The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 74 points to 12,660.61 (-0.58%), the NASDAQ rose more than 11 points (0.40%) to 2,816.55, and the S&P 500 fell -0.16% or about 2 points to 1,316.33.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) started as ‘outperform’ with a $32 target price at Credit Suisse; Sandridge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) started as ‘buy’ at Canaccord Genuity; The Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) started as ‘outperform’ at William Blair; J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) raised to ‘overweight’ at Piper Jaffray and maintained as ‘buy’ with target price raised to $49 at Argus; and Kimco Realty Crop. (NYSE: KIM) cut to ‘neutral’ at Citigroup.

Earnings reports since markets closed on last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) is down -2.62% at $40.20; Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) is down -2.10% at $104.35; Dominion Resources Inc. (NYSE: D) is down -1.91% at $49.88; Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) is down -3.69% at $12.27; Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) is up 1.31% at $58.59; and Proctor & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) is down -0.51% at $64.47.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Solutia Inc. (NYSE: SOA) is up more than 40% at $27.35, after posting a new 52-week high of $27.85 earlier today. The specialty chemicals company has agreed to be acquired by Eastman Chemical Co. (NYSE: EMN) for $3.4 billion in cash and stock.

Cepheid (NASDAQ: CPHD) is up more than 25% at $42.98 after posting new 52-week high of $43.03 earlier today. The medical diagnostics equipment maker has boosted its sales outlook and is enjoying a halo effect from the hostile takeover bid for Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN).

Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: INFI) is down -40% at $5.97. The drug maker has cancelled further trials of a pancreatic cancer drug that does not perform better than placebo.

Inergy L.P. (NYSE: NRGY) is down nearly -24% at $17.31 after posting a new 52-week low of $17.23 earlier today. The natural gas distribution company is cutting payouts to its unitholders.

Riverbed Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) is down nearly -19% at $24.38. The networking technology company warned this morning that first-quarter sales growth would not meet previous expectations.

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

• 8:30 a.m. – Personal income and outlays
• 11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month Treasury bill auctions

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Have a great weekend.

Paul Ausick

UBS has issued a brief report that hurricanes tend to have little impact on GDP and on Federal Reserve policy, but one notion that they do influence is employment.  The observation is that companies in hurricane areas tend to push out their new hiring decisions by about a month.

We wanted to take a look at just some of the companies in each sector that would win and lose from the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.  You can imagine that insurance companies are going to be hit by damage claims, but what about power, water, and telecom?  And imagine the construction and rebuilding business.  And the building supplies and service providers.

Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) and The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) have exposure in the areas around North Carolina.  That is where the landfall is expected first.  Perhaps more worrisome is the upper Eastern Seaboard where Hurricane Irene is expected to strafe this weekend. The Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB) has exposure in New York and on north throughout southern New England, as does Allstate and Travelers.  Chubb noted on its site, “Hurricane Irene Alert: Chubb is helping its customers prepare for the storm.”  Allstate also has a claim and preparedness site.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) is also likely not immune as Mr. Buffett has joked in the past that he was lucky enough to avoid hurricanes for two straight years.

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) spoke on CNBC this morning saying that while they do expect damage that they have their staff ready to go to assist in the region.  Power lines and power equipments tend to not do well in floods, 100 mile an hour wind, lightning, and with flying debris.  Dominion Resources Inc. (NYSE: D) saw a brief outage at a nuclear plant this week due to the earthquake, but it has already said that its Virginia and North Caroline units are preparing for the aftermath.  Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) has the often controversial Indian Point nuclear power plant located about 35 miles the middle of Manhattan.

This could have an impact on American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) as well, even though this company is very diversified throughout parts of America.  The New Jersey based water utility has operations at risk in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is also diversified all over the United States, particularly on wireless.   That being said, it has real land line and phone line exposure throughout much of the projected areas in New York and the Northeast as the former Bell Atlantic.

Insiders may sell shares for a myriad of reasons that have nothing to do with the underlying fundamentals of a company. But when insiders buy shares of the company in the open market, it is almost certainly because they think the shares are undervalued or will rise in the future.

