The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 33 points to 12,392.54 (0.26%), the NASDAQ rose more than 2 points (0.09%) to 2,676.56, and the S&P 500 rose 0.23% or nearly 3 points to 1,280.70.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) cut to ‘underperform’ at Bernstein; Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) reiterated as ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs; Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) cut to ‘sell’ from ‘neutral’ at Citigroup; Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) started as ‘buy’ at Needham; Southern Copper Co. (NYSE: SCCO) cut to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank; and Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) downgraded to ‘hold’ at Jefferies.

Earnings reports of note since markets closed Friday include: Acuity Brands Inc. (NYSE: AYI) is up nearly 9% at $54.79; and Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) is down -0.55% at $39.95. After markets close today bellwether Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) is expected to report an EPS loss of -$0.02.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Inhibitex Inc. (NASDAQ: INHX) is up more than 140% at $23.70 after posting a new 52-week high of $24.08 earlier today. The drug company has agreed to be acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) for $2.5 billion ($26/share in cash).

Pansoft Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: PSOF) is up nearly 56% at $3.13. The Chinese enterprise software company received a buyout offer from Timesway Group Ltd, which is controlled by Pansoft’s chairman, for $3.76/share for the shares Timesway does not already own.

Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: IDIX) is up more than 36% at $9.59 after posting a new 52-week high of $10.39 earlier today. The drug maker’s hepatitis C drug got a postive report on an interim drug trial, the same categoy of drug made by Inhibitex. More coverage here.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is up more than 14% at $98.62. The video rental and streaming company launched its streaming service in the UK and Ireland today. We have more coverage here.

Theravance Inc. (NASDAQ: THRX) is down more than -19% at $16.27. The biopharmaceutical firm reported that a new drug to treat asthma and other pulmonary diseases performed no better than an existing drug in a clinical trial.

Lantronix Inc. (NASDAQ: LTRX) is up more than 28% at $2.95. The networking products maker launched new wireless printing products aimed at devices that use the iOS operating system software from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).

Stay tuned for Tuesday. San Francisco Fed President John Williams and Kansas City Fed President Esther George are giving speeches. Here are the noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:30 a.m. – NFIB small business optimism index
• 11:30 a.m. – 4- and 52-week Treasury bill auctions
• 1:00 p.m. – 3-year Treasury note auction

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Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) Cut to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup.
AGL Resources Inc. (NYSE: GAS) Started as Underperform and named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Buy with $460.00 price target objective by Argus; maintained Conviction Buy List and target raised to $550 from $520 at Goldman Sachs.
ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) Started as Underperform at Bernstein.
Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE: B) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) Cut to Underperform at Bernstein.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) Reiterated Buy at Goldman Sachs.
First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE: FR) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Hilltop Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HTH) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: IART) Cut to Hold at Argus.
International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) Removed from US Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) Downgraded to Hold at Jefferies.
Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) Started as Buy at Needham.
Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) Added to the US Focus List at Credit Suisse.
PVH Corporation (NYSE: PVH) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (NYSE: RBS) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE: SCCO) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Thoratec Corporation (NASDAQ: THOR) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can sign up in the box below to join our morning email list to receive news directly in your inbox each morning. We also include additional research notes, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

Teen stores Buckle and Zumiez battered expectations, while Gap and Wet Seal both missed expectations badly.

Data from CNBC.

The question for Sears Holdings is how the breakup might be engineered and what the fate of the pieces would be.

S&P put Sears Holdings on Credit Watch with “negative implications.” Its opinion on the retailer is a low B long-term corporate credit rating. Sears cost of capital is bound to rise, which makes the retail conglomerate’s future even less tenable.

Sears exists in several pieces. The largest two are Kmart and Sears. Each has its own problems. Sales at Sears’ domestic business are falling rapidly — down 6% in the past eight weeks. Kmart’s sales are off 4.4% over the same period.

Kmart’s inventory is weighted toward apparel. Sears’ sales rely more on appliances. Each has to deal with different sets of marketing problems because of its different focus. Sears also has more specialty stores and fewer full-line stores than Kmart. This is in part to accommodate its automotive and appliance businesses. Kmart stores compete more with Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE: TGT).

In addition to the two major store chains, Sears Holdings owns or has rights to a number of brands. These include Jaclyn Smith, Joe Boxer, County Living, Route 66, Smart Sense, Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard and Lands’ End. There is no reason that these brands could not be licensed or sold to other retail companies.

Many American companies have had success managing multiple brands. Ford (NYSE: F) and General Motors (NYSE: GM) are examples. But these firms have pruned their brands and killed some, even though they are decades old. There is precedent among large American companies recently to discard or sell brands that cannot make money.

