There are several issues happening almost simultaneously here.  Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) recently reiterated its guidance and this lends more thought to the PC recovery being sustained.  Even Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) signaled that it sees increased demand for PCs and its processors ahead.  The reason is in part due to the Windows refresh cycle as Microsoft Corporation is now just a few months away from its launch of the Windows 8 operating system.

Our big question is simple, yet complicated: How bad will the reports be from Dell and H-P?

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is in a turnaround and Wall Street refuses to give it any valuation worth noting.  Its value is about 6-times expected earnings.  The chatter has already been telegraphed that some 25,000 or even 30,000 pink slips are going to be handed out at H-P.  That will make its earnings coincide with National Employee Morale Day.  H-P is a DJIA component and it is worth under $44 billion in market capitalization now that its stock is down more than half from the peak in early 2011.  H-P still trades under $22 and its 52-week range is $21.28 to $37.70 against a consensus analyst price target objective of $29.23 that implies about 33% upside.  Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.91 EPS and $29.92 billion in revenue for H-P.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is dirt cheap for a tech stock and dirt cheap compared to the market, but against H-P it almost sounds expensive at 7.5-times its forward earnings.  Dell is still just under $15 and its 52-week range is $13.29 to $18.36 against a consensus analyst price target objective of $19.43 that implies 30% upside.  Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.46 EPS and $14.89 billion in revenue for Dell.

Analysts still seem to prefer Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) over Dell and H-P alike if you just pay attention to the media coverage.  What is interesting is that Apple has almost no attention given to its Mac sales at the moment.  It is all about iPads, iPhones, and the coming Apple TV.  Apple shares are finally recovering with a gain of 4% to $551.00 today.  Analysts have a consensus target of $708.55 against the $551 price today.  What is interesting is that Apple’s implied upside is about 28%.

Can it be that analysts actually prefer Dell and H-P over Apple as a group?  That is what the math says on the surface.  The difference is that many of the analysts following Apple are far higher and much more ambitious on Apple than the consensus.

JON C. OGG

These are some of the focus companies reporting earnings in the coming week: Tech Data Corporation (NASDAQ: TECD); Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN); Autozone Inc. (NYSE: AZO); Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY); Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL); PetSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM); Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL); Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG); Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ); NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP); Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P); Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL); Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST); Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF); and VeriFone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY).

MONDAY, MAY 21

Tech Data Corporation (NASDAQ: TECD) is set to report and show how the outlook is for the companies which actually distribute all of the technology components and finished smartphones and consumer electronics devices around the world.  Shares were recently under $48 and the 52-week range is $38.21 to $59.29.  The consensus estimate is $1.16 EPS and $6.18 billion in revenue.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) is going to show if its turnaround is closer or just still chugging along.  Estimates are $0.20 EPS and $579.2 million in revenue.  Shares were recently around $25.50 and the 52-week range is $21.47 to $33.90; the consensus target price is about $29.70.

TUESDAY, MAY 22

Autozone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) took it hard on the chin recently when rival Advance Auto warned of a difficult second quarter.  This is one of the high-priced stocks and shares are around $366 against a 52-week range of $266.25 to $399.10.  The consensus analyst target price is $419.80; estimates are $6.25 EPS and $2.13 billion in revenue; next quarter estimates are $8.47 EPS and $2.84 billion in revenue.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is in such disarray that we won’t even bother with the warnings and the caveats here.  Estimates are $0.60 EPS.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is now trading at only about 7.5-times forward earnings.  Estimates are $0.46 EPS and $14.89 billion in sales.  Earnings have been choppy on guidance but the PC makers and components makers are all talking up the release of Windows 8 as a new catalyst.  With shares trading just under $15.00, the 52-week range is $13.29 to $18.36 and the consensus price target is almost $19.50.

PetSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) has been a steady “beat earnings and raise guidance” outfit as Americans will pay endless and countless dollars on Fido and Fifi.  Estimates are $0.73 EPS and $1.6 billion in revenue. With shares around $56.00, the 52-week high is $59.36.

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) has sold off nearly $40 from its highs since March.  The question is how its business has been holding up in slowing markets even if the U.S. sales have been strong.  Estimates are $0.83 EPS and $1.6 billion in sales.  With shares around $143 the 52-week range is $105.00 to $182.48 and the consensus price target from analysts is just over $190.00.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) should be called “Warning Lots” because it has lowered guidance and been hard on two different waves.  With shares under $35 and against a high of $47.22, the premium values of the dollar stores may and discounters may be hurting here.  On the flip side, the bar has been set extremely low.  Estimates are $0.69 EPS and $1.3 billion in revenue.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is now around the $22 handle and the news of another 25,000 or more in layoffs (versus 350K as of October 31, 2011) is not helping the growth hopes.  Estimates are $0.91 EPS and $29.92 billion in sales.  The stock now trades at about 6-times earnings, but the consensus price target is down to just over $29.00 as no one wants to pay up for the valuation of this DJIA component.

NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) has been pounded and the last 45 days has looked like a downward staircase on its chart.  At about $34.00, the 52-week range is $33.00 to $56.49 and the consensus price target objective is just over $47.00.

Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) is no longer market-influencing, but it is a cult stock and the earnings could create a large gain or a large drop.  With shares under $10.50, the post IPO range is $7.83 to $26.00.  Estimates are -$0.17 EPS and $74.3 million in revenue.  Can the company make it to profitability by the end of next year?

Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) is expected to be profitable.  A profitable homebuilder!  At $25.50, the 52-week range is $13.16 to $27.80.  A lot of good news already has to be priced in, so we would want to expect upside to remain positive here.  Estimates are $0.04 EPS and $381.9 million in revenue.

THURSDAY, MAY 24

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) almost always beats its earnings estimates.  At $83.75 the 52-week range is $70.22 to $92.10; analysts have a target price of $86.80 or so.   Estimates are $0.87 EPS and $22.1 billion in revenue.

Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) has come off of its highs significantly and this is the king of jewelry stores for investors.  There will have been two smaller reports ahead of Tiffany in the week with Fred’s and Zale.  Estimates for Tiffany are $0.69 EPS and $816.8 million.  With shares under $61.00, the 52-week range is $56.21 to $84.49 and the consensus price target is $75.63.

VeriFone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY) has pulled back by about 20% from its highs, but the woes of the company seem to be behind it.  At $44.80, the 52-week range is $30.25 to $55.89 and the consensus analyst price target is $54.10.  Estimates are $0.61 EPS and $471.5 million in revenue.

As a reminder, dates and estimates can change ahead of earnings and some may have already changed.

JON C. OGG

24/7 Wall St. has compiled a log of companies which have already signaled in press releases that they will be presenting data or that data will be presented on their behalf at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting.  We have previewed more than 25 companies so far and that is not even including Big Pharma names.  As of May 18, the total abstracts submitted were 5,264 and of those there have been 2,744 which have been accepted for presentation at ASCO.  Of those accepted for presentation, some 1,859 are going to be ‘ePublication only’ for viewers.  The breakdown for the Abstracts shows that the oral presentation is currently 257 presentations and 2,487 are listed as poster presentation only.

The most presentations accepted (203) so far are focused on Genitourinary Cancer, which covers urinary tract and male genital tract as follows: Prostate cancer; Bladder cancer; Kidney cancer; Testicular cancer; Penile cancer; Nonmalignant tumors of the urinary tract and male reproductive system; and Von Hippel Lindau disease.  As of today, the fewest accepted presentations (93) cover Pediatric oncology.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), the largest independent biotech that there is, recently showed updated results from a Phase 2 study showing that treatment with blinatumomab helped achieve a high-rate of complete response in 72% of adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated in the study. This blinatumomab is the first of a new class of agents called bi-specific T cell engagers antibodies, which are designed to harness the body’s cell-destroying T cells to kill cancer cells.  Blinatumomab targets cells expressing CD19, a protein found on the surface of B-cell derived leukemias and lymphomas, such as ALL. Full results of the study will be presented during an oral abstract session on June 4 at the ASCO Annual Meeting.

