Analyst Upgrades

• Auriga upgraded Allscripts (MDRX) to buy from hold to reflect valuation and potential synergies from the company's pending merger with Eclipsys (ECLP). The firm upped its target price for shares to $20 from $19.
• SunTrust upgraded Newell Rubbermaid (NWL) to buy from neutral based on completion of its turnaround plan, stabilizing end markets and favorable comparisons. The firm has a $25 price target on the stock.
• Morgan Joseph upgraded C.R. Bard (BCR) to buy from hold based on valuation and upside to estimates from the share buyback program. The firm has a $97 price target on the stock.
• Shire (SHPGY) was upgraded to buy from hold at Lazard Capital.
• Onyx Pharma (ONXX) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• AvalonBay (AVB) was upgraded to neutral from sell at UBS.

Daimler (DAI - option chain) shares rose Thursday after the company announced it has entered a deal with BYD Company Limited to develop electric cars in China. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on DAI.

DAI opened this morning at $48.44. So far today the stock has hit a low of $48.09 and a high of $49.45. As of 1:40, DAI is trading at $49.52 up 3.45 (7.5%). The chart for DAI looks neutral and S&P gives DAI a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Back in the 1950s, Daimler AG (DAI) saw the big opportunities in India and formed a strategic relationship with Tata Motors (TTM), which included an investment. Over the years, the relationship did not get much traction. For example, the technology arrangement ended in the late 1960s and a distribution agreement stopped in the late 1990s.

So, now Daimler has unloaded its 5.34% position, which comes to roughly $428 million. In today's trading, the shares of Tata are down 4%.

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

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) lower Q4 earnings topped estimates and same-store sales also declined.
• Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) reaffirmed its earnings outlook but lowered its revenue forecast for the full year.
• Daimler AG (DAI) provided guidance for the year that included slashing its dividend, sending shares lower.
• Dell Inc. (DELL) lower Q4 earnings beat estimates by a penny but it didn't offer guidance, sending shares lower.
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) easily topped Q4 earnings estimates and revenue increased as well.

Analyst upgrades:

• FBR upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to reflect strong channel checks over the Black Friday weekend. The firm raised its target on shares to $46 from $39.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Safeway (SWY), citing improvements in pricing.
• Baird upgraded US Bancorp (USB) based on valuation. The firm raised its target price to $29 from $25.
• HSBC Holdings (HBC) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Genzyme (GENZ) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Deere (DE) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.

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

• Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL) reported strong Q3 results, declared a dividend, and offered guidance for Q4.
• Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) Q3 earnings slumped and revenue was hurt by currency translations.
• BP (NYSE: BP) shares leaped higher after it reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
• Daimler AG (NYSE: DAI) reported that it returned to profitability in Q3 but warned of decreasing revenue.
• General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) Q3 earnings beat expectations and it lifted its earnings outlook.
• Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) posted strong Q3 earnings and expects full-year earnings ahead of forecasts.

Tuesday, Daimler AG (NYSE: DAI) reported that it returned to profitability in the third quarter of 2009, and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) posted much lower fiscal second quarter earnings, but which were better than the loss the company had earlier expected.

In line with previously released preliminary results, Daimler posted a net profit of 56 million euros ($83.2 million), or 0.04 euros per share, down from 213 million euros ($316.5 million) in the same quarter of 2008. And it said revenue fell to 19.3 billion euros ($28.7 billion) from 24.5 billion ($36.4 billion) a year ago. The slump in sales was most substantial in its Daimler Trucks and Mercedes-Benz Vans units.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) to Buy from Hold after meeting with management as it believes a more aggressive strategy will lead to the company regaining market share. Citi raised its target on shares to $66 from $54.
  
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Allscripts (NASDAQ:MDRX) to Overweight from Neutral after learning the company signed a large contract with North Shore Long Island Jewish Hospital. Piper now sees upside to estimates and raised its target on shares to $22.50 from $14.
  
• UBS upgraded Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED) to Buy from Neutral following a review of the Senate Finance Committee's healthcare proposal, which they view as "benign." The firm raised its target to $57 from $46.
• Daimler (NYSE:DAI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.
  
• Boston Private (NASDAQ:BPFH) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.
  
