The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 83 points to 12,758.85 (0.66%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 32 points (1.14%) to 2,818.31, and the S&P 500 rose 0.87% or more than 11 points to 1,326.06.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) cut to ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan; Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) raised to ‘outperform’ at Oppenheimer; Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) cut to ‘neutral’ at Macquarie; and Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) raised to ‘outperform’ at RBC Capital and cut to ‘neutral’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch. Znyga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) gets starting calls from four brokers: ‘overweight’ at Barclays and JPMorgan; ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs; and ‘neutral’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Earnings reports since markets closed on last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Apple is up 6.4% at $447.17, after posting a new 52-week high this morning of $454.45; Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) is up nearly 3% at $6.72; Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) is up 1% at $40.54; Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) is down -0.6% at $15.60; ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is down -0.9% at $70.01; Praxair Inc. (NYSE: PX) is down -2.8% at $106.05; Wellpoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) is down -4.9% at $66.01; US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC) is up more than 18% at $7.59; and Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) is down nearly -10% at $7.81.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) is up more than 46% at $55.16. The genetic testing instrument maker is the target of a $5.7 billion hostile takeover offer from Roche Holdings AG.

Rubicon Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN) is down nearly -12% at $10.66. The LED lighting maker was downgraded from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’ at Needham yesterday on low demand.

Indiana Community Bancorp (NASDAQ: INCB) is up about 44% at $20.90 after posting a new 52-week high of $21.34 earlier. The bank holding company has agreed to be acquired by Old National Bancorp (NYSE: ONB) in an all-stock transaction.

Complete Genomics Inc. (NASDAQ: GNOM) is up 19% to $2.98. The DNA-sequencing company is getting a boost from the hostile takeover bid for Illumina.

NuVasive Inc. (NASDAQ: NUVA) is up about 19% at $16.31. The medical device maker had its shares stopped today following a report that it would not receive an injunction against selling a disputed product.

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

• 8:30 a.m. – Durable goods orders
• 8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
• 10:00 a.m. – New home sales
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
• 4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply reports

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Paul Ausick

Amgen Corporation (NASDAQ: AMGN) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) Cut to Neutral at Susquehanna.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Reiterated Buy with $730 price target at Argus.
Jive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: JIVE) Started as Buy at Citigroup; Started as Neutral at UBS; Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo; Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
NuVasive, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUVA) Raised to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM) Cut to Equalweight at Barclays.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Raised to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank; Reiterated as Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
Sanchez Energy Corporation (NYSE: SN) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity; Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
ViroPharma Incorporated (NASDAQ: VPHM) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

If you enjoyed the top analyst calls, you can sign up in the box below to join our morning email list to receive news directly in your inbox each morning. We include major analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO and M&A news, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAS) said that it had an effective new test for colon cancer without a colonoscopy, yet shares are getting slammed down.  The stock is down almost 19% at $6.95.

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) beat earnings and raised guidance, but margins are declining more than many expected.  Shares are down 7.6% at $139.69 in active trading.

First Mercury Financial Corporation (NYSE: FMR) is being acquired by Fairfax for 416.50 per share and shares are rallying as a result as you would expect.  Shares are trading up 435 at $16.30.

Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) is lower again after yesterday’s drop due to findings that Halliburton also knew about the problems with BP at the Deepwater Horizon before the explosion that resulted in the Gulf of Mexico well disaster.  Shares are down nearly 3% at $30.75.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) is trading up after announcing a buyback and refinancing of convertible debt.  Shares are up nearly 3% at $8.15 in active trading.

NuVasive, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUVA) is getting crushed after it lowered guidance and after several analyst downgrades.  Shares are down 25% at $27.17.

Power-One Inc. (NASDAQ: PWER) beat earnings and raised guidance.  Shares are up over 17% at $13.10.  This marks a 52-week high if it holds as the prior range was $2.52 to $13.04.

Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) is trading up despite late-day reports from Thursday that KKR is likely to drop out of the bidding for the company.  Shares were up almost 2% earlier but the stock is up about 0.7% at $14.04.

VIVUS Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) is surging despite the FDA not approving Qnexa for weight loss as it appears to be a situation that VIVUS can overcome.  Shares are trading up over 28% at $7.90 on more than 3 million shares pre-market.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

EchoStar Corp. (NASDAQ: SATS) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Cut to Neutral at Macquarie.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
NII Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: NIHD) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
NuVasive Inc. (NASDAQ: NUVA) Downgraded at BMO, Needham, JPMorgan, and Stifel Nicolaus.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) Cut to Underperform at Baird.
VIVUS Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Allergan (AGN) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
China Unicom (CHU) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP) Started as Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Fluor (FLR) Started as Outperform at Baird.
General Dynamics (GD) Started as Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Lockheed Martin (LMT) Started as Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
MDS Inc. (MDZ) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
NetLogic (NETL) Raised to Buy at Piper Jaffray.
Nuvasive (NUVA) Raised to Buy at Needham.
Shaw Group (SGR) Started as Outperform at Baird.

