Featuring: EBAY’s positive analyst outlook; DDUP’s continued fight for NTAP; RTP’s $1.2B asset sale; BBY leveraging Twitter for business; and DYN’s analyst outlook.

Today’s Stock Alerts Include: eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY), Data Domain Inc. (Nasdaq: DDUP), Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RTP), Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) and Dynegy Inc. (NYSE: DYN).

eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) Stock Alert - Analysts See Positive in EBAY Marketplace Business

eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY), which has reported its worst period in the first quarter with falling revenue and gross merchandise volume, is realizing improvements in its core online auction business, recent analyst reports indicated.

In the first quarter, the online auctioneer posted an 18% or $1.22 billion decline in revenue, while a 16% drop in its Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV), which is one of the most important numbers in the eBay trading world, was also seen during the quarter. GMV is the total value of goods listed over the marketplace.

The reports attributed the company’s stabilizing business to numerous changes the company made over the past two years.

In a report, Youssef Squali of Jefferies & Co. wrote, “Our channel checks show that the pace of GMV decline in Marketplaces likely bottomed out in 1Q,” noting that with continued growth in the payments business, “2010 estimates could prove too conservative.”

According to Squali, used car sales may see improvement in the second quarter. He also said sellers have reported improved outreach efforts by eBay’s management, and the company’s stronger emphasis on fixed-price listings has improved the experience for users. Squali holds a Buy rating with a $23 price target.

Also seeing signs of improvement, Collins Stewart’s Sandeep Aggarwal, in his own note to clients, said the changes made by the company to the auctions business “are beginning to bear fruit.” He notes improved search results and an improved fee-calculation process.

Aggarwal wrote, “In our view, the changes are helping eBay in listing conversion and GMV per listing going up. We also believe that addressing and correcting the structural problems in the Marketplaces business (e.g. legacy auction bias) is a key step towards unlocking value in the stock.”

eBay provides online marketplaces for the sale of goods and services, as well as other online commerce, or e-commerce, platforms, online payments services and online communications offerings to a diverse community of individuals and businesses.

The company has three business segments: Marketplaces, Payments and Communications. Its Marketplaces segment provides the infrastructure to enable global online commerce through a variety of platforms, including the traditional eBay.com platform and eBay’s other online platforms.

In its recent chart, EBAY’s MACD reflects strong bearish signal, with the indicator below the 9-day moving average signal line, and also below the critical 0 level, indicating that moving averages are trending lower. With share prices currently below the stock’s 13-day moving average, the bearish sign is more pronounced with decreasing moving averages. Trading within its Bollinger Bands, the stock reflects neither an overbought nor oversold condition relative to its recent price trend.

Data Domain Inc. (Nasdaq: DDUP) Stock Alert - DDUP Shares Up as EMC, NTAP Bidding War Deepens

Data Domain Inc. (Nasdaq: DDUP) shares responded positively earlier this week as EMC and NetApp battled for control of the Santa Clara, Calif.-based data storage devices maker.

Determined to win the company, EMC offered $33.50 a share in cash, which is $3.50 per share above its previous offer, valuing Data Domain at $2.1 billion. EMC CEO Joseph Tucci, in a letter presented to Data Domain Chairman Aneel Bhusri, sweetened his proposal further by removing the break-up fee and other deal protections in the revised offer. Data Domain’s board has previously stated that NetApp’s $30-per-share cash-and-stock offer is superior to an all-cash offer from EMC, with a breakup fee and other deal protections in EMC’s proposal.

EMC’s offer comes after NetApp announced it has received clearance from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its proposed purchase of Data Domain.

While EMC ups its bid and NetApp announces its SEC clearance, Data Domain attracted bulls into options arena, rising 3% on significantly above average volume.

Data Domain is a provider of deduplication storage systems for backup, archive and other nearline applications. Data Domain deduplication storage systems are designed to deliver solutions that enable enterprises of all sizes to manage, retain and protect their data.

