Zoltek’s CEO said:

We have long regarded the automotive industry as the largest potential user of low-cost, high-performance carbon fibers, and it is a vital part of our strategy as the largest producer of these fiber[s] to work closely with leading suppliers to the automotive industry of parts and sub-systems.

Magna, with a market cap of more than $11 billion, certainly qualifies as a leading supplier. The two companies did not provide specific details of their agreement.

Zoltek’s shares are up nearly 17% at $11.90 in a 52-week range of $5.60-$15.01.

This last weeks most featured reports were in shares of the following: A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE); Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU); American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC); Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY); Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL); Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); Coach, Inc. (NYSE: COH); Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR); ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP); Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: DLR); International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM); Leapfrog Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: LF); 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM); Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M); OpenTable Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN); Post Holdings Inc. (NYSE: POST); Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI); Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU); True Religion Apparel, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRLG); and Zoltek Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT).

We have summarized each call and either added in trading color or provided a link to more data on each.

A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) was a highly influential call from a firm not very well known.  The battery maker was downgraded on fears that Fiskar will not be able to keep buying from them.  This fell 23% after it was cut to Sell at Wunderlich, but the price target was the real kicker: $0.50. Ouch.

Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) was sure a wrong-way call of the week.  The perpetually turning-around communications equipment maker was downgraded to ‘Sell’ at S&P Equity Research ahead of earnings and the stock closed up almost 13% at $2.19 on Friday. 

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) was inadvertently a really bad call because it got caught up in a weak stock market day and got caught on a day when alternative energy players took it on the chin.  This one was raised to ‘Buy’ at Citigroup on Friday and closed don over 8% at $5.11 after opening at $5.36 on the day.  Oops.

Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) had a rough week based in part on a mortgage foreclosure settlement.  We expect the debate to continue over the real impact, but this high dividend yield mortgage REIT was downgraded to ‘Market Perform’ and the price target was cut to $16.00 from $17.50 by Friedman, Billings & Ramsey this last week.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) keeps hitting new all-time highs each day. Apparently it is going to keep doing that for quite some time if Canaccord Genuity gets its way.  That firm listed many reasons to raise it price target to $665 this last week.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) was better than what we feel the street gave it credit for on earnings.  Credit Suisse only reiterated an ‘Outperform’ rating ahead of earnings, but what stood out was the $26.00 price target because that is about $4.50 higher than the consensus price target and that is also close to where the stock petered out in 2010.

Coach, Inc. (NYSE: COH) may be gutsy and may be an afterthought.  It was recently given a strong tout by CNBC’s Jim Cramer as his luxury stock of choice, but on Friday it was raised started as ‘Buy’ with a target of $85 at Citigroup.  This came on a day when the stock hit an all time high and closed at $74.54.

Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) is already up big over the last week, but we have never really considered it just as a value stock.  Don’t tell that Zacks… On Friday it was named as Zacks’ Value Stock of the Day.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 33 points to 12,878.43 (0.26%), the NASDAQ rose more than 2 points (0.07%) to 2,904.08, and the S&P 500 rose 0.20% or nearly 3 points to 1,347.05.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) started as ‘underweight’ at Barclays; IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) started as ‘buy’ with a $230 target price at Sterne Agee (our coverage here); AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) cut to ‘underperform’ at BofA/ML; Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) cut to ‘sell’ at Brean Murray; and Zoltek Cos. Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) cut to ‘underperform’ at Needham (our coverage here).

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) is up 2.67% at $64.88 after posting a new 52-week high of $65.79 earlier today; ArcelorMittal AS (NYSE: MT) is up 3.5% at $22.19; BP plc (NYSE: BP) is down -0.41% at $46.68; Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) is up 1% at $68.71 (our coverage here); Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) is down -2.6% at $51.99; and Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX) is down -6.5% at $8.31 (our coverage here).

Our preview of tomorrow’s earnings releases is here.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

The McClatchy Co. (NYSE: MNI) is up 21% at $2.71. The newspaper company reported stronger-than-expected earnings today on cost-cutting.

Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) is up 16.5% at $58.90 after posting a new 52-week high of $60.81 earlier today. The video rental company will join with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) to offer a streaming video service to compete with Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) and others. More coverage here and here.

