Tesla Takes Hold Among 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)

It was another rough week for former tech darling Apple. According to regulatory filings, some of Wall Street’s biggest names in the hedge fund arena continued to bail out of the stock.

David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management reduced its stake by some 40% during the first quarter. Tiger Management, helmed by Julian Robertson, dumped its entire remaining stake of more than 42,000 shares.

The latest Bloomberg Global Poll also found this week that investors overwhelmingly believe Apple has lost its standing as a tech innovator. According to the poll, 71% of respondents said the company “has lost its cachet as an industry innovator.”

JMP Securities analyst Alex Gauna told Big Data Download that he believes the recent rally in Apple shares has been purely driven by the recent introduction of a dividend.

Shares have fallen 5% over the last five full trading days, closing at $433.26 on Friday. Shares are down 21.1% year to date.

2. Tesla Motors (TSLA)

After reporting its first profit in company history last week, Tesla has captured Wall Street’s attention. The company followed that by saying it intended to raise $830 million from stock and note sales. By Friday, that number was bumped up to $968 million as investors showed strong interest in getting a piece of the company. Nearly half of the proceeds raised will be used to pay off a loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The run-up in share price is cause for concern among analysts. “It really presents a perfect picture of a mania or a bubble popping at this point,” Abigail Doolittle, Technical Strategist at The Seaport Group, told Talking Numbers.

Barry Ritholtz, CEO of Fusion IQ, told The Daily Ticker that Tesla won’t pose a serious threat to the major car manufacturers until it can produce a more reasonably priced vehicle.

“If they get it into the [$50,000-$60,000 range], then they’re an Audi or BMW type of car … unless someone comes along and buys them,” he said.

Shares are up 13% over the last five full trading days, closing at $91.50 on Friday. Shares have vaulted more than 160% for the year to date.

3. Cisco Systems (CSCO)

A surprise earnings beat from Cisco Systems on Wednesday sent shares soaring and returned the stock to our list of most-viewed ticker pages.

Cisco posted a profit of 51 cents a share for the quarter, topping estimates for 49 cents. Revenue shot up more than 5% to $12.2 billion from $11.6 billion, again topping estimates.

Adding fuel to the fire was an improving global outlook from CEO John Chambers, who said he’s seeing a slow and steady recovery.

Cisco shares have climbed 14.5% over the last five full trading days, closing at $24.24 on Friday. Share are up more than 19% for the year to date.

4. Bank of America (BAC)

While JPMorgan Chase (JPM) wrestles with whether to strip Jamie Dimon of one of his titles, Bank of America keeps gaining ground.

TheStreet.com summed up BofA’s recent run:

Bank of America's momentum has pushed its shares so high they trade at higher forward price-to-earnings ratios than several big banks that are a whole lot more profitable. The shares have been propelled in part by several recent wins on the mortgage repurchase front, including the bank's first-quarter settlement with Fannie Mae, its recent settlement with MBIA and the withdrawal of most objections to its 2010 mortgage putback settlement with institutional investors.

Zacks noted that financials have been one of the winners of the first quarter. While the company easily shook off lackluster earnings, Zacks believes its outlook is murky given the tepid earnings. Still, there's plenty of upside as well. "BAC has proven to be quite resilient as of late and there are some positive trends appearing in key corners of the bank's operations," said a Zacks report this week.

Shares hit a 52-week high on Tuesday and are up 3.4% over the last five full trading days. Shares have risen 11.6% for the year to date.

5. Nokia (NOK)

Handset maker Nokia is betting heavy on its Lumia smartphone, and this week it announced plans to introduce a new model. The Lumia 925 is expected to be introduced in China and Europe next month, before hitting the U.S.

“In the last couple of quarters, Nokia has performed impressively based on a good show from its Lumia series. At the end of the first quarter, the company sold 5.6 million handsets recording sequential growth of 27.35%,” noted Zacks.

A report from research firm Gartner on Tuesday said Nokia’s mobile phone share dropped during the first quarter, with smartphone sales taking the brunt of the loss. This report, coupled with a poor response to the new phone, sent shares down.

Shares regained ground but ultimately ended up down 1.8% over the last five full trading days, closing at $3.73 on Friday. Shares are down 9.2% for the year to date.