Deutsche Bank this morning upgraded blue-chip soda sultan Coca-Cola (KO: sentiment, chart, options) to "buy" from "hold," upwardly revising its price target to $65 from $64. The broker called KO the best large-cap beverage pick (sorry, Pepsi), and stated that the firm's successes overseas have been overshadowed by domestic bottler struggles and a weak dollar hurting earnings. The analyst considers about 80% of Coke's portfolio to be "humming," and deemed now "the time to get reacquainted with the real thing: steady earnings, high cash flow, and high return on investment capital."

Despite the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) falling more than 50 points into the red in early trading, KO shares have managed to tack on roughly $1.75, or 3.05%, to trade just north of the 57.50 level. The stock could certainly use a boost, as it's fallen as much as 15% since hitting an annual high of $65.59 in early 2008. What's more, in May, the security closed beneath long-term support at its 10-month moving average for the first time in more than 2 years.

Regardless of its intermediate-term trek lower, the Deutsche Bank analyst today seems to be late to KO's bull party. According to Zacks, 8 out of 10 ranking analysts rate the equity a "buy" or better, while Thomson Financial reports that the average 12-month price target on the shares is $67.36 above even the stock's aforementioned annual high. Option players are also apparently confident in the beverage behemoth's rebound, as KO's SOIR of 0.55 indicates that near-term option speculators have been more optimistic toward the security only 30% of the time during the past year.