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

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) shares rose even though it reported a wider loss for the quarter.
• American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) posted better-than-expected Q1 results but warned of challenges.
• Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) reported a net loss and slumping revenues for the first quarter.
• Center Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: CLFC) was downgraded following its Q1 earnings report.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) posted lower Q3 earnings that still topped analysts estimates.

Today was the day that the stress test results leaked out, showing many banks needed to raise capital. That had no negative impact as the numbers could have been much worse, and this notion may have dealt a final blow to the bears betting that the financials (and market) were going to tank lower on bad news.

Stronger than expected ADP jobs data came out ahead of this week's unemployment report and helped. Here were the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 8,513.95 +103.30 (1.23%)
S&P 500 919.42 +15.62 (1.73%)
Nasdaq 1,759.10 +4.98 (0.28%)

Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN - option chain) stock is falling today after the company reported a first-quarter profit of $48.5 million, or 24 cents per share, on revenue of $437 million. Analysts had projected a profit of 42 cents per share on revenue of $532 million. 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 GRMN.

This morning, GRMN opened at $23.86. So far today the stock has hit a low of $21.31 and a high of $23.86. As of 11:30, GRMN is trading at $21.83, down $3.83 (-14.9%). The chart for GRMN looks bearish and S&P gives GRMN a negative 2 STARS (out of 5) sell ranking.

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded shares of Daimler (NYSE: DAI) to Buy from Neutral as it believes the company's restructuring and greater visibility on its outlook could be positive for the stock.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Goodyear Tire (NYSE: GT) and Cooper Tire (NYSE: CTB) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations that industry volumes will improve in the coming quarters.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded Websense (NASDAQ: WBSN) following the company's better than expected preliminary Q1 results. The firm maintains a $17 target on shares.
• Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.
  
• Portfolio Recovery (NASDAQ: PRAA) was raised to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Home Depot (NYSE: HD) to Buy from Hold as they expect significant multiple expansion as earnings revisions start to bottom out and the market starts to factor in a recovery. The firm raised its price target to $24 from $18-$20.
  
• Goldman upgraded HSBC (NYSE: HBC) to Neutral from Sell and removed the stock from their Asia Pacific Sell List given the company's plans to stop making new loans at its U.S. unit.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Ensco International (NYSE: ESV) to Hold from Sell on valuation as it believes weakening shallow water demand is priced into shares at current levels. The firm raised its target price to $32 from $30.
• Liberty Global (NASDAQ: LBTYA) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
  
• UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) was lifted to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

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

• Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) reported solid Q2 numbers despite competition from store brands.
• DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) missed Q4 expectations, sending shares lower.
• First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) said Q4 profit more than doubled due to strong demand.
• Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) posted a lower-than-expected profit on soft sales and lower margins.
• Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. (NASDAQ: HSII) earnings and revenue declined in Q4.
• Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) earnings beat low expectations even as revenue continued to decline.

"Though I've long believed Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) was easily the best managed firm in the GPS space, it continues to feel the sting from competitive forces," says Paul McWilliams.

Here, the technology stock specialist and editor of Next Inning reviews the company and the prospects for its new entry in the cell phone market -- the nuvifone.

"As you would expect, the nuvifone is very GPS-centric with all sorts of Geo-tagging features for email, SMS and pictures. It also includes an Opera browser and is fully capable of viewing Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents and working with both personal and enterprise email systems.

"While I've not seen one in person yet, what I've heard from those who have and from what I've seen on the GRMN web site, I think the product has potential.

"The key, however, will be how the nuvifone is marketed and how well GRMN does in building an applications store, a factor that I think will be a huge differentiation driver as we move forward in the Smartphone sector.

Today was a disappointment all around. We were supposed to be up for once. That didn't hold. The "no nationalization" talk failed to help keep the broad market afloat. The breath of relief was quickly replaced by more flight to quality and panic protection. It feels as though the rest of the air is coming out of the market as Joe Public throws in the towel. Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 7,115.42 -250.25 (-3.40%)
S&P 500 743.36 -26.69 (-3.47%)
Nasdaq 1,387.72 -53.51 (-3.71%)

Top Analyst Calls

Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN), which makes GPS-enabled consumer devices, is a new buy recommendation from value investor Charles Mizrahi. Here's his long-term outlook from his Hidden Values Alert.

"Garmin a leading worldwide provider of navigation, communications and information devices, most of which are enabled by Global Positioning System (GPS) technology.

"It designs, develops, manufactures and markets a diverse family of hand-held, portable and fixed-mount GPS-enabled products and other navigation, communications and information products for the automotive/mobile, outdoor/fitness, marine and general aviation markets.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says we're in a relentlessly terrible market.

Slew of bad news to wake up to. Freeport (NYSE: FCX) (Cramer's Take) eliminates its dividend to conserve cash as copper has had an unmitigated decline. Impairments coming; ugly, but somewhat predictable given the stunning stock drop. Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) (Cramer's Take) overnight becomes Nokia (NYSE: NOK) (Cramer's Take) or maybe even Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN), (Cramer's Take) as the commoditization of tech continues apace. We can sell everything cell-phone-related off that. Tech down again.

