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

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) said its Q3 profit declined despite the popularity of Guitar Hero.
• Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) said Q3 revenue surged and its offered impressive cash flow numbers.
• Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) easily beat Q3 earnings estimates and raised its full-year guidance.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) lower Q1 results topped estimates and sent shares higher.
• Cognizant Technology Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: CTSH) was upgraded following its strong Q3 results.
• Corporate Executive Board (NASDAQ: EXBD) received an analyst's upgrade following the Q3 results.

Shares of The Boston Beer Company (NYSE: SAM) surged to a new 52-week high Friday morning, after the brewmaster reported a third-quarter profit of $10.4 million, or 72 cents per share, on revenue of $108.7 million. The company swung to a loss of 2 cents per share in the third quarter of 2008, but attributed its turnaround to strong shipments and decreased advertising expenses.

The results were better than analysts expected, with consensus estimates calling for Boston Beer to bank a profit of 39 cents per share on $107.5 million. Looking forward, Boston Beer now expects full-year earnings of $1.75 per share to $2.05 per share, a marked increased from its prior forecast for a 2009 profit of $1.40 per share to $1.70 per share.

After testifying before a Senate committee about AIG (NYSE: AIG) last week, the Fed's Ben Bernanke participates in a Council of Foreign Relations event Monday evening.

Economic data due to be released this week include wholesale trade and job vacancies for January on Tuesday morning, the U.S. Treasury budget for February on Wednesday, retail sales for February and business inventories for January on Thursday morning, and the U.S. trade balance for January on Friday morning.

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

• America's Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT) beat estimates by closing underperforming branches.
• Aristotle Corp. (NASDAQ: ARTL) fourth-quarter revenue edged up while earnings slipped.
• Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) fourth-quarter profit plunged on bond insurance related write-downs.
• Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) fourth-quarter profit more than doubled as drinkers switch to craft beers.
• CAI International Inc. (NYSE: CAP) beat expectations fourth quarter and raised its guidance.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) offered encouraging guidance for the full year and long term.
• Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSL) beat estimates for the fourth quarter.
• Flow International Corp. (NASDAQ: FLOW) beat expectations, sending shares up sharply.
• Gehl Co. (NASDAQ: GEHL) fourth-quarter profit fell but beat expectations due to international growth.
• J. Crew Group Inc. (NYSE: JCG) raised its full-year outlook, sending shares higher.
• Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) beat fourth-quarter expectations though profit slumped due to inflation.
• Maidenform Brands Inc. (NYSE: MFB) beat fourth quarter estimates due to sourcing initiatives.
• Smart Balance Inc. (NASDAQ: SMBL) nearly doubled its fourth-quarter loss despite strong revenue growth.
• Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) posted a narrower-than-expected first-quarter loss.
• WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) cut its first-quarter and full-year forecasts on higher expenses.

The most recent quarter was good for Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM), which reported that its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled, and not too bad for Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), which posted a narrower-than-expected loss for the first quarter.

For the quarter that ended December 29, Boston Beer's net income jumped to $6.8 million, or 46 cents per share, from $2.5 million, or 17 cents per share, in the prior year quarter. Revenue rose 26% to $92.2 million from the same period of 2006. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected earnings of 35 cents per share on revenue of $88.9 million.

The company credited its performance to drinkers trading up to craft beers, as well as increasing retailer and wholesale support for the craft category and for Samuel Adams. The company noted that its Twisted Tea brand also performed well in the quarter.

For the full year, profit grew 24% from a year ago, to $22.5 million, or $1.53 per share, while revenue grew 20% to $341.6 million.

Boston Beer shares rose $2.02, or 6%, to close at $35.81, and continued to rise in after-hours trading.

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

• BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (NYSE: BJ) beat fourth-quarter estimates on lower costs and strong sales.
• Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) first-quarter profit doubled on strong sales, lifting the sector.
• Clean Harbors Inc. (NASDAQ: CLHB) trounced expectations as it completes acquisitions.
• Del Monte Foods Co. (NYSE: DLM) beat estimates on cost cutting and raised its guidance.
• HSBC Holdings PLC ADS (NYSE: HBC) profit soared in 2007, beating analysts' expectations.
• Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) lowered its first quarter earnings forecast, citing weak chip prices.
• LeapFrog Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: LF) narrowed its losses for the fourth quarter and full year.
• LKQ Corp. (NASDAQ: LKQX) beat fourth-quarter estimates and raised its guidance.
• Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY) widened its losses in both the fourth quarter and full year.
• Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) reported a solid fourth quarter and increased its annual dividend.
• TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) posted a smaller-than-expected fourth-quarter loss due to licensing deals.
• Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. (NASDAQ: TRMP) fourth-quarter and full-year losses widened.
• Universal Health Services (NYSE: UHS) beat earnings expectations but matched revenue estimates.

