The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 7 points to 12,653.5 (-0.05%), the NASDAQ fell more than 4 points (-0.16%) to 2,811.94, and the S&P 500 fell -0.25% or more than 3 points to 1,313.02.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K) cut to ‘neutral’ at JP Morgan; Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs; Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) cut to ‘equal-weight’ at Barclays; Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) and Autozone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) both raised to ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs; and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) maintained as ‘buy’ but removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.

Earnings reports since markets closed last Friday have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is down -6.77% at $14.19; Sify Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: SIFY) is down -5.4% at $4.74; The Wendy’s Co. (NYSE: WEN) is down -3.03% at $5.05; and Old National Bancorp. (NYSE: ONB) is down -1.90% at $11.86.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

GTX Inc. (NASDAQ: GTXI) is up nearly 49% at $5.86. The drug maker’s shares have been given a new price target of $19/share from Citigroup. We have more coverage here.

Pep Boys – Manny, Joe and Jack (NYSE: PBY) is up more than 23.5% at $14.92 after posting a new 52-week high of $15 earlier in the day. The auto parts retailer has agreed to an acquisition at $15/share. See more of our coverage here.

Thomas & Betts Corp. (NYSE: TNB) is up 13.33% at $71.28 after posting a new 52-week high of $71.80 earlier today. The electrical components maker has agreed to an acquisition by ABB Ltd. for $3.9 billion.

Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) is down nearly -18% at $1.10. The drug maker has withdrawn its application with FDA for approval of its non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma treatment.

Pharmerica Corp. (NYSE: PMC) is down nearly -12% at $12.64. The pharmacy services provider has expressed its wish that a hostile takeover bid from Omnicare Inc. (NYSE: OCR) will be withdrawn, following a Federal Trade Commission suit to block the deal. More coverage here.

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

• 8:30 a.m. – Employment cost index
• 9:00 a.m. – Case-Shiller housing price index
• 9:45 a.m. – Chicago purchasing managers index (PMI)
• 10:00 a.m. – Consumer confidence index
• 3:00 p.m. – Farm prices report

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Paul Ausick

After the first half-hour of trading, GTX Inc. is up more than 30% at $5.15. Volume is about 8x the daily average of about 188,000 shares traded. The drug maker’s shares have been given a new price target of $19/share from Citigroup.

Pep Boys is up nearly 23% at $14.85 after posting a new 52-week high of $15.00 earlier. Volume is already more than 13x the daily average of about 500,000 shares traded. The auto parts retailer has agreed to an acquisition at $15/share. See more of our coverage here.

Thomas & Betts is up more than 22% at $71.00 after posting a new 52-week high of $71.30 earlier. Volume is already 20x the daily average of about 330,000 shares traded. The electrical components maker has agreed to an acquisition by ABB Ltd. for $3.9 billion.

Cell Therapeutics is down nearly -17% at $1.11. Volume already more than double the daily average of 1.8 million shares traded. The drug maker has withdrawn its application with FDA for approval of its non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma treatment.

Pharmerica is down nearly -13% at $12.49. Volume is already more than double the daily average of nearly 400,000 shares traded. The pharmacy services provider has expressed its wish that a hostile takeover bid from Omnicare Inc. (NYSE: OCR) will be withdrawn, following a Federal Trade Commission suit to block the deal. More coverage here.

Paul Ausick

It makes you wonder how far behind a potential blockage of the Medco Health Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MHS) and Express Scripts Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRX) merger is.  Express Scripts is the would-be acquirer and the deal has been heavily criticized by many watch groups and we have noted how wide the merger-arbitrage spread is.  The blocked AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) acquisition of T-Mobile started (or added to) much of the blocking concerns from investors.

The FTC issued a complaint to block the hostile acquisition of the rival long-term care pharmacy provider alleging that this combination of the two largest U.S. long-term care pharmacies would harm competition and also because the merger would allow Omnicare to raise the price of drugs for Medicare Part D consumers and others.  As noted (full release):

“If Omnicare is allowed to purchase its biggest and only national competitor, it will diminish competition and raise health care costs – leaving taxpayers and patients to foot the bill,” said Richard Feinstein, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “The Bureau will continue to be vigilant in our efforts to prevent these sorts of anticompetitive deals.”

JON C. OGG

Barrick Gold (ABX) Cut to Sector Perform at CIBC.
Big 5 Sports (BGFV) Raised to Neutral from Underweight at Piper Jaffray.
Digital Realty Trust (DLR) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
DISH Network (DISH) Raised to Outperform at CRedit Suisse.
Hologic (HOLX) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Human Genome (HGSI) Raised to Buy at ThinkEquity.
Myriad Genetics (MYGN) Started as Outperform at William Blair.
Pharmerica (PMC) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Savient Pharma (SVNT) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Talbots (TLB) Raised to Outperform at FBR.

JON C. OGG
AUGUST 4, 2009

• AuthenTec (AUTH) Started At Buy at Stanford Group.
• CBRL Group (CBRL) Raised to Outperform at Raymond James.
• Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) Raised to Outperform at Raymond James.
• Darden Restaurants (DRI) Raised to Outperform at Raymond James.
• Kroger (KR) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
• Lions Gate (LGF) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
• Panera Bread (PNRA) Raised to Outperform at Raymond James.
• PharMerica (PMC) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
• Volterra Semiconductor (VLTR) Raised to Buy at Piper Jaffray.

Jon C. Ogg
October 21, 2008