Catch up on today's top five analyst upgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Rigel Pharmaceuticals (RIGL) upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan by analyst Anupam Rama, who sees high probabilities of success in the two Phase 3 trials of fostamatinib. The analyst said Rigel shares have 90%-150% upside on positive data versus 55% downside from current levels in the worst case scenario. 2. AMD (AMD) upgraded to Buy at Craig-Hallum with analyst Christian Schwab saying the company is on the cusp of a turnaround. He said that the company's better than seasonal Q1 computing and graphics execution and better than expected guidance is the proof it needed. The company was also upgraded at MKM Partners by analyst Ian Ing, who said that the announced China server joint venture with THATIC can become a serious server chip contender and dramatically increase the potential to take share in the chip market. 3. Norfolk Southern (NSC) upgraded to Buy at UBS by analyst Thomas Wadewitz, who said the strong Q1 results amid a challenging revenue environment show it can deliver on its restructuring/operating improvement program. Credit Suisse analysts led by Allison Landry also upgraded the company to Outperform, saying that the Q1 earnings beat sets the stage for significant upward earnings revisions. She has increased confidence in management's ability to bring down costs and believes the company will be able to hit its targeted sub-70% operating ratio in 2016. 4. Archer Daniels (ADM) upgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan with analyst Ann Duignan citing a more favorable environment for U.S. processing in Q2. 5. Jefferies analyst Douglas Mavrinac upgraded GasLog (GLOG) to Buy saying the company is well positioned for an improving LNG shipping market environment. He also upgraded Golar LNG (GLNG) due to its position for a near-term increase in global LNG shipping volumes as well as potentially stronger crude oil/LNG prices in 2017. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

In a regulatory filing, Archer Daniels-Midland disclosed that on April 19, the company and CFO Vikram Luthar entered into a transition agreement under which Luthar will resign effective September 30, 2024. Until such resignation date, Luthar will be available to assist the company and provide transitional support as needed, as a non-executive employee.

Ohio-based Ancora Holdings Group , which owns a large equity stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation updated shareholders on its campaign to elect seven unaffiliated and qualified candidates o the Company's 13-member Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 9 Vote on the BLUE Proxy Card to elect the entire Shareholder Slate at the Annual Meeting. "Fellow Shareholder, Ancora is a meaningful investor in Norfolk Southern. We're asking you to elect seven new members to Norfolk Southern's 13-person Board at the May 9th Annual Meeting. Given the scope of this ask, we committed at the outset of our campaign to provide you with the respect and transparency an owner deserves when considering a change to a majority of a board of directors. As our campaign enters its final weeks, we will fulfill this commitment by asking you to focus on substantive matters and ignore the fearmongering, spamming and eleventh-hour stunts that often seep into the last days of contested elections. Rather than inundate you, we will continue to ask that you focus on one defining question when making your ultimate voting decision: Do you want Norfolk Southern to have leadership with the experience and judgment to properly implement Precision Scheduled Railroading so the Company can finally achieve the service, safety and long-term value realized by every other publicly traded Class I rail? If the answer is "yes," this Annual Meeting represents your best opportunity to usher in the type of change that drove lasting turnarounds at rails such as Canadian Pacific and CSX. Our position is supported by three point..."

Deutsche Bank placed a "Catalyst Call: Buy" on shares of Union Pacific (UNP) as a short-term investment idea. With all the attention Norfolk Southern (NSC) is getting in recent months, it is easy to overlook developments at other railroads, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says Union Pacific is now the worst performing pail stock year-to-date. However, operating metrics "clearly show that UNP's renewed efforts on operations are gaining traction," contends Deutsche Bank. It keeps a Buy rating on the shares with a $266 price target.

Friday's total option volume of 56.7 million contracts resulted in net open interest growth of 6.01 million calls and 5.28 million puts. NVIDIA (NVDA), Tesla (TSLA), Apple (AAPL) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) saw the greatest growth. Top five new positions opened include 50k Lyft (LYFT) May-24 20 calls, 44k Energy Transfer (ET) 4/26 weekly 16.5 calls, 43k Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Sep-24 41 calls, 23k Tesla (TSLA) 4/26 weekly 162.5 calls and 21k Papa John's (PZZA) Jun-24 57.5 puts.