Analyst upgrades:

• Banc of America/Merrill upgraded DPL Inc (NYSE: DPL) to Neutral from Underperform following the settlement agreement with staff of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio on Electric Security Plan.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded SeaBright Insurance (NYSE: SBX) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation as they believe shares are oversold at current levels. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered its target price to $14 from $16.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded AT&T (T) to Overweight from Neutral as it believes upside earnings revisions are likely in 2009 due to the company's conservative wireline margin outlook. The firm finds the stock's valuation attractive at current levels and raised their target on shares to $28 from $24.
• Chubb (NYSE: CB) was upgraded to buy from Neutral at UBS.
  
• Cascal B.V. (NYSE: HOO) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  
• Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE: HR) was upgraded at Keefe Bruyette to Outperform from Market Perform.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT), Host Hotels (NYSE: HST) and Marriott (NYSE: MAR) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and indications that negative sentiment has reached a bottom.
• Citigroup upgraded Torchmark (NYSE: TMK) to Buy from Hold as they find the valuation attractive and think management can grow earnings and book value in 2009/2010. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered their target price to $37 from $45.
• ASM International (NASDAQ: ASMI) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
• Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) was upgraded at Natixis to Buy from Hold.

It's one of those unfortunate facts of life, everyone is going to get sick at some time in their lives. It could be something as simple as the common cold or a complex series of symptoms that takes years to diagnose. The upside of all of this is that the medical business is a relatively safe bet when it comes to investments. If you see the benefit of this and want to put some money into a health care related investment, look into an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) that will give you the opportunity to hold shares in several different companies rather than trying to guess who's going to come up with the next miracle cure.

There are a couple different companies that let you get your feet wet in the medical field. You could invest in medical devices, which covers everything from stethoscopes to complicated surgical tools. iShares Dow Jones US Medical Devices ETF (NYSE: IHI) lets you in on an investment that includes leaders in the field such as Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX), Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), and Covidien, Ltd. (NYSE: COV). Each of these companies provides medical devices that hospitals simply cannot do without.

IHI looks to achieve results that correspond to the Dow Jones US Select Medical Equipment index and through a computer aided system, rather than by using money managers, they're able to charge only a 0.48% fee to maintain your stock.

Another great way to invest in the healthcare business is to buy shares in the companies who work tirelessly to provide lifesaving drugs. The Exchange Traded Fund SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals (XPH) lets you in on several of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world by following a passive management strategy that tracks the total return performance of the S&P Pharmaceutical Select Industry index.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded shares of AllianceBernstein (NYSE: AB) to Outperform from Market Perform as they find AB's risk/reward attractive given its attractive long-term business model. Wachovia upgraded Watson Pharma (NYSE: WPI) and Teva Pharma (NASDAQ: TEVA) to Outperform from Market Perform citing valuations and positive drivers for generics that include patent expirations and market share expansion.
• UBS raised Lloyds TSB Group (NYSE: LYG) to Neutral from Sell on expected pricing power following the HBOS (OTC: HBOOY) acquisition.
• Otter Tail (NASDAQ: OTTR) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• GFI Group (NASDAQ: GFIG) was upgraded at Citigroup to Hold from Sell.
• Merrill upgraded Logitech (NASDAQ: LOGI) to Neutral from Underperform.

Analyst downgrades:

• JP Morgan downgraded shares of Lloyds TSB Group to Underweight from Neutral on capital concerns and believes the HBOS acquisition is not in the best interest of shareholders.
• Stephens downgraded Universal Truckload (NASDAQ: UACL) to Equal Weight from Overweight on valuation and concerns about a slowdown in the flatbed sector. The firm's target remains $28.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Stanley Works, the Generic Drug sector, Fiserv and Fidelity National were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Stanley Works (NYSE: SWK) to Hold from Buy as they see risk to Q2 and FY08 earnings due to a slowdown in the European industrial and consumer categories. The firm lowered their target to $52 from $62.
  
• Wachovia cut the Generic Drug sector to Market Weight from Overweight Wachovia sees near-term challenges for Teva Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: TEVA), Mylan (NYSE: MYL) and Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI). The firm thinks Teva will become a very strong company over the long-term, following its takeover of Barr (NYSE: BRL). However, the firm adds that Teva will need to integrate the acquisition nearly perfectly, and Mylan may feel compelled to make another acquisition, even as it is still integrating Merck Generics, while Watson's growth prospects are still uncertain.
  
• Oppenheimer downgraded Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV) and Fidelity National (NYSE: FIS) to Perform from Outperform based on multiple pressure from the challenging banking environment and growth headwinds.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Satyam (NYSE: SAY) was downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at Credit Suisse and Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
  
• UBS downgraded Textron (NYSE: TXT) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) was downgraded at Jefferies to Underperform from Hold.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: NICE Systems, Watson Pharmaceuticals and Micron Tech were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• NICE Systems (NASDAQ: NICE) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS, as they believe NICE is well-positioned to leverage its offerings in VoIP recording, call centre analytics, and other applications with its extensive enterprise customer base.
  
