U.S. markets are closed Monday in observance of Memorial Day.

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.27% today, now at 83.5710. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.2% at 624.86. WTI crude oil closed down 0.1%, at $94.15 a barrel, to close the week down about 2%. Brent crude trades up 0.2% at $102.59 a barrel. Natural gas is down 0.6% today at about $4.24 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 0.4% today at $1,387.50, about 1.6% higher than last week’s close.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 9 points to 15,303.33(0.06%), the NASDAQ fell less than 1 point1 (-0.01%) to 3,459.14, and the S&P 500fell -0.06% or less than 1 point to 1,649.60.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

• Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) raised to ‘buy’ at UBS;
• The Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN) raised to ‘buy’ at Janney;
• Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) cut to ‘neutral’ at Janney;
• Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL) cut to ‘neutral’ at Macquarie; and
• Aixtron SE (NASDAQ: AIXG) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have resulted in some price changes for reporting companies as of the last half hour of trading today:

• Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) is down 10.9% at $14.68;
• America’s Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT) is up 1.2% at $46.59;
• Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) is down 1.9% at $40.56;
• Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) is down 0.1% at $11.30;
• Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) is down 3.9% at $16.50 after posting a new 52-week high of $19.37 earlier today;
• Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) is up 0.7% at $65.55;
• Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) is down 5.5% at $43.23;
• Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) is down 1.2% at $X31.63X;
• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) is down 7.9% at $50.05; and
• Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) is down 5.2% at $33.82.

Before markets open Tuesday morning we are scheduled to hear earnings from Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) and Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Ziopharm Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ: ZIOP) is up 29.2% at $2.61. The cancer drug company had no news, which is often interpreted to be good news. Perhaps its investors looking for another biopharma company to match the price runup in MannKind Corp (NASDAQ: MNKD) earlier this week.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is down 3.7% at $24.12. The social media company appears about to do battle with Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) over an Israeli company that makes a smartphone traffic app.

Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) is down 13.6% at $50.33. The department store owner posted another big net loss in the first quarter.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. U.S. markets are closed on Monday. We have noted the following events on Tuesday’s schedule (all times Eastern):

• 9:00 a.m. – S&P Case-Shiller house price index
• 10:00 a.m. – Conference Board consumer sentiment index
• 10:00 a.m. – Richmond Fed manufacturing index
• 10:30 a.m. – Dallas Fed manufacturing survey
• 11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auction
• 1:00 p.m. – 2-year note auction

Have a great holiday weekend!

Aixtron SE (NASDAQ: AIXG) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY) was started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Janney.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) was cut to Underperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities.

Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie.

Nordson Corp. (NASDAQ: NDSN) cut to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer and cut to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.

Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) raised to Buy from Neutral on new CEO news at UBS.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) was cut to Neutral from Outperform after earnings at Wedbush; shares are down more than 7%. Also, Oppenheimer defends the stock and says to buy on weakness.

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ: WEN) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Janney.

The analyst team at Goldman Sachs is now calling for higher interest rates as early as this fall.

Value investors now have many choices to choose from in the oil, gas and energy sectors.

High revenue at Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) sends shares up by double digits. (Reuters)

Tesla Motors Inc.’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) first-quarter numbers are better than expected. (Reuters)

Pegatron, an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) supplier, boosts its workforce by 40% for the current quarter. (Reuters)

Smartphone sales are critical to the recovery of Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE). (Reuters)

Sony’s profit is based on one-time sales of real estate and other assets. (WSJ)

Yields on junk bonds drop to near all-time lows. (WSJ)

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) and Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN) begin a price war. (WSJ)

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) launches more low-calorie drinks. (WSJ)

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) says sales of World of Warcraft have slowed, which raises investor concerns. (WSJ)

Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) announces a dividend and share buybacks — unusual in the struggling airline industry. (WSJ)

Costs to produce the Samsung Galaxy 4 will be helped by falling component prices. (WSJ)

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) looks for directors with more risk management experience. (WSJ)

Groups opposed to the Keystone XL pipeline say President Obama must address other environmental problems if he approves its building. (NYT)

Vegetable prices cause much of China’s inflation in the past month. (FT)

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) names its first female chief financial officer. (Bloomberg)

