Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer; named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
AU Optronics Corporation (NYSE: AUO) targets raised by Nomura and also by Credit Suisse.
A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) Cut to Sell at Wunderlich.
Elan Corp. (NYSE: ELN) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) Cut to Hold at S&P Capital IQ.
Ingersoll-Rand plc (NYSE: IR) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Montpelier Re Holdings (NYSE: MRH) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) Resumed as Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Post Holdings Inc. (NYSE: POST) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Reiterated Hold with $15 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

See the new high $665 price target on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) from this morning.

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JON C. OGG

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (NASDAQ: AMCC) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late-Tuesday).
AU Optronics Corp. (NYSE: AUO) Cut to Underweight at Barclays.
Clean Energy Fuels Corporation (NASDAQ: CLNE) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) Reiterated Buy with $30 target at Argus.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
HollyFrontier Corporation (NYSE: HFC) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MHP) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Montpelier Re Holdings (NYSE: MRH) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX) Started as Neutral at JPMorgan.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA) Started as Buy with $58 target at Argus.
United Continental Holdings (NYSE: UAL) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

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JON C. OGG

The Active Network, Inc. (NYSE: ACTV) Started as Buy at BofA/ML; Started as Buy at Citigroup.
AU Optronics Corp. (NYSE: AUO) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) dropped from Underperform at BofA/ML; Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CNK) Cut to Neutral at Janney.
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) Raised to Outperform with $6 target at Credit Suisse.
Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF) Reinstated Buy with $118 target at BofA/ML.
Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Freescale Semiconductor Inc. (NYSE: FSL) Started as Buy at Citigroup; Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) Cut to Sell at Janney Capital.
SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Reiterated Buy but raised target to $45 at Argus.
Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) Called out as “Overvalued” in the weekend Barron’s.
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) called top Value at Zacks.
Yandex N. V. (NASDAQ: YNDX) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley; Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

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JON C. OGG

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD) Cut to Market Perform at JMP Securities.
Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
China Hydroelectric Corp. (NYSE: CHC) Started as Buy at Roth Capital.
Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Ctrip.com International (NASDAQ: CTRP) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA) Raised to Outperform at Cowen.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
GameStop Corporation (NYSE: GME) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) Cut to Hold at Citi; Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Perfect World Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: PWRD) Cut to Sell at Citi; Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
SAVVIS Inc. (NASDAQ: SVVS) Raised to Buy at Kaufman Bros.
Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) Maintain Underperform but Cut target to $55 at Credit Suisse.
Sina Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Sterling Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBIB) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.

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JON C. OGG

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
AU Optronics (NYSE: AUO) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Raised to Buy at Kaufman Bros.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Cut to Neutral at Macquarie.
Kellogg Inc. (NYSE: K) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) Raised to Buy at Needham.
Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
ProLogis (NYSE: PLD) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Strayer Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: STRA) Cut to Neutral at Baird.

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JON C. OGG

In addition to The Unusual Suspects, we have several key issues to consider.  On Friday, there were many large cap stocks hitting 52-week lows and many of these looked and felt counter-intuitive on the surface.  There were also billions of dollars in new share buyback plans announced this last week on top of many buyback updates and expansions.

Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) has been battered along with all for-profit education stocks due to reimbursement rate, recruiting tactics, post-graduate expectation reality checks, student loan default rates and more.  Apollo has also experienced SEC issues.  Despite an Asensio report slamming it Friday, Apollo actually closed up on a down day Friday and the company appears to have passed the criteria set in the initial regulatory tests.  This was one of the 5 options trades in the sector we wrote about for Investorplace.com as outlier bets for potential exponential returns (low premiums for out of the money calls) if the regulatory pressure eases even a fraction that could lead to an upside surge in share prices.

