The debate continues about whether SiriusXM (SIRI) satellite radio will be dominant, dominated or dismissed.

A few years ago, in 2007, prior to the economic meltdown, Sirius was having a meltdown of its very own. Trading between $6 and $8 a share for most of 2005, it slid from $6 a share to $4 a share in 2006. By 2007 it was trading in a much tighter range between 3.50 - $4.00 and there were those that thought it might be a good buying opportunity.

This question was posed to me by friends that owned the stock and were considering buying more. I suggested they run. History shows that to be a good call. However, many investors, or at least traders that follow the stock made good money after the collapse picking up shares for pennies. I was not one of them, so props to those that jumped in -- I was making similar moves elsewhere.

Sirius XM (SIRI) is the largest satellite radio company in United States. Sirius and XM merged in July 2008 to form Sirius XM Satellite Radio Inc. The company offers over 180 channels comprising of commercial free music, sports, talk shows, news stations amongst others. Sirius XM radio channels are mainly available in automobiles but can also be accessed over the Internet or through home stereos by using various accessories. The firm's satellite radios are primarily distributed through automakers, retail locations and through its website.

Sirius XM has ties with major automobile manufacturers such as Ford (F), General Motors (GM) and Toyota (TM). This helps drive its presence in the U.S. automobile space. In addition satellite radio services are also offered to customers of certain rental car companies.

Today was all about international turmoil, hands down. Unrest is becoming civil war in Libya and turmoil in North Africa continues to rock headlines. Housing prices also showed yet another drop, something to be expected. This was the worst day in the markets in quite some time. Oil rallied sharply and gold rose on the panic trade.

Here were today's closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 12,207.15 -184.10 (-1.49%)
S&P 500 1,315.44 -27.57 (-2.05%)
Nasdaq 2,756.42 -77.53 (-2.74%)

Top analyst upgrades/downgrades

Wednesday was the last full day for most of those who are still working this week. Trading volume has already begun to lighten up but we still had several key movers on the day. Retail sales were up at the last minute for those finishing their shopping, GDP revisions for Q3 came in at 2.6% versus a prior 2.5% growth reading, and existing home sales rose by 5.6% in November with an annual sales pace of 4.68 million units.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,559.49 +26.33 (0.23%)
S&P 500 1,258.83 +4.23 (0.34%)
Nasdaq 2,671.48 +3.87 (0.15%)

Despite jobless claims data and despite House Democrats vowing to vote against the tax-cut extension approval, stocks tried to close up. The DJIA was in the red, but NASDAQ and S&P 500 were in the black today right at the closing bell.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,370.06 -2.42 (-0.02%)
S&P 500 1,233.00 +4.72 (0.38%)
Nasdaq 2,616.67 +7.51 (0.29%)

Top Analyst Calls

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded Reliance Steel (RS) to buy from neutral and The Buckle (BKE) to neutral from sell.
• RAM Energy (RAME) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Rodman & Renshaw.
• RBC Capital upgraded H&E Equipment (HEES) and Cameco (CCJ) to outperform from sector perform, and Denison Mines (DNN) to sector perform from underperform.
• Alexandria Real Estate (ARE) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Investment Technology (ITG) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Wedbush.

Analyst Upgrades

• UBS said Martin Marietta's (MLM) Q2 showed evidence of leverage to a recovery and the firm views risk/reward in shares as attractive. Shares were upgraded to buy from neutral, but its price target was lowered to $96 from $101.
• Soleil upgraded Regis (RGS) to buy from hold after the company said it is exploring strategic options. The firm raised its target for shares to $26 from $14.
• Wunderlich upgraded Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) to buy from hold with a $1.50 price target following the company's Q2 results. The firm believes Sirius' product continues to resonate with healthier higher-end consumers and notes that CEO Mel Karmazin said a resolution could be reached with Howard Stern by the Q3 conference call.
• Magellan Midstream (MMP) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Savient (SVNT) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• EMS Tech (ELMG) was upgraded to buy from hold at Needham.