Also, Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) struggles to maintain profitability against competitor Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ). See Timothy Sykes's take on Warren Buffett's annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) shareholders. And Zac Bissonnette is interested in where earnings actually come from.

Upcoming results to watch for include Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), Boston Beer Co. (NYSE: SAM), J. Crew Group Inc. (NYSE: JCG), Jones Soda Co. (NASDAQ: JSDA), Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX), and Men's Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE: MW).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

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

• Astec Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTE) beat expectations and raised its guidance.
• Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) fourth-quarter profit fails to offset the full-year loss.
• China Techfaith Wireless Communication Technology (NASDAQ: CNTF) beat analysts' expectations.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) met analysts' estimates, buoyed by higher fuel prices.
• FTI Consulting Inc. (NYSE: FCN) beat expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
• H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) narrowed its loss due to higher sales and smaller subprime losses.
• Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. (NYSE: JTX) missed estimates as third-quarter profits declined sharply.
• LifeCell Corp. (NASDAQ: LIFC) beat fourth-quarter estimates and offered full-year guidance.
• Marvell Technology Group (NASDAQ: MRVL) lowered its first-quarter forecast , sending shares lower.
• Porsche AG (OTC: PSEPF) profit soared on strong sales of its Cayenne.
• S1 Corp. (NASDAQ: SONE) beat expectations and offered full-year guidance.
• Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) fourth-quarter profit nearly doubled, but full-year profit declined.
• Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) beat expectations on strength in same-store sales.
• Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) reports strong same-store sales ahead of its quarterly results.

Also, see Timothy Sykes's take on Warren Buffett's annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) shareholders. Zac Bissonnette is interested in where earnings actually come from. And Saks, Costco, and other retailers saw stronger February same-store sales despite recession concerns, but JC Penney Co. (NYSE: JCP) didn't feel the love.

Upcoming results to watch for include Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), Boston Beer Co. (NYSE: SAM), J. Crew Group Inc. (NYSE: JCG), Jones Soda Co. (NASDAQ: JSDA), Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX), and Men's Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE: MW).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: GSI Technology, Array Biopharma and Continental Resources were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Merriman believes GSI Technology Inc (NASDAQ: GSIT) is positioned to benefit as growing bandwidth demand and increasingly complex protocols drive the need for faster and higher density memory in networking equipment. The firm started shares with a Buy rating.
• Array Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ: ARRY) was assumed with an Outperform rating at William Blair. The firm thinks the company's pipeline contains significant value, which will be catalyzed over the next 12-18 months by continued clinical progress and potential partnerships.
• Continental Resources Inc (NYSE: CLR) was initiated with a Buy rating and $30 target at Jefferies, and points to the company's double-digit growth and strong reserve growth potential.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Lehman initiated Ventas Inc (NYSE: VTR) with an Equal Weight rating $46 target and HCP Inc (NYSE: HCP) with an Overweight rating.
• The Boston Beer Company Inc (NYSE: SAM) was assumed with an Overweight rating and $43 target at HSBC.

With earnings report rolling out one after another, there's hardly time to pause to enjoy a burger and a beer. Among companies reporting next week are Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC) and Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP), and here are a quickie earnings previews for them.

Burger King has beat Wall Street earnings estimates for the past four quarters. When it reported fourth quarter 2007 results back in August, earnings were 29 cents per share, beating Wall Street estimates by two cents, and 11cents more than in the same period of the previous year. For the full year, earnings were $1.11 per share, again beating expectations by a pair of pennies. For the current quarter, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are expecting 33 cents per share.

The most recent analysts' consensus recommendation is to buy BKC, and has been for the past year. The share price has been climbing since the slump after excitement of the IPO wore off, and it reached a 52-week high of $27.73 at the close on Friday.

For news about Burger King and its rivals that could influence Burger King's results, check out BloggingStocks' Burger King coverage.

Boston Beer (NYSE: SAM) reported earnings after the bell today. While it seems like the stock should be lower because the company missed EPS estimates (reported 46 cents per share vs. 58 cents per share consensus), there's much more to the story than first meets the eye.

First of all, Boston Beer didn't really miss EPS estimates if you exclude capitalized brewery costs related to the Massachusetts brewery project, which essentially serves as a write-off and thus is considered a one-time charge. These costs amounted to 14 cents per share and, when backed out, the EPS figure rises to 60 cents per share -- 2 cents better than consensus.

More importantly for Wall Street, the company raised its full year guidance to $1.42-$1.70 per share -- around the consensus estimate of $1.61 per share and above prior guidance which peaked at $1.55 per share. On all of this news, the stock is up around 2% so far in after-hours trading.

