Analyst Upgrades

• BB&T (BBT) and Aflac (AFL) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Kodiak Oil & Gas (KOG) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Zhongpin (HOGS) to neutral from reduce at Global Hunter.
• Marathon Oil (MRO), Noble Energy (NBL) and Manulife Financial (MFC) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Carrizo Oil & Gas (CRZO) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Comerica (CMA) to buy from neutral at Rochdale.

Analyst Upgrades

• Polo Ralph Lauren (RL) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Sigma-Aldrich (SIAL) to outperform from market perform at Leerink.
• Petrobras (PBR) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Silvercorp Metals (SVM) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• PROS (PRO) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Power Integrations (POWI) and Monolithic Power (MPWR) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Diodes (DIOD) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Whole Foods (WFMI) to hold from sell at Hapoalim.
• Sinclair Broadcast (SBGI) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Sappi (SPP) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Alpha Natural (ANR) to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Watts Water (WTS) to buy from hold at Brean Murray.

Analyst Upgrades

• Advance Auto Parts (AAP) was upgraded to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Macquarie upgraded Gen-Probe (GPRO) and Beckman Coulter (BEC) to neutral from underperform.
• Tyco (TYC) was upgraded to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Cousins Properties (CUZ) to buy from underperform.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Energy Conversion (ENER) to equal weight from underweight.
• Thermo Fisher (TMO) was upgraded to buy from hold at Auriga.

How today was going to end up was not something known until toward the end of the day. We had some house price stabilization from June, but then we had conflicting data for August as Chicago Purchasing Managers data was the weakest of 2010, followed by Conference Board consumer sentiment showing a mild uptick. Oddly enough, investors even initially sold off the FOMC Minutes from the August 10 meeting because there was no good news. So much for any hope of an efficient market theory. Today was also the month's end.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 10,014.72 +4.99 (0.05%) S&P 500 1,049.33 +0.41 (0.04%) Nasdaq 2,114.03 -5.94 (-0.28%)

Analyst Upgrades

• UBS upgraded Yum! Brands (YUM) to buy from neutral, citing valuation, improving momentum and stabilizing China fast-food sales. The firm raised its target to $44 from $38.
• United Technologies (UTX) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• Needham upgraded Arris (ARRS) to buy from hold, citing valuation and positive near-term business trends. The firm has a $16 price target on shares.
• Warnaco (WRC) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Aetna (AET) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Nestle (NSRGY) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

Analyst Upgrades

• Baird upgraded Air Products (APD) to outperform from neutral on valuation following the sell-off after the company's bid for Airgas (ARG). The firm has an $89 price target on shares.
• JPMorgan upgraded Peabody Energy (BTU) to overweight from neutral as it believes the company is well positioned for 2010. The firm has a $50 price target on shares.
• Jefferies raised Adobe (ADBE) to buy from hold and has a $40 target on the stock. The firm believes concerns over the future of Flash are overblown and that shares of Adobe are attractive. Additionally, the firm expects CS5 to have a "decent" product cycle.
• Dell (DELL) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• SXC Health Solutions (SXCI) was upgraded to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
• Harman (HAR) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Credit Suisse.

The markets just wanted to close higher today. A slight gain in the weekly jobless claims had no real impact and a really poor 30-Year Treasury auction that just hints at the demand for rates to rise had only a temporary effect against the stock market.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,406.66 +69.61 (0.67%)
S&P 500 1,102.35 +6.40 (0.58%)
Nasdaq 2,190.86 +7.13 (0.33%)

Top 10 Analyst Calls
Key Short Interest Changes

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

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) lower Q3 results still topped expectations and sent shares higher.
• Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) posted much better-than-expected Q4 earnings, the first profit in a year.
• AstraZeneca (AZN) received an analyst's downgrade due to concerns over its earnings prospects.
• Blackstone Group (BX) received an analyst's upgrade following the company's Q3 results.
• Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) widened its net loss in Q3 and revenue and same-stores sales declined.
• Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (CLNE) shares declined after its Q3 numbers fell short of expectations.
• Consolidated Water Co. Inc. (CWCO) earnings prospects for 2010 earned it an analyst upgrade.

