Molina (MOH) (MOLX) (ORLY) (MMSI) (NUS) (OCR) Price Targets Changed

Molina Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: MOH), Molex Inc. (NASDAQ: MOLX), O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY), Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: MMSI), Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: NUS) and Omnicare, Inc. (NYSE: OCR) had price targets on them adjusted by analysts.

Molina Healthcare Inc. (MOH) had its price target lowered by Wedbush to $25.00.

Molex Inc. (MOLX) had its price target raised by RBC Capital from $22.00 to $26.00. They have a “Sector Perform” rating on the company.

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (ORLY) had its price target raised by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to $67.00.

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (MMSI) had its price target lowered by Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) to $16.00.

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NUS) had its price target raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $46.00 to $51.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Omnicare, Inc. (OCR) had its price target raised by Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) to $28.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Barnes (B) (AMR) (ORLY) (GVA) (ICE) Upgraded

Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE: B), AMR Co. (NYSE: AMR), O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY), Granite Construction Inc. (NYSE: GVA) and IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE) upgraded by analysts.

Barnes Group Inc. (B) was upgraded by BB&T (NYSE:BBT) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

AMR Co. (AMR) was upgraded by Ticonderoga Securities from a “Sell” rating to a “Neutral” rating. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (ORLY) was upgraded by ISI Group to a “Hold” rating.

Granite Construction Inc. (GVA) was upgraded by BB&T from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) was upgraded by Credit Agricole from an “Underperform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Baidu (BIDU) (AMR) (ORLY) (RHI) (Z) Get Upgrades, Downgrades

Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), AMR (NYSE:AMR), O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ: ORLY), Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI) and Zillow (NASDAQ:Z) get new upgrades and downgrades from analysts.

O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY) was upgraded by ISI Group from a "Sell" rating to a "Hold" rating. They have a price target of $64 on the company.

AMR (AMR) was upgraded by Ticonderoga Securities from a "Sell" to "Neutral" rating. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

Baidu (BIDU) was upgraded by Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) from an "Underperform" to a "Neutral" rating. They have a price target of $135.50 on the company.

Robert Half International (RHI) was downgraded by Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a "Buy" rating to a "Hold" rating. They cut their price target from $40 to $25 on the company.

Citigroup initiated coverage on Zillow (Z). They started them with a "Buy" rating and a price target of $36.

Advance (AAP) Drags (AZO) (MDS) (ORLY) (SMP) Down with it

After missing analysts' expectations in its latest quarterly report, shares of Advance Auto Parts Inc.'s (NYSE:AAP) got hammered on Thursday, closing down over 10 percent.

Also dragged down by the disappointing performance were competitors AutoZone Inc. (NYSE:AZO), Midas Inc. (NYSE:MDS), O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) and Standard Motor Products Inc. (NYSE:SMP).

For its fiscal first quarter, Advance did increase its profits slightly by 0.1 percent, and new stores were able to generate decent revenue. But same-store sales is what weighed on the company, as they dropped for the quarter.

Advance closed Thursday at $63.49, plunging $7.17, or 10.15 percent.

AutoZone closed at $277.15, falling $5.35, or 1.89 percent. Midas ended the session at $6.10, dropping $0.14, or 2.24 percent. O'Reilly Automotive Inc. closed at $58.59, down $1.60, or 2.66 percent. Standard Motor Products Inc. closed at $13.73, falling $0.98, or 6.66 percent.

United Stationers (Nasdaq:USTR), Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Top Retail Picks of FBR

FBR liked what they saw in general for hardline retailers in December, and released a report on a number of companies, of which their favorites are United Stationers (Nasdaq:USTR), Office Depot (NYSE:ODP) and Home Depot (NYSE:HD), all which they have an "Outperform" on.

FBR says, "Retail sales as reported by the census for hardlines (these companies do not report monthly comp store sales), were generally good for the categories we track in December, with all categories but one showing a sequential improvement in YOY trends. Most notable was Home Improvement (building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers, NAICS 444) which was up +13.1% YOY. This was an acceleration from the +11.2% reported in October, and an improvement on a 3-year stacked basis. Consumer Electronics Sales (NAICS 443) improved to +1.8% YOY for the month of December, up from -0.4% in November. Based on the recent results and comments out of BBY & HGG (both included the month of December), as well as HD, the strength within this category was likely driven by appliances. Aftermarket Auto Parts were up +9.6% YOY, and this was up from +9.3% in November. So, the strength in after-market auto parts continues its pace. Home Furnishings were flat sequentially, at +1.4% YOY for the month of December. Strength in this category continues to be on the furniture side. Office Supplies (NAICS 4532) sales are reported on a one month lag, and these were up +7.7% in the month of November, up from -1.7% in October. While this category showed notable strength, it contradicts our channel checks, which have shown a slight deceleration in the month of November.

