There was more focus this Monday, it seemed, on China's growth and attention on the tax vote than other issues. Ahead of tomorrow's FOMC meeting, we briefly had 10-year Treasury Notes at the highest yields since June. The FOMC was reportedly looking for $110 billion in Treasury purchases over the next month.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,428.49 +18.17 (0.16%)
S&P 500 1,240.49 +0.09 (0.01%)
Nasdaq 2,624.91 -12.63 (-0.48%)

Top Analyst Calls

Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO - option chain) shares are rising today after the company announced this morning that it will acquire all outstanding shares of Dionex Corp. (DNEX) for $188.50 per share in cash, for a total cost of $2.1 billion. TMO expects the deal to close in the first quarter of 2011. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on TMO.

TMO opened this morning at $54.97. So far today the stock has hit a low of $54.31 and a high of $55.49. As of 12:15, TMO is trading at $55.09 up $2.05 (3.9%). The chart for TMO looks bullish and S&P gives TMO a positive 5 STARS (out of 5) strong buy ranking.

"Quality companies with low price-to-book value ratios (P/BV) have outperformed companies with higher valuations for the past three-, five- and 10-year periods," says J. Royden Ward.

The editor of the Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter explains, "Our search for undervalued companies to with price to book value ratios found three stocks in tech-related sectors: Kyocera (KYO), PC Connection (PCCC), and Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO).

"To find the best stocks with low price-to-book value ratios, we required Value Line Financial Strength ratings of A or better, dividend payments increasing over time, low P/E ratios and good earnings prospects for the next 12-month and five-year periods.

Analyst Upgrades

• Advance Auto Parts (AAP) was upgraded to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Macquarie upgraded Gen-Probe (GPRO) and Beckman Coulter (BEC) to neutral from underperform.
• Tyco (TYC) was upgraded to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Cousins Properties (CUZ) to buy from underperform.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Energy Conversion (ENER) to equal weight from underweight.
• Thermo Fisher (TMO) was upgraded to buy from hold at Auriga.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded AstraZeneca (AZN) to neutral from underweight after the company's U.S. Crestor patent was ruled valid. The firm believes the ruling could lead to AstraZeneca announcing a sizeable share buyback program. AstraZeneca was also upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill and to hold from underperform at Jefferies.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Peabody Energy (BTU) to buy from hold, citing valuation and attractive fundamentals in the coal sector. The firm has a $57.50 price target for shares, and also maintains buy ratings on Arch Coal (ACI) and Alpha Natural (ANR).
• Oppenheimer upgraded NextEra Energy (NEE) to outperform from perform, citing valuation and an improving regulation outlook in Florida. The firm maintains a $55 price target for shares.
• Eaton Vance (EV) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Dynamex (DDMX) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Stephens.
• Soleil upgraded RPM (RPM) to buy from gradually accumulate.

Analyst upgrades

• UBS upgraded CF Industries (CF) to neutral from sell. The firm cites valuation for the upgrade. In addition, UBS raised its price target on shares to $84 from $81.
• Baird upgraded Johnson Controls (JCI) to outperform from neutral and raised its price target to $42 from $33. The upgrade was based on improving margins, China growth, and upside from a cyclical recovery.
• Barrington upgraded G&K Services (GKSR) to outperform from market perform ahead of the company's Q3 results to reflect optimism regarding the company's operational turnaround. The firm set a $35 price target for shares.
• LaSalle Hotel (LHO) was upgraded to top pick from outperform at RBC Capital.
• Zimmer (ZMH) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Thermo Fisher (TMO) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO - option chain) shares are rising today after the company announced this morning that its board has authorized a one-year program to repurchase $750 million worth of its common stock. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on TMO.

TMO opened this morning at $53.82. So far today the stock has hit a low of $53.81 and a high of $54.94. As of 12:10, TMO is trading at $54.41 up $1.00 (1.9%). The chart for TMO looks neutral and S&P gives TMO a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Quarterly reports continue to roll out this week, with results due from Allstate Corp. (ALL), Coca-Cola Co. (KO), Marriott International Inc. (MAR), Molson Coors Brewing Co. (TAP), New York Times Co. (NYT), Pepsico Inc. (PEP), Sprint Nextel Corp. (S), Viacom (VIA), Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and many others. Here's a look at a few of the companies that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect to be the biggest earnings gainers this week.

Analysts are looking for Coinstar Inc. (CSTR), which distributes coin-counting, DVD-rental, and other self-service kiosks, to report that its fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled from a year ago to $0.32 per share. Revenue for the three months that ended in December is expected to have jumped 26.1% to $329.2 million. The analysts' forecast for the full year calls for earnings of $0.94 per share (+46.8%) on $1.2 billion in revenue (+25.9%). Coinstar has beat earnings estimates in the past three quarters, by as much as six cents per share.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company's CEO Marijn Dekkers resigned to take over the CEO position at Bayer. The company will replace him with current COO Marc Casper, effective on October 15. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on TMO.

