General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) short interest rose 14% to 94.25 million shares. About 0.9% of GE’s float is now short.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) saw short interest fall by 20.8% to 206.34 million shares, about 5.5% of the company’s total float.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) short interest fell 2.1% to 164.26 million shares, which represents 1.5% of the company’s float.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) saw a 1.5% rise in short interest to 52.2 million shares, which represents about 1.8% of the firm’s float.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) showed a rise of 13.1% in short interest, to 33.02 million shares, about 13.4% of Alpha’s float.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) showed a drop of 2.8% in short interest, to 11 million shares, about 15.1% of the company’s float.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw short interest rise by 107.2% to 41.59 million shares, or 2.4% of the company’s float.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) saw short interest rise by 0.2% to 164.69 million shares, or 33.3% of the total float.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) posted a 16.3% drop in short interest, to 99.42 million shares, about 1.3% of Microsoft’s float.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) short interest declined by 7.2%, to 22.35 million shares or about 1.5% of the company’s float.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) saw short interest decrease by 2.1% to 31.58 million shares or 26% of the company’s float.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) saw short interest rise by 1.2% to 58.7 million shares or about 1.1% of the company’s float.

The most interesting changes in this two-week period are the declines in short interest in Nokia, BlackBerry and Microsoft, as well as the concomitant doubling of short interest in Apple. That is a pretty clear indication that investors are betting that three players in the mobile sector are about to put more pressure on the sector leader.

Short interest in Dell declined for the third period in a row. It will be interesting to see if today’s offer from Carl Icahn and Southeastern Capital Management moves the needle at all. The new offer is certainly not one that cannot be refused.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) short interest rose 4.8% to 82.7 million shares. About 0.8% of GE’s float is now short.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) saw short interest fall by 12.8% to 260.55 million shares, about 7% of the company’s total float.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) short interest rose 7.1% to 167.8 million shares, which represents 1.6% of the company’s float.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) saw a 10.8% drop in short interest to 51.42 million shares, which represents about 1.8% of the firm’s float.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) showed a rise of 4.8% in short interest, to 29.19 million shares, about 13.4% of Alpha’s float.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) showed a drop of 2.8% in short interest, to 11 million shares, about 1.1% of the company’s float.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw short interest rise by 0.3% to 20.01 million shares, or 2.1% of the company’s float.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) saw short interest rise by 5.6% to 164.34 million shares, or 33.2% of the total float. Short interest continues to be reported under the company’s previous name, Research in Motion Ltd., but the stock symbol has been changed to BBRY.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) posted a 9.9% rise in short interest, to 118.71 million shares, about 1.6% of Microsoft’s float.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) short interest declined by 18.7%, to 24.09 million shares or about 1.6% of the company’s float.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) saw short interest decrease by 6.3% to 32.25 million shares or 26.5% of the company’s float.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) saw short interest rise by 7.7% to 58 million shares or about 1.1% of the company’s float.

Short interest in Dell has declined by double-digit percentages for the past two reports. Competition to the bid from Michael Dell and his partners, once believed to be strong enough to push the stock price higher, had begun to evaporate a few weeks ago and now that one competitive bidder has withdrawn the shares trade once again right around the level of the original take-private bid.

Short interest in Microsoft was rising following reports on weakness in the PC market. The shorts likely will have bailed out by the next short interest report, now that the company has posted solid earnings for the first quarter.

And in the smartphone market, the drop in Nokia’s short interest could indicate that traders see the company getting some benefit from Apple’s perceived woes. BlackBerry, where a third of the shares are now short, has few believers left in its ability to recover.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) short interest fell 9.2% to 78.92 million shares. About 0.8% of GE’s float is now short.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) saw short interest fall by 8.6% to 298.69 million shares, about 8.6% of the company’s total float.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) short interest rose 0.6% to 156.73 million shares, which represents 1.5% of the company’s float.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) saw a 5.5% drop in short interest to 57.64 million shares, which represents about 2% of the firm’s float.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) showed a drop of 1.4% in short interest to 27.86 million shares, about 12.8% of Alpha’s float.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) showed a drop of 16.1% in short interest to 11.31 million shares, which is about 1.1% of the company’s float.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw a short interest fall by 2.4% to 20.01 million shares, or 2.1% of the company’s float.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) saw short interest rise by 0.5% to 155.7 million shares, or 31.5% of the total float. Short interest continues to be reported under the company’s previous name, Research in Motion Ltd., but the stock symbol has been changed to BBRY.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) posted a 0.2% rise in short interest to 107.98 million shares, about 1.4% of Microsoft’s float.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) short interest declined by 23% to 29.62 million shares. or about 2% of the company’s float.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) saw short interest increase by 1.2% to 34.4 million shares, or 28.3% of the company’s float.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) saw short interest drop by 12.9% to 53.87 million shares, or about 1% of the company’s float.

