Analyst Upgrades

• Research In Motion (RIMM) to buy from sell and Gap (GPS) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Archer Daniels (ADM) and Airgas (ARG) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• NCR Corp. (NCR) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Valero Energy (VLO) to top pick from sector perform and Western Refining (WNR) to outperform from underperform at RBC Capital.
• Fred's (FRED) to overweight from neutral at JP Morgan.
• Marsh & McLennan (MMC), Willis Group (WSH) and Brown & Brown (BRO) to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.
• Host Hotels (HST) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• La-Z-Boy (LZB) to strong buy from market perform at Raymond James.

La-Z-Boy (LZB) March put option implied volatility is at 67, July is at 58, according to Track Data, compared to its 26-week average of 64 into its release of Q3 results Tuesday after the bell, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Semiconductor Holders Trust (SMH) overall volatility at 21; 26-week average is 24.

Russell 2000 (IWM) overall implied volatility at 21; 26-week average is 26.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Analyst Upgrades

• Ryder (R) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• HCP (HCP) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Hertz Global (HTZ) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Lincoln National (LNC) to buy from neutral and T. Rowe Price (TROW) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Protective Life (PL) and Janus Capital (JNS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Newell Rubbermaid (NWL) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• National Instruments (NATI) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Team Health (TMH) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Deere (DE) is expected to report Q4 EPS on Nov. 24. December 80 and 85 calls are active on total call volume of 3,697 contracts, compared to 1,590 puts. December call option implied volatility is at 34 and January is at 33; compared to its 26-week average of 34, according to Track Data, suggesting nondirectional price movement.

La-Z-Boy (LZB) is expected to report Q2 EPS on Nov. 23. Overall option implied volatility of 68 is near its 26-week average, according to Track Data, suggesting nondirectional price movement.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

La Z Boy (LZB - option chain) stock is traded much lower Tuesday after the company reported fourth-quarter 2009 earnings, posting an adjusted profit of 24 cents per share on revenue of $310 million. Analysts had forecast a profit of 23 cents per share on revenue of $307 million. However, shares of the stock are falling due to a cautious 2010 outlook. CEO Kurt Darrow warned that the company will need to boost sales and cut costs to counteract various macroeconomic factors, including high unemployment and housing volatility. 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 LZB.

LZB opened Tuesday at $11.01. In morning trading, the stock hit a high of $11.19 and a low of $10.12. As of 12:00, LZB was trading at $10.19, down $2.21 (-17.8%). The chart for LZB looks bearish and S&P gives LZB a negative 2 STARS (out of 5) sell ranking.

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.

Shares of La-Z-Boy (NYSE: LZB) have simply exploded over the last few months. Talk about an incredible trade.

Well, it was an incredible trade for anyone brave enough to fool with a low-priced stock. La-Z-Boy closed on Monday at $3.64 per share. Back in March, the stock was under a buck. Can't say I'm sorry I didn't buy it. Well, let me amend that statement. I'm a little sorry I didn't buy it. But I think the reader knows what I mean: purchasing stocks under a dollar per share is dangerous work at best.

So what do we make of a company that promotes sloth?

La-Z-Boy (NYSE: LZB) does just that with its wonderfully comfortable and sinfully relaxing recliner. Too bad they're not selling very well in this economy.

Apparently, we are becoming less slothful during these difficult times.

Next: Deadly sin stock #7

See all 7 deadly sin stocks.

Just for fun, I thought I'd find a stock that loosely symbolizes each of the 7 Deadly Sins -- greed, wrath, envy, pride, lust, sloth and gluttony -- to see how it fares against my momentum criteria.

Now, I'm not saying any of these companies are bad or evil. And I don't know whether our new climate of parsimony means the "greed is good" era of the 1980s is dead. What I do know is which stocks are in a position to profit today and which aren't.

Here's a fun look at some stocks that symbolize the 7 Deadly Sins and how I expect them to perform.

This post is part of our Big Company, Small Town series, featuring large companies and the small towns in which they are headquartered.