We therefore ignored the large acquisitions by a holding company or an activist. We aimed to identify the top insiders who bought shares in the open market, taking the action as a statement they think shares are cheap, or at least oversold. Some of these CEOs and Officers are already up huge on their purchases. Maybe they are on to something and understand how their companies will fare in this economy better than what overall market panic might indicate.

Companies Whose Own CEOs Are Now Buying:

Titanium Metals Corporation’s (NYSE: TIE) chairman Harold Simmons grabbed his checkbook to buy shares. Simmons spent some $8.2 million to buy 600,000 shares of common stock at a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of $13.6492. Simmons owns millions of shares with his spouse and via other entities under his control. Other officer and insider purchases were recorded as well in recent days. Shares are back up to $14.85, and the 52-week range here is $13.80 to $22.93. TIE was an $18 stock as recently as August 2.

Equity One Inc. (NYSE: EQY) is a community shopping center REIT, and the Chairman, Chaim Katzman, has spent another $5.5 million or so on multiple days at multiple prices to buy shares. One day alone was a 215,168 share buy at a VWAP of $17.40, and other prices were below $17.00. Katzman now holds more than 52 million shares, and the price is back up above $17.50. The 52-week range is $15.07 to $20.27, and the REIT has a current dividend north of 5%. Keep in mind that the stock traded around $20 as recently as July 22.

Amphenol Corpration’s (NYSE: APH) chairman Martin Loeffler spent $4.99 million buying 115,300 shares of the cabling company on August 5 at a VWAP of $43.31. Shares are already back up to $46.75, and the 52-week trading range was $39.61 to $59.11. It is interesting to know that insiders were selling shares early in 2011 at prices closer to $55.00. The Chairman must think Amphenol has sold off too much.

Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) has been pounded of late, but chairman of the board Mark Rachesky bought shares under the “MHR” entities, where he effectively raised his stake by another 166,000 shares bought at a price of $7.1434 (VWAP), and took the stake to 25.9%. He previously purchased 500,000 shares at $6.46 for some $3.22 million. Shares are now at $7.65, and the 52-week range is $5.78 to $17.66. What matters here is that LEAP was a $10.00 stock as recently as August 3 and  a $15.00 stock as recently as July 22 before the huge selling wave hit. Dr. Rachesky is the co-founder and president of MHR Fund Management LLC, which is an investment manager of various private investment funds.

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN) is a former buyout target that did not get acquired. It turns out the Huntsman family sees value here: Officers Peter Huntsman bought 100,000 shares at $11.37 for over $1.1 million, and Jon Huntsman bought 200,000 shares at $11.48 per share for proceeds of $2,296,000.00. Shares of this $3.3 billion chemical company are already back up at $13.93, and the 52-week trading range is $8.47 to $21.52.

Morgan Stanley’s (NYSE: MS) CEO James Gorman last week showed his conviction and confidence in the company … albeit a bit too early. Gorman spent more than $2 million in open market transactions for 100,000 shares at VWAP of $20.6207. The shares were purchased in multiple transactions at prices ranging from $20.555 to $20.73, and the date of the transaction is August 4. Morgan Stanley shares fell below $16.50 at the peak of the selling panic this week, but the stock is back up to $17.50. Gorman was making a statement, but he jumped in a bit too early — before the U.S. downgrade and before the E.U. bank mess.

Greenbrier Companies Inc. (NYSE: GBX) saw waves of insider buying from its president & CEO William Furman this week. He bought roughly 100,000 shares of stock at prices of $12.92 to $15.00. He now holds about 1.3 million shares. Greenbrier manufactures railroad car equipment as well as marine barges. The 52-week trading range is $9.10 to $30.38.

Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) is freshly under a share buyback plan now that it has emerged from Chapter 11. CFO Christopher Winfrey purchased some 25,000 shares at $46.02 for a total of about $1.15 million. Shares are back up to $47.50, and the 52-week trading range is $31.36 to $61.15. With the CFO buying shares as well as a $200 million share buyback plan, it seems the company may actually believe in its own worth.

