Analyst upgrades:

• Netflix (NFLX) upgraded to Buy from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Rockwell (ROK) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
• Chico's (CHS) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital.
• Ann Taylor (ANN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• Meredith (MDP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• CarMax (KMX) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
• Family Dollar (FDO) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
• Siliconware Precision (SPIL) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie.
• Amedisys (AMED) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
• TRW Automotive(TRW) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Magna (MGA) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.

"Digital medical records are coming; the question of whether these systems are going to be adopting isn't an "if" but a "when" question," says Andy Obermueller.

The editor of Game-Changing Stocks explains, "Here, we look at the companies that are going to dominate the industry, which I believe will be one of the hottest sectors of 2011.

"The cost savings are significant -- hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Reducing this waste would go a long way to slowing the growth of healthcare costs.

"President Obama's push into digital medical records could lead to a profit surge for Quality Systems (QSII)," says Andy Obermueller, an adviser who specializes in analyzing the investment opportunities related to new government programs and legislation.

The editor of Government-Driven Investing explains, "Better access to records will show doctors a more complete view of their patients, reduce error and prevent redundant tests.

"In my view, it is not a question of if medical service providers are going to buy these system, it's a question of when. And the cost savings of digital medical records could be significant.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Pioneer Natural (PXD) to outperform from market perform and raised its price target for shares to $85 from $60. The firm upgraded shares on expectations that returns from the company's Spraberry field will increase materially.
• Baird upgraded Acroda Therapeutics (ACOR) to outperform from neutral based on valuation and a new survey that indicates a strong uptake for Ampyra and improvements on the reimbursement front. The firm has a $40 target on the stock.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Nokia (NOK) to overweight from underweight based on checks that indicate strong orders and less than expected discounting for its upcoming N8 smartphone.
• GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and British American Tobacco (BTI) were upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Quality Systems (QSII) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at William Blair.
• Siemens (SI) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.

Analyst Upgrades

• Wells Fargo believes Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) da Vinci procedures remain under penetrated and that consensus estimates are too low. The firm upgraded shares to outperform from market perform and raised its valuation range to $340 to $360.
• Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Westamerica (WABC) to buy from hold due to the company's FDIC-assisted acquisition of Sonoma Bank and what the firm sees as Westamerica's defensive nature. The firm set a $62 target on the stock.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Corning (GLW) to outperform from perform based on valuation and the belief that downward revisions have peaked. The firm has a $20 target on the stock.
• Quality Systems (QSII) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• OpenTable (OPEN) and Windstream (WIN) were upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Analyst upgrades:

• Thomas Weisel upgraded SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Overweight from Market Weight due to accelerating manufacturing cost declines, potential NAND flash sourcing upside at Toshiba (OTC: TOSBF) and Samsung and an increase in 2H09 demand.
  
• Oppenheimer upgraded Quality Systems (NASDAQ: QSII) to Perform from Underperform to reflect potential benefits from the stimulus package and channel checks that indicated IT budgets are stabilizing. The firm raised its target price on shares to $54 from $40.
  
• RBC Capital upgraded OSI Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: OSIP) to Outperform from Sector Perform following positive Tarceva survey results and cites valuation.
• Marriott (NYSE: MAR) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities.
  
• Grainger (NYSE: GWW) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
  
• Duncan Energy Partners (NASDAQ: DEP) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Analyst upgrades:

• Merriman upgraded Taser (NASDAQ: TASR) to Buy from Neutral as it believes current valuation levels do not reflect the company's market opportunities and that the law enforcement funding in President Obama's stimulus plan will boost sales in Q4 and FY10.
  
• Goldman upgraded Macy's (NYSE: M) to Buy from Neutral and added shares to its Conviction Buy List based on reduced balance sheet concerns and improved risk/reward. The firm also raised their target to $8.25 from $8.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO) to Neutral from Underweight and raised its target to $29 from $19 following the better-than-expected Q2 report. The analyst continues to prefer Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT).
• Goldman removed Universal Am (NYSE: UAM) from the Conviction Sell List.
  
• McDermott (NYSE: MDR) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
  
• Canadian Natural (NYSE: CNQ) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.

