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

• Accenture Ltd. (NYSE: ACN) beat earnings expectations but revenue was hurt by currency effects.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) strong Q1 results beat estimates but same-store sales fell.
• CKE Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: CKR) lower Q1 earnings and strong sales both topped expectations.
• ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) higher Q4 earnings were in line with expectations, and shares slipped.
• Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) Q4 results were higher, but it warned of continuing challenges.
• Hennes & Mauritz (OTC: HMRZF) reported strong Q2 numbers, though same-stores sales slipped.

Lennar (NYSE: LEN), whose colleagues include Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) and D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI), reported earnings for the second quarter on Thursday. Since it is a homebuilder, you can expect that it would be a tough one to look at in many respects. There was a revenue decline of over 20%. And there was no profit. Lennar said it lost 76 cents per diluted share.

According to Michael Fowlkes and his earnings preview, Lennar did not satisfy Wall Street's outlook. Analysts were expecting a loss somewhere closer to 63 cents per share. That didn't stop the stock from going up, though. Lennar closed higher yesterday by over 17%. Volume was likewise incredible. Apparently, the market was focusing on the revenue beat.

This week brings a small flurry of end-of-the-calendar-quarter earnings reports. And for the most part, the expectations of the analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters aren't very high. Companies expected to report declining earnings in the most recently concluded quarter include America's Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT), Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY), ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG), Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL), Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. (NYSE: JTX), Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), and Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC).

Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV), a home builder whose related companies include Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL), Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN), and D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI), reported Q2 results on Tuesday after the bell. The company reported a loss of $1.50 per share (the results included a gain related to debt extinguishment). That unfortunately did not meet analyst expectations according to Trey Thoelcke's earnings preview. Analysts were looking for a loss of $1.26 per share.

However, things do look better. Last year at this time, the loss recorded by Hovnanian was a whopping $5.29 per share. Revenues, however, plummeted to $398 million from over $770 million. Analysts were expecting only $348 million according to the preview.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Lennar (NYSE: LEN) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company's near-term liquidity profile is improved following the $400M debt issuance. The firm raised its target price to $12 from $11.
• Jefferies upgraded Rowan Companies (NYSE: RDC) to Buy from Hold as it believes jack-up drillers will continue to outperform deepwater names. The firm raised its target price to $27 from $20.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded First Financial (NASDAQ: FFIN) to Market Perform from Underperform to reflect more positive loan data for the Texas banks. The firm raised its target price on shares to $44 from $38.
• MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
• Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities.
• Brinker (NYSE: EAT) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

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

• American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) lowered its earnings forecast for fiscal 2009.
• Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings and strong revenue growth.
• Borders Group Inc. (NYSE: BGP) reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings despite a decline in sales.
• CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) soaring earnings beat Q4 expectations despite a decline in revenue.
• Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) was downgraded on risk to its earnings from currency issues.

• Jefferies upgraded NeuStar (NYSE:NSR) to Hold from Underperform on valuation following the recent weakness and raised their target price to $15 from $12.
  
• Oppenheimer upgraded Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE) to Outperform from Perform on valuation as they believe the recent pullback has created an attractive entry point into the name. The firm has a $27 target on the stock.
  
• UBS upgraded Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Wyeth (NYSE:WYE) to Buy from Neutral based on valuations. Pfizer's price target remains $18 and Wyeth's was raised to $50 from $38.
• Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.
  
• BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) was raised to Buy from Hold at RBS.
  
• Anadys Pharma (NASDAQ:ANDS) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they believe the recent sell-off on concerns of fraud is overdone. The firm thinks the allegations made by Barry Minkow/Fraud Discovery Institute are unfounded and has an $11 target on shares.
  
• Merriman upgraded Nautilus Group (NYSE:NLS) to Neutral from Sell after meeting with management to reflect increased optimism on the company's turnaround.
  
• Baird upgraded Leap Wireless (NYSE:LEAP) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and strong subscriber trends.
  
• Transocean (NYSE:RIG) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
  
• Pearson PLC (NYSE:PSO) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
  
• Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) was lifted to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

• JP Morgan downgraded Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) to Underweight from Neutral and lowered their target to $20 from $26 as they believe potential benefits from the Linens' N Things closing are being overstated and that the risk/reward is unfavorable at current levels.
  
