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

• Accenture Ltd. (NYSE: ACN) beat earnings expectations but revenue was hurt by currency effects.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) strong Q1 results beat estimates but same-store sales fell.
• CKE Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: CKR) lower Q1 earnings and strong sales both topped expectations.
• ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) higher Q4 earnings were in line with expectations, and shares slipped.
• Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) Q4 results were higher, but it warned of continuing challenges.
• Hennes & Mauritz (OTC: HMRZF) reported strong Q2 numbers, though same-stores sales slipped.

Sonic said it earned an adjusted 24 cents per share. This article reported expectations as being $0.20 per share, so management beat the bottom line by a nice amount. We'll throw that result on the positive side of the line.

Analyst Upgrades

• Baird upgraded Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) to Outperform from Neutral based on field research that indicates improving traffic trends and visibility from cost savings initiatives.
• FBR Capital upgraded E*Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC) to Outperform from Underperform citing an attractive risk/reward following the company's capital raise and debt exchange commencement. The firm believes the worst is behind the company and has a $2 target on the stock.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Sonic (NASDAQ: SONC) to Outperform from Perform on expectations demand trends will improve, leading to more normalized profitability.
• Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
• Motorola (NYSE: MOT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• ConAgra (NYSE: CAG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

This week brings a small flurry of end-of-the-calendar-quarter earnings reports. And for the most part, the expectations of the analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters aren't very high. Companies expected to report declining earnings in the most recently concluded quarter include America's Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT), Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY), ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG), Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL), Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. (NYSE: JTX), Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), and Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC).

• Deutsche Bank upgraded BT Group (NYSE: BT) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company's Q4 results could remove uncertainty and cost cutting initiatives could drive upside.
  
• Baird upgraded Stanley Works (NYSE: SWK) to Outperform from Neutral and raised their target to $42 from $34 citing valuation, solid execution, and growth potential.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) to Buy from Hold as it believes the recent sell-off presents an attractive buying opportunity. The firm believes Netflix has one of the best earnings outlooks in the internet sector and increased its target price to $52 from $37.
• AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  
• Joy Global (NYSE: JOYG) and Bucyrus (NYSE: BUCY) were raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

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

• Accenture Ltd. (NYSE: ACN) said revenues and bookings both declined in the most recent quarter.
• Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) reported strong Q4 results in the wake of Circuit City's demise.
• Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) sailed past analysts' Q1 projections, sending shares higher.
• ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) Q3 results topped analysts expectations and drove shares higher.
• DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) swung to a larger-than-expected Q4 loss and revenue slipped.
• DSW Inc. (NYSE: DSW) reported a bigger-than-expected Q4 loss as same-store sales declined.

Sonic (NASDAQ: SONC), the drive-in fast-food joint that competes with McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Wendy's/Arby's Group (NYSE: WEN), Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM), and Burger King (NYSE: BKC), reported second-quarter earnings after the bell on Monday. You know that video-game character Sonic the Hedgehog? Know how he's fast? Well, Sonic the burger server is unlike Sonic the software character right now when it comes to growing its business.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website

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

• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) Q1 earnings tumbled while revenues rose.
• Casella Waste Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CWST) posted a narrower-than-expected Q4 loss.
• CKE Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: CKR) Q1 earnings increased but its revenue slipped.
• Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) swung to a Q4 profit on strong sales at Olive Garden.
• Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) said it might not see Q2 profit growth on lower demand and shipping delays.
• General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) Q4 earnings declined but were in line with expectations.
• Gerber Scientific Inc. (NYSE: GRB) reported solid Q4 and full-year results that pleased investors.
• IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS) beat Q2 expectations and posted record quarterly cash flow from operations.
• Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) stronger-than-expected Q3 results led to an analyst's upgrade.
• KB Home (NYSE: KBH) widened its Q2 loss due to weak sales and falling prices.
• Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) beat Q1 expectations as consumers sought discounts on food and gas.
• Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) beat Q3 earnings estimates but fell short of revenue estimates.
• Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) posted better-than-expected Q4 results boosted by international strength.
• Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) posted strong Q4 results that topped analysts' expectations (see transcript).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The Aerospace sector, Boeing, Aurora Oil & Gas and Syniverse were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Goldman downgraded the Aerospace sector to Cautious from Neutral to reflect high oil prices and the weak economy. The firm also downgraded Boeing (NYSE: BA) shares to Sell from Neutral and added the stock to their Conviction Sell List as they expect the economic weakness and high fuel prices to drive slowing orders.
  
• Jefferies downgraded shares of Aurora Oil & Gas (AMEX: AOG) to Underperform from Hold to reflect the company's falling production, minimal cash flow through the remainder of 2008, and limited access to capital.
  
• Baird cut Syniverse (NYSE: SVR) to Neutral from Outperform as they believe the impact from the Verizon (NYSE: VZ)-Alltel merger could be greater than investors think.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Arch Chemicals (NYSE: ARJ) was lowered at Oppenheimer to Perform from Outperform.
  
• New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYB) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.
  
• Sonic (NASDAQ: SONC) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Stephens.

Jabil Circuit (NYSE:JBL) is up over 10% after strong earnings.

3COM (NASDAQ:COMS) is up 6% after posting a robust quarter.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) is up almost 6% on news it had raised $8.9 billion.

Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ:ESLR) is off 4% after saying it would sell $300 million in notes.

Sonic (NASDAQ:SONC) is down almost 3% on earnings which were under Wall St. forecasts.

Shares may trade differently in the pre-market than in the regular session.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• JP Morgan initiated EV3 (NASDAQ: EVVV) with a Neutral rating. The firm sees risk to guidance and finds it too early to recommend the stock.
  
• Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) was assumed with an Overweight rating at Morgan Stanley.
  
• Lehman initiated Sonic (NASDAQ: SONC) with an Overweight rating.

• HSBC initiated Rostelecom (NYSE: ROS) with an Underweight rating and $36.50 target.
  
• Keefe Bruyette assumed German American Bancorp (NASDAQ: GABC) with a Market Perform rating and $13 target.
  
• JP Morgan initiated Perdigao (NYSE: PDA) with an Overweight rating.