Analyst Upgrades

• Sprint (S) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at Piper Jaffray.
• Cree (CREE) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Morgan Keegan.
• Brocade (BRCD) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• JPMorgan upgraded WuXi PharmaTech (WX) to overweight from neutral.
• Barclays upgraded ITC Holdings (ITC) to overweight from equal weight.
• Centene (CNC) was upgraded to outperform from underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Senior Housing (SNH) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• UBS upgraded Hovnanian (HOV) to neutral from sell.
• GeoResources (GEOI) was upgraded to accumulate from neutral at Madison Williams.
• Compellent (CML) was upgraded to hold from sell at Canaccord.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) to buy from hold based on valuation. The firm keeps a $39 target on the stock.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Kenexa (KNXA) to overweight from neutral, citing a strengthening of trends for the company. The firm has a $29 price target on the stock.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Gaylord Entertainment (GET) to buy from neutral on expectations the company will benefit from strong trends in 2011. The firm raised its target for shares to $35 from $32.50.
• MeadWestvaco (MWV) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• EADS (EADSY) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

The 4th of July just wouldn't be the same without picnics and other celebrations with family and friends. We all love to get together, watch fireworks and eat a lot of good food.

In fact, Independence Day is one of the biggest days of the year for the beer, soft drink and snack food industries.

Monday morning, Coca-Cola (KO) announced that it will distribute some drinks that are made by Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS). Coca-Cola will now distribute Dr Pepper and Canada Dry ginger ale in the United States and will distribute some drinks in Canada.

These beverages were distributed by Coca-Cola Enterprises, but that company is being acquired by Coca-Cola. The new agreement replaces Coca-Cola Enterprise's original deal with Dr Pepper.

Analyst Upgrades

• Bernstein upgraded Boeing (BA) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation. The firm also raised its price target to $81 from $80.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Thomas & Betts (TNB) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation and an expected recovery in North American nonresidential construction.
• RBC Capital upgraded Susquehanna (SUSQ) to outperform from sector perform and has a $14 target on the stock. The firm thinks the stock's valuation is attractive as its decline in response to the European debt crisis and financial regulatory reform has been overdone.
• Priceline.com (PCLN) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Genzyme (GENZ) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• RightNow (RNOW) was upgraded to overweight from market weight at Thomas Weisel.

It has been a brutal May for most investors. The Dow is down about 10% so far as of the opening bell today, the S&P 500 is down 11% and the Nasdaq off 12%.

So where do we go now? The recent sell off has touched all corners of the market, with even the safe haven of gold taking a tumble. My recommendation to you: Hide out in great blue chip stocks with upside potential for shares and a healthy dividend to help you ride things out when the market gets rocky. My top stock along these lines for June is Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS).

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (NYSE: DPS) -- which includes A&W, Hawaiian Punch, Welch's, 7UP, Clamato, Margaritaville, and Yoo-Hoo among its diverse beverage offerings -- is scheduled to discuss its third-quarter 2009 financial results in a conference call Thursday at 11:00 AM ET, hosted by CEO Larry Young and CFO John Stewart. You can catch the live webcast of the call and accompanying slide presentation on the company's website.

During the three months that ended in September, Dr Pepper launched an energy drink and reaffirmed its full-year guidance. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect this Plano, Tex.-based bottler and distributor of nonalcoholic beverages to report that earnings for that period rose 8.2% from a year ago to $0.49 per share. However, revenue for the quarter is expected to be 4.2% lower to $1.4 billion.

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) kicks off another earnings season this week, and analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for another net loss for the third quarter. Can we take that as a sign of things to come, or as a bellwether for the economy? Well, barring a big downside surprise, this will be the third narrower quarterly loss for Alcoa. But while Alcoa beat estimates in July, it missed them in April. Alcoa's shares, on the other hand, are up 145.6% since the March low, which is well more than twice as much either the Dow or the S&P 500.

During its third quarter, New York-based Alcoa continued restructuring efforts, remained a part of the DJIA Sustainability Index, and declared a quarterly dividend. It is expected to report a net loss of $0.12 per share for the three months that ended in September. That compares to a profit of $0.37 in the same period of last year. Third-quarter revenue is forecast to have fallen 38.3% to $4.5 billion. Analysts so far expect to see a profit in the fourth quarter, but not for the full year. Alcoa has missed earnings expectations in three of the past four quarters. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 20.0%, again much better than the S&P 500. The First Call consensus recommendation is to hold AA; CNBC concurs that now is not the time to buy. At $12.82, shares are 30.0% higher than three months ago, but 33.4% lower than a year ago.

