Fluor Corporation (FLR), international design, engineering, and contracting firm extraordinaire, and first discussed here on February 17, 2009 at a price of $39.21, raced to $76 this winter, before correcting to about $68. Hence, if you haven't already, now may be a good time to consider taking some profits if you're in at/near $39.

However, those investors who can tolerate the risk can maintain their full position in FLR, but keep in mind the journey to plus-$80 may not be completed in 2011.

Fluor will likely register double-digit revenue growth in 2011, and another sizable revenue increase in 2012.

Analyst Upgrades

• Chesapeake (CHK) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Biogen (BIIB) and Regeneron (REGN) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Caribou Coffee (CBOU) to outperform from neutral and Encore Energy (ENP) to neutral from underperform at RW Baird.
• Fluor (FLR) to market perform from underperform at BMO Capital.
• Hornbeck Offshore (HOS) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Saks (SKS) and Zale (ZLC) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Analyst Upgrades

• Interpublic Group (IPG) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Radware (RDWR) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Fluor (FLR) and Waddell & Reed (WDR) to buy from hold, as well as AllianceBernstein (AB) to hold from sell, at Citigroup.
• MetroCorp (MCBI) and American Capital (AGNC) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• International Flavors (IFF) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• BioCryst (BCRX) and Southern Company (SO) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Bunge (BG) to overweight from neutral at HSBC.

Leading international design, engineering, and contracting firm Fluor Corp. (FLR), first discussed here on February 17, 2009, at a price of $39.21, has ascended to the stratosphere, taking out $70 resistance, and now may be a good time to consider taking some profits.

However, those investors who can tolerate the risk can maintain their full position, but keep in mind the journey to plus-$80 may not be completed in 2011.

Analyst Upgrades

• Micron (MU) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Baker Hughes (BHI) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• PDL BioPharma (PDLI) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Fluor (FLR) and Rush Enterprises (RUSHA) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Camden Property (CPT) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Pinnacle Financial (PNFP) to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Linear Technology (LLTC) to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• Hologic (HOLX) and Illumina (ILMN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• F5 Networks (FFIV) to buy from neutral at Gleacher.

Analyst Upgrades

• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Fluor (FLR) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Macy's (M) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ), JA Solar (JASO) and HeartWare (HTWR) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Ashford Hospitality (AHT) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• RenaissanceRe (RNR) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• DCT Industrial (DCT) to market perform from underperform at Wells Fargo.
• Coeur d'Alene Mines (CDE) and Silver Standard (SSRI) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Weatherford (WFT), Hercules (HERO), GulfMark Offshore (GLF), Tidewater (TDW) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to buy from hold, and Diamond Offshore (DO) to hold from underperform, at Jefferies.
• Ritchie Bros. (RBA) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• AstraZeneca (AZN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.

Analyst Upgrades

• Amgen (AMGN) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Goodrich Petroleum (GDP) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Tutor Perini (TPC) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Covidien (COV) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Sara Lee (SLE) and Comcast (CMCSA) to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Research In Motion (RIMM) to outperform from sector perform at FBN Securities.

Shares of Fluor Corp. (FLR), which had meandered all summer through September in a roughly $43 to $49 range, exploded to the upside this fall, taking out $50 and $60 resistance. I first discussed the Fluor, which closed at $62.24 Friday, on February 17, 2009, at a price of $39.21, and now may be a good time to consider taking some profits.

However, those investors who can tolerate the risk can maintain full position, and go for an even larger gain, as Fluor is likely to continue to head north, once its overbought short-term status normalizes.

The shares of Fluor Corporation (FLR), first discussed here on February 17, 2009 at a price of $39.21, have meandered since September, but I still like the company at this stage. Here's why:

Fluor, a leading international design, engineering, and contracting firm, will likely register a 3-5% revenue decline in 2010, as clients postpone projects until the economic landscape is clarified.

That said, long-term FLR's outlook remains favorable: additional capital investment work in emerging markets will add to FLR's large bookings. Look for double digit revenue growth in 2011.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Dollar Tree (DLTR) to neutral from underweight and $48 price target.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Time Warner Cable (TWC) to outperform from neutral and raised its price target to $70 from $59, citing growth in wireline HST demand.
• Needham upgraded NetScout (NTCT) to buy from hold with a $29 price target, citing channel checks that indicate industry spending on network monitoring software may be improving.
• Nstar (NST) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Novo Nordisk (NVO) was upgraded to hold from sell at Societe Generale.
• Air France-KLM (AFLYY) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Credit Suisse.

After a rough patch, the shares of engineering company Fluor Corp (FLR), first discussed here on February 17, 2009 at a price of $39.21, appear to be on the mend.

Fluor's shares fell dangerously close to the $39 sell/stop loss this summer, falling to about $40, but have since recovered.

Long-term, FLR's outlook remains favorable: additional capital investment work in emerging markets will add to FLR's large bookings. Look for double digit revenue growth in 2011 after flat to modest 2-3% revenue decline in 2010. The later is primarily due to clients reducing planned, capital investment projects, as a result of the milder-than-expected U.S. economic recovery.

Fluor (FLR), an expert in the field of industrial construction and engineering, issued its second-quarter report Monday after the bell. The market enjoyed the results. The stock rose by more than 3% in after-hours trading, good for a share price of $49.

The business made 87 cents per share in Q2. Unfortunately, that was six pennies less than what was booked in last year's similar period. Fortunately, Wall Street was only counting on 71 cents per share. This could be one reason why the stock was seeing a bid.

The shares of Fluor Corporation (FLR), a leading international design, engineering, and contracting firm that was first discussed here on February 17, 2009, at a price of $39.21, have pulled-back, due to the Dow's recent retreat and U.S. work stoppages in the oil/natural gas sector.

Further, FLR's price has drifted dangerously close to the sell/stop loss at $39. Still, the calculation here is that the shares will hold support at $40, then start heading north again as oil/natural gas projects slowly resume in the quarters ahead.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Microsoft (MSFT) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation and the ongoing corporate PC cycle refresh. The firm upped its target for shares to $32 from $31.
• Oppenheimer upgraded BP (BP) to outperform from perform with a $55 price target as it sees greater upside potential than downside risk from the oil spill.
• Wunderlich upgraded Stericycle (SRCL) to hold from sell and raised its target for shares to $50 from $42, citing the company's alliance with Republic Services (RSG).
• Illinois Tool Works (ITW) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• GameStop (GME) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Janney Montgomery.
• Fluor (FLR) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.

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

• Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) Q1 net loss was in line with estimates and same-store sales declined, shares also fell.
• CA Inc. (CA) shares sold off on high volume following the Q4 earnings miss and disappointing guidance.
• Cigna Corp. (CI) reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings and higher revenue, and reaffirmed its full-year outlook.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) beat Q3 earnings and revenue expectations in the "strongest quarter in our history."
• Dean Foods Co. (DF) lower Q1earnings beat analysts' estimates, but shares fell on heavy volume afterward.
• Denny's Corp. (DENN) bested consensus estimates and year-ago EPS by a penny, but said same-store sales fell.