AU Optronics Corp (NYSE: AUO) is getting press it does not want.  The Taiwanese maker of thin film LCDs had its CEO indicted over price fixing in June, but this last week CEO Lai-Juh Chen was ordered to surrender his passport this week so he cannot leave the country.  At $9.02, the ADRs 52-week trading range is $8.68 to $13.30.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) reports earnings this coming Tuesday.  Shares were at $12.84 before it put itself up for sale, and they popped to $15.31 the next day in early August.  The high was $16.74 since then but shares closed at $15.53 on Friday. A proxy situation and earnings will make the sale process a key focus here this coming week.  With a $914 million market cap and a 52-week trading range of $11.89 to $25.07, the big question comes down to what it can fetch or if it can fetch a bid.  RadioShack ran into troubles in selling its brick and mortar retail system, so the question is if a book brick and mortar player can compete against Amazon and Apple in the future.

BHP Billiton plc (NYSE: BHP) reports earnings on Wednesday.  The company’s offer for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) is what everyone will be focusing on.  The belief by many is that the now hostile tender will need to to $160 per share or higher.  The CEO’s payday will be one of the larger paydays in history if this occurs.  Investors will be looking very closely for the merger details and US investors are unlikely to pay attention to BHP’s actual earnings report.

BP plc (NYSE: BP) may have been out of the spotlight over the last three weeks now that its top-kill well blockage seems to have worked.  This coming Wednesday it may be in the news again as the President’s commission on the BP oil spill meets.  At $36.40, BP shares are down over 10% from the highs after recovery.

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CPIX) saw shares fall 8.8% in the after-hours session down to $5.49 on over 60,000 shares in the after-hours session.  This one fell because it disclosed that the FDA is extending the review period by three months of its liver drug candidate called Acetadote.  Average volume is only about 100,000 shares and the market cap was a mere $123 million.  The prior 52-week trading range was $5.51 to $17.24, so if this holds it will mark a new 52-week low.

Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV) is one to watch ahead as this was the newest common stock addition from Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett in the stock portfolio. Buffett bought a new position of 4.4 million shares of common stock during the second quarter and shares closed up over 3% week over week.  This one has now moved on to more investor radars and volume was lighter than you might have expected due to this being the slow days of August.  Berkshire’s full holdings are here.

Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) may be running out of time or shareholder patience.  This Sanofi-Aventis offer has remained on the table with what is effectively nothing but silence.  Henri Termeer may be running short on investor patience here, even if this is obvious stalling to see if competing bids will come.  The due diligence here is the big risk he is taking.  If a company decides that Genzyme has continuing manufacturing woes and if Sanofi gets impatient, Genzyme could be reminded that there is a 15% hot-air premium in the shares.  Reuters says the silence may indicate talks are taking place.  Investors better hope that stance is right.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAZZ) got crushed on Friday after the close.  It failed to win an FDA advisory panel backing for its fibromyalgia drug candidate.  Shares fell 28% to $7.05 versus a 52-week trading range of $6.01 to $13.95.  This one traded over 1 million shares in the after-hours on Friday so it will be very active on Monday.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was listed as the #1 pole position chart in IBD this weekend, for the second week in a row. The week before saw a 12% gain but the stock actually closed down this last week.  Shares closed at $129.96 versus $132.26 the Friday before and versus a high print this last week of $140.90.  We don’t really agree that this represents solid strength, although the market weakness was a part and IBD has a history of years and years here.

Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) has earnings on deck this coming Thursday and it recently trimmed its third quarter revenue range to $197 to $199 million versus prior guidance of $205 to $210 million. The company said its guidance reflects what it believes is customer uncertainty associated with Novell’s ongoing review of various alternatives to enhance stockholder value.  In short, that new hoped-for alternative buyout has not materially come about.  We predicted in May that the $5.75 buyout might need to be closer to $7.00 to secure the deal.  Shares are still at $5.81 and the 52-week trading range is $3.84 to $6.36.  One to watch for sure.

Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) is an ongoing stock to watch after the Intel-McAfee merger this week.  Symantec was in deep $%^& before the merger after it warned.  It just can’t ever get its act together.  Now there is a dual risk and opportunity ahead.  If Intel can convince PC makers that the McAfee bundle into hardware and into software is better than software alone, the Symantec could find its Norton anti-virus business getting ripped apart.  If Symantec can convince PC makers and device makers that it is now more important than ever to double-up on security providers then it has a huge opportunity.  The company’s history sort of, well it stinks.  This week’s gain was almost 12% to $13.80, which is the highest close since its $14.67 close before earnings and its earnings warning in late-July.

Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) went through its big breakup in June of 2007, but Standard & Poor’s endorsed it all over again.  S&P is readmitting Tyco back into the S&P 500 Index.  Shares closed up 5.3% at $38.70 on more than triple-normal trading volume with more than 19.9 million shares trading hands.  The date it will be added is after the close on August 26 and we expect heavy trading volume to continue as indexers have to add in shares.  There are still millions of shares that need to be purchased going into the S&P 500 Index addition.

Vermillion, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRML) was a top active trader alert we asked “How long can a trend last?” because there had been 13 straight days of losses and was at $11.80 when the mudslide started.  It closed up 1.7% at $6.03 on Friday.  If this trend continues, Vermillion will have to change names to “Vermin.”  One day is no victory, but that is a concerning chart that should attract both bears and bargain hunters ahead.  Volume is still very low, but this is a new battleground stock that we won’t assign any upside or downside targets to.

VocalTec Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CALL) has been on fire and we want to revisit this one since our first alert one month ago.  When we saw that VocalTec merged with the owner of MagicJack, we could not help but to recognize the potential here even though it went through a reverse stock split.  That jumped to roughly $15.00 on the closure of the merger and it has steadily climbed higher and higher.  Shares closed at $38.00, which is close to 150% appreciation.  It keeps rallying because the CEO has been given permission to increase ownership to over 25% and there is even a share buyback of $12 million.  The company’s own investor relations site links to NASDAQ, which now says that the market cap of the combined companies after the share issuance is $445.9 million based on 11.736 million shares.  This one now trades at a multiple of revenue guidance rather than a discount to revenue guidance.  We can’t call for a short sale but those who are sitting on big gains should at least consider taking the cost basis out of the trade here so that you can still have upside and you leave assured returns in the name.

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JON C. OGG

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
AU Optronics Corp. (NYSE: AUO) Cut to Hold at BNP Paribas.
Cowen Group Inc. (NASDAQ: COWN) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) Cut To Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) Raised to Outperform at BMO.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) Raised to Buy with $30 target at Janney.
Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: NUS) Started as Overweight at JPMOrgan.
SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Raised to Buy at Needham.

JON C. OGG

MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (NYSE:WFR) has announced two deals this week, on in M&A and one in a J-V.  Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) also took its chip-equipment prowess into being a supplier for the global solar power opportunity.

After all this is said and done, the solar sector claims that it can create 200,000 jobs.  Also, if these companies play their cards right we named several which could be big hidden winners of the oil spill from BP in the Gulf of Mexico.

As far as the joint venture announced today, the analyst at Lazard Capital Markets has reiterated his BUY rating (and whopping $29 target) on SunPower because of the benefits.  Lazard’s Sanjay Shrestha said the joint venture accelerates the cost reduction roadmap and also ramps up the benefits of scale (higher production at lower cost), while increasing SunPower’s balance sheet flexibility.

There is opportunity here.  The question comes down to whether or not the companies can drive down their costs of manufacturing each cell in a manner close to how fast solar panel prices are dropping around the world.  There are huge opportunities still present, but many will unfortunately be left in the dust.

SunPower’s “A” shares are up almost 20% at $12.89 on active trading today.  The company is one of the few profitable names with low valuations and that is still expected to post top-line and bottom-line growth from operations on the horizon.

JON C. OGG

Allegheny Tech (ATI) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Apollo Group (APOL) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
AU Optronics (AUO) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Barrick Gold (ABX) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Expeditors International (EXPD) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Halliburton (HAL) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
j2 Global (JCOM) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Nokia (NOK) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Vail Resorts (MTN) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.

Jon C. Ogg
April 21, 2009

• AU Optronics (NYSE: AUO) Raised to Overweight at HSBC.
• Core Labs (NYSE: CLB) Raised to Outperform at JPMorgan.
• LaBranche (NYSE: LAB) Raised to Buy from Sell at Goldman Sachs.
• SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
• Sohu.com (NASDAQ: SOHU) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.

Jon C. Ogg
January 14, 2009