What is interesting is that Taleo was not even part of this cloud ETF, and many of the ETFs components are not exactly all cloud space players.  Is it fair to lump in all cloud players as targets when one is software and one is hardware?  Be advised, there are some stocks which have had buyout rumors in the past listed below but there are no current rumors we have heard.

Here is the weighting of the cloud ETF’s more cloud-centric companies, with the most recent weightings and some commentary on some of the names:

Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX) 3.80%…probably too expensive to acquire now on valuation metrics and with a $6.1 billion market cap.

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:: AKAM) 3.72%… surged after earnings, now unlikely to be bought on the cheap by would be acquirers.  

Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (NYSE: RAX) 3.39%… has been called a buyout candidate before but the company’s line is that it wants to remain independent.

Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) 3.35%… still considered a special situation by some investors but no buyout rumors have proven true, and shares are up big after earnings.

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) 3.22%… “The one that got away.”  This used to be a buyout dream stock, but valuation got in the way.  Now at over $14 billion the time may have come and gone.

Salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE: CRM) 3.08%… way too expensive to acquire on a valuation basis.  Cloud is everywhere here in effect as a great benefit, but this one is diversified into CRM and SaaS.

Where this gets interesting is that Taleo is a human resources software maker and perhaps not just cloud software as some of the media headlines would have suggested.  The 18% premium also suggests that paying up for the cloud players is only a limited value.

Just because one buyer buys a loose cloud play in software does not translate to buyouts in hardware. 

JON C. OGG

AON Corporation (NYSE: AON) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Reiterated Outperform with $26 target at Credit Suisse.
Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR) Started as Sell at Cantor Fitzgerald.
Digital River Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) Started as Buy with $230 target at Stern Agee.  (LINK: FULL DETAILS)
Pep Boys-Manny, Moe & Jack Inc. (NYSE: PBY) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Seaspan Corporation (NYSE: SSW) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) Started as Underweight at Barclays.
Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) downgraded to Hold at RBS and Cut to Neutral at Susquehanna.
Sunoco Logistics, LP (NYSE: SXL) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Thor Industries, Inc. (NYSE: THO) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Cut to Sell at Brean Murray.
Zoltek Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) Cut to Underperform at Needham (LINK: FULL SUMMARY).

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

JON C. OGG

Oracle’s sales rose only 2% in the quarter that ended November 30 to $8.29 billion. EPS was $0.43, compared to $0.37 last year. Hardware system revenue fell 10% to $1.58 billion.

Oracle is the world’s largest enterprise software company. In the past two years, it has faced more aggressive competition from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), IBM (NYSE: IBM), SAP (NASDAQ: SAP) and Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) in particular. Each has had a chance to examine Oracle’s strength as it grows, primarily through acquisition. Oracle is a particularly attractive target, as most market leaders are.

There is no evidence that IT departments at large companies and government enterprises have sharply curtailed their activity to upgrade essential systems. That likely will mean that Oracle has lost market share, and it probably will continue to do so. Competition has found weak spots in Oracle’s product and service lines.

Oracle has been successful in large part because CEO Larry Ellison has been particularly talented in his choice of buyout targets and his ability to almost seamlessly integrate these firms into his company. The integration process usually has kept sales from the new operations while effectively dropping costs.

One quarter does not mean Ellison’s miracle is over. A second weak quarter would.

Douglas A. McIntyre

2012 Picks in Semiconductors from analyst Bobby Burleson:

Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI) reiterated Buy with $38 price target; Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDTI) reiterated Buy with $7.00 price target.

“While we remain concerned about near-term softness in PCs and communications and acknowledge the potential for another number cut, we believe the worst cuts are behind us. Heading into 2012, we like names with broad-end market exposure and low PC exposure like Analog Devices and Integrated Device Technology.”

2012 Picks in Communications Technology from analyst T. Michael Walkley:

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reiterated Buy with $560 price target; QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) maintained Buy with $74.00 price target; and Sierra Wireless, Inc. (NASDAQ: SWIR) with a $9.00 price target.

“While we anticipate global handset units will increase by 7% YoY in 2012 to 1.72B units, we anticipate much faster growth trends for the smartphone  market. In fact, we are modeling 481M smartphone units in 2011 ramping to 650M units in 2012, or 35% YoY growth.”

2012 Picks in New Media & Location Technology from analyst Jeff Rath:

Trimble Navigation Limited (NASDAQ: TRMB); Velti PLC (NASDAQ: VELT); KIT Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ: KITD); and Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ: ROVI).

“We fully expect the US Pay-TV service provider eco-system to undergo an accelerating change as cable providers roll out more robust OTT/Hybrid video offerings in response to growing competitive pressures, and in an attempt to stem ongoing losses of its core video subscribers.”

