Analyst upgrades:

• Credit Suisse upgraded Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $55 from $44 based on earnings momentum and a bottom in the Imaging and Printing segment. Note that Dell was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform.
• Jefferies upgraded Covance (NYSE: CVD) to Buy from Hold as it believes investor expectations are more reasonable following the company's conference presentation and that its Late Stage segment should continue to post strong results. The firm raised its target on shares to $65 from $5.
• Stephens upgraded Home Bancshares (NASDAQ: HOMB) to Overweight from Equal Weight to reflect improved capital levels and a better-than-expected near-term outlook. The firm raised its target on shares to $27 from $24.
• Citigroup upgraded Macy's (NYSE: M) to Buy from Hold after meeting with management as it believes the My Macy's localization is gaining traction. The firm raised its target on shares to $30 from $15.
• Gymboree (NASDAQ: GYMB) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital.
• DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
• Baytex Energy (NYSE: BTE) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.

Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) to Hold from Sell as it believes the company's second half of 2009 is tracking better than expected due to retailer restocking. Deutsche raised its target on shares to $33 from $15 but thinks Garmin's long-term trends remain unfavorable.
• Goldman upgraded Fortune Brands (NYSE: FO) to Buy from Neutral citing potential EPS improvement driven by the Home division. Fortune Brands price target to $49 from $45. Note that the firm downgraded General Mills to Neutral from Buy.
• Oppenheimer upgraded FPIC Insurance (NASDAQ: FPIC) to Outperform from Perform to reflect the company's acquisition of Advocate MD and management's commitment to share repurchases. The firm set a $49 price target on the stock.
• PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG) and Olin Corp. (NYSE: OLN) were upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
• Synovus (NYSE: SNV) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Take-Two (NASDAQ: TTWO) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

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

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) earnings prospects and declining sales resulted in a downgrade.
• America's Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT) stronger-than-expected Q1 results led shares to a four-year high.
• ArcSight Inc. (NASDAQ: ARST) reported strong Q1 numbers on increasing demand for cyber security.
• Brown-Forman Inc. (NYSE: BF.B) Q1 results easily topped expectations despite a decline in revenue.
• Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) posted a Q3 loss but revenue improved sequentially, and shares rose.

Fair or not, Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) has a reputation for a shallow pipeline of shareholder-enhancing software. It is known simply as the Grand Theft Auto publisher. There's more to Take-Two, of course. There are sports titles, for example. There's BioShock. How about the big hit for the Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) Wii, Carnival Games? What about Borderlands?

That's all well and good, but if you look at the company's latest earnings report, you'll have no choice but to conclude that the one-game reputation is firmly intact.

Take-Two's top line plummeted 68% during the fiscal third quarter. Net loss on an adjusted basis came to 66 cents per share. There was a huge profit of 93 cents per share in the year-ago period, driven by the fourth edition of Grand Theft Auto. Not a great comparison. At least the performance was a little better than expectations. According to Earnings.com, Wall Street was calling for a loss of around 68 cents per share.

Oh, I am so depressed! I was thinking of buying Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) for an earnings trade, but unfortunately never got around to it. Those who did are pretty happy. The publisher released second-quarter results on Wednesday after the bell, and investors bid the stock over 10% higher today.

Adjusted revenues came in at a little over $800 million. Management's previous guidance called for $775 million to be booked. Adjusted earnings were 8 cents per share, 2 cents ahead of company expectations. According to Reuters, this was a penny better than what the actual analysts were forecasting.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), a video-game publisher that competes with Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), THQ (NASDAQ: THQI), and Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), issued Q1 stats after the bell on Tuesday. Things are looking up for the company famous for its Madden brand of football software. Adjusted revenues increased over 30%, and the loss on the bottom line narrowed to 2 cents per share from a loss of 42 cents per share in the year-ago period.

The profit performance beat Wall Street's expectations, as Alex Salkever reports over at DailyFinance. You can check out his article to get the highlights of the quarter and a perspective on the current state of the video-game industry, which includes console makers Sony (NYSE: SNE), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY).

THQ (NASDAQ: THQI), a video-game software publisher that competes with Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), and my personal favorite, Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), lost well over 6% of its market value during Tuesday's after-hours trading session. The culprit catalyst? First-quarter earnings.