What company might buy either Sears or Kmart? Target, for one, would have to consider a bid. It is far enough behind Walmart that it might use the sales and store base of a Sears Holdings unit to close that gap. Costco (NASDAQ: COST) would have to look at some Kmart and Sears locations, although the big-box retailer tends to have more up-market customers. JCPenney (NYSE: JCP), which is struggling to keep pace with Macy’s (NYSE: M), could be a buyer of a brand or some portion of Sears or Kmart to regain lost ground.

Sears Holdings has not retained an investment bank or a major consulting firm, or at least it has not disclosed such an action. Now is the time to do so. The slide of the Sears Holdings properties has become inexorable.

Douglas A. McIntyre

McKinsey, MITRE, and Shalom Consulting were all among the top 10. Tech leaders were also near the top of the list. These included Facebook, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Rackspace, and Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM).

Widely regarded companies which make many “most admired” lists also topped the list. These included Costco (NASDAQ: COST), Southwest Air (NYSE: LUV), and Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX)

Douglas A. McIntyre

HIGHLIGHTS from this year’s top 50 Best Places to Work list, which is solely based on employee reviews: Top 5 Best Places to Work: Bain & Company (Rank: 1, Rating: 4.7), McKinsey & Company (Rank: 2, Rating: 4.3), Facebook (Rank: 3, Rating: 4.3), MITRE (Rank: 4, Rating: 4.1), Google (Rank: 5, Rating: 4.0) (Company ratings based on a 5-point scale: 5=very satisfied, 3=OK, 1=very dissatisfied).

·         Most Improved Company: McKinsey & Company is the most improved company among winners appearing on both the 2012 and 2011 list. The company garners a 4.3 rating among employees in 2012, up .6 from last year’s 3.7 rating. (McKinsey ranked #18 on the 2011 list)

·         Company to see the Biggest Decline: Southwest Airlines saw the biggest decline — the airline dropped from #2 last year to #17 in 2012, as the company rating fell from 4.4 to 3.8.

·         Most Consistent Best Places to Work: 13 companies on the 2012 list have made it on all previous Best Places to Work lists (2009, 2010 & 2011), including Apple (Rank: 10, Rating: 3.9), Bain & Company, Chevron (Rank: 16, Rating 3.8), Google, and Procter & Gamble (Rank: 25, Rating 3.7), among others.

·         New to the Best Places to Work list: 17 companies are making their debut as a Best Place to Work, including , J.Crew (Rank: 24, Rating 3.8), Disney Parks & Resorts (Rank 33, Rating 3.6), Starbucks (Rank: 34, Rating 3.6), Cleveland Clinic (Rank: 36, Rating 3.6) & Coach (Rank: 37, Rating 3.6), among others.

Douglas A. McIntyre

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 198 points to 11,997.93 (-1.63%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 53 points (-1.99%) to 2,596.38, and the S&P 500 fell -2.11% or nearly 27 points to 1,234.35.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a price target of $24 at Argus. Other ratings actions today include Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO) started as ‘sell’ with a target price of $70 at Goldman Sachs; Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) cut to ‘neutral’ at Janney; Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) restarted as ‘buy’ at Sterne Agee; Philip Morris International, Inc. (NYSE: PM) cut from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral’ at Nomura; and Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) started as ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.

Here are today’s post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) is up 2.7% at $12.23; Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) is down -1.3% at $86.33; Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE: SFD) is down -2.6% at $24.29; Layne Christensen Co. (NASDAQ: LAYN) is down -4.1% at $23.61; and Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY) is down -8% at $15.77.

Other standouts from today include the following shares:

DemandTec, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMAN) is up nearly 56% at $13.15. The cloud-software company has accepted a takeover bid from IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) of $13.50/share, a 57% premium over yesterday’s closing price.

Affymax, Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFY) is up more than 38% at $8.10. The US FDA has approved the company’s anemia drug for dialysis patients suffering from chronic kidney failure.

E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE: DANG) is up nearly 24% at $5.76. The Chinese e-commerce company has announced that it will issue an e-reader later this month and split content revenue with producers, keeping 40% for itself.

Invacare Corp. (NYSE: IVC) is down more than -25% at $15.39, after posting a new 52-week low earlier today. The medical supplies maker is in danger of having the US FDA close down some of its operations because Invacare has failed to comply with quality standards.

Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (NASDAQ: PNCL) is down about -23% at $1.47, after posting a new 52-week low of $1.40 earlier today. The regional airlines has initiated a program to cut costs and raise liquidity.

Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is down nearly -3.5% at $30.75. The electric car maker’s stock was downgraded by Morgan Stanley from ‘overweight’ to ‘underweight’ and the target price was slashed from $70 to $44.

