Thanks to a batch of well-received economic reports -- including a major upside surprise on payrolls -- stocks are trading substantially higher this afternoon. The NYSE reports no fewer than 267 fresh annual highs, compared to only four new lows. Similarly, the Nasdaq boasts 240 equities at new 52-week peaks, along with just 13 annual lows. Among the stocks blazing a path higher in today's trading is Trimble Navigation Limited (TRMB - 51.32), which is capitalizing on last night's well-received fourth-quarter figures.

Specifically, TRMB banked an adjusted quarterly profit of 54 cents per share, with revenue checking in at $435.2 million. By contrast, analysts were targeting earnings of just 48 cents per share on $419.1 million in revenue.

Wall Street certainly seems pleased with TRMB's performance, as the stock attracted price-target hikes from four different brokerage firms this morning. In fact, TRMB's first tick of the trading day was a quick trip up to $52.50, which represents a new all-time peak for the shares. The equity has since pared some of its gains, but could now find a round-number foothold in the $50 region, which marked the site of today's bullish gap.

With the shares up nearly 7% as we roll toward the close, it seems safe to assume that TRMB is benefiting from a short-squeeze situation. Short interest jumped by more than 50% during the most recent reporting period, and the current accumulation of shorted shares would take 3.3 days to fully unwind, at the equity's average daily trading volume.

U.S. stocks today are wrapping up a generally tepid week of trading on a resoundingly bullish note. Buyers have been lured off the sidelines by a surprisingly robust report on nonfarm payrolls, along with a few other well-received economic updates. Bright and early this morning, the Labor Department announced that 243,000 jobs were added in January, crushing the average estimate for a gain of 125,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 8.3%, hitting its lowest level since February 2009. As if that weren't enough of a positive catalyst, the ISM's services index surged to 56.8 last month, while factory orders rose for the second consecutive month in December. Against this upbeat backdrop, the major market indexes are on track to win the day -- and the week.

At last look, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA - 12,862.99) has gained 157.6 points, or 1.2%, bringing its weekly advance to 1.6%. The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,344.31) is up 18.8 points, or 1.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 2,907.45) has added 47.8 points, or 1.7%. In fact, the COMP cruised to a fresh multi-year high of 2,908.13 earlier in the session -- its loftiest perch since December 2000. For the week, the SPX is 2.1% higher, while the COMP has climbed 3.2%.

Checking in on Dow components, Merck (MRK - 38.36) is down 0.2% to lead the two laggards into the red. For the record, fellow pharma firm Pfizer (PFE) is the day's other Dow decliner. On the other hand, Bank of America (BAC - 7.76) has bounced 4.2% to pace the 28 advancing blue chips.

Today's economic enthusiasm has depressed the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 17.00), which is off 5.5% this afternoon. For the week, the VIX is down more than 8%.

Among equities in focus, Wynn Resorts (WYNN - 115.73) has shed more than 4% after a fourth-quarter revenue miss, while Estee Lauder (EL - 56.86) has lost 3.4% on the heels of a disappointing first-quarter forecast. Conversely, NetSuite (N - 46.70) tagged a new all-time high of $48.81 after topping Wall Street's profit and revenue predictions. Over in the options pits, Groupon (GRPN) garnered heavy call volume amid Facebook's IPO buzz, while speculators swarmed the uptrending shares of Dunkin' Brands (DNKN).

Analysts are weighing in today on social networking stock Renren Inc. (RENN - 5.48), chip giant Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD - 7.02), BlackBerry parent Research In Motion Limited (RIMM - 17.12), drug company Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALXN - 79.00), and retailer Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN - 27.87). Here's a quick roundup of today's upgrades and downgrades of note.

• Like so many other stocks in the social networking space, RENN found itself in the spotlight Thursday after Facebook filed for its much-anticipated IPO. However, on the heels of yesterday's 8% rally, RENN this morning was hit with a downgrade to "sell" from "hold" at Maxim Group. The stock is shrugging off this negative note in early trading, up 1.1% at last check -- but RENN's positive momentum cooled considerably after a run-in with the $5.80 level, which has served as a technical ceiling for the past several days.
• Elsewhere in the tech sector, AMD scored a slew of price-target hikes today. Canaccord Genuity boosted its target to $9 from $7; Susquehanna upped its forecast to $6 from $5.50; and ThinkEquity lifted its price target to $7 from $6. This flurry of upward revisions follows CEO Rory Read's meeting with analysts, wherein the recently appointed exec revealed that AMD will merge its microprocessors and graphics chips into a single, "ambidextrous" product offering. In mid-morning action, AMD is up 1.3%, building on its impressive year-to-date gain of 28.3%.
• Jefferies downgraded RIMM to "underperform" from "hold," and trimmed its price target to $15 from $17. The stock has slipped 0.5% as a result, but RIMM remains sandwiched between its 10-week and 20-week moving averages. The smartphone stock is on pace to finish a fourth consecutive week pinned between these two trendlines -- the latter of which has not been surmounted on a weekly closing basis since early March 2011. Despite a healthy 18.7% advance in 2012, RIMM is still resting on a steep 52-week deficit of 72.5%.
• ALXN surged to a new all-time high of $80.97 earlier, boosted by a coveted "conviction buy" nod from Goldman Sachs. The stock is 1.6% higher at last check, with ALXN pulling back a bit after its first-ever test of the round-number $80 neighborhood. Most analysts already maintain an optimistic stance on ALXN, as evidenced by 14 "buy" or better recommendations. By contrast, the stock has garnered just six middling "holds," according to Zacks, with not a single "sell" to be found.
• Finally, URBN scored an upgrade to "buy" from "neutral" at Janney, along with a price-target hike to $29 from $27 at Barclays. These bullish notes follow last night's announcement that URBN has tapped company vet Tedford Marlow to serve as the CEO of its namesake brand. The stock gapped higher out of the gate, rising above short-term pressure at its 40-day moving average and the $27.50 level in the process. At last check, URBN is up 5.4%, putting the shares narrowly in the black for 2012.

January payrolls are in, and the results are pretty encouraging. The domestic workforce expanded by 243,000 last month, according to the Labor Department, marking the biggest monthly surge since April 2011. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate retreated to 8.3% from 8.5% -- its lowest level in nearly three years. By contrast, economists were looking for the U.S. to add just 125,000 jobs last month, with unemployment expected to hold steady at 8.5%.

Once again, the private sector drove the monthly employment growth. A total of 257,000 private-sector jobs were added in January, more than offsetting 14,000 government jobs that were eliminated. Average hourly wages ticked higher for the month, edging up 0.2% to $23.29.

Looking back, December's payrolls were upwardly revised to show a gain of 203,000, compared to the initial report of 200,000. November's figure also got a boost, with the monthly increase ratcheted up to 157,000 from 100,000.

Today's well-received employment report has triggered healthy gains for the major equity indexes right out of the gate, building on the cautiously bullish pre-market momentum. In early trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA - 12,815.69) is up 110.3 points, or 0.9%, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,337.84) has tacked on 12.3 points, or 0.9%. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 2,887.49) is sitting on a gain of 27.8 points, or 1%. All three indexes are set to end the week solidly higher.

On the other hand, the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 17.07) is off 5.1% at last check.

The major market indexes have spent time on both sides of breakeven today, though new highs have outnumbered new lows across the board. Specifically, the NYSE reports 173 stocks at fresh 52-week peaks, along with just seven annual lows. Likewise, the Nasdaq has seen 135 equities tag new highs, compared to 11 fresh nadirs. Among the bullish majority today is Qualcomm, Inc. (QCOM - 60.98), which has been bombarded by upbeat analyst attention the wake of a strong earnings report.

After the close last night, QCOM reported a record first-quarter profit of $1.4 billion, or 81 cents per share, up from $1.17 billion, or 71 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding items, per-share earnings docked at 97 cents, while revenue soared 40% to $4.68 billion. Analysts, on average, were expecting an adjusted profit of 90 cents on sales of $4.58 billion.

Furthermore, QCOM raised its full-year adjusted earnings forecast to $3.55 to $3.75 per share -- an increase of 13 cents from its previous guidance -- and lifted its revenue predictions by $700 million, to a range of $18.7 billion to $19.7 billion. For comparison, analysts are calling for full-year earnings of $3.59 per share on sales of $18.48 billion.

In the wake of the encouraging earnings showing, the shares of QCOM have jumped more than 2.5% to hit a new 12-year high of $61.95. What's more, as alluded to earlier, Wall Street is waxing optimistic on the stock in the form of price-target boosts. In fact, no fewer than 12 brokerage firms have lifted their price targets on QCOM today, with Lazard arguing that the best is yet to come for the company, and Morgan Keegan noting the firm's "meteoric chip market-share gains."

However, even before today, the options crowd was upping the bullish ante on QCOM. On the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the security sports a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 3.35 -- in the 65th annual percentile.