While all eyes are focused on the takeover of AIG, one of my favorite stocks, Monsanto (MON), just raised estimates. The company now sees earnings for fiscal 2008 coming in at $3.58 to $3.60 a share, up from a prior forecast of about $3.37 a share.

"We continue to see strong adoption of our branded seed products, growing use of our trait technologies globally and remain focused on introducing new game-changing technologies for farmers" Chief Financial Officer Terry Crews said in a statement.

Monsanto expects its seeds and genomics segment to generate more than $3.8 billion in gross profits for fiscal 2008, while its Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides businesses are on track for more than $1.9 billion in gross profits.

BB&T Capital Markets analyst Frank Mitsch upgraded Monsanto to "buy" from "hold," citing recent weakness in the stock, which had traded above $145 just three months ago.

Monsanto rose as high as $113.98 on Tuesday, before closing up $7.93, or 7.55 percent, at $112.97 on the New York Stock Exchange.

St Louis-based Monsanto also raised its fiscal 2008 free cash flow outlook to about $750 million, compared with a prior forecast of about $550 million.

The improved outlook is driven by higher collections from accounts receivable and customer prepayments, the company said in a statement.

Monsanto is a strong buy.