MARKET PULSE-Facebook, Alimera, Semtech, Rite Aid, Usec, Winnebago

(For more market insights, including options activity, click on ; for the Day Ahead newsletter http://link.reuters.com/mex49s; for the Morning News Call newsletter, http://link.reuters.com/nex49s) U.S. stock indexes were down on Thursday following data showing a rise in jobless claims, having hit record highs a day earlier after the Federal Reserve said the economy was strong enough for it to begin paring its massive stimulus. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.08 percent at 16,155.09, the S&P 500 was down 0.25 percent at 1,806.04 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.33 percent at 4,056.734.

** FACEBOOK INC (NasdaqGS: FB - news) , $54.611, -1.73 pct

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will sell 41.4 million shares worth about $2.3 billion to pay a tax bill, as part of an offering by the social network of 70 million Class A common shares.

** ALIMERA SCIENCES INC (NasdaqGM: ALIM - news) , $4.2999, +68.62 pct

** PSIVIDA CORP (NasdaqGM: PSDV - news) , $4.27, +43.77 pct

pSivida and Alimera Sciences said they would try a fourth time to get approval for an eye treatment for diabetes patients.

** SEMTECH CORP, $24.145, -13.98 pct

Brokerage Sterne Agee & Leach cut its price target on the stock after the semiconductor products company lowered its revenue and profit forecasts for the fourth quarter due to delays in capex spending by telecom carriers. The company supplies analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products to manufacturers of computer, communications, consumer, and industrial electronics.

Oppenheimer & Co downgraded the stock to "perform" from "outperform," according to Theflyonthewall.com.

** ACCENTURE PLC (NYSE: ACN - news) , $78.44, +3.73 pct

Accenture reported first-quarter results that beat analysts' estimates as increased demand for outsourcing services helped to offset a drop in income from its consulting business.

** ORACLE CORP, $36.2, +4.62 pct

The No. 2 software maker's better-than-expected results and quarterly revenue outlook spurred cautious hope on Wednesday that the software maker is on track to revive growth curtailed this year by slow IT spending.

** ROSETTA RESOURCES INC (NasdaqGS: ROSE - news) , $46.3, -6.03 pct

Analysts at Topeka Capital Markets cut their price target on the company's stock to $66 from $74 after the oil and gas producer said its fourth-quarter production would be reduced by about 4 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (mboed) to about 52 mboed. The company said on Wednesday it was facing operational issues on a pipeline and gas processing facility operated by a third party and has also had some production delays.

** GILAT SATELLITE NETWORKS LTD (NasdaqGS: GILT - news) , $4.62, +6.31 pct

The Israel (Tel Aviv: ILCO.TA - news) -based company, which provides satellite communication products and services, has been awarded a $30 million project to implement a broadband network in the Loreto region in Peru.

** DARDEN RESTAURANTS INC (NYSE: DRI - news) , $49.67, -6.14 pct

Darden Restaurants said it would sell or spin off its struggling Red Lobster chain, bowing to pressure from activist investor Barington Capital Group after reporting another quarter of sliding profits.

** IAC/INTERACTIVE CORP, $67.6, +12.50 pct

Barry Diller's IAC/Interactive said Greg Blatt would step down as chief executive and become the chairman of its newly created Match Group, which would include the company's popular dating website Match.com.

** NEOGEN CORP (NasdaqGS: NEOG - news) , $46.11, -4.49 pct

The food and animal safety products maker reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit as a clean crop year contributed to a decrease in the sales of the company's tests to detect natural toxins.