Where the previous report showed a 30% jump in short interest in Dell Inc., the latest report shows a decline of more than 20%. The stock continues to trade higher than the buyout bid offered by Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners, and the shorts have bailed out, probably believing that a firm — and better — offer will be forthcoming and that shares will rise.

Short interest in BlackBerry only rose a fraction of a point after a much larger jump following the company’s U.S. launch of its new smartphone. McDonald’s saw a large drop in short interest, probably on the woes faces competitor Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) in China. McDonald’s exposure in China is not as large as Yum!’s and the Golden Arches may be able to contain the damage.

We would caution that some of the turnaround stocks have not yet truly turned around. Efforts have been made, progress is at least apparent and shares have risen handily from the lows. We credit much of this to the major bull market. Investors have to remember that in good times it is often the market’s ugly ducklings and sloppy pigs that rally more than the best and safest companies.

24/7 Wall St. wants to warn that any (and maybe even all) of the turnarounds of these companies could again flop. Some of the long-term pressure may have been economic, some might be execution. In more than one case for sure, it may just be that the world’s habits and preferences have headed in a different direction.

What these companies have in common is strong performance year-to-date and off of the lows of 2012. They also all have what would be considered as mid-cap or large-cap market valuations, or their sales are high enough that they would be in that range if they were profitable. Another common trait is that the pressure these companies have felt has been a multiyear issue. Lastly, they are all liquid and have large short interest.

Our take is that each of these companies could have even further significant upside in its stock if the turnarounds can continue. That being said, we have doubts on many of these. and we would warn risk-averse investors that big risks face each and every one of these companies either in the near-term or in the long-term.

Short interest in General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) rose 9.7% to 86.94 million shares. About 0.8% of GE’s float is now short.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) saw short interest fall by 3.4% to 326.65 million shares, or about 8.7% of the company’s total float.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) short interest fell 3.4% to 155.76 million shares, which represents 1.5% of the company’s float.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) saw a 0.4% drop in short interest to 60.96 million shares, which is about 2.1% of the total float.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) showed a drop of 11.5% in short interest to 28.24 million shares, or about 13% of Alpha’s float.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) showed a drop of 4.9% in short interest to 13.49 million shares, about 1.3% of the company’s float.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw a short interest rise by 5.5% to 20.5 million shares, or 2.2% of the company’s float.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) saw short interest rise by 5.3% to 155.01 million shares, or 31.4% of the total float. Short interest continues to be reported under the company’s previous name, Research in Motion, but the stock symbol has been changed to BBRY.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) posted a 10.2% rise in short interest, to 107.82 million shares. That is about 1.4% of Microsoft’s float.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) short interest rose by 32.8% to 38.47 million shares, or about 2.6% of the company’s float.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) saw short interest increase by 10.3% to 33.99 million shares, or 27.9% of the company’s float.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) saw it short interest rise by 0.5% to 61.81 million shares, which was about 1.2% of the company’s float.

Short interest in Dell leaped more than 30% in the first two weeks of March. The stock has been trading above the buyout bid offered by Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners, so the short bet has been that there would be no substantive counter bid. However, at least two counter offers appear to be on the horizon, so it is not unlikely that the short positions will pull back.

Nearly a third of BlackBerry’s stock is now held short, and given company’s lackluster performance at last week’s U.S. launch of the Z10, it is not unreasonable to assume that the shorts will continue to flow in.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) short interest rose 1.6% to 79.23 million shares. About 0.8% of GE’s float is now short.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) saw short interest rise by 2.1% to 337.98 million shares, or about 9% of the company’s total float.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) short interest fell 2.8% to 161.31 million shares, which represents 1.5% of the company’s float.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) saw a 30.1% rise in short interest to 61.21 million shares, or about 2.1% of the firm’s float.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) showed a drop of 3.7% in short interest, to 31.91 million shares, about 14.7% of Alpha’s float.

