Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded BP (BP) to buy from neutral.
• STEC (STEC) was upgraded to buy from hold at Needham.
• MCG Capital (MCGC) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Corporate Office (OFC) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• Citigroup upgraded K-Sea Transportation (KSP) and Post Properties (PPS) to hold from sell.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Embraer (ERJ) to buy from underperform.
• Wilmington Trust (WL) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.
• Parkway Properties (PKY) was upgraded to hold from sell at Stifel Nicolaus.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Wright Medical, Bristol-Myers and Tibco were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Thomas Weisel upgraded shares of Wright Medical (NASDAQ: WMGI) to Overweight from Market Weight after transferring coverage to another analyst, as they believe the company is well-positioned for continued good near-term performance.
  
• Bernstein upgraded Bristol-Myers (NYSE: BMY) to Outperform from Market Perform citing valuation, growth, and views the company as a potential M&A target.
  
• Jefferies upgraded Tibco (NASDAQ: TIBX) to Hold from Underperform as they believe investor expectations for a buyout will keep the stock steady despite the company's deteriorating fundamentals.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Independent Bank (NASDAQ: IBCP) was raised to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
  
• Brinker (NYSE: EAT) was raised at Goldman to Neutral from Sell.
  
• Piper upgraded The9 (NASDAQ: NCTY) to Buy from Neutral.

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

• Allegiant Travel Co. (NASDAQ: ALGT) beat estimates with soaring Q1 revenues, bucking the airline trend.
• Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) Q1 profits doubled but fell short of expectations.
• Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) posted solid Q1 results despite negative operational cash flow.
• Centex Corp. (NYSE: CTX) posted a Q4 loss well below analyst estimates.
• Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI) profits plunged in the first quarter on litigation charges.
• Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE: CFC) posted another big loss, way off estimates of a small profit.
• Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) posted its first quarterly loss since 2003 on write-downs.
• Gardner Denver Inc. (NYSE: GDI) beat Q1 expectations and raised its outlook for the year.
• International Paper Co. (NYSE: IP) fell short of Wall Street's Q1 earnings estimates.
• Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC) beat Q1 estimates and offered fully-year guidance.
• KBR Inc. (NYSE: KBR) Q1 profit more than doubled on arbitration benefit.
• MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) topped analysts' expectations as Q1 profits more than doubled.
• Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) Q1 profits tumbled 55% but still beat analysts' estimates.

Wright Medical Group (NASDAQ: WMGI) is an orthopedic medical device company focusing on the design, manufacture and marketing of reconstructive joint devices and biologic products. Offerings include implants for major and minor joints, an injectable putty for bone defects, bone graft materials and tissue substitutes. Wright Medical serves orthopedic surgery customers in more than 60 countries. Stryker Corporation (NYSE: SYK) and Zimmer Holdings (NYSE: ZMH) are competitors.

The firm surprised the Street last week, when it reported Q1 EPS of 17 cents and revenues of $115.9 million. Analysts had been looking for 13 cents and $108.2 million. The company experienced growth across all of its major product lines. In fact, the CEO noted that it was Wright Medical's "ninth consecutive quarter of global sales growth acceleration." Management also guided Q2 EPS to 17-18 cents (15 cent consensus), Q2 revenues to $113.5-$115.5 million ($112.13M consensus), FY08 EPS to 87-91 cents (62 cent consensus) and FY08 revenues to $455-$465 million ($439.94M consensus). Leerink Swann subsequently upgraded the stock to "outperform".

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Wright Medical, Atlas America and Delta Air Lines were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• JP Morgan upgraded Wright Medical (NASDAQ: WMGI) to overweight from neutral citing company specific momentum and the increasingly favorable orthopedic industry backdrop.
• Atlas America (NASDAQ: ATLS) was raised to outperform from market perform at Friedman Billings citing valuation and outlook for its upstream MLP.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) to Outperform from Neutral citing valuation and capacity cuts. The firm also upgraded Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) to outperform from neutral.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Broadpoint raised Aventine Renewable (NYSE: AVR) to neutral from underperform.
  
• Crown Castle (NYSE: CCI) and SBA Comm (NASDAQ: SBAC) were upgraded to buy from hold at Soleil.