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.43% today, now at 81.897. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.4% at 630.47. WTI crude oil closed up 1.1%, at $96.62 a barrel, following today’s report on inventories (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down 0.2% at $104.21 a barrel, creating the lowest spread between WTI and Brent in recent memory. Natural gas is up 1.4% today at about $3.98 per million BTUs. Gold settled up 1.7% today at $1,473.70.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 48 points to 15,104.97 (0.32%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 17 points (0.49%) to 3,413.27, and the S&P 500 rose 0.41% or nearly 7 points to 1,632.68.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) cut to ‘cautiousl’ at ISI group;
• Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Raised to ‘buy’ at Sterne Agee;
• U.S. Auto Parts Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTS) raised to ‘buy’ at Roth Capital;
• Plains All American Pipeline LP (NYSE: PAA) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; and
• Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) cut to ‘underperform at Baird.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading:

• American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK) is down 0.9% at $41.61;
• Demand Media Inc. (NYSE: DMD) is up 2.9% at $8.83;
• Fuel Tech Inc. (NASDAQ: FTEK) is down 10.3% at $3.59;
• Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) is up 6.3% at $5.62;
• Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) is up 0.9% at $34.65;
• SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) is down 3.5% at $5.20;
• Zillow Inc. (NYSE: Z) is down 9.9% at $56.70;
• AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is down 9.8% at $37.36 (more coverage here);
• Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB) is up fractionally at $47.34;
• The Wendy’s Co. (NYSE: WEN) is down 5.7% at $5.77; and
• Vivus Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) is up 10.5% at $13.30.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN), Continental Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLR), Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST), Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX), Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX), Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG), Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU), Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC), Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE: CDE), and Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Affymax Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFY) is up 18.9% at $1.37. The biopharmaceutical firm had no news today, but seemed to catch a wave from Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN).

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) is up 17.3% at $21.59, a new 52-week high. The video game company posted good results and forecast a strong current quarter.

Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO) is down 19.4% at $14.51. The storage company’s CEO and founder resigned today.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker and Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
• 10:00 a.m. – Wholesale trade
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
• 1:00 p.m. – 30-year bond auction
• 4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.06% today, now at 82.265. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.3% at 632.74. WTI crude oil closed down 0.6%, at $95.62 a barrel, following a report that Saudi Arabian production rose in April and that demand in the U.S. will be lower this year (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down 1% at $104.39 a barrel. Natural gas is down 2.1% today at about $3.93 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 1.3% today at $1,448.80.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 87 points to 15,056.28 (0.58%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 4 points (0.11%) to 3,396.63, and the S&P 500 rose 0.52% or more than 8 points to 1,625.96.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs;
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) started as ‘underperform’ at Wells Fargo;
Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ: INCY) resumed as ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs;
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) raised to ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo; and
Sanchez Energy Corp. (NYSE: SN) started as ‘buy’ at SunTrust.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading:

• Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) is down 1% at $86.79 after posting a new 52-week high of $89.72 earlier today;
• First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is down 8.9% at $43.43 (more coverage here);
• Plains All American Pipeline L.P. (NYSE: PAA) is up 1.9% at $58.32 after posting a new 52-week high of $58.51 earlier today;
• Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) is down 1.3% at $86.72;
• Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. (NASDAQ: CRZO) is up 1.8% at $26.42;
• Checkpoint Systems Inc. (NYSE: CKP) is up 4.1% at $12.10;
• DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is up 6.6% at $61.80 after posting a new 52-week high of $62.06 earlier today (more coverage here);and
• Fossil Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL) is up 9.1% at $107.93.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK), Demand Media Inc. (NYSE: DMD), Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), Fuel Tech Inc. (NASDAQ: FTEK), Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC), Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO), SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD), Zillow Inc. (NASDAQ: Z), AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL), Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB), Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN) and Vivus Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Aruba Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN) is down 23% at $16.99. The network equipment maker warned on earnings this morning.

Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) is up 9.5% at $1.44. The networking company held its annual meeting today and shareholders are willing to be patient. More coverage here.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is down 3.5% at $3.52. The mobile phone maker’s shareholders are not as patient as Alcatel Lucent’s.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Fed Governor Jeremy Stein is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
• 1:00 p.m. – 10-year note auction

24/7 Wall St. praises dividends. We also want to call out the myriad of great companies that need to realize that times demand investor payouts. A few companies are still buying growth, and we have identified some of these players as well. The thesis behind offering a solid dividend is that it instills confidence in investors that the company has earnings visibility for years even when the business cycle slows.

