Analyst Upgrades

• Philip Morris (PM) to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Peet's Coffee (PEET) to neutral from sell at Janney Capital.
• Cephalon (CEPH) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• StoneMor Partners (STON) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Tibco (TIBX) to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Apollo Group (APOL) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.

Analyst Upgrades

• Micron (MU) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Baker Hughes (BHI) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• PDL BioPharma (PDLI) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Fluor (FLR) and Rush Enterprises (RUSHA) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Camden Property (CPT) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Pinnacle Financial (PNFP) to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Linear Technology (LLTC) to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• Hologic (HOLX) and Illumina (ILMN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• F5 Networks (FFIV) to buy from neutral at Gleacher.

Analyst Upgrades

• TD Newcrest upgraded Agrium (AGU) to action list buy from hold based on a higher valuation supported by BHP's (BHP) bid for Potash (POT). The firm raised its price target for Agrium to $95 from $76.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Weingarten Realty (WRI) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation and stronger retail occupancy.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Aegon (AEG) to buy from hold after the company won European Union approval for its recapitalization using state aid.
• HCP Inc. (HCP) was upgraded to buy from hold at Argus.
• MedAssets (MDAS) was upgraded to buy from accumulate at Madison Williams.
• BreitBurn Energy (BBEP) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.

Analyst Upgrades

• BofA/Merrill upgraded ConocoPhillips (COP) to neutral from underperform following the better-than-expected Q2 report. The firm has a $61 price target on shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Citrix Systems (CTXS) to buy from hold following the company's Q2 results and raised its target for shares to $65 from $45. Shares were also upgraded to neutral from underperform at Cowen following the better-than-expected Q2 report.
• Macquarie upgraded Arch Coal (ACI) to outperform from underperform and raised its price target to $29 from $23. The firm expects PRB priced to move higher given increased domestic and export demand combined with supply shortfalls.
• Boeing (BA) was upgraded to hold from sell at Societe Generale.
• Equinix (EQIX) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Williams-Sonoma (WSM) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.

One has to like the stock trend of server/deskstop virtualization software solutions designer Citrix Systems (CTXS), first discussed here on June 16, 2009, at a price of $33.09.

Back in June 2009, the argument was forwarded that U.S. information technology spending would rise better than 4% and that institutional investors would hence look past CTXS's flatish FY2009 revenue to a near 10% gain in FY2010, and that's pretty much what has transpired.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Deere (DE) to overweight from neutral and raised its target on shares to $65 from $52. JPMorgan believes the company's fundamentals are improving and sees signs of a recovery in forestry, turf and earth-moving equipment.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Valmont (VMI) to neutral from underweight on valuation following the company's Q4 results. The firm lowered its target price on shares to $70 from $74.
• Soleil upgraded Group 1 Automotive (GPI) to buy from hold on valuation with a $36 price target. The firm believes negative news flow for Toyota has created an opportunity to accumulate shares.
• Bernstein upgraded Deutsche Telekom (DT) to outperform from market perform.
• Nucor (NUE) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• American Eagle (AEO) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.

Analyst Upgrades

• Jefferies upgraded Citrix Systems (CTXS) to buy from hold and raised its target to $48 from $43, citing VMware's (VMW) strong Q4 report and survey results that indicate continued strength for Citrix.
• Citigroup upgraded Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) to buy from hold on confidence the company's LAR drug will be approved following the approval of Novo Nordisk's (NVO) Victoza. Citi raised its target price for Amylin shares to $27 from $4.
• Baird upgraded Texas Instruments (TXN) to outperform from neutral and raised its target to $30 from $28. The firm believes it is too early to take profits in Texas Instruments and notes that checks continue to indicate a continued recovery in end-demand.
• Lexmark (LXK) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Salix (SLXP) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Plexus (PLXS) was lifted to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.

Need to buy another holiday gift to complete your list? Consider the gift of server/desktop virtualization software solutions designer Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS), whose stock continues to advance, as expected. And it goes without saying that I'm reiterating my buy rating for the company's shares, first recommended on June 16, 2009 at a price of $33.09. If you bought CTXS in June, you're up about 18%.

