The 5 Stocks Everybody's Talking About This Week
The market had a good week, with all three major indexes up. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) , the Nasdaq, and the S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC) were up 1.3%, 0.6%, and 1.4%, respectively. With that as context, let's look at the stocks everybody was talking about.
Friday marked the one-year anniversary of Steve Jobs' death, and the week saw Apple's (NAS: AAPL) shares continue to slide after hitting $700 during the iPhone 5 launch hype. Shares closed at $652.59. Although initial sales didn't quite live up to the pre-order-fueled expectations, the launch was still impressive. And Apple has had a heck of a year. Although he'd surely have some nitpicking to do, Steve Jobs would be proud. (For a thorough breakdown of Apple's prospects, check out our premium report by clicking here.)
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had this to say in a press release on Thursday: "There are more than 1billion people using Facebook actively each month." The news wasn't shocking, but it's a little nugget of operational goodness as the news has been slammed with stories of Facebook's struggling post-IPO share price and mobile monetization efforts.
Netflix (NAS: NFLX) was up a whopping 22% this week as it got some love from both Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney and former bear Whitney Tilson. Of course, that gain still leaves Netflix shares at $66.56, quite a bit away from the nearly $300 it was trading at its height in 2011. Mahanay reiterated his buy rating and $120 price target, citing improving customer satisfaction.
On the lack-of-love side, famed short seller David Einhorn thinks Chipotle shares are overvalued versus the company's business prospects. Although he thinks Chipotle is a good company, he thinks factors including competition from Taco Bell's upscale Cantina Bell menu and rising input costs bode ill for the stock. I've been waiting for a good entry price on Chipotle shares for a while, and this is helping, as shares were down almost 12% this week.
And Hewlett-Packard (NYS: HPQ) fell another 14% for the week as CEO Meg Whitman warned of lower earnings in 2013. Here's how HP described its expectations in a release:
The company is on track to deliver on its savings targets and complete the restructuring by the end of fiscal 2014. Whitman walked through a multiyear roadmap to turn the company around. By 2016, she expects the company's revenues to be growing in line with gross domestic product (GDP), with operating profit growing faster than revenues, industry-leading margins, and disciplined capital allocation.
The market was clearly not impressed with the timeline or current turnaround signs at Hewlett-Packard.
It's easy to get caught up in the latest HP bad news or a quick 22% pop by Netflix, but good investing requires a longer-term outlook beyond the daily grind. To help, check out "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich." The free report details three stocks that can help in your quest for the perfect portfolio. Click here to find out their names.
The article The 5 Stocks Everybody's Talking About This Week originally appeared on Fool.com.
Anand Chokkaveluowns shares of Apple and Citigroup, as well as Citigroup warrants. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Citigroup, Facebook, and Netflix.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Apple, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Facebook, and Netflix, as well as creating a bull call spread position in Apple and a bear put ladder position in Netflix. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
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