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Deere (DE) reported fourth-quarter results today. Even though the well-known maker of agricultural equipment had a tough year, the company's stock currently sits near a 52-week high as the bulls hope the worst is behind it.

On an adjusted basis, Deere posted a profit of 23 cents per share. This number easily beat the analysts, as they believed Q4 was only worth about 3 cents per share, according to our earnings preview.

U.S. stock futures advanced Wednesday morning ahead of what is going to be a busy day full of economic reports before Thanksgiving. While investor sentiment is still upbeat following the Federal Reserve minutes and optimism about the economy, trading could be choppy today given the market is closed tomorrow. The market will reopen Friday for a short day.

U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday on lackluster economic data, namely the GDP revision downward. However, the losses eased after the FOMC minutes and the Fed raised its growth expectations for 2010.

Deere & Co. (DE), maker of the iconic John Deere tractor, is scheduled to discuss its fiscal fourth-quarter 2009 financial results in a conference call Wednesday, November 25, at 10:00 AM ET, hosted by Chief Financial Officer Jim Field. You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.

During the three months that ended in October, Deere planned to invest in Russia, reached a tentative agreement with the UAW and announced some layoffs. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the agricultural equipment maker to report that earnings for that period plunged from $0.81 per share a year ago to $0.03 per share. And revenue for the quarter is expected to be 34.1% lower to $4.4 billion.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Starbucks (SBUX) to buy from hold, citing EPS and revenue momentum heading into 2010. The firm raised its target to $25 from $22.
• Soleil upgraded Zions Bancorp (ZION) to buy from hold on valuation as it believes the recent pullback provides an attractive entry point. The firm has a $17.50 price target on shares.
• RBC Capital expects Rigel Pharmaceuticals (RIGL) to sign a partnership for R788 in the next four months to run its global Phase III program. Shares were upgraded to outperform from sector perform and its target was raised to $11 from $9.
• Deere (DE) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Shire (SHPGY) was raised to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Ann Taylor (ANN) was upgraded to overweight from market weight at Thomas Weisel.
• J.M. Smucker (SJM) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says it looks like the patent worries aren't so dire after all.

Now that we see that health care reform is not going to bring price caps or socialization of medicine, we are beginning to see some real expansion in the drug stocks, including Merck (MRK) (Cramer's Take), Bristol-Myers (BMY) (Cramer's Take) and Lilly (LLY) (Cramer's Take). But there is one drug stock that is continually met with skepticism -- Sanofi Aventis (SNY) (Cramer's Take), the French vaccine and pharmaceutical maker run by Christian Viehbacher. The resistance is obvious, as his biggest two drugs are coming off patent very soon, and his hope is that by 2013 the company might again reach 2008 levels.

Sounds like there's no reason to buy this one. Sounds like its 4% dividend isn't safe.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says it's not too late to get on board these rocket ships.

During the great narrow bull market that was 2006-2007, anyone who hitched a ride on any bulk or oil carrier, any DryShips (DRYS) (Cramer's Take) or Diana (DSX) (Cramer's Take), or any Frontline (FRO) (Cramer's Take) or Nordic American Tanker (NAT) (Cramer's Take), or anyone who bought anything ag-related -- Deere (DE) (Cramer's Take), Monsanto (MON) (Cramer's Take), Potash (POT) (Cramer's Take) -- looked like a genius.

Beginning midyear last year, you looked like a moron.

Analyst upgrades:

• Bernstein upgraded General Electric (NYSE: GE) to Outperform from Market Perform Thursday after the close. The firm sees an improved risk/reward on the stock and raised its price target to $19 from $18.
• Bernstein also upgraded Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Outperform from Market Perform as it believes sales growth and margin expansion expectations are too low. The firm raised its target on shares to $160 from $125.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded CBS (NYSE: CBS) to Neutral from Underweight following the company's Q3 results and raised its target on shares to $13 from $12.
• JPMorgan upgraded Macy's (NYSE: M) to Overweight from Neutral to reflect the company's improving comps. The firm has a $23 target on the stock.
• Ansys (NASDAQ: ANSS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
• Travelers (NYSE: TRV) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Air Methods (NASDAQ: AIRM) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.

Analyst upgrades:

• American Express (NYSE:AXP) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at FBR Capital, as the firm sees limited near-term downside in the stock. The firm raised its target price on the shares to $37 from $25.
  
