Stocks were gunning for what would have been a ninth day of a rally. What goes up must come down, though, eventually. Jobless claims were under 400,000 and at the lowest levels since summer of 2008. There were mixed reports that President Mubarek was stepping down, although a speech late in the day confirmed that he will just still not be running for office but will remain in charge for now.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 12,229.29 -10.60 (-0.09%)
S&P 500 1,321.87 +0.99 (0.07%)
Nasdaq 2,790.45 +1.38 (0.05%)

Whole Foods Market (WFMI - option chain) shares are rising today after the company reported earnings last night, posting a fiscal-Q1 profit of $88.7 million, or 51 cents per share, on revenue of $3 billion. Analysts had forecast a profit of 45 cents per share on revenue of $2.98 billion. The company also lifted its 2011 earnings forecast to a range of $1.76 to $1.80 per share, up from a previous range of $1.66 to $1.71 per share. Analysts are expecting 2011 earnings of $1.71 per share. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on WFMI.

WFMI opened this morning at $58.77. So far today the stock has hit a low of $58.49 and a high of $60.94. As of 12:05, WFMI is trading at $60.56 up 6.56 (12.7%). The chart for WFMI looks bullish and S&P gives WFMI a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

Analyst Upgrades

• Polo Ralph Lauren (RL) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Sigma-Aldrich (SIAL) to outperform from market perform at Leerink.
• Petrobras (PBR) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Silvercorp Metals (SVM) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• PROS (PRO) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Power Integrations (POWI) and Monolithic Power (MPWR) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Diodes (DIOD) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Whole Foods (WFMI) to hold from sell at Hapoalim.
• Sinclair Broadcast (SBGI) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Sappi (SPP) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Alpha Natural (ANR) to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Watts Water (WTS) to buy from hold at Brean Murray.

U.S. stock futures are lower Wednesday morning as investors await comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 22 points to 12,174.00, while those for the S&P 500 index declined 4.9 points to 1,316.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 7.50 points to 2,355.25.

U.S. stocks closed higher Tuesday, with the Dow gaining 0.59% to close at 12,233.

MetLife (MET) is expected to post Q4 EPS of $1.10 on revenue of $13.50 billion. Coca-Cola (KO) is projected to report Q4 EPS of 72 cents on revenue of $9.75 billion. Northrop Grumman (NOC) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $1.01 per share on revenue of $8.80 billion.

Thursday saw seasonality make for a weak jobs report, some manufacturing data came in lower than expected and the rate of wholesale inflation looks to be perking up if you include food and energy. A surprise rate hike from South Korea also took the headlines away from the E.U. and U.K. central banks keeping rates unchanged. Even Ben Bernanke being more confident and calling for 3% to 4% GDP growth in 2011 failed to bring new buyers. The DJIA was weaker than most indexes up until the end of the today.

Here are Thursday's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,731.90 -23.54 (-0.20%)
S&P 500 1,283.76 -2.20 (-0.17%)
Nasdaq 2,735.29 -2.04 (-0.07%)

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades

The FOMC Minutes gave a Bernanke justification, or attempted re-justification, for QE2 today. Shares tried to have a positive day yet again for the second trading day of the year but the tone was very mixed despite a higher DJIA close at a two-year high. Gold saw major selling, as did most other commodities. This was a positive day for the DJIA, but the S&P and NASDAQ looked weak at the close.

Here were the closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,691.18 +20.43 (0.18%)
S&P 500 1,270.20 -1.69 (-0.13%)
Nasdaq 2,681.25 -10.27 (-0.38%)

They don't all work out. Natural/organic grocery store chain Whole Food Market Inc. (WFMI), which was deemed an attractive short candidate on September 23, 2010 at a price of $36.40, has been stopped-out for a 12-point loss.

Sometimes, you just get it wrong. Other times, objective events turn against you. With the Whole Foods short it was combination.

In September, the calculation was that Whole Food's fiscal 2011 revenue increase would lag the 10-12% consensus, as an increasing number of suddenly-just-modest-income Americans shunned the chain.

