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Fitch Ratings upgraded Del Monte Foods Co. (DLM) nearly to investment grade, citing significant improvement in its credit statistics and operating fundamentals during the past two years.

Fitch said the company–known for its namesake fruit and vegetable brand–could be moved to investment grade if it maintains operating margins of 12.5% to 13%, has strong free cash flow and avoids large debt-financed acquisitions and share repurchases during the next 12 to 18 months.

Del Monte got a one-notch increase to BB+, one step below investment grade, and the outlook is positive, meaning further upgrade isn’t out of the question. Earlier this year, Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services both upgraded Del Monte’s ratings one notch to two steps below investment grade.

Popularity: 20% [?]

EcoBlu Products, Inc. (OTC:ECOB), makes wood coated products that are protectants against mold, decay, termites, etc. This company has manufacturing plants both in Texas and California. If they can export these products they may turn a profit eventually. This stock looks like it may have some more upside on the chart.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Triquint Semiconductor (TQNT)
Vodafone Group (VOD)
Intel (INTC)
Exelon (EXC)
Eldorado Gold (EGO)
ARM Holdings (ARMH)
Baidu.com (BIDU)
Yahoo! (YHOO)
NVIDIA (NVDA)
ON Semiconductor (ONNN)
Cypress Semiconductor (CY)
Marvell Technology (MRVL)
Coach (COH)
Wynn Resorts (WYNN)
Nike (NKE)
Yum! Brands (YUM)

Popularity: 22% [?]

General Mills (GIS)
Pepsico (PEP)
Kellogg (K)
Consolidated Edison (ED)
Dominion Resources (D)
Pepco Holding (POM)
ICICI Bank (IBN)
Vodafone Group (VOD)

Popularity: 13% [?]

The company’s management team has begun snapping up distressed assets. Petrik expects Essex will continue to buy up distressed properties, particularly in West Coast markets, which he anticipates will stabilize over the next year.

Petrik upgraded the stock to “Buy” from “Hold” with a target price of $115.

THE STOCK: Shares of Essex Property Trust added $2.12 to $98.86 in afternoon trading Monday.

Popularity: 18% [?]

C.L. King analyst Lawrence Harris this morning raised his rating on Tellabs (TLAB) to Accumulate from Neutral, setting an $8 price target. He notes that the stock has lost about a quarter of its value since reporting Q1 results on April 27.

For 2010, he now expects the company to earn 45 cents a share, up from 43 cents; for 2011, he keeps his forecast at 48 cents. For Q2, he moves up to 13 cents, from 12 cents.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Brigantine Advisors analyst Ramesh Misra this morning raised his rating on Texas Instruments (TXN) to Buy from Hold after the chip maker late yesterday said Q2 results would be the top end of its previous guidance ranges for both revenue and profits.

Popularity: 2% [?]

The recent decline for shares of SunTrust Banks Inc. has made the stock more affordable, said an analyst who upgraded his rating of the Atlanta-based bank on Tuesday.

THE OPINION: Stifel Nicolaus analyst Christopher Mutascio noted SunTrust shares were down 23 percent from a recent peak in mid-May, bigger than the pullback of 17 percent to 18 percent for indexes of comparable bank stocks. He upgraded the stock to “Hold” from “Sell,” citing “the recent and significant share price weakness.” Mutascio, who had cut his rating of the stock on Jan. 25, noted Stifel Nicolaus no longer has any “Sell” ratings for the large-cap bank stocks that the firm covers.

Popularity: 28% [?]

Upgrades:
Cisco Systems (CSCO) target raised to $32 from $29 at Oppenheimer
Dendreon (DNDN) target raised to $50 from $40 at Brean Murray
Starwood Hotels & Resorts (HOT) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel Nicolaus; price target $70
Johnson Controls (JCI) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird; price target $42 from $33
Medivation (MDVN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Roth Capital; price target $14 from $10
Netflix (NFLX) target raised to $120 from $96 at Caris
Patriot Coal (PCX) target raised to $30 from $25 at Brean Murray
RSC Holdings (RRR) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank; price target $25

Popularity: 13% [?]

UBS upgrades CF Industries (NYSE: CF) from Sell to Neutral. The firm also raised its price target on the stock from $81 to $84.

Shares of CF are indicated notably higher in this morning’s pre-market session. The stock last traded at $86.75, up nearly 1.7% from Friday’s closing price.

Popularity: 28% [?]