Analyst Upgrades

• Disney (DIS) to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Pike Electric (PIKE) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Kindred Healthcare (KND) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• UBS (UBS) to hold from sell at Canaccord.
• Avery Dennison (AVY) and Take-Two (TTWO) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Mercer (MERC) to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.

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

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) lower Q3 results still topped expectations and sent shares higher.
• Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) posted much better-than-expected Q4 earnings, the first profit in a year.
• AstraZeneca (AZN) received an analyst's downgrade due to concerns over its earnings prospects.
• Blackstone Group (BX) received an analyst's upgrade following the company's Q3 results.
• Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) widened its net loss in Q3 and revenue and same-stores sales declined.
• Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (CLNE) shares declined after its Q3 numbers fell short of expectations.
• Consolidated Water Co. Inc. (CWCO) earnings prospects for 2010 earned it an analyst upgrade.

Analyst upgrades:

• Janney Montgomery upgraded Adobe (ADBE) to buy from neutral on expectations for a strong CS5 product cycle in 2010. The firm raised its target on shares to $43 from $33.
• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Rackspace (RAX) to buy from hold to reflect the company's "strong" Q3 results and expectations growth will accelerate in 2010. The firm raised its target on shares to $22.50 from $16. Oppenheimer upgraded Rackspace to outperform from perform and established a $24 price target on the stock.
• Stephens upgraded Ann Taylor (ANN) to overweight from equal weight as it believes the company's core brand will recover faster than originally thought. The firm raised its target on shares to $17 from $12.
• Rockwell (ROK) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Baird.
• Taiwan Semi (TSM) was raised to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation following the company's Q4 results but lowered its target on shares to $134 from $137.
• Citigroup upgraded Calpine (NYSE: CPN) to Buy from Hold on valuation following Wednesday's sell-off. The firm believes Harbinger's share sale reflects an issue with the shareholders, not with the company, and raised its price target on the stock to $16.50 from $13.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Knight Transportation (NYSE: KNX) to Neutral from Underperform and raised its target to $17 from $16 based on valuation and the improved freight environment.
• Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.
• Webster Financial (NYSE: WBS) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
• Dr. Reddy's Labs (NYSE: RDY) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: New York Times Co (NYT), New York Community Bancorp, Inc (NYB), Cadbury Schweppes plc (CSG), International Paper Co (IP) and TurboChef Technologies, Inc (OVEN) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of the New York Times Co (NYSE: NYT) to Neutral from Underweight to reflect easier advertising sales comparisons the rest of the year and the possibility for a stepped-up buyback program.

• Friedman Billings upgraded New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYB) to Market Perform from Underperform with an $18 target.

• Bernstein upgraded shares of Cadbury Schweppes (NYSE: CSG) to Outperform from Market Perform and revised its sum-of-the-parts and "real options" analysis. The firm still sees major upside and limited downside at these levels.

• Matrix believes higher selling prices and lower costs are improving profit margins at International Paper (NYSE: IP).

• TurboChef Technologies (NASDAQ: OVEN) was upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform following Q1 results...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Citigroup upgraded H.J. Heinz Co (NYSE: HNZ) to Buy from Hold with a $52 target.

• AG Edwards raised Corporate Office Properties Trust (NYSE: OFC) to Buy from Hold.

• Baird transitioned coverage of Pike Electric Corp (NYSE: PEC) with an Outperform rating, up from Neutral.

• Medical Properties Trust, Inc (NYSE: MPW) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel.

• Buckingham raised Eaton Corp (NYSE: ETN) to Strong Buy from Accumulate.

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