If you have ever seen news exhaustion at the end of a week, this was that week. The only surprise after seeing the post-earnings reactions last night was that the market didn't stay down hard. Coming into this morning, we had a 12 day consecutive NASDAQ winning streak. Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:Dow 9,095.51 +26.22 (0.29%)
S&P 500 979.78 +3.49 (0.36%)
Nasdaq 1,965.73 -7.87 (-0.40%)
Top 10 Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades
CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT) was up on two issues. One was a misguided notion that Warren Buffet was interested in assets, and one was on better creditor terms being offered in an exchange. CIT's stock was up almost 10% at $0.82 late in the day.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) was down on in-line earnings of $0.36 EPS, but lower-than-expected revenue that fell 17.3% to $13.1 billion. Cited were weaknesses in PC and server markets that will last for the rest of its calendar year. Shares were down almost 9% at $23.33 late in the day.
Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) saw some highly unusual options activity in the September 2009 $29.00 PUT options. Yet shares were up 1% at $29.80 late in the day.
SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWRA) was not just a win on earnings. The company beat estimates by far and gave a rosy outlook last night with earnings. Shares were up 28% at $31.87 late in the trading day.
RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) was the stalking horse winner today. JPMorgan upgraded the stock after yesterday's news that it secured a deal to be the sponsor for Lance Armstrong's new cycling team and for his other events starting in 2010. Shares were up 10% at $16.07 late in the trading day.
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