Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) is up on persistent rumors that it could be a Google takeover target.  After a 5% gan to $24.60, its 52-week range is $18.25 to $54.65.  It would require a much higher price to get a deal done and the current market cap is $4.5 billion.  Other investors have gone on to note, rather than that why not a Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) or a Limelight Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW)?

AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) has been called a Yahoo! potential, but now it has also been rumored that private equity firms may be mulling a deal of some sort.  Shares are up 9% at $14.37 and the 52-week range is $10.00 to $27.65.  AOL’s current market cap is $1.5 billion.

Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) is rumored to be selling its technology and imaging patents portfolio more often than you can count.  This company is dead without those patents, but oh well.

InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDCC) would have to rally nearly 75% to challenge its 52-week high of $82.50 again.  This one is currently in the “looking at strategic alternatives” phase and many feel that its patent portfolio for 2G, 3G, 4G, and IEEE 802 would make the company a prime candidate.  After the Google-Motorola deal, anything is possible but we do not have any real feel here to add much positive or negative at this point.

Motricity, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOTR) has just cratered since its 2010 IPO.  It has been too embarrassing and shares are under $2.00.  In late-September it received $20 million in financing and announced that it was exploring strategic alternatives.  What an embarrassment.

Netflix. Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) has started to loosely be discussed about “the value of its assets and clients” by some investors, but it currently feels like a “long and very-very wrong” hope or act of desperation.  At $117.85, its shares are down from over $300 in just over 3 months.  Keep in mind that the market cap is still $6.2 billion and usually imploded stocks have to languish for months before the company gets a large enough shareholder base that owns the stock at a lower level to approve a deal.

Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) is a name that has come up over and over as a takeover name and it hit a 52-week high of $23.30 today after more than a 4% rise.  This one is the last huge independent voice recognition software player.  It is again trading like a takeover candidate and its $7.1 billion market cap is about 5-times expected sales and about 17-times expected earnings.

Primus Telecommunications Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTGI) is still very small and it recently hired Jefferies to explore strategic alternatives.  Its market value is about $155 million and the $11.37 price compares to a 52-week range of $7.35 to $16.25.

Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) keeps coming up as a rumor mill name for a restructuring, sale review, investor activist, and more.  With all of the problems, ask yourself this… “Who wants to buy another Palm at a premium much higher than the $12 billion RIM is worth today?”… Our guess: not many.

Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) has been rumored of late to be interested in buying the LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) stake in the LM-Ericsson handset deal.  Who knows on that one.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) has been out looking at alternatives and the new latest is that private equity firms like KKR, Blackstone, and a few others could be considering a club-deal.  This is a $20 billion market cap, so a buyout is not so easy for many.  Microsoft denied its interest in re-offering for a buyout and Alibaba is a yes-maybe status as of last look.

Tallying up the rumor mill here would seem silly.  There are too many companies here to count legitimately even if Apple could write a check for all of the companies and start over.  Don’t bet on that happening.  Still, this is how full the rumor mill has been of late.  Some deals may get done, but no way all of these get done.  More important is the consideration that it is possible that none of these rumors come to fruition.

JON C. OGG

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) is a defensive stock that is supposed to hold up well, so investors are rolling into “risk” when the DJIA is up so much.  Shares were down 0.6% at $24.39 this morning.

AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) has already bounced almost 10% from its lows this morning but shares are down 11.5% at $13.33 after hitting a 52-week low of $12.11 this morning.  The smaller net loss and ad revenue growth appear to have missed targets, which seems odd considering how much the stock has sold off from its 52-week high of $27.65.  At some point, that news should be priced in.

Cablevision Systems Corporation    (NYSE: CVC) turned in growth on phone and internet additions, but the earnings missed estimates.  The drop was another 9.5% to $17.67 and the stock hit a 52-week low of $17.24 earlier this morning.  That is now down more than 50% from its 52-week high as well.

DTS, Inc. (NASDAQ: DTSI) is supposed to provide state-of-the-art audio technology to hundreds of millions of DTS-licensed consumer electronics products worldwide, but its earnings miss shows it isn’t powering enough of the devices with a lower 2011 guidance.  DTS shares are down over 21% at $23.17 and the stock hit a 52-week low of $20.93 this morning.