• E-Trade (NASDAQ:ETFC) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded National Fuel (NYSE: NFG) to Hold from Sell to reflect better than expected drilling results for the company's Marcellus shale assets. Citi raised its target on shares to $43 from $42.
• Baird upgraded Netezza (NYSE: NZ) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $14 from $7 based on the company's new product announcement and potential revenue acceleration.
• JPMorgan upgraded Liberty Interactive (NASDAQ: LINTA) to Overweight from Neutral. The firm finds the valuation attractive following Liberty's better than expected Q2 results and set a $13 price target on the stock.
• Marlin Business (NASDAQ: MRLN) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair.
• Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) was upgraded to Sell from Conviction Sell at Goldman.
• Hewitt Associates (NYSE: HEW) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded shares of Daimler (NYSE: DAI) to Buy from Neutral as it believes the company's restructuring and greater visibility on its outlook could be positive for the stock.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Goodyear Tire (NYSE: GT) and Cooper Tire (NYSE: CTB) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations that industry volumes will improve in the coming quarters.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded Websense (NASDAQ: WBSN) following the company's better than expected preliminary Q1 results. The firm maintains a $17 target on shares.
• Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.
  
• Portfolio Recovery (NASDAQ: PRAA) was raised to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust.

Analyst upgrades:

• Barclays upgraded Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE) to Overweight from Equal Weight. The firm believes Spectra's valuation is attractive and that the dividend is secure.
• Soleil upgraded Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) to Buy from Hold on valuation following the recent pullback and maintains a $45 target on the stock.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ: ORLY) to Outperform from Underperform on valuation and the company's better than expected sales and earnings acceleration. The firm has a $38 target on the stock.
• Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) was removed from Goldman's Conviction Sell List.
  
• Intercontinental Hotels (NYSE: IHG) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
  
• Valspar (NYSE: VAL) was lifted to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.

Analyst upgrades:

• Stephens upgraded Emergency Medical Services (NYSE: EMS) to Overweight from Equal Weight on valuation as they believe shares are undervalued at current levels. The firm has a $42 target on the stock.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT) to Buy from Hold ahead of the company's earnings report as they expect the results to provide confidence in the dividend.
  
• Baird upgraded CoPart (NASDAQ: CPRT) to Outperform from Neutral due to the defensive nature of the salvage auction market, strong balance sheet, and potential growth beyond salvage and outside the U.S.
• First Financial (NASDAQ: FFBC) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Keefe Bruyette.
  
• GPC Biotech (NASDAQ: GPCB) was upgraded at Piper Jaffray to Neutral from Sell.
  
• Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT), Host Hotels (NYSE: HST) and Marriott (NYSE: MAR) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and indications that negative sentiment has reached a bottom.
• Citigroup upgraded Torchmark (NYSE: TMK) to Buy from Hold as they find the valuation attractive and think management can grow earnings and book value in 2009/2010. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered their target price to $37 from $45.
• ASM International (NASDAQ: ASMI) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
• Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) was upgraded at Natixis to Buy from Hold.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the near term is muddy, but this mining-equipment maker is a long-term win.

Bucyrus International (NASDAQ: BUCY) (Cramer's Take) really captures this moment. When I was speaking last night to its terrific CEO, Tim Sullivan, I was conscious that his company's stock is at the fulcrum of everything that is going wrong and everything that is going right in this market.

Bucyrus, if you recall, makes mining equipment. It's really the only game in town other than Joy Global (NASDAQ: JOYG) (Cramer's Take), as the mining machinery business was annihilated by years of underinvestment.

The company became the quintessential play on mining as orders, particularly from China, for new coal mining equipment soared each year. China's opening a new coal-fired energy plant every week, so you know that there's demand.

The hedge funds glommed on to this one big-time. Like in so many that we are familiar with -- MasterCard (NYSE: MA) (Cramer's Take), Trinity (NYSE: TRN) (Cramer's Take), Foster Wheeler (NASDAQ: FWLT) (Cramer's Take), NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) (Cramer's Take) and Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) (Cramer's Take) -- they took concentrated positions in this and Joy Global and intended to ride the commodity boom for years.

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded Nokia (NYSE: NOK) to Neutral from Sell on valuation and believes the company's guidance is realistic.
  
• SMH Capital upgraded GMX Resources (NASDAQ: GMXR) to Accumulate from Neutral and is positive on the company's capex reduction.
  
• Wachovia raised Nationwide Health Services (NYSE: NHP) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect the company's diversified portfolio and "solid" capital position.
• Portugal Telecom (NYSE: PT) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
  
• Omnicare (NYSE: OCR) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Soleil.
  
• SKF AB (OTC: SKFRY) was upgraded at JP Morgan to Neutral from Underweight.

Analyst downgrades: