Analyst upgrades:

• American Express (NYSE:AXP) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at FBR Capital, as the firm sees limited near-term downside in the stock. The firm raised its target price on the shares to $37 from $25.
  
• RBC Capital upgraded Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL) to Outperform from Sector Perform. Target to $44 from $34. UBS upgraded Nestle on expectations the company will begin returning cash to shareholders via buybacks and dividends.
  
• Piper Jaffray raised Dicks Sporting (NYSE:DKS) to Neutral from Underweight following positive channel checks and raised its target on the shares to $28 from $18.
  
• Sohu.com (NASDAQ:SOHU) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell by Pali Capital.
  
• Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was raised to Buy from Hold by Natixis.
  
• Sunpower (NASDAQ:SPWRA) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Macquarie.
• China Automotive (NASDAQ:CAAS) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Merriman.

Analyst upgrades:

• JPMorgan upgraded Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX) and Goldcorp (NYSE: GG) to Overweight from Neutral following its gold valuation analysis. The firm set a $54 price target on Barrick shares and a $47 price target on Goldcorp shares.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) to Overweight from Market Weight and raised its target to $24 from $15, citing the company's improving end market demand, competitive position, and valuation.
• Barclays upgraded AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) to Overweight from Equal Weight, citing the company's improved liquidity position and what they believe to be the beginning of a multi-year profit cycle for the sector. Despite the upgrade, the firm lowered its target to $14 from $20.
• Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
• Toshiba (OTC: TOSBF) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
• Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS.

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

• American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AXL) reported a strike-related Q1 loss.
• Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) Q1 profit tripled on increased demand and higher prices.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) posted better-than-expected earnings despite Dreamliner delays.
• Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) better-than-expected quarter didn't impress Jim Cramer.
• ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) reported Q1 earnings and revenue above analysts' forecasts.
• Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) reported a big loss on a one-time charge and fuel costs.
• Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) posted a smaller-than-forecast profit drop and predicted a good Q2.
• EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD) Q1 earnings rose 26% but missed expectations.
• Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) surprised Wall Street by swinging to a profit in the first quarter.
• Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) easily surpassed analyst estimates for the first quarter.
• Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) Q1 earnings and revenue rose due to international growth.
• Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) profit fell but was in line with analysts' expectations.

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE: SON) provides industrial and consumer packaging products, and packaging services. The industrial division makes paper cores, cones and tubes used by customers in the textile, paper, film, and construction industries. The consumer unit manufactures a variety of paper and plastic containers for food, chemicals, and personal care items. The packaging services unit provides supply chain management, artwork and displays. The firm conducts more than 300 operations in 35 countries. Customers include General Mills (NYSE: GIS), Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) and William Wrigley Jr. Co. (NYSE: WWY).

Sonoco pleased investors last week, when it reported Q1 EPS of 54 cents and revenues of $1.04 billion. Analysts had been expecting 51 cents and $995.4 million. Management also guided Q2 EPS to 58-61 cents (60 cent consensus) and FY08 EPS to $2.44-$2.47 ($2.42 consensus).

We don't often give much thought to commercial packaging products, but they are among the important factors allowing maintenance of our well-supplied life styles. One of the world's largest providers of such products is headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina.

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE: SON) provides industrial and consumer packaging products and services. The industrial packaging division makes paper cores, cones and tubes used by customers in the textile, paper, film, and construction industries. The consumer packaging unit manufactures a variety of paper and plastic containers for food, chemicals, and personal care items. The packaging services unit provides supply chain management, artwork and displays. The firm conducts more than three hundred operations in thirty-five countries. Customers include General Mills (NYSE: GIS), Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) and William Wrigley Jr. Co. (NYSE: WWY).

Sonoco pleased investors last week, when it offered solid guidance for current and upcoming periods. Management sees Q4 EPS at the high end of the range 52-55 cents, versus Street consensus of 54 cents. It also expects Y07 EPS at the high end of $2.28-2.31 ($2.29 consensus), Y07 revenues of around $4 billion ($4.04B consensus) and Y08 EPS of $2.44-2.47 ($2.37 consensus).

Most of us don't give much thought to commercial packaging products, but they are among the important factors allowing maintenance of our well-supplied lifestyles. One of the world's largest providers of such products is headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina.

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE: SON) offers industrial and consumer packaging products and services. The company's packaging division makes paper cores, cones and tubes used by customers in the textile, paper, film, and construction industries. The consumer packaging unit manufactures a variety of paper and plastic containers for food, chemicals and personal care items. The packaging services segment provides supply chain management, artwork and displays. The firm manages more than 300 operations in 35 countries. Customers include General Mills (NYSE: GIS), Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) and William Wrigley Jr. Co. (NYSE: WWY).

The firm pleased investors last week, when it reported Q1 EPS of 57 cents (ex-items) and revenues of $956 million. Analysts had been looking for 49 cents and $885.4 million. Management also guided Q2 EPS to 55-58 cents (57 cent consensus) and FY07 EPS to $2.36-$2.40 ($2.31 consensus). The CEO cited contributions from recent acquisitions and the ability to raise prices as factors leading to the solid Q1 results. The issue popped above 30-day moving average support on the news and then passed into a bullish "pennant" consolidation pattern. Stocks frequently exit pennants moving in the same direction they were traveling when they entered them. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the issue with two "strong buys" and six "holds." The SON P/E ratio (21.27), Price to Sales ratio (1.12), Price to Book ratio (3.46), Sales Growth rate (16.73%) and EPS Growth rate (23.91%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages.

Institutional investors hold about 60% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 400 MidCap Index. Over the past 12 months, it has traded between $29.45 and $43.69. A stop-loss of $37 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Merrill Lynch & Co (MER), Kraft Foods Inc (KFT) and US Steel Corp (X) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Goldman Sachs upgraded Merrill Lynch & Co (NYSE: MER) to Buy from Neutral with a $107 target, believing the sell-off in Merrill shares is overdone.

• JP Morgan added Kraft Foods Inc (NYSE: KFT) to its Focus List with a $40 target, believing valuation reflects the overhang from Altria Group's (MO) share distribution.

• Prudential upgraded shares of US Steel Corp (NYSE: X) to Neutral from Underweight citing synergies from the Lone Star acquisition and the increase in scrap prices.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Cephalon, Inc (NASDAQ: CEPH) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $88 from $69 to reflect a favorable risk/reward profile and the imminent approval of Nuvigil following FDA approval of draft labeling for the drug.

• Bank of America upgraded Sonoco Products Co (NYSE: SON) to Buy from Neutral with a $44 target.

• Baird upgraded Micron Technology, Inc (NYSE: MU) to Outperform from Neutral.

• Credit Suisse upgraded PG&E Corp (NYSE: PCG) to Outperform from Neutral with a $53 target citing valuation.

• Matrix USA upgraded TJX Cos (NYSE: TJX) to Buy from Hold on relative valuation.

• William Blair upgraded Blue Nile, Inc (NASDAQ: NILE) to Outperform from Market Perform citing near-term fundamentals, improved long-term cash flow, long-term growth potential and downside protection.

• Kaufman Bros upgraded Avid Technology, Inc (NASDAQ: AVID) to Buy from Hold with a $40 target.

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