Obama's Short on Details, Long on Optimism

Sparks says that Obama is doing a good job at straddling the fence in regard to the infrastructure spending aspects of his program. "On one hand, he keeps talking about the programs he wants to spend more in," he says. "On the other side of the coin, he's suggesting that there are cuts that can be made in places where there's wasteful spending. It seems as if there's a balance, and that there's not all-out, full-scale spending."

In terms of the infrastructure spending, which Obama claims will be a foundation for long-term economic growth free of earmarks and pet projects, analysts say that investment opportunities exist. Pavlik and Sparks foresee a continued migration into alternative energy, technology, engineering and construction firms. Many infrastructure plays have rallied off of last fall's lows based on the idea that they could attract a lot of business if the U.S. makes major improvements to roads and bridges.

"You'll see, as the year moves forward, consumer staples and health care being a potential source of funds. People will migrate out of those and into more cyclical names," Pavlik says. He notes that companies like Caterpillar (CAT Quote) and Fluor (FLR Quote) improved in trading after Obama's speech. Sparks was quick to point out the move in Granite Construction (GVA Quote).

Sparks adds that Obama intends to increase spending with respect to alternative energy. "Solar companies, for example, should benefit from that. We saw a pop as soon as that was announced," he says. Among solar concerns, First Solar (FSLR Quote) and Suntech Power Holdings (STP Quote) were on the rise Thursday.