YAHOO! (YHOO) is using every power at its disposal to improve its fortunes. Unfortunately, it’s missing the market while doing so. The advertising market, that is.

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Collins Stewart analyst Thomas Eagan thinks you may be swapping your Comcast (CMCSA) shares for Time Warner Cable (TWC) sometime soon.

In a note to clients this morning, Eagan writes that investors may rotate out of Comcast if the company decides to invest $12 billion to $14 billion for a stake in GE’s (GE) NBC-Universal, as rumored. The latest buzz on that deal is that it has a 50/50 chance of happening, according to a piece in the Wall Street Journal this morning.

If Comcast were to take a 51 percent stake in NBC-U, Comcast’s revenue from content would jump from 4.5% of the firm’s total sales to 30 percent, writes Eagan.

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The solar technology industry may report a stronger-than-expected third quarter but could face disappointment in subsequent quarters, warns Hapoalim Securities analyst Gordon Johnson in a note to clients today. Johnson says that his checks suggest demand for photovoltaic modules in Germany has been better than expected, raising the prospect that solar tech makers could demonstrate better sales growth and margins than expiated when they report the September quarter.

The longer term quality of the industry’s growth may be questionable, however. When growth slows for industries, notes Johnson, the participants often resort to what he calls financial chicanery to hide the slowdown, and that’s what he expects from solar tech companies.

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Chinese Web portal and mobile phone content provider Sina’s (SINA) deal to acquire the billboard operations in China of Focus Media Holding (FMCN) has collapsed today, almost ten months after it was first announced. The deal had been a thorn in Sina’s side since it was announced on December 22 last year, and has been the subject of intense scrutiny among sell-side analysts in the past week. Focus Media shares rose 20 percent from Monday to Friday last week on expectations that terms would be restructured to allow the sale to go ahead.

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Raising estimates on expectations of stronger spending by telephone companies, Barclay’s Capital analyst Jeff Kvaal today raised his rating on Cisco Systems (CSCO) to “Overweight” from “Equal Weight” and raised his price target to $28 from $24. Cisco shares are up $1.12, or 5%, at $23.75.

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Xerox (XRX) shares are coming under heavy pressure this morning after the company announced it would acquire computer services firm Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) for $63.11 per share in a combination of cash and stock. Xerox said in a press release the deal will make the combined company a $22 billion “global enterprise for document technology” and will advance Xerox in the “$150 billion market for business process outsourcing,” often known as “BPO.”

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Target’s (TGT) decision today to build out its e-commerce infrastructure won’t likely hurt Amazon.com (AMZN), writes J.P. Morgan (JPM) analyst Imran Khan in a note to clients. In fact, it could help.

Target announced today it would construct its own order-fulfillment services for its online sales, which totaled $1.8 billion last year, according to Khan’s estimate, signalling the end of its use of Amazon’s back-office fulfillment services, for which Amazon receives a fee.

“To deliver a customized multi-channel experience for Target’s guests, we believe it is in Target’s best interest going forward to assume full control over the design and management of Target’s e-commerce technology platform, fulfillment and guest services operations,” said Target president Steve Eastman in a prepared statement.

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Sales of the Palm (PALM) Pre smartphone may be creeping up to 30,000 a week this week versus a prior trend of 25,000, writes Pali Capital analyst Walter Piecyk in a blog post this morning. (Free registration required to view the post.) Piecyk observes the Pre was available for $99 briefly this week through online orders, but that Sprint (S), which has the exclusive on the Pre, also stepped up a print campaign targeting AT&T (T) customers who may be interested in moving from the Apple (AAPL) iPhone at the end of their contract.

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Shares of John Malone’s Liberty Media Interactive (LINTA), owner of “QVC,” are up sharply this morning after the company beat Q2 expectations for revenue and operating profit.

Revenue fell, year over year, to $1.9 billion, the company reported, yielding adjusted Ebitda of $412 million. Still, that was ahead of the $1.834 billion and $345 million average estimate of analysts.

Revenue at QVC, which is most of the business, fell 4 percent to $1.7 billion, though that was an improvement from prior quarters, said QVC president and CEO Mike George.

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San Diego-based prepaid cellular operator Leap Wireless (LEAP) wrapped up a horrendous day for budget calling that kicked off with Metro PCS’s (PCS) big miss for Q2 profit. Leap missed revenue estimates and reported a wider-than-expected loss per share for the quarter and ratcheted down its expectations for subscriber growth and profitability this year.

Revenue, excluding equipment sales, rose 30 percent, year over year, in the quarter ended in June to $541.6 million.

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The cut-rate prepaid cellular market, though representing fully a third of the growth in wireless in the U.S., is not always a comfortable place to be, as evidenced by the results today from Metro PCS (PCS), the discount prepaid cellular operator whose stock was cut by a third after disappointing Q2 earnings.

In a note to clients, Thomas Weisel analyst James Breen cut his rating on the stock to “Market Weight” from “Overweight” and cut his price target to $10 from $21. Ouch.

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Shares of pre-paid cellular operator Metro PCS (PCS), which offers phone plans in the $30 to $50 neighborhood, are plunging today, falling $3.74, or 30 percent, to $8.95, after the company missed Q2 EPS estimates by quite a bit on revenue that was in line. The company’s churn, or rate of customer defections, jumped.

Q2 revenue rose 27 percent, the company said, to $859.6 million, in line with the average $861.7 million estimate, while profit per share of 7 cents was half what analysts were looking for. The company reiterated an outlook for net subscriber additions this year of 1.4 million to 1.7 million.

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Comcast (CMCSA) shares are on the rise this morning after the U.S.’s largest cable operator beat expectations for EPS on in-line revenue for its Q2. The company managed to beat analysts’ free cash flow projections as capital expenditures continued to decline despite the rollout of several interesting initiatives including wireless services and online video streaming.

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Some positive views bubbling up today for BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIMM), as Susquehanna Financial Group’s Jeffrey Fidarco initiates coverage of its stock with a “Positive” rating and a price target of $94, which would be about 18 percent upside from the current price. And an increase in estimates by Oppenheimer & Co.’s Ittai Kidron.

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