Short interest in McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) rose 1.9% to 14.18 million shares. That is about 1.4% of the company’s float.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw a short interest rise by 3.5% to 19.43 million shares, or 2.1% of the total float.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) short interest increased by 7.8% to 147.21 million shares, or 29.8% of the total float. Short interest continues to be reported under the company’s previous name, Research in Motion Ltd., but the stock symbol has been changed to BBRY.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) posted a 17.1% rise in short interest, to 97.89 million shares, or about 1.3% of Microsoft’s float.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) short interest rose by 0.8% to 28.96 million shares, about 2% of the company’s float.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) saw short interest decrease by 0.2% to 30.83 million shares, or 25.3% of the company’s float.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) short interest grew by 11.6% to 61.5 million shares, or about 1.2% of the company’s float.

The big gain in short interest for these two weeks was Verizon. The shorts struck before the news came out that Verizon might acquire the 45% of Verizon Wireless now owned by Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ: VOD), so the big jump in short interest is a bit curious. Short interest in Microsoft and BlackBerry almost certainly is related to the prospects for these companies to make inroads against Apple or Samsung — prospects that equal slim and none.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) short interest rose 6.4% to 77.96 million shares. About 0.7% of GE’s float is now short.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) saw short interest fall by 2.7% to 330.97 million shares, about 8.8% of the company’s total float.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) short interest rise 10.3% to 166 million shares, which represents 1.5% of the company’s float.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) saw a 3.8% rise in short interest to 47.05 million shares, which represents about 1.6% of the firm’s float.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) showed a rise of 3.6% in short interest, to 33.13 million shares, about 15.2% of Alpha’s float.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) showed a rise of 12.5% in short interest, to 13.92 million shares, about 1.4% of the company’s float.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw a short interest fall by 0.4% to 18.78 million shares, or 2% of the company’s float.

Research In Motion changed its name to BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) on January 30, and short interest for this period was reported under the old name and ticker symbol RIMM. It saw short interest rise by 5.4% to 136.51 million shares, or 27.6% of the total float.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) posted a 4.4% rise in short interest, to 83.58 million shares, about 1.1% of Microsoft’s float.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) short interest fall by 30.1%, to 28.73 million shares or about 2% of the company’s float.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) saw short interest increase by 13.9% to 30.89 million shares or 25.4% of the company’s float.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) saw short interest fall by 3% to 55.11 million shares or about 1% of the company’s float.

Short interest in Dell has declined dramatically again following the buyout offer from Michael Dell and his partners. The rise in BlackBerry’s share price has brought more short interest because few people really believe the new smartphones will make much of dent in the armor of Apple, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) or Samsung. GE’s rise in short interest is likely due to investors’ belief that the stock is fully valued and prospects are dimming as the global economy continues its slow motion recovery.

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.75% today, now at 81.065. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.5% at 675.63, with commodities prices higher today. WTI March crude oil closed down 2.2% today, at $94.46 a barrel. The April contract closed down 1.9% at 95.22 and will be the source of the WTI quote for the next month. Brent crude trades down at 1.7% at $115.52 a barrel. Natural gas is up 0.4% today at about $3.28 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 1.6% today at $1,578.00 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 109 points to 13,926.47 (-0.78%), the NASDAQ fell about 49 points (-1.53%) to 3,164.41, and the S&P 500 fell -1.24% or about 19 points to 1,511.90.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Windstream Corp. (NASDAQ: WIN) cut to ‘sell’ at UBS; Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) reiterated as ‘buy’ and price target raised to $44 at Argus; Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) cut to ‘underperform’ at CLSA; Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) reiterated as ‘buy’ and price target raised to $54 at Argus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI) is down 2.2% at $45.98; CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF) is down 5.3% at $206.88; Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is up 0.25% at $XX (more coverage here); Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) is down 5% at $37.77 (more coverage here); Avista Corp. (NYSE: AVA) is down 0.2% at $26.15; Clean Harbors Inc. (NYSE: CLH) is up 6.1% at $53.37; Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) is down 0.25% at $36.00; Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) is down 8.3% at $5.61; MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is down 1.5% at $12.55; Sodastream International Ltd. (NASDAQ: SODA) is down 6.8% at $48.90 (more coverage here); and Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) is down 8.7% at $33.71 (more coverage here).

