One advantage the leaders in the sector consistently seem to have is depth of research and the ability to acquire technologies they do not have. From breakthroughs in multiple sclerosis and oncology to stronger antibiotics to fight superbugs, the top stocks to buy at Merrill Lynch hold big promise for the future.

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) is the top name to buy at Merrill Lynch. They see more upside to consensus on current products, good long-term visibility, strong competitive position and heavy biologics exposure. Merrill Lynch has a $295 price target on the stock. The Thomson/First Call estimate is much lower at $228. The Merrill Lynch price target is the highest on Wall Street.

Celgene Corp.‘s (NASDAQ: CELG) stated goal is to double its sales by 2017, and in order to achieve that, it pursues a three-way strategy: expand Revlimid, its core product, into new indications; develop new blockbusters; and build its early stage pipeline through active dealmaking. Merrill Lynch has a $143 price objective, while the consensus is right in line at $142.50.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) recently announced that encouraging data on its sole marketed drug, Soliris, has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) for treating patients suffering from atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS). Merrill Lynch has a $123 target for the stock, and the consensus is at $120.

Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) recently announced positive results from the phase III DECISION study on Nexavar (sorafenib) tablets in patients suffering from locally advanced or metastatic radioactive iodine (RAI)-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer. Data revealed a 41% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death for patients receiving Nexavar, compared to patients under placebo. Merrill Lynch has a $110 price target. The consensus is at $110 as well.

Gilead Sciences Inc.‘s (NASDAQ: GILD) push to develop new oral drugs for hepatitis C continues to captivate investors as shares trade at about 26 times projected earnings over the next four quarters. Merrill Lynch has a $76 target, but the consensus target is lower at $65. A move to the Merrill Lynch target price would represent a 40% gain from current trading levels.

Trius Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: TSRX) is a top small cap name at many Wall Street firms to buy. The continual need of a newer and stronger form of antibiotic has sparked several biotechnology companies to develop drugs to combat MRSA, and Trius might be on to one that could be a multibillion dollar solution. Merrill Lynch has a $12 target, the same as the consensus target.

Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: OREX) is another small cap that is on the Merrill Lynch list of stocks to buy. One of the three players in the ongoing battle for a successful obesity drug. We recently wrote about positive clinical studies for the drugs. Merrill Lynch has $10 target for the stock, and the consensus estimate is $11.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) got on the biotechnology map with a blockbuster hepatitis C drug. The company should be able to get revenue growing again with its cystic fibrosis franchise. It already has one drug approved, but Kalydeco by itself is only appropriate for about 4% of cystic fibrosis patients. To have Celgene-type success, Vertex needs drugs in its pipeline that are being tested with Kalydeco to be a success. Merrill Lynch has an $84 target, and the consensus is higher at $92.

We have stressed for some time now that the market is toppy and needs a breather in order to continue to march higher. Investors looking at biopharmaceutical stocks to buy may want to edge some capital in and see if a correction does not occur. Any substantial move down would provide an opportune time to add larger positions of these top names.

The biotech analysts at PropThink always try to handicap the best and worst scenarios on the stocks they cover. PropThink is an intelligence service that delivers long and short trading ideas to investors in the health care and life sciences industries. Their focus is on identifying and analyzing technically complicated companies and equities that are grossly overvalued or undervalued.

Here are some current stocks the PropThink analysts are covering. Investors should remember that these names can be highly speculative and are not suitable for conservative portfolios.

AVEO Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AVEO) may be a micro-cap stock to buy. An advisory panel vote went against the company recently, but it may be a bottom-fishing candidate. Aveo is a developmental stage biotech company, with its leading product candidate designed to treat renal cancer. Seth Klarman’s Baupost Group hedge fund owned 4.9 million shares at the beginning of this year. The Thomson/First Call price target is $2.90.

Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) is a company with huge momentum. For its most recent quarter, Onyx delivered a doubling in revenue from the previous year to $145.5 million, with practically all the gains coming from its multiple myeloma drug Kyprolis. The consensus price target for the stock is $106.

Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) hit a new 52-week high this week. The company recently reported data from its ongoing phase III trial of apremilast this month, showing the drug successfully reduced psoriatic arthritis symptoms by at least 20% versus placebo. The consensus target is at $140.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) is another name that has been on a huge roll. Regeneron is an integrated biopharmaceutical company that focuses on development of new candidates for serious ailments primarily in areas like ophthalmology, inflammation, cancer and hypercholesterolemia. The consensus for the stock is at $288.50.