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA) recently sold off but will will have updated clinical data from the pivotal PACE trial of ponatinib, its investigational pan-BCR-ABL inhibitor in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) on June 4.  The company said that the data will form the basis of its regulatory filings for marketing approval of Ponatinib for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblasatic leukemia.

ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL) and Daiichi Sankyo, Co., Ltd. (Japan) will have an oral presentation at the ASCO Annual Meeting featuring Phase 2 trial data with tivantinib as a single agent investigational second-line treatment in hepatocellular carcinoma. ArQule announced that this randomized, double-blind study met its primary endpoint in January and will now present the full results from this trial, including positive data in the pre-defined c-MET high population. Additional clinical data with tivantinib will be featured in two poster discussions and two general poster sessions.

Array BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY) has recently risen on its lung cancer and melanoma results.  The company has three oral presentations at the annual meeting after having already presented Phase 1 data on MEK162 in 28 patients with biliary tract cancer at the ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in January 2012 showing that it was well tolerated and showed evidence of clinical efficacy in this patient population, including a complete response and a partial response. Stable disease was observed in 12 patients. The company has licensed selumetinib to AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) and licensed MEK162 to Novartis (NYSE: NVS).

24/7 Wall St. wanted to make a log of companies which have already signaled that they will be presenting data or that data will be presented on their behalf at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting.  The data below is as follows:

As of May 10, the total abstracts submitted were 5,264 and of those there have been 2,744 which have been accepted for presentation at ASCO.  Of those accepted for presentation, some 1,859 are going to be ‘ePublication only’ for viewers.  The breakdown for the Abstracts shows that the oral presentation is currently 257 presentations and 2,487 are listed as poster presentation only.

The most presentations accepted (203) so far are focused on Genitourinary Cancer, which covers urinary tract and male genital tract as follows: Prostate cancer; Bladder cancer; Kidney cancer; Testicular cancer; Penile cancer; Nonmalignant tumors of the urinary tract and male reproductive system; and Von Hippel Lindau disease.  As of today, the fewest accepted presentations (93) covers Pediatric oncology.

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA) will have updated clinical data from the pivotal PACE trial of ponatinib, our investigational pan-BCR-ABL inhibitor in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

Array BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY) recently noted that it “presented Phase 1 data on MEK162 in 28 patients with biliary tract cancer at the ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in January 2012. MEK162 was well tolerated and showed evidence of clinical efficacy in this patient population, including a complete response and a partial response. Stable disease was observed in 12 patients.”

Biovest International, Inc. (OTCQB: BVTI), a majority-owned subsidiary of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB: ABPI) announced in early May that the new data from the BiovaxID® Phase II mantle cell lymphoma clinical trial conducted by the U.S. National Cancer Institute will be presented by the NCI at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDX) previously noted that interim topline results of the Phase 2b EMERGE study of CDX-011 in patients with advanced breast cancer will be presented in a webcast on May 23, 2012 but it is not going to get in at ASCO as it noted, “Celldex anticipated presenting these topline results at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2012 Annual Meeting. Due to a clerical error in which the incorrect submission category was inadvertently selected in the on-line ASCO submission form, the abstract for the EMERGE study was not considered for acceptance. Celldex attempted to rectify this clerical error but was informed that no exceptions are made to the submission policy.”  Call this the “ASCO-less ASCO presentation.”

CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTR) will present data from its Phase 1b/2 clinical trial in patients with advanced solid tumors, primarily soft tissue sarcomas.

Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) recently announced that cabozantinib will be the subject of nine presentations at the upcoming Annual Meeting… The company noted that cabozantinib encompasses phase 3 pivotal trials in medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) and metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

Galena Biopharma (NASDAQ: GALE) will present “Safety and Long-Term Maintenance of Anti-HER2 Immunity Following Booster Inoculations of the E75 Breast Cancer Vaccine” and it will host a panel called “HER2 Targeted Cancer Therapies” which includes NeuVax update from the Phase 2 and current Phase 3 PRESENT trials.

Generex Biotechnology Corporation (OTCBB: GNBT) will be presenting data on its breast cancer treatment ambitions.

Genomic Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: GHDX) recently announced that 18 abstracts were accepted for presentation at ASCO which will be highlighting Breast, Colon and Prostate progress.

ImmunoGen, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMGN) noted in late-April “At the upcoming ASCO meeting in June, we expect to see not only EMILIA Phase III data and new SAR3419 Phase I data, but also data from the Phase II trial evaluating the safety of trastuzumab emtansine in the adjuvant/neoadjuvant setting.”

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR) has two abstracts: one covering a Phase 3 study of NKTR-102 versus Treatment of Physician’s Choice in patients with locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer previously treated with an anthracycline, a taxane and capecitabine; a second will be NKTR-102 in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

NewLink Genetics Corporation (NASDAQ: NLNK) announced in April that data from its HyperAcute(R) Pancreas immunotherapy and its HyperAcute(R) Lung immunotherapy as well as its D-1MT IDO pathway inhibitor will be presented at the annual meeting.

Pharmacyclics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYC) will have two oral presentations and one poster discussion session: two oral presentations will highlight the first reporting on data from the ibrutinib (formerly PCI-32765) Phase II CLL single agent trial in treatment naïve patients and the ibrutinib Phase Ib/II CLL combination trial with ofatumumab in relapsed or refractory patients; the poster discussion session will highlight data from the ibrutinib Phase Ib CLL combination trial with bendamustine and rituximab in relapsed or refractory patients.

Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN) will show updated information on ADCETRIS for patients with relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (sALCL).

Here was a recent list of other stocks to watch covered by an analyst in the Denver Post.

JON C. OGG

Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.47 EPS and $11.57 billion in revenues.  Guidance is not offered usually until the conference call but the estimates for the current (July) quarter are $0.49 EPS and $11.99 billion in revenue.

The first real inference today is that Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) and Alcatel-Lucent, S.A. (NYSE: ALU) both have slid lower since their earnings.  Juniper looked like it was a stabilization after a really bad drop, but the initial stock pop higher was sold off immediately and its stock price is now under where it was before earnings.  Alcatel-Lucent is now under $1.50 after recently giving a poor earnings report that brings up relevance into question.

Our main reason for putting Cisco as the lynchpin for technology is that it often acts as a preview to Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) as the other off-quarter earnings from the technology leadership.  Oracle has historically been more of a software play but the comparison is still crucial.  Cisco grabs a different part of the enterprise technology spending dollars, but weakness in one may mean weakness in another as technology officers can push orders out further on the horizon.

Cisco has also been in the midst of a restructuring that seems to be mostly complete.  The problem is that shares have slid from recently being above $20.00 down to $18.70.  Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target of $22.58 and the 52-week range is $13.30 to $21.30. The company’s market cap today is right at $100 billion.

The stock chart may hold the keys to the post-earnings reaction after today.  With a price of $18.70, the 200-day moving average is down at $18.14 and the 50-day moving average is up at $19.96.  In short, Cisco had recovered handily off of its lows in the last year but its stock has been very weak for the last month and $20.15 to $20.20 acted as very strong resistance on the chart throughout April after shares slid from the peak of just over $21.00.

Options traders appear to be braced for a move of up to about $0.75 or so in either direction based upon the speculative call and put options pricing.