Having a real dividend policy may also be the key to keeping nervous investors from fleeing and going into cash or Treasury bonds, which pay almost nothing these days. There are just still too many companies in denial that they are still growth companies when they need to start directly rewarding shareholders. Some companies can get away without paying out a single cent to owners because the value of growth is so strong. That list is shrinking these days. Most companies we identified are in what we would call the “Dividend Sinners” category.

Our review focuses on Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A), Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG), Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC), Express Scripts Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRX), Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK), Teradyne Inc. (NYSE: TER), United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Zebra Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: ZBRA). We have handicapped whether investors might expect a dividend in the near-term or long-term from each of these as well.

The first order of business is to identify some of the great companies that have started paying a dividend since we (and others) have called for them to act with dividend payments in the past year or two. A few would include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) and NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ).

Graduating magna cum laude from Harvard in 1988, and receiving his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1992, Ackman fits the East Coast, buttoned-down hedge fund manager style. Prematurely gray and always impeccably dressed, he has a calm demeanor that often has seemed to further his investment thesis and strategy. Nevertheless, Ackman has thrived on drama, and he has never been shy about using the media to his advantage.

His first hedge fund, Gotham Partners, was wound down in 2002 after a big bet on a golf course venture turned sour and investors asked for their money back. An attempt to salvage the investment failed when shareholders won a lawsuit preventing Ackman from merging a real estate company with the bleeding golf course company. Gotham Partners had gained notoriety in an attempt to purchase New York City landmark Rockefeller Center.

In 2002, Ackman began the herculean task of determining, and then proving, that bond insurer MBIA (NYSE: MBI) was guaranteeing untested asset-backed securities. Combing through almost three-quarters of a million pages of financial statements and other documents, Ackman persisted in challenging MBIA’s AAA credit rating for more than five years. So sure of his case against the giant insurer, he got disgraced former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (who was, at the time, investigating Ackman’s own dealings), to look into MBIA. Eventually Ackman was proven right and MBIA’s stock went down in flames at the height of the mortgage crisis, falling from more than $70 in January of 2007 to less than $3 by February of 2009. Ackman’s large position in credit default swaps proved to be a huge winning trade.

With his reputation as an activist shareholder investor gaining momentum, Ackman formed Pershing Square Capital Management in 2004 with $54 million in personal funds and an investment from his former business partner, real estate firm Leucadia National. Since that time, Ackman has taken large and sometimes very successful positions in Wendy’s Corp. (NASDAQ: WEN), Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Borders Group (which filed for bankruptcy in 2011) and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (NYSE: CP).

Ackman reemerged in the public eye with a research report in December of 2012 that was extremely critical of network marketing company Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF). Herbalife sells weight management, healthy meals and snacks, sports and fitness energy, targeted nutritional products and personal care products worldwide through a network of individual salespeople, many of whom work out of their homes. Founded in 1980, Herbalife has been a controversial company for years, and Ackman was not the first person to assail their multilevel marketing strategy. Calling it a “pyramid scheme” and disclosing a large short position, Ackman got into a well-publicized argument on CNBC with legendary investor Carl Icahn. Icahn chastised Ackman for the practice called “talking your own book,” which literally means discussing your investments in public. Despite Icahn’s protests and outrage, it is a common Wall St. practice. Icahn has since disclosed a large long position in Herbalife, as had hedge fund manager Dan Loeb before him.

The biggest challenge Bill Ackman and his credibility face is the current and looming debacle at iconic American retailer J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP). In 2010, in conjunction with Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO), Ackman began amassing an almost 13% stake in the company. He successfully ousted CEO Mike Ullman and installed former Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) executive Ron Johnson, who had directed the successful introduction and roll-out of the Apple Stores. His attempt to duplicate the Apple store model in making J.C. Penney a “fun place to hang out” where customers would buy items at a full but fair price failed miserably.

For almost three years, Ackman has touted not only the vast value of the J.C. Penney real estate holdings, but also how Ron Johnson would be able to increase overall store sales and make the company a retail powerhouse. The value of the real estate is undeniable. However, the reemergence of J.C. Penney as a force in the retail world looks next to impossible. This past Monday, Ron Johnson was dismissed by the board of directors and replaced by his predecessor Mike Ullman, a strategy investors are very leery of as Ullman was at the controls when the company began its long decline.