** RITE AID CORP, $5.25, -8.85 pct

The third-largest U.S. drugstore chain forecast a full-year profit below analysts estimates. Rite Aid (Frankfurt: 857022 - news) expects to earn between 17 cents and 23 cents per share, missing average analysts estimate of 24 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

** DENDREON CORP (NasdaqGS: DNDN - news) , $3.44, +4.88 pct

The maker of Provenge said it had corrected an error that affected the efficiency of one or more doses of the prostate cancer drug. The biotechnology company said it had notified the physicians, whose patients were affected by the error. Less than 0.3 percent of Provenge commercial doses were affected, the company said in a regulatory filing. (http://r.reuters.com/vyt55v)

** CHELSEA THERAPEUTICS INTERNATIONAL LTD (NasdaqCM: CHTP - news) , $4.135, +4.16 pct

JMP Securities initiated coverage of the stock with a "market outperform" rating, saying its low blood pressure drug, Northera, is likely to receive approval from the advisory committee which will review its safety and efficacy in January.

"Additionally, we view the commercial opportunity for the drug as attractive, as currently there are very limited alternative treatment options," analysts Jason Butler and Christopher Radom said in a note.

** ACTUANT CORP, $36.66, -4.66 pct

The Industrial products maker reported first-quarter earnings below analysts' estimates and forecast a lower-than-expected profit for the current quarter due to lower demand at its industrial and energy businesses.

** MARCUS CORP, $13.05, -7.32 pct

The operator of hotels and theaters reported a 31 percent fall in second-quarter profit due to higher costs.

** STEELCASE INC (NYSE: SCS - news) , $16.32, +4.55 pct

The interior furnisher said it expects fourth-quarter earnings to rise to 22-25 cents per share from 14-18 cents per share a year earlier. The company also raised its dividend by 1 cent to 10 cents per share, payable Jan. 13 to shareholders on record as of Dec 30.

** EXXON MOBIL CORP, $99.34, -0.20 pct

The world's largest publicly traded oil company's stock hovered near $100 per share, the continuation of a rally fueled by investor expectations that it would return more cash to shareholders in coming months. "They maintained the quarterly share buyback after two quarters of reductions," said John White, analyst at Houston-based oil and gas investment firm Triple Double Advisors. Shares of Exxon rose to $99.60, surpassing the previous all-time closing high of $98.87 reached earlier this week.

** COBALT INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INC (NYSE: CIE - news) , $14.27, -8.88 pct

The oil and gas producer said it would abandon an exploratory well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico as it did not find commercial hydrocarbons. Cobalt operates and owns a 60 percent working interest in the well.

** AK STEEL HOLDING CORP, $6.98, +10.44 pct

The steel maker said on Wednesday it expected to report a profit in the fourth quarter, compared with analysts' estimates of a loss. The company also said it expects fourth-quarter shipments to be 13 percent higher than the previous quarter, reflecting its recovery from an unplanned blast furnace outage.

** USEC INC (NYSE: USU - news) , $4.45, +27.14 pct

The enriched uranium supplier, which warned earlier this week that it expected to file for bankruptcy protection, said on Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Energy was prepared to extend funds for its American Centrifuge Project in Ohio for three months beyond Jan. 15.

** WINNEBAGO INDUSTRIES INC (NYSE: WGO - news) , $28.81, -8.94 pct

The No. 1 U.S. motor-home maker reported a 51 percent jump in quarterly profit due to higher demand from retail consumers as well as dealers.

** CONAGRA FOODS INC (NYSE: CAG - news) , $33.81, +6.35 pct

The maker of Chef Boyardee pastas reaffirmed its full-year profit forecast, which was above analysts estimates, after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results, helped by the acquisition of Ralcorp this year.

** TARGET CORP (NYSE: TGT - news) , $62.24, -2.06 pct

Target said data from about 40 million credit and debit cards might have been stolen from shoppers at its stores during the first three weeks of the holiday season, in the second-largest card breach at a U.S. retailer. [ID:nL3N0JY2H0

** KB HOME (NYSE: KBH - news) , $17.03, -2.96 pct

The No.5 U.S. homebuilder said fourth-quarter orders were unchanged from a year earlier while cancellation rate rose slightly to 36 percent from 35 percent as rising mortgage rates and a political standoff in Washington in October slowed down the U.S. housing market recovery.