Too bad, because it wrecks the rally from yesterday and confirms -- endlessly -- how bad this market is.

It's also too bad because China was up big last night, which I believe will put in a bottom to the mineral and steel market components someday. Pricing will get tight eventually as U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) (Cramer's Take) and Freeport are taking out a huge amount of capacity. They have to; the pricing falls are that devastating. There will be plenty of companies in these industries that simply won't survive because of the pricing.

Analyst upgrades:

• Friedman Billings upgraded Synovus (NYSE: SNV) to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation following the recent weakness. BASF (OTC: BASFY) and Akzo Nobel (OTC: AKZOY) were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS on valuation and believes cash flows can cover the company's dividend.
• JP Morgan upgraded H.B. Fuller (NYSE: FUL) to Overweight from Neutral citing benefits from lower raw material costs.
• CA, Inc (NASDAQ: CA) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
• Goldman removed Boeing (NYSE: BA) from the Conviction Sell List.
• WABCO Holdings (NYSE: WBC) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.

Analyst downgrades:

• Oppenheimer downgraded Giant Interactive (NYSE: GA) to Perform from Outperform following the company's Q3 results as they believe a recovery of revenue from ZT Online will take longer than expected.
• Friedman Billings cut Walter Industries (NYSE: WLT) to Market Perform from Outperform as they believe the decline in steel demand will pressure met coal prices. The company's target was lowered to $30 from $53.
• Citigroup downgraded shares of Atlas Pipeline (NYSE: AHD) Holdings to Sell from Hold as they believe the company could potentially be in violation of its debt covenants as early as Q1. The company's target was lowered to $4 from $31.
• Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) was removed from Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
• Dover (NYSE: DOV) and Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR) were downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Analyst initiations:

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

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported a narrower Q3 net loss and reaffirmed its outlook.
• Barclays (NYSE: BCS) earnings and dividend prospects resulted in an analyst's downgrade.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC) posted its 19th straight quarter of positive growth.
• Choice Hotels International Inc. (NYSE: CHH) better-than-expected Q3 report led to an upgrade.
• Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) reported strong Q3 numbers and maintained its revenue outlook.
• DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) better-than-expected Q3 results driven by Kung Fu Panda.
• Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) reported another record profit in Q3 driven by record high fuel prices.
• Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) reported a better-than-expected Q3 profit and offered guidance.
• Hercules Inc. (NYSE: HPC) posted lower Q3 earnings and anounced [regulatory] approval of its buyout.
• Janus Capital Group Inc. (NYSE: JNS) weaker-than-expected results led to an analyst's downgrade.
• Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM) swung to a smaller-than-expected Q2 net loss and shares soared.
• Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) dismal Q3 results managed to beat low earnings expectations.
• Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) Q3 results included lower revenue and a net loss due to economic conditions.
• Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q) unimpressive Q3 numbers fell short of estimates.
• Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) swung to a greater-than-expected net loss due in part to competition.
• Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ: TXRH) missed Q3 estimates and warned of flat full-year earnings.
• Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) strong Q3 results included a gain from a sale of a refinery.
• Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) beat Q4 earnings expectations after adjustment for litigation-related charges.
• Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE: WHR) fell short of revenue estimates and announced job cuts.

Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN - option chain) shares are trading higher today after the company posted a third-quarter profit of $171.2 million, or 82 cents per share. GRMN's adjusted profit of 87 cents per share beat analysts' estimates of 84 cents per share.

Garmin has fallen from well over $100 to the low $20s in the past year, so even though the company's forecast was not too hot, the stock probably didn't deserver to be punished further. 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 GRMN.

GRMN opened this morning at $22.30. So far today the stock has hit a low of $22.10 and a high of $23.45. As of 12:25, GRMN is trading at $22.34, up $0.91 (4.2%). The chart for GRMN looks bearish and S&P gives GRMN a negative 2 STARS (out of 5) sell ranking.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a November bull-put credit spread below the $15 range.

In the News:

Where are the Pros Putting Their Cash?
Money magazine asked several financial experts: What are you doing with your own portfolio in the wake of the financial crisis?
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/moneymag/0810/gallery.crisis_pros.moneymag/index.html

As the Economy Sinks So Do the Odds of a Tax Cut
One of the riskiest financial moves you make this year could be listening to the presidential candidates-and banking on a tax cut after the November elections. John McCain and Barack Obama both promise that widespread tax cuts will be one major way they'll revive the economy and help lift consumers' sagging spirits. But here's what you're not likely to hear either candidate say before Election Day on November 4: There's no money left for tax cuts.
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/flowchart/2008/10/9/as-the-economy-sinks-so-do-odds-of-a-tax-cut.html

In the News:
100 Best Mid-Cap Stocks
Lander: These companies have a unique combination of growth, financial stability and promising forecasts. Among the best are Aeropostale, Priceline.com, Reliance Steel and Quicksilver Resources which tops the list.
The 100 Best Mid-Cap Stocks In America - Forbes.com

Wild Times in the Credit Markets
Think stocks are volatile? The dislocations in the credit markets are even more serious, and they pose a greater threat to the economy.
http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/sep2008/pi20080929_591294.htm?campaign_id=twxa
Also: How Credit Crisis Could Give Restaurant Business Indigestion