SunPower (SPWRA) saw an increase of more than 10% in its stock price on March 15. This trend was seen across almost all companies in the solar industry, including SunPower's competitors FirstSolar (FSLR), SuntechPower (STP), and Yingli Green Energy (YGE).

Our price estimate for SunPower's stock is at $14.41, about 10% below its current market price.

Analyst Upgrades

• Parker-Hannifin (PH) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• JDSU (JDSU) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Noble Corp. (NE) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Cerner (CERN) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Cintas (CTAS) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• American States Water (AWR) to buy from hold at Brean Murray.
• National Semiconductor (NSM) and Texas Instruments (TXN) to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• Lululemon (LULU) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
• DuPont Fabros (DFT) to top pick from outperform at RBC Capital.

Analyst Upgrades

• Stifel Financial (SF) and CVR Energy (CVI) to buy from neutral and Principal Financial (PFG) to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Suntech (STP) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Internap (INAP) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Andersons (ANDE) to buy from hold at BB&T.

Analyst Upgrades

• Qualcomm (QCOM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• JPMorgan upgraded Allegheny Tech (ATI) to overweight from neutral.
• NetApp (NTAP) was upgraded to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Estee Lauder (EL) was upgraded to perform from underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Citigroup upgraded Suntech (STP) to hold from sell.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded CSX (CSX) to neutral from sell.
• General Cable (BGC) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Chart Industries (GTLS) and Dresser Rand (DRC) to overweight from equal weight.
• Blackrock (BLK) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Zions Bancorp (ZION) to neutral from underperform and GameStop (GME) to outperform from neutral.
• Honeywell (HON) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Panera Bread (PNRA) was upgraded to buy from neutral at SunTrust.

Suntech Power (STP) is taking a post-earnings plunge, as traders pan the company's third-quarter report.

Wednesday morning, Suntech said its third-quarter profit climbed 11% to $33.1 million, or 18 cents per American depositary share (ADS), while revenue rose 57% to $743.7 million. Gross margin for the quarter contracted to 16.4% from 17.8%, due to lower selling prices.

They don't all work out. Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (STP), first discussed here on July 28, 2009 at a price of $19.24, was stopped-out at $8 in late August, for an 11-point loss.

Suntech's shares, a high-risk stock, had recovered to about $11 in mid-summer after plunging in bear-hug fashion this spring from about $16 to $8.40.

The calculation in the summer was that photovoltaic cell manufacturer Suntech's long-term business prospects in China would offset short-term hits to revenue, due to price declines.

Analyst Upgrades

• Janney Montgomery upgraded Microsoft (MSFT) to buy from neutral with a $30 price target, citing valuation and expectations for strong Q4 results.
• UBS upgraded SanDisk (SNDK) to buy from neutral based on favorable pricing and mobile design win momentum. The firm raised its target to $55 from $46.
• BMO Capital upgraded Medtronic (MDT) to outperform from market perform based on valuation and its product pipeline. The firm has a $48 price target on the stock.
• Lorillard (LO) and Qualcomm (QCOM) were upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Monsanto (MON) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• FedEx (FDX) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.

Analyst Upgrades

• Auriga upgraded Cisco (CSCO) to buy from hold, citing the company's improving strategic position in data centers.
• Blue Nile (NILE) was raised to buy from hold by Citigroup due to the recent pullback in shares.
• DuPont Fabros (DFT) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS, which said that said fundamentals in the data center space have been improving.
• Baird upgraded Sterling Bancshares (SBIB) to neutral from underperform based on valuation.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Bristol-Myers (BMY) to buy from neutral.
• Amazon.com (AMZN) was raised to conviction buy from buy by Goldman.
• Jefferies upgraded Celgene (CELG) to buy from hold.

Analyst Upgrades

• Weeden upgraded Nabors Industries (NBR) to buy from hold on expectations that U.S. land drillers will likely benefit from a more restrictive deepwater Gulf of Mexico drilling environment.
• Macquarie upgraded Cinemark (CNK) to outperform from neutral and has a $20 price target on the stock. The firm cites valuation, market share stabilization and Latin American pricing power.
• RBC Capital upgraded Edison International (EIX) to outperform from sector perform with a $43 target. The firm cited valuation and its belief that the company's unregulated businesses are well-positioned to accelerate as reasons for the upgrade.
• Canadian Pacific (CP) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• FirstEnergy (FE) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Joy Global (JOYG) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Longbow.

I've upgraded photovoltaic play Suntech Power Holdings Co. (STP) to buy from the hold rating recommended on October 27, 2009. Here's why.

The stock chart of Suntech, a company expected to benefit from China's solar subsidy program, as well as U.S. government initiatives to invest in renewable energy, had formed a bear hug -- a bearish pattern in October. However, the stock held key, psychological support at $10 in November -- it actually fell to only $11.90 or so, and has since rebounded, breaking the downtrend of the bear hug.