This is a very interesting company. Its primary brands Twisted Tea and Samuel Adams are becoming increasingly popular among consumers who are willing to pay up for quality beer. But at more than $45 per share, with earnings power of roughly $1.60 per share this year, I think the multiple is too high. I'd much rather pay $50 per share for Anheuser Busch (NYSE: BUD), a company that has earnings power of more than $2.80 per share for this year, in my opinion. Even if the growth rate is significantly slower, I believe the spread between the multiples will likely collapse -- either Anheuser Busch is drastically undervalued, Boston Beer is significantly overvalued, or a little bit of both.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: CheckFree (CKFR), Talbots (TLB), SPSS Inc (SPSS), Network Appliance (NTAP) and Pozen Inc (POZN) were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Following FiServ's (NASDAQ: FISV) acquisition of CheckFree, Raymond James cut CKFR shares to Market Perform from Strong Buy and Baird downgraded shares to Neutral from Outperform.

• Talbots (NYSE: TLB) was cut to Sell from Hold at Citigroup based on valuation, continued earnings disappointments, and a lack of earnings visibility.

• Cowen downgraded shares of SPSS Inc (NASDAQ: SPSS) to Underperform from Neutral citing decelerating growth and poor earnings quality.

• Bear Stearns cut Network Appliance (NASDAQ: NTAP) to Underperform from Peer Perform on the negative Q1 pre-announcement. Pacific Crest downgraded shares to Sector Perform from Outperform.

• After Pozen (NASDAQ: POZN) received a second approvable letter for Trexima, shares were downgraded by three firms:
  
• To Neutral from Strong Buy at First Albany
  
• To Hold from Buy at Jefferies and Lazard...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Oppenheimer downgraded Applebee's (NASDAQ: APPB) to Neutral from Buy.

• Gabelli downgraded Boston Beer (NYSE: SAM) to Hold from Buy.

• Lehman downgraded Luxottica (NYSE: LUX) and Clorox (NYSE: CLX) to Equal Weight from Overweight.

• Thomas Weisel downgraded Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT) to Market Weight from Overweight.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Some of today's most notable upgrades include Qualcomm, Inc (QCOM), Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC), American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) and Chevron Corp (CVX):

• JP Morgan upgraded Qualcomm, Inc (NASDAQ: QCOM) to Neutral from Underweight, to reflect the company's re-accelerating business fundamentals and positive pre-announcement on Tuesday.

• Friedman Billings upgraded shares of Countrywide Financial Corp (NYSE: CFC) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company remains among the premiere mortgage originators and will be the ultimate beneficiary of the mortgage market shakeout.

• Susquehanna upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters Inc (NYSE: AEO) to Positive from Neutral based on a strong spring assortment and long-term earnings power from new brand concepts aerie and MARTIN+OSA.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Chevron Corp (NYSE: CVX) to Hold from Sell based a backlog of resources that keeps growing and increased pressure on the need for delivery.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Lehman upgraded Darden Restaurants, Inc (NYSE: DRI) to Equal-Weight from Underweight to reflect the company's strong management team and what they believe to be "very achievable" guidance.

• Cadbury Schweppes plc (NYSE: CSG) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs as they believe the company may break up Nelson Peltz acquired a stake in the company.

• AG Edwards upgraded El Paso Corp (NYSE: EP) to Buy from Hold with a $16 target.

• Gladstone Capital Corp (NASDAQ: GLAD) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Wachovia.

• Gabelli upgraded shares of Boston Beer Company (NYSE: SAM) to Buy from Hold following the strong fourth quarter report.

• Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE: LUV) and JetBlue Airways Corp (NASDAQ: JBLU) were upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), First Data (FDC) and ASM International (ASMI) top today's extensive downgrade list.

• Apple was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup, citing valuation and the unlikely introduction of the new video iPod before the holiday season.
• First Data was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan based on valuation and expectations of a Q3 miss.
• CIBC downgraded ASM International to Sector Performer from Sector Outperform based on checks that indicated Intel (INTC) is pushing out adoption of ASMI's atomic layer disposition tool for high-k at 45mn. They note a delay would be positive for Applied Materials (AMAT).

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Due to the change in management and lowered guidance, both Credit Suisse and KeyBanc/McDonald downgraded IT service provider Keane (KEA).
• ThinkEquity downgraded CryptoLogic (CRYP) to Source of Funds from Accumulate based on the ratification of the Internet gambling bill that will impact earnings.
• Boston Beer (SAM) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight on valuation.
• USA Truck (USAK) was downgraded by Stephens to Underweight from Equal Weight, citing a less certain 2007 trucking environment and the recent stock offering.

Ratings summary provided courtesy of TheFlyOnTheWall.com.