MAKO Surgical Corp. (NASDAQ: MAKO) is an intriguing stock to the PropThink team, although not yet listed as a stock to buy. MAKO Surgical is a medical device company that markets its advanced robotic arm solution, joint-specific applications for the knee and hip, and orthopedic implants for orthopedic procedures in the United States and internationally. The consensus price target is $12.

ViroPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: VPHM) is expected to deliver growth despite a poor quarter. ViroPharma’s commercial and pipeline progress is on track, with new timelines announced for several clinical programs. With its lead drug Cinryze continuing to show growth and what appears to be growing market share, the company is moving beyond the loss of its Vancocin franchise. The consensus price target for the stock is $33.

Cubist Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) is the ultimate binary event play. With a critical court decision pending, the stock could have tremendous movement, depending on the outcome. Cubists’ primary revenue drug Cubicin (daptomycin), which is an injectable antibiotic with nearly $1 billion in sales, is being challenged by a generic drug manufacturer. Investors need to be very careful here. The consensus price target for the stock is $52.50.

With a penchant for large-cap names with huge momentum and small-cap names on the verge of a big success, PropThink offers a good balance of biotech information and data. Again, investors should remember that some of the highly speculative stocks may be totally unsuitable for conservative portfolios. With that caveat in place, some of the names could also lead to spectacular gains.

They point to five specific reasons for this conclusion:

1. Recent outperformance in past two years was recovery from prior year weakness.
2. Biotech has been outperforming S&P only since the first quarter of this year.
3. Despite price-to-earnings expansion, multiples are well below precrisis levels.
4. Current multiples look significantly below the last known bubble.
5. Current multiples also are well below the average price-to-earnings in the period from 2005 to 2008.

Even though biotech currently trades at a 50% premium to the S&P 500, the Deutsche Bank team has a list of solid stocks to buy now.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) is a top stock to buy at Deutsche Bank. With a gigantic pipeline and solid earnings growth, this biotech leader is poised to succeed for years to come. Deutsche Bank has a $115 price target. The Thomson/First Call estimate is also at $115. Investors receive a 1.80% dividend.

Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) hit a new 52-week high yesterday. The company recently reported  data from its ongoing phase III trial of apremilast this month, showing the drug successfully reduced psoriatic arthritis symptoms by at least 20% versus a placebo. Deutsche Bank has a $143 price target. The consensus target is at $140.

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) is another massive mega-cap name that makes the list of stocks to buy. Biogen Idec discovers, develops, manufactures and markets therapies for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, hemophilia and autoimmune disorders in the United States and internationally. The Deutsche Bank target for the stock is $240 and the consensus estimate is $226.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) has been recording good growth numbers. The market is apparently anticipating further increases in earnings in the future, given the higher trailing price-to-earnings ratio. The Deutsche Bank price objective is $69 and the consensus is lower at $63.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) is another name that has been on a huge roll. Regeneron is an integrated biopharmaceutical company that focuses on development of new candidates for serious ailments primarily in areas like ophthalmology, inflammation, cancer and hypercholesterolemia. Deutsche Bank has a $310 target, while the consensus is at $288.50.

Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) is another company with huge momentum. For its most recent quarter, Onyx delivered a doubling in revenue to $145.5 million from $72 million in the previous year, with practically all the gains coming from their multiple myeloma drug Kyprolis. The Deutsche Bank target price for the stock is $105. The consensus is $106.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) is a leader in the fight against hepatitis C (HCV) infection. The company also has a groundbreaking drug for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. Deutsche Bank has a $100 price target for the stock. The consensus is at $93.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) has also been on fire lately. Soliris, its lone drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration, saw sales rise by 38% to $338.9 million in its most recent quarter, as non-GAAP net income jumped 49%. The Deutsche Bank target is $117 and the consensus is actually higher at $120.50.

Investors that buy any of these names are immediately becoming momentum players, looking to buy high and sell higher. Each of the Deutsche Bank stocks to buy either has a tremendous portfolio and pipeline or a blockbuster drug that dominates its niche. These stocks may represent the best bets that the biotech sector has to offer.

Before calling it a bubble, there are many things to consider. While there are some major ETFs in the sector, we have noted previously how these biotech ETFs are often misrepresented by their name, given the weightings and stocks they hold. Another issue is culling out the risky one-candidate companies from the established biotech leaders. A long-term comparison also can be made to drug giants for relative valuation and for dividends.