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) is going to benefit from the new perpetually low rates courtesy of Ben Bernanke and for the fact that the debt ceiling issue is behind us. Kevin Keyes, chief strategic officer and head of capital markets, has decided that Annaly will be able to keep borrowing at next to nothing rates, and buying mortgage products so that the REIT can pay out 90% of its income for massive yields. He spent more than $850,000, buying 50,000 shares on August 8 at $17.13 VWAP. With this purchase, he doubled his stake in the company. Shares are back up to almost $18, and the 52-week trading range is $14.05 to $18.79. NLY one has a double-digit dividend yield at the current payout.

Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE: D), a producer and transporter of power, had a buy in window open up when five insiders acquired more than 15,000 shares in direct market purchases. The insiders included the CEO and CFO as well as as directors. They bought at share prices of $46.11 to $48.21. Shares are back up to $48.00, and the 52-week range is $41.13 to $50.45. Keep in mind that Dominion is a $27 billion company.

Windstream Corporation (NASDAQ: WIN), the rural telecommunications services provider acquiring Paetec Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: PAET), has seen president & CEO Jeffery Gardner buy 17,800 shares along with VP Grant Raney. Chairman Dennis Foster bought 10,000 shares as well. The various purchases were a mix of ‘non open market’ and direct purchases at prices between $11.00 and $11.50. These same insiders had also made indirect and direct purchases of shares in May and June at prices closer to $13.00. What is interesting is that these insiders are growing shares during the midst of an acquisition of broadband provider Paetec for more than $700 million.

Middleburg Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: MBRG) is interesting, even if it might not seem the biggest buy in the world. Ousted Berkshire Hathaway executive David Sokol spent about $260,000 to buy 8,317 more shares of Middleburg at $14.56, and another 11,000 shares at $14.38. Sokol now has over 1.4 million shares, direct and indirect, and he has been thought of as a buyer of the banking and financial services company. MBRG trades only about 10,000 shares a day, and has a $101 million market cap. Its 52-week trading range is $13.33 to $19.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: LGND) may seem like a light purchase on the surface, but the purchase is after a period of real weakness, when shares fell from $13.50 to $11 before the recent market stabilization. Todd Davis, a director, bought 15,000 shares at a VWAP price of $10.90 in multiple transactions at prices ranging from $10.668 to $11.239. The transaction doubled his direct ownership stake of 29,201 shares. Another director, Jason Aryeh, bought 2,000 shares at $10.57, and another director, Sunil Patel, bought 5,000 shares at a VWAP of $10.74. The transaction was after earnings. The 52-week trading range of $8.14 to $14.80. Ligand also trades only about 133,000 shares a day, so this stood out more than many investors might have given it credit for.

JON C. OGG

Some of the more recent dividend hikes in the utility sector have been in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK), American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK), American States Water Company (NYSE: AWR), Xcel Energy Inc. (NYSE: XEL), and DTE Energy Co. (NYSE: DTE).  What we are trying to show you is that the trend of dividend hikes is not without precedent in utilities.

24/7 Wall St. is looking for utility dividend hike candidates after some recent hikes in the sector.  We have evaluated 9 large-cap or mid-cap dividend producing utility stocks for investors where you can expect a dividend hike in the coming months.  These include, in alphabetic order: American Electric Power Co., Inc. (NYSE: AEP), Constellation Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE: CEG), Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE: D), Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR), FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE: PNW), PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), and Progress Energy Inc. (NYSE: PGN).

Now that the Supreme Court has rejected some carbon-cutting measures, some additional drag has been removed from this sector that might have otherwise been victim to higher ten-year Treasury yields.  We would also like to note that we have tried to consider mergers in our analysis as this sector continues to consolidate.  Our basis is more of a standalone merger basis rather than solely due to mergers  into consideration here because we are looking for the companies which can grow their dividends based solely upon their own metrics.

American Electric Power Co., Inc. (NYSE: AEP) is perhaps our favorite utility and it was named as one of our ten stocks to own for the next decade.  Its shares recently traded at $38.18 and has a current dividend yield of 4.9%.  Its 52-week trading range is $30.34 to $38.99.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $3.13 EPS for 2011 and $3.22 EPS for 2012.  AEP has had three straight quarters of a $0.46 dividend and this is likely to be grown in the months ahead.  The prior $0.42 quarterly dividend was only in place for two quarters before being raised.  The current pace comes to $1.84 per year.  Our take, look for $0.48 per quarter.  We are not looking for an equal hike this time around as earnings growth is only expected to be almost 3% next year.

