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

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) said its Q3 profit declined despite the popularity of Guitar Hero.
• Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) said Q3 revenue surged and its offered impressive cash flow numbers.
• Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) easily beat Q3 earnings estimates and raised its full-year guidance.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) lower Q1 results topped estimates and sent shares higher.
• Cognizant Technology Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: CTSH) was upgraded following its strong Q3 results.
• Corporate Executive Board (NASDAQ: EXBD) received an analyst's upgrade following the Q3 results.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE: VMC) issued Q3 results late Monday. Total revenues decreased over 20%. Earnings from continuing operations dropped 29% to 38 cents per share. According to Earnings.com, this means that the company came in a penny ahead of estimates.

Going into yesterday's earnings report, shares of Vulcan Materials were pretty active. They increased over 2% to close at $47.12. Volume was above the norm. The market was obviously quite bullish on the stock.

In June, the argument was made that Wall Street's haircut of Vulcan Materials to $34 from more than $100 was way overdone.

So far, that argument looks good, and I'm therefore Reiterating my Buy rating for Vulcan Materials (NYSE: VMC), first recommended on June 3, 2009 at a price of $46.26. If you purchased VMC then, you're up about 19%.

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:

• Citigroup upgraded Capital One (NYSE: COF) to Buy from Hold as it believes the credit cycle is starting to recover for U.S. credit cards and an improving economy will support bank credit stabilization. The firm raised its target on shares to $44 from $28.
• JPMorgan upgraded Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to Overweight from Neutral on valuation and believes the stock market recovery will serve as a catalyst.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) to Buy from Hold after its channel checks indicated a sooner-than-expected order ramp and stabilizing pricing trends. The firm raised its target on shares to $46 from $39.
• COTT Corp. (NYSE: COT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
• Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

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

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) reported better-than-expected Q2 results, sending shares higher.
• Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) said it swung to a Q2 profit despite a dearth of leveraged buyouts.
• CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) Q2 earnings declined but still topped estimates, sending shares higher.
• Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) reported stellar Q2 results driven by its the popularity of RedBox.
• Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) posted solid Q4 earnings but said revenues were flat due to currency effects.
• Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) lower Q2 earnings beat expectations by a penny but revenue fell short.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE: VMC), a maker of construction materials such as cement and asphalt, announced Q2 earnings yesterday evening. Although the company has a cool name -- come on, who doesn't think of Mr. Spock when reading about Vulcan Materials -- there wasn't a significant cool factor surrounding the Q2 numbers. Net income from continuing operations came in at 14 cents per share. The company made $1.27 per share from continuing businesses in the year-ago period.

Big drop, that is. Sales likewise headed south: the company booked revenues of roughly $722 million in the second quarter. Vulcan Materials had a top line of over $1 billion in Q2 2008.

Analyst Upgrades

• McAdams Wright expects Dendreon's (NASDAQ: DNDN) near-term momentum to continue but has long-term concerns that Street estimates are too high. The firm upgraded shares to Hold from Sell.
• JPMorgan upgraded Ameristar Casinos (NASDAQ: ASCA) to Overweight from Neutral to reflect valuation, potential catalysts from Colorado's easing gaming regulations, and the company's strong free cash flow. The firm raised its target on shares to $24 from $20.
• Citigroup upgraded Valspar (NYSE: VAL) to Hold from Sell after channel checks indicated paint demand is shifting to big-box retailers, the company's primary sales channel. The firm raised its target on shares to $22 from $19.
• Vulcan Materials (NYSE: VMC) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Altera (NASDAQ: ALTR) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
• Spectra Energy (NYSE: SEP) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE: VMC) is another one of those solid business models that Wall Street treated rudely when the recession hit.

Vulcan's sin? It is a leading producer of cement in Florida. What Wall Street 'forgot' was that VMC is also a major producer of asphalt and concrete, and that it shipped aggregates to 23 states, the District of Columbia, Mexico, the Bahamas, Canada and Chile.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says after seeing what was passed, forget the infra plays.

