Analyst upgrades:

• Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) was upgraded to Buy at Citigroup. The firm views the recent sell-off in home building stocks as a buying opportunity and thinks Toll Brothers offers the best risk/reward in its coverage universe. Citi keeps a $23 price target on the stock.
• Kellogg (NYSE: K) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup following the Q3 results, as it believes the company's reduced spending and share buyback will serve as catalysts. The firm raised its price target on shares to $63 from $50.
• Rogers Communications (NYSE: RCI) and Telus (NYSE: TU) were upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital, which said the CRTC unexpectedly denied Globalive's wireless application. The analyst said Globalive was potentially the biggest of new wireless competitors and the decision removes a big threat to the group. Rogers price target was raised to $40 from $33; Telus to $44 from $36.
• Stanley (NYSE: SXE) was upgraded at Wells Fargo to Outperform from Market Perform after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 results and raised its FY10 guidance.
• Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) was upgraded at Bernstein to Outperform from Market Perform. The analyst believes Texas Instruments' core business earnings power is underappreciated and valuation is attractive. Target raised to $30 from $28.

Analyst upgrades:

• Target (NYSE: TGT) was upgraded two ratings to Buy from Sell at Citigroup, and it raised its price estimate on shares to $61 from $44. The firm sees significant earnings upside as the company's same-store sales improve and finds the valuation attractive at current levels.
• Motorola (NYSE: MOT) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital citing valuation, new product launches, and expectations that the Mobile Devices division will be profitable. The price target is $11.
• AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup as it believes the company's Q3 results were solid and the China steel market is stabilizing. The firm raised its target to $21 from $17.
• Ceradyne (NASDAQ: CRDN) was upgraded at Wells Fargo to Market Perform from Underperform. The firm thinks that earnings expectations for the company have now reached more reasonable levels, limiting risk.
• FormFactor (NASDAQ: FORM) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital ahead of the company's Q3 results due to valuation as it views the risk/reward on shares compelling. The firm raised its price target to $25 from $19.
• Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) was upgraded at Goldman to Buy from Neutral, citing 2H10 margin expansion and analog share gains. Target was raised to $29 from $27.
• Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ: BBSI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Roth Capital as the firm thinks the company will benefit from a labor market recovery next year. Roth notes that the stock's valuation has lagged behind most of its peers in recent months and it set an $18 target.

Analyst upgrades:

• Verizon (NYSE: VZ) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo, which believes Verizon wireline margins troughed in Q3 and that Street estimates have been reset to more achievable levels.
• Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital, which believes the company is gaining analog market share and shares are attractively valued at current levels. The firm maintains a $31 price target.
• Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) was upgraded at Wells Fargo to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm believes this year's run-up in the stock was primarily due to the company's spin-off of MSG, but the firm believes the stock can rise further based on fundamentals.
• Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE: COG) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan following the company's Q3 results due to valuation and its above-average growth. The firm raised its target to $51.50 from $47.
• RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) was upgraded to Hold from Underweight at KeyBanc, which said that its recovering sales trends were encouraging.
• Travelzoo (NASDAQ: TZOO) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Wedbush as it believes the divestiture of its Asian business coupled with growth in its Fly.com unit will drive 2010 growth. The firm raised its target to $17 from $13.

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

• AirTran Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AAI) reported its third consecutive quarterly profit and will increase capacity.
• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares soared after it reported very strong Q3 numbers.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reported stellar Q4 results, driven by the popularity of Macs and iPhones.
• BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) Q3 earnings soared, due in part to a tax benefit, and assets managed grew.
• Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) revenue surged sequentially but note the would be flat going forward.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) beat Q3 earnings expectations and shares rose though revenue slumped.

The Street.com's Jim Cramer says that they should recognize that what's more important than being a bear is being right.

Ah, the lot of the bear is a beautiful lot -- never wrong, always having fun at the bullish optimists, never going down for defeat. For them, every day is a day when the St. Louis Cardinals will face the Boston Red Sox in the World Series, even after they have been eliminated.

Cases in point: two reports yesterday on Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) (Cramer's Take) from the Joy Luck Bear Club, Christopher Danely from JPMorgan and Alex Gauna from JMP Securities. Both of these gentlemen have fought the good but totally wrong fight against Texas Instruments. After what was a monumentally good quarter for the company, Gauna, who has Texas Instruments as an "underperform," raised his price target dramatically from $16 to $18. That would be totally in keeping with the direction of the earnings (way up), except that the stock's at $23.50.

The chip sector is pretty hot. Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) reported a respectable quarter this week, and the stock is near a 52-week high. Also close to their highs of the year are Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) and Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD).

Well, you can add Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX) to the list. The company, an expert on programmable logic, reported an earnings-beating quarter yesterday after the bell, according to Reuters. Xilinx made 23 cents per share in Q2, a penny ahead of analyst expectations. Revenue likewise was slightly ahead of the projections.

