TSC's Power Stock Rankings: April 15
During the week of April 7, TheStreet.com readers searched forthese 10 stocks more than any others. Research associate Patrick Schultz makes the buy, sell or hold call onthem below, in the order of their popularity.
1. Apple
(AAPL) - Get Report
: Don't chase Apple this week as the deluge of quarterlyearnings reports begins. It won't be pretty. But, you might ask, what do earnings reports from other companies have to do with Apple?The answer is a lesson in market mechanics. I like AAPL alot, but does that mean to always buy aggressively? Absolutely not.Both traders and investors always need to be cognizant that no one stockis ever more powerful than the whole market. I fear there could be some ugly reportsthis week that will dominate sentiment. Yes, even the mighty Apple isnot immune from the whims of the market. --
HOLD
2. Visa
(V) - Get Report
: Just like clockwork, here come the bullish initiationreports from the brokers that brought Visa public. I would sell into anybroker-induced pop. As I have said for the past two weeks,I prefer
MasterCard
(MA) - Get Report
to Visa. It is a cheaper play on the transactions business. --
SELL
3. General Electric
(GE) - Get Report
: There's no way to sugarcoat it. Last week's report from GE was a shocker for many reasons. First, GE rarely misses itsguidance to the Street -- and the company missed badly here. Second, GE isviewed as a microcosm of the health of the American economy. So it's asimple game of connect the dots. If GE is doing poorly, what doesthat say about our economy? Ouch. --
HOLD
4. Schering Plough
(SGP)
: Schering made a nice recovery toward the end oflast week from the brutal drubbing it had taken over the past few months. What to do now? Tough call, as the palpable negative sentiment will overhang SGP shares in the short term. However, SGP isvery interesting on a longer-term basis. It has one of the strongestpipelines in the industry, which is not being reflected in the currentquote, as the stock is trading solely on Vyotorin news. I would buy on any pullbackbelow $16, but don't expect any shoot-the-lights-out performance from thisstock anytime soon. --
BUY
5. Goldman Sachs
(GS) - Get Report
: The trading in Goldman Sachs this week will be dominatedby the earnings reports from its peers,
JPMorgan
(JPM) - Get Report
,
Citigroup
(C) - Get Report
and even
Piper Jaffray
(PJC) - Get Report
. Yes, GS is best of breed among thereporting companies, but that does not mean its shares can't go down.Wait until price is in the $150s, if you must consider buying. --
HOLD
6. EMC
(EMC)
: We are in the seasonally slow period for tech, and the sector is just not working (sans RIMM andAAPL). As we all know by now, EMC's upside sits with
VMWare
(VMW) - Get Report
price action. Theblowup of VMW shares in late January is generating fears of a repeatannouncement coming up. I want to see another quarterly report for VMWbefore putting fresh money into EMC. --
HOLD
7. First Solar
(FSLR) - Get Report
Pure oxygenated momentum name that is best in show for the solar sector. The company has amazing technology, but I am nervous about the overall market going into the heart of earningsseason. Momentum stocks like FSLR will be aggressively sold on anymarket weakness. I just don't like the risk/reward at these levels. Iwould wait for a break below $240 to buy. --
HOLD
8. Yamana Gold
(AUY) - Get Report
: Yamana has the opposite risk/reward scenario to FSLR. I really like the risk/reward with AUY shares trading $15. I was waiting on this very pullback and now is the time to buy. --
BUY
9. Washington Mutual
(WM) - Get Report
: Buying this house is like buying the worst house in the worstneighborhood. Is there anything more to be said? --
SELL
10. Citigroup
(C) - Get Report
: With Citigroup reporting earnings on Friday before theopen, extreme caution is the mantra. Even though I am long-term bullishon the house of Citi, I expect this week's report to be ugly anddownright scary. --
HOLD
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's 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.