Just one suggestion for Cisco not pertaining its earnings call: the investor relations site takes far too long to navigate.  Still, the stock trades at only about 10-times current earnings expectations.  Does that make Cisco a value stock in its turnaround, or is Cisco’s turnaround just a value trap.

We would note one strength from the last quarter… gross margin rose to 61.3% from 60.2% and the cost of sales rose by more than 7%.

Keep in mind that Cisco’s earnings will prelude an investor day presentation by Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) on May 17, 2012 and it will also prelude the Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) earnings report currently penciled in around May 23, 2012.

JON C. OGG

The technology sector needs for Cisco to show that the warnings of spotty spending a month ago were just contextual.  Does Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) have much to do with Cisco?  Technically not a thing if you just use common sense.  The reality is different though.  Apple remains the tech darling of Wall Street but its shares have pulled back and have gotten down almost as low as they were before the huge earnings gap-up in the last couple of weeks.

The first two issues to address are Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) and Alcatel-Lucent, S.A. (NYSE: ALU).  Juniper turned in an earnings report that looked like it was offering a stabilization to a really bad drop, but its stock popped up and then immediately pulled back and the stock is now under where it was before earnings.  Alcatel-Lucent just gave poor results this earnings season and its stock is back under $1.50 per ADR and is floundering as it tries to find some sense of remaining relevant outside of Europe.

The real issue here is Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) with Cisco.  Many analysts do not compare Oracle and Cisco enough because up until lately Oracle was more of a software play.  With Sun under its belt it has datacenter exposure but even if Oracle was to jettison its physical equipment the comparison is still crucial to understand.  While Cisco is a very different part of the enterprise technology dollars to be spent, weakness in one may mean weakness in another as technology officers can push orders out further on the horizon.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is now more and more of a competitor with Cisco as well, even though the company was trying to get rid of the PC unit.  By competing in the datacenter, the former partners now compete.  H-P is also an off-calendar quarterly reporting company and its shares are back down to almost $23.00 and close to a 52-week low.

There is also the old ties to Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) and Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK), although this is more historic than present day.  Both companies remain highly challenged and we suspect that their futures will both remain challenged regardless of what Cisco says in its conference call.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ: CTSH) recently kept the pace of other IT-outsourcing outfits by warning about a weak IT-spending climate but it was hard to not notice that some of the more fresh weakness was noted as being in North America.  Cisco could easily be in a different bucket here, but we did see this trend as almost unified in the outsourcing segment.

Perhaps the biggest relevance is International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM).  IBM’s services backlog was slightly lower but IBM is still maintaining its long-term goals of $20.00 in earnings per share.  The stock is still within 5% of all-time highs and it has recently juiced up its dividend more than expected.

Cisco is also the last major tech report before Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) updates investors this Thursday.  It has only been about three weeks since Intel’s earnings report and we are only 24 hours or so since the chip and processor giant announced a dividend hike of its own.  Shares of Intel are now off almost $2.00 from the high of $29.27 and the consensus price target is $29.72.

Cisco shares are back under the $19.00 mark after having been at $20.00 as recently as May 1, 2012 and having been at $21.00 as recently as April 3, 2012.  The 52-week trading range is $13.30 to $21.30 and the consensus price target from Thomson Reuters is $22.58.

The Thomson Reuters estimates for Cisco are $0.47 EPS and $11.57 billion in revenue.  Cisco usually offers guidance in the conference call rather than in the press release and those estimates are $0.49 EPS and $11.99 billion in sales for the quarter ahead.  Keep in mind that Cisco trades at a mere 10.2-times its expected earnings for the fiscal year-end of July 2012.

As far as Cisco on the stock charts, this has been very weak and the 50-day moving average was up above at $19.00 and the 200-day moving average was lower around $18.13.  Both of those figures are likely to be a couple of cents different on Wednesday ahead of earnings.

