The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 11 points to 12,705.41 (-0.09%), the NASDAQ rose more than 11 points (0.4%) to 2,859.68, and the S&P 500 rose 0.11% or nearly 1.5 points to 1,325.54.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) raised to ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan; Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) cut to ‘underperform’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch; Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) cut to ‘neutral’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch; and Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) started as ‘buy’ at Canaccord Genuity.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) is up nearly 24% at $66.30; Education Management Corp. (NASDAQ: EDMC) is down -17% at $21.19; Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) is down -0.6% at $24.62; Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) is up 2.2% at $60.88 after posting a new 52-week high of $61.93 earlier today; Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) is up 3.2% at $3.27; Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) is down -3.9% at $5.85; Brinks Co. (NYSE: BCO) is down -17.5% at $24.43; Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO) is up 0.35% at $63.29; Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA) is down -1.2% at $42.48; Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) is down -0.3% at $38.51; Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) is down -0.3% at $15.71; and Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB) is down -0.9% at $46.53.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is up nearly 18% at $12.49 after posting a new post-IPO high of $12.91 earlier today. The social games company got a big boost from Facebook’s IPO filing. Our coverage is here.

MediciNova Inc. (NASDAQ: MNOV) is up nearly 31% at $2.47. The company received a favorable patent notice for a multiple sclerosis treatment device.

Response Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: RGDX) is up more than 27% at $1.50. The drug maker announced the private placement of about 5.3 million shares at $1.50/share, about 28% higher than last night’s closing price.

BioScrip Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOS) is up more than 15% at $6.73. The pharmacy services provider has sold a portion of its assets to Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) for $225 million.

Ur-Energy Inc. (AMEX: URG) is down more than -13% at $1.22. The uranium miner has issued 1.5 million shares of new stock to agents who will attempt to sell at CDN$1.00.

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

• 8:30 a.m. – Non-farm payroll report
• 10:00 a.m. – Factory orders
• 10:00 a.m. – ISM non-manufacturing (services) index

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Paul Ausick

Next quarter guidance is $0.91 to $0.97 EPS on $4.6 to $5.0 billion in revenues, while the consensus estimates are $0.89 EPS and $4.49 billion in sales.  For fiscal year 2012, Qualcomm is offering guidance of $3.55 to $3.75 EPS on sales of $18.7 to $19.7 billion; estimates are $3.59 EPS and $18.48 billion in sales. The company sees 146 to 154 million MSM units shipped in the current quarter.

The company ended its latest quarter with a cash arsenal of $22 billion or so if you include the cash equivalents and short-term investments.

Shares closed up 1.25% at $59.56 and the 52-week range is $45.98 to $59.84 and shares are trading up around $62.00 after a near-4% gain in the after-hours. 

Keep in mind that the market cap hit $100 billion today and that will drive the market well over the $100 billion mark if its holds up after the conference call.  Beating earnings estimates and raising guidance is welcomed.

JON C. OGG

We have now seen positive earnings out of ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) Jim Cramer turned out to be very spot on when it came to his relative value tout in Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) with its post-earnings reaction being up 7%.

Options traders are braced for a move of up to about $2.00 in either direction based upon the monthly expirations of puts and calls.

With the stock near a year high, the chart does not offer any great reads right now other than that the most recent support was around $57.25 and if the news is really unpleasant then the 50-day moving average is $55.37 and the 200-day moving average is $54.02.

Analysts still lean toward a ‘Buy’ consensus for their official ratings bias.  Thomson Reuters has a consensus target (mean target) of almost $66.00.

We would probably lean twoard waiting another quarter before expecting Qualcomm to boost its dividend, which has been the same for three consecutive quarters and currently offers investors a 1.5% yield.

JON C. OGG

We have provided estimates from Thomson Reuters on each and offered commentary and guidance on some of these companies.  More detailed previews will be available Tuesday morning for the reports due after the closing bell:

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) estimates are $0.98 EPS and $8.49 billion.  Watch the medical loss ratio here as it seems to be in quarters past that insurance outfits have been making more money than they were supposed to be making once the new healthcare laws go into effect.  With shares around $44, the year high is $46.01.

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) will prove if it has everyone in good hands or not.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.97 EPS.  With shares around $29, its 52-week range is $22.27 to $34.40.

AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) has now seen shares bounce 60% off of the bottom and that is despite the recent news that Facebook is taking much of the new advertising market share.  Estimates are $0.16 EPS per Thomson Reuters data but we just saw $0.28 noted in a Dow Jones preview yesterday.  That being said, we are staying out of this one.

BMC Software Inc. (NASDAQ: BMC) is expected to post $0.82 EPS on almost $556 million in sales.