In June, the argument was forwarded that U.S. information technology spending would not decline by the projected 5-7% in FY2009, and that institutional investors would hence look past CTXS's flat-ish FY2009 revenue to a likely, near 10% gain in FY2010, and that's pretty much what has transpired.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Polaris Industries (NYSE: PII) to Buy from Hold after channel checks indicated the company's sales trends improved through September. The firm raised its target on shares to $49 from $33.
• Jefferies upgraded Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) to Hold from Underperform after channel checks indicated IT spending will be strong in the second half of 2009, but the firm finds the stock fully valued at current levels. Jefferies raised its target on shares to $40 from $32.
• Pali Captital upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and expectations that lower pricing and international growth will be catalysts going forward. The firm set a $45 price target on shares.
• Plum Creek Timber (NYSE: PCL) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
• Advanced Micro (NYSE: AMD) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• PPD Inc. (NASDAQ: PPDI) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.

Server/deskstop virtualization software solutions designer Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) continues to advance, as expected, which is why I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for the company, first recommended on June 16, 2009 at a price of $33.09.

In June, the argument was made that U.S. information technology spending would not decline by the projected 5-7% in FY2009, and that institutional investors would also look past CTXS's flatish FY2009 revenue to a near 10% gain in FY2010, and that's pretty much what has transpired. Shares have risen about 19% since the June Buy recommendation. The First Call FY2009/FY2010 EPS estimates for CTXS are $1.64 to $1.88.

Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation following the company's Q4 results but lowered its target on shares to $134 from $137.
• Citigroup upgraded Calpine (NYSE: CPN) to Buy from Hold on valuation following Wednesday's sell-off. The firm believes Harbinger's share sale reflects an issue with the shareholders, not with the company, and raised its price target on the stock to $16.50 from $13.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Knight Transportation (NYSE: KNX) to Neutral from Underperform and raised its target to $17 from $16 based on valuation and the improved freight environment.
• Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.
• Webster Financial (NYSE: WBS) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
• Dr. Reddy's Labs (NYSE: RDY) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst upgrades:

• Bernstein upgraded Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC) to Outperform from Market Perform based on relative valuation and expectations the company will repay TARP without a capital raise. The firm raised its target to $34 from $26.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Ticketmaster (NASDAQ: TKTM) to Overweight from Market Weight and raised its target to $12 from $8 citing dynamic ticket pricing and the potential merger with Live Nation (NYSE: LYV).
• Citigroup upgraded Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) to Hold from Sell after channel checks indicated retail sales have improved since Q2. The firm raised its target on shares to $26 from $14.
• McDermott (NYSE: MDR) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank.
• General Electric (NYSE: GE) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

Has the recent share price surge in virtualization and remote access software developer Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) been excessive? Indeed it has, but that does not blot-out the Buy on a pull-back thesis, for moderate-risk investors. Here's why:

In general, analysts see 8-12% revenue growth for Citrix in FY2009, aided by gains in license updates and services, and by firming results in new product and software purchases.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says these stocks have become too expensive without takeovers and a more robust economy.

One after another after another, these software charts are amazing. And, I might add, a bit scary. How did McAfee (NYSE: MFE) (Cramer's Take) make that kind of move just on security software? Didn't Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) (Cramer's Take) just say -- admittedly for the 4 millionth time -- that it was going to give away free anti-virus software? Or Citrix (NASDAQ: CTXS) (Cramer's Take)? What's that all about? How could it return to those levels?

There were rumors of a Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) (Cramer's Take) takeover a week or two ago, and, amazingly, when it didn't come true, the stock hung in.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) to Buy from Hold on expectations expanding OEM partnerships, new products and entry into new markets will drive long-term growth. The firm's channel checks indicate the first phase of an IBM (NYSE: IBM) deal for ethernet products will be announced next week. Jefferies raised its target price on the stock to $6 from $3.50.
  
• JMP Securities upgraded Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) to Market Perform from Underperform citing the potential settlement with Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM). The firm said Broadcom has far more to gain than Qualcomm has to lose.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Air Products (NYSE: APD) and Praxair (NYSE: PX) to Buy from Hold on expectations that an improvement in customer operating rates will benefit gas companies. The firm raised its target price on Air Products to $70 from $55 and on Praxair to $79 from $63.
  
• Royal Bank of Scotland upgraded BP Plc (NYSE: BP) to Buy from Hold to reflect its dividend yield at current levels.
• Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was raised to Outperform from Underperform at RBC Capital.
  
• T. Rowe Price (NYSE: TROW) was upgraded at Sandler O'Neill to Hold from Sell.
  
• Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) was lifted to Neutral from Underperform at Banc of America/Merrill.