• Hambrecht upgraded shares of Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI) to Buy from Hold ahead of the company's Q4 results to reflect valuation and low expectations.
  
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Micron Tech (NYSE: MU) to Overweight from Market Weight citing expectations DRAM pricing will stabilize in 2008, potential upside from high growth DRAM segments such as mobile, and notes cost cutting efforts and valuation.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• JP Morgan added Wabtec (NYSE: WAB) to its Focus List.
  
• Keefe Bruyette raised Franklin Bank (NASDAQ: FBTX) to Market Perform from Underperform.
  
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) to Overweight from Equal Weight.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Mentor Graphics (NASDAQ: MENT) to Buy from Hold and added shares to its Top Picks List.

Monday, November 12

• Veterans' Day holiday.
• Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) to report Q4 earnings. They are holding a conference call at 9am and a business update later at 10:45am.

Tuesday, November 13

• Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) to report Q3 earnings; pre-recorded conference call at 7am.
• Home Depot (NYSE: HD) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 9am.
• Fed Reserve Governor Randall Kroszner is the Keynote Speaker at Standard & Poor's Banking Conference in New York at 1pm.

Wednesday, November 14

• Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is the Keynote Speaker at Cato Institute Annual Monetary Conference at 9:10am.
• Macy's (NYSE: M) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 10:30am.

Thursday, November 15

• Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW) to hold business update conference call at 10:30am.
• Nevada District Court: Bayer (NYSE: BAY) vs. Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI) on Patent Infringement Lawsuit over the generic birth control drug YAZ.

Friday, November 16

• PDUFA date for Bristol Myers Squibb Company's (NYSE: BMY) Abilify.
  
• PDUFA date for Impax Laboratories' (OTC: IPXL) Vadova.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: BT Group, Luminent Mortage, Cognos, Thor Industries and Watson Pharmaceuticals were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• ING Group upgraded shares of BT Group (NYSE: BT) to Hold from Sell to reflect the company's more stable revenue trend and improving cash flow generation.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Luminent Mortgage Capital (NYSE: LUM) to Hold from Sell, as they believe the company's portfolio is beginning to stabilize and its liquidity has improved.
  
• Goldman upgraded Cognos Inc (NASDAQ: COGN) to Buy from Neutral following its Q2 report.
  
• Thor Industries (NYSE: THO) was raised to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital Markets. The firm's checks indicate strengthening backlog and lower promotional spending.
  
• Roth Capital believes Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI) is about to enter a growth phase with Paul Bisaro at the helm and is positive on Silodosin potential. The firm upgraded shares to Buy from Hold.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Bank of the Ozarks (NASDAQ: OZRK) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at B. Riley.
  
• Bear upgraded Harman International (NYSE: HAR) to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Goldman upgraded Packagaing Corporation (NYSE: PKG) and Smurfit-Stone Container (NASDAQ: SSCC) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Friedman Billings raised Conseco Inc (NYSE: CNO) to Outperform from Market Perform.

California-based Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: WPI) posted good 1Q 2007 numbers overall. For the quarter, net revenue was $671.6 million, with net income of $31.6 million and diluted EPS of $0.29. Factoring in some of the costs of acquiring Andrx Corporation, legal costs, and debt repurchase costs, adjusted net income was $37.3 million, $0.34 diluted EPS.

Watson Pharmaceuticals includes both generic and branded divisions, both of which reported double digit revenue increases. Generic division revenue was $424.6 million, up 32% or $102.5 million. This increase was driven by the sales of Andrx products as well as the sale of oxycodone HCI controlled-release tablets, the sale of which has been halted. Also sales of oral contraceptives products increased $9.6 million to $85.6 million. The much smaller branded division boosted net revenue for the quarter by 19% to $101.5 million, an increase of $16.4 million.

These positive numbers allowed the company to make $150 million worth of debt repayments in 1Q 2007. CEO Allen Chao states that the company is well placed to expand the number of generic and proprietary products it brings to market, while at the same time controlling operating costs and seeking out additional partners. Watson Pharmaceuticals is facing a number of additional costs related to its acquisition of Andrx Corporation, including over $23 million in additional administrative costs, and several million dollars worth of inventory charges for Andrx products. Pharmaceutical companies generally will face increased costs for clinical trials.

If the company is correct in its assessment of prescriptions trends, prescription prices, and the introduction of new products, then it forecasts FY 2007 net revenue between $2.5 and $2.6 billion.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Newmont Mining Corp (NEM), Qwest Communications International Inc (Q), Sirius Satellite Radio Inc (SIRI), Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc (CMG) and American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Prudential upgraded shares of Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE: NEM) to Neutral from Underweight citing valuation, higher gold and copper prices and specific mine factors that should lead to an operational turnaround.

• Credit Suisse raised shares of Qwest Communications International Inc (NYSE: Q) to Neutral from Underperform as the firm believes management is less likely to engage in a fiber video build and cites the increase in the company's NOL carry-forwards.

• Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Barrington Research.