Analyst upgrades:

• Merriman upgraded shares of Akamai (NASDAQ:AKAM) to Buy from Neutral as they believe consensus expectations are now realistic and already reflect macro headwinds. Merriman also thinks the company's cost reductions could generate upside to EPS estimates.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations the company's diabetes drug will gain U.S. approval.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) to Outperform from Neutral and raised their target to $20 from $19 citing the merits of the Wyeth (WYE) deal and valuation.
• Quality Systems (NASDAQ:QSII) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  
• Parexel (NASDAQ:PRXL) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
  
• Ferro (NYSE:FOE) was upgraded at KeyBanc to Hold from Underweight.

"One of my favor defensive sectors is healthcare," says Elliott Gue; the contributing editor to Personal Finance looks to Quality Systems (NSDQ: QSII), a company that helps automate medical records.

Quantitative analyst Richard Moroney also sees opportunity in the same niche sector. In his Upside newsletter, he looks to a competing play, Cerner (NASDAQ: CERN). Here are their reviews.

"The President made health care a centerpiece of his campaign, including investments in health care-related information technology (IT).

"Health care IT systems can save doctors' offices and hospitals significant administrative costs as well as prevent mistakes. In addition, some major health insurance firms are already putting heavy pressure on their physician networks to adopt these systems."

"Medical offices and hospitals are seeking to automate many functions, from storing patient records online to automatically submitting insurance claims for reimbursement.

"It's estimated that as much as 90% of health care records at smaller medical practices are still maintained in paper form, while even bigger hospitals keep close to half of their records manually.

"Quality Systems, a holding in our growth portfolio, is a leading provider of such systems. It sells software used to manage electronic patient records, billing, scheduling and other common administrative functions for medical and dental practices.

Analyst upgrades:

• Wachovia upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) to Outperform from Market Perform on expectations for greater pricing power given Goldman's position as the largest remaining independent securities firm.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Investment Technology Group Inc (NYSE: ITG) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company will take market share with the reshaping of the large wire-house brokerage community. The company's target was raised to $37 from $33.
• Broadpoint raised Hoku Scientific Inc (NASDAQ: HOKU) to Buy from Neutral as they believe the contract with Tianwei New Energy reduces financing risk.
• ACE Ltd (NYSE: ACE) and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE: TRV) were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Axcelis Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: ACLS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold and Evergreen Solar Inc (NASDAQ: ESLR) was lifted to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.

Analyst downgrades:

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded shares of British Sky Broadcasting (NYSE: BSY) to Buy from Neutral and added the company to the Conviction Buy List as they find the stock oversold at current levels.
  
• Goldman also added Publicis (OTC: PUBGY) to the Conviction Buy List and upgraded shares to Buy from Neutral as they find the stock cheap at current levels.
• Oneok (NYSE: OKE) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Lehman.
  
• UBS raised Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods (NYSE: WBD) to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst downgrades:

• Baird downgraded Amylin Pharma (NASDAQ: AMLN) to Neutral from Outperform and said they are incrementally more cautious on the commercial performance of Amylin's Byetta following the yesterday's update. Amylin's target was lowered to $27 from $37. Soleil recommends investors avoid Amylin with the disclosure last night of four additional cases of mortality associated with pancreatitis in patients who were on Byetta. The firm cut shares to Sell from Hold and lowered their target to $20 from $25.
  
• Citigroup downgraded shares of AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) to Sell from Hold on valuation as they find the stock expensive following the recent run-up. The firm raised their target to $9 from $6.70 to reflect the drop in crude prices.
  
• J Crew (NYSE: JCG) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Brean Murray following the weak Q2 report and guidance.
• JMP Securities downgraded Quality Systems (NASDAQ: QSII) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• National Grid (NYSE: NGG) was lowered to Equal Weight from Overweight at Lehman.

Analyst initiations:

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Monogram Biosciences, Interpublic Group and Blue Coat Systems were today's noteworthy initiations:

• JMP Securities said Monogram Biosciences (NASDAQ: MGRM) has a broad platform enabling it to develop multiple personalized medicine product offerings and has significant growth prospects from its HIV diagnostic business and its diagnostic test in oncology. Shares were initiated with an Outperform rating and $3.50 target.
  