Stay tuned for Friday. Here are some noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – International trade report for October
• 9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment report

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Read: The Newest Fortune 100 Companies

In the past year, excitement in the press and on Wall Street centered on companies that are only a few years old. Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN), LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) and FriendFinder (NASDAQ: FFN) had little trouble raising money in the pubic capital markets. Many of those stocks have fallen since their market premiere, but analysts still expect new companies like to Zynga and Facebook to have tremendous valuations when they go public. What these companies share beyond “buzz” is that they are not only new but also small. Facebook, by most estimates, will have revenue of $4 billion this year. It is still not clear whether its social network model can be sustained as a big business, even if it does have 750 million members.

24/7 Wall St. analyzed all of the corporations on the most recent Fortune 100 list to find which of them had been founded most recently. Eight are technology companies. This is not surprising because over the past 40 years, the growth of software, PCs and portable electronic devices has been extraordinary. The other two corporations are big-box retailers — Costco (NASDAQ: COST) and Home Depot (NYSE: HD). They are part of a trend started in the 1960s by Walmart (NYSE: WMT) to build very large stores, staff them modestly and charge prices well below those available in niche stores or boutiques.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) seem to have been around for a long time. For Americans under 30, they have. However, major and sustained revenue success is linked to age, among other things. Facebook may make it onto the Fortune 100, but it will take years for its revenue to get to $20 billion or $30 billion. If it gets there, there is no guarantee it can maintain that level of sales for decades like the youngest Fortune 100 companies have.

24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 companies present on the 2011 edition of the Forbes Fortune 100. When companies merged, we looked at the founding date of each company and took the oldest. In addition to annual revenue of the most recent fiscal year, as well as Fortune 100 rank, 24/7 included the industry and number of employees, provided by Google Finance.

Limited Brands’ same-store sales rose 7%, compared with a consensus estimate of 4.4%. Net sales fell by -2.3%, however, from $893 million a year ago to $872.6 million. The company also announced a $2/share special dividend to be paid on December 23rd to shareholders of record on December 12th.

The Talbot’s Inc. (NYSE: TLB) reported third-quarter earnings this morning and posted an adjusted EPS loss of -$0.22, compared with a consensus estimate of an EPS loss of -$0.16. Same-store sales fell by -4% in November. Talbot’s has closed 35 store locations so far this year and plans to close a total of 110 locations by the end of its 2013 fiscal year.

Costco’s same-store sales rose 7%, excluding gasoline and currency effects. Including gasoline, sales were up 9%. Analysts were expecting a rise of 6.5%.

Target posted a same-store sales gain of 1.8% in November, but analysts were looking for a gain of 2.8%. The company’s CEO said that he expects December to offer a “competitive and promotional environment as consumers continue to focus on value.”

Macy’s same-store sales rose 4.8% last month, and total sales were up 5.3%. The consensus estimate for same-store sales was an increase of 4.1%.

Dillard’s posted a same-store sales jump of 3%, in-line with the average estimate.

Nordstrom reported November same-store sales rose 5.6%, compared with an average analyst estimate of 5%. Total sales rose nearly 12% in November.

Kohl’s reported that November same-store sales fell -6.2%, while analysts were expecting a 2% increase. The CEO called the results “disappointing,” and said that the company expects to benefit from customers seeking value during the remainder of the holiday shopping season.

Gap same-store sales fell by -5%, more than the analysts’ expectation of a -4.3% decline. The company’s CEO expects December to “to remain fiercely competitive and highly promotional.”

Ross posted a same-store sales increase of 5% in November, better than the 3.7% that analysts were expecting. The company said it expects a 3%-4% increase in December as well.

Penney’s same-store sales fell -2% in November, compared with a -1.6% decline expected by the analysts. Total sales also fell by nearly -6% in the month.

TJX reported same-store sales growth of 4%, in-line with the average estimate. The company’s CEO said that the store would have performed better but for the warmer weather which put off winter clothes buying.

Lululemon reported third-quarter earnings today, noting that same-store sales jumped 16% in the quarter. Shares are down more than -11% in the first half-hour of trading this morning. Here’s our coverage of the company’s earnings report.

Stage Stores reported same-store sales rose 2.3%, compared with an estimate for a flat month. Total sales rose 4.3%, and the company’s CEO said that the final week of the month was “very strong.”

Pier One released third quarter sales figures today, and same-store sales for the quarter ending November 27th rose 7%. The company said quarterly EPS would be $0.20-$0.21, compared with the consensus EPS estimate of $0.18. Same-store sales for the holiday weekend were up 10% over last year.

Paul Ausick

Read The Online Retailers Stealing Bricks And Mortar Business

Many of the reasons for the success of these retailers are the same. It’s far easier to find specialty items online. Until recently, designer goods were only available at high-end department stores and boutiques. Now, online-only stores like Bonobos and Warby Parker sell fashionable pants and eye glasses. These new stores also make shopping online easier, offering generous return policies and, in some cases, free shipping. Other online stores benefit from a limited number of specialty products.

While Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) is the biggest online retailer, its direct-to-customer sales of Kindle are especially hard on consumer electronic retailers like Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) sells iPads and iPhones through mobile service providers like Verizon (NYSE: VZ), big-box retailers like Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and even its own stores. But this Black Friday it was Apple’s site that saw the fifth-most online traffic. The world’s biggest e-retailer has taken note. In 2009 and 2010, Amazon purchased two specialty sites, Zappos.com and Diapers.com.

But brick-and-mortar retailers are getting some help from an unexpected quarter this season. Customers are using mobile devices — smartphones mostly, but some tablets as well — to compare prices right on the sales floor. A few stores are equipping salespeople with mobile devices of their own in order to check availability and price as well as competitive offers. A retailer that can meet or beat a competitor’s price on the spot might capture a sale that otherwise would have been lost. It is indeed a brave new world of retailing out there.

We’re taking a look at seven retailers today: Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST), Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS), and Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY).

All data from Yahoo! Finance, with current prices gathered at around noon today.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) has a median price target of $89.00 from 21 brokers. The current share price is $81.99, for a potential upside of $7.01, or 8.6%. The company pays a dividend yield of 1.2% and the forward P/E is 18.49. Costco has performed at or above expectations for a while now, and shares are pretty fully valued. The target price is above the 52-week high, which indicates that analysts are expecting the company to continue performing well, but Costco’s share price has risen just 1% since mid-October and its target price was raised less than 1%.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) has a median target price of $62.50 from 18 brokers. The current share price is $56.96, for a potential upside of $5.54, or 9.7%. The company pays a dividend yield of 2.6%, and its forward P/E is 11.57. Walmart’s most recent quarter included some growth in US sales, which is something that has been missing for a while now. The company has put up a new 52-week high since mid-October, its share price has risen 3%, and its target price was raised by nearly 6% in the same time period. That combination would indicate that investors and analysts like what they see — and expect more of the same.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) has a median target price of $60.00 from 21 brokers. The current share price is $52.78, for a potential upside of $7.22, or 13.7%. The company pays a dividend yield of 2.3% and its forward P/E is 12.03. Target’s target price has risen about 2.6% since mid-October and its share price has gained 6% in the same period. Unlike either Costco or Walmart, the company’s target price is still below its 52-week high.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) has a median target price of $36.00 from 17 brokers. The current share price is $30.79, for a potential upside of $5.21, or 16.9%. The company pays a dividend yield of 1.3% and its forward P/E is 9.7. Macy’s target price has risen about 2.9% since mid-October and its share price is up about 6% in the same period. Macy’s has also posted a new 52-week in the last five weeks, and the target price is still about 10% above that new high. Macy’s doubled EPS expectations in its most recent quarter, although gross margins fell -0.6%. The company’s high-end Bloomingdale’s stores should give it a boost through the holiday shopping season due to a significant expected increase in sales this year.

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) has a median price target of $54.00 from 20 brokers. The current share price is $46.17, for a potential upside of $7.83, or 17%. The company pays a dividend yield of 2% and its forward P/E is 12.79. The company’s target price was raised nearly 2% since mid-October, but the share price today is about -7% lower than it was then. The company has posted a new 52-week high of $53.35 since mid-October, but is trading some -13% below that number today. Nordstrom missed sales estimates in the third quarter, although EPS was in-line. With other retailers looking more attractive, Nordstrom’s shortcomings are magnified.

Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) has a median price target of $62.00 from 19 brokers. The current share price is $54.42, for a potential upside of $7.58, or 13.9%. The company pays a dividend yield of 1.8% and its forward P/E is 10.33. Of the companies in this group, Kohl’s is the only one to have had its price target lowered. The drop was -11%, and still nearly 6.5% above the stock’s 52-week high. Kohl’s beat estimates for its third quarter and bumped its forecast numbers for the fourth quarter and the full year. Competition has got to be the reason for the lowered targets and the declining stock price.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) has a median target price of $28.00 from 18 brokers. The current share price is $26.35, for a potential upside of $1.65, or 6.3%. The company pays a dividend yield of 2.4%, and its forward P/E is 6.72. Best Buy’s target price has been lifted by about 3.7% since mid-October. The share price is also about 3% higher, but the stock is so far from its 52-week high of $45.63 that this is a case of being so far down that everything looks like up.

Surprisingly, perhaps, of the seven stocks in this group Walmart appears to offer the best chance of realizing the implied upside in its share price. A lot depends on the company’s ability to increase traffic in its US stores, and to make sure those customers buy something.

Paul Ausick