txn

Analyst upgrades

• Oppenheimer upgraded Savient Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SVNT) to Perform from Underperform after the FDA's Arthritis Advisory Committee voted 14-1 in favor of approving Krystexxa for gout.
• Banc of America/Merrill upgraded Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to Buy from Underperform and raised its target to $27 from $18 based on expectations that margin expansion will be higher than Street expectations.
• UBS said Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has limited downside risk given the improved outlook for the graphics processor market and professional solutions business. Shares were upgraded to Neutral from Sell and its target was raised to $11.50 from $8.
• BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie.
• Neutral Tandem (NASDAQ: TNDM) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ: CENT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ: AGNC) earnings prospects earned it an analyst's upgrade.
• Broadpoint Securities Group Inc. (NASDAQ: BPSG) earnings prospects improved with recent acquisitions.
• Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) was upgraded on the belief that its fiscal year outlook is too conservative.
• Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) earnings prospects resulted in an upgrade from JPMorgan.
• Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Q1 profit and same-store sales fell and it offered a weak outlook.
• Movado Group Inc. (NYSE: MOV) bested Q1 expectations and forecast a considerable profit for the full year.

As expected, chip maker National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM), whose colleagues include Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), lost money during its fourth quarter.

However, the loss wasn't as bad as feared. According to Trey Thoelcke's earnings preview, National Semiconductor could have lost up to 42 cents per share. Thankfully, according to the company's press release posted on Thursday after the bell, the business only lost 28 cents per share.

How thankful should we be? I must point out that the company earned 34 cents per share in last year's Q4 period. Also, sales dropped 39% during the past three months. Not only that, but cash from operations from the full fiscal year was down, as was the gross margin on a year-over-year basis (the gross margin increased, however, on a sequential basis compared to the third quarter, so that was a bright spot).

Today was one of those days where the overall market direction never felt entrenched nor felt certain. The news of ten banks getting to pay back TARP funds created mixed reactions, as the news was expected. Positive guidance from a chip leader may have kept the wheels on the cart for technology stocks. Oil also spent much of the day flirting with the $70 per barrel mark.

With the swings we are seeing from positive to negative, it is just further evidence that there is a battleground between bulls and bears forming. So far the bulls are managing to keep the high ground. Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

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S&P500
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Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), whose colleagues include Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), gave shareholders quite a boost in morale on Monday. The chip company issued a nice outlook for the bottom line.

Here are the stats. Net sales in Q2 should come in between $2.3 billion and $2.5 billion versus the old guidance of between $1.95 billion and $2.4 billion. The bottom line should come in between 14 cents per share and 22 cents per share, versus previous estimates of between 1 cent per share and 15 cents per share.

U.S. stock futures edged lower Tuesday due to ongoing concerns about financials and rising bond yields. Texas Instruments' (NYSE: TXN) results and improved outlook helped offset some of these concerns. Investor will be waiting to hear later this morning about inventory levels.

Investors also continue to follow the goings on in the auto industry as Fiat said Tuesday it will not turn its back on a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Chrysler, despite a U.S. Supreme Court stay on the sale and its option to abandon the deal if not completed by June 15. U.S. auto suppliers, meanwhile, who negotiated federal loans earlier this year, plan to ask for $8-$10 billion in loan guarantees, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

"Golf has Tiger Woods, novelists have Tom Clancy, and the investment community has stars such as Bruce Berkowitz, Bill Nygren, Charlie Dreifus, and Mario Gabelli," states Paul Tracy.

In his The Street Authority Market Advisor, he suggests, "These money managers are at the pinnacle of their craft." Here, he takes a look at these "celebrities" and some of their current top stock holdings.

"These money managers have all amassed prodigious gains over the years for their shareholders. Over the past few months, these gurus have come out with ringing endorsements for certain stocks. This isn't empty talk -- they are putting their money where their mouth is.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the good developments in the space got lost yesterday amid all the hubbub over banks.