As far as why we are asking if a bubble is forming here, it is not just because these stocks have performed well. The four major U.S. biotech players are Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB), Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) and Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD). All four companies hit new all-time highs this last week.

24.7 Wall St. is taking a look at each for valuation metrics by market capitalization, forward earnings multiples, sales and earnings growth expected, and paring up the current stock price against the Thomson Reuters consensus price targets from Wall Street analysts.

Before we get into biotech, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) need to be evaluated. Both drug giants were trading very close to multiyear highs going into earnings this week. Somehow the market did not anticipate that both companies were going to offer muted guidance ahead. Merck is now down almost $4 from its 52-week high of $48.78, and Pfizer is down more than $2 from its 52-week high of $31.15. Both stocks trade at 12 or 13 times the projected 2013 earnings estimates from Thomson Reuters.

What sets Big Pharma stocks apart from biotech stocks is that there is just no revenue growth expected this year, or next even, if the so-called patent cliff woes are mostly behind these companies. Pfizer’s common stock dividend yield is 3.2%, versus 3.6% for Merck. Only one of the major biotechs (Amgen) pays a dividend as the sector is still tracking for growth.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) took a beating after its earnings report last week. Even after being added to the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs, the biotech giant is up 2% at $106.25 after a recent all-time high of $114.95. The firm’s price target is $130 now, with a consensus target from analysts down at $111.36 and a street-high target of $133 for Amgen. It took a sell-off for this stock to get back under the consensus price target. Amgen shares are still up 24% so far in 2013 after the recent sell-off. The good news is that Amgen trades at about 14.6 times expected earnings this year, but the bad news is that sales growth is projected to be less than 5% for this year and next. Amgen is not really expensive for a biotech stock, but it is missing that monster growth. Amgen also acts like a new Big Pharma stock now that its dividend yield is 1.8%.

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) is now down $10 from its recent all-time high of $226.18. It was removed from Goldman Sachs’ Conviction Buy List, but at $216.25 its consensus price target is all the way down at $202.56. Biogen’s multiple sclerosis franchise is now approaching a total domination in the field. It pays no dividend but is expected to post 16% to 17% sales growth in both 2013 and 2014. The problem that investors may face going forward is that valuation is stretched at more than 27 times the consensus 2013 earnings estimate, since this stock has risen a whopping 48% so far in 2013.

Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) is down just over $10 per share from its recent all-time high of $128.52. The consensus price target of $124.69 is also under the most recent high, while the street-high price target is up at $143.00. What Celgene has going for it is that some market pundits expect its earnings to double by 2015 to 2016. Sales are expected to rise more than 10% for at least the next two or three years, as well. That being said, Celgene trades at about 21 times expected 2013 earnings estimates, now that shares have risen a whopping 50% so far in 2013.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) is down about $5 from its recent all-time high of $55.16. Gilead trades at about 25-times expected 2013 earnings, and its shares are up by 37% so far in 2013. The consensus price target is above the prior high at $58.20, and the highest target price is around $70 for the HIV drug leader. Sales continue to grow in the double-digits and are expected to maintain that path for at least the next two years.

Now before you run off scratching your head, there are the market capitalization figures to consider, versus $208 billion for Pfizer and $138 billion for Merck. Amgen is king at about $80 billion as of now, and it seems to be the first biotech that could ultimately reach the mega-cap class at $100 billion. The problem with thinking Amgen will be first is that analysts project more upside and growth at Gilead, and its market cap is almost $77 billion. Biogen Idec is worth more than $51 billion and Celgene is worth about $49 billion.

Biotech stocks have performed incredibly well so far in 2013. For value-oriented investors, these still need to soften up in price. For investors who chase growth at any price, there is still some perceived upside. The good news is that biotechs have pulled back and now Big Pharma stocks have all pulled back. The bad news is that if the market does not keep rising, it is very likely that investors will look for more patient entry points before chasing these high gains and valuations in biotech.

For those looking for undervalue growth with more risk, a firm called PropThink has just issued a list of biotech stocks that it feels are not represented with proper valuations (yet) by the market.

