Analyst Upgrades

• Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• tw telecom (TWTC) to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• Agree Realty (ADC) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Millicom (MICC) to buy from neutral at Nomura.
• BioMed Realty (BMR) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Realty Income (O) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Analyst Upgrades

• Stifel Financial (SF) and CVR Energy (CVI) to buy from neutral and Principal Financial (PFG) to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Suntech (STP) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Internap (INAP) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Andersons (ANDE) to buy from hold at BB&T.

Analyst Upgrades

• Dynegy (DYN) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Pritchard.
• Itron (ITRI) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.
• Goldman upgraded Ameren (AEE) to sell from conviction sell.
• Signet Jewelers (SIG) was upgraded to buy from hold at Societe Generale.
• JPMorgan upgraded Synopsys (SNPS) to overweight from neutral.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Lubrizol (LZ) to Hold from Sell following the company's analyst day citing its continued pricing power in lubricants. Citi upped its target price for shares to $115 from $82.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Viacom (VIA) to Buy from Neutral citing the company's ratings improvement, 2011 film slate, and video game pipeline. The firm has a $45 price target for shares.
• BMO Capital resumed coverage on Gammon Gold (GRS) with an Outperform from a Market Perform following the its equity issue. The firm has a $12.50 price target on the stock.
• Comerica (CMA) and First Horizon (FHN) were upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Prudential (PRU) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
• Itron (ITRI) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Stifel Nicolaus.

Analyst Upgrades

• Standpoint Research upgraded Bank of America (BAC) to accumulate from hold based on valuation.
• UBS upgraded First Solar (FSLR) to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $150 from $136. The firm believes global solar demand will be higher than expected in 2010 and 2011.
• Goldman upgraded Lowe's (LOW) to buy from neutral and has a $24 target on the stock. The firm upgraded shares given the company's margin recovery which will drive EPS growth in 2H10.
• Zep Inc. (ZEP) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Janney Montgomery.
• Rosetta Resources (ROSE) was upgraded to buy from neutral at SunTrust.
• Matrixx Initiatives (MTXX) was upgraded to buy from hold at Roth Capital.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded New York Community Bancorp (NYB) to outperform from market perform following the FDIC-assisted acquisition of AmTrust. The firm raised its target price on shares to $16 from $11.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Brocade (BRCD) to outperform from perform to reflect valuation, low investor expectations, and the company's potential to gain market share in IP/Ethernet switching. The firm set a target price of $8.50 on shares.
• Stifel Nicolaus upgraded National Health Investors (NHI) to buy from hold following the announcement that the litigation vs. Care Foundation has been dismissed. The firm has a $37 target on the stock.
• American Express (AXP) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• ACE Ltd. (ACE) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Kohl's (KSS) was raised to outperform from neutral at Baird.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Vistaprint (VPRT) to buy from hold on valuation following the recent pullback in shares. The firm also raised its price target on the stock to $62 from $55.
• Fox-Pitt upgraded Eaton Vance (EV) to outperform from in line citing strong fundamentals. The firm raised its target to $36 from $34.
• Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Hospitality Properties (HPT) to buy from hold citing valuation and expected cash dividend in 2010. The firm has a $22 target on the stock.
• The Advisory Board (ABCO) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at First Analysis.
• Technip (TKPPY) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Jefferies upgraded Energy XXI (EXXI) to hold from underperform and raised its target to $2 from $1.

First off, what is smart grid technology? Smart grid technology allows two-way communication between a home or business and the utility company.

Then you are probably wondering why is there so much interest in smart grid technology now? The key reason is that our electrical transmission system is outmoded and overloaded. Our present system will be unable to handle the increasing demand for electricity for much longer. Take the electric car. If thousands of these cars are on the road next year, we will need the electrical delivery system to power them.