In addition to its storage systems, the company provides global product support, as well as software updates to customers that purchase a support and services contract, and it offers professional services. The company provides professional services, global support solutions and customer education, and training to help customers to manage their backup and archive data. The company’s systems are based on data domain operating system (DD OS) software, which is optimized for data protection and disaster recovery and supports network attached storage, or NAS, virtual tape library (VTL), and Symantec NetBackup OpenStorage (OST), environments.

In its recent chart, DDUP’s Bollinger Bands indicate a relatively stable condition as reflected by tighter than normal band width. Trading above its upper Bollinger Band, the stock reflects an overextended condition relative to its recent price action and is due for either a pause or retracement. With share prices currently above the stock’s 13-day moving average, a bullish trend is indicated. Also, a rising moving average signals that there has been buying interest in this stock.

Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RTP) Stock Alert - Bemis Buys RTP Packaging Business, $1.2B in Asset Sale to Cut RTP Debt

Rio Tinto plc’s (NYSE: RTP) global packaging business is reportedly to be bought by food-and-beverage packager Bemis for $1.2 billion in cash and stock, a deal expected to cut Rio Tinto’s debt. Last week, Rio Tinto raised fresh capital through a share issue, putting its debt at $23.9 billion, according to reports.

In 2007, London-based Rio Tinto acquired the packaging businesses as part of its purchase of Canadian aluminum giant Alcan for $38 billion in cash, but has since struggled with pressure to divest assets and raise money. It reportedly sold several businesses in the last year in advance of several looming debt maturities, including an $8.9 billion payment due next month.

After this sale to Bemis, Rio Tinto will still have a food-packaging business in Europe, a global pharmaceuticals packaging business, a tobacco packaging business and a beauty-packaging business.

For Bemis, the acquisition of these units, which also make flexible packaging such as pharmaceuticals and tobacco packaging, would significantly boosts its role in many foods and beverages purchased in U.S. grocery stores. The deal gives Bemis 23 facilities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and New Zealand, that make flexible plastic containers for cheeses and steaks as well as clear, hard-to-penetrate packages for batteries and toys. It expects sales to rise from $3.8 billion to $5.3 billion annually.

According to the report, Wisconsin-based Bemis will finance the deal with $1 billion in cash and $200 million in equity. It says it has $1 billion in bridge financing for the deal and will go to the capital market for funding as well.

“The sale of the Food Americas division is the first significant step in reducing the asset portfolio acquired with Alcan. The transaction represents solid value given the challenging financial environment,” RTP CFO Elliott said in a statement.

Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Ltd. operate as one business organization (Rio Tinto). Rio Tinto is a mining and exploration company. The company’s business is finding, mining and processing mineral resources. Its major products include aluminum, copper, diamonds, energy products, gold, industrial minerals (borates, titanium dioxide, salt and talc), and iron ore. Rio Tinto’s activities are represented in Australia and North America. There are also businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa.

In its recent chart, RTP’s Bollinger Bands indicate a relatively stable condition as reflected by tighter than normal band width. Trading near its lower Bollinger Band, the stock reflects low price relative to its recent price action. MACD reflects strong bearish signal, with the indicator below the 9-day moving average signal line, and also below the critical 0 level, indicating that moving averages are trending lower. With share prices currently below the stock’s 13-day moving average, the bearish sign is more pronounced with decreasing moving averages.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) Stock Alert - BBY Uses Twitter to Improve Sales

Electronic retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is looking to improve sales by utilizing Twitter as it deals with sluggish consumer spending. While rivaling with Wal-Mart for former customers of Circuit City Stores, which shut down earlier this year, the retailer has to deal with downbeat spending on digital cameras and appliances.

According to Bloomberg News, the Richfield, Minnesota-headquartered company will create a customer-service team who will answer questions about products via Twitter, in hopes of increasing sales.

In the report, Chief Marketing Officer Barry Judge said Best Buy’s “Twelpforce” will search Twitter posts to find people seeking information about flat-panel televisions and other electronics, beginning July 19, with more than 500 employees at stores and at the company’s Richfield, Minnesota headquarters signed up to participate. Judge said the company will run TV advertisements for the Twelpforce.

Commenting on the retailer’s initiative, analyst Scott Tilghman of New York-based Hudson Square Research said in a telephone interview, “This is a fairly inexpensive way to reach out to customers and leverage the downtime of people in the stores.”

Best Buy is a specialty retailer of consumer electronics, home office products, entertainment software, appliances and related services.

The company operates retail stores and Web sites under the brand names Best Buy (BestBuy.com, BestBuy.ca, BestBuy.com.cn, espanol.BestBuy.com and BestBuyMobile.com), The Carphone Warehouse (Carphone Warehouse.com), Five Star (Five-Star.cn), Future Shop (FutureShop.ca), Geek Squad (GeekSquad.com and GeekSquad.ca), Magnolia Audio Video (MagnoliaAV.com).

It operates through two business segments: Domestic and International. The Domestic segment consists of the store, call center and online operations in all states, districts and territories of the United States operating under the brand names Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, Geek Squad, Magnolia Audio Video and Speakeasy. The International segment is comprised all Canada store, call center and online operations, under the brand names Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, Future Shop and Geek Squad.

In its recent chart, BBY’s MACD reflects strong bearish signal, with the indicator below the 9-day moving average signal line, and also below the critical 0 level, indicating that moving averages are trending lower. With share prices currently below the stock’s 13-day moving average, the bearish sign is more pronounced with decreasing moving averages. Bollinger Bands indicate a relatively stable condition as reflected by tighter than normal band width. Trading within its Bollinger Bands, the stock reflects neither an overbought nor oversold condition relative to its recent price trend.

Dynegy Inc. (NYSE: DYN) Stock Alert - Analyst Says UBS Has Risen Too Far, Downgrades Stock to Sell

Citing inflated stock value and weak industrial sales, analyst Ronald Barone of UBS downgraded the shares of power utility Dynegy Inc. (NYSE: DYN) to Sell from Neutral. In May, the Houston-based company posted more than doubled first quarter loss, year-over-year, as tumbling stock and power prices forced the company to write down its own market value. Dynegy also cut 2009 guidance for the third time.

According to published reports, Barone said the stock has climbed to levels that are “unwarranted” and will likely fall back in line with its peer group or to even lower levels.

“We continue to believe Dynegy is relatively poorly positioned with respect to its large coal position in the Midwest,” Barone said, adding that sharp drops in electric volumes in the U.S., driven by dramatic declines in industrial sales, will likely pressure the stock back down. In addition, Barone said he expects bearish natural gas fundamentals to hurt Dynegy.

He maintained his price target at $1.80.

Dynegy is a holding company and conducts all of its business operations, through its subsidiaries. Dynegy is engaged in the production and sale of electric energy, capacity and ancillary services from its fleet of 27 operating power plants in 13 states totaling nearly 18,000 megawatt of generating capacity. Dynegy Holdings Inc. (DHI) is the company’s wholly owned subsidiary. The segments of the company include the Midwest segment (GEN-MW), the West segment (GEN-WE) and the Northeast segment (GEN-NE). Dynegy sells electric energy, capacity and ancillary services on a wholesale basis from its power generation facilities.

In its recent chart, DYN’s Bollinger Bands indicate a relatively stable condition as reflected by tighter than normal band width. Trading within its Bollinger Bands, the stock reflects neither an overbought nor oversold condition relative to its recent price trend. MACD currently reflects weak bearish signal, with the indicator above the critical level of 0 but has crossed below its 9-day signal line, indicating that positive momentum has begun to slow. With share prices currently above the stock’s 13-day moving average, an indication of a bullish trend is generally considered.

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