One more issue we noted in much more detail in our ETF Folly for Biotech ETFs is that the exchange traded fund universe is very underrepresented in this sector, regardless of valuation analysis. The top ETFs here are the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (NASDAQ: IBB), SPDR S&P Biotech (NYSEMKT: XBI), First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech Index (NYSEMKT: FBT) and the Market Vectors Biotech ETF (NYSEMKT: BBH). Note that the combined market capitalizations are not quite 2% of the combined market valuations of just the top four biotech stocks.

These are some of this Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from select Wall St. research calls.

Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) started as Neutral at Baird.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) raised to Buy from Hold with $36 target at Argus.

F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray, cut to Neutral at Citigroup and cut to Market Perform at William Blair; earnings warning has shares down 17% around $75 this morning to a new 52-week low.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) raised to Overweight at Evercore.

Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) cut to Equal Weight at Barclays; shares are down 5% after F5 Networks warning too.

Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) cut to Underperform at BMO Capital Markets.

Read also: 19 Stocks Analysts Picked to Rise 50% to 100% — or More!

News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA) raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

PDC Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PDCE) raised to Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphreys; maintained Outperform but cut target to $63 from $65 at Credit Suisse.

Health care insurance stocks started in new coverage at UBS: AETNA Inc. (NYSE: AET) started as Buy, CIGNA Inc. (NYSE: CI) started as Buy, Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) started as Neutral, UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) started as Buy and WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) started as Neutral.

Perhaps one of the problems is that biotech stocks are not all created equal. It turns out that not all the biotech ETFs are created equal either. While they are all somewhat close in their fee structures, the four major biotech sector ETFs we follow are very different from each other. The biggest caveat for any investor is to understand exactly what you are investing in. We worry that investors either have no clue here in biotech or that they are just taking a shot in the dark.

Many of the holdings look and feel the same if you judge them on the surface. If you dig deeper, the holdings are much different in reality. The big concern for investors is that these biotech ETFs all march to a different drum beat, and the largest positions in each of these may greatly pump or hinder their performance.

iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (NASDAQ: IBB) has a market cap of $2.17 billion with some 14.8 million shares outstanding. Its average daily volume is tiny at about 379,000 shares, compared to the largest and most active biotech stocks. Its expense ratio is fairly light at 0.48%. The iShares flavor of biotech ETF tracks the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index. What is interesting about this ETF on its weighting page is that Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) is the single largest component, with a weighting of 8.37% of the fund, despite having a $16.3 billion market cap. That market cap is less than half of the next three ETF components shown here by weighting and by market cap: Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) 8.23% weighting versus a $65.4 billion market cap; Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) has a 8.02% weighting yet it has a $70 billion market cap; and Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) has a 6.81% weighting with a $43.6 billion market cap. Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) has a 6.41% weighting of this ETF and a market cap of $16.9 billion, while Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) has only a 5.53% weighting yet a market cap of $39.6 billion.

American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK) is the top water utility in America and hit a new high of $39.77. It still yields 2.6%, even at a new high. Its smaller rival is American States Water Co. (NYSE: AWR), and that hit a new high of $52.97 and still yields about 2.8%. While this is defensive by the nature of water, water has proven its place in every sort of investment portfolio by now.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) hit a new 52-week high on the A-shares, and the B-shares hit a high of $101.48 today, versus a prior 52-week high of $101.08. That is a high for sure on the B-share,s as they are still relatively new. The A-shares hit a new high of $153,159.98 today, against a prior 52-week high of $153,090.00. Its prior all-time high was $151,650.00 in December 2007. While Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) is a transport, this shows that Buffett’s acquisition of the great BNSF railroad has added value. Union Pacific is now down 1% on the day but it hit a new high of $138, and it still yields 2% for new investors.

Elsewhere in conglomerates, we have two hitting new highs. Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) hit $71.09, and 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) broke the prior high of $104.39 by a penny so far. Honeywell still yields about 2.3%, versus 2.5% at 3M.

Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) hit a new high on its accelerated buyback plan announced this morning. The new high here is $103.69, versus a prior high of $102.29, and it has a market cap of $43 billion.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) broke $800 for the first time ever this week. The new all-time high as of today is $808.87, and the consensus Thomson Reuters price target is $831.40.

Several consumer products giants are continuing to surge. Oddly enough, these are defensive stocks more than they are deemed raging bull market stocks. Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) hit a new high of $112.93 and still yields 2.3% for dividend investors. Kimberly Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) hit a new high of $92.60 today, and it still yields 3.2% for new investors chasing the stock for the first time. Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) screened for a new high, but the 52-week high is actually a tad elusive because of what is likely the ex-dividend. P&G can tell its activist “Thanks, now go away!” Its dividend yield is still 2.9% for new first time buyers. The Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) is small for consumer products players at $10.8 billion in market cap, but with a new high of $82.85, its yield is still 3.1%.