Constellation Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE: CEG) is often treated as a controversial stock in the world of utilities.  While we said we are not taking M&A into consideration, it is in a pending deal with Excelon and we are still evaluating this on a standalone basis.  It recently traded at $37.70 and has a current dividend yield of 2.55%.  Its 52-week trading range is $27.24 to $37.87.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $3.20 EPS for 2011 and $2.46 EPS for 2012.  Its dividend used to be far higher and has been $0.24 per quarter for about ten quarters in a row.  It is hard to know about the “when” but the “if” seems a shoe-in if it somehow is not merged.

Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE: D) recently traded at $48.61 and has a current dividend yield of almost 4.1%.  Its 52-week trading range is $36.98 to $49.07.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $3.14 EPS for 2011 and $3.25 EPS for 2012.  The company has been in the habit of hiking payouts more than once a year if the last hike was a sign.  If no dividend hike is made in the fall, it could be announced late this year.  The current payout is $1.97 per year, leaving well more than $1.00 per share for operations ahead.

The ETFs include Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLU), iShares Dow Jones US Utilities (NYSE: IDU), Rydex S&P Equal Weight Utilities (NYSE: RYU), and Ulta Utilities ProShares (NYSE: UPW). The closed-end funds we looked at include Cohen & Steers Utility Fund Inc. (NYSE: UTF), Reaves Utility Income Fund (AMEX: UTG), Wells Fargo Advantage Utilities and High Income Fund (AMEX: ERH), and DNP Select Income Fund, Inc. (NYSE: DNP). The mutual funds we looked included Invesco Utilities Investor (FSTUX), Rydex Utilities (RYAUX), and Franklin Utilities A (FKUTX).

The utilities sector posts a price/earnings ratio of 18.50, higher than the tech, financial, conglomerates, and materials sectors. The sector’s return on equity is the lowest of all but the financial sector, but its dividend yield of 3.94% is higher than any other sector.

Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLU) holds net assets of $4.33 billion and it’s year-to-date return is 6.81%, while its yield is 3.94%. XLU’s three largest holdings are Southern Company (NYSE: SO) at 8.32.% of assets, Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC), and Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE: D). The fund’s 52-week range is $27.92-$34.30, and it closed last week at $33.19. Shares are up about 18% in the past 12 months and about 19% from the annual low.

iShares Dow Jones US Utilities (NYSE: IDU) claims net assets of $511 million and its year-to-date return is 7.94%, while its yield is 3.57%. It’s three largest holdings are also Southern Company (6.39%), Exelon, and Dominion. The fund’s 52-week range is $67.94-$84.54, and it closed last week at $81.85. Shares are up nearly 20% in the past 12 months, and about the same from the annual low.

Rydex S&P Equal Weight Utilities (NYSE: RYU) has net assets of $24.5 million, and its year-to-date return is 7.48%, while its yield is 3.27%. Its top three holdings are Constellation Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE: CEG), which is being acquired by Exelon, at 2.7% of total assets, NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG), and NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI). RYU also includes some communications stocks, such as MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS) and Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ). As its name would lead you to believe, its tenth-largest holding accounts for 2.54% of total assets. The fund’s 52-week range is $43.51-$56.28, and it closed last week at $54.47. Shares are up about 24% in the past 12 months and about 25% from the annual low.

ProShares Ultra Utilities (NYSE: UPW) has net assets of $14.45 million, and its year-to-date return is 15.65%, while its yield is 2.32%. Its top three holdings are Southern Company at 5.62%, Exelon, and NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE). The fund’s 52-week range is $32.19-$50.52, and it closed last week at $47.37. Shares are up about 45% in the past 12 months and about 47% from the annual low.

The Republican response to the president’s call for more investment in alternative energy is to continue its long-standing push for more domestic drilling and less regulation. The GOP wants to open the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, and expand off-shore drilling in the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico. The bill also seeks to limit the time allowed for agency and judicial review for drilling permits.

