations.
• Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) posted a bigger-than-expected loss and outlined cost cutting plans.
• Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) shares took a hit ahead of its earnings report due to rival Mattel's Q4 results.

Traders today were again fighting mostly over whether the DJIA should trade above the 8,000 mark. But the good news was that the "Bad Bank" plan may be replaced with Uncle Sam acting as an "insurer of last resort," which would put a floor in values. Treasury Secretary Geithner also noted that the U.S. would be very aggressive in its stimulus and stabilization pact. This all sent shares higher late in the day despite the plan's massive cost. Housing data in pending home sales failed to nudge any opinion, as the gains were due to distressed selling.

Today's unofficial closing bell levels:
DJIA: 8,078.36 +141.53 +1.78%
NASDAQ: 1,516.30 +21.87 +1.46%
S&P 500: 838.51 +13.07 +1.58%
52-Week Highs... we actually have some highs!
Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades

This post was written by Minyanville contributor Bill Feingold.

With SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) -- which turned down a $26 per share bid from Samsung last fall -- now talking about raising equity at well below half that price, I think shareholders are going to be beyond irate. In what appears to be one of the great breaches of fiduciary duty of all time, management belittled Samsung for being opportunistic, trying to take advantage of a depressed stock price.

Funny, I thought that once you go public, you have made a deal that you are willing to accept the market's opinion of your value. I guess Sandisk's management somehow acquired immunity and forgot to tell everyone else.

Analyst upgrades:

• HSBC upgraded Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS) to Overweight from Neutral as it believes the risk of immediate nationalization has been removed.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded DTS Inc (NASDAQ: DTSI) to Overweight from Neutral to reflect accretion from the Neural acquisition and its expectation the company can generate strong cash flow during the downturn. The firm raised its target to $18.
  
• Cowen upgraded Coach (NYSE: COH) to Outperform from Neutral citing the recent sell-off in shares.
  
• BJ's Wholesale (NYSE: BJ) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  
• First Horizon (NYSE: FHN) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  
• Spartech (NYSE: SEH) was raised to Hold from Underweight at KeyBanc.