Capstead Mortgage Corp. (NYSE: CMO) is not a market moving stock, but investors who are into the world of high-yielding mortgage REITs will be watching.  The estimate is $0.41 EPS (actually FFO) and the next dividend will be likely dependent upon that report.  Its dividend yield screens north of 13% today.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is a cult stock if there every was one and now its valuation is close to $11.5 billion and the stock is within 2% of its all-time high. Thomson Reuters has a consensus of $1.83 EPS and $591.1 million in sales.  For 2012, the estimates are $8.68 EPS and 2.7 billion in revenues.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) is another huge cult stock down on its luck from recent highs.  The stock is still down by more than half.  Thomson Reuters has estimate at $0.36 EPS and $1.06 billion in sales.

JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU) still has a huge shareholder base that got buried in the first big tech bubble.  At $12.75, the 52-week range is $8.59 to $29.12.  Thomson Reuters has a consensus of $0.10 EPS and $390.9 million.

Las Vegas Sands Corporation (NYSE: LVS) is also within striking distance of a near-term high as shares are currently around $49.00 against a 52-week range of $36.05 to $50.68.  The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters are $0.57 EPS and $2.46 billion in sales. 

NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) is a value stock when it comes to the exchanges and it is not supposedly trying to do any crazy merger right now.  At $25.00 the 52-week range is $20.32 to $29.71.  The consensus estimate is $0.62 EPS and $417.8 million. 

QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM)is within striking distance of its yearly high as shares are around $58.80 and the 52-week range is $45.98 to $59.84.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.90 EPS on $4.57 billion in revenues. Next quarter estimates are $0.89 EPS and $4.49 billion in sales.  Keep in mind that if it rallies much more than the current $98.8 billion market cap will be $100 billion.

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We’ve looked 10 semiconductor companies and evaluated their chances of reaching existing price targets during the coming year. The companies are Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD), Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM), Qualcomm Corp. (NASDAQ: QCOM), ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH), SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK), Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR), Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), and Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN). Data comes from Yahoo! Finance and MarketWatch.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) has a consensus price target of $27 and current price around $26.83, for a potential upside of about 1%. Intel reported stellar earnings last week and the stock posted a new 52-week high earlier this morning. Sales of PCs have not been as weak as feared, and margins have remained high. The new Ultrabooks, which the company is supporting with a very strong marketing budget, could really push the company substantially higher. As of this moment though, shares are fully valued.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) has a consensus price target of $6.00 and a current price around $6.55, leaving no upside. The company reports earnings tomorrow and is expected to post EPS of $0.16 on revenue of $1.72 billion. The company’s shares have jumped by about a dollar in the past month, and continued improvement, especially in the server market, should push the target price higher.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) has a consensus price target of $8.75 and a current price around $8.00, for a potential upside of 9%. Last month the company’s price target was $8/share and the shares were trading at around $6.25. How much more steam can be left in Micron after that?

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) has a consensus price target of $41 and a current price around $34.92, for a potential upside of 17%. Broadcom shares have risen by more than $5/share in the last month, but unlike Micron, there’s still a lot of headroom.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) has a median price target of $67 and a current price around $58.60, for a potential upside of 14%. Qualcomm shares have gained more than 7% in the first three weeks of the year and the share price is up more than $4. The company has a firm position in the mobile device market and the company should continue to post growth in 2012.

ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) has a consensus price target of $33.75 and a current price around $27.75, for a potential upside of more than 22%. ARM’s target price has jumped by nearly $7/share in the past month, but it is trading at nearly the same price as a month ago. Shares gained nearly 35% in the past year, but royalty payments are falling. For the year-to-date, shares are slightly down. To hit its new target, ARM has to get going.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) has a consensus price target of $59.50 and a current price around $51.87, for a potential upside of 14.7%. SanDisk’s shares are up about 5.5% so far this year after a nearly flat 2011. Apple’s recent acquisition of of a NAND maker could sharply curtail SanDisk’s sales of the chips for iPhones and iPads.

Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) has a consensus price target of $43 and a current price around $39.90, for a potential upside of 7.8%. Altera’s price target has been raised in the past month, and the company’s share price is also higher. Shares have risen more than 7% year-to-date, and the company is expected to report EPS of $0.42 and revenue of $447.52 million tomorrow.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) has a median price target of $13 and a current price around $12.29, for a potential upside of 5.8%. AMAT’s shares have jumped more than 15% since the beginning of January, and the price target has not changed. There’s not a lot to like here as far as expected upside goes.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) has a consensus target price of $34 and a current price around $33.42, for a potential upside of less than 2%. TI is expected to report EPS of $0.39 and revenue of $3.25 billion after the market closes today. The company lowered estimates in December, and there’s a decent chance TI will beat those lowered expectations. If so, a new target nearer the company’s 52-week high of $36.71 would be in order. That could raise upside potential to around 12%.

In the last month, Intel has essentially hit its target price, and because the target hasn’t been raised, there could be some question among analysts about the staying power of the recent rise. Broadcom and Qualcomm offer the best bets to post share price gains, and the targets for both are well within reach.

Paul Ausick

Many of Apple’s suppliers are well-known, but the list includes Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD), Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY), Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM), Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. (NYSE: FCS), Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX), Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL), Vishay Intertechnology Inc. (NYSE: VSH), TriQuint Semiconductor Inc. (NASDAQ: TQNT), SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK), ON Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: ONNN), and Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM).

The report is based on 229 audits, of which 14 were specialized environmental audits and 27 process safety audits. Apple found 6 current cases of suppliers hiring underage workers and 13 historical cases of child labor violations. About these violations, the company said:

In each case, the facility had insufficient controls to verify age or detect false documentation. We found no instances of intentional hiring of underage labor. We required the suppliers to support the young workers’ return to school and to improve their management systems—such as labor recruitment practices and age verification procedures—to prevent recurrences.

Chinese environmental groups last year charged that 27 of Apple’s suppliers were dumping toxic gases and heavy metal sludges into the country’s land and air. The company’s audits revealed that 112 supplier facilities were not properly storing, moving, or handling hazardous chemicals correctly; 69 facilities were illegally dumping or failing to recycle hazardous waste; and 52 facilities failed to label hazardous materials. Apple also reported that 58 facilities failed to monitor and control air emissions.

Apple had come under increasing pressure to name its suppliers and to hold them to a higher standard following suicide attempts by 18 workers and 14 deaths at China’s Foxconn facility in 2010.

Paul Ausick

More Trouble in Iran

The price of oil continues to rise. On most days recently, it is as likely to rise as not. The latest reason that Brent crude moved over $113 a barrel is an explosion in Iran. A nuclear scientist apparently was killed by a car bomb. Iran’s political system may be less stable than it was a few months ago. Western governments have largely agreed to sanctions. The U.S. has lobbied China to participate, but that lobbying may have no effect. Iran continues to threaten to shut the Strait of Hormuz and cut the supply of as much as one-fifth of the world’s oil.

Lenovo Goes With Intel

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) struck a blow in its battle with Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) to provide processors for smartphones. The world’s largest chip company announced at the Consumer Electronics Show that Lenovo and Motorola (NYSE: MMI) will use the Intel product. The announcement is actually a disappointment. Motorola recently reported its phone sales were weak last quarter. Lenovo is barely in the smartphone business at all. If Intel is to show any real advance in the sector, it will have to sign with a more powerful player like Samsung.

Prius c Launches

Toyota (NYSE: TM) launched it tiny Prius c hybrid at the Detroit auto show. The five-door car will get as much as 53 MPG in city driving. That is enough of an advantage over most small cars to give the Prius c an edge. The new vehicle will sell for $19,000, which is little enough to attract even budget-conscious buyers. Analysts will argue that the Prius c has to compete with new clean diesel, electric and standard engines that get better MPG than their predecessors. But the Prius brand is powerful and long lived. Toyota says it has sold more than two million Prius units since the car was first introduced.

Douglas A. McIntyre

NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) and Deutsche Boerse will try to save their merger with a case for EC regulators. (Reuters)

Fannie Mae’s CEO to depart. (Reuters)

New York State is examining the use of force-place insurance by Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and other large financial firms. (Reuters)

Motorola (NYSE: MMI) and Lenovo will launch smartphones powered by Intel (NYSE: INTC). (Reuters)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) will have substantial exhibits at the Consumer Electronics Show. (Reuters)

Kodak (NYSE: EK) sues Apple and HTC over patent infringements. (Reuters)

Some of Spain’s banks continue to make home loans despite an oversupply. (WSJ)

The Fed gives the U.S. Treasury $76.9 billion in profits. (WSJ)

Orange juice futures hit a record high. (WSJ)

Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR) reaches a settlement with miner families arising from an explosion in a Massey mine in 2010. (WSJ)

Egypt will ask the International Monetary Fund for money. (WSJ)

Fitch says that Italy is the largest risk to the euro. (WSJ)

The Hostess relationship with unions may determine whether it can stay out of bankruptcy. (WSJ)

The New Republic is for sale. (WSJ)

Tiffany’s (NYSE: TIF) sales stumble. (WSJ)

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) launches a new product to tie search more closely to its social network. (WSJ)

The head of WebMD (NASDAQ: WBMD) departs. (WSJ)

Office owners hurt by expiring five-year leases. (WSJ)

Bank of NY Mellon (NYSE: BK) is close to settling on overcharging for currency trade cases. (WSJ)

Copper rises on demand from China. (WSJ)