Standard Pacific Corp. (NYSE: SPF) is up 15.8% at $4.69 after posting a new 52-week high of $4.85 earlier today. The homebuilder posted good earnings today and reported that orders are up 8% in January.

Nevsun Resources Ltd. (AMEX: NSU) is down more than -30% at $4.43. The junior gold miner issued a preliminary 2012 outlook that included a sharp drop in production and in its reserves estimates.

BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: BPAX) is down more than -18% at $0.86. The company is the target of a new lawsuit charging it with misrepresentation. We have more coverage of BioSante here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. San Francisco Federal Reserve president John Williams is giving a speech. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

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

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AON Corporation (NYSE: AON) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Reiterated Outperform with $26 target at Credit Suisse.
Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR) Started as Sell at Cantor Fitzgerald.
Digital River Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) Started as Buy with $230 target at Stern Agee.  (LINK: FULL DETAILS)
Pep Boys-Manny, Moe & Jack Inc. (NYSE: PBY) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Seaspan Corporation (NYSE: SSW) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) Started as Underweight at Barclays.
Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) downgraded to Hold at RBS and Cut to Neutral at Susquehanna.
Sunoco Logistics, LP (NYSE: SXL) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Thor Industries, Inc. (NYSE: THO) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Cut to Sell at Brean Murray.
Zoltek Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) Cut to Underperform at Needham (LINK: FULL SUMMARY).

If you enjoyed the top analyst calls, you can sign up in the box below to join our morning email list to receive news directly in your inbox each morning. We include major analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO and M&A news, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 157 points to 12,862.23 (1.23%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 46 points (1.61%) to 2,905.66, and the S&P 500 rose 1.46% or more than 19 points to 1,344.90.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus; Peet’s Coffee & Tea Inc. (NASDAQ: PEET) raised to ‘outperform’ at Baird; Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) cut to ‘underperform’ at Jefferies; Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) raised to ‘buy’ at Janney Capital; and Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) started as ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) is up more than 11% at $54.83 after posting a new 52-week high of $54.90 earlier (see our coverage here); Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW) is up more than 13% at $9.12; PC Connection Inc. (NASDAQ: PCCC) is down nearly -20% at $10.22; Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) is down -0.73% at $48.98, but posted a new 52-week high of $49.92 earlier in the day; PerkinElmer Inc. (NYSE: PKI) is up more than 6% at $26.21; Beam Inc. (NYSE: BEAM) is up 2.4% at $54.28; Estee Lauder Cos. Inc. (NYSE: EL) is down -3.64% at $56.71 (more coverage here); and Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) is up more than 5% at $21.19.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: THLD) is up nearly 115% at $2.77. The pharmaceuticals firm has announced a global development deal with Germany’s Merck.

Tudou Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: TUDO) is up nearly 19% at $16.66. The Chinese online video company has signed a deal with Sina Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) to provide a video platform for Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like social site.

Zoltek Cos. Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) is up nearly 39% at $13.14. The specialty fibers maker posted good earnings number and forecast continued growth in the market for wind turbines which use its carbon fibers in blade construction.

STR Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: STRI) is down nearly -20% at $9.08. The company manufactures materials used in solar PV modules, and lowered its fourth-quarter guidance this morning.

Mannkind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD) is down nearly -13% at $2.15 after posting a new 52-week low of $2.14 earlier. The biotech company has priced its public offering of units containing one share of stock and warrant to purchase another 0.6 shares. More coverage here.

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

• 11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month Treasury bill auction
• 3:00 p.m. – Treasury STRIPS

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Paul Ausick

After the first half hour of trading this morning, Threshold is up nearly 83% at $2.36. Volume is about 20 x the daily average of about 137,000 shares traded. The pharmaceuticals firm has announced a global development deal with Germany’s Merck. See our coverage here.

Zoltek is more than 45% at $13.75. Volume is about 7x the daily average of about 263,000 shares traded. The specialty fibers maker posted good earnings number and forecast continued growth in the market for wind turbines.

Genworth is up nearly 14% at $9.15. Volume is already nearly equal to the daily average of about 9.3 million shares traded. The financial services company reported better-than-expected earnings last night, and growth in its life insurance business.

