Whole Foods Market (WFMI - option chain) shares are rising today after the company reported earnings last night, posting a fiscal-Q1 profit of $88.7 million, or 51 cents per share, on revenue of $3 billion. Analysts had forecast a profit of 45 cents per share on revenue of $2.98 billion. The company also lifted its 2011 earnings forecast to a range of $1.76 to $1.80 per share, up from a previous range of $1.66 to $1.71 per share. Analysts are expecting 2011 earnings of $1.71 per share. 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 WFMI.

WFMI opened this morning at $58.77. So far today the stock has hit a low of $58.49 and a high of $60.94. As of 12:05, WFMI is trading at $60.56 up 6.56 (12.7%). The chart for WFMI looks bullish and S&P gives WFMI a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

Analyst Upgrades

• Polo Ralph Lauren (RL) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Sigma-Aldrich (SIAL) to outperform from market perform at Leerink.
• Petrobras (PBR) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Silvercorp Metals (SVM) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• PROS (PRO) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Power Integrations (POWI) and Monolithic Power (MPWR) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Diodes (DIOD) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Whole Foods (WFMI) to hold from sell at Hapoalim.
• Sinclair Broadcast (SBGI) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Sappi (SPP) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Alpha Natural (ANR) to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Watts Water (WTS) to buy from hold at Brean Murray.

They don't all work out. Natural/organic grocery store chain Whole Food Market Inc. (WFMI), which was deemed an attractive short candidate on September 23, 2010 at a price of $36.40, has been stopped-out for a 12-point loss.

Sometimes, you just get it wrong. Other times, objective events turn against you. With the Whole Foods short it was combination.

In September, the calculation was that Whole Food's fiscal 2011 revenue increase would lag the 10-12% consensus, as an increasing number of suddenly-just-modest-income Americans shunned the chain.

Analyst Upgrades

• DuPont (DD) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• UBS upgraded Deere (DE) to buy from neutral and AGCO (AGCO) to neutral from sell.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Thoratec (THOR) and DTE Energy (DTE) were upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• NICE Systems (NICE) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Copa Holdings (CPA) to buy from hold.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Nu Skin (NUS) to buy from neutral.
• Continental Resources (CLR) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Smith Micro (SMSI) to overweight from neutral and raised its price target to $15 from $9, citing the release of a WiFi iPad with MiFi from Verizon and Apple.
• Jefferies upgraded Whole Foods (WFMI) to buy from hold and raised its price target to $45 from $36, citing checks that indicate sales are accelerating and the company has been focused on expense control.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Ensco (ESV) and raised its price target to $54 to $56 from $46 to $47, citing valuation, the lifted deepwater drilling ban and higher oil prices.
• Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) was upgraded to buy from hold at Wunderlich, citing the company's Moqueta oil discovery as well as other near-term exploration opportunities, and raised its price target to $12.50 from $7.00.
• Chico's FAS (CHS) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc and set a $13 price target.
• UR-Energy (URE) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.

Analyst Upgrades

• Soleil upgraded Community Health (CYH) to buy from hold based on expectations for improved 2011 demand. The firm has a $40 price target on the stock.
• Wunderlich upgraded Invesco Mortgage (IVR) to buy from hold following the company's better-than-expected Q3 dividend. The firm also raised its target price for shares to $23.50 from $21.50.
• Goldman upgraded SuccessFactors (SFSF) to conviction buy from buy, citing cloud exposure.
• Vulcan Materials (VMC) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Comstock Resources (CRK) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Ladenburg.
• Trimble Navigation (TRMB) was upgraded to buy from hold at Canaccord.

Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) closed up 80 cents to $32.48. BBY is expected to report Q2 EPS in mid September. September put option implied is at 45, December is at 41, versus its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFMI) closed up 52 cents to $35.87. September put option implied volatility is at 35, November puts are at 45 versus its 26-week average of 39, according to Track Data, suggesting larger November price movement.

