Today the company priced a secondary offering of 8 million units at $55.28/common unit, a discount of about 3.5% to last night’s closing price of $57.29/common unit. The offering’s underwriters have an over-allotment option for 1.2 million additional shares. Morgan Stanley, BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citigroup, UBS Investment Bank and Wells Fargo Securities are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering.

On Monday the company announced that it would acquire Keystone Midstream Services LLC for $512 million. Keystone’s operations in the Marcellus shale play are owned by a consortium including Rex Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: REXX). MarkWest also announced last week it had signed a new gas processing deal with Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) that would involve expanding MarkWest’s capacity in the Marcellus shale play by about 60%.

While today’s secondary offering price is battering the company’s common unit price, it’s worth remembering that both the dilution and the lower price have no impact on the limited partnership’s ability to pay its quarterly distributions. The company’s long-term contracts are based on fixed prices that virtually guarantee that distributions will be paid. On Monday, MarkWest paid $0.79/common unit in distributions, and even with the increased demand for capital, the company expects distributable cash flow to range from $440-$500 million for the fiscal year. Distributable cash flow in the first quarter totaled $81.1 million, yielding a jump in distributions of nearly 18%.

MarkWest’s common units are taking a beating today though, down -4.3% at $54.82 in a 52-week range of $39.00-$61.60.

Paul Ausick

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg begins the company’s IPO road show. (Reuters)

Comscore says people spent more time on Facebook via mobile devices than on PCs during March. (Reuters)

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) CEO Scott Thompson issues an apology to employees over a resume misstatement scandal as its board meets to determine his fate. (Reuters)

Gasoline prices fall for the fifth-consecutive week. (WSJ)

The political turmoil in Greece threatens to break its bailout agreement with Europe. (WSJ)

Walt Disney’s (NYSE: DIS) ABC News and Univision to start a 24-hour news channel broadcast in English. (WSJ)

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) stock is hurt as its delays launching important games. (WSJ)

The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan says it is opposed to Sprint-Nextel (NYSE: S) CEO Dan Hesse’s reelection to the board of the telecom firm. (WSJ)

Lenovo plans to develop products other than PCs. (WSJ)

A court says that Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android software violates Oracle’s (NASDAQ: ORCL) IP, but the financial damages likely will be light. (WSJ)

Regulators probably will approve a plan by Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) to drill 3,700 natural-gas wells in eastern Utah. (WSJ)

The Fed says consumer borrowing rose 10.2% in March. (WSJ)

Hollande of France and Merkel of Germany will meet to talk about the future of the eurozone. (WSJ)

The FAA will delay plans to upgrade fuel tanks on many airline planes. (WSJ)

A new wave of start-ups works on programs to upload personal videos to smartphones. (WSJ)

Spain will begin a new program to help the balance sheets of its troubled banks. (WSJ)

High-yield bond yields hit record lows. (WSJ)

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) to sell high-end fashion products. (NYT)

The sales of used SUVs remain good as people move to more fuel-efficient new cars. (NYT)

Scientists begin to look at whether airline seats are strong enough for some heavy passengers. (NYT)

A failure of Greek parties to form a coalition may lead to a new round of elections. (FT)

Spain will have to spend billions of dollars to rescue weak banks. (FT)

Iran will take yuan as payment for oil. (FT)

A credit rating agency downgrade of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) would prompt it to increase its collateral sharply. (FT)

Antitrust investigations against Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) in Europe expand. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Shell is paying a 95.6% premium to the closing price on January 4th, the date on which Cove announced that the company would be sold. Thailand’s PTTEP PLC had topped Shell’s original bid for Cove with a bid of $1.8 billion, the same amount Shell has finally agreed to pay for Cove. PTTEP has indicated only that it is considering its options.

Under the terms of the deal, Cove may seek other bids, but must pay a break-up fee of about $18 million should it choose to accept one.

Paul Ausick

BP received $100 million in a first payment, with the remaining $300 million plus a potential $10 million due at the time the sale closes, now expected by the end of this year.

The company also announced today that it had negotiated leases on about 84,000 acres in the Utica shale play in Ohio. The deal was negotiated between BP and a group representing landowners in the Ohio Valley. Terms of the deal are confidential, but BP said that it needs to “execute” an agreement with each landowner.

BP is the latest major producer to enter the Utica play. Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK), Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC), and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) are among the other exploration and production companies active in the region.

BP’s shares are down about -2% today, at $45.30 in a 52-week range of $33.62-$48.34.

Paul Ausick

In its report Moody’s noted:

Anadarko’s Baa3 ratings are supported by its proved reserve and production scale that is among the largest of all independent exploration and production (E&P) companies and comparable to Baa1 and A3 rated peers. The company’s credit profile benefits from having 32% of its production from oil and 11% from natural gas liquids that support its cash flows in this weak natural gas price environment. The asset base also has good basin diversity in the US along with international diversification provided through working interests in numerous major offshore oil and gas developments.

