The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 11 points to 12,705.41 (-0.09%), the NASDAQ rose more than 11 points (0.4%) to 2,859.68, and the S&P 500 rose 0.11% or nearly 1.5 points to 1,325.54.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) raised to ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan; Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) cut to ‘underperform’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch; Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) cut to ‘neutral’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch; and Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) started as ‘buy’ at Canaccord Genuity.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) is up nearly 24% at $66.30; Education Management Corp. (NASDAQ: EDMC) is down -17% at $21.19; Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) is down -0.6% at $24.62; Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) is up 2.2% at $60.88 after posting a new 52-week high of $61.93 earlier today; Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) is up 3.2% at $3.27; Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) is down -3.9% at $5.85; Brinks Co. (NYSE: BCO) is down -17.5% at $24.43; Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO) is up 0.35% at $63.29; Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA) is down -1.2% at $42.48; Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) is down -0.3% at $38.51; Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) is down -0.3% at $15.71; and Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB) is down -0.9% at $46.53.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is up nearly 18% at $12.49 after posting a new post-IPO high of $12.91 earlier today. The social games company got a big boost from Facebook’s IPO filing. Our coverage is here.

MediciNova Inc. (NASDAQ: MNOV) is up nearly 31% at $2.47. The company received a favorable patent notice for a multiple sclerosis treatment device.

Response Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: RGDX) is up more than 27% at $1.50. The drug maker announced the private placement of about 5.3 million shares at $1.50/share, about 28% higher than last night’s closing price.

BioScrip Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOS) is up more than 15% at $6.73. The pharmacy services provider has sold a portion of its assets to Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) for $225 million.

Ur-Energy Inc. (AMEX: URG) is down more than -13% at $1.22. The uranium miner has issued 1.5 million shares of new stock to agents who will attempt to sell at CDN$1.00.

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

• 8:30 a.m. – Non-farm payroll report
• 10:00 a.m. – Factory orders
• 10:00 a.m. – ISM non-manufacturing (services) index

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After the first half hour of trading this morning, Green Mountain is up nearly 20% at $64.20. Volume is already equal to the daily average of about 7.2 million shares traded. The coffee company posted solid earnings after markets closed last night.

Gap Stores is up more than 9% at $21.25. Volume is already about 80% of the daily average of about 5.3 million shares traded. The clothing retailer reported weak January sales, but lifted its EPS outlook for the fourth quarter above analysts’ estimate.

Response Genetics is up more than 32% at $1.56. Volume is more than double the daily average of about 17,000 shares traded. The drug maker announced the private placement of about 5.3 million shares at $1.50/share, about 28% higher than last night’s closing price.

Education Management is down nearly -20% at $20.55. Volume is already about a third of the daily average of about 230,000 shares traded. The for-profit educator reported weak earnings and lowered its EPS outlook for 2012.

SandRidge is down more than -13% at $6.80. Volume is already nearly double the daily average of about 11.7 million shares traded. The oil & gas company has agreed to acquire an offshore driller for about $1.3 billion.

The DJIA is up 0.01% at about 12,718, the Nasdaq Composite is up 0.31% at about 2,857, and the S&P 500 is up 0.15% at about 1,326.

Paul Ausick

We have provided estimates from Thomson Reuters on each and offered commentary and guidance on some of these companies.  More detailed previews will be available Tuesday morning for the reports due after the closing bell:

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) estimates are $0.98 EPS and $8.49 billion.  Watch the medical loss ratio here as it seems to be in quarters past that insurance outfits have been making more money than they were supposed to be making once the new healthcare laws go into effect.  With shares around $44, the year high is $46.01.

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) will prove if it has everyone in good hands or not.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.97 EPS.  With shares around $29, its 52-week range is $22.27 to $34.40.

AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) has now seen shares bounce 60% off of the bottom and that is despite the recent news that Facebook is taking much of the new advertising market share.  Estimates are $0.16 EPS per Thomson Reuters data but we just saw $0.28 noted in a Dow Jones preview yesterday.  That being said, we are staying out of this one.

BMC Software Inc. (NASDAQ: BMC) is expected to post $0.82 EPS on almost $556 million in sales.

