Stock Upgrades: Happy Headlines for News Corp

Europe literally rewound the clock last week while its politicians metaphorically sent us back to the turn of the Millennium, again warning Microsoft (MSFT) about its browsers. Facebook (FB), up 15.5%, certainly partied like it was 1999 even as one of its analysts was unceremoniously fired after saying "This could get me into trouble. Shoot." (Surely a stun gun would have sufficed, especially after Taser (TASR) jumped 26.5%.) College costs continued to outpace inflation but - unless your name is Mark Zuckerberg - staying in school is still well worth it, to judge by Devry's (DV) 20.7% advance.

Today in economics, analysts expect an increase in October's Chicago Purchasing Managers Index at 9:45 a.m. Eastern. It's another frenetic session for third quarter earnings announcements, with results expected out of Anheuser-Busch (BUD), Barclays (BCS), Deutsche Lufthansa (DLAKY), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), MGM Resorts (MGM), MasterCard (MA), Panasonic (PC), and Time Warner Cable (TWC).

Artio Global Investors (ART): The small cap gets a Buy-from-Neutral boost at Citigroup.

Canadian Pacific (CP) FBR Capital raises the railroad to Market Perform from Underperform.

Copart (CPRT): Shares are now Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird, whose price target is $33. As the leading auctioneer of salvage vehicles, CPRT stands to benefit from a surge in totaled vehicles in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Ctrip.com (CTRP): Goldman Sachs gives the Chinese travel stock a Buy-from-Neutral boost.

DineEquity (DIN): The owner of Applebee's and International House of Pancakes is upgraded to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James.

Dominion Resources (D): Citing an increasingly attractive valuation, Argus increases the stock to Buy from Hold. Its price objective is $57.

Ericsson (ERIC): The Swedish telecom titan is taken to Outperform from Neutral at Cowen.

Ford Motor (F): Shares are boosted to Buy from Hold at Craig Hallum.

Forest Oil (FST): RBC Capital raises its recommendation to Outperform from Market Perform.

Nanometrics (NANO): NANO is now Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, which also takes its target up by $1.50 to $16.00.

News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) The media empire is upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie.

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB): Miller Tabak moves the stock to Buy from Hold.

Ruth's Hospitality Group (RUTH): Raymond James raises its rating to Outperform from Market Perform with a $7.50 target price. Catalysts include a solid quarterly report and good comparative sales growth.

Stewart Information Services (STC): STC gets an Outperform-from-Perform lift at FBR Capital Markets.

Team Health Holdings (TMH): Piper Jaffray takes TMH to Overweight from Neutral.