Time Warner (TWX) was trading higher at the time of this writing by 2%. A quote of $31.37 just went by on my screen. The 52-week low for the stock is $26.43 while the 52-week high is $34.07. Should investors take a look at the media company?

I was thinking about Time Warner today because there are news reports out concerning management's desire to make premium video on demand a reality. We've been hearing about this strategy for a long time, and I hope it finally comes to pass in a major way. Basically, according to the Los Angeles Times, the plan is to charge a high amount (perhaps as much as $30) for a film shortly after it appears in theaters but well before it hits other distribution channels such as Netflix (NFLX). We may see some activity on this front next year.

Analyst Upgrades

• Soleil upgraded Baxter (BAX) to buy from hold on expectations the company will benefit from supply disruptions at privately-held plasma manufacturer Octapharma. The firm raised its price target for shares to $56 from $45.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Dolby (DLB) to buy from hold, citing valuation following the recent underperformance of shares. The firm upped its price target to $75 from $70.
• Bernstein upgraded Alexion (ALXN) to outperform from market perform based on increased Soliris forecasts for PNH and potential in aHUS. The firm also raised its price target to $75 from $60.
• Agrium (AGU) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Roche (RHHBY) was upgraded to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• BMO Capital upgraded Energizer (ENR) to outperform from market perform.

Analyst Upgrades

• Soleil upgraded Community Health (CYH) to buy from hold based on expectations for improved 2011 demand. The firm has a $40 price target on the stock.
• Wunderlich upgraded Invesco Mortgage (IVR) to buy from hold following the company's better-than-expected Q3 dividend. The firm also raised its target price for shares to $23.50 from $21.50.
• Goldman upgraded SuccessFactors (SFSF) to conviction buy from buy, citing cloud exposure.
• Vulcan Materials (VMC) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Comstock Resources (CRK) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Ladenburg.
• Trimble Navigation (TRMB) was upgraded to buy from hold at Canaccord.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded Costco (COST) to buy from neutral based on valuation, improving fundamentals and potential catalysts. The firm raised its price target to $68 from $62.
• Soleil upgraded MGM Resorts (MGM) to buy from hold, citing valuation, easing balance sheet concerns and a multiyear convention recovery. The firm upped its target for shares to $14 from $13. Note, Soleil also downgraded Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to hold from buy.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) to overweight from neutral with a $59 price target following the company's better-than-expected Q2 results.
• Dell (DELL) was upgraded to buy from outperform at CLSA.
• CommScope (CTV) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• EnCana (ECA) was upgraded to sector outperformer from sector performer at CIBC.

Media companies like Disney (DIS), News Corp. (NWS), and Time Warner (TWX) are dependent on a healthy celluloid industry. As times have changed, the industry has become more challenging. Home video, for example, is mired in a complex conundrum: how does one grow physical media revenue in the digital age? How does video-on-demand fit into the picture? What about online downloads? When you think about it, theatrical exhibition is becoming more important than ever before as post-multiplex channels of distribution undergo radical changes to keep up with the times.

Unfortunately, the following article from the Associated Press indicates that there's a lot of marketing work to be done in Hollywood. You see, while summer box-office sales are up, the quantity of admission transactions has declined.

In case you need to be reminded to look closely at the books, today's poster boy for erroneous ledgers, Bernie Maddoff, should be a constant reminder. Furthermore, when you are looking at the books, remember that Benjamin Graham, mentor to "my pal Warren," advised buying stocks for less than their intrinsic value. And book value is the starting point in attempting to establish that.

Two weeks ago, I posted an update on my toxic stock picks. These were six unloved stocks where I felt the stage was set for market beating returns. The same is true again for today's market-beating group, although it is not the headlines that tied this group together, but their standout bargain metrics.

I've been thinking about the whole Jersey Shore zeitgeist. You know the show. It's on Viacom's (VIA) MTV. It's a huge hit, everyone is talking about it and its stars (Snooki, The Situation, etc.). It also was mentioned in a recent conference call the media company had with investors.

It was reported that the cast was able to significantly increase its salary for the reality series. When I first heard about the demands, I mused to myself that this was a grand opportunity for Hollywood to say no to minor celebrities. After all, it's just a reality show, folks. Even though Snooki is immensely popular, there are many more Snooki-type individuals out there. Dime-a-dozen comes to mind when thinking of the goofy girl with the poofy coif.

Time Warner Inc. (TWX), a media company which competes with The Walt Disney Corporation (DIS) and News Corp. (NWS), among others, has traded in a narrow range over the last twelve months. The 52-week low is $26.43; the 52-week high is $34.07. Shares finished Wednesday's session at a price of $32.47.

Management released Q2 numbers earlier in the day. According to the AP, adjusted profit was 50 cents per share, five pennies better than expectations. Sounds good, but there wasn't much action in the stock. That $32.47 closing price I just referred to represents a flat percentage gain.

Here's a very interesting item from Theflyonthewall concerning DreamWorks Animation (DWA). It appears that the cartoon concern possibly isn't so fond of being a standalone entity any longer. Instead, it might want to be purchased by another media player. Comcast (CMCSA) was mentioned as a potential suitor.

There's some confusion, however, over this topic; it's not clear whether Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO of DreamWorks Animation, approached Comcast or Comcast approached Katzenberg.