Analyst Upgrades

• Oppenheimer upgraded Alexion (ALXN) to outperform from perform, citing the recent pullback in shares and expected momentum in the second half of 2010. The firm has a $62 price target for shares.
• FBR Capital upgraded Blue Coat Systems (BCSI) to outperform from market perform, citing positive channel checks and the recent pullback in shares. The firm maintains a $27 price target on the name.
• Needham upgraded Hologic (HOLX) to buy from hold after its mammography survey confirmed that an upgrade cycle for digital mammography is emerging. The firm has a $20 price target for shares.
• eBay (EBAY) was upgraded to neutral from sell at MKM Partners.
• Athenahealth (ATHN) was upgraded to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Las Vegas Sands (LVS) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.

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.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) is setting up development centers in India and China. Its global procurement center has already been relocated to China.

The two new centers will help IBM build its service-oriented architecture (SOA), an architecture that can help businesses find information stored in different formats faster.

The India facility will focus on solutions for healthcare. The China-based operation will work on government and bank solutions.

What happened to locating these jobs in the U.S.? IBM now has 43,000 employees in India and the number is likely to grow. So while IBM keeps it headquarters in the U.S., there seems to be a dearth of announcements about adding facilities here.

IBM has benefited from its new service-oriented strategy. On the basis of a strong financial performance in Q3, the company's stock has gone from $74 in July to the current $92, right at its 52-week high.

Let's hope that IBM's U.S.-based employees made a lot of money on their stock options. They may need it for early retirement.

Douglas McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.