Analyst Upgrades

• DuPont (DD) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• UBS upgraded Deere (DE) to buy from neutral and AGCO (AGCO) to neutral from sell.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Thoratec (THOR) and DTE Energy (DTE) were upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• NICE Systems (NICE) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Copa Holdings (CPA) to buy from hold.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Nu Skin (NUS) to buy from neutral.
• Continental Resources (CLR) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.

Stocks discounted a higher jobless claims release on larger issues. Many called today an extension of QE2, but it was a two-part issue. First was Bernanke issuing a defense of QE2 in in an op-ed piece and second was the note from the White House that Obama may compromise on certain Bush tax cut extensions for all income brackets.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,434.77 +219.64 (1.96%)
S&P 500 1,221.04 +23.08 (1.93%)
Nasdaq 2,577.34 +37.07 (1.46%)

Top Analyst Calls
High P/E Stocks To Watch

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Smith Micro (SMSI) to overweight from neutral and raised its price target to $15 from $9, citing the release of a WiFi iPad with MiFi from Verizon and Apple.
• Jefferies upgraded Whole Foods (WFMI) to buy from hold and raised its price target to $45 from $36, citing checks that indicate sales are accelerating and the company has been focused on expense control.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Ensco (ESV) and raised its price target to $54 to $56 from $46 to $47, citing valuation, the lifted deepwater drilling ban and higher oil prices.
• Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) was upgraded to buy from hold at Wunderlich, citing the company's Moqueta oil discovery as well as other near-term exploration opportunities, and raised its price target to $12.50 from $7.00.
• Chico's FAS (CHS) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc and set a $13 price target.
• UR-Energy (URE) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.

Natural/organic grocery store chain Whole Foods Market (WFMI) is now a short candidate, but for high-risk investors, only.

The calculation here is that Whole Food's fiscal 2011 revenue increase will lag the 10-12% consensus, as an increasing number of suddenly-just-modest-income Americans shun the chain.

Also, look for local/regional natural/organic stores to continue to nip-away at Whole Foods Market share. In addition, Whole Foods' stores are increasingly taking on the feel of -- you guessed it -- just another grocery store chain, only with organic and natural foods and prices that are too high.

Analyst Upgrades

• Soleil upgraded Community Health (CYH) to buy from hold based on expectations for improved 2011 demand. The firm has a $40 price target on the stock.
• Wunderlich upgraded Invesco Mortgage (IVR) to buy from hold following the company's better-than-expected Q3 dividend. The firm also raised its target price for shares to $23.50 from $21.50.
• Goldman upgraded SuccessFactors (SFSF) to conviction buy from buy, citing cloud exposure.
• Vulcan Materials (VMC) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Comstock Resources (CRK) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Ladenburg.
• Trimble Navigation (TRMB) was upgraded to buy from hold at Canaccord.

Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) closed up 80 cents to $32.48. BBY is expected to report Q2 EPS in mid September. September put option implied is at 45, December is at 41, versus its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFMI) closed up 52 cents to $35.87. September put option implied volatility is at 35, November puts are at 45 versus its 26-week average of 39, according to Track Data, suggesting larger November price movement.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman believes EOG Resources (EOG) can regain its premium multiple given its ability to find new horizontal liquids resource plays. The firm upgraded shares to conviction buy from buy and has a $129 price target on the stock.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Macerich (MAC) to buy from hold following the company's Q2 results and raised its target for shares to $47 from $45.
• Needham upgraded QuinStreet (QNST) to strong buy from buy, citing the strong Q4 report and valuation, and has a $20 target on the stock.
• Macy's (M) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Whole Foods (WFMI) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Texas Instruments (TXN) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.

Analyst Upgrades

• Canaccord upgraded Whole Foods (WFMI) to buy from hold based on the company's solid growth outlook. The firm has a $49 target on the stock.
• Bernstein upgraded Mylan (MYL) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation and expectations that its generic business will grow over then next two years. The firm has a $22 target on the stock.
• Jefferies upgraded Omega Healthcare (OHI) to buy from hold with a $26 target based on the company's earnings outlook, valuation and upside from its SNF portfolio.
• Procter & Gamble (PG) was upgraded to buy from hold at Argus.
• Ryland Group (RYL) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Deere (DE) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Longbow.