"Rovi Corp. (ROVI) is the king of interactive program guides; most service providers license their content from the company, and advertisers are increasingly finding that they can piggyback on its IPGs to target consumers," says Timothy Lutts.

The editor of Cabot Stock of the Month adds, "It's also the king of anti-piracy, with its technology included in most DVD players, DVRs, set-top boxes and TVs.

"Rovi began life as Macrovision in 1983, focusing on copy-protection technologies to movies. No one else comes close.

U.S. stock futures were slightly lower this morning, indicating a flat to mildly down open on Wall Street. However, all this could change when non-farm payroll is reported an hour before the opening bell. While investors generally expect a rate cut the next Federal Reserve meeting on Tuesday, December 11, it is the size of the cut that may be decided following the labor report due in an hour.

Yesterday, U.S. stocks continued their rally as the White House offered a plan to aid the ailing subprime mortgage market and curb home foreclosures. The Dow industrials rose 174 points, or 1.3%, the S&P 500 added 22 points, or 1.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 42 points, or 1.6%.

Economic data will be the focus this morning and into the trading session:
At 8:30 a.m. EST, November non-farm payroll will be reported. Economists expect the labor market to show signs of softness in November. Still, on Wednesday, Associated Data Processing Inc. showed a bigger surge in private-sector hiring and projected that 189,000 jobs were created in November, much higher than what economists have been expecting. This report be a better indication of what's to come this morning. According to Briefing.com, economists are expecting an addition of 70,000 jobs last month, a much lower figure than that 166,000 added jobs shown in October. [Economists surveyed by Thomson predict a 100,000 addition.]

Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc (NASDAQ: GMST) is on the block. The company, whose holdings include the TV Guide magazine and cable channel, and which has patents on electronic television program guides, announced that its board of directors authorized the company to explore strategic alternatives, a move that could lead to the breakup of the company. Gemstar added that it has hired UBS as its financial advisor.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation (NYSE: NWS), which has a 41% stake in Gemstar, said yesterday that it supported the company's decision. Why wouldn't it? As the Wall Street Journal aptly put it, a sale of Gemstar could allow News Corp a way to sell its interest in the company. News Corp invested in Gemstar indirectly in 2002, having acquired it from a series of deals that began with its sale of TV Guide magazine to an affiliate of Tele-Communications Inc. TCI later merged with Gemstar. Of course, the deal has not been a pretty one, as Gemstar's management and accounting practices were later probed by the SEC. Former CEO Henry Yuen pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in 2005, and was ordered to pay $22.3M for inflating revenue between 2000 and 2002. News Corp. may also be looking to get out of Gemstar because of Gemstar's desire to put more focus on its video patents, an area which News Corp is not "seeking to increase its presence."

The company has, however, done a pretty good job at reversing its luck. With new management, the company increased its revenue by about 9% in Q1 and increased its net income by nearly 30% last year. Earlier this year, the company acquired Aptiv Digital to move further into the interactive program-guide market, after seeing its print magazine floundering. Although GARP Research analyst George Sakellaris didn't name specific suitors, he believes that they are "plentiful." Aside from its patents and other revenue streams that include advertising on its interactive programming guides, the company has long-term contracts with major cable and satellite providers in the U.S. and elsewhere. Additionally, the company has seen improved earnings, a benefit of increasing demand for its electronic television guide, and has little debt. Its vast collection of assets could easily be picked up by another company, and sources in the market are speculating that a private-equity buyer, traditional media company or cable operator may be interested in its patents, TV Guide magazine or cable channels.

So far, so good. Gemstar shares shot up nearly 15% yesterday in after-hours trading.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO), Greenbrier Cos (GBX), DirecTV Group (DTV), General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Soleil upgraded shares of Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) to Buy from Hold as they believe the new management team has quickly taken multiple steps to address key issues and is refocusing on profitable growth.

• Morgan Keegan raised Greenbrier Cos (NYSE: GBX) to Market Perform from Underperform following the company's Q3 report.

• Citigroup upgraded shares of DirecTV Group Inc (NYSE: DTV) to Buy from Hold as they see a 75% chance that Liberty Media (LCAPA) tenders for DTV within the next 12 months and could offer $30 a share for the company.

• JP Morgan upgraded General Motors Corp (NYSE: GM) to Overweight from Neutral with a $50 target and Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) to Overweight from Underweight as they see signs that unions will engage in radical changes, which could bring EPS upside. General Motors was also added to JP Morgan's Focus List...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Jefferies raised Micron Technology (NYSE: MU) to Buy from Hold.

• Cowen added shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) to its Focus List.

• Friedman Billings added Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) to its Top Pick list.

• Buckingham upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) to Accumulate from Neutral.

• Gabelli upgraded shares of Gemstar-TV Guide International (NASDAQ: GMST) to Buy from Hold.

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