STR Holdings is down nearly -17% at $9.42. Volume is already above the daily average of about 287,000 shares traded. The company manufactures materials used in solar PV modules, and lowered its fourth-quarter guidance this morning.

Intermec is down more than -11% at $7.77. Volume is already more than half the daily average of about 254,000 shares traded. The RFID products maker missed estimates and has lowered guidance.

The DJIA is up 1.26% at about 12,866, the Nasdaq Composite is up 1.36% at about 2,899, and the S&P 500 is up 1.29% at about 1,343. The unexpectedly buoyant employment report is driving the market this morning.

Paul Ausick

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 489 points to 12,044.55 (4.23%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 105 points (4.17%) to 2,620.34, and the S&P 500 rose 4.33% or nearly 52 points to 1,246.94.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a $46 price target at Argus. Other ratings actions included Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a $94 price target at Canaccord Genuity; Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) cut to ‘underperform’ at Wedbush; Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) reiterated as ‘hold’ at Argus; Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus; and Calpine Corp. (NYSE: CPN) cut to ‘hold’ at Jefferies. See our story on Transocean’s stock offering and proposed debt offering.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) is up 3.3%, at $13.87; The Fresh Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: TFM) is up 5.7%, at $38.73; Jos. A. Banks Clothiers, Inc. (NASDAQ: JOSB) is down -6%, at $48.09; and SeaDrill Ltd. (NYSE: SDRL) is up 6.3%, at $34.82. After markets close today, Aeropostale, Inc. (NYSE: ARO) and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (NYSE: KKD) will report earnings.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

Zoltec Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) is up 41.5%, at $8.11. The advanced materials maker reported better-than-expected earnings after markets closed yesterday.

Advanced Analogics Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AATI) is up 32.5%, at $5.75. The power management chip maker is being acquired by Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) for $258.6 million, or about $6.05/share.

Patriot Coal Corp. (NYSE: PCX) is up 18.7%, at $10.30.  This coal miner, like virtually all its competitors, is down about -40% for the past 12 months. There’s no news to justify today’s price jump, but the company’s thermal coal does sell well in cold weather.

Avalon Rare Metals Inc. (AMEX: AVL) is up 20.3%, at $3.26. The rare earths miner made this big move on no news, but competitor Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) did a deal with two Japanese companies to manufacture very powerful magnets in Japan for use in wind turbines and other high-tech products.

JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) is up 16.6%, at $1.80. The solar PV maker is among several Chinese solar companies moving up today, no doubt as these are considered the most likely to survive a shakeout in the solar manufacturing sector.

Shutterfly, Inc. (NASDAQ: SFLY) is down -12%, at $27.02, after posting a new 52-week low of $26.93 earlier today. The social media company is facing intense competition for its on-line photo products.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Here’s a list of other noteworthy events scheduled for tomorrow(all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – New unemployment claims
• 9:45 a.m. – Bloomberg consumer comfort index
• 10:00 a.m – Industrial Supply Management manufacturing index
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA natural gas weekly report
• 4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet
• 4:30 p.m. – Money supply report

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Tuesday

Zoltek Companies Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) makes the lightweight carbon fiber composites used in a variety of high-tech products including wind turbine blades. The company has posted four straight quarterly EPS losses and this quarter is not expected to reverse that trend. Zoltek is expected to post an EPS loss of -$0.02 on revenue of $44.5 million for its third quarter ended in September.

Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) is expected to ride the wave of better earnings at luxury retailers. The consensus estimate is for EPS of $0.61 on revenue of $802.1 million, compared with EPS of $0.46 on revenue of $681.7 million in the same period a year ago.

Wednesday

Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) is a mall-based retailer of teen clothing. The consensus estimates call for EPS of $0.28 on revenue of $576.4 million. A year ago the company posted EPS of $0.67 on revenue of $602.8 million. The company posted an EPS loss of -$0.02 in its July quarter this year.

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) is another clothing retailer with offerings aimed at a wider range of ages than is Aeropostale. The consensus estimates call for EPS of $0.27 on $781 million in revenue. In the same period last year, American Eagle posted EPS of $0.29 on $751.5 million in revenue.