Interestingly, nothing proposed either by President Obama or Senate Republicans will do anything to lower gasoline prices at the pump. Both plans are medium- to long-term responses to high prices and US dependence on imported oil. From the look of things, we’re about to begin a political game that has been played before with no results.

A new wrinkle in the push for alt energy sources could have come from the US Bureau of Reclamation, which has just released a study of installing hydropower generation at federally-owned dams, canals, and other hydro facilities.  According to the bureau, there are 70 facilities in the western US out of 530 it evaluated at which hydro-generation could be developed to yield as much as 1.2 million megawatts of electricity annually. That’s enough to serve about 85,000 homes.

The federal government would not do the development, however. That would be left up to cities and private developers. The bureau is offering a lease contract for up to 40 years to any non-federal entity that uses a bureau facility to generate electric power. A “Lease of Power Privilege Agreement” would not require a developer to obtain a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Presumably that would speed up development.

This plan might have had some takers a few years ago, but with municipalities struggling with budget deficits and hydropower not a particular favorite of environmentalists, it’s hard to see how this report will lead to any substantial new hydropower development.

In Saudi Arabia, where water is scarce and oil is not, the government is considering a plan to spend up to $100 billion to convert some electricity generation from oil-fired to solar and nuclear. A report from Bloomberg states that the Saudis may announce details of their plan on April 3rd.

Every megawatt generated by an alternative source means that the country has more oil to export. Saudi Arabia burns the equivalent of about 800,000 barrels of oil a day to generate electricity. It wouldn’t take long for the country to export enough oil at $100/barrel to pay the proposed $100 billion tab for solar and nuclear generation.

A much smaller scale conversion to alternative energy has been announced in Virginia. Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE: D), one of the country’s largest power generators, will convert three of its coal-fired power plants in Virginia to burn biomass. The three plants currently provide about 65 megawatts each of peaking power. Following the conversion, the plants are expected to provide 50 megawatts each of baseload power.

Finally, privately held BrightSource Energy, Inc. has secured another round of venture funding, this time for $201 million. The company has raised a total of $530 million in private equity in addition to $1.3 billion in loan guarantees from the federal government. BrightSource is building the 392-megawatt Ivanpah solar thermal power plant in southern California. The company was included in our list of the 25 most important alt energy companies.

Paul Ausick

ADTRAN Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE: D) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Raised to Buy at Altantic.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Cut to Hold at ThinkEquity.
Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Suntech Power Holdings Co. (NYSE: STP) Raised to Outperform as the Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Unitedhealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

AirTran Holdings (NYSE: AAI) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; Cut to Neutral at UBS; Cut to Market Perform at Avondale.
Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE: D) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) Maintained Buy but cut target to $21 at Kaufman Bros.
Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $52 at Oppenheimer.
KB Home (NYSE: KBH) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) Raised to Hold at KeyBanc.
LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) Cut to Underweight at HSBC.
Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Spreadtrum Communications (NASDAQ: SPRD) Cut to Hold at Auriga.
SunTech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP) Cut to Neutral at HSBC.
Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) Cut to Underweight at HSBC.
Yingli Green Energy Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) Cut to Underweight at HSBC.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Overweight and $340 target at Barclays.
Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Cut to Underperform at First Global.
Avago Technologies Limited (NASDAQ: AVGO) Reiterated Buy and $30 target at Gleacher.
China Medical Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: CMED) Started as Buy with $16 target at Deutsche Bank.
Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE: D) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) Cut to Market Perform at BMO.
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Medtronic, Inc.(NYSE: MDT) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo; Cut to Market Perform at William Blair.
Online Resources Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCC) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (NYSE: PEG) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Qlik Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: QLIK) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
RealD Inc. (NYSE: RLD) Started as Outperform By BMO; Started as Overweight at Piper Jaffray; Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Hold an $48 target at GMP.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

AFLAC Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
AmeriCredit Corp. (NYSE: ACF) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
Barclays plc (NYSE: BCS) Lowered targets by RBS.
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE: D) Raised to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Nice Systems Limited (NASDAQ: NICE) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Premiere Global Services, Inc. (NYSE: PGI) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) Raised to Buy at UBS.

JON C. OGG