The major market indexes are slightly higher this afternoon, as Wall Street weighs some M&A activity. Among the equities in focus include department store chain J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP), videogame retailer GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME), and telecom concern T-Mobile US, Inc. (NYSE:TMUS), which have all attracted the attention of analysts.

• Maxim upgraded JCP to "buy" from "hold," and lifted its price target to $27 from $16.50, citing signs of rebounding store traffic. J.C. Penney is up 3.3% at $18.60, bringing its month-to-date lead to 13.3%. Despite outperforming the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by nearly 9 percentage points during the past two months, JCP remains plagued by pessimism. In fact, 15 out of 16 analysts maintain "hold" or worse opinions on the stock, leaving the door wide open for more upgrades to lure additional buyers.
  
  
• GME is down 0.8% at $39.44, despite a price-target boost to $49 from $33 at Wedbush. From a longer-term perspective, GameStop has more than doubled over the past year, touching a new four-year high of $39.87 just last week. Nevertheless, short interest accounts for more than one-third of the equity's total available float, representing more than 12 sessions' worth of pent-up buying demand, at GME's average pace of trading. Should the security extend its upward momentum, a short-squeeze situation could add contrarian fuel to the fire.
  
  
• Finally, Deutsche Bank upgraded TMUS to "buy" from "hold," sending the shares 2.2% higher to $20.36. While options traders have been betting bullishly on the Wall Street newcomer, most analysts remain in the bears' camp. Currently, T-Mobile boasts just four "buy" or better endorsements, compared to 11 lukewarm "holds" and two "sell" or worse suggestions. On the charts, TMUS is poised to end atop its 20-day moving average for the first time since completing its merger with MetroPCS Communications.

Amid an empty economic docket, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) is up 32 points, or 0.2%, to 15,386.10, as investors digest a round of M&A activity. Meanwhile, the blue-chip barometer touched yet another intraday record high of 15,386.73 today, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) trekked to its own all-time peak of 1,672.08.

Here are a few noteworthy stats at midday:

1. The equity put/call volume ratio across all 11 options exchanges stands at 0.70, with 4.3 million calls traded so far today, compared to 3.1 million puts.
   
   
2. Among the equities with call-heavy activity is James River Coal Company (NASDAQ:JRCC), which has soared around 12.3% since the opening bell, after the stock was upgraded to "outperform" at Iberia Capital this morning. Currently, calls make up 95.1% of the security's intraday option volume. At last check, JRCC was trading at $2.74.
   
   
3. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) shows an advance/decline ratio of 1.79, with the number of upward movers almost doubling the decliners.
   
   
4. Among the NYSE's major advancers is Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd (NYSE:QIHU), which has jumped about 7.1% -- and touched a new all-time high of $45.11 -- in intraday action, after reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings. The upbeat results also prompted analysts at Maxim Group to lift their price target for the stock to $48 from $42 ahead of the open. QIHU is presently trading at $43.98.
   
   
5. The CBOE Market Volatility Index (INDEXCBOE:VIX) is 0.4 point, or 3.2%, higher, to hover at 12.85.
   
   
6. The put/call volume ratio on the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSEARCA:VXX) -- which is currently perched at 18.05 -- rests at 1.23, with puts outnumbering calls.

View a real-time chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average 2 Minute (INDEXDJX:.DJI).

After its fourth winning week in a row, the Dow appears poised to take a slight breather today, and is down slightly ahead of the open. In company news, here are some stocks to watch today:

• Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) is buying Tumblr, Inc. for $1.1 billion in cash, according to an announcement just this morning. The acquisition is the search engine name's largest since hiring CEO Marissa Mayer last July, as she continues to reshape the company's business practices and culture. Tumblr will continue to operate independently, however, with CEO David Karp remaining at the helm. (Boston.com)


• Anadarko Petroleum Corporation's (NYSE:APC) Robert Douglas Lawler has been tapped to be Chesapeake Energy Corporation's (NYSE:CHK) next CEO. He will be replacing Aubrey McClendon, who stepped down on April 1 due to the natural gas producer's mounting economic and legal pressures. (Reuters)


• Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) is unloading its $1.1 billion stake in Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC). Despite ICBC's impressive first-quarter performance, the investment bank is selling its shares due to the Beijing-based company's credit risk. (Bloomberg)


• Over the next year, General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) will receive $6.5 billion in dividends from its financial services wing, GE Capital. According to a statement by GE CEO Jeff Immelt, the move is meant to reduce GE Capital's size and to increase its parent company's cash flow.(CNBC)


• The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) became the number-one stock among the top 50 hedge managers in the world during the first quarter of 2013, according to FactSet. So far this year, the company's stock has climbed 31%, due in part to the estimated $1.6 billion the hedge funds have invested into it. (CNN Money)


• Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) announced on Friday that it will be expanding its Offers service to Google+. Users will now be able to see, save, and share promotions from brands such as Zagat, Barnes & Noble Inc.'s (NYSE:BKS) Nook, Adafruit Industries, Hello Kitty, and Art.com. (PC Mag)


• Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) is reportedly purchasing Tinkercad and reviving its recently discontinued web-based 3-D modeling tool. The buyout will prevent the deactivation of users' accounts and services, and will allow new users to start opening accounts immediately. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. (Wired)


• Finally, social gaming company Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA), which holds the rights to the With Friends mobile gaming franchise, has demanded that CupidWithFriends -- a site built by Apartment 7 that allows users to create and edit dating profiles for their friends -- change its name by May 24. ZNGA asserts that the current moniker infringes on its trademarks, but Apartment 7 co-founder Jared Tame says he has "no plans to change the name of the product." (Tech Crunch)

Analysts are weighing in today on data storage provider SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), banking behemoth Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), and doughnut purveyor Dunkin Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ:DNKN). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes.

• SNDK -- which has surged about 90% on a year-over-year basis to trade at $59.90 -- was downgraded to "neutral" from "buy" at Nomura ahead of the opening bell. Meanwhile, data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) shows a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 3.07 for SanDisk Corporation, confirming calls bought to open have more than tripled puts during the past two weeks. In fact, this ratio is just 8 percentage points shy of a yearly acme, signaling speculators have been picking up calls over puts at a near annual-high pace.
  
  
• Despite a 52-week gain of more than 91%, BAC was lowered to "market perform" from "outperform" at KBW this morning. However, negative sentiment seems to be commonplace among the brokerage bunch. Only 11 out of 26 covering analysts have deemed Bank of America Corp worthy of a "buy" or better rating, compared to 14 "holds" and one "strong sell" suggestion. What's more, the security's average 12-month price target of $13.20 represents a discount to Friday's closing price of $13.43. This leaves the door wide open for future upgrades and/or price-target hikes, which could help push the equity higher.
  
  
• DNKN was reduced to "neutral" from "buy" at Longbow Research today -- a move that could chip away at the stock's year-to-date advance of nearly 27%. This lack of confidence in Dunkin Brands Group Inc -- which is currently priced at $42.04 -- has been prevalent among the short-term options crowd, as well. The security's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) sits at 1.32, with puts outstripping calls among options expiring in the next three months. This ratio ranks higher than 83% of similar annual readings, meaning near-term traders have been more put-heavy toward the stock just 17% of the time during the last 12 months.

Analysts are displaying confidence today toward online travel concern Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN), streaming-music pioneer Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P), and aerospace giant The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes.

• Trading just shy of a 14-year high at $813.66, PCLN scored an upgrade to "buy" from "hold" at Deutsche Bank today. While analysts are largely optimistic toward Priceline.com Inc shares -- 15 of 17 brokerages covering the stock rate it a "buy" or better -- some investors have wagered on a breakdown. Over the last two reporting periods, the number of shorted PCLN shares expanded by 11.2%, leaving 5.5% of the stock's float sold short. At Priceline's average daily volume, it would take more than four days to exit these positions, providing fuel for a modest short-covering rally on any good news or continued upside.
  
  
• A recent favorite among option bulls, Pandora Media Inc earned an upgrade on the Street today, as Barclays boosted its outlook on the stock to "equal weight" from "underweight." In 2013 alone, P has gained nearly 75% to its current perch at $16.06 and has outperformed the S&P 500 Index (SPX) by 20 percentage points during the last three months. Still, analysts seem a tad skeptical of the stock's upward momentum. The 12-month average price target, according to Thomson Reuters, is $15.41, which is a discount to the stock's price. P is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings after the close on Thursday.
  
  
• With the Dreamliner 787 saga hopefully being put to bed, The Boeing Company is winning over Wall Street. In addition to being a new favorite among hedge funds, the stock saw its price target lifted today by both J.P. Morgan Securities (to $105 from $98) and Bernstein (to $120 from $115). BA shares have gained 43% in the last 52 weeks to trade near a multi-year high at $98.92, but a consolidation could be in the cards, given the stock's Relative Strength Index (RSI) reading of 78, which implies an overbought condition. On the options front, the 10-day put/call volume ratio on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) stands at 0.67, which is in the 76th annual percentile. In other words, the demand for long puts has been higher than average during the last two weeks.