The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 21 points to 12,632.91 (-0.16%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 2 points (0.07%) to 2,813.84, and the S&P 500 fell -0.05% or less than 1 point to 1,312.40.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) raised to ‘buy’ at Argus; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) started as ‘buy’ at Jefferies; Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) reiterated as ‘buy’ and target price raised to $80 at Argus; and Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC) raised to ‘hold’ from ‘sell’ with a target price of $59 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: Anixter Inc. (NYSE: AXE) is down -3.7% at $65.25; ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) is up 1.7% at $28.84; Celanese Corp. (NYSE: CE) is down -0.95% at $48.84; Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) is up 1.35% at $39.78; Exxon Mobil is down -1.98% at $83.80; Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) is up 2.2% at $61.64; L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LLL) is up 1.3% at $70.49; McGraw-Hill Cos. Inc. (NYSE: MHP) is down -0.5% at $46.09; Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) is up 5.1% at $31.04 after posting a new 52-week high today of $31.49; Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is down -0.8% at $21.42; and Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) is down -0.73% at $24.10.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Vringo Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNG) is up nearly 21% at $1.40. The social media software maker is apparently basking in the glow of the coming IPO of Facebook. See our coverage here.

RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) is down nearly -30% at $7.19 after setting a new 52-week low of $7.15 earlier today. The social media software maker is apparently basking in the glow of the coming IPO of Facebook. See our coverage here.

Verifone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY) is up more than 8% at $42.61. The payment systems maker is getting a boost from a plan by Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) to subsidize the installation of new card readers that use a microchip rather than a magnetic stripe to store customer information.

Rare Element Resources Ltd. (AMEX: REE) is up more than 17% at $7.22. The rare earth minerals miner is likely gaining after a ruling from the WTO that China’s restriction on rare earth minerals’ exports violates global trade rules.

FriendFinder Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFN) is up about 19% at $1.26. The adult social media company is likely also being bought up on the prospective Facebook IPO.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Automakers will be releasing sales figures for January throughout the day. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
• 7:30 a.m. – Challenger Job-cut data
• 8:15 a.m. – ADP employment report
• 10:00 a.m. – ISM manufacturing index
• 10:00 a.m. – Construction spending
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report

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Paul Ausick

Vringo remains the day’s biggest gainer, up more than 31% at $1.51. The social media software maker is apparently basking in the glow of the coming Facebook IPO. We have more coverage here.

RadioShack remains the day’s biggest loser, down nearly -30% at $7.17 after posting a new 52-week low of $7.15 earlier this morning. The electronics retailer pre-announced quarterly earnings this morning and the outlook for gross margins is killing the stock. Volume is about 18x the daily average. See more coverage here.

Clean Diesel Technologies is up nearly 22% at $3.55 in a 52-week range of $1.50-$11.20.

FriendFinder Networks is up more than 28%. The adult social media company is likely also being bought up on the prospective Facebook IPO.

Verifone is up more than 9% at $43.10. The payment systems maker is getting a boost from a plan by Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) to subsidize the installation of new card readers that use a microchip rather than a magnetic stripe to store customer information.

The DJIA is off -0.20% at around 12, 628, the S&P 500 is down -0.04% at about 1,312, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 0.13% at about 2,816.

Paul Ausick

Shares of RadioShack are down nearly -29% in early trading this morning on a weak pre-announcement of quarterly results. Nearly 31 million shares have been traded so far today, compared with a 3-month daily average of about 2 million shares traded. We have more coverage here.

A big winner this morning has been Vringo, also up about 29% on essentially no news. More than 2 million shares have traded this morning, compared with a 3-month daily average of around 65,000. Our take on the run-up is here.

Gentex is down more than -11% following a quarterly earnings report that missed estimates due to falling margins. Nearly 3 million shares have traded this morning, compared with a 3-month daily average of about 753,000.

Rare Earth Resources is up nearly 15% on essentially no news other than a ruling from the WTO that China’s restriction on rare earth minerals’ exports violates global trade rules. More than 5 million shares have traded by mid-day, compared with a daily average of about 1.4million.

Clean Diesel shares are up more than 14% on essentially no news. More than 600,000 shares have already traded this morning, compared with a 3-month daily average of about 140,000 shares.