Some Chinese exporters have such a large share of market that they cannot expand. (WSJ)

Investors add to positions in Greek bonds on the assumption of a bailout in March. (NYT)

Dividend increases are a sign of better corporate recoveries. (NYT)

India will again offer foreign retailers more access to its markets after reneging on an earlier arrangement. (NYT)

The head of Citigroup (NYSE: C) says banks should disclose more of the risk assessments of their assets. (FT)

Carlyle Group will list on the Nasdaq. (FT)

The battle between Intel and Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) over smartphone chips intensifies. (FT)

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) sues more Chinese companies over piracy. (FT)

Banks in the eurozone continue to cut lending despite European Central Bank attempts to change the practice. (Bloomberg)

State-funded pensions in Europe are $39 trillion short on money to fund obligations. (Bloomberg)

Germany’s economy contracts in Q4. (Bloomberg)

Microsoft says interruptions of parts supplies from Thailand will slow PC sales. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Returns of holiday online gifts are expect to reach a record. (Reuters)

Venezuela says it will pay Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) only $225 million for its assets in the country, which is only a third of what the U.S. company was awarded in arbitration. (Reuters)

Total will pay Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) $2.3 billion for a stake in its shale oil assets. (Reuters)

Bridgewater Associates says it is still bearish for 2012. (WSJ)

Sarkozy and Merkel will meet ahead of an EU meeting to further to address the region’s debt crisis. (WSJ)

More PC companies to introduce ultrabooks, small computers meant to compete with tablets. (WSJ)

California farmers face an unprecedented drought. (WSJ)

Ohio shuts programs used to dispose of waste water from oil and gas drilling as earthquakes increase. (WJ)

Technology increases the oil yield from Prudhoe Bay. (WSJ)

Italy needs to issue 118 billion euros in the first quarter and Spain to issue 60 billion euros. (WSJ)

A lack of electricity will hurt India’s growth. (WSJ)

Car sales drop significantly in Spain and France, based on figures for December. (WSJ)

Sales of German and French debt this week will indicate the capital market reaction to EU problems. (WSJ)

Fidelity Investments may offer ETFs. (WSJ)

Online gambling could help Facebook, Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). (WSJ)

Consumer debt makes an ongoing rise in consumer spending unlikely. (NYT)

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) locks out workers in Canada because of a contract dispute. (NYT)

BP (NYSE: BP) says that all of the $21 billion it spent for its Gulf clean-up should be paid by Halliburton (NYSE: HAL). (NYT)

Hedge funds make huge bets against the euro as the year ends. (FT)

Junk bond issuance moves higher sharply in the fourth quarter. (FT)

India removes barriers to a number of foreign investments. (FT)

The funding gap for U.S. corporate pensions rises to $450 billion among S&P 500 companies. (FT)

Electric car sales falter as General Motors’ (NYSE: GM) Volt and Nissan’s Leaf sell poorly. (FT)

The world’s largest economies hold$7.6 trillion in debt. (Bloomberg)

U.S. auto dealers post their best year in the past five. (Bloomberg)

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) are in an increasing battle for mobile chips. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

We’ve looked 10 semiconductor companies and evaluated their chances of reaching existing price targets during the coming year. The companies are Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD), Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM), Qualcomm Corp. (NASDAQ: QCOM), ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH), SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK), Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR), Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), and Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN). Data comes from Yahoo! Finance and MarketWatch.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) has a consensus price target of $27 and current price around $24.47, for a potential upside of 10.3%. Intel has put a lot of marketing muscle behind its Ultrabook design, with more models to come from more manufacturers in 2012. A new version of the Windows operating system is also due in late summer that should help with Ultrabook sales. Intel still hasn’t come up with a strategy to attack the mobile device market, and while that won’t be fatal, it could weigh on revenue and profits next year unless the Ultrabook is a blowout success.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) has a consensus price target of $6.20 and a current price around $5.36, for a potential upside of 15.7%. AMD’s share price fell more than -33% in the past 12 months. The company introduced a new high-speed graphics chip recently that has been well-received. AMD’s server market share is wobbly though, although it has made progress in notebooks. But expecting a gain of more than 15% seems like wishful thinking.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) has a consensus price target of $8 and a current price around $6.24, for a potential upside of 28.2%. Micron’s shares jumped last week on a weak earnings report primarily on the basis of more expected consolidation in the DRAM market. Pricing has been weak for DRAM chips, but Micron is in a better position than most competitors to be among the survivors. Still, a lot of things need to go right for the company to hit its price target.

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) has a consensus price target of $41 and a current price around $29.53, for a potential upside of 38.8%. Broadcom has posted strong revenue and profit growth in 2011, but its share price has fallen by about -32%. Revenue and profit are both expected to continue growing in 2012, and the company is not a bad bet to hit its current price target.