Those getting a "Market Perform" from FBR included Lowe's (NYSE:LOW), RadioShack (NYSE:RSH), Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), hhgregg (NYSE:HGG), OfficeMax (NYSE:OMX), AutoZone (NYSE:AZO), Advanced Auto (NYSE:AAP), and O'reilly (Nasdaq:ORLY).

Companies with an "Underperform" rating were Staples (Nasdaq:SPLS), Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC), Tractor Supply (Nasdaq:TSCO), and Bed Bath & Beyond (Nasdaq:BBBY).

O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) EPS Estimates Boosted on Share Buyback

O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) had their EPS estimates raised by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) after they said they're going to buyback $500 million in shares.

Goldman boosted their full year 2011 and 2012 EPS estimates in response from $3.60 and $4.00 to $3.65 and $4.20. Goldman added 2012 EPS estimates could reach as high as $4.33.

O'Reilly also announced they're going to exit what they consider restrictive financing in connection with its CSK acquisition via changing the design of their capital structure.

This should release the $500 million to repurchase stocks as free cash flow grows over the next couple of years, says O'Reilly. The $500 million buyback is to be performed over a 3-year period.

Goldman Sachs reiterates their "Neutral" rating on O'Reilly, which closed Wednesday at $57.16, gaining $0.91, or 1.62 percent.

Advanced Auto (NYSE:AAP), AutoZone (NYSE:AZO), O'Reilly (Nasdaq:ORLY), Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Vulnerable in 2011 Says FBR

With their strong performance of 2010 behind them, auto parts retailers like Advanced Auto (NYSE:AAP), AutoZone (NYSE:AZO), O'Reilly (Nasdaq:ORLY) and Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) are considered vulnerable by FBR Capital in 2011.

FBR said, "Auto parts retail has begun to experience underperformance vs. the S&P 500 over the last two trading days. Investors are starting to treat this group as a source of funds. This is consistent with our downgrade of AAP 11/8/10, as well as our 2011 outlook piece published 12/15/10.

"These stocks were a relative safe haven in 2010 and are therefore more vulnerable in 2011. 2010 outperformance vs. the S&P 500 was the following: Advanced Auto +63%, AutoZone +72%, O'Reilly +58% and Genuine Parts lagged but was also up 35% yoy, compared with the S&P 500 of 12.8% and the hardline retail group average of 27%. We believe the easy risk/reward money here has been made for the time being, and investors are likely to be more cautious with their positions in this group at this stage…hence, a source of funds. We expect this stance to continue. GPC looks particularly vulnerable, still trading at north of 16x NTM P/E, in our view. We would use sub sectors, such as home improvement (namely Home Depot (NYSE:HD)) or office supply (namely Office Depot/ODP or United Stationers (Nasdaq:USTR)) as uses of funds."

Home Depot (NYSE:HD), Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW), AutoZone (NYSE:AZO), O’Reilly (Nasdaq:ORLY), Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC), Top Hardline Retail Picks of FBR

As part of its consumer outlook for 2011, FBR Capital gave its favorite picks for hardline retail, which included Home Depot (NYSE:HD), Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW), AutoZone (NYSE:AZO), O’Reilly (Nasdaq:ORLY) and Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC).

FBR said, "Hardline retail outlook. Within our hardline retail coverage, certain of this past year’s laggards are set up relatively well to be 2011 outperformers, in our view. This is mainly the case for the home improvement companies: Home Depot (Outperform) and Lowe’s (Market Perform). This is due to near-trough levels of sales and earnings and stabilizing sales trends...We expect the outperformers of this past year, namely aftermarket automotive, to be significant laggards in 2011, and some investors may see this group in general as setting up as a source of funds. These stocks have been defensive safe havens in 2010. Our automotive coverage includes Advance Auto Parts (Market Perform), AutoZone (Market Perform), O’Reilly Automotive (Market Perform), and Genuine Parts Company (Underperform)."

Home Depot closed Wednesday at $34.79, up $0.07, or 0.20 percent. Lowe's closed at $25.16, up $0.05, or 0.20 percent. AutoZone closed down at $262.55, dropping $0.11, or 0.04 percent. O’Reilly ended at $62.01, up $0.20, or 0.32 percent. Genuine Parts closed at $50.80, up $0.05, or 0.10 percent.