5 Top Stocks of the Week
Editors Note: The list of top stocks is derived from the quote pages that received the most views on Yahoo! Finance by examining data for the current week. It is not, however, a list of the most searched-for tickers or company names on our site.
1. Apple (AAPL)
The rumor mill was churning at a blistering pace well before Tim Cook had a chance to walk in the doors at Apple HQ on Monday. Unfortunately for him, none of the rumors were good.
First there was chatter that Verizon Wireless’ iPhone sales were falling short of expectations. Then there were reports that the iWatch, or alleged iWatch, was running into engineering problems and delays that could push its introduction to the end of 2014.
On the freakish end of the spectrum, a woman who claimed to be electrocuted by her iPhone as it charged made headlines. For the icing on the cake, a Nashville lawyer has decided to sue Apple, claiming the company’s porn-blocking technologies were not enough to prevent him from finding it and, thus, ruining his marriage.
“If nothing else, the endless flow of such rumors and silliness dominating the news for the world’s second-most valuable public corporation calls into question CEO Tim Cook’s current strategy of cramming all his big product announcements into just a few weeks at the end of the year,” noted Yahoo! Finance tech reporter Aaron Pressman.
Apple has gained 0.9% over the last five full trading days, closing at $431.76 a share on Thursday. Shares remain down 21.4% for the year-to-date.
2. Bank of America (BAC)
The nation’s second-largest posted an eye-popping 70% rise in earnings on Wednesday. The gains came largely through cost cutting -- revenue was up only 3% -- but the results handily beat analysts’ expectations.
The Associated Press noted that BofA reduced expenses by 6% and cut some 18,300 jobs. The bank now employs 257,000 people, down from a 2011 peak of 289,000.
“A lot of what’s being done here is that they are finally getting it together to expand, so this is a story you could argue is not as bad as it used to be,” said Jim Cramer.
Shares have shot up 9.2% over the last five full trading days, closing at $14.76 on Thursday. The stock is up 22.7% for the year-to-date.
3. Tesla Motors (TSLA)
Yahoo! Finance readers are getting behind electric car manufacturer Tesla as the frontrunner for Company of the Year.
While Tesla is a fraction of the size of the major auto manufacturers, their success is being taken seriously. So seriously, in fact, that at least one executive has started scouting this band of rabble-rousers.
According to Bloomberg, General Motors CEO Dan Akerson has put together a team to study the company and the potential threat it poses.
“[Akerson] thinks Tesla could be a big disruptor if we’re not careful,” Steve Girsky, GM’s vice chairman said in an interview with Bloomberg.
Still, not everyone’s a believer. Goldman Sachs offered a low price target and tepid review of the company’s growth prospects on Tuesday, sending shares plunging. However, investors were back the next day to buy the dip.
Shares were down 4.9% over the last five full trading days, closing at $119.03 on Thursday. Shares are up 236.6% for the year-to-date.
4. Intel (INTC)
Sales of PCs continue to dwindle, putting the pinch on Intel.
The company reported soft earnings on Wednesday. More troubling than the earnings was the outlook. New CEO Brian Krzanich announced that management was cutting its full-year revenue forecast and scaling back on capital spending.
Krzanich took the reins at Intel in May, knowing full well the company was facing a rapid decline in the PC market. “Within days of taking over in May, Krzanich launched a sweeping reorganization,” noted Reuters.
Shares have fallen 2.9% over the last five full trading days, closing at $23.24 on Thursday. The stock is up 8.7% for the year-to-date.
5. MagicJack VocalTec (CALL)
MagicJack maintained its hold among the top-viewed ticker pages on Yahoo! Finance this week.
Shares have steadily risen since the June 24 announcement of the introduction of a new MagicJack Plus device. The device will sell for $49.99 -- a level the voice over IP company touts as the “lowest entry price in the consumer VoIP industry” -- and includes six months of free nationwide service.
According to Yahoo! Finance data, 4..2 million shares, or 26.7% of the float, are short the stock as of June 28. However, that represents an improvement over May, when around 30% of outstanding shares were short.
Shares have fallen 4% over the last five full trading days, closing at $15.05 on Thursday. The stock is down 18.9% for the year to date.