EnerNOC, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENOC) is supposed to help companies cut their energy use and cut their energy bills but it is not doing enough of it.  Besides being unable to use a tax benefit, its growth has peaked as its $280 million to $300 million sales projection for 2011 is the sae for 2012.  Many Wall Street analysts downgraded the stock on a huge disappointment.  Shares are down almost 36% at $9.20 after a 52-week low was hit of $9.13 and the high was $34.38.

Fossil, Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL) was supposed to be a jewelry winner as it is not deep into gold and silver exposure.  It turns out not to be the case in many of its brands and margins took a beating on higher input costs and on a weak outlook ahead.  Fossil shares were down 18.8% at $76.19.  Keep in mind that its 52-week trading range is $42.08 to $134.98.

Getty Realty Corporation (NYSE: GTY) gave an update on its Getty Petroleum Marketing operations: it has not received the monthly rental payment for August from its largest tenant under its Master Lease and other leases.  Shares are down 13.5% at $17.26 and shares hit a 52-week low of $16.60 versus a high of $32.20.

Limelight Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW) is getting crushed after missing earnings and missing on revenues and then guiding lower for the third quarter.  Shares are down over 30% at $2.27 and the stock hit a low of $2.229 this morning. Just one more bit of proof that communications equipment and expedited content delivery slowing is persisting.

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) posted a gain after MGM China but the peak appears to have been called on gains.  MGM shares are down 4.5% at $11.02 versus a 52-week range of $8.92 to $16.94.

Stereotaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ: STXS) is the sole $1+ stock covered today because it is THE LOSER OF THE DAY with a 59% drop to $1.16 with a new 52-week low and an adjusted 52-week trading range now of $1.13 to $4.67.  The company markets cardiology instrument control systems, but apparently doesn’t market them very well.  Volume is 5-times normal at over 300,000 shares and the stock.  The company reported a wider loss, announced cost cuts, and its CFO is leaving the company.  Nice.

JON C. OGG

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) is down nearly 6% premarket to $5.89, relative to a 52-week range of $2.25-$6.63. The company recently issued its outlook for 2011.

ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) is up 3% premarket on moderate volume to $28.47, relative to a 52-week range of $9.50-$32.18.

Limelight Networks (NASDAQ: LLNW) is up 5% premarket to $6.70, relative to a 52-week range of $6.26-$6.59. The company released earnings showed a loss below street expectations, but 2Q guidance above expectations.

Obagi Medical Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: OMPI) is up 26% premarket to $9.51, relative to a 52-week range of $9.58-$14.20. The company issued Q2 guidance well below expectations.

Limelight Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW) is down 5% to $7.35, relative to a 52-week range of $3.54-$8.97.

Medassets, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDAS) is down 30% premarket to $15.07, relative to a 52-week range of $16.54-$25.08. The company was downgraded to neutral by Robert W. Baird.

Omnivision Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) is up 19% premarket to $28.20, relative to a 52-week range of $13.15-$33.00.

JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU) is down 3% premarket on moderate-to-heavy volume to $27.10, relative to a 52-week range of $9.05-$29.12. The company was recently downgraded by Barclays from outperform to market perform.

Limelight Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW) is up more than 23% premarket to $7.96, relative to a 52-week range of $3.51-$8.97. The company posted better-than-expected 4Q results after market close yesterday.

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is down 1.6% on moderate volume to $243.95, relative to a 52-week range of $63.10-$247.55. Shares of NFLX were downgraded by Morgan Stanley from overweight to equal weight.

So why is Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) stock getting pounded today after reporting fourth-quarter EPS of $0.40 on revenue of $285 million, both above estimates of EPS of $0.38 and revenue of $283 million? The answer has to be “expectations.”

Akamai’s trailing twelve month P/E ratio is above 48. Forward P/E for the 2011 fiscal year is half that. Any company with valuations like that had better crush expectations. Think Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)

If video demand is growing so fast, and if volume is doubling on downloads to mobile devices, as Akamai noted in its conference call, then investors’ expectations must already be bundled into the company’s share price in order to explain the fall of the stock’s price today.

Thus, a lot of profit-taking, probably driven by questions about how much Akamai will profit from the increased demand for video over the internet. The issue is whether or not Akamai and competitors like Limelight Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW) and F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) in what appears to be the new era of tiered pricing.

