Analyst Upgrades

• DuPont (DD) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• UBS upgraded Deere (DE) to buy from neutral and AGCO (AGCO) to neutral from sell.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Thoratec (THOR) and DTE Energy (DTE) were upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• NICE Systems (NICE) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Copa Holdings (CPA) to buy from hold.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Nu Skin (NUS) to buy from neutral.
• Continental Resources (CLR) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded EMC (EMC) to buy from hold after channel checks indicated storage demand remains solid. The firm sees potential upside in 2011 from the company's new products and upped its target for shares to $25 from $20.
• BB&T upgraded American Commercial (ACLI) to buy with a $50 target based on pricing leverage and cost reductions.
• Argus upgraded Abercrombie (ANF) to buy with a $52 target based on accelerating comps.
• PerkinElmer (PKI) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.
• Valeant (VRX) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at Wells Fargo with a $26 to $28 valuation range.
• Blackrock (BLK) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Manitowoc (MTW - option chain) shares are rising today after the company announced this morning that it plans to refinance some of its senior secured debt by selling about $400 million in senior unsecured notes. MTW also said it paid down $470 million in debt in 2009, about $20 million more than it expected. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on MTW.

MTW opened this morning at $13.62. So far today the stock has hit a low of $13.50 and a high of $14.60. As of 12:00, MTW is trading at $13.99 up 94 cents (7.2%). The chart for MTW looks bullish and S&P gives MTW a positive 5 STARS (out of 5) strong buy ranking.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says if you need money for anything important in the near future, get it out of the stock market.

Fall back. Fall back to basic principles. What do people have to do whether they want to do it or not? What do governments have to pay for whether they want something or not? What must be used whether you like it or not?

That's where we are right now in the helter-skelter pell-mell race to take all stocks to single digits as the notion of a worldwide global depression sinks in.

If there was any doubt whether the rally at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 was anything but a bear market rally, this week put these doubts to rest. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is already down 8.3% year-to-date; it sank 6.2% this week alone (notwithstanding Friday).

This week the financial crisis once again took center stage as Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Citigroup (NYSE: C) received a second round of bailout money and more guarantees. BAC is finding hard to digest its two acquisitions, while Citi is splitting itself and is no longer a financial supermarket.

But this wasn't all that happened this week. The fourth-quarter earnings season kicked off Monday; Alcoa (NYSE: AA) reported dismal numbers, all the rest followed suit. Even if there were a few surprises to the upside that exceeded expectations, the expectations themselves were already quite low.

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

• Acuity Brands Inc. (NYSE: AYI) reported lower Q1 earnings that still beat analysts' expectations.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) reported unimpressive Q3 results but shares rose anyway.
• Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) warned of lower Q4 earnings due to lower oil prices and narrow margins.
• Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) Q3 earnings tumbled on on restructuring costs and weaker sales.
• Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) topped Q1 earnings expectations as consumers seek bargains.
• Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) lowered its Q4 revenue guidance once more due to lower demand.
• LDK Solar Co. (NYSE: LDK) cut its Q4 revenue outlook as clients asked for delayed shipments.
• Manitowoc Co. (NYSE: MTW) said profit will likely come in at the low end of its previous guidance range.
• Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) reported strong Q1 numbers and raised its full-year guidance.
• Neogen Corp. (NASDAQ: NEOG) posted its 63rd-consecutive profitable quarter, helped by an acquisition.
• Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (NASDAQ: RMCF) posted dismal Q3 numbers on economic downturn.
• Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) higher-than-expected December sales prompted raised guidance.
• Supervalu Inc. (NYSE: SVU) reported a Q3 loss because of hefty one-time charges, but topped estimates.
• Walmart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) cut its Q4 forecast after lower-than-expected December sales.
• Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) forecast lower-than-expected Q4 earnings on weak December sales.

For more earnings highlights, see Time Warner, Satyam, Google, KB Home, Mosaic and others

Upcoming earnings releases include Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA), Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY), Linear Technologies (NASDAQ: LLTC) , Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX), Genentech (NYSE: DNA), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Marshall & Ilsley (NYSE: MI), Sealy (NYSE: ZZ), Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Enodis plc, which got its start in 1910, is a global supplier of food and beverage equipment. Actually, it's been a tasty company for several suitors.

And now Enodis will have a new owner: Manitowoc (NYSE: MTW). The company outbid Illinois Tool Works Inc (NYSE: ITW) and has agreed to pay $2.7 billion for the firm.

Enodis has a strong global footprint, assembling a large portfolio of quality brands, such as Delfield, Frymaster, Garland, Ice-o-matic, Scotsman and so on. What's more, the company has top-notch clients like Burger King (NYSE: BKC) and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD).

However, on its face, Enodis looks like a mature company, with little growth ahead of it. But the fact remains that the company is poised nicely for opportunities in emerging markets, especially in Asia.

Even so, Manitowoc is certainly paying a premium for Enodis. Perhaps that's why Wall Street is a bit concerned, as Manitowoc's stock has gone from $44.75 to $30.83 since April.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says if you can show you're immune to Bernanke, you're going higher.