** TRINA SOLAR LTD, $13.75, +3.70 pct

The Chinese solar panel maker said it would supply 25 megawatts (MW) of panels for the 75 MW Bangchak Solar Energy Project in Thailand. The shipment is expected to start in late December, the company said.

** TESLA MOTORS INC (Xetra: A1CX3T - news) , $142.01, -4.03 pct

A fire department in Southern California said a garage fire may have been caused by an overheated charging system in a Tesla Model S sedan, in the latest link between the top selling electric car and the potential for fire. [IS:nL2N0JX2E2]

** OMNICOM GROUP INC (Frankfurt: 871706 - news) , $72.92, +3.36 pct

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) raised its rating on the advertising agency's stock to "buy" from "neutral," saying Omnicom's merger with French peer Publicis (Paris: FR0000130577 - news) to create the world's biggest advertising agency will save the new company operational costs.

European Union antitrust regulators are set to approve the $35.1 billion merger of Omnicom and Publicis without conditions, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Brokerage Jefferies & Co Inc raised its price target on Omnicom's stock, saying it expects ad spending to grow in 2014 and also believes the merger will save operational costs.

** CABOT OIL & GAS CORP, $37.8, +3.82 pct

The oil and gas producer raised its 2013 production forecast and said it signed a deal to sell 350,000 million British thermal unit per day of natural gas to a unit of Sumitomo Corp (Dusseldorf: SUMA.DU - news) in Japan.

** PAYCHEX INC (NasdaqGS: PAYX - news) , $44.25, +2.15 pct

The payroll and human resources company posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as it earned more from its main check-processing business. The company posted a third-quarter net income of $158.7 million, or 43 cents per share, above analysts' expectations of 42 cents.

** DISH, $55.33, +0.07 pct

** T-MOBILE, $28.03, +2.86 pct

Dish is considering making a bid for T-Mobile next year, according to people close to the matter, in what would be the satellite TV provider's second attempt in as many years at acquiring a major wireless operator and potentially setting the stage for a new bidding war with Softbank (Xetra: SFT.DE - news) .

** APOGEE ENTERPRISES INC (NasdaqGS: APOG - news) , $35.18, -1.81 pct

The company, which makes glass used in commercial buildings and picture frames, reported lower-than-expected third-quarter results and said it expects modest growth in the U.S. commercial construction market next year.

** ESSEX PROPERTY TRUST INC, $145.21, -1.69 pct

** BRE PROPERTIES INC (NYSE: BRE - news) , $55.09, -1.47 pct

Essex Property Trust, a manager of residential properties on the U.S. West Coast, said it would buy BRE Properties for about $4.34 billion to become the largest publicly-traded apartment REIT in the U.S. West Coast.

** TWO HARBORS INVESTMENT CORP, $9.58, +2.90 pct

The mortgage real estate investment trust said its unit would buy a pool of mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) from Flagstar Bancorp Inc (NYSE: FBC - news) for about $500 million.

** VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INC, $70.25, +2.36 pct

Vertex Pharmaceuticals said on Thursday that ivacaftor, an experimental drug to treat cystic fibrosis, failed to meet its targeted treatment goal in a late-stage study in people aged 6 and older with the "R117H" gene mutation.

** BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB CO, $53.7, +2.11 pct

AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN - news) has agreed to buy Bristol-Myers Squibb's stake in the companies' diabetes joint venture for up to $4.1 billion in a deal that will help return the group to growth, sending its shares to a new high.

** ABBVIE INC (NYSE: ABBV - news) , $52.53, -3.30 pct

Morgan Stanley (Xetra: DWD.DE - news) cut its rating on the drugmaker's stock to "equal weight", according to Theflyonthewall.com.

** AMGEN INC (Xetra: 867900 - news) , $111.94, -0.70 pct

Amgen said its closely watched experimental cholesterol drug succeeded in reducing the level of bad cholesterol in the blood, compared to a placebo, in a late-stage trial. (Compiled by Neha Dimri in Bangalore; Edited by Don Sebastian)