Analyst Upgrades

• Red Hat (RHT) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Cogdell Spencer (CSA) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Micron (MU) to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• El Paso Electric (EE) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• MICROS Systems (MCRS) and Harmony Gold (HMY) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Meridian Bioscience (VIVO) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Verso Paper (VRS) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Sony (SNE) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Noble Corp. (NE) and Baker Hughes (BHI) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Tyson Foods (TSN) and Smithfield Foods (SFD) to buy from hold at BB&T.

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

• Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) lowered its Q3 earnings forecast below analysts' estimates.
• Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (NYSE: EYE) lowered guidance led to an analyst's downgrade.
• Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) fell well short of Q3 estimates on lower demand and falling prices.
• Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) Q3 profits fell more than estimated, and it cut its dividend.
• Brunswick Corp. (NYSE: BC) forecast a full-year loss and accelerated layoffs.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) Q4 earnings just missed estimates thought revenues were up.
• Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) earnings results and growth prospects impressed one analyst.
• eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) earnings may be diluted by its acquisition of Bill Me Later.
• Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) earnings prospects led to an analyst's downgrade.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) results were in line with low expectations, and dividends will be sustained.
• General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) earnings prospects for 2009 impress Jim Cramer.
• Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: HST) Q3 earnings tumbled while revenue slipped.
• IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) surprised Wall Street by offering strong Q3 preliminary results.

Analyst upgrades:

• Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) was upgraded to Add from Hold at WestLB.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Shire Plc (NASDAQ: SHPGY) to overweight from Neutral to reflect Vyvanse share gains and valuation.
  
• Wachovia upgraded Jefferies (NYSE: JEF) to Market Perform from Underperform because they believe that the recent collapse of the large cap bank sector, Jefferies' cash equity business, and the company's partial privatization as a result of its Leucadia investment will shield shares.
  
• Canaccord upgraded Amylin Pharma (NASDAQ: AMLN) to Hold from Sell.
• ADC Telecomm (NASDAQ: ADCT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Kaufman Bros. on valuation following the recent weakness.
• STEC Inc (NASDAQ: STEC) and Popular (NASDAQ: BPOP) were raised to Buy from Neutral at B. Riley.
  

Analyst downgrades:

• Merrill downgraded Disney (NYSE: DIS) to Underperform from Neutral and cut its target to $27 from $34 citing the impact from the current economic climate on earnings.
  
• Barclays downgraded IBM (NYSE: IBM) to Equal Weight from Overweight citing the impact from the weakening economy and the company's large exposure to the financial services industry. IBM's target was cut to $108 from $130.
  
• Jefferies downgraded Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) to Underperform from Buy on increased risks of deteriorating payment terms and price pressure on renewals. The company's target was lowered to $36 from $75.
• Goldman downgraded First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) and added shares to the Conviction Sell List.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) is up almost 4% on a strong quarter.

International Coal (NYSE:ICO) is up almost 9% on positive earnings.

NetFlix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is off almost 14% on weak guidance.

CIT (NYSE:CIT) is off 13% after raising $1.5 billion.

Shares may trade differently in the pre-market than they do in the regular session.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Countrywide Financial, AstraZeneca, Massey Energy and International Coal were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Wachovia upgraded Countrywide (NYSE: CFC) to Market Perform from Underperform, as they do not expect any other bidders to emerge and for the acquisition by Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) to close.
  
• HSBC upgraded AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) to Overweight from Neutral on valuation and their belief that an agreement with Ranbaxy on Nexium is possible.
  
• Massey Energy (NYSE: MEE) and International Coal (NYSE: ICO) were upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan citing higher coal price forecasts.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• UBS raised Helicos BioSciences (NASDAQ: HLCS) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• RBC Capital raised National City (NYSE: NCC) to Sector Perform from Underperform.
  
• Merrill upgraded Magellan Midstream Holdings (NYSE: MGG) to Buy from Neutral.

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.

International Coal Group, Inc. (NYSE: ICO) is the top speculation for 2007 from Ivan Martchev, editor of Vital Resources and contributing editor for Personal Finance.

He explains, "The company came to market through an initial public offering at $11 and shortly thereafter had a high-profile accident at one of its mines that was probably the result of a lightning strike causing a methane explosion. Some bad operational news further pressured the stock, which reached $4 in the fall.

"As a result, International Coal is a lot cheaper based on book value and price-to-sales measures compared to major coal stocks. My interest here stems from the fact that Wilbur Ross -- a man with a proven record -- has a lot of money at stake in the company.

"If Ross can put together a bunch of bankrupt steel producers like Bethlehem Steel and make a go of them - and ultimately sell them very profitably- he'll try to make a go of International Coal. This is a suggestion only for the patient; it may take a couple of years for International Coal to dig out of its current hole (no pun intended). Buy under $6.50."

To see Ivan's top conservative investment for 2007, click here.