Shares of Thomas & Betts are up nearly 23% in early trading this morning on a $3.9 billion buyout offer from ABB Ltd. (NYSE: ABB). Nearly 12 million shares have been traded so far today, compared with a 3-month daily average of about 330,000.

Another big winner this morning has been Pep Boys, also up about 23% following a $1 billion buyout from private equity firm Gores Group. More than 11 million shares have traded this morning, compared with a 3-month daily average of around 500,000. More coverage here.

Amylin up about 19% on news that its new diabetes drug has gained regulatory approval. Nearly 12 million shares have traded this morning, compared with a 3-month daily average of about 2.3 million.

GTX is up about 38% at $5.15 on nearly 2.5 million shares traded compared with a daily average of about 188,000. The drug maker’s shares have been given a new price target of $19/share from Citigroup. We have more coverage here.

Gannett is down more than -7% at $14.14, with nearly 4.6 million shares traded this morning, compared with a 3-month daily average of about 4 million shares. The newspaper publisher reported a -33% drop in quarterly profit and newspaper ad revenue fell -7.1%.

Paul Ausick

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) Cut to Market Perform at Leerink Swann.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) Cut estimates at Credit Suisse.
The Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Reiterated Neutral with $59 target at Credit Suisse.
Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Spirit AeroSystems Holdings (NYSE: SPR) Added to US 1 List at BofA/ML.
Teekay Corporation (NYSE: TK) Cut estimates at Credit Suisse.
Tower Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWGP) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Also read the top analyst calls of the last week.

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Inflation in China drops in October. (Reuters)

Olympus investment losses may have gone above $1 billion. (Reuters)

Silvio Berlusconi leaves as prime minister of Italy. (Reuters)

Investors will focus on General Motors’ (NYSE: GM) $20 billion unfunded pension liability as it releases earnings. (Reuters)

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Aol (NYSE: AOL) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) set a new advertising sales partnership. (Reuters)

Samsung will invest nearly $34 billion in R&D next year. (Reuters)

An Informa study for the Wireless Broadband Alliance says Wi-Fi hot spots will grow by four times by 2015. (Reuters)

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) releases new products for tablet PCs. (Reuters)

Yelp hires banks to take it public. (Reuters)

Carlyle Group sharply cuts fees as it tries to raise money for a $$2.3 billion real estate fund. (WSJ)

Investors aggressively sell Italian bonds. (WSJ)

Foreign markets help AB Inbev’s (NYSE: BUD) earnings. (WSJ)

Vivendi makes a bid for EMI. (WSJ)

Fannie Mae wants another $7.8 billion from the government. (WSJ)

The number of U.S. job openings rose to 3.4 million in September from 3.1 million in August. (WSJ)

President Obama approves very limited off-shore drilling. (WSJ)

The State Department may agree to move the Canada-to-U.S. pipeline around a section of Nebraska. (WSJ)

Amylin (NASDAQ: AMLN) and Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) kill their diabetes drug partnership. (WSJ)

Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) cuts 750 jobs. (WSJ)

Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) will give the U.S. names of clients who may have evaded taxes. (WSJ)

The FCC wants to expand low-income family access to high-speed internet. (NYT)

The head of HSBC (NYSE: HBC) says Asia faces a shortage of available credit. (FT)

Douglas A. McIntyre

We had many key analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including calls in shares of Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) and Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON).  The retail sector did not follow the news,  due to some fears that the holiday season is not going to be as strong as many expected.  Speaking of analyst calls and projections, there are still some extremely lofty upside price targets out there in the automotive sector.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: (only show late-day percent change and price): AT&T (NYSE: T) down about -0.1% at $28.97, Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS) down nearly -17% at $14.21; Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) down -25%, at $16.46; Phillip Morris International, Inc. (NYSE: PM) up more than 4%, at $68.77; Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) up more than 6%, at $6.50; and  Select Comfort Corporation (NASDAQ: SCSS) up more than 20%, at $19.38.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD jumped more than 9.5%, to $24.69, following a better than expected earnings report after markets closed last night.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) rose nearly 13%, to $11.56, after getting approval for wider use of its diabetes drug and posting a smaller than expected third-quarter loss.

Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR) shares are up nearly 13% as well, to $1.57, probably as a result of indications that its spectrum licenses could get some competitive bids.