• Raymond James upgraded Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) to Outperform from Market Perform. Morgan Keegan also raised shares to Outperform from Market Perform, citing better-than-projected operating fundamentals and growth prospects.

• American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) was upgraded to Strong Buy from Buy at Matrix USA to reflect the company's impressive SSS growth...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Arris Group, Inc (NASDAQ: ARRS) was upgraded to Sector Performer from Underperformer.

• C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc (NASDAQ: CHRW) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at AG Edwards.

• Merck & Co, Inc (NYSE: MRK) was added to Leerink Swann's Focus List.

• Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NYSE: WPI) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

• Buffalo Wild Winds (NASDAQ: BWLD) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.

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

I love when you email me on old stock picks and alert me to new developments. Sometimes, it is worth reconsidering companies, and updating an old blog when a company has made a turnaround. Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: WPI) is one such of those companies. Watson develops, manufactures and distributes both generic and branded drugs.

In November of last year, I wrote that Watson was a risk after a costly acquisition of Andrx and the increased competition in the generic drugs market.

One of my readers let me know the reasons he likes Watson now, and in doing some research, I think he is right on. Included in his reasoning: Not only has Watson resolved its patent infringement litigation with Glaxo, it also has a line-up of promising brand products entering Phase III trials with the FDA.

Goldman Sachs just this past week removed Watson from its "sell" list and moved the target price up to $30, citing the great distribution network gained through its acquisition of Andrx, its EPS targets being more in line with expectations, and its management efforts to reduce costs. Indeed, Watson plans to move over one half of its manufacturing to China and India in the next several years. Based on these factors, I am pleased to update my earlier blog on Watson to a pick, rather than a pan.

Type of stock: A generic and brand drug developer, manufacturer and distributor that has promise in the upcoming years.

Price target: Currently trading at $26.57, the price hasn't changed much from November's blog. What has changed is my recommendation, from "hold off" to "buy!" Many signs now point to Watson reaching $40 by end of the year.

Hilary Kramer is a financial editor and money coach for AOL and an authority on investing. Visit her at www.hilarykramer.com.

As this earnings period begins to wind down, with most of the juggernauts already having reported, we begin to see reports from some smaller, lesser known companies, along with reports from former high-fliers like Gateway Inc (NYSE: GTW) and Overstock.com Inc (NASDAQ: OSTK).

Monday February 5

• Overstock.com to report Q4 earnings, conference call at 11am.
• PDUFA date for Watson Pharmaceutical Inc's (NYSE: WPI) Actoplus XR for non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.

Tuesday February 6

• Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) to hold Analyst Day at 12pm. Credit Suisse First Boston believes Nike will announce the rollout of a specialty retail store concept at the meeting.

Wednesday February 7

• Equinix (NASDAQ: EQIX) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 5:30pm. Kaufman Brothers notes that the company's last overhang was removed in the middle of January and it sees a $93 price target on the stock.
• PDUFA Date for Roche Holding's (OTC: RHHBY) Cera for chronic renal disease.

Thursday February 8

• Monthly sales reports reports due from Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF), Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD), Nordstrom, Inc (NYSE: JWN) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT).
• Gateway to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 5:30pm.

Friday February 9

• Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) to hold Investor Meeting at 9am with presentations from its CEO and CFO.

Fall earnings are winding down, but there were still a number of notable companies reporting this week.

Excellent

• AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) 27c per share vs analyst expectations of 21c - at $22.45 (yesterday's close) the stock is up 42% year-to-date and is near its 52-week high of $22.66.
• American International Group (NYSE:AIG) $1.53 vs $1.42 - AIG is only now returning to its levels from the beginning of the year with just over a 2% return YTD. The stock is up more than 2.5% today.
• Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) 31c vs (12c) - while FLR is up more than 20% in the past year, its YTD return is only 8% and at $83.39 is trading within its 52-week range of $68.70-$103.85
• JC Penney (JCP) $1.26 vs. $1.23 - JCP had an amazing run. YTD return is nearly 45%. The stock is up another 1.3% today to $80.61, very near its 52-week high of $81.40 set yesterday during the session.

On the Fence

• El Paso Corporation (NYSE:EP) 16c vs 16c
• Watson Pharmaceutical (NYSE:WPI) 33c vs 34c
• Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) 36c vs 34c

Awful

• Federated Department Stores (NYSE:FD) 20c vs 25c
• IMAX Corporation (NASDAQ:IMAX) (30c) vs 5c
• Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:LGF) (14c) vs (2c)

Earnings review from Tedd Cohen of TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Cisco (CSCO), and Sonic Solutions (SNIC) top today's modest-sized list of initiations.

• Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS following the company's strong first-quarter earnings and guidance.
• JP Morgan upgraded Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ:SNIC) to Overweight from Neutral following the weak second-quarter results and light third-quarter guidance. The firm said weak PC demand ahead of the Vista launch has already been priced into shares of Sonic Solutions.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE:WPI) was reinstated with a Sector Performer rating, up from an Underperformer rating, citing valuation.
• Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Roth Capital. The firm said expectations for Urban have come down this quarter and that news going forward is likely to be positive, not negative.

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