JON C. OGG

• AMAG Pharmaceuticals (AMAG) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan
• Andersons (ANDE) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer
• Bank of America (BAC) Raised to Market Perform at KBW
• BMC Software (BMC) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan
• Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan
• Citrix Systems (CTXS) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan
• Inter Parfums (IPAR) Raised to Buy at Piper Jaffray
• Jefferies (JEF) Raised to Market Perform at KBW
• McDermott International (MDR) Started as Buy at American Tech Research
• Myriad Genetics (MYGN) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer
• NuVasive (NUVA) Started as Overweight as JPMorgan
• Symantec (SYMC) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan

Jon C. Ogg
October 8, 2008

• Ctrip.com (CTRP) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
• Goldman Sachs (GS) Raised to Buy at Merrill Lynch.
• Lehman Brothers (LEH) Raised to Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
• Marvell Tech (MRVL) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
• Nalco Holding (NLC) Raised to Neutral (from Sell) at Goldman Sachs.
• NuVasive (NUVA) Started as Buy at Piper Jaffray.
• Prudential Financial (PRU) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
• Regions Financial (RF) Raised To Market Perform at FBR.
• Transocean (RIG) Raised to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank.
• USG (USG) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
• Zions Bancorp (ZION) Raised to Outperform at FBR.

Jon C. Ogg
September 8, 2008

It seems that Intuitive has its believers and its critics, and to prove it the most recent short data (about to be old) showed that almost 4.1 million shares (over 10% of the float) is listed as being in the short interest.  This is what happens after stocks keep an interest and fascination after a rise of 20-times or more in the stock price in less than a decade.

We wanted to discuss two other stocks that are related to this stock to see if there are still opportunities out there in the sector.  The two we are reviewing here are Hansen Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: HNSN) and NuVasive Inc. (NASDAQ: NUVA).

Hansen Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: HNSN) is perhaps the easiest to identifyas a like-minded stock compared to Intuitive Surgical.  This one doesdoes medical robotics as well but is in catheters for treatment ofabnormal heart rhythms.  Jim Cramer also identified this one long agoas "The Next Intuitive Surgical"when shares were at an adjusted $16.42.  This sits today at $18.30 andhas a 52-week trading range of 13.48 to $39.32. Its market cap is $458million, but analysts are still calling for losses in 2008 and 2009with sales of only $36.55 million in 2008 and $70.67 million in 2009.Analysts also have an average price target of around $29.00.  Hansendid also raise cash earlier this yearand recently received FDA clearance for its CoHesion(TM) Module.  ItsCEO, Dr. Moll, is also a co-Founder of Intuitive Surgical and its ChiefTechnical Officer, Robert Younge, is also a co-founder of Intuitive.While Hansen’s stock is down more than 50% from late-2007 highs, itsstock is still up about 50% from the post-IPO lows.

NuVasive Inc. (NASDAQ: NUVA) is a stock that we have hardly evercovered but is also one that traders have been using for a partialcomparison to Intuitive.  This is different in that its systems aren’texclusively robotics, and it is a leader in spinal surgeries.  Itsbenefits for the spine try to avoid the surgical disasters of the pastin spinal surgeries.  Think of  the people you know who have had badback surgeries, and you’ll realize why this one has seen exponentialgrowth.  Its applications range from fusion, to mobility to traditionalrods to minimally disruptive systems.  This company also say a hugerise at the end of this last week because it also beat earnings andraised guidance.  At $54.86 it put in new intra-day all-time highs (oneof many this year) and its stock has risen roughly 400% since comingpublic in early 2004.  Its market cap is now $1.95 Billion.  While 2008is its cross-over year into profitability, analysts expect it to earn$0.46 EPS in 2009 and the projected revenues of $239 million in 2008(now likely higher) are expected to reach over $325 million in 2009.Analysts have an average price target of around $58.00, although thatmay actually go higher next week after the group gets to key in ontheir updates for NuVasive.

Regardless of the markets and regardless of the political or regulatoryuncertainty ahead, there are always new emerging winners (and losersfor that matter) in medical technology.  Are these companies the next Intuitive Surgical types of stocks in medical technology?  That’s for the history books and stock almanacs to decide.

Jon C. Ogg
July 27, 2007