2012 Picks in Enterprise Software from analyst Richard Davis:

Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) and Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN).

“Software companies – at least firms with next generation architectures – are in great shape. Cloud software accounts for less than 10% of installed code. Barring horrific economic headwinds, the “revolutionaries” on which we focus our coverage are very likely to gain market share at the expense of legacy competitors”

2012 Picks in Internet from analyst Michael Graham:

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) reiterated Buy with $725 price target and Zillow, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z) listed as n attractive acquisition target and the firm has an organic (non-M&A) price target of $32.00 for the stock.

“We believe the underlying drivers will be growth in online advertising, eCommerce, mobile commerce, and social networking adoption.”

These are the picks we have been sent by Canaccord Genuity’s research relations.  The firm has many other picks in technology which did not make the 2012 list.

JON C. OGG

Congress reaches a tentative deal to keep the government open. (Reuters)

Bill Gross’s PIMCO Total Return Fund continues to do poorly. (Reuters)

The maker of Angry Birds may have its IPO in Hong Kong. (Reuters)

Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) will begin the sale of its asset management business. (Reuters)

Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) delays its QNX system until 2012, an unexpected development. (Reuters)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) struggles to gain market share in China. (Reuters)

Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) enters the HR software industry. (Reuters)

Sony (NYSE: SNE) will launch its Vita device. (WSJ)

Battelle Memorial Institute reports that R&D spending should increase next year. (WSJ)

The International Monetary Fund’s Lagarde says all major nations must help Europe. (WSJ)

United, Delta (NYSE: DAL)  and US Airways (NYSE: LCC) begin to challenge Southwest (NYSE: LUV) at the low end of the price market. (WSJ)

The CEO of the New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) departs. (WSJ)

Investors in Sino-Forest ask the CEO to leave. (WSJ)

Facebook will release new software to make it easier for advertisers to use the social network. (WSJ)

MF Global’s Jon Corzine says he knew about fund transfers to Europe. (WSJ)

Japanese regulators again attack Citigroup (NYSE: C) over its mutual fund sales. (WSJ)

Property prices in Asia fall quickly. (WSJ)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) cuts 1,600 jobs. (WSJ)

Some retailers will have “Super Saturday” before Christmas. (NYT)

Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) to bet its $21 billion buyout of El Paso Corp. (NYSE: EP) will give it a chance to enter the booming natural gas market. (NYT)

Russia may invest $20 billion in an EU bailout, with the money moving through the IMF. (NYT)

The co-CEOs of RIM will cut their salaries to $1. (FT)

Fitch cuts the ratings of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Barclays (NYSE: BCS). (Bloomberg)

PSA Peugeot Citroen , Fiat SpA and General Motors (NYSE: GM) lead a drop in European car sales. (Bloomberg)

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

U.S. firms will be asked to disclose relationships with Syria and Iran. (FT)

Many jobless Americans face cut off of benefits at year end. (Reuters)

Comscore reports that online spending kept its 15% increase pace over early December last year. (Reuters)

Nissan and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) will announce a strategic partnership. (Reuters)

Samsung says it will sell over 300 million handsets this year. (Reuters)

Major M&A activity by large banks will face further scrutiny by regulators. (WSJ)

AT&T (NYSE: T) faces a court decision that could prolong its case to buy T-Mobile. (WSJ)

IMF officials say there are “gaps” in China data. (WSJ)

The economy may keep U.S. shoppers from an ongoing spending sprees. (WSJ)

The inspector general who tracks Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac likely will increase scrutiny of their financial activity. (WSJ)

California may face $2.5 billion in budge cuts because of deficits. (WSJ)

The ITC will soon rule on the question of whether HTC violated certain Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) patents. (WSJ)

Foreign retailers in India will reset plans now that the government has backed off on new ownership rules. (WSJ)

A Randstad U.S.  survey shows more workers are willing to do without vacation. (WSJ)

The Fed may publish its forecasts about its plans on future rates. (NYT)

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) may release a new versions of its Kindle Fire after customer complains. (NYT)

Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) has drawn enough customers that IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) have aggressively entered the business. (NYT)

There are now one million apps. (NYT)

The OECD warns now that industrial nations have borrowed $10 trillion. (FT)

China may add stimulus as exports fall off. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 25 points to 11,796.23 (0.22%), the NASDAQ fell more than 15 points (-0.60%) to 2,572.50, and the S&P 500 fell 0.04% or about 0.48 points to 1,215.65.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), which was raised to ‘buy’ at Sterne Agee. Other action included The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) started as ‘buy’ at Jefferies; Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) cut to ‘neutral’ at Citigroup; Pepsico Inc. (NYSE: PEP) started as ‘hold’ at Jefferies; and Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) started as ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Ann Inc. (NYSE: ANN) is down more than -6.6%, at $23.63; Cost Plus Inc. (NASDAQ: CPWM) is up more than 3%, at $7.88; H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) is down more than -3%, at $51.06; America’s Car Mart, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT) is up more than 10%, at $35.84; Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) is down more than -10.5%, at $112.67; and The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: BONT) is down more than -8%, at $2.84, after posting a new 52-week low of $2.70 earlier today.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF) is up about 2.9%, at $152.46. The company’s stock got pounded yesterday on news that the corn prices fell, but are recovering a bit today as investors remember that falling corn prices don’t necessarily mean that less corn will be planted and, thus, less fertilizer will be used.

The Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) is up more than 4.6%, at $53.12. Another fertilizer maker that got slammed yesterday and is recovering somewhat today.

Fisher Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: FSCI) is up about 12.7%, at $29.20. The broadcast TV station operator has sold its Fisher Plaza building in Seattle for $160 million in cash to Hines Global REIT, Inc.

Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR) is down nearly -21%, at $1.47. The company is reported to be considering skipping a $237 million debt payment due in two weeks, raising fears that the wireless broadband provider could end up in bankruptcy.

Meritor, Inc. (NYSE: MTOR) is down about -9.7%, at $5.12, after posting a new 52-week low of $5.11 earlier in the day. Shares lost -17% earlier this week when the company lowered its guidance for 2012 and the stock was downgraded today from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’ at KeyBanc.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) is up more than ;6.8%, at $14.70. The chip maker reported so-so earnings yesterday, but strong positive statements by analysts at FBR and Citi have turned broken eggs into an omelette.

Stay tuned for Monday. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank president Dennis Lockhart is speaking in Brazil. Here’s a list of other noteworthy events (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – Chicago Federal Reserve Bank national activity index
• 10:00 a.m. – National Association of Retailers existing home sales report

Have a great weekend.

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Paul Ausick

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 17 points to 12,096.39 (0.14%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 29 points (1.09%) to 2,686.20, and the S&P 500 rose 0.48% or more than 6 points to 1,257.80.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A) raised to ‘buy’ at BofA/ML. Other action included Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) reiterated at ‘neutral’ by Argus; Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE: AAP) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus; Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) target raised from $25 to $28 at Argus; Alimera Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: ALIM) cut to ‘neutral’ with a $2 target at Credit Suisse.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is down about -2.25%, at $57.57; Beazer USA Homes Inc. (NYSE: BZH) is down about -0.5%, at $2.21; Covidien plc (NYSE: COV) is up nearly 2.5%, at $48.44; Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE: DKS) is up nearly 5.5%, at $41.73; TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX) is up about 1% at $61.16; and Saks, Inc. (NYSE: SKS) is up 2.5%, at $10.46. For a more detailed look at today’s retail earnings, see our earlier story.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

Moneygram International, Inc. (NYSE: MGI) is up about 616%, at $18.68. The company announced a 1-for-8 reverse stock split this morning, shrinking the number of outstanding shares from 1.3 billion to 162.5 million. The stock closed yesterday at $2.61, and posted a new 52-week high this morning of $19.61.

Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX) is up nearly 30%, at $1.31. There is no direct news from the company, but the price jump is very likely related to an announcement yesterday from Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) that it was building a new plant in Canada that would double its annual production of ethanol.

Netlist, Inc. (NASDAQ: NLST) is up more than 24%, at $2.92. The company has signed deals with both IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) under which Netlist’s cloud memory product undergo qualification testing for use with the two companies’ servers.

FriendFinder Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFN) is down more than -20%, at $1.50, after posting a new 52-week low of $1.42. The company has been notified of a class-action lawsuit charging that it made false statements related the number of shares of stock subject to the 180-day lock-up period following the company’s IPO last May.

Meritor, Inc. (NYSE: MTOR) is down more than -17%, at $6.58. The company reported solid earnings today, but cut next year’s revenue guidance by about 10%.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Richmond Federal Reserve Bank president Jeffrey Lacker and Boston Fed president Eric Rosengren are giving speeches tomorrow. Here’s a list of other noteworthy events (all times Eastern):

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage purchase applications
• 8:30 a.m. – Consumer price index
• 9:15 a.m. – Federal Reserve industrial production index
• 10:00 a.m. – Housing market index
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report

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Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Alimera Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALIM) Cut to Neutral with $2 target at Credit Suisse.
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE: CIM) Reiterated Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ: CWTR) Added to Strong Sell List at Zacks.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) Cut to Sell as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) Raised target to $28 from $25 at Argus.
Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) named value stock of the day at Zacks.
Northeast Utilities (NYSE: NU) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
NSTAR (NYSE: NST) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) Reiterated Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Sourcefire, Inc. (NASDAQ: FIRE) Initiated as Buy at BofA/ML.

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JON C. OGG