The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than -389 points to 11,780.94 (-3.2%), the NASDAQ fell nearly -106 points (-3.88%) to 2,621.65, and the S&P 500 fell -3.67% or nearly -47 points to 1,229.10.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) cut to ‘sell’ at Janney; H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) raised to ‘outperform’ at Oppenheimer; Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) cut to ‘hold’ at S&P Capital IQ; Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; and Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) cut to ‘neutral’ at BofA/ML.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is up down about -10%, at $22.48; A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) is down less than -1%, at $3.09; IntraLinks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: IL) is down more than -37%, at $5.50, after posting a new 52-week low of $5.44 earlier today; Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE) is down nearly -16%, at $33.24; Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR) is down more than -19%, at $8.80; and Neenah Paper, Inc. (NYSE: NP) is up more than 12%, at $18.84.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER) is down more than -32%, to $0.41. The company has said that it will suspend manufacturing and cut 500 jobs. Excess inventory of solar panels gets the blame.

U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTS)  is down  more than -22%, at $3.94, after posting a new 52-week low of $3.66 earlier in the day. The company received a waiver from one of its lenders for failing to meet coverage ratio requirements.

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY) is down about -1.1%, at $76.44, after posting a new 52-week high of $77.95 earlier today. We noted the company’s performance earlier today in an article on auto sector implied gains.

American Superconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: AMSC)) is up nearly 10%, to $4.49. The company reported earnings today, and its growing order backlog indicates a possible turnaround following the loss of its biggest customer earlier this year.

Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. (NYSE: NOR) is down more than -16%, at $8.51. The company will pay a special dividend of $1/share to shareholders of record as of yesterday’s close. That pushed the shares down a buck this morning, and the rest is due to the overall market decline today.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) is down more than -8%, at $28.78. The bank claimed the largest decline among the big US banks today.

Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) is down nearly -8%, at $2.17. There was no special news from Beazer today, but the threatened burst of new foreclosures soon to hit the housing market have had a nasty effect on this lower-priced builder.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank president Dennis Lockhart is giving a speech in the morning and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a town hall meeting with soldiers and their families at Fort Bliss, Texas, at 11:45 a.m. We have noted the following events (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – International trade balance report
• 8:30 a.m. – Initial unemployment benefits claims
• 8:30 a.m. – Monthly import/export price report
• 9:45 a.m. – Bloomberg consumer comfort index
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA natural gas inventory report
• 2:00 p.m. – Monthly US Treasury budget report
• 4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply report

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Paul Ausick

The list we compiled includes instances where there was a substantial percentage holding of the company or where the total number of shares was multiple days worth of trading volume.  We do want to note that the returned capital is actually small in comparison to the total Soros holdings.

Some of the stocks which we identified as being vulnerable to Soros selling are as follows:

Aeroflex Holding Corp. (NYSE: ARX) was listed as being some $29.399 million on the 1,614,436 shares.  This is big considering that the average volume is only 221,000 shares for this $1.2 billion company.

Bluefly Inc. (NASDAQ: BFLY) has been a long-standing position of Soros personally and in his funds.  The 13F filing shows some 5.924 million shares worth $17.6 million.  Unfortunately, the market cap is only about $68 million and this stock literally trades only a few thousand shares each day.

Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) is a dual position with 4.67 million shares worth $174.8 million, but there is also a senior convertible note position worth $18 million.  Dendreon trades about 2.7 million shares on average now and its market cap is about $5.6 billion.

Emdeon Inc. (NYSE: EM), in revenue and payment cycle management solutions, could be vulnerable to a Soros sell-off as the 13F shows that some $115 million is held in 7,152,018 shares.  Average volume is only about 120,000 shares a day and the market cap is $1.2 billion.

Extreme Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: EXTR) used to be called a poor man’s Cisco and now the Soros punch-out could hurt.  The 13F showed more than 8.8 million shares worth some $30.96 million versus an average daily volume of just over 500,000 shares and versus a market cap of about $325 million.

Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR), an independent energy company, could also be at risk here.  The Soros 13F shows 2.4 million shares of common stock worth $36.6 million and also a $1.5 million position from 100,000 shares. The market cap is $460 million and average volume is only 660,000 shares per day.

InterOil Corporation (NYSE: IOC) is a large position for a decent sized company.  The Soros 13F shows two positions of just over 4 million shares worth $302 million and another 500,000 shares controlled via call options that would have a leveraged value of over $37 million.  The market cap is almost $3 billion and average volume is just under 500,000 shares.

Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRCY) is another vulnerable one as the 13F shows 1.666 million shares worth more than $35 million versus a $530 million market cap and with only 162,000 shares per day on average.  10 days of volume? Ouch.

Platinum Group Metals Ltd. (AMEX: PLG) may be vulnerable too. The 13F shows some 8.42 million shares worth almost $16.5 million.  The average volume is only about 207,000 shares and the market cap os $320 million.

Power-One Inc. (NASDAQ: PWER) is listed in the Soros 13F as being some 2.835 million shares worth $24.8 million.  This has a market cap of $739 million but it trades only about 2.7 million shares a day.

URS Corporation (NYSE: URS), the engineering services outfit, is listed as 1.09 million shares worth some $50 million.  That is not huge on market cap comparisons as that company is worth $3.4 billion, but average volume is only about 538,000 shares.

Visteon Corp. (NYSE: VC) is listed in the 13F as being 2.134 million shares worth $133.3 million, but the market cap here is $3.4 billion and the average volume is almost 600,000 shares.  Not much on market cap, but more than 3-days worth of volume.

Westport Innovations Inc. (NASDAQ: WPRT) is the alternative engine company for trucks.  The Soros 13F shows over 5.54 million shares worth $121.9 million.  The market cap is $1.27 billion, but the average volume is about 800,000 shares per day.  The 13F also controls another 33,000 shares via call options.

The last big position was Adecoagro S.A. (NYSE: AGRO), listed as being a position of over 27.1 million ADRs worth about $366 million.  The market cap is listed as $1.42 billion and the ADR trades only about 220,000 shares per day.

Keep in mind that 13F filings have a great lag for funds like Soros and others.  These positions were all filed on May 16 but for the March 31 holding period.  The Soros outfit is also going to continue managing the billions and billions in family assets and it seems as though many of these positions could easily be held onto in some form or fashion.  That implies that some of these sales may not occur in the scale that the filings indicate as this is no forced liquidation scenario.

It is never fun to mention, but this is a day that was always coming.  Soros is over 80 now and he has not had to be involved in the markets to pay his bills for many years.

JON C. OGG

Just this week we featured Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) as being a solid value stock pick based upon peers set to benefit from this year;s driving trends, but the focus today is on an expansive list of energy companies.  These companies have fairly low forward P/E ratios that could belie their true value and there are generally other driving factors as well. SOme picks will seem controversial on the surface but that is what the explanations are for in the analysis.

Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. (NASDAQ: CRZO) explores for oil and gas primarily in the US, but also has a stake in North Sea exploration. The company’s primary holdings are in the Barnett shale, the Marcellus shale, and the Eagle Ford shale. The company’s trailing P/E ratio is negative, and its forward P/E is a meagre 7.87. It’s solid position in the Eagle Ford, a liquids-rich play, argues for a higher valuation.

Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp. (AMEX: KOG), like Carrizo, has holdings in some of the most liquids-rich gas plays in the US, with a particularly strong position in the Williston Basin’s Bakken shale. The company’s trailing P/E ratio, like Carrizo’s, is negative and its forward P/E is 8.04. And again like Carrizo, Kodiak needs to face rising cost issues. The break-even Nymex price for natural gas is more than $4.40/thousand cubic feet, but liquids-rich plays like the Eagle Ford and the Bakken practically assure solid returns, provided costs can be kept under control.

Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR) is a more global explorer for oil and gas, and does have exposure in Venezuela, which is probably why its trailing P/E ratio is negative and its forward P/E is 8.20. Investor George Soros more than doubled his stake in Harvest during the first quarter of 2011.