Is there any piece of furniture more classically American than the La-Z-Boy recliner? It goes hand in hand with the image of Dad -- any Dad, all Dads, from the 1950s to today -- enjoying the simple pleasure of sitting with his feet up and his head back, tempting sleep as he reads the paper. After a long day at work but before the wife puts a delicious roast on the table, there's always time to relax a bit in the world's most famous comfy chair.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE: LZB) invented the first version of that iconic chair in 1929. The company got its start a few years earlier when two cousins, Edward M. Knabusch and Edwin J. Shoemaker, founded the Kna-Shoe Manufacturing Co. in Monroe, Michigan. They made furniture and cabinets in the proverbial start-up garage, and they has some initial success, especially with new designs like the Gossiper, a bench with a phone stand built in. But competitors kept stealing their designs and their profits. So when someone suggested that they upholster their popular wooden recliner, they proceeded carefully, filing for patents and choosing a distinctive name. Sit-N-Snooze and Slack-Back were in the running, but La-Z-Boy was the name they finally selected for the world's first reclining upholstered chair.

The La-Z-Boy was a huge hit, although it hadn't yet achieved its truly classic form. That occurred in 1953, when the Otto-Matic model was introduced. The long-running problem of the ottoman, a separate piece of furniture needed to support the feet while relaxing in a comfy chair, had now been solved. From now on, the ottoman was rendered superfluous, since the La-Z-Boy could offer a built-in foot rest. Oh, sweet perfection!

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

• CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) Q1 profits tumbled despite its aggressive expansion program.
• Chiquita Brands International Inc. (NYSE: CQB) warned it would miss earnings due to cost hikes.
• Circuit City Stores Inc. (NYSE: CC) Q1 loss widened as same-store sales dwindled.
• Commercial Metals Co. (NYSE: CMC) Q3 profits declined despite strong demand, but beat estimates.
• Coventry Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: CVH) lowered its Q2 and full-year outlooks after a disappointing April.
• FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) missed estimates on higher fuel prices and offered lackluster guidance.
• Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) warned that 2008 full-year results would be worse than those of 2007.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) was downgraded by JP Morgan because of risk to earnings.
• J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) missed Q4 earnings expectations despite acquisitions-based growth.
• La-Z-Boy Inc. (NYSE: LZB) said it swung to a Q4 loss due to diminishing retail sales.
• Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH) CEO expressed his disappointment in the Q2 results.
• Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER) profit warnings and write-downs hit the rumor mill.
• Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) beat low expectations despite a hefty decline in Q2 profits (see transcript).
• Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) narrowed its Q1 loss but still fell short of expectations.
• Winnebago Industries Inc. (NYSE: WGO) posted dismal Q3 results but still beat low expectations.

More earnings highlights from this week: Goldman Sachs, Best Buy, General Mills, Carnival and others

On Tuesday Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) reported that its first-quarter profits fell due to economic conditions, and furniture maker La-Z-Boy Inc. (NYSE: LZB) said it swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter loss due to lower retail sales.

Best Buy's first-quarter profits dropped 7% from a year ago to $179 million, or 43 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected a profit of 37 cents per share.

Richfield-based Best Buy said revenue jumped 13% to $8.99 billion as customers began spending their government stimulus checks and also took advantage of low-interest financing. Analysts had expected sales of $8.57 billion for the quarter that ended on May 31.

Same-store sales rose 3.7%, but Best Buy warned of a "volatile" year ahead.

The share price fell 5.3% Tuesday to close at $43.46. Shares have risen 10.2% in the past three months, but are down 9% from a year ago.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) is up about 5% on news that interest rates are unlikely to rise in the UK.

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU) is up about 4% on news it has gotten a $1 billion contract from China Mobile (NYSE:CHL).

Infinera (NASDAQ:INFN) is down 25% after revising its growth forecast down.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) is down over 12% on a report of a quarterly loss.

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

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

Monday, June 16

• Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH) reporting Q2 earnings; conference call at 10:00 am.
• Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) to discuss new GPU products at 1:00 pm.
• Lime Energy Co. (NASDAQ: LIME) to discuss acquisition of Applied Energy Management at 4:00 pm.
• Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) reporting Q2 earnings; conference call at 5:00 pm.

Tuesday, June 17

• La-Z-Boy Inc. (NYSE: LZB) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 8:30 am.
• The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) to hold business update conference call at 8:30 am.
• Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 10:00 am.

Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETH)'s share price is near a seven-year low. ETH closed at $29.45. ETH overall option implied volatility of 38 is near its 26-week average of 36 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional risk.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE: LZB)'s share price is near a 16-year low. LZB closed at $6.68. LZB overall option implied volatility of 76 is above its 26-week average of 58 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Daily Options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.