Wynn Resorts (WYNN - option chain) shares are rising today on news that casino revenue in the Chinese province of Macau rose 48% to $2.5 billion in March, according to government statistics. WYNN owns one of the six casinos operating on the island. 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 WYNN.

WYNN opened this morning at $130.00. So far today the stock has hit a low of $129.71 and a high of $135.59. As of 11:50, WYNN is trading at $135.29 up $8.13 (6.4%). The chart for WYNN looks bullish and S&P gives WYNN a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

Wynn Resorts (WYNN) is a developer, owner and operator of destination casino resorts. It currently owns and operates the Wynn and Encore resort casinos in Las Vegas, as well as Wynn Macau and Encore in Macau. Competitors include Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts International (MGM), SJM, Galaxy and Harrah's among others.

We currently maintain a $118 price estimate for Wynn Resorts stock, roughly 10% below market price.

Analyst Upgrades

• NYSE Euronex (NYX) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• General Dynamics (GD) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Deere (DE), Parker-Hannifin (PH) and ExlService (EXLS) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Aflac (AFL) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Wynn Resorts (WYNN) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Amdocs (DOX) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Juniper (JNPR) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
• Rudolph Tech (RTEC) and KLA-Tencor (KLAC) to perform from underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Hershey (HSY) and Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Micron (MU) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.

Stocks hit what appears to be a 2-year high on the DJIA and NASDAQ today as economists and allocation experts keep raising targets for 2011. The jobless claims data was not enough to unravel markets and Moody's issuing additional warnings on Spain and Greece failed to dash the ambitions of the bulls. Even after bond yields challenged 7-months highs briefly this morning and even after more insider trading arrests were announced, the bulls still won.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,499.25 +41.78 (0.36%)
S&P 500 1,242.87 +7.64 (0.62%)
Nasdaq 2,637.31 +20.09 (0.77%)

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades

Analyst Upgrades

• Wynn Resorts (WYNN) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Oracle (ORCL) and Alliance Data Systems (ADS) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Saint Joe (JOE) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Starwood Hotels (HOT) to neutral from underperform at RW Baird.
• Middlesex Water (MSEX) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Consol Energy (CNX) to buy from hold at BB&T.

Analyst Upgrades

• State Street (STT) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Roth Capital upgraded Intel (INTC), Marvell Technology (MRVL) and Nvidia (NVDA) to buy from neutral.
• Bebe Stores (BEBE) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Janney Montgomery.
• W&T Offshore (WTI) was upgraded to buy from accumulate at Global Hunter.
• Citigroup upgraded International Rectifier (IRF) and Timberland (TBL) to hold from sell.
• Watson Pharma (WPI) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Atmel (ATML) was upgraded to strong buy from buy at Needham.
• Ashford Hospitality (AHT) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Oppenheimer upgraded MetroPCS (PCS) to outperform from perform.

It will be a busy week. Republicans are poised to gain control of the House of Representatives and gain governorships in Tuesday's mid-term elections. Also, the Federal Reserve is expected to announce another round of quantitative easing Wednesday, following the FOMC meeting. Major retailers are scheduled to report October same-store sales Thursday, while the October unemployment rate, announced on Friday, is expected to remain at 9.6%.

Toyota's (TM) fiscal second-quarter results will be one of the highlights on the earnings front this week. After three periods of way underestimating Toyota's earnings, have the analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters got it right this time? The stock sure could use a boost. Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) is in a similar situation; i.e., high expectations for this week's quarterly results but a stock in need of a boost. Marathon (MRO) and Starbucks (SBUX) are also expected to post strong earnings growth this week, but both stocks are riding high.

Wynn Resorts, Ltd. (WYNN) closed up 2%. November put option implied volatility is at 48, January is at 46. This is near its 26-week average of 47, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Children's Place (PLCE) closed down 13% on a lower Q3 EPS view due to a slower sales trend. November option implied volatility is at 47, December is at 45, January is at 43. This is above its 26-week average of 40, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Analyst Upgrades