Capstead Mortgage Corp. (NYSE: CMO) is not a market moving stock, but investors who are into the world of high-yielding mortgage REITs will be watching.  The estimate is $0.41 EPS (actually FFO) and the next dividend will be likely dependent upon that report.  Its dividend yield screens north of 13% today.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is a cult stock if there every was one and now its valuation is close to $11.5 billion and the stock is within 2% of its all-time high. Thomson Reuters has a consensus of $1.83 EPS and $591.1 million in sales.  For 2012, the estimates are $8.68 EPS and 2.7 billion in revenues.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) is another huge cult stock down on its luck from recent highs.  The stock is still down by more than half.  Thomson Reuters has estimate at $0.36 EPS and $1.06 billion in sales.

JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU) still has a huge shareholder base that got buried in the first big tech bubble.  At $12.75, the 52-week range is $8.59 to $29.12.  Thomson Reuters has a consensus of $0.10 EPS and $390.9 million.

Las Vegas Sands Corporation (NYSE: LVS) is also within striking distance of a near-term high as shares are currently around $49.00 against a 52-week range of $36.05 to $50.68.  The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters are $0.57 EPS and $2.46 billion in sales. 

NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) is a value stock when it comes to the exchanges and it is not supposedly trying to do any crazy merger right now.  At $25.00 the 52-week range is $20.32 to $29.71.  The consensus estimate is $0.62 EPS and $417.8 million. 

QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM)is within striking distance of its yearly high as shares are around $58.80 and the 52-week range is $45.98 to $59.84.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.90 EPS on $4.57 billion in revenues. Next quarter estimates are $0.89 EPS and $4.49 billion in sales.  Keep in mind that if it rallies much more than the current $98.8 billion market cap will be $100 billion.

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For 2012 the company “has raised its expectation for earnings per share to a range of $1.78 to $1.82 representing 17% to 20% growth over the $1.52 EPS in FY11, excluding the non-routine gains. EPS growth is expected to be approximately 10% in the first half of FY12 and approximately 25% in the second half of FY12.”

Starbucks noted that it “continues to target 10% revenue growth on mid-single digit comparable store sales growth.  The company is also maintaining that it will have 50 to 100 basis points margin improvement over fiscal 2011.

The coffee giant reported also that its global comparable store sales rose by roughly 9%, after a 7% traffic rise and a 2% higher sales price gain.

Another note is that Starbucks opened 241 net new stores globally.  The company now has 500 stores in both mainland China and Latin America. For 2012, the company is targeting 400 new stores in the Americas, 300 stores in Asia/Pacific, and 100 stores in the EMEA regions.

As far as the deal with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR), the Starbucks report said that more than 100 million Starbucks- and Tazo-branded K-Cup packs shipped in the first quarter after the November 1 launch date.

Some investors may be puzzled that the stock is not higher.  Frankly, it is holding up fine (all things considered) as the valuation has to catch up to its share price.  Shares rose 1.2% today to $48.34 and it hit an all-time high of $48.49.  Shares are now down 1.2% at $47.80 in the after-hours session.

As we noted earlier, this is close to analyst consensus targets and it trades at 26-times this year’s expected earnings now.

JON C. OGG

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 22 points to 12,734.63 (-0.18%), the NASDAQ fell about 13 points (-0.46%) to 2,805.28, and the S&P 500 fell -0.57% or nearly 7 points to 1,318.45.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) cut to ‘perform’ at Oppenheimer; Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) cut to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank; Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) started as ‘perform’ at Williams Capital; Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) cut to ‘underweight’ at Morgan Stanley; and Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) cut to ‘underweight’ at JPMorgan.

Earnings reports since markets closed on last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) is down -3.66% at $77.29; Arctic Cat Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAT) is up more than 19% at $28.40 after posting a new 52-week high of $29.20 earlier today; AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is down -2.65% at $29.41; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) is down -0.92% at $32.40; Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is up 1.95% at $111.18; Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY) is down more than -11% at $17.03; Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) is up 0.95% at $82.51; McCormick & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MKC) is up 0.90% at $78.55; Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: MWW) is down more than -20% at $7.18; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) is up 1.61% at $45.96; and Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) is up 0.34% at $49.88.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

VIST Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: VIST) is up more than 62% at $11.20 after posting a new 52-week high of $11.50 earlier today. The bank holding company has agreed to be acquired by Tompkins Financial Corp. (AMEX: TMP) in an all-stock deal at an 86% premium to last night’s closing price, or about $85 million.

