Analyst Upgrades

• Oracle (ORCL) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Accenture (ACN) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Advanced Energy (AEIS) and Applied Materials (AMAT) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Spreadtrum (SPRD) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Healthcare Realty Trust (HR) and Tortoise Energy Capital (TYY) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Global Payments (GPN) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• CBS (CBS) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Sonic (SONC) to outperform from neutral at Cowen.

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

• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reported strong Q3 results but warned of softness ahead.
• Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) beat earnings expectations and lifted its full-year forecast.
• AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) Q3 results were worse than expected despite the iPhone's popularity.
• Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) beat expectations but lowered its revenue guidance.
• Dice Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DHX) reported solid Q3 results despite the financial crisis.
• E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) widened its Q3 net loss and revenues shrank.
• Gannett Inc. (NYSE: GCI) just missed earnings estimates as advertising revenues declined.
• Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) posted solid Q3 results that topped analysts' expectations.
• Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) missed Q3 earnings expectations despite popularity American Girl.
• McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) easily beat Q3 earnings estimates and lifted its dividends.
• Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) posted strong Q3 numbers but warned of slowing subscriber growth.
• Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) Q3 profits tripled due to cost cutting and sales of pain pill Lyrica.
• Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) topped earnings estimates, sending shares higher.
• Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) posted Q3 results that topped analysts' expectations.
• Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) slashed its earnings forecast on weakness in flat panel TVs and digital cameras.
• Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) reported better-than-expected Q3 results.
• 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) solid Q3 results topped Wall Street expectations and it offered full-year outlook.
• VMWare Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Q3 earnings surged on strong growth in services revenue.

For more earnings highlights from this week, see Apple, Boeing, Microsoft, Yahoo!, UPS, American Express and others.

Watch for upcoming quarterly reports from Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Estée Lauder (NYSE: EL) , US Steel (NYSE: X), Aetna (NYSE: AET), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Qwest (NYSE:Q), Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Kellogg (NYSE: K), Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT), MetLife (NYSE: MET), Moody's (NYSE: MCO), Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), Avon (NYSE: AVP), CBS (NYSE: CBS), CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS), Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA), Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), Washington Post (NYSE: WPO).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Nvidia, Air France and UnitedHealth were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• JP Morgan downgraded Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) to Neutral from Overweight following the company's lowered guidance.
  
• Deutsche Bank cut Air France (Other OTC:AFLYY) to Sell from Hold as they believe consensus revenue estimates need to come down.
  
• Following UnitedHealth's (NYSE:UNH) lowered guidance, UBS said there is "little hope" for improvement in 2009 and that the company has above average exposure to the Medicare segment, which is being politically pressured. UBS downgraded shares to Neutral from Buy.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Aetna (NYSE:AET) and Health Net (NYSE:HNT) were downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman.
• Dice Holdings (NYSE:DHX) was lowered at Wachovia to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Zhone (NASDAQ:ZHNE) was downgraded to Source of Funds from Buy at ThinkPanmure.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Novartis, Waste Systems, AirMedia Group, and PAETEC Holding were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Novartis (NYSE: NVS) was initated with a Neutral at Cowen, which cited the company's upcoming patent expirations.
  
• Gabelli initiated Waste Systems (NASDAQ: WSII) with a Buy, as it believes consolidated operations in Florida, increased waste internalization, and continued price increases, should lead to expanding EBIT margins.
  
• Oppenheimer initiated AirMedia Group (NASDAQ: AMCN) with an Outperform, as it believes that the Beijing Olympics will help the company acheive better than expected earnings.
  
• Deutsche Bank initiated PAETEC Holding (NASDAQ: PAET) with a Buy, as the firm believes PATEC is well-positioned to benefit from improving industry conditions.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Wachovia started Seaspan (NYSE: SSW) with a Market Perform.
• Needham initiated Memsic (NASDAQ: MEMS) with a Buy.
• Oppenheimer started Intellon (NASDAQ: ITLN) with an Outperform.
• Morgan Stanley initiated Dice Holdings (NYSE: DHX) with an Equal Weight.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Lululemon, Domino's Pizza, Kenexa, Omniture and News Corp were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Lululemon (NASDAQ: LULU) was initiated with a Neutral rating at Merrill Lynch. CIBC believes the company is well-positioned to replace its Canadian success in the U.S. market and started shares with a Sector Outperformer rating and $39 target. The stock was started at Wachovia with a Market Perform rating on valuation.
• Citigroup finds Domino's Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) compelling for long-term investors given the company's solid cash flows, above-average margins, and international growth opportunity. The firm initiated shares with a Buy rating and $22 target.
• RBC Capital started shares of Kenexa Corporation (NASDAQ: KNXA) with a Sector Perform rating and $32 target, citing lack of visibility into the company's product roadmap.
• RBC initiated shares of Omniture Inc (NASDAQ: OMTR) with an Outperform rating and $33 target. The firm believes Omniture is well-positioned given cross selling opportunities, best in class products, strong secular trends, and expanding client roster.
• News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) was initiated with a Buy rating and added to Stifel's Select List. The firm believes the FOX TV Network, stations and FOX News can garner an incremental recurring 100% margin retransmission and affiliate fees totaling $1B by 2010, adding that its sum-of-the-parts model for News Corp captures the value of $8B of "hidden" assets, yielding a fair market value of $30-$31.

