Analyst Upgrades

• Tyson Foods (TSN) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Carmike Cinemas (CKEC) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• Ambow Education (AMBO) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Johnson Controls (JCI) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Dynex Capital (DX) to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• Ensco (ESV) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• York Water (YORW) to buy from hold at Brean Murray.
• Mid-America Apartment (MAA) to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• Cheniere Energy Partners (CQP) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Forest Oil (FST) to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• Tractor Supply (TSCO) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.

DirecTV (DTV) competes with satellite pay-TV providers like Dish Network (DISH), cable companies like Comcast (CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (TWC), and telecom operators like AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ). The company recently released its Q4 2010 earnings and we have updated our price estimate to $48.63 as a result of continued subscriber gains and ARPU growth both in the U.S. and Latin American businesses. Our price estimate stands at a roughly 5% premium to market price.

However, we may still be conservative in our price estimate given the traction that DirecTV is getting in the Latin American region. Below we discuss some highlights of growth for DirecTV's Latin American operations and examine the potential upside to our base forecasts.

Playboy Enterprises (PLA), which received a buyout offer from Hugh Hefner last summer, is scheduled to discuss its third-quarter 2010 financial results Tuesday, November 9, in a conference call at 10:00 AM (ET). You can catch a live webcast of the call at the company's website.

During the three months that ended in September, the Chicago-based adult entertainment company launched TheSmokingJacket.com and also launched Playboy TV in Taiwan. But analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are anticipating another big net loss from Playboy -- 71 cents per share -- due in part to write-downs related to its squabble with DirecTV (DTV). Playboy's revenue is expected to have fallen 7.5% from the same period of last year to $51.8 million.

After the crunch of quarterly reports over the past two weeks, things will be fairly quiet on the earnings front Monday. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Allergan (AGN), Loews (L) and Vulcan Materials (VMC) to report higher second quarter earnings, compared to a year ago. Oshkosh (OSK) is anticipated to have swung to a profit from a year-ago loss, and Humana (HUM) is expected to post earnings per share (EPS) about the same as last year.

The crush of quarterly reports is back on come Tuesday, with Coach (COH), Harris (HRS), MasterCard (MA), Molson Coors (TAP), Pfizer (PFE), Priceline.com (PCLN) and Whole Foods (WFMI) among those expected to post earnings growth. The highlight of the day though may be Parker Hannifin's (PH) fiscal fourth-quarter results.

DISH Network Corp. (DISH), a provider of television entertainment channels whose competitors include Comcast Corporation (CMCSA) and DIRECTV (DTV), is trading higher about an hour before the closing bell. It's up 50 cents, or over 2%, to $21.80. Volume isn't that great, though. And I have to say, I'm not sure I'd want to join in with the buyers.

Over the last twelve months, the stock has seen a nice rise. Before you become too impressed, keep in mind that the 52-week range is a relatively narrow one. The low is $14.17, while the high is $23.06.

Very interesting story/rant over on WalletPop.com about the latest in a line of DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) ads -- this one featuring Chris Farley. Jami Bernard, the rant's author, is upset that David Spade is using a famous clip from his and Farley's hit comedy Tommy Boy to advertise the satellite-television provider. Bernard argues that Farley would not have liked to be remembered for a minor fat joke.

How was that assumption exactly made? Farley made fun of his size. He made his money by being an oversized, clumsy, fish-out-of-water comedian, so how can we determine that a "minor fat joke" (which some may argue is the funniest part of a very funny movie) is how he would or would not like to be remembered?

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE: AMG) to Market Perform from Outperform to reflect the rebound in equity and fixed income markets as well as an attractive risk/reward profile. The firm raised its target on shares to $72 from $61.
• Jefferies upgraded AGCO Corp. (NYSE: AGCO) to Buy from Hold as it believes equipment sales in Brazil are holding up better than expected and farm stimulus should set a floor in sales. The firm raised its target on shares to $36 from $25.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) to Buy from Hold to reflect reduced balance sheet risk and a more positive view on the steel sector. The raised its target on shares to $42 from $23
• Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• Synovus (NYSE: SNV) was raised to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust.
• First American (NYSE: FAF) was lifted to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.

"In recent months, DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) has shown that pay television is recession-resistant; indeed, the company has been dishing up subscriber growth," says Richard Moroney.

In his Dow Theory Forecasts, the advisor explains why the satellite-TV system operator is among those select stocks consider to be "Focus List" buys -- the top long-term buy rating in their model portfolio.

"In the nearly 15 years since DirecTV sold its first satellite-television system, the company has grown to serve more than 18 million U.S. subscribers, or 16% of the country's households. DirecTV also operates in Latin America, where it generates 12% of revenue.

Sirius XM (NASDAQ: SIRI) has been fighting off an attempt by EchoStar (NASDAQ: DISH) to take over the troubled satellite radio firm. Now Sirius has turned to another company in the hopes of avoiding a hostile buy-out. According to The Wall Street Journal, Liberty Media may be the savior. "The talks set the stage for a battle between the leading U.S. satellite-television providers -- Liberty-controlled DirectTV Group Inc. and Mr. Ergen's Dish Network Corp. -- for control of the country's sole satellite-radio operator."

It's about that time again: Pepsi vs. Coke. No, not another taste test or another Battle of the Brands. It's time for the next quarterly results from these two soft drink titans.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters anticipate that PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP), global beverage and snack food giant, will report fourth-quarter earnings this week that are 9.1% higher that a year ago, or $0.88 per share. Revenue is expected to total $12.8 billion, which is 3.9% higher than last year. For the full year, the profit is expected to be $3.67 per share on revenue of $43.4 billion, up from $3.38 per share on $39.5 billion in 2007. PepsiCo's earnings met or beat estimates in four of the past five quarters, but missed by only two cents per share in the third quarter. The consensus recommendation of analysts remains to buy PEP. The share price fell to a 52-week low in January and is now 24.4% lower than it was a year ago. During the fourth quarter, PepsiCo declared a $0.42 per share quarterly dividend, agreed to acquire a Spitz International, and announced investments in China and Mexico.

DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) closed at $22.98. DTV is scheduled to report Q4 EPS on February 10. February option implied volatility is at 64; March is at 59; above its 26-week average of 53, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Echostar (NASDAQ: DISH) closed at $12.84. DISH is expected to report Q3 EPS in late February. March option implied volatility is at 83, June is at 74; above its 26-week average of 63, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

"Investors have been focusing on the shortcomings at Qwest Communications International (NYSE: Q), and to be sure, it has plenty," observes turnaround specialist George Putnam.

In his The Turnaround Letter, he adds, "But the company also has very valuable assets and strong cash flow. In addition, we believe the stock would command a good premium in a takeover." Here's his bullish review.

"Following its IPO in 1995, Qwest expanded via acquisitions and partnerships, and participated in the telecom bubble of the late 1990's.

"Unlike many of the other high-flying telecoms of that era, however, Qwest realized that in addition to a story you needed customers. In 2000, it went out and acquired US West, which gave Qwest the revenue base to survive the bursting of the telecom bubble

"Although the company survived, the shareholders have had a rocky ride during the current decade. The stock peaked around 60 in 2000, dropped to just above 1 in 2002, rebounded to 10 in 2007 and then declined to its present level.

"Management's challenge is too maximize the value of its assets. One of Qwest's greatest assets, and biggest challenges, is its huge traditional landline telephone business. The landline business is in a slow but steady decline as customers move to wireless or Internet telephony.