RealNetworks Inc. (NASDAQ: RNWK) is up more than 35% at $9.98. The digital media company has sold a video codec and a number of patents to Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) for $120 million.

Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTA) is down nearly -21% at $15.13. The biotechnology company lost its bid for an injunction against certain competitors.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is up about 22% at $116.01. The digital video streaming and rental company reported a better-than-expected number of new subscribers after markets closed last night.

Enterprise Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ: EFSC) is down more than -19% at $12.51. The bank holding company will restate earnings for 2010 and the first three quarters of 2011 and expects to dilute 2010 earnings by half as a result.

Stay tuned for Friday. New York Fed President William Dudley is giving a speech in the morning. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – US GDP report
• 9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index

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Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) is often considered a rival despite the K-Cup relationship now. The downstream companies to watch after Starbucks reports earnings are Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEET) and Caribou Coffee Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOU).  Peet’s is up more than 50% off of its year lows and Caribou has roughly doubled from its year lows.

The company slowed its domestic growth massively in its turnaround, it has committed again to price hikes, and now it is even targeting the after-work crowd by offering beer, wine, and premium food items on a test basis in a few spots in America later this year.  That effort is too soon to judge.  Even a logo change had no negative impact.

Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.49 EPS versus $0.45 a year ago, and revenue estimates are expected to be up more than 11% at $3.29 billion.  Estimates for the current quarter due in about 90 days are $0.38 EPS versus $0.34 a year earlier and on sales growth of almost 12% to $3.12 billion.

The chart offers little read for guidance since the stock hit all-time highs lately.  The moving average to watch are as follows: 20-day at $47.04; 50-day at $44.86; and 200-day at $39.81. 

Options traders appear to be braced for a move of up to about $1.40 or so in either direction if you use the February expiration.

As far as analysts and the current price of $47.78, the consensus target from Thomson Reuters is $48.71 and the 52-week range is $30.75 to $48.39.  Our take is that valuations are reaching a point that analysts may downgrade the stock on valuation unless the company blows the doors off the handle.

Still, this one has gone above and beyond what we expected as a peak value.  Thomson Reuters has September year-end estimates of $1.83 EPS for 2012 and $2.23 EPS for 2013.  That generates non-GAAP ratios of 26-times expected earnings for this year ahead and 21.5-times expected 2013 earnings.

JON C. OGG

We covered the short interest changes for the January 13 settlement date and compared them to the December 30 short interest data and added in other color if applicable.

Alcatel Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) rose to 22.54 million shares from over 18.2 million for a gain of almost 24%.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) rose 18.5% to 186.1 million from over 157 million at the end of December.

Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) saw nearly a 6% gain to 34.76 million shares in the short interest to its highest level in a year.

Diamond Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) saw a gain of 12% to 10.46 million shares during its time of accounting woes, but this is still not as large as in OCT/NOV-2011.

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) was down only marginally.  The solar leader (and whipping boy) was down again to 18.04 million shares from a reading of 18.7 million at the end of 2011. Be advised that this was FIVE STRAIGHT lower readings in the short interest.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) was up by 14.7% to 147.1 million.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) remains a battleground stock and the uptick was less than 1% to 26.489 million shares in the short interest.  That is still down about 10% from last year’s peak.

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) posted another rise in the short interest to a new year record of over 32.2 million shares in the short interest.  So much for loving the lupus drug.

LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) continues to see rising bets against its stock.  The reading was 6.9 million shares short and that marks EIGHT STRAIGHT gains in the bets against the stock.

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) may feel after-the-fact now that earnings are out, but the short interest rose by a sharp 25% to 11.422 million shares.  That is the highest short interest reading since last March.  Today’s gains have to be some short covering.

Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) has had the vultures circling it for some time but this last short interest reading of 36.6 million was down more than 3% and was actually the lowest short interest reading since the end of last July.  Maybe all the short-sale money has been made since the stock fell about 75%.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) always has a high short interest due to its low price and controversial stock… What is interesting is that the gain was not even 2% in short shares to 305 million BUT… That is the highest short interest since the end of last May.

