TSC Power Stocks Rankings: April 29
During the week of April 21, TheStreet.com readers searched for 10 stocks more than any others.
Research associate Patrick Schultz makes the Buy, Sell or Hold call on them below, in the order of their popularity.
1. Apple
(AAPL) - Get Report
: In its earnings report last week, Steve Jobs and company issued their standard conservative guidance, which sent AAPL shares down briefly. Don't people see this pattern of underpromise, and then beautifully overdeliver later? A lot of things are going right for the company, and its products are flying off the shelf. Be a buyer. --
BUY
2. Potash
(POT)
: I will never get bored of making money, and that is why I refuse to get off the ag train. Many bears are screaming bloody bubble and saying that the ag stocks are just like the Internet stocks of 2000. I politely disagree for one simple reason. Potash and the rest of the ag complex are minting money. They are raking in mind-blowing profits while the Internet stock era only promised distant dreams of revenue and profits. The outstanding earnings report from Potash last week just confirms the thesis. --
BUY
3. First Solar
(FSLR) - Get Report
: I still love the company but am not enamored of the share price. This is a classic investing conundrum; what does an investor do when the fundamentals of the company are great, but its equity shares are priced for perfection? For me, I sit and wait. I think a pullback below $270 would be a much better entry point. First Solar has so many positive things going for it, but that is no reason to blindly pay any price at any time. --
HOLD
4. Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
: Investors were expecting another stellar quarter after the last two picture-perfect reports from Mister Softee. Unfortunately, expectations got a little out of control and MSFT disappointed. I think there will be some near-term pressure from disappointed short-term traders, but anything below $28.50 looks attractive. --
HOLD
5. El Paso
(EP)
: High energy costs are here to stay. which is bad for your wallet but good for EP. With EP, you get two ways to win: 1) It's the owner of the largest domestic natural gas pipeline; 2) It's an energy company that is rapidly growing its exploration and production of natural gas. --
BUY
6. Yamana Gold
(AUY) - Get Report
: Do you have a gold stock in your portfolio? If not, you should. Every diversified portfolio must own a precious metal stock and AUY fits the bill perfectly. I would be an aggressive buyer, right here right now. --
BUY
7. Google
(GOOG) - Get Report
: The Googster is back. The earnings report astonished traders and has brought back that old love and good feeling. We have a big gain, as we discussed here many times how Google became a value stock and offered a terrific risk/reward scenario. I think there is a lot of big money looking to buy GOOG shares on any weakness. So you won't find me selling to them. And you shouldn't either. --
BUY
8. General Electric
(GE) - Get Report
: Nice little recovery after that surprising earnings miss. GE is a great American company that will definitely recover from its financial hiccup. The question is not if it will recover, but when it will recover. I would stick with this iconic company, but don't expect any shoot the lights out performance. --
BUY
9. Baidu
(BIDU) - Get Report
: -- How do you say "rocket ship" in Mandarin? I mean seriously ... Holy B-I-D-U!!! Did anybody catch that 80% up move in a little over a month? A run like that would be a stellar return for a decade, let alone for a few weeks. To add to the fire, the company reported great numbers last week and is entering its strongest seasonal period. BIDU shares are easily the strongest trading of the stocks I follow. And believe it or not, they're still cheap on a growth valuation basis, trading at 50 times forward EPS while growing revenue at a 108% clip and earnings at a 72% rate. So I cannot in good conscience recommend buying any stock up so much so fast. I like BIDU a lot, but we need to wait on a pullback to get in. --
HOLD
10. EMC
(EMC)
: Simple formula here for EMC call.
VMWare
(VMW) - Get Report
with good earnings last week plus EMC with good earnings last week equals a stock you should buy. Remember, EMC owns 86% of the outstanding shares of VMW. --
BUY
Patrick Schultz is a research associate at TheStreet.com. In keeping with TSC's editorial policy, he doesn't own or short individual stocks. He also doesn't invest in hedge funds or other private investment partnerships. He has previously obtained securities licenses under the NASD Series 7, Series 24, Series 52, and Series 63 exams and has worked in the financial markets on various trading desks in addition to trading for his own account. Schultz appreciates your feedback;
to send him an email.