Cyclicals are on fire here. Stocks like Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) (Cramer's Take) and Terex (NYSE: TEX) (Cramer's Take) and Joy Global (NASDAQ: JOYG) (Cramer's Take) just can't be stopped. Manitowoc (NYSE: MTW) (Cramer's Take) is a good one. I am thinking United Tech (NYSE: UTX) (Cramer's Take) and Honeywell (NYSE: HON) (Cramer's Take). The rails are on fire.

All of them, what do they have in common? They have left the U.S. behind. We are an afterthought. If you can prove on a conference call that Ben Bernanke has nothing to do with your book of business, you are going higher.

Notice Eaton (NYSE: ETN) (Cramer's Take) and Emerson (NYSE: EMR) (Cramer's Take). They can't quit. When the coal operators come to their sense and realize that they can make fortunes digging for more, then Joy Global will take out the high. I am using any weakness to buy Foster Wheeler (NASDAQ: FWLT) (Cramer's Take), the tug of the non-U.S. cyclicals is that strong.

Readers of this space know that the investment bias is toward large-cap companies with demonstrated business models and a competitive advantage in established markets, preferably with a favorable global trend as a support. With the above in mind, Manitowoc is worth an evaluation.

Manitowoc (NYSE: MTW) is a diversified manufacturer of cranes, food service equipment, and marine vessels.

Analysts really like MTW's crane business, which in 2006 accounted for 76% of earnings and 81% of revenue. Analysts continue to see robust demand for MTW's cranes from Asia and Europe, particularly from emerging market countries in this regions.

Analysts also like MTW's food service business and marine division; the former is likely to see continued strong demand for refrigeration machines and equipment; the latter, adequate demand for commercial seafaring vessels. The Reuters F2008/F2009 EPS consensus estimates for MTW are $3.41/$3.90.

Most capital goods makers appreciate the good business sense of diversification. Application of that principal has led a Manitowoc, Wisconsin firm to manufacturing leadership in three rather divergent arenas.

The Manitowoc Company (NYSE:MTW) provides cranes, shipyard services and foodservice equipment. The company sells its boom cranes, tower cranes, telescopic cranes and related equipment to firms in the construction and mining industries. Its marine segment shipyards build, service and repair commercial and military vessels. Its ice-making and beverage-dispensing machines serve the restaurant, hospitality and convenience store markets. The company has operations in over twenty countries.

Manitowoc surprised the Street last week, when it raised its 2007 EPS guidance to $4.20-$4.30 from $3.85-$4. On average, analysts were looking for $4.02. Management also said it expected Q1 EPS to exceed the 79 cent consensus view by about 10%. The CEO attributed the favorable outlook to a strong performance by the crane segment. MTW shares popped through 90-day, 50-day and 30-day moving average resistance on the news and then began defining a bullish "pennant" consolidation pattern. Stocks frequently exit pennants moving in the same direction they were traveling when they entered them. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the issue with one "strong buy," three "buys," three "holds" and three "sells." Analysts see a 19% average annual growth rate, through the next five years. The issue's PEG ratio (1.22), Price to Sales ratio (1.30), Price to Free Cash Flow ratio (17.53), Sales Growth rate (31.55%), EPS Growth rate (200.00%), Return on Assets (7.96%), Return on Investment (13.03%) and Return on Equity (25.27%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages.

Institutional investors hold about 80% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 600 SmallCap Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $34 and $66. A stop-loss of $53.75 looks good here. Note that the firm will report Q1 results on May 2nd.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.

Companies start to believe their own PR hype. Investors push a stock past logical limits. A company seems about to break down or break out. These are just a few things that can signal a stock with attitude. And... that attitude can be good or bad for the stock price, since attitude always catches up with reality. At least on Wall Street, that is.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) was up $1.46 (+2.45%) Friday to close at $61.09 on more than twice the normal volume. Investors bought up the stock on news that the company had a modest earnings rise in the latest quarter and management stuck by its full-year forecast, relieving investors who thought the company might trim its view. The technicals for the stock were looking bad for most of last year but have popped up lately and CAT has a cautious S&P 3 STAR hold rating. Out of the 13 other analysts who cover the stock, four give it a strong buy, two a moderate buy, six a hold rating, and one a strong sell.

Caterpillar's stock has been on a slow downward trend since the stock hit a high of $82.03 on May 10, 2006 and hit a 52-week low of $57.98 last week, on January 23rd. Last Friday's $61.09 closing price represents only a 5.4% rise from its 52-week low but that's not a bad pop in three days. Wall Street seems to believe in CAT's management team and its plan to increase sales while cutting costs.

Other big equipment companies like Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE), Hitachi Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), and Manitowoc Company Inc. (NYSE:MTW) just don't have the same size advantage and broad product offerings to beat CAT. Stock prices of HIT and MTW were down while Deere's price was up 1.15% on lighter than normal trading. That said, this is a heavy, slow-moving business sector so a full recovery to CAT's 52-week high could take a while.

For a bullish-to-neutral conservative hedged play on CAT, I would consider an August covered call around the $60 level. There is even a small dividend on the stock with a 2.0% yield.

Vic Schiller is an analyst with attitude at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE NOTE: Mr. Schiller owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about.