Shares of chemical maker EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD) are trading higher this morning despite the fact that the company announced fourth-quarter profit slipped 37% from a year earlier.

For its most recent quarter, the chemical giant reported net income of $545 million, or 60 cents a share, down from $871 million or 94 cents a share in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, however, the company said its earnings rose 27% to 57 cents a share from last year.

Analysts had been looking to see DuPont show earnings of 49 cents per share, according to Thomson Financial.

The company's results showed revenue growth of 11% to $6.98 billion, beating analysts' expectations for $6.67 billion in sales. The rise in revenue came from increased volumes and higher local selling prices. DuPont posted a gain of 10% for volumes in the Asia-Pacific region and a growth a 5% in Canada and Latin America. In the U.S., volumes figures were flat, while Europe brought a slightly decline in its numbers.

China Petroleum & Chemical (NYSE: SNP), an energy and chemical company based in the People's Republic of China, is recently up $15.74 to $164.69. WTI Crude Futures are up 1.72% to $85.13 according to Bloomberg. SNP November option implied volatility of 88 is above its 26-week average of 38 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risk.

CNOOC Ltd (NYSE: CEO) is up $8.24 to $185.50. As of 12/31/06, CEO owned net proved reserves of approximately 2.53 billion barrels of oil. Dow Jones reported CEO is still waiting for security regulators to change its listing regulations so that the company can sell A shares on Shanghai, allowing Chinese investors to purchase CEO stock. CEO November call option implied volatility of 69 is above its 26-week average of 31 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Daily options update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Blockbuster Inc (BBI), Molson Coors Brewing Co (TAP), Illumina, Inc (ILMN), and ARM Holdings plc (ARMHY) were today's more noteworthy upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Blockbuster Inc (NYSE: BBI) to Buy from Hold based on valuation, improving box office visibility and their belief that the lower-priced online-only rental product will help improve costs.

• Molson Coors Brewing (NYSE: TAP) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS based on valuation, volume strength and pricing.

• Matrix believes strong demand for genetic analysis equipment is boosting profits for Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN), upgrading shares to Strong Buy from Sell; Matrix sees upside to their Intrinsic Value Calculation of $50/share.

• ARM Holdings (NASDAQ: ARMHY) was upgraded to Overweight from Underweight at JP Morgan to reflect the strength in the high-end handset market...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Bristol Myers Squibb Co (NYSE: BMY) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.

• RBC Capital raised Sapient Corp (NASDAQ: SAPE) to Outperform from Sector Perform.

• Sandler upgraded Chemical Financial Corp (NASDAQ: CHFC) to Hold from Sell.

• UBS raised WESCO International, Inc (NYSE: WCC) to Buy from Neutral.

• Piper Jaffray upgraded shares of Omnicell, Inc (NASDAQ: OMCL) to Outperform from Market Perform.

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