Analyst Upgrades

• Time Warner Cable (TWC) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Citigroup upgraded MEMC Electronic (WFR) and Skilled Healthcare (SKH) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Administaff (ASF) was upgraded to buy from hold at Roth Capital.
• The Buckle (BKE) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded DreamWorks (DWA) to neutral from underperform.
• Corrections Corp. (CXW) was upgraded to buy from neutral at SunTrust.
• Marvell Technology (MRVL) was upgraded to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.

Today was a mixed day as stocks went from positive to negative to mixed throughout the day after stronger economic data was trumped by banks. Some are taking profits ahead of the election tomorrow and ahead of any quantitative easing announcements due from the FOMC on Wednesday. Strong manufacturing led the charge up this morning, and 30-Year Treasury bonds were back above 4.00% late in the afternoon. The real direction of the close was not going to be known until the final minutes by the feel of it.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,124.62 +6.13 (0.06%)
S&P 500 1,184.38 +1.12 (0.09%)
Nasdaq 2,504.84 -2.57 (-0.10%)

Top Analyst Calls

So, here is the question: do you want to complain that the stock market closed out 2009 on a down day, or do you want to talk about how the DJIA was up 20% and the S&P was up 24% going into today? Exactly! Today was marked by very light trading volume, as you always see on the New Year's Eve trading session, and by profit taking in many major stocks. Today's drop in jobless claims was the lowest since summer of 2008.

Today's unofficial closing bell numbers:

Dow 10,426.46 -122.05 (-1.16%)
S&P 500 1,114.97 -11.45 (-1.02%)
Nasdaq 2,269.15 -22.13 (-0.97%)

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Suntech Power, Premier Exhibitions and the Homebuilders Sector were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Citigroup named Suntech Power Holding (NYSE: STP) their top pick for China solar due to its leading scale and technology roadmap for higher cell efficiency, initiating shares with a Buy rating and $55 target.
  
• Merriman believes Premier Exhibitions (NASDAQ: PRXI) can move to the $14.50-$17.00 through the continued monetization of the company's current tours, the launching of additional tours and the value of the Titanic artifacts on hand. The firm started shares with a Buy rating.
  
• Lehman initiated D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI), Ryland Group (NYSE: RYL), Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) with Overweight ratings and an $18 target, $31 target and $27 target; KB Home (NYSE: KBH) with an Equal Weight rating and $24 target; and Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) with an Underweight rating and $8 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Citigroup initiated Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) with a Hold rating and $24 target.
  
• UBS initiated Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) with a Neutral rating and $38 target.
  
• JP Morgan initiated Biodel (NASDAQ: BIOD) with an Overweight rating.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) may have plans for a gPhone, but their real objective is to run their own mobile network, reported the Wall Street Journal. The company is reportedly looking at a $4.6B wireless network bid.
• Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development may look to take a 9%, or approximately $700M, stake in Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NYSE: AMD), the Financial Times' Alphaville blog noted. An investment may draw the attention of the U.S. committee on foreign investment.

OTHER PAPERS:

• According to Business Week's "Inside Wall Street" column, the patent Biodel Inc (NASDAQ: BIOD) was granted in September for its VIAdel technology was "key," as it opens up markets for products estimated at $2.3B.
• Glass container maker Owens-Illinois Inc (NYSE: OI) is defying the current market tumble due to earnings momentum, reported Business Week's "Inside Wall Street" column.
• According to BW's "Inside Wall Street" column, some money professionals are "snapping up" shares of retailer Staples Inc (NASDAQ: SPLS) despite the housing slump, credit crunch and rising gas prices.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Time Warner Cable , Solera Holdings (SLH) and BioDel (BIOD) filled this morning's initiation list:

• Wachovia is positive on Time Warner Cable's (NYSE: TWC) competitive position, growth opportunities and valuation, starting shares off with an Outperform rating...

• Solera (NYSE: SLH) was initiated at Deutsche Bank and Citigroup with a Hold rating; Goldman started Solera with a Buy rating and JP Morgan initiated shares with an Overweight rating...

• BioDel (NASDAQ: BIOD) was initiated at Banc of America with a Buy rating, as the company's proprietary technology Viadel enables faster uptake of insulin that more closely mimic's the body's natural first phase insulin response. Leerink started shares with an Outperform and Morgan Stanley initiated shares with an Overweight rating...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• UBS started Under Armour (NYSE: UA) with a Buy rating.

• Pinnacle Gas Resources (NASDAQ: PINN) was initiated with a Sector Perform rating at RBC Capital.

• FTI Consulting (NYSE: FCN) was initiated with a Buy rating at Stifel.

• UBS initiated Tyco International (NYSE: TYC) with a Buy rating.

• A.S.V. Inc (NASDAQ: ASVI) was initiated with a Buy rating at Oppenheimer.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).