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

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman believes EOG Resources (EOG) can regain its premium multiple given its ability to find new horizontal liquids resource plays. The firm upgraded shares to conviction buy from buy and has a $129 price target on the stock.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Macerich (MAC) to buy from hold following the company's Q2 results and raised its target for shares to $47 from $45.
• Needham upgraded QuinStreet (QNST) to strong buy from buy, citing the strong Q4 report and valuation, and has a $20 target on the stock.
• Macy's (M) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Whole Foods (WFMI) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Texas Instruments (TXN) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.

Analyst Upgrades

• Canaccord upgraded Whole Foods (WFMI) to buy from hold based on the company's solid growth outlook. The firm has a $49 target on the stock.
• Bernstein upgraded Mylan (MYL) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation and expectations that its generic business will grow over then next two years. The firm has a $22 target on the stock.
• Jefferies upgraded Omega Healthcare (OHI) to buy from hold with a $26 target based on the company's earnings outlook, valuation and upside from its SNF portfolio.
• Procter & Gamble (PG) was upgraded to buy from hold at Argus.
• Ryland Group (RYL) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Deere (DE) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Longbow.

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

• Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) Q1 net loss was in line with estimates and same-store sales declined, shares also fell.
• CA Inc. (CA) shares sold off on high volume following the Q4 earnings miss and disappointing guidance.
• Cigna Corp. (CI) reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings and higher revenue, and reaffirmed its full-year outlook.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) beat Q3 earnings and revenue expectations in the "strongest quarter in our history."
• Dean Foods Co. (DF) lower Q1earnings beat analysts' estimates, but shares fell on heavy volume afterward.
• Denny's Corp. (DENN) bested consensus estimates and year-ago EPS by a penny, but said same-store sales fell.

Whole Foods Market (WFMI) has been one heck of a nice investment over the last 12 months. The 52-week low is $17.16; the 52-week high is $40.70. The company reported its second-quarter numbers on Wednesday after the bell, and once the traders took a look at the data, they decided to push the stock even higher. It reached $42.85, which means that the stock was up over 6% from yesterday's close of $40.25.

Of course, we'll have to see what Thursday's regular session brings for the company. No matter what, though, I'm sure many players want a reason to bet on this business. The one-year chart shows an upward trend, albeit with one big rough patch in the middle.

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

• Apollo Group Inc. (APOL) second quarter EPS guidance fell short of analysts' estimates, sending shares lower.
• CBS Corp. (CBS) higher Q4 earnings were in line with analysts' expectations but free cash flow declined.
• Deere & Co. (DE) posted higher Q1 earnings that easily topped expectations, sending shares sharply higher.
• Gap Inc. (GPS) received a downgrade from an analyst that foresees contracting earnings, returns and margins.
• Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) better-than-expected Q1 results were accompanied by a better-than-expected outlook.

Grocer giant Whole Foods (WFMI) reported its first quarter results Tuesday, easily beating out analyst estimates for the quarter.

As we noted in our earnings preview for Whole Foods, analysts had forecast that the company would be announcing that it earned 26 cents per share during the quarter. Actual results were much stronger, at a reported 32 cents per share.

During the same period last year the company had earnings of 20 cents per share.

As so often happens at this point in the earnings season, focus begins to shift to the results from retailers. And the world's largest retailer is among those that step into the spot light this week.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), which was aggressively competitive during the holiday shopping season and also recently announced a new global strategy, to report fourth-quarter earnings of $1.12 per share, up from $1.03 per share in the year-ago period. Revenue for the three months that ended in January is expected to have risen 4.9% to $114.5 billion. The full-year forecast calls for earnings of $3.61 per share (+5.3%) on $409.1 billion in revenue (+0.9%). Walmart has not missed earnings estimates in the past five quarters.

Speaking as a guy who normally eats out or watches my wife do all the cooking, I can say that nothing is more appreciated by hardworking wives and mothers than a great meal they didn't have to prepare.

That's where Whole Foods (WFMI) comes in with gourmet meats and cheeses that make simple recipes delicious -- even for inexperienced chefs.