I was a bit surprised by the sell-off at first. After all, sales increased over 77%, and earnings per share on an adjusted basis came in at 10 cents versus a loss of 38 cents one year ago. That sounds awesome on the surface, as does the fact that Reuters says the market was actually expecting a loss of 6 cents per share!

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

• American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, lifting shares.
• AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) posted a better-than-expected Q3 profit said it will continue to buy back shares.
• Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO) reported lower Q2 earnings and also announced 1,100 layoffs.
• Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) higher Q1 earnings topped estimates even though same-store sales fell.
• BioMed Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: BMR) earnings prospects after the recent capital raise led to a downgrade.

Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), a video-game publisher that competes with Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), THQ (NASDAQ: THQI), and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), reported Q2 results on Tuesday after the bell.

Revenues dipped considerably to roughly $230 million. Last year at this time, Take-Two generated $540 million on the top line. Blame it on a very tough comparison. The publisher was basking in the glory of Grand Theft Auto IV in 2008, so that has to be taken into consideration by investors.

After the Memorial Day holiday in the United States, the earnings spotlight turns to Canadian banks: Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE: CM), Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY), and Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD) are all scheduled to report their second-quarter results.

While banks north of the border of generally have held up better than their U.S. counterparts, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the four listed above to report that earnings declined between 20% and 30% since the same period of last year. All four have P/E ratios around 10, and they are paying dividends. Shares of all four have surged 50% to 83% in the past three months, but are still 26% to 38% lower than a year ago.

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), a video-game publisher that competes with Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), THQ (NASDAQ: THQI), and Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), reported some cool first-quarter numbers on Thursday after the bell. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 8 cents per share. According to analysts, Activision Blizzard was only supposed to do around 5 cents per share.

Not only was the bottom line solid, but revenues on an adjusted basis also came in ahead of expectations. And you can thank the usual suspects for powering up the quarter. You've got Call of Duty. You've got Guitar Hero. You've got World of Warcraft. These best-of-breed franchises are selling a lot of copies on Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3, Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox 360, and Nintendo's (OTC: NTDOY) Wii.

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

• Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) reported strong Q4 numbers as same-store sales increased.
• American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) same-store sales fell in Q4 but earnings met expectations.
• ArcSight Inc. (NASDAQ: ARST) continued its growth in Q3 and it forecast continued growth.
• Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE) posted a better-than-expected Q4 profit and continued same-store sales growth.
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) CEO said in a memo that it earned a profit in the first two months of this quarter.
• Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) beat Q4 earnings estimates but same-store sales fell.

Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), a video-game company that competes with Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), and THQ (NASDAQ: THQI), delivered some good news in its first-quarter report. The company reported a loss of $0.52 per share on an adjusted basis. I know, a loss is a loss and is never a good thing, but at least it was better than analyst expectations. According to this source, Wall Street was figuring on a loss of $0.73 per share.

According to speculation in various news outlets and blogs, Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) may end up doing something with its huge cash position. The software publisher, most famous these days for its Guitar Hero property, has around $3 billion in its coffers. The question is, should Activision Blizzard spend its cash on an acquisition as opposed to doing other things with the money, like pay a special dividend or increase its buyback?

Considering that assets are cheap because of the recession, I'd say that a little shopping might not be such a bad idea. Here's an article that discusses the possibility of Activision Blizzard taking over Take-Two (NASDAQ: TTWO) distributor of Grand Theft Auto. Then there's the concept of buying up THQ (NASDAQ: THQI). Perhaps the company could take Mortal Kombat off the corporate hands of Midway Games.

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), a video-game publisher that competes with Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), THQ (NASDAQ: THQI), and Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), reported earnings for the fourth quarter on Wednesday after the bell. The company did well during the holiday-selling season, in my opinion. According to this source, adjusted quarterly earnings of 31 cents per share beat estimates by two pennies. Non-GAAP sales of $2.3 billion also beat analyst expectations.

However, the market decided to sell the stock in the after-hours session after the earnings were released because of what was perceived to be a poor outlook for the next fiscal year (as I was writing this piece, the shares were off by about 4%). Analysts were hoping that 2009 would bring 67 cents per share on an adjusted basis, but Activision Blizzard's management team thinks 61 cents per share is more likely.