Anadarko continues to be exposed to liabilities related to the Macondo well explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. But Moody’s believes the risk is manageable given the company’s cash and revolving credit availability of about $4.8 billion.

Anadarko’s shares are up about 1.3% at $79.23 in a 52-week range of $57.11-$88.70.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 16 points to 13,194.10(0.12%), the NASDAQ rose less than 1 point (0.03%) to 3,040.73, and the S&P 500 fell -0.12% or about 2 points to 1,394.28.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) maintained as ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) cut to ‘market perform’ at BMO; Vodafone Group plc (NASDAQ: VOD) cut to ‘underperform’ at BNP Paribus; Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) maintained as ‘outperform’ but estimates lowered at Credit Suisse; and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) raised to ‘buy’ at Stifel Nicolaus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE: ES) is up 2% at $4.54; FXCM Inc. (NYSE: FXCM) is up 10% at $11.55; Global Ship Lease Inc. (NYSE: GSL) is down -7.3% at $3.18; Marcus Corp. (NYSE: MCS) is down -1.5% at $12.31; and Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ANAC) is up 2.5% at $5.73.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Helios & Matheson Information Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: HMNY) is up more than 87% at $5.33 after posting a new 52-week high of $7.00 earlier today. The business software company posted a surprise profit for fiscal 2011.

Endocyte Inc. (NASDAQ: ECYT) is up nearly 58% at $5.87. The drug maker posted better-than-expected quarterly and annual results last night.

SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SCLN) is up about 22% at $6.39 after posting a new 52-week high of $6.97 earlier. The biopharmaceutical company beat estimates and provided a strong outlook for 2012.

Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. (NASDAQ: PSUN) is down nearly -18% at $2.06. The apparel maker posted a larger than expected loss last night. More coverage here.

Guidewire Software Inc. (NYSE: GWRE) is up more than 17% at $30.09 after posting a new 52-week high of $32.79 earlier today. The business software company announced a new contract this morning.

NuPathe Inc. (NASDAQ: PATH) is up nearly 20% at $3.91. The biotechnology company’s transdermal patch for migraine sufferers got a strong review from a financial web site today.

Federal Signal Corp. (NYSE: FSS) is up more than 22% at $5.61. The specialty truck maker posted better-than-expected revenues this morning.

Sterling Construction Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: STRL) is down more than -16% at $8.58 after posting a new 52-week low of $8.57 earlier today. The construction firm posted an unexpectedly weak earnings report this morning.

Stay tuned for Thursday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – New US unemployment benefits claims
• 8:30 a.m. – Producer price index
• 8:30 a.m. – Empire State manufacturing index
• 9:00 a.m. – Treasury International Capital (TIC) report
• 10:00 a.m. – Philadelphia Fed survey
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
• 4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply

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Paul Ausick

AGL Resources, Inc. (NYSE: GAS) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Alcatel-Lucent SA (NYSE: ALU) Raised to Outperform at BMO.

America Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NASDAQ: ADP) Maintained Buy with $60 target at Argus.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) Maintained Outperform but lowered estimates at Credit Suisse.

Crown Castle International (NYSE: CCI) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Maintained Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Genuine Parts Co. (NYSE: GPC) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Health Management Associates Inc. (NYSE: HMA) Maintained Hold but cut estimates at Argus.

Juniper Networks Inc, (NYSE: JNPR) Cut to Market Perform at BMO.

Vodafone Group PLC (NYSE: VOD) Cut to Underperform at BNP Paribas.

ZAGG Inc. (NASDAQ: ZAGG) named value stock of the day at Zacks.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox.  We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers and more. Sign up in the box below.

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JON C. OGG

Japan may cut crude oil imports from Iran by 20%. (Reuters)

Poor results cause shares of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) to drop sharply. (Reuters)

The yen hits a seven-month low compared to the dollar. (Reuters)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon,com (NASDAQ: AMZN), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and others in the smartphone app download business sign a deal to protect customer privacy. (Reuters)

MF Global pressed to move cash just days before its collapse. (WSJ)

Google agrees to put a “no track” option in its browser to protect user privacy. (WSJ)

A new report shows that China must cut back the power of state-owned businesses or face economic problems. (WSJ)

The SEC may set provisions to regulate high-frequency traders. (WSJ)

Deutsche Telekom says results will be hurt by a poor economy and losses of customers in the U.S. (WSJ)

Global factors push up gas prices despite U.S. consumption at an 11-year low. (WSJ)

A judge says BP (NYSE: BP) and Anadarko (NYSE: APC) can face civil suits under the Clean Water Act. (WSJ)

State attorneys general attack Google’s privacy policy. (WSJ)

G20 nations plan to press European nations to increase bailout funds. (WSJ)

Fuller Brush files for Chapter 11. (WSJ)

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) tells EU regulators that Google and Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) are using patents to try to control the smartphone industry. (WSJ)

Google applies to provide Kansas City, Mo., with video service, which would allow it to compete with cable. (WSJ)