A more detailed preview will appear Wednesday morning ahead of the formal Cisco earnings report showing expectations for cash, margins, options trading, stock charts, and a final revised set of earnings estimates.

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JON C. OGG

The top earnings we are looking at are as follows: Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN); Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA); Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX); The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS); Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M); Priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ: PCLN); and Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN).

We have taken estimates and price targets from Thomson Reuters consensus estimates and have added in color on each.

The shape of the biotech sector is likely to hinge based on the earnings of Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN).  VIVUS Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) also reports on Monday but Dendreon has many things that biotech investors want: a product on the market, a controversial story, a stock way off its post-approval highs, a history of soft sales with the promise of better times ahead, and a rather large short interest.  This is a sales story rather than an earnings story: Thomson Reuters expects sales of $81.2 million for the last quarter, $90.1 million for the quarter ahead (the quarter we are in now, and $378.3 million in 2012.  These sales are all from Provenge for late-stage prostate cancer.  This is the one that will set the tone for biotech during the week and this stock is back down closer to $11 after having popped to $15 from $8 earlier this year.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) is no longer the leading game company for investors, but it is one of the largest game makers in the world.  Its earnings are also ahead of the larger video game giant Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) which reports later in the week.  This is also considered one of the throw-away quarters of the video game sector.  Thomson Reuters expects E.A. to report $0.17 EPS on $959.56 million in sales, with next quarter expected to be -$0.32 EPS on $580.9 million in sales.  This will mark the year-end report and the growth in the year ahead is expected to go to $1.13 EPS from $0.84 EPS expected and sales are expected to grow to $4.5 billion from $4.17 billion expected.

NYSE Euronext, Inc. (NYSE: NYX) is on Monday and the following earnings reports are due on Tuesday: Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI); Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM); Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM); Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK); Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI); Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO).

Wednesday’s top earnings reports on deck are as follows:  American Water Works Co. (NYSE: AWK); Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY); Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA); First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR); Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN); Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG); MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA); Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC); Visa Inc. (NYSE: V); and Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM).

We will provide previews for the larger report due on Thursday as the reports get closer.  As a reminder, some of the dates and estimates may change and some of them may have already changed.  Consensus estimates are from Thomson Reuters and we have provided color on each if applicable.

NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) reports on Monday.  The consensus estimates are $0.48 EPS and $611.1 million in revenues.  Shares are around $27.00, and the consensus analyst price target is $32.30.  Now that the German merger (the German takeover of America’s top exchange) is off the table, investors are focusing on the values here.

TUESDAY, May 1

Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) is due Tuesday morning and its shares have been battered along with the entire coal sector.  Estimates are $0.16 EPS and $1.12 billion in revenues.  Shares are around $9.50, and the consensus analyst price target is $32.30.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) is due Tuesday morning and estimates are $0.59 EPS and $21.4 billion in revenues.  Shares are around $31.00, and the consensus analyst price target is almost $34.00.

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) reports after the close on Tuesday and it has been riding the Apple wave.  The consensus estimates are $0.55 EPS and $1.8 billion in revenues.  Shares are around $36.30 and the consensus analyst price target is $42.40.

We are monitoring earnings reports from the following companies for Monday and Tuesday: ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP); Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN); Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX); Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN); Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN); Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL); AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T); Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU); Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH); Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR); 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM); Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF); United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X); and United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX).

More earnings report previews will come on Sunday or Monday for the reports due on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Consensus estimates and price targets are from Thomson Reuters.  Color has been on added on each if applicable.

MONDAY, April 23

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is set to report Monday morning and the break-up is going to make any real apples to apples comparison difficult to interpret.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $2.07 EPS.  Shares are trading around $73.15 and the 52-week range is $58.65 to $81.50; Thomson Reuters had a consensus target as of Friday of $81.05.

Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) is no market mover with a $5.4 billion market cap, but it is a recent merger candidate even if that appears to be off the table.  Earnings estimates are $0.32 EPS and $263.6 million. Shares are trading around $44.00 and the 52-week range is $25.57 to $79.40; Thomson Reuters had a consensus target as of Friday of $52.71.