We are so focused on the endless one-time gains at Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) (Cramer's Take) that made the quarter look better than it should that we forgot about some other obvious positives that were occurring right before our eyes. I am talking about tech, and tech mergers and tech earnings.

No, I am not minimizing the problems of the banks -- did anyone think that Ken Lewis would choose to show a loss if he had a chance, as the bears seemed to urge? I am saying that when you have both Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) (Cramer's Take) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) (Cramer's Take) interested in something that we thought was worth very little just a few weeks ago -- Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) (Cramer's Take) -- when you have Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) (Cramer's Take) interested in buying Emulex (NYSE: ELX) (Cramer's Take) -- another left-for-dead tech company -- and when you have Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) (Cramer's Take) saying inventories are lean, mostly because of Asian demand, you are not getting a picture of despair.

Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) is expected to report Q1 EPS on April 20. TXN May option implied volatility is at 50; June is at 45; near its 26-week average of 50, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Semiconductor Holders Trust (NASDAQ: SMH) overall volatility at 44; 26-week average is 47.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded shares of Daimler (NYSE: DAI) to Buy from Neutral as it believes the company's restructuring and greater visibility on its outlook could be positive for the stock.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Goodyear Tire (NYSE: GT) and Cooper Tire (NYSE: CTB) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations that industry volumes will improve in the coming quarters.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded Websense (NASDAQ: WBSN) following the company's better than expected preliminary Q1 results. The firm maintains a $17 target on shares.
• Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.
  
• Portfolio Recovery (NASDAQ: PRAA) was raised to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says this market is short-term overbought -- any other reasons to buy can wait.

The playbook says, "Buy weak-dollar plays." But does that mean only weak-dollar commodity plays, as in flee-out-of-dollar-into-oil plays? Or weak-dollar plays like Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) (Cramer's Take) and General Mills (NYSE: GIS) (Cramer's Take)? Or weak-dollar plays like gold? Or tech plays because Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) (Cramer's Take) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) (Cramer's Take) are hugely international?

Or do you bother doing anything at all up here because we are plus-seven on the oscillator and every time we have gotten this overbought in this market, we have come crashing down?

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) reported strong Q4 numbers as same-store sales increased.
• American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) same-store sales fell in Q4 but earnings met expectations.
• ArcSight Inc. (NASDAQ: ARST) continued its growth in Q3 and it forecast continued growth.
• Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE) posted a better-than-expected Q4 profit and continued same-store sales growth.
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) CEO said in a memo that it earned a profit in the first two months of this quarter.
• Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) beat Q4 earnings estimates but same-store sales fell.

Today we finally got this massive oversold rally. Citi's call of profitability and a combined SEC review of short sales via the uptick rule and some modifications to mark to market accounting led the way.

That being said, the markets took this as added good news to what has so far only been a sea of red. Unfortunately, this was probably the lightest day of individual stock news in weeks. Here are the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 6,880.78 +333.73 (5.10%)
S&P 500 719.60 +43.07 (6.37%)
Nasdaq 1,358.28 +89.64 (7.07%)

Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades

Yesterday, tech beast Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) announced that it will narrow its revenue forecast for the first quarter. The firm now expects revenue to total $1.79 billion to $2.05 billion. TXN earlier predicted revenue between $1.62 billion and $2.12 billion.

TXN added a revision to its earnings forecast as well, stating that it expects to report anywhere from a loss of 8 cents per share to break even earnings. This range is also a clarification of the company's earlier forecast range of a loss of 11 cents per share to 3-cent-per-share earnings.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) earnings tumbled in Q4 but came in just short of expectations.
• Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) earnings prospects and cash flow led to an analyst's upgrade.
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) topped analysts Q4 expectations, sending shares higher.
• Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) posted a better-than-expected Q4 profit despite the weak economy.
• Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) reported a big quarterly loss due to merger costs and bad fuel hedges.
• Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) Q4 earnings fell on lower exchange rates and charges related to an acquisition.
• E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) narrowed its Q4 net loss but fell short of expectations.