Monday’s biggest gaining and declining stocks

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) � Shares of AOL Inc., First Solar Inc. and Noble Energy Inc. made big moves on Monday in U.S. trading while Moody�s Corp. was trending online.

Gainers

AOL AOL �shares rallied nearly 7%. The stock was upgraded to outperform from sector perform by Mark Mahaney at RBC Capital Markets. Mahaney noted that although AOL rose 127% in 2012, its valuation is still reasonable. He also believes that its revenue growth turnaround has only just begun.

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First Solar FSLR shares rose 6.6%. The stock had fallen in the two previous sessions but still closed up more than 7% last week after Citigroup initiated coverage of the company with a buy rating. See: Citigroup upbeat on solar sector

Shares of Nasdaq OMX Group NDAQ �added 4% and were one of the leaders in the S&P 500 SPX . The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the exchange operator is holding preliminary talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission over a potential $5 million settlement related to its handling of Facebook Inc.�s FB �initial public offering last year. The much-anticipated IPO in May was marred by technical glitches in Nasdaq�s system that resulted in losses for some customers.

Decliners

Noble Energy Inc. NBL �shares slipped 2.6%. The stock had risen for four straight sessions last week.

WPX Energy Inc. WPX �shares fell 2.7%, one of the worst on the S&P 500, after three straight weeks of gains.

Top tickers trending

$MCO: Moody�s Corp. MCO �rebounded almost 4%. Last week, the stock had tumbled 22% on concerns that the ratings agency may be the next target of a federal lawsuit. Standard & Poor�s Ratings Services, a unit of McGraw-Hill Cos. MHP , is being sued by the Justice Department over its mortgage-bond ratings.

$NKE: Nike Inc. NKE �attracted attention on Twitter after it was upgraded to overweight from neutral by J.P. Morgan. Nike is a core portfolio holding due to improved earnings visibility as a result of a robust multiyear product pipeline, a clear China road map and �laser focus� on shareholder returns, said Matthew Boss, an analyst at J.P. Morgan.