• RBC Capital upgraded Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL) to Outperform from Sector Perform. Target to $44 from $34. UBS upgraded Nestle on expectations the company will begin returning cash to shareholders via buybacks and dividends.
  
• Piper Jaffray raised Dicks Sporting (NYSE:DKS) to Neutral from Underweight following positive channel checks and raised its target on the shares to $28 from $18.
  
• Sohu.com (NASDAQ:SOHU) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell by Pali Capital.
  
• Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was raised to Buy from Hold by Natixis.
  
• Sunpower (NASDAQ:SPWRA) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Macquarie.
• China Automotive (NASDAQ:CAAS) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Merriman.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says it's great to see stocks go up, but discipline remains paramount.

Can you weary of a market going higher? Can you be as exhausted of the rally as you are of a selloff? Sometimes that's how I feel when I look at my bases for stocks I own and where they are now and realize the impossibility of reaching for even the best names. It feels like what happens when you bought low, and then it turned out that things could go much lower. You feel like you should sell, but then the stocks go much higher and you get left behind.

This is a time when discipline has failed people. It is when the market is most electric and exciting and people just figure, "What the heck? I will hold on to that Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) (Cramer's Take) or Deere (NYSE: DE) (Cramer's Take) or Chesapeake (NYSE: CHK) (Cramer's Take) or Devon (DVN) (Cramer's Take) ... and why not? It hasn't hurt me."

Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect upcoming catalysts and the company's opportunity in subsalt. FBR raised its target on shares to $60 from $50.
• Citigroup upgraded Marvel (NYSE: MVL) to Hold from Sell on expectations the acquisition by Disney (NYSE: DIS) will close. The firm raised its target on shares to $50 from $31.
• JPMorgan upgraded Cubic (NYSE: CUB) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations the company will benefit from the Vix ERG acquisition and increased sales visibility. The firm raised its target on shares to $43 from $38.
• Siemens (NYSE: SI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.
• Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
• Thompson Creek (NYSE: TC) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.

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

• Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) strong Q2 results beat expectations due to rising same-store sales.
• Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) Q3 earnings topped low expectations and revenue declined.
• Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI) posted better-than-expected Q3 results but shares fell on weaker margins.
• Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) CEO said its new advertising efforts will boost sales over the long run.
• Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) had a better-than-expected Q2 profit but same-store sales fell.
• BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (NYSE: BJ) reported solid Q2 numbers and raised its full-year guidance.

Earlier this morning, Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) reported third-quarter earnings that dropped 27% as a result of falling sales during the past quarter. The farming equipment firm reported quarterly earnings of 99 cents per share, easily topping the consensus estimate of 57 cents per share.

While the results crushed the Street's estimate, it fell short of DE's year-ago performance. Quarterly revenue fell 24% compared to a year ago to $5.89 billion -- which again easily bested the consensus estimate for $5.25 billion.

Earnings season is winding down, but there is still some excitement left for earnings-confessional spectators. Up tomorrow ahead of the opening bell is Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE), manufacturer of agricultural machinery.

Analysts are expecting per-share results of 57 cents, which represents a drop of 57% from the $1.32 banked in the year-earlier period. Year-over-year quarterly revenue growth, however, has not endured quite as dramatic a fall, slipping 16.7%.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says even without top-line growth, next quarter should amaze as we see the full benefits of big layoffs.

People are way too worried that we won't see top-line growth. The great earnings numbers that we have seen are being dismissed repeatedly because -- with the exception of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) (Cramer's Take) -- they aren't being driven by sales, just margins. I say if you are waiting for top line, forget it. Not in this rally. Not going to happen. Doesn't mean a thing.

Here's the deal. Companies have fired and fired and fired people again and again and we have only seen a few months -- the last two of this quarter -- of impact in the cuts while we have seen myriad charges. Next quarter, even if there is no top-line growth, should be amazing as we see the full benefits of the firings. We could be looking at gigantic earnings per share without any growth because no one is hiring. In fact, they are still laying off.

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

• Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) beat profit expectations as revenue and same-store sales both increased.
• Aruba Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN) received an analyst's upgrade following its Q3 report.
• Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE) reported better-than-expected Q1 expectations as revenue surged.
• Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) higher Q2 earnings beat expectations and sent shares upward.
• Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) reported better-than-expected Q3 earnings, sending shares higher.