• Jefferies assumed Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) with a Buy rating and $11 target. The firm believes the current valuation does not reflect the company's turnaround, which they believe is gaining traction.
  
• Friedman Billings initiated Blue Coat Systems (NASDAQ: BCSI) with a Market Perform rating and $18 target. The firm prefers to wait on the sidelines given the near-term headwinds from a difficult spending environment in North America and integration risks from the Packeteer acquisition.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• American Capital (NASDAQ: AGNC) was initiated at Merrill with a Buy rating and at RBC Capital with an Outperform rating and $32 target.
  
• UBS assumed Quality Systems (NASDAQ: QSII) with a Buy rating and $39 target.
• HSBC initiated Daimler AG (NYSE: DAI) with an Overweight rating.

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

• ADC Telecommunications Inc. (NASDAQ: ADCT) beat Q2 estimates and raised its full-year guidance.
• Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) near-term earnings prospects led to an analyst downgrade.
• Banco de Chile (NYSE: BCH) earnings prospects after an acquisition led to an analyst's upgrade.
• Benihana Inc. (NASDAQ: BNHN) posted lower Q4 profits but still beat earnings estimates.
• Bob Evans Farms Inc. (NASDAQ: BOBE) reported solid Q4 results due in part to cost management.
• Brown-Forman Corp. (NYSE: BF.B) easily beat Q4 estimates and offered full-year guidance.
• CMGI Inc. (NASDAQ: CMGI) lowered its guidance, sending shares tumbling 25%.
• Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling Co. (NYSE: CCH) warned of weaker earnings due to economic conditions.
• Conn's Inc. (NASDAQ: CONN) reported solid Q1 results and issued in-line guidance for the year.
• Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) earnings prospects impress analysts despite recent guidance.
• Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES) topped Q1 expectations due to strong international expansion.
• Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (NYSE: KKD) swung to a Q1 profit despite falling revenues.
• Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH) posted a bigger-than-expected loss on further write-downs.

On Tuesday, retail auto parts and repair chain Pep Boys Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY) reported that its fiscal first-quarter profit jumped on a gain from selling properties and then leasing them back. Meanwhile, Quality Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: QSII), a provider of software for medical and dental group practices, said its net income for the fiscal fourth quarter surged on strong maintenance revenue growth.

Philadelphia-based Pep Boys first-quarter net income rose 47% from a year ago to $4.7 million, or 9 cents per share, which included a $5.5 million net gain related to the sale-leaseback transactions.

For the quarter ended May 3, revenue fell 8% to $498 million, and same-store sales fell 5.6%.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, had predicted a loss of 3 cents per share, on revenue of $497.2 million.

Shares rose 89 cents Tuesday, or 10.2%, to $9.62, then rose another 3 cents in after-hours trading. Shares are down 16.2% year to date.

At best it was a week that was difficult; at worst it was a very concerning sign about what is to come. We have finally seen a significant drop in the overall sentiment due to extraordinarily high oil prices mixed with an unemployment level at 5.5%. The mixture of these and other troubling economic projections has finally come to cause investors to pause and realize that this is no place to be accepting risk beyond what is absolutely necessary.

This week will show a significant amount of reservation by investors not accepting of any shortfalls on earnings or even outlooks that are not significantly rosy. The current picture and the economic outlook was the focus of The Disciplined Investor Podcast this week, with help from money manager and economist, Michael "Mish" Sheldock.

Monday, June 9

Shuffle Master Inc. (NASDAQ: SHFL) will be reporting earnings that are expected to be $.07 per share. This has continued to be a difficult market for them even as casino construction has been rising around the world and the use of many of the products of this company are beneficial to the net profits of their customers. The stock has suffered dramatically over the past 12 months and, unless there is a product shift or new technology announced, there should be no reason that we see a catalyst for growth. Look for revenues of $45.55 million.

Ashworth Inc. (NASDAQ: ASHW) is a high-brow retailer that is expected to show a significant turn toward the negative this quarter. First Call estimates are looking for a negative $.06 per share while a year ago they were earning $.03 per share. Once again, there doesn't seem to be any reason why this company should see a beneficial upside unless investors are willing to short cover at this point. Even if that is the case, that will probably end up being temporary anyway.