Analyst upgrades:

• JPMorgan upgraded Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX) and Goldcorp (NYSE: GG) to Overweight from Neutral following its gold valuation analysis. The firm set a $54 price target on Barrick shares and a $47 price target on Goldcorp shares.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) to Overweight from Market Weight and raised its target to $24 from $15, citing the company's improving end market demand, competitive position, and valuation.
• Barclays upgraded AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) to Overweight from Equal Weight, citing the company's improved liquidity position and what they believe to be the beginning of a multi-year profit cycle for the sector. Despite the upgrade, the firm lowered its target to $14 from $20.
• Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
• Toshiba (OTC: TOSBF) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
• Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Nucor (NYSE: NUE) to Buy from Hold to reflect its positive outlook for steel and expectations the company will return to profitability in Q4. Citi raised its target price on shares to $57 from $46.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Given Imaging (NASDAQ: GIVN) to Outperform from Perform to reflect solid PillCam Colon data and expected margin improvement. The firm has a $25 target on shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Genworth (NYSE: GNW) to Buy from Hold following the $600M capital raise as it believes liquidity at the holding company has improved. The firm raised its target on shares to $18 from $7.
• Washington Federal (NASDAQ: WFSL) was upgraded to Outperform from Underperform at FBR Capital.
• Carnival (NYSE: CCL) was upgraded to Sell from Conviction Sell at Goldman.
• Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Weeden.

"I'm adding Itron (NSDQ: ITRI) to my diversified portfolio of stocks in the alternative energy space," says Elliott Gue.

In The Energy Strategist he explains, "The firm will benefit from both the HR 2454 bill (a cap-and-trade system designed to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions) and the stimulus bill which included direct subsidies aimed at promoting efficiency and building a more intelligent electric grid.

"Itron is a leading play on energy efficiency and smart grid technologies, a key, near-term component of cutting carbon emissions.

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

• Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) Q2 earnings were in line with expectations but sales beat.
• Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) beat earnings estimates for Q1, but on horrible metrics, sending shares lower.
• Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) lower Q2 earnings beat expectations and previous guidance, boosting shares.
• CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) Q1 profit and sales dropped, but still beat expectations, sending shares higher.
• Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) posted a smaller-than-expected Q2 net loss and shares rose.

• Stephens upgraded Old Dominion Freight (NASDAQ: ODFL) to Overweight from Equal Weight to reflect the financial problems at YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW), which the firm believes could lead to market share gains. Stephens raised its target on Old Dominion Freight to $40 from $22.
• UBS expects SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWRA) to benefit from the U.S. residential solar segment as investment tax credits come available. The firm upgraded shares to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $38 from $26.
• KeyBanc upgraded DPL (NYSE: DPL) to Buy from Hold based on valuation and potential upside from the Ohio approval of the rate settlement, 2010 guidance, and potential to use cash flow for accretive purposes.
• Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.
• Carnival (NYSE: CCL) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
• South Financial Group (NASDAQ: TSFG) was upgraded at SunTrust to Buy from Neutral.

"Itron (NASDAQ: ITRI), which is involved in the build-out of smart grids -- has been our radar screen for awhile," says growth stock expert Toby Smith.

In his ChangeWave Investing, he suggests, "As the top supplier of smart meters and meter infrastructure for the electricity industry, Itron is by far the best-positioned company for the smart grid build-out."

"The build-out of smart grids employs technologies that deployed across an energy grid which allow greater efficiency and flexibility during energy distribution and transmission.

"The cool thing about smart grids is that they are capable of isolating and better managing power outages and disruptions, integrating local power generating equipment, and avoiding electricity congestion or bottlenecks.

Analyst upgrades:

• Merriman upgraded shares of Akamai (NASDAQ:AKAM) to Buy from Neutral as they believe consensus expectations are now realistic and already reflect macro headwinds. Merriman also thinks the company's cost reductions could generate upside to EPS estimates.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations the company's diabetes drug will gain U.S. approval.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) to Outperform from Neutral and raised their target to $20 from $19 citing the merits of the Wyeth (WYE) deal and valuation.
• Quality Systems (NASDAQ:QSII) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  
• Parexel (NASDAQ:PRXL) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
  
• Ferro (NYSE:FOE) was upgraded at KeyBanc to Hold from Underweight.