United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) is the equipment rental giant that was also a failed private equity buyout back during the private equity bubble. Shares hit a new high of $56.87 today, and its market cap is just under $5.2 billion.

The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) is feeling the love and boom from its entertainment properties and its new Star Wars acquisition. This screened out as a new high, but that high was actually yesterday and was still worth noting. Disney may not raise its dividend massively, but it sure has a low yield for a DJIA stock.

We recently opined that the DJIA 14,000 is likely to bring upside to our official 2013 peak price of 14,590 this year. For that to happen, more and more of these companies will be hitting all-time highs on the DJIA.

This morning we are seeing shares of Celgene Corp (NASDAQ: CELG) rise on news that the company is launching a $600 million accelerated share buyback plan. There is a large difference between a tradition share buyback and an accelerated share buyback plan. A traditional share buyback plan is generally a fixed dollar amount or a fixed share amount, and it means that companies have the right to buy up to that amount over whatever period it specifies. The problem is that many companies announce traditional share buybacks and they repurchase only a portion of the shares. Some are mere gimmicks.

An accelerated share buyback plan can be a part of an existing buyback plan, and that is what we are seeing today. Celgene already has repurchased approximately $5.05 billion of its common stock over the past four years, and it has repurchased about $385 million of its common stock year to date. Celgene has approximately $1.450 billion remaining in the existing share buyback program.

Here is where this $600 million matters. Celgene will pay $600 million to an investment bank in exchange for shares of Celgene’s common stock, and the company currently anticipates that all repurchases under the accelerated stock repurchase will be completed no later than May 20, 2013.

If you round the stock price, this comes to roughly 6 million shares of common stock that will be bought over the next 90 days. Celgene trades 3.5 million shares per day, so this is absorbing almost two full days worth of volume in what is effectively about 66 or so trading days. It is also worth noting that Celgene is worth about $42 billion as of Tuesday’s closing price, and that means that it is about 1.4% of the implied market value.

Shares are trading up at $102.00, after closing at $100.46 yesterday. This also matters because the 52-week trading range is $58.53 to $102.29.

JMP Securities initiated coverage today on five biopharmaceutical stocks that may fit the bill, as far as having the strong pipelines and the cash on hand to continue to develop and market drugs with staying power. The stocks initiated with Market Outperform ratings are:

Affymax Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFY) is on the map with its top drug called Omontys (peginesatide). This injection is for the treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease in adult patients on dialysis. The Thomson/First Call consensus price target is $30.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY) engages in discovering, developing and commercializing novel therapeutics based on RNA interference (RNAi). The Wall St. consensus price target for the stock is $28.50.

Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) is already a favorite among Wall St. analysts. Their lead drug is Revlimid, an oral immunomodulatory drug for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes. The consensus estimate for this very popular name is $114.

Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX), through its collaboration agreement with Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, develops and markets the Nexavar (sorafenib) tablet, a multiple kinase inhibitor for the treatment of liver cancer and advanced kidney cancer. The consensus price target is $100.

Pharmacyclics Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYC) operates as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on developing and commercializing small-molecule drugs for the treatment of cancer and immune mediated diseases. The consensus estimate is $80.

Each of these stocks is widely followed on Wall St. and considered some of the best in class. One other enticing part of investing in quality biopharmaceutical stocks is that, due to the huge cost of new drug development, they are often potential takeover candidates. Large pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) often find it more cost effective to purchase new drugs and pipelines by buying the company. Perhaps one of these stocks could be on their radar screens.

AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) cut to Neutral at Baird.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) raised to Buy at BB&T.

Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) cut to Hold at Argus.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) raised to Buy at Lazard.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) raised to Outperform at Raymond James.

Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: FURX) started as Buy with $45 target at Canaccord Genuity.

Hancock Holding Co. (NASDAQ: HBHC) cut to Underperform with $25 target at Credit Suisse.

Holly Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: HEP) cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA) raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Plains All American Pipeline L.P.(NYSE: PAA) cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) reiterated Buy with $80 target at Canaccord Genuity.

Terex Corp. (NYSE: TEX) raised to Neutral at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) cut to Neutral at Lazard.

We also have provided a set of earnings previews for this week’s major corporate earnings reports here.