Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ALSN) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse; Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs; Started as Neutral at Citigroup.

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) Maintained Hold at Argus.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) Cut to Neutral on valuation at Credit Suisse; Reiterated Buy with $480 target at Argus.

Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRN) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Demandware, Inc. (NYSE: DWRE) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank; Started as Outperform at William Blair; Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer; Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Reiterated Buy with $22 target at Argus.

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) Reiterated Buy with $54 target at BofA/ML.

LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Started as Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

Pep Boys-Manny, Moe & Jack Inc. (NYSE: PBY) Cut to Sell at Argus.

Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) Reiterated Buy with $36 target at BofA/ML.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) Reiterated Buy with $13 target at Argus.

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JON C. OGG

The following stocks have exhibited the strongest chart patterns: AutoZone Inc. (AZO); Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG); The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD); Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC); Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG); Philip Morris International, Inc. (NYSE: PM); Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT); Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE); Unitedhealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH); and Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM).

These names year to date have outperformed the S&P 500 by 12.92%.  During the month of April these particular stocks have risen an average of 0.66% while the S&P 500 has actually fallen by a rate of -3.31%.

As always, past performance is not indicative of future results.  These results for the strongest names are updated daily and stronger names do rotate daily into the composite of the top 10.

Currently the 10 stocks featured this week are not technically overbought, but they are approaching a overbought condition according to the methodology used by the Chartlabpro.com model.

The methodology from chartlabpro.com shows that a 5 rating is considered a Strong Buy and conversely a 1 is a Strong Sell.  As a reminder, Chipotle, Intel, Philip Morris International, and Unitedhealth Group are due to report quarterly earnings in the coming days.

Featured exclusively for 24/7 Wall St. by ChartLabPro.com.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $80 at Argus.
AON Corporation (NYSE: AON) Raised to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
EQT Corporation (NYSE: EQT) Raised to Hold from Sell with $50 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Intrepid Potash (NYSE: IPI) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) Maintained Buy but target now at $14 from $19 at Argus.
Medivation, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDVN) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) Raised to Buy at Argus.
NII Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NIHD) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX) named Momentum stock of the day at Zacks.
Range Resources Corporation (NYSE: RRC) Raised to Hold from Sell with $59 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) Reiterated Buy and $24.00 price target at Argus.
Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) Raised to Buy at Needham.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks. 

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JON C. OGG

We have many key earnings, including some DJIA components, as follows: Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C); Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC); eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY); Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS); Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX); American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP); Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC); Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG); Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC); International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM); Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG); Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT); UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH); General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE); and Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB).

We have added in Thomson Reuters consensus data, as well as other bits of data and color if applicable.

Tuesday, January 17

Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) both lead Tuesday morning off with earnings, and each are important.  Wells Fargo is the healthier of the two and it does not trade at a discount to book value like its peers because it is deemed the least penalized of the money center banks in the new lower-trading and less risk environment.  Both pulled back after J.P. Morgan earnings, but both were up handily so far this year.

Citi has estimates of $0.49 EPS and $18.54 billion in sales. 

Wells Fargo has estimates of $0.72 EPS on $28.08 billion in sales. 

Wednesday, January 18

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) has a bit of a neutral bias going into Wednesday’s earnings after the close as it is still mostly a domestic story for auctions, with PayPal being the biggest boost.  Earnings estimates are $0.57 EPS and $3.32 billion in revenues.

Read Also: DJIA Expected 12% Gains in 2012 to 13,678

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is due on Wednesday morning and the earnings estimates have been cratering ahead of the report.  The current target is $1.24 EPS on $6.54 billion in sales, but the earnings targets were above $2.00 EPS recently and the street expected almost $3.00 just about 90 days ago. 

Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Started as Hold with $225.00 price target “due to low margins through 2012″ at Canaccord Genuity.
The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) Raised to Buy with $20.00 price target at Argus.
CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) Cut to Hold from Buy at Argus.
Freescale Semiconductor Inc. (NYSE: FSL) Reinstated as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
GeoResources, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEOI) Started as Buy with $43 price target “on a concentrated Eagle Ford/Bakken exposure” by Canaccord Genuity.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) was initiated with a ‘Buy’ rating and $725.00 price target “on robust growth and great value” by Canaccord Genuity.
JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU) Started in new coverage as Buy with a $14.75 price target at Jefferies.
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Started as Buy with $85 price target as “growth trumps valuation” by Canaccord Genuity.
Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE: BTU) Downgraded to Neutral from Buy with $43 price target by Goldman Sachs.
Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (NYSE: PEG) Downgraded to Neutral from Buy with $33 price target at Goldman Sachs.
Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX) Started as Hold with $51 target at Auriga.
The Talbots, Inc. (NYSE: TLB) maintained Neutral with $3.00 fair value by Janney Capital Markets.
Travelers Cos. Inc. (NYSE: TRV) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) added to the US Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Maintained Neutral with $23.00 price target at Janney Capital Markets.
Willis Group Holdings, PLC (NYSE: WSH) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

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Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) Started as Buy at Societe Generale.
CareFusion Corporation (NYSE: CFN) Started as Market Perform at BMO.
Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) Started as Outperform with $60 target at Credit Suisse.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) cut estimates and cut target to $45 from $50 at Credit Suisse’ Maintained Sell at Argus.
Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late-Monday call).
The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) Started as Buy at Stern Agee; Reiterated Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Lulelemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Started as Neutral at Macquarie.
Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) Started as Outperform at Macquarie.
Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR) Cut to Hold at Argus.
QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) Started as Hold at Societe Generale.
UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Started as Underperform at Macquarie; Started as Outperform at FBR.
VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

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JON C. OGG

S&P cuts Italy one notch and says its outlook is negative. (Reuters)

Head of UBS (NYSE: UBS) seeks a vote of confidence from his board. (Reuters)

Samsung may take legal action against Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) on the iPhone. (Reuters)

Broken China IPOs may get private equity money. (Reuters)

China to continue to buy U.S. debt. (People’s Daily)

The SEC looked into trades just before U.S. debt was downgraded. (WSJ)

Greece says conversations with EU and IMF leaders about a bailout were productive. (WSJ)

Merkel’s ally party says it opposes bailout investments. (WSJ)

Citigroup (NYSE: C) aggressively solicits credit card use. (WSJ)

General Motors (NYSE: GM) may expand its relationship with China car company SAIC to improve sales in the world’s most populous nation. (WSJ)

Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS) may get EPA approval to drill in Arctic waters off Alaska. (WSJ)

China’s Xinjiang Goldwind to build a wind farm in Illinois. (WSJ)

Some consumer groups oppose an Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) and MedcoHealth Solutions (NYSE: MHS) merger. (WSJ)

A generic version of blood thinner Lovenox to appear on the market after a year of legal fighting. (WSJ)

Chrysler nears a deal with the UAW. (WSJ)

STX kills a bid for a majority control of South Korean chip maker Hynix Semiconductor. (WSJ)

Copper reaches a one-year low. (WSJ)

Apple now worth $23 billion, more than Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM). (WSJ)

More economists view an orderly default of Greece as better than years of austerity and perhaps a depression. (NYT)

Growing number of Americans worry about being laid off. (NYT)

Aetna (NYSE: AET), Humana (NYSE: HUM), Kaiser Permanente and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) would give patient information to a nonprofit group. (NYT)

Airbus raises estimate for long-term demand of commercial planes. (NYT)

Siemens (NYSE: SI) moves 6 billion euros to the ECB to lower risk. (FT)

Ireland’s economy begins to recover. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

The Justice Department sues to block AT&T (NYSE: T) buyout of T-Mobile. (Reuters)

Sony’s (NYSE: SNE) tablet PCs to be priced at $499 and $599, making it harder for them to challenge sales of the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPad. (Reuters)

A new lawsuit says Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) tracks customer behavior without consent. (Reuters)

Japan regulators back merger of the LCD businesses of Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi (NYSE: HIT). (Reuters)

In an agreement with New York State, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) to end robo-signing. (WSJ)

New data shows the rebound of the German economy continues. (WSJ)

Bank of New York’s (NYSE: BK) board pushes out CEO Robert P. Kelly. (WSJ)

Brazil’s central bank makes an unexpected rate cut. (WSJ)

Facebook adds new music services. (WSJ)

