Last week, we discussed the upcoming earnings of several stocks that were surging higher on better than expected earnings expectations. So far none of the companies mentioned in the article have disappointed. This has sparked some strong buying energy as investors try to position themselves to capitalize on this excitement - even if it is just a matter of "buy the news."
With the number of firms already reporting this week and the many to still yet to follow, investors will have a significant amount of information to digest in a very short amount of time. So it will be interesting to see what reaction may unfold, especially considering that the sizes of the companies that are due to report carry enough weight to affect the outlook of the entire market, if not an entire industry. But let's hope any movement is for the positive. Here are a few companies that are hoping to continue this momentum.
Intel Corporation (INTC) - Target $30
Intel will report its earnings on Thursday after the market closes. Analysts are expecting the chip giant to report close to 5%improvement in its earnings per share estimate for the fourth quarter - this is on a 20% increase in total revenue when compared to the period a year ago. Intel recently warned that its revenue will come slightly lower than previously expected - about 1 billion less.
A couple of weeks ago, the company received a downgrade by analyst Vijay Rakesh of Sterne Agee from "buy" to "neutral" - citing that the company could be hurt by the fact that the next version of Windows will run both on Intel-style and non-Intel-style chips. The price target was also lowered from $27 to $26 per share. The stock currently sits at $25.39, less than 1% away from its 52-week high. I have a buy rating on the stock and a
