Analyst Upgrades

• Netflix (NFLX) and Zions Bancorp (ZION) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Akamai (AKAM) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• CSX (CSX) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Nordstrom (JWN) to buy from neutral, WellCare (WCG) to conviction buy from buy and Humana (HUM) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• E-Commerce China Dangdang (DANG) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• VMware (VMW) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Celanese (CE) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.

"What's safe and cheap in today's market? Food stocks top our buy list this month," suggests leading value advisor Richard Band.

The editor of Profitable Investing explains, "Here are two of my favorite buys, each with the potential to rack up a total return (price gain plus dividends) of at least 15% in the coming year: Nestle (NSRGY) and PepsiCo (PEP).

Analyst Upgrades

• Research In Motion (RIMM) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Citigroup (C) to buy from hold at ISI Group.
• Integrated Silicon (ISSI) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Kinross Gold (KGC) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.

Analyst Upgrades

• UBS upgraded Yum! Brands (YUM) to buy from neutral, citing valuation, improving momentum and stabilizing China fast-food sales. The firm raised its target to $44 from $38.
• United Technologies (UTX) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• Needham upgraded Arris (ARRS) to buy from hold, citing valuation and positive near-term business trends. The firm has a $16 price target on shares.
• Warnaco (WRC) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Aetna (AET) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Nestle (NSRGY) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

Remember the Eggo waffle shortage in November that had everyone up in arms? Well, we could all be facing a similar crisis soon with a treat that's even more sinful: cookie dough.

Now, we all know we are supposed to cut and bake that tube of raw cookie dough, but how many of us haven't opted, instead, to grab a spoon and dig in? It's not the healthiest practice to begin with, for sure, but it becomes a bit more dodgy if harmful bacteria is involved.

Analyst Upgrades

• Baird upgraded United Parcel Service (UPS) to outperform from neutral based on operating leverage, improving industry pricing and exposure to a cyclical recovery. The firm raised its target to $70 from $61.
• JMP Securities upgraded Qualcomm (QCOM) following positive wireless industry checks. The firm, which has a $60 target on the stock, believes Qualcomm is the best positioned wireless company to enable 3G deployments and the early ramp of 4G technology.
• Credit Suisse has taken a more positive stance on the potash sector given the settlement of the Chinese contracts and improving near-term fundamentals. The firm upgraded Potash (POT) to outperform from neutral and raised its price target to $135 from $119. Credit Suisse also raised Intrepid Potash (IPI) to neutral from underperform and raised its price target to $30 from $28.
• Avery Dennison (AVY) was raised to outperform from neutral at Baird.
• Biogen Idec (BIIB) was upgraded at BofA/Merrill to neutral from underperform.
• RadioShack (RSH) was upgraded to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.

Halloween, though not the blockbuster holiday that Christmas is, still results in some additional spending on the part of consumers as they stock up on candy and costumes, and maybe take in a scary movie or two. With those treats in mind here are some stocks that may give investors sweet dreams -- and hopefully not nightmares.

As is well known, candy is all the rage at Halloween, and among the largest candy stocks are Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) and Cadbury PLC (NYSE: CBY). Last week, Hershey reported third-quarter earnings rose 30% despite weaker volumes affected by higher prices for its sweets. Last year's numbers also included special charges. Still the company said it expects full-year earnings to be ahead of Wall Street forecasts. In 2010, the Pennsylvania company said it expects earnings excluding items to rise 6% to 8%. The stock has a forward-looking price-to-earnings ratio of 16 and a current dividend yield of 3.1%.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded Nike (NYSE: NKE) to Outperform from Neutral on expectations the company will benefit from the drop in the U.S. dollar and continued solid trends in athletic footwear. The firm raised its target on shares to $69 from $61.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Temple-Inland (NYSE: TIN) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company is well positioned for cyclical turnaround in the Paper/Building Products space. The firm raised its target on shares to $19 from $11.
  
• Goldman upgraded Diageo (NYSE: DEO) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the current valuation and the company's exposure to emerging markets.
• Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at ING Group.
  
• Banco Santander (NYSE: STD) was lifted to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  
• Jackson Hewitt (NYSE: JTX) was upgraded at Oppenheimer to Outperform from Perform.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company's top-line growth rate could be more sustainable than expected and its operating margins could recover given due to less retail discounting. The firm raised its price target on shares to $97 from $65.
  
• UBS upgraded King Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: KG) to Buy from Sell based on expectations that Sandoz will settle patent litigation regarding Skelaxin after last weeks settlement of Clarinex with Schering-Plough (SGP).
  
• Jefferies upgraded Reliance Steel (NYSE: RS) to Buy from Hold as it believes steel prices and demand are close to near-term bottoms. The firm raised its target on the stock to $44 from $25.
• Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America/Merrill.
  
• Nestle (OTC: NSRGY) was lifted to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was upgraded at Wachovia to Outperform from Market Perform.

I am the Global Editor at MoneyShow.com and each week I interview an investing expert. This week, I spoke with Cynthia Tusan, president of Strategic Global Advisors -- a woman-owned asset management firm -- who discusses her approach to global investing.