The FDA says 14 Chinese companies have supplied tainted material for the manufacture of blood thinner Heparin. (WSJ)

Air leasing company AerCap (NYSE: AER) says the market is flooded with too many planes from Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Airbus. (WSJ)

T-Mobile objects to a Verizon (NYSE: VZ) plan to spend $3.9 billion for cable TV air wave spectrum. (WSJ)

The White House will suggest rules for online privacy. (NYT)

Germany does not want to add to the 500 billion euro European Stability Mechanism. (FT)

U.S. prime money funds increase their exposure to eurozone paper. (FT)

Oil prices rise to a record high in sterling terms. (FT)

Germany business confidence hits a seven-month high in February. (Bloomberg)

A joint venture of General Motors (NYSE: GM) and PSA Peugeot Citroën in Europe will not solve the problem that each loses money. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Natural gas has been stuck at around $2.50/thousand cubic feet for some time now, but have been ticking up recently as production is being slowed — primarily in an effort to pump up prices — while warm winter weather is cutting demand for heating and electricity demand is also falling.

We’ve looked at several oil & gas companies, including the three US-based supermajors and a number of independents with market caps above $10 billion: Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Range Resources Inc. (NYSE: RRC), Tesoro Corp. (NYSE: TSO), Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD); Anadarko Petroleum Co. (NYSE: APC), Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK), Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA), and Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY). We’ve looked at the past year’s stock price performance, current year performance, and compared that with consensus target prices as reported by Thomson Reuters in an effort to find the stocks we think will be top performers in 2012.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) has a consensus price target of $95, up from $92 at the end of December, and a Friday closing price of $85.62, for a potential upside of about 11.3%. Crude oil price hikes provide substantial benefits to Exxon’s shares, and those price hikes could add $10-$20/barrel to the company’s revenues in the coming year. Exxon is also the largest US natural gas producer, which isn’t helping it much these days. Over the past 12 months, Exxon’s shares have gained just 1.7%

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) has a consensus price target of $124.50, up $2 since the end of December, and a current price of around $106.66, for a potential upside of about 16.8%. Of the three supermajors, Chevron’s potential gain is the largest, it’s share price gain of nearly 10% in the past year is the largest, and its dividend yield of 3.1% is second only to Conoco’s 3.6% among the three integrated giants. Chevron shares gained nearly 10% in 2011, though they are essentially flat since the beginning of this year.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) has a consensus price target of $81.32, marginally lower than its December price, and a current price around $73.36, for a potential upside of about 10.8%. Conoco shares have lost nearly -3% of their value in the past year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has gained about 0.75%.

Range Resources Inc. (NYSE: RRC) has a consensus price target of $73.50, down $3 from its target in December, and a current price around $65.72, for a potential upside of about 12.4%. Year to day Range shares are up about 5.5%, but over the past 12 months the stock gained 34%. And even though it trades at about 56x earnings, Range is often mentioned as a takeover target from one of the supers or another mining company that wants to diversify into energy. Range holds about 800,000 leased acres in the Marcellus shale play, which is located close to the massive northeast US market.

Tesoro Corp. (NYSE: TSO) has a consensus price target of $32, $4 higher than its December price, and a current price of $27.82, for a potential upside of about 14.3%. Tesoro’s share price gained about 7.75% in the past 12 months, but the price is up more than 19% since the beginning of the year. As the Brent/WTI differential widens, Tesoro’s profits will grow. The company has the only refinery in North Dakota, and the differential between Brent and Bakken oil is even more than double the WTI/Brent spread.

The new gathering system will serve the Keathley Canyon area and serve producers Anadarko Petroleum Co. (NYSE: APC), Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA), Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), Eni SpA (NYSE: E), Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE: PBR), and Plains Exploration & Production Co. (NYSE: PXP). Keathley Canyon was the site of the first major oil discovery in the US Gulf once drilling was reopened following the Macondo well explosion in April 2010 that killed 11 workers on a rig operated by BP plc (NYSE: BP). Exxon, which made the discovery, has estimated the resource at 700 million barrels.

The joint venture, called the Southeast Keathley Canyon Pipeline Co. LLC (SEKCO), plans to build an 18-inch pipeline to transport 115,000 barrels/day of crude to a floating production platform and connect to Enterprise’s Poseidon pipeline system to move the oil onshore. The southeast portion of Keathley Canyon is estimated to hold about 300 million barrels of reserves.

In related transactions, Genesis is acquiring a 28% stake in the Poseidon pipeline system from Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO), as well as a 29% stake in the Odyssey pipeline system which is majority owned and operated by Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) and a 23% stake in the Eugene Island pipeline system owned by a group including Exxon, Shell, Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP). Genesis is paying about $206 million for these three acquisitions, which includes about $26 million for the value of the crude already in the pipelines. The company used its revolving credit facility to finance the purchases.

The SEKCO pipeline system is expected to be in service by mid-2014.

Paul Ausick