In addition to Intel Corp.'s (NASDAQ: INTC) third quarter earnings release, chip makers Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) and Linear Technology Corp. (NASDAQ: LLTC) are expected to post results Tuesday after the market closes as well. (Also see our Intel earnings preview.)

For the three months that ended in September, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect Altera to report that its net income fell 38.7% from a year ago to $0.19 per share. Revenue for the period is expected to be 20.6% lower to $283.3 million, which is in line with recently raised guidance. Altera has met or topped earnings estimates in the past five quarters, beating by as much as a nickel per share. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 14.4%, which is better than that of competitors Intel and Texas Instruments Corp. (NYSE: TXN).

Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN - option chain) shares are rising today after the company announced it will lift its quarterly dividend by a penny to 12 cents per share. TXN has been growing its dividend steadily in recent years, which is a great sign for the company. Just a few years ago, Texas Instruments was paying about 2 cents per share quarterly. At the stock's current price, a $0.48 annual dividend represents a 2.0% yield. 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 Texas Instruments.

TXN opened this morning at $23.79. So far today the stock has hit a low of $23.62 and a high of $24.00. As of 11:35, TXN is trading at $23.84 up 0.24 (1.0%). The chart for Texas Instruments looks neutral and S&P gives TXN a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

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

• Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) was downgraded by one analyst ahead of next week's Q2 earnings report.
• Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) better-than-expected Q4 and full-year profit failed to impact the share price.
• FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) boosted its Q1 earnings guidance ahead of next week's quarterly report.
• JoS. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. (NASDAQ: JOSB) saw its Q2 earnings jump higher than expected.
• Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY) swung to a Q1 net loss as revenue plunged despite cost cuts.
• lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) strong Q2 numbers topped estimates and drove shares higher.

National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM) reported first-quarter earnings on Thursday after the bell. Net sales came in at $314 million, and net income was 13 cents per diluted share. According to our earnings preview, that 13-cent profit beat analyst expectations by a whopping six pennies. I'll tell you, I always enjoy when a company can beat by a little more than the boring penny. The top line also went beyond projections. The call was for roughly $300 million in sales.

Although these numbers represented steep drops when compared to year-ago data, it should be noted that, on a sequential basis, National Semiconductor showed significant improvement. Gross margin went up sequentially on better product mix and a benefit from a plant closing in China.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says maybe it's dull copy, but you never read about the positive drivers anymore.

The bulls have just put together a quiet but widespread rally that, once again, has gone unheralded or is regarded as unimportant.

But the slide that we look like we are going to have will quickly take on a huge significance, with lots of commentary about all of the usual fiascos and woes and worries. Maybe today we will make it "we don't have a strong president or a strong dollar" day. Or an "OPEC isn't going to get oil to $80" day.

Pick one. They all suit.

National Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: NSM), which will hold its annual shareholder meeting later this month, is scheduled to discuss its fiscal first-quarter 2010 results Thursday in a conference call at 4:30 PM ET, featuring CEO Brian Halla, President Don Macleod, and CFO Lewis Chew. See the company's website to find out how to dial in to the call or to catch the live webcast of it.

For the three months that ended in August, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the Santa Clara, California-based company to report that its earnings fell 78.8% from a year ago to 7 cents per share, but swung from a smaller-than expected net loss in the previous quarter. Revenue for the first quarter is expected to have fallen 35.5% from a year ago to $300.5 million.

Investors and analysts may be wondering whether the market rally is really over, and whether this signals more trouble ahead for the economy. Well, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its next Beige Book report of economic conditions on Wednesday, offering a glimpse of where things stand. The Beige Book report in July suggested that, in some of the 12 Fed districts, the economy appeared to be stabilizing, suggesting that the recession may have reached its bottom, but offering little sign of a recovery. Retail activity remained weak and employment numbers were not good. Yet the minutes of the FOMC August meeting seemed a bit more optimistic about the economy.

In addition to the Beige Book report, the TIPP Economic Optimism Index is scheduled to be released Tuesday, and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index comes out Friday. So by the end of the week, we could have a good gauge of the mood about the U.S. economy.

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

• AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) posted a smaller-than-expected Q2 net loss as steel prices rise.
• Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) posted a better-than-expected Q2 profit on strong overseas sales.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) shares jumped after it beat earnings, missed revenues, and offered guidance.
• DuPont (NYSE: DD) shares declined after it posted a higher-than-expected profit but lower revenue.
• Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) disappointing results were a sign that the bulls are in charge, said Jim Cramer.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Q2 earnings and sales declined, dragged down by finance and NBC units.

Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), whose peers include Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), reported results for the second quarter after the bell on Monday. As can be expected, the statistics weren't great. However, there were a couple silver linings.

Revenues declined 27%. Earnings per share dropped a whopping 55%, coming in at 20 cents. Excluding items, Texas Instruments made 25 cents per share. Reuters says this is two pennies above analyst expectations.