Stocks were lower this morning and the overseas markets were weak on the day. The saving grace was not earnings but came from the ISM-Services (non-manufacturing) report showing the expansion is still there in the services economy as well as in the manufacturing data seen in recent days. We also had some positive jobs creation data from ADP as a prequel to Friday's key unemployment and non-Farm Payrolls data.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 10,680.43 +44.05 (0.41%)
S&P 500 1,127.24 +6.78 (0.61%)
Nasdaq 2,303.57 +20.05 (0.88%)

When XM Radio and Sirius radio decided to merge a few years ago, it was most likely the only survival strategy left for long-term viability of both companies. Satellite radio subscriptions were not growing at a pace needed for consistent growth, and having a unified front to partner with automakers for satellite radio in new cars was becoming all-important. Fast forward to 2010, and smartphones are taking over from standard cellphones. Herein lies a huge problem for Sirius moving forward: competing with internet radio that's personalized and on-demand.

If you own an iPhone or Google-powered Android phone, the amount of customized radio-type listening services is almost limitless. For iPhone and Android, the ever-popular Pandora becomes your own radio station with only the artists you like. Download the Stitcher app for Android or iPhone and you have popular radio programs (Fox Radio, CNN, more) and podcasts available at any time. Even though Sirius has apps for its satellite radio service on popular smartphone platforms, will customers pay for it with so many other options only a download away?

When you mention cult stocks that trade around a buck, one of the first names that pops to mind is Sirius XM Radio (SIRI). The satellite radio purveyor is a classic case of a company with an exciting new technology with the potential to revolutionize an entire industry -- in this case the so-called "terrestrial" radio space.

To a large extent, that revolution has indeed taken place. Yet, since the July 2008 merger of XM Satellite Radio and Satellite CD Radio (Sirius), the new SIRI shares have had a pretty tough slog. Although the shares now trade nearly nine times higher than their March 2009 nadir of a measly 6 cents, they are still light years away from the $2.68 they traded at just two years ago.

It almost seems silly, but it shows how bad things have been before the last two days. The stock market had a second day up. It's been a while since we could say that. Today's gains were also well above the gains which were lost yesterday and the DJIA had its best day in almost a month. Bank stocks led the rally today, although many sectors shared in the joy. Suddenly, DJIA 10,000 was back today after a more than 200-point rally.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,018.28 +274.66 (2.82%)
S&P 500 1,060.24 +32.18 (3.13%)
Nasdaq 2,159.47 +65.59 (3.13%)

Top Analyst Calls

Over at Bloomberg BusinessWeek, there's an article featuring Sirius XM Radio (SIRI). An analyst from Miller Tabak offered positive comments on the company, and believes the shares are a buy and that they could reach $1.25 within the next twelve months.

I don't know. This one just seems too risky. Don't you get the feeling that, once you buy in, the stock is going to fall precipitously? It's had a decent run, according to the one-year chart. In fact, the company is trading around the $1 level as I write this during the afternoon session. Know what the 52-week low is? Try a paltry 37 cents.

Implied volatility increases on May 26: Amgen (AMGN), Sandridge Energy (SD) and Sirius Satellite (SIRI) according to IVolatility.

Cameron (CAM) provided blowout preventer for the Gulf of Mexico rig that caused the oil spill. Crude oil futures are recently up 2.28% to $73.14 according to Bloomberg. CAM June put option implied volatility is at 74, August and November is at 64; above its 26-week average of 45 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) shares opened lower Monday morning, pushing down near the $1 mark. But investors who have been watching this stock for a while know that it can give up a lot more before it shows signs of slowing down. SIRI is up a stunning 70% year to date, even while the broader market is in the red.

In fact, I think there's a tremendous buying opportunity in Sirius stock right now since shares have drawn back about 20% from a their high in the beginning of May.

If you would have just focused on the Empire Manufacturing number and then looked at the red zone on the DJIA and S&P 500 throughout the whole day you would have assumed a very weak close. But then came an oversold interest rally, which coincided with Meredith Whitney being more skeptical and negative on a CNBC interview. It seems like we went from triple-digit losses to being in the black in very short order.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,625.83 +5.67 (0.05%)
S&P 500 1,136.94 +1.26 (0.11%)
Nasdaq 2,354.23 +7.38 (0.31%)

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades