Each week Forcerank runs a variety of games covering different industries. What we have found is that the highest-ranked companies deliver the biggest positive price movement for that week. This week the winners include popular names like Apple and GoPro and some lesser knowns such as Gilead Sciences.
Southwest Airlines (Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE:LUV)) | Airlines: Southwest has been trending lower since it reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings. There is still a massive gap to be filled at $42 caused by the fallout of muted earnings. The airline recently signed new contracts with its flight attendants and pilots union. Reaching an agreement with its staff opens up more opportunities and clarity for employees but also calms investor’s nerves. Both technical and fundamental indicators point toward increasing upside. The stock currently trades at 10 times earnings, often indicative of a value stock preparing to break out. Meanwhile the MACD indicator just turned positive which is another sign of short term upside.
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) | Biotech: Gilead Sciences has been one of the least popular biotech giants over the past year. In the past 12 months the stock has declined 29% as its flagship products continue to lose market share. Merck's (NYSE:MRK) newer and cheaper hepatitis C drug has been one of the main reasons for Gilead’s decline. However, Gilead may have received the boost it needed when Jeffreys upgraded the stock to a buy and German bank, Berenger, initiated coverage on the company with a buy. Analyst recommendations are one of the fastest ways for a stock to dig itself out of a hole. Meanwhile the MACD recently signaled bullish movement with its crossover at the end of last week.
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) | Energy & Power: Oil trended up when OPEC insisted that production outside of the cartel would increase next year, reversing its prior forecast for a decline. This, on top of a bounce-back from Friday’s lows, pumped Exxon Mobil up over 0.50%. Exxon has traditionally been a dividend play but if it can reconcile its losses from years past it could become a strong overall play. There are still two recent gaps above that need to be filled. The first is at about $89.50 and the second at $93.50. If you subscribe to the school of thought that gaps need to be filled, then a modest trend up is on the horizon.
GoPro (NASDAQ:GPRO) | Most Heavily Shorted: GoPro was one of the most-battered stocks last week, losing nearly 12% in value through Friday’s close. The stock has partially recovered to start the week and sits atop the most heavily shorted game. Shares were up over 3.25% in trading Monday with the hopes of reconciling losses as the week progresses. GoPro has its own event next Monday, which is expected to feature the Hero 5 seen side by side with the Karma drone. If these two products are successful in spurring growth then sky’s the limit for this stock. The short-term 50-day moving average recently crossed the 200-day average in a bullish manner, often referred to as a golden cross and sign of upcoming fortunes.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) | Hardware: Apple stumbled last week after the debut of the highly anticipated iPhone 7 failed to impress investors. The stock was down 4.25% but didn’t take long to bounce back. In Monday trading the stock was up 2.25% and more than half way to reconciling last week’s losses. Apple made additional headlines when it was rumored that it’s super secretive self-driving car project hit its first roadblock. Apple laid off a dozen employees last week who were working on its Project Titan car initiative. The company is now retooling its strategy with a reboot expected down the road. By any estimation, the stock is still oversold, which could spark a string of buying this week.