We have many key earnings, including some DJIA components, as follows: Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C); Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC); eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY); Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS); Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX); American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP); Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC); Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG); Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC); International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM); Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG); Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT); UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH); General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE); and Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB).

We have added in Thomson Reuters consensus data, as well as other bits of data and color if applicable.

Tuesday, January 17

Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) both lead Tuesday morning off with earnings, and each are important.  Wells Fargo is the healthier of the two and it does not trade at a discount to book value like its peers because it is deemed the least penalized of the money center banks in the new lower-trading and less risk environment.  Both pulled back after J.P. Morgan earnings, but both were up handily so far this year.

Citi has estimates of $0.49 EPS and $18.54 billion in sales. 

Wells Fargo has estimates of $0.72 EPS on $28.08 billion in sales. 

Wednesday, January 18

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) has a bit of a neutral bias going into Wednesday’s earnings after the close as it is still mostly a domestic story for auctions, with PayPal being the biggest boost.  Earnings estimates are $0.57 EPS and $3.32 billion in revenues.

Read Also: DJIA Expected 12% Gains in 2012 to 13,678

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is due on Wednesday morning and the earnings estimates have been cratering ahead of the report.  The current target is $1.24 EPS on $6.54 billion in sales, but the earnings targets were above $2.00 EPS recently and the street expected almost $3.00 just about 90 days ago. 

• The 17 Most Important IPOs to Watch in 2012.
• The 24/7 Wall St. 2012 Model Dividend portfolio
• Bankruptcy, liquidation, delisting and all… Here is a list of ten stocks that are not expected to survive 2012.
• Major semiconductors and expected price performance of leaders in 2012.
• Top Oil & Gas stocks with expected price performance in 2012.

One firm gave what looks and feels like an outrageous possibility: a 50% drop from the peak in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares.

Jim Cramer’s top four of the thirty DJIA picks are AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT). FULL SUMMARY

A Doug Kass call was made for E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) to be acquired, even though it all but killed any M&A prospects.

Barron’s gave ten stocks it sees as its favorite picks in 2012, and the trend here is based upon value stocks and dividend stocks rather than aggressive growth stocks.

Molycorp. Inc. (NYSE: MCP) received a wishy-washy outlook concerns from top analyst for this year.

3 Groups of small and mid-cap stock picks expecting huge upside in 2012:

Small & Mid-Cap Stocks With 50% Upside In 2012 (OIS, OI, ROSE, WBC, CIE)
Small Caps With 50% Upside in 2012 (TEN, WNR, APO, SNV, MTZ)
Small Caps With Over 50% Stock Upside in 2012 (PNK, CDXS, VVUS, SCMR)

A consensus breakdown of top analyst stock picks for biotech in 2012. Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) was noted with having more than 40% upside at the time, but that was literally seen in one day this last week.  Three top medical technology picks in 2012 from Zacks Investment Research were Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX), Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG). and St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE: STJ).

Eight nations with active ETFs, closed-end funds, and ADRs which may benefit from credit rating upgrades in 2012.

JON C. OGG

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) is a bit of a surprise to see as a top pick considering that this company’s stock is not just under $10.00 now… It is barely a $5.00 stock.  The drug-eluting stent share and a recent approval are driving the decision.  The consensus analyst price target from Thomson Reuters is roughly $7.00, implying about 35% upside from here. FULL BOSTON SCIENTIFIC REPORT

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) is not so interesting as a top pick because of any sort of controversy, but it is interesting as a top pick considering that it is up more than 50% in 2011.  At $440.73 and with a high of $449.06, this stock is trading right at the consensus analyst target price from Thomson Reuters of $440.10. FULL INTUITIVE REPORT

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE: STJ) may seem like a bottom-fishing pick as shares are down about 40% from the annual highs.  At $33.67, the Thomson Reuters consensus price target has an implied 32% of upside to the $44.38 price target.  Zacks called it better placed against other medical devices stocks in the cardiovascular sector, with positive earnings surprises and healthy revenue growth. FULL ST. JUDE REPORT

Others on the top picks list for 2012 by Zacks are Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), Stryker Corporation (NYSE: SYK), Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (NYSE: TMO), and ZOLL Medical Corporation (NASDAQ: ZOLL).

JON C. OGG

AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) 38.1% year-to-date; caution: at $38.94 the consensus price target is $31.28.

Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) 38.7% year-to-date; caution: at $87.73 the consensus price target is $85.00.

Limited Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LTD) 39.0% year-to-date; at $42.71 the consensus price target is $44.71.

Goodrich Corporation (NYSE: GR) 39.2% year-to-date; This is being acquired, so no color.