Is President Obama listening to all of those good businesspeople around him? Or is it all being done for show? Did they really get behind that stimulus package that couldn't stimulate a fraction of the jobs that have already been lost this month?

I couldn't help but feel that way after speaking to Dan Dimicco from Nucor (NYSE: NUE) (Cramer's Take) last night. Nucor's had about a 50% drop in production of steel -- the kind of steel that would be used in any real infrastructure package -- and he was simply aghast that anyone could check off on anything that small, that the amount of steel that would be used in that package was minuscule and wouldn't mean a thing.

The focus of last week's preview was on oil and energy companies, and we saw that big oil had a good week, reporting better-than-expected results and record profits driven by high prices in the third quarter. Energy-related companies are well represented again this week and expectations in general remain high.

Early in the week, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial anticipate that the big earnings gainers will include EOG Resources Inc. (NYSE: EOG), Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC), and Cimarex Energy Co. (NYSE: XEC), which are expected to post profits of $2.24 per share (up 64.7% from a year ago), $1.48 per share (up 52.7%) and $2.26 per share (up 61.1%) respectively. All three of them have offered positive surprises in recent quarters, and analysts on average recommend buying EOG and Anadarko. Other expected big earnings gainers early in the week include Forest Oil Corp. (NYSE: FST), Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD), Comstock Resources Inc. (NYSE: CRK), and MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA). The earnings of phosphates producer Innophos Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: IPHS) are expected to have risen 92.3% to $3.37 per share. Innophos beat estimates in the previous quarter by a whopping 210%, and analysts have been impressed with Innophos's lack of debt and pricing gains despite the slowing economy, so, on average, they recommend buying IPHS.

Also early in the week, analysts expect Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT), Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (NASDAQ: KALU), and Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE: OSK) to report that their profits fell 52.9% to $0.33 per share, 45.1% to $0.67 per share, and 41.2% to $0.67 per share, respectively. These companies have tended to beat estimates in recent quarters, and the consensus recommendations of analysts are to buy them. However, PMI Group Inc. (NYSE: PMI), one of the largest private mortgage insurance providers in the U.S., is expected to take another hit as the housing slump drags on. The California-based company is expected to have widened its net loss from $1.04 per share a year ago to $2.43 per share in the most recent quarter. Its shares are down 84.5% from a year ago, and have been trading recently near their 52-week low.

With a turn of the calendar page, we drift into the middle portion of the current quarter, but the earnings season rolls on. Among the many companies scheduled to report quarterly results this coming week are Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), and Whole Foods Market International (NASDAQ: WFMI). Let's take a look at which companies Wall Street analysts are expecting to be among the top earnings gainers and decliners this week.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expect the following to report strong earnings growth when compared to the same period of the previous year.

• DRS Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DRS): $0.85 EPS (+95.3%) on revenue of $823.8 million (+12.0%)
• Integrys Energy Group Inc. (NYSE: TEG): $0.40 EPS (+70.0%) on revenue of $2.6 billion (+9.7%)
• Cimarex Energy Co. (NYSE: XEC): $2.53 EPS (+64.4%) on revenue of $599.9 million (+75.4%)
• Forest Oil Corp. (NYSE: FST): $1.51 EPS (+55.6%) on revenue of $456.1 million (+79.1%)
• Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN): $3.28 EPS (+48.5%) on revenue of $4.1 billion (+38.5%)
• CMS Energy Corp. (NYSE: CMS): $0.13 EPS (+46.2%) on revenue of $1.4 billion (+6.7%)
• Transocean Inc. (NYSE: RIG): $3.23 EPS (+43.0%) on revenue of $3.1 billion (+112.9%)
• Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE): $0.26 EPS (+38.5%) on revenue of $3.5 billion (+8.9%)
• Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE: WMB): $0.69 EPS (+37.7%) on revenue of $3.4 billion (+20.0%)
• Harris Corp. (NYSE: HRS): $0.99 EPS (+28.3%) on revenue of $1.4 billion (+18.0%)