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX), Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE: ETP), Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS), Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Walter Energy Inc. (NYSE: WLT), Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE: AUY), Carlyle Group LP (NASDAQ: CG), Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) (more coverage here), Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE: CDE), Ensco PLC (NYSE: ESV), Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY), and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

OfficeMax Inc. (NYSE: OMX) is down 11.8% at $11.47 after posting a new 52-week high of $14.92 earlier today. The office supply retailer and Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) finally pulled the trigger on their merger after one false start this morning. Office Depot shares are down 22.1% at $3.91. More coverage here.

Netspend Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: NTSP) is up 28.6% at $15.80 after posting a new 52-week high of $15.96 earlier today. The pre-paid credit card provider has agreed to be acquired by Total System Services Inc. (NYSE: TSS) for about $1.4 billion in cash ($16 a share).

Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR) is down 40% at $5.50. The oil & gas junior said today that a planned sale to Indonesia’s Pertamina has been cancelled. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Thursday. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, San Francisco Fed President John Williams, and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on Tuesday’s schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Consumer price index
8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
8:58 a.m. – Flash PMI manufacturing index
10:00 a.m. – Existing home sales
10:00 a.m. – Philadelphia Fed survey
10:00 a.m. – Leading indicators
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
11:00 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
1:00 p.m. – 30-year Treasury Inflation-Protected securities (TIPS) auction
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Access Midstream Partners L.P. (NYSE: ACMP) reiterated Outperform but on Focus List at Credit Suisse.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) raised to Buy from Neutral at Lazard.

Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI) reiterated Outperform and raised target to $50 from $48 at Credit Suisse.

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) cut to Underperform at CLSA.

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Express Scripts Holding Co. (NASDAQ: ESRX) cut to Neutral at Macquarie and reiterated Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) reiterated Buy and raised price target by $4 to $54 at Argus.

Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) reiterated Buy and raised target to $44 from $40 at Argus.

Millennial Media Inc. (NYSE: MM) cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

NetSpend Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: NTSP) has announced it is being acquired, and it has so far been downgraded by Credit Suisse and Stern Agee.

Radian Group Inc. (NYSE: RDN) raised to Positive at Susquehanna.

Sealed Air Corp. (NYSE: SEE) cut to Neutral at J.P. Morgan.

Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) raised to Neutral at Citigroup.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) cut to Hold from Buy but target raised to $66 at Jefferies.

Windstream Corp. (NASDAQ: WIN) cut to Sell from Neutral at UBS.

UBS has five GARP picks, meaning growth at a reasonable price.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) short interest rose 29.4% to 73.27 million shares. About 0.7% of GE’s float is now short.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) saw short interest rise by 8.8% to 340.12 million shares, about 8.8% of the company’s total float.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) short interest fell 8.4% to 150.49 million shares, which represents 1.4% of the company’s float.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) saw a 5.8% decline in short interest to 45.32 million shares, which represents about 1.6% of the firm’s float.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) showed a drop of 6.4% in short interest, to 31.99 million shares, about 14.7% of Alpha’s float.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) showed a rise of 6.3% in short interest, to 12.37 million shares, about 1.2% of the company’s float.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw a short interest increase of 6.5% to 18.86 million shares, or 2% of the company’s float.

Research In Motion — now BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) — saw short interest fall by 4.2% to 129.49 million shares, or 27.7% of the total float. The company’s changed its name on January 30.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) posted a 7.4% rise in short interest, to 80.09 million shares, about 1.1% of Microsoft’s float.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) short interest fell by 28.4% to 41.1 million shares, or about 2.8% of the company’s float.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) saw short interest fall by 12.6% to 27.12 million shares, or 22.3% of the company’s float.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) saw short interest fall by 2.5% to 56.8 million shares. That is about 1.1% of the company’s float.

BlackBerry remains the most heavily shorted of these active stocks, name change notwithstanding. Dell’s short interest fell dramatically in the days leading up to the buyout offer from Michael Dell and his partners. GE’s rise in short interest is likely due to investors’ belief that the company will not repeat its strong fourth-quarter showing. Finally, McDonald’s has been having trouble meeting expectations for monthly sales, and shorts are taking advantage of that.