Analyst Calls

• Medtronic (MDT) to buy from neutral and 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• CarMax (KMX) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Points International (PTSEF) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• Nokia (NOK) to market perform from underperform at Morgan Keegan.
• Amdocs (DOX) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Western Alliance (WAL) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Carbo Ceramics (CRR) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Rackspace (RAX) to buy from hold at Benchmark Co.
• Brinker (EAT) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst Upgrades

• Micron (MU) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Baker Hughes (BHI) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• PDL BioPharma (PDLI) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Fluor (FLR) and Rush Enterprises (RUSHA) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Camden Property (CPT) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Pinnacle Financial (PNFP) to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Linear Technology (LLTC) to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• Hologic (HOLX) and Illumina (ILMN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• F5 Networks (FFIV) to buy from neutral at Gleacher.

Analyst Upgrades

• Wynn Resorts (WYNN) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Oracle (ORCL) and Alliance Data Systems (ADS) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Saint Joe (JOE) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Starwood Hotels (HOT) to neutral from underperform at RW Baird.
• Middlesex Water (MSEX) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Consol Energy (CNX) to buy from hold at BB&T.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded Colgate (CL) and Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) to buy from hold.
• Wells Fargo upgraded IDACORP (IDA) to outperform from market perform.
• Union Pacific (UNP) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Goldman upgraded Quicksilver (KWK) to neutral from sell.
• Republic Airways (RJET) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded GAMCO Investors (GBL) to neutral from underperform.
• Senior Housing (SNH) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.

Analyst Upgrades

• Wells Fargo upgraded Gap (GPS) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation and expectations for EPS to grow in FY11. The firm thinks consensus estimates are achievable and has a $20 to $22 target valuation range for shares.
• BMO Capital upgraded Abercrombie (ANF) to outperform from market perform and has a $43 target on the stock. The firm believes Abercrombie's domestic business is turning and that the company is beginning to take share from competitors.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Codexis (CDXS) to overweight from neutral as it believes Shell's (RDS.A) biofuel commercialization plans and a potential carbon capture partnership present near-term catalysts for the stock. The firm upped its target for shares to $12 from $11.
• Tortoise Energy Capital (TYY) and Tortoise Energy (TYG) were upgraded to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Comerica (CMA) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Baird.
• Methanex (MEOH) was upgraded to strong buy from outperform at Raymond James.

Rackspace (RAX) is one of the top players in the web-hosting business. While the industry is a fairly stable, it is also prone to commoditization. Yet, Rackspace has continued to innovate and add new capabilities to differentiate its offerings. The upshot is that the company has had a nice growth ramp. True, the stock price has been somewhat erratic but this is likely to change. After all, the company posted another strong quarter.

In Q2, revenues spiked 23.2% to $187.3 million. This also represented a nice 4.8% sequential increase from Q1. What's more, total customer count has gone from 99,446 to 108,023 over this period of time.

Analyst Upgrades

• Susquehanna upgraded Yahoo! (YHOO) to positive from neutral. The firm, which has a $19 price target on the stock, cites the steep decline in shares for the upgrade.
• UBS upgraded Time Warner Cable (TWC) to buy from neutral. The firm believes fears regarding FCC reclassification of broadband are "overblown" and that industry fundamentals are bullish. The firm has a $57 target on the stock.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Stifel Financial (SF) to outperform from market perform on valuation following the recent pullback in shares. The firm has a $64 price target for the stock.
• Boeing (BA) was upgraded to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• RBC Capital upgraded Southern Union (SUG) to sector perform from underperform.
• Rubicon Technology (RBCN) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.

Analyst Upgrades

• Baird upgraded Dell (DELL) to outperform from neutral, citing valuation and improving IT hardware trends. The firm raised its target to $21 from $17.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Regal Entertainment (RGC) to buy from neutral, citing box office momentum and improving potential for a dividend increase. The firm raised its target for shares to $20.50 from $16.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded CF Industries (CF) to overweight from market weight as it sees reduced financing risk following the equity offering and valuation.
• GameStop (GME) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Exxon Mobil (XOM) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.
• Cameron (CAM) was raised to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded Freeport McMoRan (FCX) to buy from hold to reflect valuation, as well as its increased forecasts for copper and aluminum. The firm raised its price target on shares to $95 from $85.
• Citigroup also upgraded Alcoa (AA) to buy from hold and reiterated a buy rating on Cliffs Natural (CLF).
• William Blair upgraded WESCO International (WCC) to outperform from market perform. The upgrade reflects the firm's belief that WESCO's sales trends will become increasingly positive from easy comparisons over the next 12 months.
• RBC Capital upgraded Thomson Reuters (TRI) to top pick from outperform. The firm sees attractive returns over the next 12 to 18 months as the company's headwinds subside, and it raised its target price on shares to $43 from $41.
• Motorola (MOT) was upgraded to hold from sell at Societe Generale.
• American Express (AXP) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Schnitzer Steel (SCHN) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded PPG Industries (PPG) to buy from hold on expectations the company will benefit from increased auto production in 2010. The firm raised its price target on shares to $71 from $62.
• Stephens upgraded H&R Block (HRB) to overweight from equal weight as it believes the company is well positioned to gain market share with the problems at Jackson Hewitt (JTX). The firm raised its target price on H&R Block shares to $28 from $22.
• Credit Suisse raised Tyson Foods (TSN) to outperform from neutral and raised its target to $16 from $13. The firm believes Tyson is a cyclical stock in the early stages of a rebound in protein processing.
• Lennar (LEN) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at Wells Fargo.
• Spartech (SEH) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.

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.

"The term cloud computing is nothing particularly new or complicated; it simply means that instead of having software on your home, office or notebook computer, you run applications over the Internet," explains Gregg Early.

In Personal Finance says, "It's the way of the future as computing becomes increasingly mobile." Here, he looks at a trio of plays on this trend: Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), and Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX).

"I would point out that I'm writing this article on Google Docs. This document is stored on a Google server farm, not on my office computer.

Analyst upgrades:

• JPMorgan upgraded Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) to Overweight from Underweight to reflect performance and sales improvements, as well as benefits from the weakening U.S. dollar. The firm has a $94 target on the stock.
• Oppenheimer upgraded FormFactor (NASDAQ: FORM) to Outperform from Perform after channel checks indicated orders are recovering. The firm raised its target on shares to $30 from $22.
• KeyBanc upgraded Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK) to Buy from Hold citing the company's MRAP-ATV contract win, which they view as a "game changer." The firm has a $30 target on the stock.
• Novellus (NASDAQ: NVLS) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
• Ternium (NYSE: TX) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Cathay General (NASDAQ: CATY) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at B. Riley.

Cloud computing is a type of on-demand hosting services on the internet. Not only a necessity for mainstream e-commerce sites, it also increases efficiency, is scalable, and lowers expenses. The monetary savings may be misleading to consumers and businesses who do not fully understand the potential risks involved.

With a pay-as-you-go type structure, users are only charged for the amount of traffic, bandwidth, and memory used. Online businesses become more efficient by only utilizing the storage and space needed, while also being assured capacity for any usage increases. The buzz has been building for years, so cloud computing has attracted a diverse customer base, ranging from popular social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, to educational websites of Arizona State and Northwestern University.