Bill Ackman declared early on that Pershing Square Capital could make “15 times its money” if Ron Johnson’s turnaround plans succeeded. It is estimated that the current paper losses for the hedge fund are almost half a billion dollars. Ackman’s multiyear bet on the J.C. Penney turnaround may prove to be one of his costliest blunders ever. With his reputation tarnished and the hedge fund losses mounting while short sellers exploit the debacle, Ackman most likely is looking for an exit strategy. The thought of putting the J.C. Penney investment in a side pocket at Pershing Square is unlikely (side pockets are often used at hedge funds to place poor performing investments).

At the end of the day, Bill Ackman most likely survives this embarrassing episode. Even with the J.C. Penney implosion, Pershing Square returned 6.1% to investors in the first quarter of 2013. John Meriwether, the one-time Wall St. genius who almost collapsed the financial markets when his Long Term Capital Management lost $4.6 billion in less than four months in 1998, still attracts investor money to this day. John Paulson, who made billions shorting the subprime mortgage market, has seen his flagship Advantage Fund hammered by a host of ill-timed investments, yet still has a tremendous amount of investor capital under management.

Wall St., and so-called “sophisticated” investors, seem to forgive and forget pretty quickly. This may be because they are usually in charge of investing other people’s money and not their own. Since you are only as good as your last investment, a wary eye may be cast towards Bill Ackman. Do not think for a moment, though, that the last has been heard from him.

We have not given detail on every single one but we have given a breakdown or input on those where we have some color to add. The earnings estimates are from Thomson Reuters. We would note that some earnings dates (and the estimates) may change or may have already changed.

As a reminder, retail stocks are complaining about the end of payroll tax holidays on Joe Public and they are also commenting about tax refunds hurting their sales. So far the thought is that this will last one quarter but the verdict is still out on that.

Monday, Feb. 25

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) -$0.56 EPS… This is all about PROVENGE sales rather than earnings and how well the doctors are starting to warm to the drug. Shares are under $6.00 and sales estimates are almost $83 million. For 2013 those estimates are $372 million.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) $0.23 EPS… This will act as a precursor to Home Depot.

Tuesday, Feb. 26

American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT) $0.42 EPS… Shares have backed off of the highs by $5 but at $74.50 there is almost $10 of upside to the consensus analyst target price.

American Water Works Co. (NYSE: AWK) $0.32 EPS… This is the largest public water utility in America worth $7 billion now. At $39.66 late Friday it is 0.5% from a new all-time high.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) $1.76 EPS… The solar leader has pulled back more than 5% but at $33.80 it is still over $7 above the consensus analyst price target.  As a reminder, 2012 was the peak for revenue and 2011 was the peak for earnings. Expect declines in 2013.

Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) $0.64 EPS… At $65.65, the analyst price target is only $3 higher.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) $1.99 EPS… Macy’s has pulled back more than 5% to $39.25 and the consensus target is $45.50.

Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) $6.52 EPS… This online travel giant is worth more than most of the airlines combined and at $683 its 52-week high is $774.96 and the consensus price target from analysts is $762.50.

Wednesday, Feb. 27

Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) $0.99 EPS… This dollar (more or less) store is down 15% from its peak when valuations became stretched. If the economy is weakening again, the dollar stores might become winners again. That being said, the woes of Wal-Mart overlap the same customers here.

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) $0.03 EPS… Wow, a profit expected on a non-GAAP basis. At $5.80 this has more than doubled off of the 2012 lows but its consensus price target is right at $5.75 right now.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) -$0.23 EPS… This remains under a heavy short interest as Ron Johnson’s turnaround was not a straight-line up. Shares have been cut in half from last year’s peak and the $22.40 price is almost $4 over the consensus analyst price.

Sturm Ruger & Co. (NYSE: RGR) $0.82 EPS… Under gun control efforts the guidance will be more than interesting. That being said, the last quarter should show huge gains due to the mad rush of gun buying in the last 90 days.