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JON C. OGG

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NYSE: ADP) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup; Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Reiterated Buy with $22 Target at Argus.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) Started as Perform at Williams Capital.
Inergy Midstream, L.P. (NYSE: NRGM) Started as Outperform with $26 target at Credit Suisse.
Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX) Maintained Outperform with $56 target price at Credit Suisse.
Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) Raised To Outperform From Market Perform By Leerink Swann
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Raised to Buy at Citigroup; Maintained Outperform and raised target to $125 at Credit Suisse.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Raised to Positive at Susquehanna.
Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ: RYAAY) Cut to Neutral at Nomura.
Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

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We have covered this in more detailed summaries below, but the following included the top stock upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in this last week: Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO); Angie’s List, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI); Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL); CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT); Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS); Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR); Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN); Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD); Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU); Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK); Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD); Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN); Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ); Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM); and Zhongpin, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOGS).

We have given a summary and notes on each below.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) could be in for a 15% drop now that shares became overvalued per the Barron’s cover story to kick off 2012 and Davenport downgraded the stock also.

Angie’s List, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) had a rough week after its quiet period ended from its late 2011 IPO.  The stock closed out 2011 at $16.10 and ended the week down at $13.23 for a loss of about 18%.  Analyst initiation summary as follows:

• Neutral with $18 target at BofA/ML;
• Sector Perform with $17 target at RBC;
• Perform with $16 target at Oppenheimer;
• Buy with $22 target at ThinkEquity;
• Buy with $21 target at Stifel Nicolaus;
• Buy with $19 target at Janney Capital Markets.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) may have just been a reiterated call, but this was the $560 price target call from Canaccord Genuity. Apple’s price target was also lowered to $513 from $530 at Morgan Keegan.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) was noted as a “if, then” possible takeover candidate in a SunTrust Robinson Humphrey call this week that is frankly hard to agree with.

Read Also: The 24/7 Wall St. 2012 Model Dividend Portfolio

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) was among the banking sector downgrades this week, although shares still managed to close on a positive note if you just compare the price to the prior Friday.  Meredith Whitney, Wells Fargo, and Credit Suisse all gave negative calls with downgrades or lower sales and earnings.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 21 points to 12,418.57 (0.17%), the NASDAQ fell less than 1 point (-0.01%) to 2,648.36, and the S&P 500 rose 0.02% or less than 1 point to 1,277.31.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) added to ‘US Focus List’ at Credit Suisse; General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) raised to ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan; Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) reiterated ‘buy’ with $94 target price at Canaccord Genuity; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) started as ‘underperform’ at National Bank; and Tivo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) raised to ‘overweight’ at Evercore Partners.

Earnings reports of note since markets closed yesterday include: Unifirst Corp. (NYSE: UNF) is up more than 3% at $59.83; and Progress Software Corp. (NASDAQ: PRGS) is down more than -11% at $17.55. Tomorrow sees earnings from Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ), Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), and Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) among others.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

LCA-Vision Inc. (NASDAQ: LCAV) is up more than 40% at $4.33. The laser vision correction system provider said that it performed more than 14,000 procedures in the fourth quarter, up 30% year-over-year.

Rare Element Resources Ltd. (AMEX: REE) is up more than 27% at $4.53. The rare earths miner announced that its resource at the company’s Bear Lodge project is 38% higher than previously believed.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is up nearly 11% at $80.02. The video distributor reported that it streamed more than 2 billion hours of video in the fourth quarter. More details on this story are available here.

Acme Packet Inc. (NASDAQ: APKT) is down more than -19% at $25.65, after posting a new 52-week low of $25.20 early this morning. The networking company warned on earnings last night. We have more coverage here.

Life Partners Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPHI) is down more than -15% at $5.38. The life insurance company has been accused of accounting fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

• 7:30 a.m. – Challenger Gray & Christmas job-cut report
• 8:15 a.m. – ADP employment report
• 8:30 a.m. – Weekly initial unemployment benefits claims report
• 10:00 a.m. – ISM non-manufacturing index
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas report
• 11:00 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
• 4:30 a.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply reports

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Paul Ausick