• Keefe Bruyette downgraded Citizens Republic (NASDAQ:CRBC) to Market Perform from Outperform and cut their target to $3 from $7 to reflect the company's lower capital position.
  
• UBS downgraded Energizer (NYSE:ENR) to Sell from Neutral and lowered their target to $40 from $48 citing signs of a battery price war, Wal-Mart's (NYSE:WMT) reduction in space allocation, and the company's cuts in investment.
  
• Chevron (NYSE:CVX) was removed from Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
  
• MetroPCS (NYSE:PCS) was lowered to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital.
  
• Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) was cut to Sell from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

• Global Hunter believes Pep Boys (NYSE:PBY) is well-positioned to benefit from increased demand for replacement parts and maintenance services as new car purchases are deferred. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $5.50 target.
  
• Jefferies started Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:SNY) with an Underperform rating and sees downside risk to the stock from the potential introduction of Lovenox generics in the U.S.
  
• Merriman assumed Alter Nrg (NYSE:ANRGF) with a Neutral rating and recommends waiting on the sidelines pending increased visibility on the company's gasification projects.
  
• JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) was re-initiated with a Buy rating at Goldman. Shares were also added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
  
• Hudson City Bancorp (NYSE:HCBK) was assumed with an Overweight rating and $15 target at Barclays.
  
• DG FastChannel (NASDAQ:DGIT) was initiated at BWS Financial with a Strong Buy rating and $30 target.

Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) saw its shares plummet nearly 20% last Friday after Barry Minkow's Fraud Discovery Institute alleged that the homebuilder was improperly inflating its balance sheet, but the company isn't taking his inflammatory claims lying down. The beleaguered housing issue announced today that Minkow and his Fraud Discovery firm have been named as defendants in "a lawsuit alleging libel, extortion, and various criminal acts."

The official company statement reveals that Minkow & Co. are being added to a pre-existing lawsuit filed againt Nicolas Marsch III, who is accused of "hiring Minkow and his company to use any means available, including fraud, identity theft and manipulation of securities markets, to wrongfully and falsely harm Lennar's business and reputation because Lennar refuses to accede to Marsch's demands for tens of millions of dollars."

Unfortunately for Lennar, its dramatic rejection of Minkow's allegations isn't doing anything to boost its share price. The equity lost 8.8% today, easily outpacing the decline in the broader equities market. LEN has now shed roughly 31% since last Friday.

Meanwhile, in the options arena, put volume continues to dominate -- during the past 10 days, traders on the International Securities Exchange have bought to open 2.6 puts for every call. This ratio is hovering just 15 percentage points from an annual bearish peak.

Elizabeth Harrow is an analyst and financial writer in the research department at Schaeffer's Investment Research. She is featured in the video series Schaeffer's Daily Q&A on SchaeffersResearch.com.

• KeyBanc upgraded Epicor (NASDAQ: EPIC) to Buy from Hold based on several near-term catalysts that include possible convertible debt repurchases, reasonable Q4 results, a proxy fight, and a boost from the Epicor 9 product cycle in 2H09.
  
• KeyBanc also upgraded AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) to Buy from Hold based on relative valuation and said the company could benefit from lower iron ore, scrap natural gas, and labor inputs.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Lennar (NYSE: LEN) to Overweight from Neutral based on relative valuation.
• Marriott (NYSE: MAR) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Raymond James (NYSE: RJF) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Wachovia.
  
• Deere (NYSE: DE) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

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

• Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) posted strong Q4 and full-year results, but with flat Q4 revenues.
• Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) beat Q3 expectations though earnings tumbled, and shares rose about 18%.
• Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) announced that it had lowered its full-year earnings and revenue guidance.
• Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) net income from continuing operations more than doubled in Q4.
• Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) cut its Q4 earnings guidance on weakness in the American auto market.
• FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) Q2 earnings topped expectations and it reaffirmed its guidance.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) declined to provide quarterly earnings guidance in its annual outlook.
• General Mills (NYSE: GIS) posted a higher-than-expected profit on cost cutting and increased marketing.
• Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) strong earnings growth are expected by one analyst to continue.
• Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) swung to an anticipated Q4 loss and reported negative revenues.
• Healthcare Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: HR) was downgraded due to its near-term earnings prospects.
• Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) affirmed a lower 2009 outlook and said it expects profits to fall.