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) $1.47 EPS

TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) $0.81 EPS

Thursday, Feb. 28

Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) $0.54 EPS… The story that Wall Street cares about is the BN.com sales and the e-book sales. The company is expected to lose money for the April-2013 year at -$1.06 EPS.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) $1.54 EPS… With shares around $17 all that really matters now is the potential buyout. It is too soon to see how the price matching efforts go.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) $0.71 EPS… The turnaround was monumental but has since stalled as far as the continued gains, With a $15 billion market cap that may be a problem.

Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) -$0.31 EPS… The rare earths leader in America is a revenue story right now and sales are expected to be almost $166 million. Losses are expected to grow to -$0.55 EPS for 2013 versus -$0.26 EPS for 2013. We caution that after a capital raise sometimes the analysts do not get their numbers right or they get surprised by the balance sheet changes.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) $0.40 EPS… At a billion-times earnings (over 100-times) it has to beat earnings and sales estimates of $830.8 million AND has to raise guidance. At $170 its 52-week range is $120.18 to $178.91 and the consensus analyst target is $183.62.

The Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN) $0.02 EPS… Barron’s recently said the turnaround is real this time (again). Credit Suisse disagrees with the call as its downgrade to Underperform from an already-cautious Neutral hit the stock on Friday. At $5.45 its 52-week range is $4.09 to $5.81 and the consensus analyst target is $5.23.

Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) was given positive comments on its new CEO but the stock was maintained a Sell as a low value asset at Goldman Sachs.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) raised to Neutral at HSBC.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) cut to Sell from Neutral at MKM Partners.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE: BIP) named Bull of the Day at Zacks as the “high quality, diversified assets will continue to produce solid and consistent cash flows.”

Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG) was named by Zacks as the Bear of the Day and the firm said that bitter results for the recent quarter indicate more troubles ahead.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) raised to Outperform at Raymond James.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) cut to Underperform at Pac-Crest.

Government Properties Income Trust (NYSE: GOV) cut to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) raised to Neutral from Sell with $19 target at UBS and maintained Neutral but raised target price to $20 from $12 at Credit Suisse.

The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) raised to Outperform and target raised to $76 from $67 at Oppenheimer (full summary).

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) reiterated Outperform and raised target $2 to $104 at Credit Suisse.

Medtronic Inc. (NYSE: MDT) reiterated Buy and raised target by $6 to $54 at Argus.

RF Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: RFMD) raised to Buy at Lazard and cut to Market Perform at Raymond James last night.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) reiterated Buy with $7.50 price target at Argus as trading falls below Softbank offer price (full report summary).

TASER International Inc. (NASDAQ: TASR) raised to Overweight at J.P. Morgan.

Teekay Tankers Ltd. (NYSE: TNK) cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

VeriFone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY) cut to Hold at Argus after many downgrades and implosion yesterday.

Vivus Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) maintained Buy but lowered price target to $26 from $30 at BofA/Merrill Lynch after Qsiva denied approval in Europe.

The Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN) cut to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) reiterated Buy with $13 price target at Argus.

Dahlman Rose trimmed potash and fertilizer stock ratings: Agrium (NYSE: AGU) cut to Sell, CF Industries (NYSE: CF) cut to Sell, Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) cut to Hold, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) cut to Sell and Rentech Nitrogen Partners L.P. (NYSE: RNF) cut to Sell.

This weekend brought a report from Barron’s saying that the third-largest burger chain is finally finding its footing after a decade of floundering since founder Dave Thomas died. Barron’s showed that over the past 18 months or so that the chain has been going back to its roots. This includes being a higher quality burger maker, along with new menu items and focused marketing efforts along with a fresh remodel of many of its stores.

Barron’s pointed out positive same-store sales for six of the past seven quarters. It also cited how shares are up about 20% from October’s lows. It also noted that the most recent pullback has put shares on sale at close to the same price at the end of 2012. Barron’s said that the stock is unlikely to remain there. The long and short of the matter in the weekend summary sent out by email: “Wendy’s is revamping its menu, marketing, and stores, and better results could boost its shares by 40%.”

If the stock has 40% upside, the Wendy’s could rise to $7.00 or so. That would take it back to prerecession prices in mid-2008. We would note that the $5.01 price at the close of Friday compares to a 52-week range of $4.09 to $5.33, and the consensus price target is only $5.22 according to the Thomson Reuters mean price target.