Paul Ausick

After the first 45 minutes of trading this morning, Vringo is up more than 46% at $1.70. Volume is nearly 20x the daily average of about 65,000 shares traded. The social media software maker is apparently basking in the glow of the coming IPO of Facebook. See our coverage here.

FriendFinders is up more than 30% at $1.38. Volume is already about 4x the daily average of about 213,000 shares traded. The adult social media company is likely also being bought up on the prospective Facebook IPO.

RadioShack is down more than -28% at $7.35 after posting a new 52-week low of $7.15 earlier. Volume is already 9x the daily average of about 2.6 million shares traded. The electronics retailer pre-announced quarterly earnings this morning and the outlook for gross margins is killing the stock. See more coverage here.

Meritage is down more than -8% at $24.96. Volume has already nearly equaled the daily average of about 456,000 shares traded. The homebuilding company reported a larger quarterly loss this morning.

Parexel is up more than 14% at $23.35. Volume is already more than double the daily average of about 421,000 shares traded. The pharmaceutical maker guided next quarter earnings above consensus estimates.

Paul Ausick

Honda (NYSE: HMC) posts a 65% drop in profits and cuts its outlook because of the yen and Thai floods. (Reuters)

Twenty-five nations, led by Germany, sign a bailout fund agreement. (Reuters)

Honda will launch its first business jet next week. (Reuters)

Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) independent directors agree that the chairman should not be a company executive. (Reuters)

German retail sales fall in December. (Reuters)

The WTO rules against Chinese policies on raw materials, but its rare earth exports are not addressed. (Reuters)

AT&T (NYSE: T) changes the roles of a number of its top managers. (Reuters)

Another director — Larry Babbio Jr. — leaves the Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) board. (Reuters)

New 401(k) rules could help millions of American with savings. (WSJ)

State attorneys general have until the end of the week to join a bank mortgage settlement set by the federal government. (WSJ)

Banco Santander’s (NYSE: STD) profits drop 98% on its real estate holdings. (WSJ)

The vice chairman of Avon Products (NYSE: AVP) loses his job over an overseas bribery probe. (WSJ)

Symphony IRI reports that more shoppers are moving to store brands and away from traditional ones. (WSJ)

RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) shares fall on a profit warning. (WSJ)

Portugal’s borrowing costs rise to euro-area highs. (WSJ)

The Manhattan Institute reports racial segregation reached a 100-year low. (WSJ)

Verizon’s (NYSE: VZ) home broadband efforts compete with Verizon Wireless products. (WSJ)

Groupon’s (NASDAQ: GRPN) CEO defends the value of the company’s shares. (WSJ)

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) moves into India. (WSJ)

Pep Boys goes private. (WSJ)

Comscore reports that Facebook increased its display market share lead over Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). (WSJ)

Many European companies begin to prepare for the economic fallout of a troubled Europe. (WSJ)

Moody’s says it was unaware of balance sheet risks taken by MF Global. (WSJ)

BSkyB will launch an online TV service. (NYT)

The Treasury Department investigates whether Freddie Mac invested based on an inability of some Americans to refinance their homes. (NYT)

A bill to curtail insider trading in Congress advances. (NYT)

EU banks may take loans of as much as $1 trillion because of financial trouble in the region. (FT)

Strong R&D and innovation can extend the life cycles of technology companies. (FT)

Greece is near a confrontation with the European Union over a rescue. (Bloomberg)

German unemployment fell more than expected in January, according to the Federal Labor Agency. (Bloomberg)

Portugal will sell more assets to help with its national debt reduction. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

It sounds good on the surface considering how bad things have been.  The problem is that gross profit as a percent of net sales in the quarter is expected to be about 35%.  That margin was about 41% a year earlier and that implies far worse earnings.  The new earnings guidance is $0.11 to $0.13 per share.  A year earlier was $0.51 per share and Thomson Reuters was calling for $0.35 EPS.

The company blamed “a shift in mix within mobility sales towards certain lower margin smartphones and mobile devices; a higher percentage of mobility sales in the overall revenue mix, largely driven by the Company’s expansion of Target mobile centers; and the impact of a more promotional holiday season.”  That is a lot of moving parts and too many for investors.