Thursday

Jos. A. Banks Clothiers Inc. (NASDAQ: JOSB) is a men’s clothing store with more than 500 outlets in 42 states. The consensus estimates call for EPS of $0.51 on $196 million in revenue. A year ago, Banks posted EPS of $0.45 on $173.3 million in revenue.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) makes athletic apparel for men, women, and children and operates about 148 stores in the US, Canada, and Australia. The consensus estimates call for EPS of $0.25 on $235.9 million in revenue. In the same period last year, the company posted EPS of $0.18 on revenue of $175.8 million.

Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) offers athletic apparel and other sporting goods to teens and young adults at more than 430 stores in the US and Canada. The consensus estimates call for EPS of $0.42 on $153.1 million in revenue. Last year the company posted EPS of $0.40 on revenue of $135.9 million.

Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) has been integrating its acquisition of the assets of the failed Borders chain and recently introduced a new version of its Nook e-reader to compete with the new Kindles from Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN). The consensus estimates call for EPS of $0.02 on $1.98 billion in revenue. Last year in the same period the company posted an EPS loss of -$0.13 on revenue of $1.91 billion. B&N has missed EPS estimates for the last four quarters.

Friday

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) operates more than 1,500 closeout stores in the US and Canada. The consensus estimates call for EPS of $0.09 on $1.13 billion in revenue. A year ago the company posted earnings of $0.23 on $1.06 billion in revenue.

Other Happenings Next Week

On Monday we get the new home sales report from the federal government.

Tuesday sees the release of the latest Case-Schiller housing price index, the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence index, the State Street Investor Confidence index, and speeches from two Federal Reserve Bank presidents, Janet Yellen and Narayana Kocherlakota.

On Wednesday the Mortgage Bankers Association reports purchase applications, the Challenger Job-cut report, the ADP employment report, the Chicago purchasing manager’s index (PMI), and the release of the Fed’s Beige Book.

Thursday’s reports include chain store sales, motor vehicle sales, the Industrial Supply Managment (ISM) manufacturing index, and a report on construction spending.

Friday closes out the week with the report from the Census Bureau and the Department of Labor on the employment situation.

Have a great weekend!

Paul Ausick

Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) Raised target to $85 from $80 at Canaccord.
BCE Inc. (NYSE: BCE) Cut to Sector Perform at National Bank.
Cerner Corp. (NASDAQ: CERN) Raised to Buy at ThinkEquity.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Cut to Neutral at Susquehanna.
The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDE) Started as Buy at Morgan Joseph.
Zoltek Companies Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) Started as Hold at Needham.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (NYSE: TAN) at $6.38 is down 4.35%, and the PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy (NYSE: PBW) is down 4.56% at $8.44.  Many of the component companies in these ETFs and some of the other alternative energy stocks we follow in our own universe of stocks in the sector are down well over 5%.  We wanted to take a look at ten of the biggest losers in our alternative energy universe:

LDK Solar Co. Inc. (NYSE: LDK) is down 5.10% at $5.58.

Evergreen Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESLR) is down 5.66% at $0.91.

JA Solar Holdings, Co., Ltd. is down 5.5% at $4.84.

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is down 3.67% at $11.56.

Akeena Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKNS) is down 8.25% at $0.89.

Hoku Corporation (NASDAQ: HOKU) is down 5.41% at $2.80.

Zoltek Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) is down 7.8% at $9.68.

FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) is down 9.87% at $2.10.

Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ: CPST) is down 10.3% at $1.04.

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) is giving back some as well with shares down a surprising 6.8% at $28.78.

This is not always the case, but generally the riskier the alternative energy company the more  the company has to lose in general with fossil fuels getting cheaper and cheaper.  The more solid players tend to have more and more orders in place where at least the existing orders already on the books are deemed less at-risk.

The odd thing is that some of these moves are on somewhat weak volume, so some is just a buyer’s strike while each is trying to find equilibrium (if that really exists).  Still, throw in European woes (large alternative energy clients) and a growing sense that there is a higher chance that the contagion will make economic recovery much less than expected and you have a ballgame.

JON C. OGG