Analyst Upgrades

• Intel (INTC), ON Semiconductor (ONNN), Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC), Fairchild Semiconductor (FSC), STMicroelectronics (STM) and Altera (ALTR) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Capital One (COF) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Dollar Tree (DLTR) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Foot Locker (FL) to buy from neutral at Sterne Agee.
• Progressive (PGR) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Flow International (FLOW) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Signature Bank (SBNY) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• HiSoft Technology (HSFT) to buy from neutral at UBS.

Cerus Corp. (NASDAQ: CERS) is a real company with real revenues, but no profits yet, and could be at a $50 million revenue run rate in 2010.

It is a pioneer in something called "pathogen inactivation" -- a technology that cleans blood, making blood banks almost completely indifferent to the health of donors. It's the perfect system in the age of AIDS, bird flu and other infectious disease. Cerus' INTERCEPT Blood System is currently sold in 18 countries, and a potential major catalyst is an expedited approval process in the United States.

The stock is trading around a buck -- down from nearly $8 about a year ago -- and it could be worth $10 in a couple of years.

Your best strategy for life-changing profits?

Buy the stock and wait. You may be waiting a while, but this is a solid company with a real product and profits, and stock appreciation should come in the next two years. Make that big-time appreciation.

Next: Biotech Stock #6