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

• Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) posted better-than-expected Q3 results, sending shares higher.
• AutoDesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings, sending shares higher.
• Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) had another disappointing quarter as same-store sales declined.
• CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) delayed its Q3 report due to ongoing debt restructuring and a possible bankruptcy.
• Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (NYSE: DPS) Q2 earnings came in well ahead of Wall Street expectations.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) is having one refreshing day so far. At the time of this writing, shares of the beverage entity were up over 5%, with volume being quite strong. Dr Pepper delivered a decent Q2 report that surprised the experts on Wall Street, so the market was happy to extend a little buying interest.

According to the preview, Dr Pepper was supposed to do $1.5 billion on the top line and 49 cents on the bottom line. Net sales roughly matched the estimate, but net income went way beyond the call. Dr Pepper made 62 cents per share on an adjusted basis.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (NYSE: DPS), the bottler and distributor whose brands also include A&W, Clamato, Country Time, Hawaiian Punch and Motts, is scheduled to discuss its second quarter 2009 results tomorrow morning in a conference call at 9:00 AM ET, featuring CEO Larry Young and CFO John Stewart. You can catch the live webcast on the company's website.

For the quarter in which Dr Pepper entered a marketing agreement with Electronic Arts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and expanded its product offerings to McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) and Jack in the Box (NASDAQ: JACK), analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the Plano, Tex.-based beverage giant to report that earnings fell 18.3% from a year ago to $0.49 per share, though that's up from better-than-expected $0.37 per share in the first quarter. Revenue for the second quarter is expected to be 3.4% lower to $1.5 billion. Earnings beat estimates in three of the past four quarters, by as much as 8 cents per share.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) popped open its first-quarter report on Wednesday (I bet you never read that pun before from a financial pundit covering a beverage concern!). On an adjusted basis, sales rose 4%. Management needed to adjust for the termination of a contract with Hansen (NASDAQ: HANS), as well as for currency effects. The company saw a drop in bottom-line income excluding items as earnings came in at $0.37 per share. This was $0.03 less than last year's performance.

However, Dr Pepper can feel happy about the fact that the company beat expectations. The market was only looking for $0.29 per share. How refreshing (yep, another pun)! Volumes did all right during the quarter.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: McGraw-Hill, Curis and Azure Dynamics were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Jefferies initiated McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) with a Buy rating and $49 target. The firm believes the downturn in credit markets has already been fully priced into shares and expects the stock to gain momentum throughout 2008 in anticipation of liquidity returning to credit markets.
  
• RBC Capital initiated Curis (NASDAQ: CRIS) with an Outperform rating and $2.50 target based on the company's partnership with Genentech (NYSE: DNA) and potential upside from its pipeline.
  
• Merriman started Azure Dynamics (OTC: AZDDF) with a Buy rating. The firm believes the company's focus is where customers see the most benefit from a medium-duty hybrid or market-appropriate solutions and finds the stock attractively valued.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Dr. Pepper Snapple (NYSE: DPS) was assumed with a Market Perform rating at Wachovia.
  
• Morgan Stanley started Chiquita Brands (NYSE: CQB) with an Equal Weight rating.
  
• Credit Suisse initiated Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) with a Neutral rating and $34 target.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Learning Tree, Shengdatech and Cepheid were today's noteworthy initiations:

• B. Riley initiated Learning Tree (NASDAQ:LTRE) with a Buy rating and $24 target. The firm believes investors have an opportunity to invest in a compelling revenue growth/margin expansion story at reasonable multiples with the stock off recent highs.
  
• Merriman started Shengda Tech (NASDAQ:SDTH) with a Buy rating and points to the company's growing nano-particle business and the vast market expansion opportunities associated with this business.
  
• Stephens believes Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD) possesses a best-in-class platform for molecular diagnostic testing with a virtual monopoly in the molecular point of care market; shares were assumed with an Overweight rating and $32 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Visa (NYSE:V) was started at Morgan Keegan with a Market Perform rating.
  
• Morgan Stanley initiated Dr. Pepper Snapple (N YSE:DPS) with an Equal Weight rating and $30 target.
  
• Goldman initiated Kraft Foods (NYSE:KFT) with a Neutral rating.