MOST NOTEWORTHY: 012Smile.com, Lifecell and Genoptix were today's noteworthy initiations:

• 012Smile.com (NASDAQ: SMLC) was initiated with an Outperform rating and a $16 target at CIBC World Markets and RBC Capital and with an Overweight rating and $14.75 target at Thomas Weisel. CIBC believes the company is one of the least expensive smart-build competitive carriers in the world. The firm believes the company is poised to gain market share in newly opened local and wireless markets, and sees room for the company to expand its customer base in Israel. Cowen, which started shares with an Outperform rating, believes SMLC backing by Eurocom provides the company with significant clout and financial backing. The firm sees upside from new voice over broadband and wireless services.
  
• Banc of America resumed coverage of Lifecell (NASDAQ: LIFC) with a Neutral rating and $48 target and prefers to wait for a better entry point or evidence of better than expected Strattice uptake.
  
• The firm also started Genoptix (NASDAQ: GXDX) with a Buy rating and $36 target, as they believe the funds raised in the company's IPO will help drive annual EPS growth of 35% on a long-term basis, leading to higher valuation levels.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• JP Morgan initiated Fred's Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED) with a Neutral rating.
  
• UBS started Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC) with a Sell rating and $85 target and Martin Marietta (NYSE: MLM) with a Neutral rating and $137 target.

On today's STOP TRADING! segment on CNBC, Cramer again talked piggybacking on window dressing at the end of the quarter (this Friday).

Tesoro Corp. (NYSE: TSO) and Avnet Inc. (NYSE: AVT) were noted. Vulcan Materials Co. (NYSE: VMC) and Florida Rock Industries, Inc. (NYSE: FRK) were noted. RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) is one that was noted as potentially still going up because of Julian Day's turnaround. Cramer said he'd buy it hand over fist if it came down very much. On Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Cramer thinks that you can go back in under $59. Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) and Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG) were noted in the farmer section.

Futures are lower early this morning, indicating a similar start for the stock markets as Wall Street starts the shortened trading week following announcement of merger and acquisitions and some big retailers reporting earnings today.

There is no economic data reported today.

Oil prices fell today after the Iranian President said in a more conciliatory tone Iran would halt its uranium enrichment program and return to negotiations. If Iran follows in the footsteps of N.Korea that signed an agreement last week regarding its nuclear program, is yet to be seen.

European stocks fell from their six-year high after disappointing results from Clariant and Cadbury. Asian stocks closed mixed.

Without a doubt, the biggest corporate news comes from satellite radio. Yesterday, it was announced that the two satellite radio companies have reached an agreement to merge. Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) would buy XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:XMSR) in a stock swap deal valued at $4.57 billion. While the two companies have agreed between them, the merger still has to be approved by the FCC and the Department of Justice (antitrust). SIRI shares are up 13.5% in pre-market trading while XMSR shares are gaining 27%.

Another deal was announced yesterday. Vulcan Materials Co. (NYSE:VMC) agreed to buy Florida Rock Industries Inc. (NYSE:FRK) in a cash and stock deal worth around $4.6 billion, allowing the construction materials maker company to expand into Florida and other states.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) reported higher quarterly profit today with net income rising to $3.94 billion, or 95 cents per share, from $3.59 billion or 86 cents per share a year ago. Analysts on average had been expecting profit of 90 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD), reported a 28% drop in fourth-quarter profit despite a 4% gain in sales. HD earned $925 million, or 46 cents a share, compared to a profit of $1.29 billion, or 60 cents a share, for the same period a year ago. Excluding charges of 4 cents per share, the company reported earnings of 50 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of 50 cents a share.

Meanwhile, Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) said yesterday it still expects same-stores sales to rise between 4-6% in February. Target will report sales for the month on March 8.

DaimlerChrysler (NYSE:DCX) might still be in focus today after much speculation about the company selling its money-losing Chrysler Group.