With internet backbone providers seeking to charge more to heavy bandwidth users like Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), Akamai could see its margins drop unless it boosts its pricing as well. Then, of course, some customers could walk.

And then there’s the challenge of ambient video, aka “puppy cam” traffic. These are internet video sources that feature a camera focused on pets or children or security. A Cisco Systems executive noted that a single puppy cam site generated more viewing hours online than all of the video available at ESPN.[http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/012411-puppy-cams-threaten-internet.html] Of the top 20 online video sites in Europe, three are puppy cams that did not exist a year ago.

There’s little doubt that internet video traffic will increase. How Akamai and other players will be able to monetize that increase is the big unknown. Akamai, with its cloud and security services, is well-positioned to take a bit of a hit in its video delivery service, but investors’ expectations have outrun reality for the present.

Akamai shares are off more than -16%, to $40.16, relative to a 52-week range of $24.64-$54.65. Volume is nearly six times normal as of noon.

Paul Ausick

Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Reiterated Buy and $72 target at Argus.
Dynegy Inc. (NYSE: DYN) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
El Paso Corp. (NYSE: EP) Started as Positive at Susquehanna.
GAMCO Investors, Inc. (NYSE: GBL) Raised to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Limelight Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW) Cut to Underperform at Oppenheimer.
Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. (NYSE: PVH) Raised to Buy at Citi.
Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (NYSE: RAX) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW) Maintained Buy but Target Raised to $35 at UBS.
Spansion Inc. (NASDAQ: CODE) Started as Buy and $28 target at Gleacher & Co.
UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP) Cut To Hold From Buy By Stifel Nicolaus

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JON C. OGG

Level 3 noted that it will double its storage capacity and add 2.9 Terabits per second of capacity.  The 2.9T is in addition to the 1.65 Tbps that was just deployed in the third quarter.

Netflix is expected to pass 19 million subscribers in North America by the end of this year alone, and the real growth ahead may come from international expansion in the years ahead.

As part of the deal, Level 3 will store the entire Netflix streaming library of more than 20,000 titles beginning January 1, 2011.

Limelight Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW) is deemed the other winner in this pact, although Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) is deemed the loser even though Netflix may still have some business with them.

Level 3 has been on a roll this week in anticipation of this deal.  Shares closed on Monday at $0.89 but rose to $1.05  on more than 100 million shares on Tuesday.  A small pullback on Wednesday took it to $1.03, but so far we are seeing shares up 7.7% at $1.11 in early Thursday trading indications.

JON C. OGG

China Agritech (NASDAQ: CAGC) is also down nearly 15% to $13.18, relative to a 52-week range of $8.20 to $31.26. This also came as a result of 3Q earnings that fell below expectations.

Limelight Networks, Inc., (NASDAQ: LLNW)  has not let up after a 17% gain yesterday following news the company would be gaining a key contract with Netflix. (NASDAQ: LLNW) is up %7.24 percent this morning.

Pacific Capital Bankcorp (NASDAQ: PCBC) has gone up 66% to $0.64, relative to a 52-week range of $0.36 – $5.49. The large gain comes after the company reported a return to profitability after recap +38%

VCG Holdings (NASDAQ: VCGH) is making major gains after it announced a partial going-private deal with its CEO. VCGH is up 18.82% to $2.21. This is close to the top of its 52-week average of $1.53-$2.92.

Smart Technologies (NASDAQ: SMT) is reporting heavy losses premarket after releasing lower-than-expected 3Q earnings yesterday.

Atlas Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATLS) is this morning’s biggest price mover, gaining more than 35% premarket  after its acquisition by Chevron was confirmed.

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABK) Has filed for chapter 11. While this has been expected for a while, the stock has still dropped 55% this morning to $0.23.

JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) is making moderate gains (up 6% to $10.00) after announcing several new lucrative contracts in a meeting yesterday.

Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ: LVLT) is up more than 10% to $1 just a day after NASDAQ warned the company that they would be delisted if LVLT’s share price didn’t increase. The main reason for this is that the communications company is expected to win a crucial CDN contract with Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX).

Limelight Networks, inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW) is big this morning, increasing 16% to $7.61, relative to a range of $3.22 – $7.48.

Priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ: PCLN) is making significant gains this morning after positive 3Q earnings yesterday.