Clayton Williams Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: CWEI) is an oil and gas explorer that operates mainly in Louisiana and Texas. The company’s trailing P/E is 75 and its forward P/E is 8.16. The company reduced its guidance following a poor quarter where results were hit by rising costs. What makes the company a reasonable value at its current price is its heavy weighting toward oil production, which accounts for nearly 75% of its total production. Liquids are where the money is.

Petrohawk Energy Corp. (NYSE: HK) is another significant player in the Eagle Ford shale play in south Texas. The company’s P/E ratio is a blinding 252.31, while its forward P/E is 15.81. That’s still a little rich, but Petrohawk is very focused on liquids, it holds more than 330,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford play, and, maybe best of all, with a market cap of around $8 billion it could be a takeover target for one of the big oil guys.

Precision Drilling Corp. (NYSE: PDS) is an onshore drilling company that focuses on North American services. The company’s trailing P/E is a robust 58.05 and its forward P/E is 13.27. Drillers, particularly onshore drillers not affected by the moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico, have done well this year. Precision has boosted its rig utilization rate so far this year and expects to bring another dozen rigs online in 2011, with 11 going to Canada.

Cal Dive International, Inc. (NYSE: DVR) just posted dismal earnings for the first quarter. It’s trailing P/E is negative and its forward P/E is 13.27. The company has been hit by the moratorium on Gulf drilling, but it provides underwater services that are not widely available and, thus, the company has surprisingly strong pricing power. Once drilling starts up again, Cal Dive ought to perform a lot better.

An ending with a driving season note, have a great holiday weekend.

Paul Ausick

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) 319,851 shares worth almost $26 million.

Brookfield Properties Corporation (NYSE: BPO) 2,359,166 shares worth $36.2 million.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) 110,864 shares worth some $18.9 million.

Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR) 4,771,814 shares worth about $35.9 million.

Horsehead Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: ZINC) 1,358,498 shares worth $16 million.

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR) 94,104 shares worth $1.5 million.

International Coal Group, Inc. (NYSE: ICO) 2,512,570 shares worth almost $11.5 million.

Leucadia National Corp. (NYSE: LUK) 791,074 shares worth $19.6 million.

Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (NASDAQ: PNCL) 2,002,902 shares worth $14.9 million.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) 331,603 shares worth $39.5 million.

Teck Resources Ltd. (NYSE: TCK) 5,501 shares worth $245K…

Terex Corp. NYSE: TEX) 530,876 shares worth $12 million.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) 374,415 shares worth $11.6 million.

Other holdings are as follows:

• Capital Source Inc.  (?)
• Cresud S A  (CRESY)
• FAIRFAX FINL HLD SUB (FRFHF.PK)

JON C. OGG

Harvest Natural Resources (NYSE:HNR) focuses on 3 small fields in Venezuela.  The deal they made isn’t as bad as it looks, they have a deal through 2026 and now got smaller rights to 3 more fields.  He thinks there is even a shot that they could get the concessions that Exxon Mobil (XOM) and ConocoPhilips (COP) walked away from.  Two-thirds of these reserves are not proved.  He can’t justify more than a $15.00 price to pay, but he doesn’t think that it will be expensive until $15.75.

Cramer thinks the one steel stock in Venezuela that is safe is Ternium (NYSE:TX) because it is an Argentinian compay rather than a U.S. company.  Chavez likes Argentina, even if he hates us.  Ternium is in talks to get a deal to keep it from getting nationalized.  This one also operates elsewhere in Latin America.

Well, one thing is probably a lock: these are indicated higher after Cramer’s comments……. BUT, there are so many places you can invest that you don’t have to take this sort of risk.  If I was going to follow either of these, I would MUCH rather be investing in an Argentinian company in Venezuela rather than a fellow company from my own Gringolandia doing business in Venezuela.  BUT (again a but), putting your money down there is like giving a huge loan with no collateral and without a legal contract.  The exception is that you could get hosed in Venezuela even with the collateral and the legal contract.  Remember the Golden Rule: He Who Has The Gold Rules!  Right now Chavez is the one that has the gold.

Jon C. Ogg
July 6, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.