Analyst Upgrades

• Heico (HEI) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Eaton (ETN), Silgan Holdings (SLGN), MYR Group (MYRG) and Shaw Group (SHAW) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Infosys (INFY) to buy from Neutral at Nomura.
• Isle of Capri (ISLE) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• NovaGold (NG) to sector perform from underperform at RBC Capital.
• CarMax (KMX) and Rockwell Collins (COL) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• DHT Holdings (DHT) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) to overweight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst Upgrades

• Google (GOOG) to outperform from neutral at Wedbush.
• Nike (NKE) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Apollo Group (APOL) to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• JDSU (JDSU) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• NetApp (NTAP) to overweight from equal weight and Verigy (VRGY) to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.
• RSC Holdings (RRR) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Exelon (EXC) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Aon (AON) and Willis Group (WSH) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• BMC Software (BMC) to outperform from neutral at Cowen.

NovaGold (NG) sold off 3% after rallying 50% over the last two-weeks as gold price surged and traders puchased it as an inflation hedge. Options were active with December and January option implied volatility of 66, above its 26-week average of 56, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

NASDAQ 100-QQQQ overall implied volatility at 19; 26-week average is 25.

Semiconductor Holders Trust (SMH) overall volatility at 24; 26-week average is 28.

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

"With many stocks so clearly undervalued, we set ourselves the goal of finding some with the potential to double or better over the next 18 to 24 months," says Stephen Leeb.

The editor of The Complete Investor adds, "Two such gems are metals plays -- Silver Wheaton (SLW), a more conservative play in our growth portfolio, and NovaGold Resources (NG), a more speculative holding in our small-cap value portfolio.

"These two metal picks are both leveraged to precious metals, one to silver and one to gold.

"Western speculators are quick to dump gold on dollar strength, while long-term investors and savers continue to quietly accumulate in anticipation of oncoming inflation," says metals and mining specialist Brien Lundin.

In his The Gold Newsletter, he explains, "Over the long tern, the price of of gold will be set not by governments or speculators, but by those who look to gold as a bulwark against the ravages of inflation. Despite the vast tides of money flowing into and out of the "paper gold" markets as hedgers and speculators fight their daily games of tug-of-war, investors and savers across the globe continue to buy gold."

"In the 2000s, as we've alternated between deflationary and inflationary worries, gold has been the only major investment to rise every year," says Stephen Leeb.

In his The Complete Investor, he explains, "We think that many miners are exceptional bets today. And among our favorite gold investments is one that we hold in our small cap value model portfolio: NovaGold Resources (AMEX: NG)."

"The case for mining stocks is that the price of gold rises faster than miners' costs, allowing margins to increase.

Resource stock expert Curtis Hesler -- who correctly forecast the recent sharp decline in metals prices -- sees long term value in NovaGold Resources (ASE: NG) for those who buy on pullbacks. In his Professional Timing Service he explains, "Nova Gold has some interesting projects; its Galore Creek contains as much as 13 billion pounds of copper; and at today's price of $3.90, that is not a small deal.

"Galore Creek sits just south of the Yukon Territory in northern British Columbia, and there is virtually no infrastructure, power, or anything else. The original development cost was estimated at $2.2 billion, but it has since jumped to over $5 billion.

"This prompted Nova to announce that they were halting construction and were delaying development. Nova's stock plummeted below $6 in December.

"Meanwhile, Nova has several additional projects in the works; Donlin Creek, a 50-50 partnership with Barrick Gold, is one of the largest unexploited gold bodies in the world with an estimated 29.4 million of gold reserves. With the Galore Creek project on hold, they have the resources to exploit Donlin Creek.