Analyst Upgrades

• Stephens upgraded Schlumberger (SLB) to overweight from equal weight with an $80 price target, citing valuation and the company's international activity.
• Roth Capital upgraded Synutra International (SYUT) to buy from hold, citing the company's improved outlook, increased market share and valuation. The firm has a $27 target on shares.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Progressive (PGR) to perform from underperform as it believes the company's focus on growth could move shares higher in the near-term.
• Inergy Holdings (NRGP) was upgraded to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Best Buy (BBY) was upgraded to hold from sell at Societe Generale.
• Vale SA (VALE) was upgraded to buy from hold at Canaccord.

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

• Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Q4 profit rose on higher prices, and its forecast matched expectations.
• Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) Q4 earnings grew on cost cutting but revenue remained flat.
• Black & Decker Corp. (NYSE: BDK) shares tanked after the dismal Q4 report, and it announced job cuts.
• Carpenter Technology Corp. (NYSE: CRS) Q2 numbers resulted in a downgrade from one analyst.
• ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) reported a Q4 loss due to writedowns from recent acquisitions.
• DuPont (NYSE: DD) swung to a bigger-than-expected Q4 loss and its revenue fell as well.
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) swung to a Q4 loss on acquisition costs but reaffirmed its guidance.

Analyst upgrades:

• Barclays upgraded Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised their target to $35 from $28 citing the company's earnings power and free cash flow generation.
  
• William Blair upgraded St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) to Outperform from Market Perform following the company's Q4 results on valuation and the company's "steady growth."
  
• Wunderlich upgraded Liberty Interactive (NASDAQ:LINTA) to Buy from Hold as they believe debt concerns are overdone. The firm thinks that language in the proxy statement for the Liberty Entertainment hard spin suggests that cash and cash flow from the stub Entertainment tracker could be used to provide inter-company support to Interactive. The firm raised their target to $5 from $4.25.
• Lloyds TSB Group (NYSE:LYG) was raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
  
• BB&T (NYSE:BBT) was removed from Goldman's Conviction Sell List.
  
• Patni Computer (NYSE:PTI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.

Today's markets could have actually been a lot worse. Oil rose $1.63 to $111.77 per barrel, making $100 ancient history. The March retail sales numbers would have been great at the +0.2% reading except for the fact that it was due to higher gas prices paid at the pump; otherwise sales would have been flat. In the environment of weak spending, that might still be a win. After everyone's favorite conglomerate killed the markets Friday, these small losses are a win. Below are the unofficial closing levels:

• DJIA 12,302.06 (-23.36; -0.19%)
• S&P500 1,328.27 (-4.56; -0.34%)
• NASDAQ 2,275.82 (-14.42; -0.63%)
• 10YR-TBond 3.5030% (+0.032%)
• 52 WEEK LOWS

AirTran Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AAI) was upgraded by Raymond James today after a huge airline sell-off last week. Shares closed up 20% at $4.97.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Adobe, National Oilwell Varco and Cirrus Logic were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) to Buy from Hold following the strong Q4 results, as they believe the negative sentiment around the stock creates an attractive entry point.
• Calyon upgraded shares of National Oilwell Varco (NYSE:NOV) to Buy from Add on valuation, as they believe the market's reaction to the Grant Prideco (NYSE:GRP) acquisition was overly negative. They view GRP as a good strategic fit.
• Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ:CRUS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies on valuation, as they believe the risk/reward is attractive.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Credit Suisse raised its rating on International Paper (NYSE:IP) to Outperform from Neutral.
• JP Morgan upgraded Embarq (NYSE:EQ) to Overweight from Neutral.
• UBS upgraded Royal Ahold (AHONY) to Neutral from Sell.