Tesoro Corporation (NYSE:TSO) 39.9% year-to-date; at $25.94 the consensus price target is $20.31.

EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) 41.6% year-to-date; at $63.50 the consensus price target is $72.28.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) 42.6% year-to-date; at $23.35 the consensus price target is $25.63. This was previously listed as our top pick for the best video game stock for 2011.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) 42.6% year-to-date; at $72.12 the consensus price target is $74.47.

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) 43.2% year-to-date; caution: at $158.79 the consensus price target is $150.00.

Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) 44.9% year-to-date; at $59.66 the consensus price target is $60.56.

Range Resources Corporation (NYSE: RRC) 53.0% year-to-date; at $68.84 the consensus price target is $76.50.

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) 54.9% year-to-date; at $347.24 the consensus price target is $374.82.  It seems odd to see one financial stock here.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) 55.1% year-to-date; at $84.89 the consensus price target is $88.71. Health insurance has not been as bad of a business as the administration was looking for.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) 58.1% year-to-date; caution: at $336.12 the consensus price target is $328.45.  The growth continues, but it is at or close to being fully valued.

V.F. Corporation (NYSE: VFC) 60.4% year-to-date; at $138.22 the consensus price target is $144.33.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) 68.3% year-to-date; caution: at $433.86 the consensus price target is $419.27.  DaVinci sales remain robust as more surgeons are looking for robotic surgery capabilities.

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) 73.5% year-to-date; caution: at $116.36 the consensus priced target is $115.22.  Here is how this compared to the rest of its peers before earnings season.

El Paso Corp. (NYSE: EP) 81.8% year-to-date; being acquired so no color.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE: COG) 105.3% year-to-date; ; at $77.72 the consensus price target is $91.32.

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JON C. OGG

S&P 500 YTD TOP 10 (31Dec10 – 29Sep11)

Ticker

YTD Price Change (%)

Close Price 29Sep11

Close Price 31Dec10

Market Cap($Mil)

Short Interest as % of Shares

69.4

64.13

37.85

6700.9

0.40%

48.8

70.49

47.37

11916.5

9.50%

47.2

313.14

212.66

9815.7

8.70%

46.5

328.37

224.11

39630.3

1.20%

45.7

125.56

86.18

13775.7

3.00%

44.8

373.22

257.75

14586.6

3.50%

40.9

94.46

67.05

22910.9

0.30%

37.5

121.08

88.07

15135.6

1.10%

37.3

70.91

51.65

9511.1

2.10%

37.1

75.07

54.74

12523.9

0.50%

Advance Auto Parts. Inc. (NYSE: AAP) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus; Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley; Raised to Buy at Gleacher & Co.
Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Integrated Device Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: IDTI) Started as Buy at Wunderlich.
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) Started as Hold at ThinkEquity.
Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) Cut to Neutral at CRedit Suisse.
National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NYSE: NOV) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
NYSE Euronext Inc. (NYSE: NYX) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA) Reiterated Buy with $58 target at Argus.
Tidewater Inc. (NYSE: TDW) Reiterated Buy with $65 target at Argus.
Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

You are invited to 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

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) completely blew its targets away last night, even better than the best bulls expected; After-hours we saw a 5.9% gain of $22+ at $398.10 and pre-market trading with just over an hour is still up about 5.35% at $397.02.

Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) is lower on fears that its longstanding hopes of being acquired by Dell could be fading.  Dell announced the acquisition of private Force 10 Networks to get into networking and that usurps the need for Brocade.  At least that is the theory.  Shares are down 3.5% at $6.07 in the pre-market.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is taking a breather after having risen and risen after reporting soft earnings. Shares were down 4.7% at $318.00 last night but an analyst upgrade this morning has shares down only about 3% at $323.50 this morning.

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) managed to beat earnings and its also gave guidance that meets or beats estimates.  Shares were up more than 7% at $33.08 in the after-hours and now we have shares up 10% at $34.00 in the pre-market.

Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRN) lowered guidance and sees much wider losses than expected.  The trend is lower, with shares down about 19% at $12.90 this morning but volume is thin and this one trades about 155,000 shares a day is all.

CSX Corporation (NYSE: CSX) is up more than last night’s 1.6% gain as shares pre-market are up 2.6% at $26.15 after beating estimates and backing its prior earnings guidance.

E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) is soaring after holder (and near-controller) Citadel is calling for a shareholder meeting to maximize shareholder value after dissatisfaction with results.  Shares are up 7.5% at $13.92 in pre-market trading after the filing.

Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT) sounded good on the surface after it grew revenues 35%, grew billings 22% and grew earnings 88%… Shares were getting smacked down 21% at $21.25 in the after-hours session, but the stock is now down “only” 17% at $22.16 in pre-market trading as traders may be bottom fishing.

Government Properties Income Trust (NYSE: GOV) filed to sell some 5 million shares of common stock in the REIT to cut debt under its revolving credit facility and for general business purposes.  Shares are down 3.4% at $25.47 in the pre-market session.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Outperform and $500 target at Credit Suisse; Reiterated Buy and raised target to $460 at Argus; Reiterated Buy and $515 target at BofA/ML.
Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML) Reiterated Buy with $17 target at Gleacher.
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Reiterated Buy with $24 target at Argus.
Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: CY) Reiterated Neutral with $23 target at Gleacher.
The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $78 at BofA/ML.
Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ: FNSR) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU) Started as Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks; Added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
PolyOne Corporation (NYSE: POL) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) Raised to Outperform at Baird; Reiterated Neutral and cut target to $37 at BofA/ML.
US Cellular (NYSE: USM) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse; Reiterated Buy and raised target to $128 at BofA/ML.
Youku.com Inc (NYSE: YOKU) Started as Neutral at Susquehanna.

You are invited to 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

We have covered brief moves on the news and then added in the moves with color.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) just blew out earnings so much that it is not even worth noting how great the quarter was.  Massive, and with some $76 billion in cash.  Shares were up 0.8% at $376.85 and the stock is now at an all-time again in after-hours on a 5.9% gain of $22+ at $398.10.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) has risen and risen, but we are seeing give-backs with a bit of Montezuma’s Revenge tonight… Shares are down 4.7% at $318.00 in the after-hours on what appears to be soft earnings.

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) beat earnings and gave guidance that meets or beats estimates.  Shares closed up 1.4% at $30.86 but the stock is up more than 7% at $33.08 in the after-hours.

Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS) is rising on Apple and it was up 5.8% to $17.14 in normal trading and up another 5% at $18.03 in the after-hours.

CSX Corporation (NYSE: CSX) is up 1.6% at $25.90 in the after-hours after just beating estimates and backing prior guidance.

Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT) grew revenues 35%, grew billings 22% and grew earnings 88%, but shares are getting smacked.  After almost a 1% gain today shares are down 21% at $21.25 in the after-hours session.  Ouch.

Government Properties Income Trust (NYSE: GOV) did not report earnings but it said it was selling 5 million shares of common stock in the REIT after the close to reduce amounts outstanding under its revolving credit facility and for general business purposes.  Shares are down over 3% at $25.56 in the after-hours session.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) is selling more DaVinci robotic systems.  It was up 3.5% at $374.90 before earnings.  Revenue was up 21% to $426 million and earnings were $2.91 EPS, sending shares up another 6% or $23+ to $397.80 in the after-hours.

Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) should change its name on Wednesday to River-Dead… Shares closed up 6.7% at $41.40 but the after hours session has shares down a massive 25% at $30.90 after missing revenue estimates and after announcing two acquisitions.  The company saw softness in the EMEA region.  It has also traded more than 3 million shares since the closing bell.  This marks a severe blow when you consider how much it has gained.

VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) rose 5.2% to $106.02, a new year high today.  Shares are up more than 6.5% more at $112.90 after beating earnings and revenues and giving solid guidance.  Earnings almost tripled.  This news also has majority owner and former parent EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) up 2% at $27.95 after the close.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) closed up 1.2% at $14.59 but shares are soft after a revenue miss and on light guidance.  The good news is that Carol Bartz continues to trim costs.  The bad news is that costs are not translating to higher revenues.  The stock is down 1.65% at $14.35 after the close on more than 1.4 million shares since the 4PM bell.

You are invited to 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

Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $40 at BofA/ML.
Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) Reiterated Buy and $52 target at Gleacher & Co.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Ciena Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN) Reiterated Buy and Raised 12-mo. target to $30 at Argus.
Dover Corporation (NYSE: DOV) Started as Neutral with $70 target at Credit Suisse.
Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) Maintained Outperform and Raised target to $34 at Credit Suisse.
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) Started as Buy at Collins Stewart (late-yesterday call).
NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) Cut to Neutral at Susquehanna.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Reiterated Buy and $275 target at BofA/ML.
Peet’s Coffee & Tea Inc. (NASDAQ: PEET) Cut to Sell at Janney.
Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ: SMTC) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $29 at Gleacher & Co.
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) Cut to Underweight at HSBC.
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) Reiterated Buy and $82 target at Bof/ML.
Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE: WMB) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $36 at Argus.

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