OTHER INTIATIONS:

• CRT Capital initiated shares of Navistar (NASDAQ: NAVZ) with a Buy rating and $75 target.
• JP Morgan started shares of Dice Holdings (NYSE: DHX) with an Overweight rating.
• Think Equity started shares of Whole Foods Market Inc (NASDAQ: WFMI) with an Accumulate rating and $51 target.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Popular (BPOP), MRU Holdings (UNCL), CDC Corp (CHINA) and Oscient Pharmaceuticals (OSCI) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Kaufman initiated Popular (NASDAQ: BPOP) with a Hold rating and $13 target, citing the company's direct exposure to nearly $2B of Alt A residential mortgage loans originated by its U.S. operations and approximately $250M of exposure to another $4B of collateralized, securitized mortgage pools.

• MRU Holdings (NADSAQ: UNCL) was initiated with a Buy rating and $8.50 target at Roth Capital. Roth Capital believes MRU Holdings is on the threshold of potentially explosive growth in the fast growing segment of the education lending market, that of private loans.

• JMP Securities said CDC Corp. (NASDAQ: CHINA) , with its resources and connections in China, has excellent deal flow and has been a disciplined, value oriented buyer, and started shares with a Market Outperform and $10.50 target.

• Piper believes Oscient Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: OSCI) experienced management team and PCP sales force are competitive advantages and will lead to attractive partners. Piper initiated Oscient Pharmaceuticals with an Outperform rating and $5 target...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Raymond James started SAIC (NYSE: SAI) with a Market Perform rating.

• Morgan Keegan initiated Hilltop Holdings (NYSE: HTH) with an Outperform rating.

• Dice Holdings (NYSE: DHX) was initiated with an Overweight rating and $15 target at Morgan Stanley.

• RBC Capital initiated VMware (NYSE: VMW) with a Sector Perform rating and $75 target.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Assurant (AIZ), Famous Dave's (DAVE), Trinity Industries (TRN), Spartan Stores (SPTN) and SiRF Technology (SIRF) were today's notable initiations:

• Wachovia believes Assurant (NYSE: AIZ) is a unique opportunity to profit from mortgage market turmoil through its force-placed homeowners business, initiating shares with an Outperform rating.

• Nollenberger initiated Famous Dave's (NASDAQ: DAVE) with a Buy rating and expects to see accelerated earnings growth over the next few years driven by: continued rollout of it's new "Smokehouse" unit format, growth of the off-premise catering and to-go business, and ramp in new development.

• Keybanc is positive on Trinity Industries' (NYSE: TRN) diversified product portfolio, market-leading positions, and long-term end market fundamentals, starting shares with an Aggressive Buy rating.

• Banc of America initiated Spartan Stores (NASDAQ: SPTN) with a Buy and believes the company should benefit from the roll-up of independent retail assets and the move toward a customer-centric operating model.

• Banc of America believes rising competitive pressures in PNDs will lead to significant market share erosion in 2008 and started SiRF Technology (NASDAQ: SIRF) with a Neutral rating...

OTHER INTIATIONS:

• Wachovia initiated Dice Holdings (NYSE: DHX) with an Outperform rating.

• Stifel initiated Bancshares of Florida (NASDAQ: BOFL) and TIB Financial (NASDAQ: TIBB) with Hold ratings.

• Nollenberger initiated Morton's Restaurant (NYSE: MRT) with a Buy rating.

• Ceradyne (NASDAQ: CRDN) was initiated with a Hold rating at Morgan Joseph.

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

For internet company IPOs, the results were mixed this week. The online career site, Dice Holdings (NYSE: DHX), saw its share price increase about 4.2% (with the IPO priced at the top of its range). But there was also the meager performance of Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW), whose shares fell 3.3% on its debut. Despite this, we are still seeing filings from Net companies.

The latest filing: Internet Brands. In fact, back in 2000, the company filed for an IPO -- but it was too late (as the dot-coms turned into dot-bombs). But much has happened since then -- and the company looks a lot different. Through aggressive M&A, Internet Brands now has more than 40 principal websites -- focused on consumer categories. Examples include: CarsDirect.com, Wikitravel.org, FlyerTalk.com, ApartmentRatings.com, and DoItYourself.com.

As of June, the network attracted about 24.5 million unique visitors. This is up 161% from the same period a year ago. The business model is primarily driven by advertising. Last year, Internet Brands posted about $84.8 million in revenues. However, there is fierce competition. Just some of rivals include Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT).

The lead underwriter on the IPO is Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS).

Internet Brands' prospectus is located on the SEC website. Also check out other recent IPO filings.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.