Rival home improvement chains Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) and Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) are scheduled to report quarterly results this week. Not surprisingly, given the ongoing housing slump, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial on average expect both companies to post earnings lower than in the same period a year ago. For Home Depot, that's 61 cents per share, down 20.8%, and for Lowe's, 56 cents per share, down 16.4%. Meanwhile, cabinet maker American Woodmark Corp. (NASDAQ: AMWD), for whom Home Depot and Lowe's are major distributors, is also expected to report lower earnings: 11 cents per share, down 67.6%.

The presidential campaigns have prompted much discussion of energy policy and alternative energy sources. Some solar-energy-related concerns are scheduled to report this week, and expectations seem to be high. Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) is expected to report 81 cents per share earnings, up 67.9%; ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) is expected to post earnings of 32 cents per share, up 62.5%; and Suntech Power Holdings Co. (NYSE: STP) is expected to have earnings of 32 cents per share, up 21.9%. Even China Sunergy Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: CSUN) is expected to have swung to a profit of 3 cents per share, from a per-share loss of 14 cents a year ago.

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

• Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) Q1 earnings rose 20%, driven by cash-strapped bargain hunters.
• Borders Group Inc. (NYSE: BGP) narrowed its loss in the first quarter though same-store sales fell.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) Q3 profits climbed 32%, beating analysts' estimates.
• Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) posted solid Q1 results that beat analysts' expectations (see the transcript).
• DSW Inc. (NYSE: DSW) Q1 earnings declined, hurt by weak same-store sales.
• H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) better-than-expected Q4 results sent the stock to a 52-week high.
• Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: IART) beat Q4 estimates and offered Q1 guidance.
• J. Crew Group Inc. (NYSE: JCG) lowered its full-year forecast, leading to analyst downgrades.
• Joy Global Inc. (NASDAQ: JOYG) Q2 results beat expectations, and it raised its full-year guidance.
• Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: LGF) posted record Q4 revenues but a bigger-than-expected loss.
• Marvell Technology Group (NASDAQ: MRVL) Q1 profits beat estimates and led to analyst upgrades.
• Medtronic Inc. (NYSE: MDT) beat Q4 estimates and offered full-year guidance.
• Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) swung to a profit that was in line with analysts estimates.
• Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) Q1 revenues surged on new customers and demand in Asia.

Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ: SMTC) designs, develops and markets analog and mixed signal semiconductor products. The devices handle power management, timing circuitry, current conversion, voltage surges, parametric measurement and other functions in computers, test equipment, cell phones, network equipment and base stations. Customers include Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ).

The firm surprised the Street last week, when it reported Q1 EPS of 22 cents and revenues of $74.4 million. Analysts had been expecting 20 cents and $72 million. The sales total was a Q1 company record. Management also guided Q2 EPS to 23-24 cents (22 cent consensus).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Barclays, Merrill Lynch and Akamai were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Lehman downgraded shares of Barclays(NYSE:BCS)to Equal Weight from Overweight as they believe the uncertainty of more write-downs will weigh on the stock.
  
• Ladenburg Thalmann downgraded shares of Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER) to Sell from Neutral as they believe disruptions in cash and hedge markets will result in lower than expected earnings. The firm lowered MER's EPS estimates and target to $39 from $49.
  
• Goldman cut Akamai (NASDAQ:AKAM) to Sell from Neutral based on valuation and competitive pressures.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Merrill downgraded Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) to Sell from Neutral.
  
• Piper downgraded CDC Corp (CHINA) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• American Electric Power (AEP) was lowered at Jefferies to Hold from Buy.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Semiconductors, ADC Telecomm and Nationwide Financial were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Banc of America upgraded the Semiconductor Sector to Overweight from Market Weight citing indications of a bottom given earnings estimate revision momentum and supply chain inventory levels. The firm upgraded Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Power Integrations (NASDAQ:POWI) and Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) to Buy from Neutral and PMC Sierra (NASDAQ:PMCS) and LSI Corp (NYSE:LSI) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of ADC Telecomm (NASDAQ:ADCT) to Buy from Hold as they believe April consensus estimates could prove conservative.
  
• UBS raised Nationwide Financial (NYSE::NFS) to Buy from Neutral and believes a higher offer by Nationwide Mutual is likely.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Westlate Chemical (NYSE:WLK) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Companies looking for semiconductor products naturally gravitate toward experienced firms that do business with a broad and successful customer base. There is an chip provider in Camarillo, California that falls in that category. It has been in business since 1960 and has an impressive client list.

Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ: SMTC) designs, develops and markets analog and mixed signal semiconductor products. The devices handle power management, timing circuitry, current conversion, voltage surges, parametric measurement and other functions in computers, test equipment, cell phones, network equipment and base stations. Customers include Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT) and Sony (NYSE: SNE).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Marvel Entertainment (MVL), AutoZone (AZO), Home Depot (HD), Molson Coors (TAP) and Semtech (SMTC) were some of today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Matrix upgraded Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL) to Buy from Hold as they don't think the company's improving performance is reflected in its falling stock price. They think Marvel represents a good entry point at current levels.

• Kevin Dann upgraded shares of AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) to Buy from Hold on valuation and highlighted their belief that AutoZone may not be seeing as much sales weakness as investors expect. They recommend taking advantage of the recent share weakness and raised their target to $135 from $125.

• Gabelli recommends Home Depot (NYSE: HD) as a long-term buy with a $43 target, upgraded shares from Hold, with the Supply division uncertainty now eliminated. They view the sale positively, even at the lower price.

• JP Morgan upgraded Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP) to Overweight from Neutral, and believes Molson will monetize its solid balance sheet and free-cash flow yield to benefit the shareholders. They also consider valuation to be attractive.

• Semtech (NASDAQ: SMTC) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair following the strong Q2 report and outlook...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) was upgraded to Market Outperform from Market Perform at Avondale.

• Longbow raised TTM Technologies (NASDAQ: TTMI) to Buy from Neutral.

• Breen Murray raised to Intevac (NASDAQ: IVAC) to Hold from Sell.

• Stifel upgraded Arch Capital (NASDAQ: ACGL) to Buy from Hold.

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