The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 49 points to 12,422.06 (-0.39%), the NASDAQ fell more than 14 points (-0.51%) to 2,710.67, and the S&P 500 fell -0.49% or more than 6 points to 1,289.10.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including VMWare Inc. (NYSE: VMW) cut to ‘sell’ with a target price of $80 at Citigroup; American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) started as ‘hold’ at Stifel Nicolaus; The Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) reiterated as ‘sell’ with lower estimates at Argus; and Citrix Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) raised to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ at Citigroup.

Earnings reports since markets closed yesterday have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: JPMorgan Chase & Co. is down -2.63% at $35.88; SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) is up 2.42% at $54.54; and JDA Software Group Inc. (NASDAQ: JDAS) is down nearly -14% at $28.21.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Georgia Gulf Corp. (NYSE: GGC) is up more than 34% at $32.85. The chemical and home products maker has received a buyout offer of about $1.03 billion ($30/share) from Westlake Chemical Corp. (NYSE: WLK).

Metabolix Inc. (NASDAQ: MBLX) is down about -58% at $2.52, after posting a new 52-week low of $2.51 earlier. The bioscience and chemicals company is suffering from the cancellation of a joint venture with Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), which the larger company unexpectedly announced this morning.

Patriot Coal Corp. (NYSE: PCX) is down nearly -13% at $7.87. The coal miner lowered its production forecast and closed several operations. We have more coverage here.

Diamond Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) is down more than -10% at $29.71. The snack food maker is now the subject of a criminal inquiry related to payments it made to farmers.

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is down more than -9% at $3.19. The China-based solar panel maker is among the group of Chinese makers who are cooling off, probably due to profit taking, after several days of sharp share price increases.

US markets are closed on Monday in observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. We have the following events for Tuesday:

• 8:30 a.m. – Empire State manufacturing survey
• 11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month Treasury bill auctions

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Have a great long weekend.

Paul Ausick

After the first half hour of trading, Metabolix is down nearly -55% at $2.70 after posting a new 52-week low of $2.58 earlier. Volume is already 20x the daily average. The bioscience and chemicals company is suffering from the cancellation of a joint venture with Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), which the larger company unexpectedly announced this morning.

JDA Software is down nearly -13% at $28.58. Volume is already nearly double the daily average. The enterprise software maker missed revenue estimates when it reported preliminary numbers for the fourth quarter.

Diamond Foods is down more than -8.5% at $30.29. Volume is heavy, at about 50% of the daily average already trading hands. The snack food maker is now the subject of a criminal inquiry related to payments it made to farmers.

Georgia Gulf is up more than 35% at $33.18. Volume is already 5x the daily average. The chemical and home products maker has received a buyout offer of about $1.03 billion ($30/share) from Westlake Chemical Corp. (NYSE: WLK).

Rovi is up more than 10% at $30.40. Volume is already more than half the daily average. The maker of Roxio software was maintained as a ‘buy’ with a $63 target price by Canaccord Genuity, which discounts any major change following the appointment of a new CEO.

Paul Ausick

A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) reported a wider first quarter loss and revenue wqas $24.5 million versus Thomson Reuters $26.4+ million estimates.  A123 closed at $10.16 on the day, but shares are down 5% at $9.65 on over 100,000 shares since the 4:00 PM close.  This traded almost 3 million shares in regular trading and shares closed up 4.7% at $10.16 in regular trading.

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN) was halted and shares are now higher after releasing additional preliminary data on a Phase 1b ACH-1625 trial in hepatitis C treatments.  Shares closed at $2.36 and are up 16.5% at $2.75 on over 181,000 shares since the close.

China Wind Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CWS) is up on light volume after guidance: 2010 revenues of $76.5 to $85 million (43% to 59% increase); EBITDA $22.7 to $25.2 million (106% to 129% increase); Adjusted net income $15.5 to $16.3 million (99% to 109% gain).  Shares closed at $3.77 and shares are up 15% at $4.34 on only 6,585 shares in the after-hours session.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) said revenue rose 14% to $979 million; earnings of $0.09 EPS beat Thomson Reuters figure of $0.05.  The problem is guidance: a loss at -$0.35 to -$0.40 EPS and revenue of $460 to $500 million; Thomson Reuters had -$0.33 EPS $516.8M.  Shares closed at $18.80 and shares are down over 3% at $18.20 on over 1.5 million shares in after-hours trading.

Fuqi International, Inc. (NASDAQ: FUQI) is lower after filing an NT-10Q, a non-timely quarterly report.  Shares closed at $9.64 and shares were down 5.3% at $9.13 on 16,000 shares.  Whether shares are still lower in the morning is another issue, but this was up 7% in regular trading today.

Metabolix, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBLX) rose after the close when it and ADM announced that Telles received FDA clearance for the formulated products Mirel™ F1005 and F1006, food contact injection molding grades for use in food contact applications.     Shares closed at $12.8, and the stock was up 10% at $14.10 on over 14,000 shares since the market close.  Its 52-week range is $6.20 – $14.98.

Netlist, Inc. (NASDAQ: NLST) rose ahead of earnings and rose after earnings. Revenues in the quarter were up 265% from a year ago at $7.9 million; sequentially revenues rose 17.8%.  Gross profit was $1.8 million.  Shares closed up 9.5% today at $2.65 and shares are up another 12% at $2.97 on over 300,000 shares since the close.  Due to the cult status, tomorrow could be very active.

SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) closed at $15.29 today before earnings.  Its Q1 revenue was $347 million, non-GAAP gross margin was 22.5%, and Q1 GAAP EPS $0.13 and non-GAAP EPS $0.05.  Shares are trading down 4.2% at $14.65 on over 200,000 shares since the 4PM close.

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) closed up 1.3% at $35.76 in regular trading today before earnings.  The Mouse-House had a 55% earnings jump after almost $1 billion in “Alice in Wonderland” sales.  The problem was media-networks with flat and there is the notion that shares were already elevated.  In the after-hours session, Disney shares are down 3.2% at $34.60 on over 1 million shares since the 4PM close.

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JON C. OGG

• Carrizo Oil & Gas (CRZO) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
• LDK Solar (LDK) Cut to Sell at Piper Jaffray.
• Lukoil (LUKOY) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
• Metabolix (MBLX) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Parallel Petroleum (PLLL) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.

JON C. OGG