Q. Cynthia, your stated strategy is a fundamental, bottom-up approach, focusing on international companies. With that in mind, which are the three most important criteria that you use to determine whether a company's stock has the right stuff?

A. Our approach is both fundamental and quantitative, but we focus mainly on company-specific factors. Over the years we have consistently focused on four areas: valuation, growth, quality, and sentiment. For 2008, we were more active in looking at debt levels of companies and price momentum.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded MSM Industrial (NYSE: MSM) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and a positive view for Industrial Distributors.
  
• William Blair upgraded Allscripts (NASDAQ: MDRX) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation following the recent pullback and believes Allscripts is well positioned to benefit from public policy that drives adoption of electronic medical records.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) to Buy from Hold as they believe the ALJ recommendation in the company's pending electric rate case indicates potential for an improving outlook.
• Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN) was upgraded at JP Morgan to Neutral from Underweight.
  
• Becton Dickinson (NYSE: BDX) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst downgrades:

• Oppenheimer downgraded Bio-Reference Labs (NASDAQ: BRLI) to Perform from Outperform as they believe weaker volumes could pressure top-line growth in the near-term. The firm lowered their target to $25 from $30.
  
• Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) to Equal Weight from Overweight to reflect market deterioration as they find the risk/reward as balanced at current levels.
  
• JP Morgan cut Nestle (OTC: NSRGY) to Underweight from Neutral on concerns the company's 2009 revenue will miss consensus estimates due to market share losses.
• Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) and Anglo American (NASDAQ: AAUK) were lowered to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird expects Thor Industries (NYSE: THO) to benefit from industry consolidation and the eventual recovery. Shares were upgraded to Neutral from Underperform.
  
• Jefferies upgraded SPSS Inc. (NASDAQ: SPSS) to Buy from Hold on valuation and believes the company's cost cuts will be positive for EPS. The company's target was lowered to $28 from $29.
  
• Banc of America upgraded shares of Entergy (NYSE: ETR) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and believes the company is unlikely to spin-off Enexus by year-end. They believe a spin-off in 2009 or no spin at all suggests a higher share price from current levels. The company's target was raised to $104 from $101.50.
• AMN Healthcare (NYSE: AMN) was upgraded to hold from Sell at Citigroup.
  
• Argus upgraded Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH) to Hold from Sell.
  
• Transdigm Group (NYSE: TDG) was lifted to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Analyst downgrades:

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded BT Group (NYSE: BT) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and improved earnings visibility.
  
• Soleil upgraded shares of Jo Ann Stores (NYSE: JAS) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q2 upside surprise to reflect strong fundamentals and market share gains. The firm raised Jo Ann's target to $30 from $25.
  
• Amylin Pharma (NASDAQ: AMLN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
  
• Energen (NYSE: EGN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Analyst downgrades:

• Roth Capital downgraded shares of Warner Chilcott (NASDAQ: WCRX) to Hold from Buy pending patent clarity for the company's lead drug, Loestrin 24 for birth control. The firm lowered their target to $18 from $20.
• JP Morgan cut China Mobile (NYSE: CHL) to Underweight from Overweight as they believe increased competition may limit earnings growth.
  
• Cantor downgraded shares of Cell Genesys (NASDAQ: CEGE) to Hold from Buy following the termination of the VITAL-2 Phase III clinical trial. The firm also lowered their target to $2 from $10.
• Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) was lowered to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
  
• Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Lehman.
  
• Cinemark (NYSE: CNK) was downgraded at BMO Capital to Market Perform from Outperform.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: American Eagle, Nokia and Nestle were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Oppenheimer downgraded shares of American Eagle (NYSE: AEO) to Perform from Outperform after news Chief Merchandise Officer Susan P. McGalla will leave the company, as they now have less confidence in the company's second half rebound.
  
• Credit Suisse cut Nokia (NYSE: NOK) to Neutral from Outperform as they believe the company's global smartphone market share is unsustainable in near term due to competition from Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).
• Societe Generale downgraded shares of Nestle (OTC: NSRGY) to Sell from Buy as they believe higher raw-materials costs and a slowdown in the U.S. will weigh on 2008 results.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Zimmer Holdings (NYSE: ZMH) was lowered to Market Weight from Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
  
• Goldman cut Taiwan Semi (NYSE: TSM) to Neutral from Buy and Tim Hortons (THI) to Sell from Neutral.

Just announced this morning, global drug manufacturer Novartis (NYSE: NVS) is offering to buy a minority stake in the world's largest eye-care firm, Alcon (NYSE: ACL), by buying the stake from food conglomerate Nestle (OTC: NSRGY).

Essentially, the deal is to happen in two parts. The first stage appears to be a purchase of a 25% stake in Alcon for around $11 billion. This purchase comes with an option to purchase an additional 52% stake for about $28 billion.

Novartis will pay $143.18 a share for the purchase of the 25% stake. The option to purchase the 52% stake will come at a fixed share price of $181 and can come between 2010 and 2011.

From a statement on Nestle's website, the food maker plans to use the proceeds to reduce debt and the cash will also "support opportunities for profitable growth in line with the group's nutrition, health and wellness orientation.''

Zack Miller is the managing editor of IsraelNewsletter.com and a former equity analyst for a leading multinational hedge fund.