Goodyear (GT - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company announced a $435 million offering of preferred stock. The common stock is moving sharply lower this morning because it will be devalued when these preferred shares convert to common stock in 2014. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on GT.

This morning, GT opened at $14.99. So far today the stock has hit a high of $15.20 and a low of $14.65. As of 12:25, GT is trading at $14.69, down $0.76 (-4.9%). The chart for GT looks neutral and S&P gives GT a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goodyear Tire (GT) to Overweight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Salix (SLXP) to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
• Euroseas (ESEA) to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital.
• Norfolk Southern (NSC) and Hexcel (HXL) to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
• BB&T (BBT) and Triangle Capital (TCAP) to Buy from Neutral at Janney Capital.
• Mobile TeleSystems (MBT) to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Affymax (AFFY) to Buy from Hold at Auriga.
• Vanguard Natural (VNR) and Tortoise Energy (TYY) to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird.
• Protective Life (PL) to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Goodyear Tire and Rubber (GT) finally remounted major, psychological resistance at $10, pushing all the way to $15.35 this winter, before pulling back slightly. I first discussed the stock here on May 5, 2009, at a price of $13.30, and I obviously still like the shares.

Assuming the price of oil doesn't rise to the price of a preferred Bulova watch, the U.S. economic expansion will continue, and that demand, along with the global market, will generate at least adequate tire demand in the immediate years ahead.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber (GT), North America's largest tire maker, posted losses in the forth quarter and for the year. This marks the third-straight annual loss.

To stave off further deterioration, the company is closing its Tennessee plant. In 2009, union negotiations left the plant unprotected, meaning that it could be closed at the company's discretion.

Things look to be pretty quiet on the economic calendar this week. Here are the highlights:

• Tuesday: Weekly chain-store sales
• Wednesday: Federal budget balance for January
• Thursday: Wholesale trade data in December
• Friday: Trade balance in December and the weekly inflation survey

However, three iconic companies -- Walt Disney (DIS), Coca-Cola (KO) and Hasbro (HAS) -- highlight this week's quarterly results. Here's a look at what analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are anticipating from these and others.

Analyst Upgrades

• Xilinx (XLNX) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Orion Energy (OESX) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Goodyear Tire (GT) to buy from fair value at CRT Capital.
• RadioShack (RSH) to neutral from underperform at Wedbush.
• Novo Nordisk (NVO) to buy from neutral at Goldman.

Last week copper set record highs. JP Morgan Chase (JPM) is sitting on $1 billion of copper. Today, the story is rubber. Rubber jumped to a record high of $5.05 per kg, according to the Financial Times.

Rubber is used in tires, condoms and gloves. The price has jumped 25% in two months. Bridgestone (BRDCY) Michelin (MGDDY) Goodyear (GT) and Continental have raised tire prices three times in 2010.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (GT) was down big this afternoon. At one point, shares were off by over 9% to a quote of $10.53. The 52-week low for the stock is $9.10; the 52-week high is $16.48. Volume, as you might have guessed, is robust. I would therefore categorize the sentiment in this entity as decidedly bearish.

The one-year chart hammers home the notion. The downtrend is clearly noticeable. Of course, generally speaking, buying lower is preferable to buying higher. Do the third-quarter numbers give us a reason to seriously consider this name on the pullback?

Let's take a look at two companies that reported quarterly numbers on Thursday. One is a concern that helps cars have a smooth, safe ride; the other is a business that helps consumers buy the electronics they need.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (GT) has a one-year chart that I would argue is not too attractive. The 52-week low on the stock is $9.65; the 52-week high is $18.84. Yesterday, the shares were under pressure after the release of the second-quarter report. They closed down 5.7% to $11.27 on Thursday. Volume was very strong.

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

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) saw shares rise following its report of better-than-expected Q1 earnings.
• Beazer Homes USA Inc. (BZH) posted a Q2 profit and revenue growth, and announced a stock offering.
• CBS Corp. (CBS) reported improvements in both Q1 net income and cash flow, but shares declined.
• Clorox Co. (CLX) posted Q3 earnings that were higher than analysts had expected and offered weak guidance.
• First Solar Inc. (FSLR) reported quarterly earnings that easily topped analysts' expectations.

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

• Aflac Inc. (AFL) higher Q1 earnings were better than analysts expected, due in part to a stronger yen.
• Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) Q3 EPS were the same as a year ago and revenue inched higher.
• BlackRock Inc. (BLK) higher Q1 earnings fell short of analysts' expectations due to acquisition-related charges.
• Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) posted record revenue in Q1 and swung to a profit from a year-ago loss.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (BKC) topped Wall Street's Q3 earnings estimate, but same-store sales fell.

Akron-based Goodyear Tire & Rubber (GT) announced that its first-quarter loss was "significantly smaller" than last year's first-quarter loss. The smaller loss was realized despite a one-time charge stemming from currency devaluation in Venezuela.

Goodyear's president and CEO Richard J. Kramer noted that the company is "very pleased with our strong first quarter [sic] performance," adding that the company believes it is "starting to see the benefits of the strategic actions [it] took last year, including [the] commitment to launch innovative new products during an economic downturn." Kramer attributes the company's gains in both sales and earnings to these strategic actions.

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

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) lower Q4 earnings topped estimates and same-store sales also declined.
• Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) reaffirmed its earnings outlook but lowered its revenue forecast for the full year.
• Daimler AG (DAI) provided guidance for the year that included slashing its dividend, sending shares lower.
• Dell Inc. (DELL) lower Q4 earnings beat estimates by a penny but it didn't offer guidance, sending shares lower.
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) easily topped Q4 earnings estimates and revenue increased as well.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber (GT) beat the projections on Wall Street this week by a comfortable margin. The call was for a loss of 9 cents per share in the fourth quarter. Would you believe that, on an adjusted basis, Goodyear actually delivered a profit? A profit of 14 cents per share?

You can check out a summary of the release at DailyFinance. Yeah, it appears as if the analysts were a little bit off this reporting period. Then again, I wouldn't blame them for being pessimistic. Back in October, all indicators pointed to a tough Q4 for the company. The stock was hammered at the time.

As so often happens at this point in the earnings season, focus begins to shift to the results from retailers. And the world's largest retailer is among those that step into the spot light this week.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), which was aggressively competitive during the holiday shopping season and also recently announced a new global strategy, to report fourth-quarter earnings of $1.12 per share, up from $1.03 per share in the year-ago period. Revenue for the three months that ended in January is expected to have risen 4.9% to $114.5 billion. The full-year forecast calls for earnings of $3.61 per share (+5.3%) on $409.1 billion in revenue (+0.9%). Walmart has not missed earnings estimates in the past five quarters.