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) is up nearly 7%, to $62.06, after reporting a 33% rise in income for the third quarter.

After a busy week of economic data, there are no major market moving economic reports due Friday morning.  Look for Fed-head speeches on Friday from Kocherlakota, Fisher, and Yellen throughout the day.  Most importantly, watch for more news out of Europe on just how much the Europeans are going to throw into their European Financial Stability Fund (Europe’s mini-me version of the TARP).

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It appears as though Wall Street favors Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) in the large cap biotech stocks over its peers with more than 18% implied upside.  Other smaller mid-cap biotechs with a high degree of expected upside were Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) of 32%, ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA) of 50%, and Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ: INCY) of over 60%.

Here is the full report on expected upside on these and more than a dozen other large-cap and mid-cap biotech stocks.

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) is up again, a day after buyout rumors have circulated for nearly a 100% premium.  We would caution that analysts still have close to the same price target on their own as the reported buyout price target.

Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) is also still trying to get past its implosion after disappointing Provenge sales.  It has even gone as far as cutting its headcount.  Analysts still see big upside of well above 40% but the entire analyst bias is now very cautious.

Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ: INCY) had a very rough July to August period and that analyst upside may be phantom upside that has not yet adjusted for the price drops of the recent past.  We have an early December decision date from the FDA for its myelofibrosis treatment.

As far as how these all compares to the key ETFs, the following should be considered:

iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (NASDAQ: IBB) up 0.5% at $96.50 and the 52-week range is $83.96 to $110.02. Total assets under management are approximately $1.26 billion.

SPDR S&P Biotech (NYSE: XBI) up 0.5% at $63.79 and the 52-week range is $54.71 to $75.86. Total assets under management are approximately $500 million.

Biotech HOLDRs (NYSE: BBH) are up 0.2% on extremely thin volume and the 52-week range is $88.01 to $114.92.  Total assets under management are approximately $240 million.

JON C. OGG

AmyLin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AMLN) is up 7.22% premarket to $14.70, relative to a 52-week range of $9.51-$22.09. The company’s type 2 Diabetes treatment appears to be performing well in testing.

ASML Holding N.V. (ASML) is down 1.3% premarket to $38.15, relative to a 52-week range of $24.64-$45.92.

Ixia (NASDAQ: IXIA) is down nearly 20% premarket to $10.45, relative to a 52-week range of $8.91-$19.10. The company lowered 2Q forecasts well below expectations.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AMLN) is up 12.8% before market open to $12.70, relative to a 52-week range of $9.51-$22.88. The European Medicines Agency is supporting the company’s new diabetes drug.

Bronco Drilling Company (NASDAQ: BRNC) is up 6.83% premarket to $11.11, relative to a 52-week range of $3.25-$11.63. The company was acquired by Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) for $11 per share.

Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is down on moderate trading nearly $35 (6%) this morning to $544.44, relative to a 52-week range of $433.63-$642.96. The drop, which represents a massive loss in market capitalization, comes after the search engine company announced earnings that fell short of expectations.

Infosys Technologies Limited (NASDAQ: INFY) is down nearly 10% premarket on moderate volume to $65.95, relative to a 52-week range of $53.28-$77.92. The company reported promising fiscal year guidance for 2011 and 2012.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AMLN) is down more than 25% premarket on heavy volume to $11.12, relative to a 52-week range of $9.51-$24.21. A diabetes drug the company was working on in partnership failed to meet phase II primary endpoints.

Biosante Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BPAX) is up 17% premarket to $2.34, relative to a 52-week range of $1.29-$2.53. The pharmaceutical company’s pancreatic cancer vaccine has shown promising results in phase II clinical trials.

JA Solar Holdings Co, Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) is up 3% to $7.43, relative to a 52-week range of $4.22-$10.24. The company reported it has closed a supply deal with a major German solar company.

AFLAC Inc. (NYSE: AFL) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) Started as Sell at Goldman Sachs.
General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE: IPI) Raised to Neutral at BofA/ML.
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) Raised to Buy at Sterne Agee.
The Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) Started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) Started as Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
Aeropostale, Inc. (NYSE: ARO) Started as Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late Tuesday call).
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) Started as Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) Raised to Outperform at Leerink Swann.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) Raised to Overweight at HSBC.
Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) Started as Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (NYSE: KKR) Started as Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Limited Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LTD) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG