7 Stocks You Need to Know for Thursday

A week after upgrading shares of Lehman Brothers Holdings (LEH | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) to a "buy", Merrill Lynch is on the retreat, downgrading the stock back to "neutral."

Takeover rumors helped boost shares of Alcoa (AA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) last week. As those rumors vanish, so do the rumor-fueled gains as the stock sold off nearly 8% on Wednesday.

Centex (CTX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) and KB Homes (KBH | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) were among four homebuilders fined as part of a settlement for violating federal clean water laws.

Susan Lyne, CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) announced her resignation on Wednesday. Shares of the stock sold off by 6% on the day.

A note from a UBS analyst that Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) was likely to be affected by rising fuel costs gave traders the opportunity to take profits on Wednesday, sending the stock lower by nearly 7%.

Staples (SPLS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) has agreed to buy Corporate Express for $4.8 billion. The deal, in which Staples was a tireless suitor of the Dutch office supplies company, works out to $14.30 per share.