Analyst upgrades:

• Janney Montgomery upgraded Adobe (ADBE) to buy from neutral on expectations for a strong CS5 product cycle in 2010. The firm raised its target on shares to $43 from $33.
• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Rackspace (RAX) to buy from hold to reflect the company's "strong" Q3 results and expectations growth will accelerate in 2010. The firm raised its target on shares to $22.50 from $16. Oppenheimer upgraded Rackspace to outperform from perform and established a $24 price target on the stock.
• Stephens upgraded Ann Taylor (ANN) to overweight from equal weight as it believes the company's core brand will recover faster than originally thought. The firm raised its target on shares to $17 from $12.
• Rockwell (ROK) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Baird.
• Taiwan Semi (TSM) was raised to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Blackstone Group (BX) to outperform from market perform following the company's Q3 results and maintains an $18.50 price target on shares.
• Baird upgraded Astec (ASTE) to outperform from neutral citing relative valuation and upside from new multi-year U.S. highway funding legislation. The firm raised its target to $33 from $27.
• Goldman upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to conviction buy from neutral citing "significant" long-term growth drivers that include international growth. The firm raised its target to $45 from $36.
• Ariad Pharmaceuticals (ARIA) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Energizer (ENR) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• AstraZeneca (AZN) was upgraded to buy from hold at RBS.

Today was another trading day bare of major economic data. Shares were all over the place today with the indexes not giving any clear direction at any point of the day. It was not until right before the close that you had a real feel for whether we would close up or down today.

Here are the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,874.31 -11.49 (-0.12%)
S&P 500 1,073.56 -2.63 (-0.24%)
Nasdaq 2,140.22 +1.08 (0.05%)

Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades
Top Stock Rumors
Day Trader Alerts

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

• American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) Q2 profit fell short of estimates as same-store sales declined.
• Ann Taylor Stores Corp. (NYSE: ANN) Q2 earnings beat very low expectations and same-store sales fell.
• Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) reported better-than-expected numbers for Q2, sending shares upward.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC) posted a better-than-expected Q4 profit though revenue declined.
• China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. posted a record Q2 profit after restrictions on fuel prices were lifted.
• Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) said its Q2 earnings declined, but they still topped analysts' expectations.

Analyst upgrades:

• Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral by Pali Capital, which cited low expectations, new CEO experience, and compelling risk/reward for the upgrade.
• RBC Capital raised Aruba Networks (NASDAQ: ARUN) to Outperform from Sector Perform, based on increased visibility into wireless networking products.
• J. Crew (NYSE: JCG) was upgraded to Hold from Underperform by Needham after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 report and guidance.
• RBC Capital raised Lundin Mining (NYSE: LMC) to Outperform from Sector Perform, citing updated copper forecasts and valuation.
• Netezza (NYSE: NZ) was upgraded to Buy from Accumulate by ThinkEquity.
• Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) was raised to Overweight from Neutral by JPMorgan.
• Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral by Goldman.
• Network Engines (NASDAQ: NENG) was raised to Buy from Hold by Cantor.

Energy Conversion Devices (NASDAQ: ENER) tumbled to a new 52-week low today as investors panned the company's earnings report. This morning, ENER confessed to a fourth-quarter loss of $15.8 million, or 37 cents per share, more than reversing its year-ago profit of 24 cents per share. Revenue for the period tumbled 38% to $51.4 million. Both figures fell short of analysts' consensus estimates, which called for a loss of 8 cents per share on $55 million in revenue.

"Demand for solar products in our target markets weakened further from the third quarter into the fourth quarter as commercial construction declined, building owners deferred reroofing projects and project financing constraints continued," explained Chief Executive Mark Morelli.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded American Express (NYSE: AXP) to Buy from Hold and added the stock to its Top Picks Live list following the company's investor day. Citi believes American Express' credit trends are improving and raised its price target on shares to $36 from $28.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Gardner Denver (NYSE: GDI) to Buy from Neutral after meeting with management to reflect expectations for EPS growth in 2010 and valuation. The firm has a $38 target on the stock.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) to Buy from Underperform and raised its target to $87 from $49 based on strong copper fundamentals.
• Cbeyond (NASDAQ: CBEY) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
• Gibraltar Industries (NASDAQ: ROCK) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• Fortress (NYSE: FIG) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.