This morning, TLB opened at $46.95. So far today the opening price was the stock's high and it has traded as low as $45.55. As of 12:00, TMO is trading at $45.81, down $1.78 (-3.7%). The chart for TMO looks neutral and S&P gives TMO a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Analyst upgrades:

• Merriman upgraded shares of Akamai (NASDAQ:AKAM) to Buy from Neutral as they believe consensus expectations are now realistic and already reflect macro headwinds. Merriman also thinks the company's cost reductions could generate upside to EPS estimates.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations the company's diabetes drug will gain U.S. approval.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) to Outperform from Neutral and raised their target to $20 from $19 citing the merits of the Wyeth (WYE) deal and valuation.
• Quality Systems (NASDAQ:QSII) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  
• Parexel (NASDAQ:PRXL) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
  
• Ferro (NYSE:FOE) was upgraded at KeyBanc to Hold from Underweight.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Lululemon, NaviSite, Research in Motion, Palm and Motorola were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU) was initiated with a Neutral rating and $42 target at Credit Suisse on valuation.
• NaviSite Inc (NASDAQ: NAVI) was initiated with a Buy rating at Merriman after reporting solid Q4 results. Merriman expects the company's recent acquisitions to significantly increase margins.
  
• Citigroup believes Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) is not a pure momentum stock as fundamentals are driving share appreciation. They think the company's subscriber growth is beginning to hit critical mass and expect 15M subscribers within 12 months. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $115 target.
  
• Citigroup also initiated shares of Palm Inc (NASDAQ: PALM) with a Sell rating and $13.50 target, expecting the company's market share losses to continue to EPS to decline.
  
• Citigroup started Motorola Inc (NYSE: MOT) with a Hold rating and $20 target, as they believe its recovery may take longer than expected, noting its new silicon platform does not come out until 2H08.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Banc of America initiated On Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN), Mettler-Toledo International Inc (NYSE: MTD) and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (NYSE: TMO) with Buy ratings and a $16 target, $120 target and $65 target.
  
• Deutsche Bank started GSI Commerce Inc (NASDAQ: GSIC) and Universal Electronics (NASDAQ: UEIC) with Buy ratings and targets of $52 and $31, respectively.
  
• RBC Capital Markets resumed coverage of Whole Foods Market Inc (NASDAQ: WFMI) with an Outperform rating and $55 target.

World-class scientific instrument manufacturer and data monitoring company Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) was recently chosen to supply measuring instruments and data capture expertise to Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemicals Co. (ADR) (NYSE: SHI), China's largest producer and supplier of oil and petrochemical products.

Monetary details of the deal were not disclosed in the press release but Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has over $9 billion in annual revenue and serves more than 350,000 biotech companies, hospitals and various research institutions that capture and/or monitor data in real time.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has been involved in data collecting in the petrochemical industry for more than two decades. Its laboratory information management system (LMS) will be the standard for all data manipulation at Sinopec. Such standardization will enhance cost efficiencies, improve real-time data monitoring and reduce time to market. Thermo Fisher Scientific instruments and processes are already in use at multiple Sinopec laboratories in China.

Shares of both Thermo Fisher Scientific and Sinopec rose on the news. Thermo Fisher Scientific closed at $47.45, up $0.73, while shares of Sinopec were up $0.68 to close at $53.78.

In unrelated news, Thermo Fisher Scientific sold one of its divisions, Genevac, to Riverlake Equity Partners LP for an undisclosed sum. Genevac makes equipment used in pharmaceutical research.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) manufactures and distributes scientific instruments and laboratory supplies, serving more than 350,000 customers in the life and health science industries. The company was formed in November 2006, when Thermo Electron acquired Fisher Scientific International.

The firm pleased investors last month, when it guided Q4 EPS to 52-54 cents (53 cent consensus), FY06 EPS to $1.83-$1.86 ($1.80 consensus), FY07 EPS to $2.35-$2.45 ($2.36 consensus) and FY07 revenues to $9.4-$9.5 billion ($9.32B consensus). Deutsche Securities and UBS subsequently reiterated their "buy" recommendations and boosted their price targets to the $56-$58 range.

The news kept TMO shares cycling through a positive eleven-week trading channel. The price is currently consolidating at the base of that channel, where oversold Momentum, Stochastic and MACD technical parameters suggest the potential for a rise back toward the top. Correspondence of the stock's 30-day moving average to the base of the channel backs the rebound notion.

Altogether, brokers recommend the issue with four "strong buys" and seven "buys." The TMO Price to Book ratio (2.56), Operating Margin (10.60%) and Revenue per Employee ($249k) compare favorably with industry averages. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 500 Index. Institutions hold about 37 percent of the outstanding shares.

Over the past twelve months, the issue has traded between $30.27 and $46.34. A stop-loss of $39.35 looks good here. Note that the company will discuss its expectations for future performance tomorrow morning, at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference. Note, too, that it is expected to report Q4 results at the end of January.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Goodyear Tire (GT) and Nvidia (NVDA) top today's modest-sized list of upgrades.

• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYES:GT) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Merrill Lynch citing improved third-quarter results and improved relations with unions.
• Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital Markets following their strong third-quarter report.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• IMAX Corp (NASDAQ:IMAX) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Merriman. The firm noted that IMAX Corp.'s third-quarter results were below expectations but they were looking beyond the first-half of 2007 for a rebound in operating trends.
• American Tech upgraded Thermo Electron (NYSE:TMO) to Buy from Neutral, citing the Fisher Scientific (FSH) merger for its rational.

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