Analyst Upgrades

• U.S. Steel (X) to buy from neutral and Barnes & Noble (BKS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Salesforce.com (CRM) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Dollar Tree (DLTR) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Edison International (EIX) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Analog Devices (ADI) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

Analyst Upgrades

• Interpublic Group (IPG) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Radware (RDWR) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Fluor (FLR) and Waddell & Reed (WDR) to buy from hold, as well as AllianceBernstein (AB) to hold from sell, at Citigroup.
• MetroCorp (MCBI) and American Capital (AGNC) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• International Flavors (IFF) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• BioCryst (BCRX) and Southern Company (SO) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Bunge (BG) to overweight from neutral at HSBC.

Wright Express Corporation (NYSE: WXS) offers payment processing and information management services to vehicle fleets operated by commercial and government clients. The firm's network tracks purchases made on fleet charge cards, allowing users to subsequently analyze the data and apply purchase controls. Information collected includes expenditure totals, lists of items purchased, odometer readings, and driver/vehicle/vendor identifications. Wright Express also issues corporate credit cards. The company serves clients in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.

The firm pleased investors last week, when it announced Q2 EPS of 50 cents and revenues of $86 million. Analysts had been expecting 42 cents and $84.1 million. Management also guided Q3 revenues to $83-$88 million ($87.12M consensus), FY07 EPS to $1.82-$1.88 ($1.75 consensus) and FY07 revenues to $320-$330 million ($323.55M consensus). WXS shares popped on the news and then moved into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling when they entered them. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the issue with four "strong buys" and three "buys." Analysts see a 17% growth rate, through the next year. The WXS P/E ratio (18.69), PEG ratio (1.34), EPS Growth rate (47.06%), Operating Margin (44.01%), Net Profit Margin (25.98%) and Return on Equity (50.09%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 95% of the outstanding shares. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $25.00 and $37.49. A stop-loss of $32.00 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.