The top ten earnings reports we are focusing on for the rest of this week are as follows: Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC); International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM); Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ); The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO); Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC); Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT); Verizon Communications, Inc. (NYSE: VZ); American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP); General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE); and McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD).

24/7 Wall St. has also highlighted four hot IPOs to watch late this week and we also highlighted the strongest stock charts in the S&P 500 Index.  We have also given a scoring card for how earnings season is looking so far.

Tuesday, April 17

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) reports on Tuesday after the close.  The processor and chip giant just put in yet another multi-year high on Monday at $28.55 and it should be worth noting that Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target of only $28.38 currently.  The company will likely have to do better than just meeting earnings estimates and guiding within the range of estimates.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.50 EPS and $12.84 billion in revenue.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) is around $204.00 and is under a new CEO.  We always watch the billions of backlog and its longer-term guidance.  The current consensus is $208.10 and that pales in comparison to the recent $230 price target from one analyst.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $2.65 EPS and $24.77 billion in revenue.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) remains with a fairly negative bias based upon product recalls on a never-ending basis.  J&J’s price of about $64.00 compares to a year high of $68.05 and a Thomson Reuters consensus target of $71.88.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $1.35 EPS and $16.26 billion in revenue.

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is trading around $72.75 and is within about 2% of a year-high of $74.39.  It remains a key defensive stock holding today and Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target of $76.54 on the name.  Thomson Reuters consensus estimates are $0.88 EPS and $10.83 billion in sales.

Thursday, April 19

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) is the fourth of the money-center banks to report and investors need to be reminded that shares doubled from trough to peak from December to March during the bank rally.  Investors are not chasing book value here.  The stock trades around $8.85 and Thomson Reuters has a consensus target of about $9.90. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.12 EPS and $22.51 billion in revenue.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is still within about 5% of a multi-year high ahead of the upcoming Windows O/S release.  Shares are just under $31.00, its year-high is $32.95, and Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target of almost $34.00 per share.  The consensus target from Thomson Reuters is $0.57 EPS on $17.16 billion in sales.

Verizon Communications, Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is likely not a market-mover any longer because it has a low volatility.  What it does have is a monster dividend yield of about 5.4%.  Its  $37.30 price compares to a 52-week high of $40.48 and to a consensus price target of $39.55.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.57 EPS and $28.2 billion in revenue. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.57 EPS and $28.2 billion in revenue.  This will possibly be considered as the first look to see what Apple’s iPhone and iPad sales have been.

Friday, April 20

American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) reports on Friday morning and every dividend investor is going to need to pay close attention here to see how it affects the entire utility sector.  At $37.50, the 52-week range is $33.09 to $41.98 and Thomson Reuters has a consensus target of $41.72.  The consensus targets are $0.80 EPS and $3.73 billion.  What matters here is that many plant closures for power generation are in the process of being closed due to them being coal-fired and it could skew guidance.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is still under $19.00 versus a year high of $21.00; the consensus target is still up just above $22.25.  After raising its dividend twice and after saying its financial outfit is doing better and better, investors are going to be paying close attention here to the biggest conglomerate. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.33 EPS and $34.66 billion in revenue.

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) has lost its luster after being the best performing DJIA stock, it has a new CEO taking over, and it has already lowered the bar for what had been extensive and successive same-store sales growth.  At $96.50, the 52-week high is $102.22 and the consensus price target is almost $107.00.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $1.23 EPS and $6.54 billion in revenue.

Be advised that the dates may change and the earnings estimates usually change marginally each day or each week as analysts adjust their targets before earnings reports.  If you wish to sign up for our free daily email, sign up in the green box below.  We send daily notices on feature stories, analyst upgrades and downgrades, market rumors, hot IPOs and secondary offerings and more.

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JON C. OGG