Time Warner Inc. (TWX), a media company which competes with The Walt Disney Corporation (DIS) and News Corp. (NWS), among others, has traded in a narrow range over the last twelve months. The 52-week low is $26.43; the 52-week high is $34.07. Shares finished Wednesday's session at a price of $32.47.

Management released Q2 numbers earlier in the day. According to the AP, adjusted profit was 50 cents per share, five pennies better than expectations. Sounds good, but there wasn't much action in the stock. That $32.47 closing price I just referred to represents a flat percentage gain.

Have you been thinking about buying CBS (CBS)? It's not too far away from its 52-week high. At the end of Tuesday's regular session, the stock, whose colleagues include Disney (DIS), General Electric's (GE) NBC Universal, and News Corp. (NWS), settled out at a price of $15.01; the high for the year is $16.98. The one-year chart tells an interesting story: The trend over the last twelve months has been up, but lately, there's been a healthy amount of sideways action, which, of course, might not be healthy for growth investors.

Then again, for longer-term investors, at least the shares have been holding up, right? And now we come to the second-quarter report, released Tuesday after the bell. What does it tell us about the situation?

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Coca-Cola (KO) to overweight from neutral due to valuation and expectations that developed market volume should improve. The firm raised its target price for shares to $66.
• BB&T upgraded Nordson (NDSN) to buy from hold and has an $82 price target on the stock. The firm believes certain drivers of Nordson's Advanced Tech unit are becoming more secular vs. cyclical and that the company's EBIT margins can go higher.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Embraer (ERJ) to outperform from underperform, citing the positive announcements from the Famborough Air Show. The firm raised its price target to $37 from $21.
• Universal Health (UHS) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Mead Johnson (MJN) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Coventry Health (CVH) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Leerink.

News Corp. (NWS) and MySpace. They've been together for a while. And I have a question: Should they still be together? Is there any reason for the social networking business to be in Rupert Murdoch's empire? Personally, I don't see a rationale for keeping MySpace in the fold.

Of course, I'm sure Chief Digital Officer Jonathan Miller has a different opinion. In fact, in the following Reuters article, he denies rumors concerning a desire on the part of News Corp. to sell the asset. Too bad, because I think it should be sold. Seriously, my sympathies go out to anyone in charge of bringing MySpace back to relevancy.

It's the Fourth of July. Time to declare your independence from fear. Specifically, the fear of holding risk in your portfolio. Ergo, I list four stocks here that investors should perhaps keep on a watch list. The choice is yours, but maybe you might find something of interest in these four.

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF): This stock is most definitely a risk, make no mistake about it. Being a retailer based on fashion, how can it not be in the current climate? Yet, back in May, the company's first-quarter numbers didn't seem so bad (although they didn't comprise the best data set I've ever seen, either). And the one-year chart shows that Friday's closing price of $31.11 is getting close to recent support levels.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Noble Corporation (NE) to outperform from market perform as it finds the company's acquisition of Frontier Drilling as smart and strategic. The firm upped its target price for shares to $42 from $36.
• Citigroup upgraded Ameriprise (AMP) to buy from hold, citing potential margin expansion from the Columbia acquisition. The firm maintains a $50 price target for shares.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Jabil Circuit (JBL) to overweight from market weight, citing valuation and the company's growth prospects. The firm raised its target for shares to $20 from $18.
• Blackrock (BLK) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Disney (DIS) and News Corp (NWS) were upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Portland General Electric (POR) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Barrick Gold (ABX) to buy from hold and reiterates a buy rating on Newmont Mining (NEM) after upping its 2011 gold forecast to $1,450 per ounce and 2012 forecast to $1,600 per ounce. The firm upped its target for Barrick shares to $53 from $45, for Newmont shares to $74 from $72, and on hold-rated Goldcorp (GG) and Kinross Gold (KGC) to $40 and $20, respectively.
• Citigroup upgraded General Dynamics (GD) to hold from sell following the recent pullback in shares. The firm keeps a $67 price target for the stock.
• UBS upgraded Public Service (PEG) to buy from neutral and has a $34 price target on the stock. The firm cites the company's solid balance sheet, earnings profile, and valuation for the upgrade.
• News Corp. (NWS) was upgraded to buy from hold at Soleil.
• AK Steel (AKS) was upgraded to neutral from underperform.
• Progress Energy (PGN) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• PNC Financial (PNC) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.

Shareholders of Disney (DIS) are looking forward to a little boost this

Yet, I have a thought to propose to the media industry: Should Disney charge viewers to see the finale?

CBS (CBS), the famous broadcaster whose competitors include Disney (DIS), General Electric's (GE) NBC Universal, and News Corp. (NWS), reported Q1 earnings after the bell on Wednesday. This afternoon, the stock is firmly in the red: at the time of this writing, shares were down over 4% to $14.93. Below $15, can you believe it? Volume is very strong with more than two hours to go before the close of regular activities, so by the time this is published, volume might end up being quite impressive.

The 52-week high on the stock is $16.98. The market has been discounting better times ahead for the company, as the following one-year chart seems to indicate.

News Corp. (NWS), a media conglomerate whose colleagues include CBS (CBS), Disney (DIS), General Electric's (GE) NBC Universal, Time Warner (TWX), and Viacom (VIA), issued its Q3 report Tuesday after the bell. I thought things looked pretty good.

Net sales increased 19%, and net income calculated out to 32 cents per share; Bloomberg Businessweek says the expectation was for around 23 cents per share of profit. Very cool. If you reference the actual press release, you'll see that just about all the operating segments performed extremely well on a year-over-year basis.