Shares of heavy equipment and engine manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) have been soaring in morning trading after the company reported a growth of 13% for its first-quarter profit, helped by strong international sales. The company offered the perfect example of the international growth importance.

The company said its quarterly profit surged to $922 million, compared with $816 million a year earlier, boosted by strong global gains that offset weakness on highway truck markets in North America. Caterpillar posted earnings $1.45 per share, exceeding analysts' forecast for a quarterly profit of $1.33 per share.

Total sales for the company rose by a respectable18% year over year to $11.8 billion, beating analysts' expectations by $1 billion, according to Thomson Financial. This was mainly because the heavy equipment maker benefited from a rise of 30% in international sales, while North America revenue came with a small increase of only 4%. The results proved continued weakening in North America, where sales have been under pressure from the sluggish economy, but strength internationally where the weak dollar lifted the company's sales.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RSD.B) and Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A, RDS.B) to Buy from Hold to reflect improved earnings momentum from higher oil prices and strong refining margins.

• JP Morgan raised Overseas Shipholding (NYSE: OSG) to Overweight from Neutral following meetings with management to reflect uncovered value in vessels the company leases from other shipping lines...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Wachovia upgraded shares of Raymond James Financial (NYSE: RJF) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Union Drilling Inc (NASDAQ: UDRL) was raised to Peer Perform from Underperform at Bear Stearns.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded BP plc (NYSE: BP) to Buy from Hold.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: CV Therapeutics, Inc (CVTX) and Stone Energy Corp (SGY) topped today's modest-sized list of downgrades:

• Citigroup cut CV Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: CVTX) to Sell from Hold with a $6 target due to the diminished market potential for Ranexa and its high operating expenses. First Albany downgraded shares to Neutral from Strong Sell to reflect the lack of catalysts.

• Matrix USA cut Stone Energy Corp (NYSE: SGY) to Strong Sell from Hold, believing significant cost increases are driving negative fundamental trends.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Deutsche Telecom AG (NYSE: DT) was downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns as the firm believes evidence of a turnaround needs to be seen before shares move higher.

• Thomas Weisel cut Brady Corporation (NYSE: BRC) to Market Weight from Overweight to reflect lower confidence in management's ability to deploy capital effectively.

• Overseas Shipholding Group Inc (NYSE: OSG) was downgraded to Hold from Strong Buy at Matrix USA.

• American Technology downgraded Sigma Designs, Inc (NASDAQ: SIGM) to Neutral from Buy with a $28 target.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).