U.S. stock futures are slightly higher this morning, as investors await economic data. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 12 points to 12,182, while futures on the S&P 500 index rose 1.3 points to 1,311.30. Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 6.75 points to 2,323.75.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average gaining 50 points to 12,221, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rising 4 points to 1,314 and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbing 7 points to 2,743.

Coca-Cola (KO) has more than $13 billion in cash.

The top five companies (according to market cap) are:

• Exxon Mobil (XOM): $398.3 billion
• Apple (AAPL): $309.0 billion
• Microsoft (MSFT): $237.5 billion
• General Electric (GE): $215.0 billion
• Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): $202.5 billion

Analyst Upgrades

• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Fluor (FLR) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Macy's (M) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ), JA Solar (JASO) and HeartWare (HTWR) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Ashford Hospitality (AHT) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• RenaissanceRe (RNR) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• DCT Industrial (DCT) to market perform from underperform at Wells Fargo.
• Coeur d'Alene Mines (CDE) and Silver Standard (SSRI) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Weatherford (WFT), Hercules (HERO), GulfMark Offshore (GLF), Tidewater (TDW) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to buy from hold, and Diamond Offshore (DO) to hold from underperform, at Jefferies.
• Ritchie Bros. (RBA) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• AstraZeneca (AZN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.

Analyst Upgrades

• Oracle (ORCL) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Accenture (ACN) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Advanced Energy (AEIS) and Applied Materials (AMAT) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Spreadtrum (SPRD) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Healthcare Realty Trust (HR) and Tortoise Energy Capital (TYY) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Global Payments (GPN) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• CBS (CBS) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Sonic (SONC) to outperform from neutral at Cowen.

Analyst Upgrades

• Tyco Electronics (TEL) and Weight Watchers (WTW) to buy from neutral, and Smithfield Foods (SFD) to buy from underperform, at BofA/Merrill.
• Red Hat (RHT) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Gold Fields (GFI) to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• Novartis (NVS) to outperform from neutral and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to neutral from underperform at Credit Suisse.
• Dollar General (DG) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
• Eagle Rock Energy (EROC) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.

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.

Early Friday morning, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and AstraZeneca (AZN) announced the results of their randomized, double-blind Phase 3 clinical study in adults with type 2 diabetes that is inadequately controlled with metformin therapy. The study showed that dapagliflozin was non-inferior compared to glipizide (sulphonylurea) and improved glycosylated hemoglobin levels (HbA1c).

In addition to these results, the study also showed that dapagliflozin plus metformin brought about "significant reductions in efficacy secondary endpoints: reduction in total body weight from baseline, compared with a weight gain on glipizide plus metformin therapy, and a reduced number of patients reporting one or more hypoglycemic events."

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded AstraZeneca (AZN) to neutral from underweight after the company's U.S. Crestor patent was ruled valid. The firm believes the ruling could lead to AstraZeneca announcing a sizeable share buyback program. AstraZeneca was also upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill and to hold from underperform at Jefferies.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Peabody Energy (BTU) to buy from hold, citing valuation and attractive fundamentals in the coal sector. The firm has a $57.50 price target for shares, and also maintains buy ratings on Arch Coal (ACI) and Alpha Natural (ANR).
• Oppenheimer upgraded NextEra Energy (NEE) to outperform from perform, citing valuation and an improving regulation outlook in Florida. The firm maintains a $55 price target for shares.
• Eaton Vance (EV) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Dynamex (DDMX) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Stephens.
• Soleil upgraded RPM (RPM) to buy from gradually accumulate.

Tuesday morning, drugmaker Mylan (MYL) announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regulatory approval for a generic version of Arimidex, which is produced by AstraZeneca (AZN).

Reportedly, the FDA approved 1-milligram tablets of anastrozole, which is the active ingredient in AstraZeneca's Arimidex. Anastrozole is used to treat some breast cancer in postmenopausal women. This news follows Tueday's approval of a generic version of Arimidex that is produced by Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA).

In its weekend edition, Barron's Andrew Bary wonders whether Big Pharma's punishment on Wall Street has gone too far. The sector has fallen out of favor with Wall Street and now has one of the lowest price/earnings ratios of any major sector of the stock market, Bary writes.

Investors are staying away from the large pharmaceutical companies ahead of their looming patent cliff, when blockbuster drugs like Lipitor, Plavix and Singulair lose patent protection and lose most of the sales from these drugs to generics. Investors also fear the companies don't have enough new drugs in the pipeline to make up for the lost sales, which could mean big hits to earnings.

But when the Street writes off one of the world's most important industries and with valuations at all-time lows, investors ought to take notice, Bary says. Especially when the average dividend yield of the big drugmakers is 4.8%.

"Most investors wouldn't give a fund described as 'relatively prosaic, dull, conservative' a second glance; that, however, is exactly how John Neff described the Windsor Fund that he headed for more than three decades," notes John Reese, an advisor who models specific portfolios designed around the stated investing strategies of many of the stock market's most legendary investors.

In his Validea newsletter, Reese explains, "And, while his style may not have been flashy or eye-catching, the returns he generated for clients were dazzling -- so dazzling that Neff's track record may be the greatest ever for a mutual fund manager.

"Over his 31-year tenure (1964-1995), Windsor averaged a 13.7 percent annual return, beating the market by an average of 3.1 percent per year.

AstraZeneca (AZN) is in a race against time to develop new drugs as patent expiration dates are looming for some of its most profitable medicines over the next few years.

The company had hoped that motavizumab -- a medicine that is supposed to help prevent respiratory disease in infants -- would be one of the drugs to issue in a new era of profits by replacing Synagis -- a patented drug that fights the same virus. Unfortunately for AstraZeneca, that may not happen.

AstraZeneca (AZN) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT) announced this morning they received a complete response letter from the Food and Drug Administration regarding their new drug application for Certriad capsules. The FDA requested more information. The companies stated that they are currently evaluating the FDA's letter and will continue discussions with the agency to see what the next step will be with the drug. AZN and ABT will then respond to the FDA's request for further information.

Certriad is for the treatment of mixed dyslipidemia, a combination of two or more lipid abnormalities including the "bad" cholesterol (LDL), high triglycerides, and low "good" cholesterol (HDL). The active ingredients in Certirad are Crestor and Trilipix from ABT and AZN.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Lamar Advertising (LAMR) to overweight from neutral following the company's Q4 results. The firm has a $36 price target on shares.
• Canaccord upgraded St. Mary Land & Exploration (SM) to buy from speculative buy based on the company's business model transformation. The firm has a $45 target on shares.
• Jefferies upgraded Rosetta Stone (RST) to buy from hold following the Q4 report and guidance. The firm has a $29 target on shares.
• GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and AstraZeneca (AZN) were upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• China Unicom (CHU) was upgraded to buy from sell at Deutsche Bank.
• Repsol (REP) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.

U.S. stock futures were higher Tuesday as Wall Streeters returned to generally upbeat corporate earnings after a three-day-long weekend. Commodity prices also advanced ahead of some data about manufacturing as investors looked for more signs about economic growth.

Meanwhile, around the world, stocks were mostly stronger following bank earnings, most notable Barclays (BCS), which reported an eight-fold profit growth. Optimism from banks mostly offset the continued concerns about Greek debt crisis and the associated response from the European Union.