• SunTrust upgraded American Express (AXP) to buy from neutral with a $47 price target based on valuation.
• Argus upgraded Verizon (VZ) to buy from hold, with a $39 price target, citing valuation and the company's aggressive 4G LTE network upgrade. However, Bernstein downgraded the stock.
• BMO Capital upgraded Canadian Pacific (CP) to outperform from market perform, citing the company's cost reduction efforts, and raised its target for shares to $74 from $67.
• Agrium (AGU) was upgraded to sector outperformer from sector performer at CIBC.
• Novatel Wireless (NVTL) was upgraded to hold from sell at Canaccord.
• Essex Property Trust (ESS) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP) to buy from hold and raised its price target for shares to $40 from $28 following the company's acquisition of Qualitest. The firm believes the deal makes financial and strategic sense. Shares were also upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer with a $40 price target following the company's acquisition of Qualitest. The firm views the deal as potentially transformative for Endo.
• Goldman upgraded Carnival (CCL) to buy from neutral, citing low supply growth and cost-cutting measures. The firm also raised its price target to $44 from $36.
• Needham upgraded Jabil Circuit (JBL) to strong buy from buy with a $23 target.
• Siliconware Precision (SPIL), United Microelectronic (UMC) and Advanced Semiconductor (ASX) were upgraded to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Check Point (CHKP) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Raymond James (RJF) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Ticonderoga.

Analyst Upgrades

• Canaccord believes growth in DigitalGlobe's (DGI) commercial business will be a catalyst for shares. The firm upgraded shares to buy from hold and has a $38 price target on the stock.
• Standpoint upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to accumulate from hold based on valuation. The firm has a $47 target on the stock.
• Morgan Keegan upgraded Open Text (OTEX) to outperform from market perform based on the company's strong FY2011 EPS outlook.
• Devon Energy (DVN) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Magna (MGA) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• EnCana (ECA) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.

Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded Goldman Sachs (GS) to Outperform from Perform following the company's $550M settlement with the SEC. Opco has a $213 price target for Goldman shares. BofA/Merrill upgraded Goldman Sachs to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $182 from $160.
• Wells Fargo upgraded JP Morgan (JPM) to Outperform from Market Perform following the company's Q2 results citing valuation and lower credit costs. The firm keeps a valuation range for shares of $48-$51.
• Goldman upgraded Murphy Oil (MUR) to Buy from Neutral and has a $61 price target on the stock. The firm cites Murphy's Eagle Ford growth and valuation for the upgrade.
• Precision Cast (PCP) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Pride International (PDE) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
• BHP Billiton (BHP) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC.

Analyst Upgrades

• UBS upgraded UPS (UPS) and FedEx (FDX) to buy from hold based on recent weakness and leverage to a recovery. The firm raised its price target on UPS to $74 from $72 and on FedEx to $100 from $97.
• Bernstein upgraded Medicis (MRX) to outperform from market perform based on valuation and said the company has been executing well over the past few months. The firm has a $28 price target on the stock.
• Citigroup upgraded Weingarten Realty (WRI) to buy from hold, citing valuation and the company's improved balance sheet. The firm maintains a $24 price target for shares.
• Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's (LOW) were upgraded to market perform from underperform at BMO Capital.
• NextEra Energy (NEE) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Baird.
• Nokia (NOK) was upgraded to neutral from reduce at WestLB.

Analyst Upgrades

• Sterne Agee upgraded Wynn Resorts (WYNN) to buy from neutral and has a $115 price target on the stock. The firm believes Encore Macau will drive further share gains near-term.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded PPL Corp. (PPL) to buy from hold and said the equity offering and the the stipulation reached in the KY utilities' rate cases removes important overhangs. The firm has a $30 price target on the stock.
• UBS upgraded CarMax (KMX) to buy from neutral based on forecasts for higher consumer forecast income and positive used car trends. The firm has a $28 target on the stock.
• Aeropostale (ARO) was upgraded to outperform from underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Cardinal Financial (CFNL) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Baird.
• Pinnacle West (PNW) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.

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

• Coinstar Inc. (CSTR) shares surged following stronger-than-expected Q1 earnings driven by DVD rentals.
• Humana Inc. (HUM) shares traded lower despite the report of better-than-expected earnings for Q1.
• IMAX Corp. (IMAX) reported strong Q1 results that easily topped consensus estimates, but shares declined.
• Kellogg Co. (K) topped Q1 earnings expectations and announced a share buyback program.
• Office Depot Inc. (ODP) Q1 earnings fell short of consensus estimates and same-store sales declined.