Another blame was “in large part to the underperformance of the Sprint postpaid wireless business and reflect further unanticipated changes in Sprint’s customer and credit models.  These changes resulted in fewer new and upgrade activations and a decline in Sprint postpaid revenues in the fourth quarter compared to the 2010 fourth quarter and compared to third quarter 2011.  In addition, fourth-quarter results reflect a highly promotional holiday season and ongoing pressures on consumer spending.”

Sprint Nextel Corporation is down as well on the news by 1.4% in the after-hours.  That is nothing compared to RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) with a drop of over 17% to $8.43.

The prior 52-week low was only $9.15.

JON C. OGG

ADTRAN, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN) Cut to Hold at Needham Research.
Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Air Products and Chemical, Inc. (NYSE: APD) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) Cut to Neutral at HSBC.
Automatic Data Processing. Inc. (NYSE: ADP) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE: BKU) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) Cut to Sell at Societe Generale.
Cardtronics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CATM) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Cash America International (NYSE: CSH) Raised to Buy at Sterne Agee.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) maintained Buy with $130 target but cut estimates at Argus.
Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) Maintained Sell at Argus.
Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) Started as Buy with $14 price target at Maxim.
Lamar Advertising Co. (NASDAQ: LAMR) maintained as Outperform and named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks.
MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE: SMG) Cut to Underperform at BMO Capital.
UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Veolia Environnement (NYSE: VE) Cut to Neutral at HSBC.
Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Weatherford International Inc. (NYSE: WFT) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.

Read Also: Jim Cramer touts Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) as a cheap catch-up semiconductor stock. This creates a chart versus fundamental event in price.

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JON C. OGG

CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF) named as value stock of the day by Zacks Investment Research.
Delphi Automotive (NYSE: DLPH) Initiated as Outperform at Credit Suisse; Started as Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Started as Overweight at J.P.Morgan; Started as Outperform at R.W. Baird.
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) Maintained Neutral with $28.00 price target at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL) raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) Reiterated Buy with $61 price target objective at Argus.
Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) target cut in Japan by Barclays.
Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) added to US 1 focus list at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Maintained Buy with $18.00 price target objective at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Read Also: Credit Suisse’s Small Cap Sweet Spots With 50% Upside

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JON C. OGG

AEGON N.V. (NYSE: AEG) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE: AZO) named Momentum stock of the day at Zacks.
Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) Reiterated Buy at Gabelli & Co.
RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) maintained Hold at Argus.
ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) maintained Neutral but cut target to $2 at Credit Suisse.
Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) Reiterated Buy at Gabelli & Co.

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JON C. OGG

The exit cost for Best Buy is $1.3 billion for the U.S. and Canada, but the two are also dropping plans to put up new European megastores together. Best Buy is facing a tough road today.  The company looks to be focusing on the core-U.S. business, but we have no real growth in America anymore.  Best Buy had previously dumped its expansion plans to grow in China and Turkey.

Today’s news, in part, should be good news.  The company will now no longer have to share half of its profits from the wireless sales.  Still, cutting back on expansion in more markets means that things are not as rosy as investors might hope.  Everyone knows the problems in Europe, but to throw in the towel now means that the company either expects a troubled environment in Europe to persist or that it just won’t be able to adequately focus its efforts in the key U.S. market while it fights for business with Amazon.com and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).  Even Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is getting better at selling the new top phones around carriers, so there is just one more seller to watch.

There used to be rumors that Best Buy was interested in acquiring Radio Shack Corporation (NYSE: RSH).  We’d put those further and further into what illiterates might call the “used to would” category.

At least the employees of the cellular area will be able to do more things elsewhere.  Unfortunately, there is a risk that those employees could be distracted from the more profitable areas of the business. Best Buy shares remain cheap at close to 7.5-times a blended forward earnings estimate.  The problem is that there is no real growth if it is paring back its international expansion, so no one is going to pay much for this earnings stream.

Best Buy shares are down 3.3% at $26.41 late in the day and the 52-week trading range is $21.79 to $45.63.

 JON C. OGG