Apple criticized for its environmental practices in China. (WSJ)

The U.S. wastes as much as $60 billion on contracts during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. (WSJ)

Banks working on T-Mobile deal buyout could lose $150 million in fees. (WSJ)

Switzerland greatly cuts the size of its stimulus package. (WSJ)

Eurozone inflation flat in August. (WSJ)

UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) buys a partnership of 2,300 doctors in California. (WSJ)

SEC seeks comments about the use of derivatives by mutual funds. (WSJ)

IMF and eurozone economists fight over bank balance sheet projections. (FT)

August junk bond deals at their lowest since 1995. (FT)

Sony says access to content will make its tablet PCs more attractive to consumers. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) reported earnings of $1.16 EPS versus $0.94 EPS estimates, while revenues rose over 8% to $25.23 billion that was mostly in-line with estimates.  The medical loss ratio was 81.4%, unchanged from the prior quarter.  In another boost to guidance, UnitedHealth put earnings at $4.15 to $4.25 per share and said that it expects revenues to hit that level.

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) reported second-quarter earnings of $1.35 per share soundly beating consensus estimates of $1.08 per share.  The company reported quarterly revenues of $8.32 billion in line with consensus estimates of $8.31 billion. The company raised FY 2011 earnings guidance from $4.20 -$4.30 to $4.60 -$4.70.  Prior to Aetna’s revised guidance analysts had looked for earnings of $1.05 per share for the third quarter ending September, 2011 on consensus revenues of $8.36 billion and FY 2011 earnings of $4.71 on revenues of $34.8 billion.  The shares recently closed at $42.62 and its 52-week range is $26.42 to $46.01.

WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) reported second-quarter earnings of $1.83 per share besting consensus estimates of $1.80 per share.  The company reported a 4.8% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenues of $14.88 billion exceeding consensus estimates of $14.67 billion. Analysts have been looking for 2011 third-quarter earnings of $1.69 per share on consensus revenues of $14.93 billion. The shares recently closed at $73.56 but traded down on second-quarter reports.  Its 52-week price range is $48.61 to $81.92.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is set to report earnings on August 1, 2011. Estimates from Thomson Reuters are $2.06 EPS on $9.32 billion in revenues.  For 2011, the current estimates are $7.07 EPS on $36.67 billion in sales.  At $75.75 today, the 52-week range is $45.36 to $84.32 and analysts have a consensus target of $88.22 on the stock.

Since before the July 19 earnings, UnitedHealth has seen shares go from $51.95 down then up to $52.87 before closing at $48.89 on Wednesday.  Shares are back up at $50.65 today and the consensus price target from Thomson Reuters is $59.82.

This week’s pre-earnings level on Aetna was $42.62 and shares hit $41.72 on Wednesday before recovering to $42.78 today and the consensus price target from Thomson Reuters is $49.92.

This week’s pre-earnings level from Wellpoint was $73.56 and shares closed on Wednesday at $68.70 versus only $68.94 today and the consensus price target from Thomson Reuters is $88.20.

So far it is UnitedHealth that is a the winner of the health insurers in this earnings season.  Shares hit a 52-week high of $50.89 today, still leaving about 20% before hitting the all-time highs of 2005 to 2006.  Moody’s even liked the UnitedHealth earnings enough that it raised its corporate credit ratings to ‘A3′ with a stable outlook because of a consistent earnings profile and showing consistent revenue growth.

It turns out that healthcare reform has so far been much better for the health insurers than many would have guessed.  You see who is winning so far, and don’t be surprised when these companies play Pac-Man even further when it comes to buying up business by consolidating the smaller health insurers.

Jon C. Ogg & Jim Berdou

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD) Raised to Market Perform at Wells Fargo; Raised to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $65 at Argus.
AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE: CCI) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Dean Foods Company (NYSE: DF) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) Reiterated Buy with $19 target at Argus; Raised to Buy at S&P Equity Research.
Medco Health Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MHS) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Maintained Outperform with $280 target at Credit Suisse.
SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) Maintained Sell at Zacks; Reiterated Buy at Gleacher.
Solazyme, Inc. (NASDAQ: SZYM) Started as Outperform at Baird.
Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.

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JON C. OGG