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Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) to Buy from Hold on expectations that stable volumes and a better outlook for currency and commodities will lead to higher earnings visibility. The firm raised its price target on shares to $62 from $52.
• FBR Capital upgraded Goodrich (NYSE: GR) to Outperform from Market Perform as it finds the stock's valuation compelling following the recent pullback. The firm raised its target on shares to $65 from $46.
• William Blair upgraded Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) to Outperform from Market Perform after channel checks indicated demand is accelerating as the firm finds the stock's valuation compelling at current levels.
• Robbins & Myers (NYSE: RBN) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Viacom B (NYSE: VIA.B) were upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill, while News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral.

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

• Accenture Ltd. (NYSE: ACN) lower Q4 earnings met analysts' expectations but the Q1 outlook was weak.
• Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM) posted a Q1 net loss and said it will skip its dividend this quarter.
• Cephalon Inc. (NASDAQ: CEPH) earnings prospects for 2010 resulted in an analyst's downgrade.
• Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) Q1 earnings beat by a penny but revenue fell short of estimates.
• Gannett Inc. (NYSE: GCI) shares rose after it forecast Q3 earnings above Wall Street estimates.

Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $265 from $170, citing higher iPhone expectations, new partnerships, and likely upward revisions to Street estimates driven by gross margins.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm views a possible deal between end General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal positively, as it thinks NBC will provide higher-margin growth for Comcast.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Michael Baker (AMEX: BKR) to Buy from Neutral after the company completed the sale of its Energy business. The firm raised its target on shares to $46 from $40.
• Jefferies assumed coverage of Endo Pharma (NASDAQ: ENDP) and upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold. The firm cites valuation, a strong base business, and solid cash flow for the upgrade, and has a $30 target price on shares.
• Marten Transport (NASDAQ: MRTN) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
• U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.

Cephalon (NASDAQ: CEPH - option chain) shares are headed higher today after the company reported its positive results from a phase two clinical trial of its bipolar I disorder drug NUVIGIL. The company plans to advance the drug to phase three trials, and hopes to launch the drug in the third-quarter of 2009. 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 CEPH.

CEPH opened this morning at $66.50. So far today the stock has hit a low of $65.66 and a high of $68.13. As of 12:00, CEPH is trading at $67.51, up 4.32 (6.8%). The chart for CEPH looks bullish and S&P gives CEPH a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

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.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says picking stocks -- or worse, picking a bottom -- remains a dangerous activity.

Sometimes it is so bad that it is BAD! Don't laugh at that seeming bit of counterintuitive logic. Every investment professional knows that because of the way economic cycles and central banks work, you are often looking for signs of such stress and negativity that it is so bad it is GOOD because of what the banks can do and what a bottom looks like.

This time it hasn't worked out that way. This time, what's bad is bad and getting worse. This weekend, David Carr in The New York Times wrote an excellent piece about the mistake of looking for a silver lining, something that news media does.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says that country can be counted on for tons of growth.

How perfect is China? We have producer price inflation down to almost zero, and rate cut possibilities as far as the eye can see. In our country, all we have heard is "pushing on a string." In their country, all they know is that when the Chinese central bank loosens, wondrous things happen, including a 29% gain in the index.

That gain is so glaring that you can be emboldened about it. You know that they have just started to put China to work and the inventories of all metals could be worked off quickly and the infrastructure products just started.

Analyst upgrades:

• JP Morgan upgraded Altria (NYSE: MO), citing the company's 25% cash return to shareholders by 2010 and its market leadership.
  
• RBC Capital upgraded Core Laboratories (NYSE: CLB) based on its solid balance sheet and liquidity, strong market positions, and technology-driven products.
  
• RBC Capital believes Schlumberger's (NYSE: SLB) earnings will decrease the least vs. its peers through 2010 and notes its breadth of products/services.
• Tellabs (NASDAQ: TLAB) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
  
• Bally Tech (NYSE: BYI) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Analyst downgrades:

• Goldman downgraded Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) citing consumer spending concerns and valuation.
  
• Merrill downgraded JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) citing expectations for credit costs to get worse in the US.
  
• Wachovia downgraded a handful of names, including Chesapeake (NYSE: CHK), in the Exploration & Production space as they believe natural gas prices have more downside in order to balance supply/demand fundamentals.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Ball (NYSE: BLL) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $45 from $41 as they believe recent capacity closures will be positive for beverage can operating rates.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Buy from Hold on valuation and the company's plans to preserve cash.
• ThinkPanmure upgraded Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to Accumulate from Sell and raised its target to $17 from $12 citing trough earnings in 2009 and lowered expectations.
• Viacom B (NYSE: VIA.B) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
  
• Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  
• Onyx Pharma (NASDAQ: ONXX) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Analyst downgrades:

Kaufman initated Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) with a "buy" and set a $680 price target according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that Lehman resumed coverage of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) with an "equal-weght" rating and a price target of $34.

Thomas Weisel maintained at "overweight" rating on Cephalon (NASDAQ:CEPH) although the FDA rejected broader use of its pain drug Fentora according to the AP.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Monday, May 5

• Happy Cinco de Mayo!
• Day one of the two-day FDA Anesthetic/Life Support Drugs & Drug Safety/Risk Management Advisory Committees meeting: Purdue Pharma's NDA for Oxycontin.
  
• Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) to report Q1 earnings; conference call Tuesday at 10:00am.

Tuesday, May 6

• Day two of the two-day FDA Anesthetic/Life Support Drugs & Drug Safety/Risk Mgmt Advisory Committees meeting: Cephalon's (NASDAQ:CEPH) sNDA for Fentora.
• Molson Coors (NYSE:TAP) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 12:00pm.
• Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.

Wednesday, May 7

• Marsh & McLennan (NYSE:MMC) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.
• Transocean (NYSE:RIG) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 10:00am.
• Hot Topic (NASDAQ:HOTT) and Zumiez (NASDAQ:ZUMZ) to report April sales at 4:00pm.

Thursday, May 8

• Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) to report April sales at 8:00am. Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) to report sales at 8:15am. Target (NYSE:TGT) to report sales at 8:30am.
  
• NVidia (NADAQ:NVDA) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 5:00pm.

Friday, May 9

• PDUFA date for Adolor Corp (NYSE:ADLR) and GlaxoSmithKline's (NYSE:GSK) Entereg for management of Post-operative Ileus.
• American International Group (NYSE:AIG) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.
• Sotheby's (NYSE:BID) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9:00am.

Cephalon Inc. (NASDAQ: CEPH) shares are trading higher today on news that Takeda Pharmaceutical, a Japanese firm, has agreed to buy Cephalon competitor Millennium Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MLNM) for $25 a share. MLNM is trading up almost 50% to $24.45 currently, indicating that investors think this deal will most likely happen. 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 CEPH.

After hitting a one-year high of $84.83 in June, the stock hit a one-year low of $56.20 in February. CEPH opened this morning at $64.94. So far today the stock has hit a low of $64.45 and a high of $66.18. As of 12:45, CEPH is trading at $65.27, up 1.05 (1.6%). The chart for CEPH is neutral and improving, while S&P gives the stock a bullish 4 Stars (out of 5) buy rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a May bull-put credit spread below the $55 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 7.5% return in just five weeks as long as CEPH is above $55 at May expiration. Cephalon would have to fall by more than 15% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

CEPH hasn't been below $56 at all in the past year and has shown support around $59 recently. This trade could be risky if the company's earnings (due out on 5/1) disappoint, but even if that happens, that position could be protected by support the stock might find between $55 and $60, where it bottomed out in the past two months.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in CEPH or MLNM.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Cephalon, Activision and VASCO Data Security were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Friedman Billings upgraded Cephalon (NASDAQ:CEPH) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the market opportunity for Treanda in indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is not fully appreciated by investors.
  
• Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Lehman following the Vivendi deal.
  
• ThinkEquity upgraded VASCO Data Security (NASDAQ:VDSI) to Buy from Source of Funds and believes risk in shares is reflected in current valuation.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Schawk (NYSE:SGK) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
  
• Banc of America raised Millennium Pharma (NYSE:MLNM) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• RBC upgraded Cogent (CCOI) to Outperform from Sector Perform.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Allscripts, Supertel Hospitality, Cephalon, Limelight Networks and Financial Federal were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Allscripts (NASDAQ: MDRX) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at JP Morgan following its weak Q3 results and guidance.
  
• Supertel Hospitality (NASDAQ: SPPR) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird and to Market Perform from Outperform at JMP Securities following its disappointing Q3 report.
  
• JMP securities downgraded Cephalon (NASDAQ: CEPH) to Market Outperform from Strong Buy citing uninspiring Q3 revenue growth.
  
• Friedman Billings downgraded Limelight Networks (NASDAQ: LLNW) to Market Perform from Outperform citing the tough pricing environment, competition, and upcoming IPO lockup expiration on 12/5.
  
• The firm also downgraded shares of Financial Federal (NYSE: FIF) to Underperform from Market Perform, as they expect the company to be impacted substantially from the slowing economy.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• JP Morgan removed Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL) and CB Richard Ellis (NYSE: CBG) from its Focus List.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded Home Diagnostics (NASDAQ: HDIX) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies.
  
• Banc of America downgraded RPM, Inc (NYSE: RPM) to Neutral from Buy.

Cephalon Inc. (NASDAQ: CEPH) is actually a lucky company today. Shares are getting hit hard (down 4.26% as of 12:08), but this could have been much worse, and it might still if the original reports become worse. Then CEPH shares could see a lot more selling. Reuters reported on "Dear Doctor" letter the company has been sending, warning them about deaths related to its FENTORA pain drug. FENTORA is a pain management drug used by cancer patients.

The company has reportedly sent out two seperate letters about serious side effects and deaths that occurred in Fentora users. It says that the deaths were tied to improper patient selection or dosing, or from improper product substitution.

The bad news follows a string of good news for the company and the drug. Only in late August, the FDA granted an Orphan Drug Designation to TREANDA, the company's investigational treatment for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. In mid-August, the company released positive data on FENTORA from its Pivotal Study of FENTORA in Opioid-tolerant patients with non-cancer breakthrough pain.