This week the analysts at Jefferies are focusing their top growth stock picks on some very large and liquid stocks, and two of them are technology leaders that posted outstanding second-quarter earnings.
The top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday morning include Gilead Sciences, Sprint, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Texas Instruments, Walt Disney and Nordstrom.
While it might seem unlikely that any immediate change from this news, a new group head for the Starbucks flagship stores in the Americas could end up bringing changes.
Jon C. Ogg Overall, analysts remained positive after Starbucks reported its fiscal third-quarter financial results, although it was not necessarily reflected in the initial investor reaction.
Chris Lange The top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Friday morning include AMD, Alibaba, Boeing, Pandora, Starbucks, Twitter and AT&T.
Record numbers are one thing, but Starbucks has been a great performer and the investing community usually demands more from Howard Schultz and his thousands of barristas.
Jon C. Ogg The drivers for Starbucks lie outside of the United States, but efforts with tea and wine may rekindle new upside in America as well.
Chris Lange According to Enough Is Enough, an internet safety group, McDonald's has set up systems to keep Wi-Fi systems at its stores from accessing pornography but Starbucks has not.
Despite the Starbucks attempt to burnish its image as something very different from a fast-food company, its products are often compared, even by consumer research firms, to those of McDonald's and Dunkin'…
Presumably free public internet access is just that. Sign into Wi-Fi, surf as you would like. Just not at McDonald's.
Schultz's most recent proclamation is about the wage increases he will give Starbucks employees, but the announcement was short on details.
Douglas A. McIntyre McDonald's held its traditional place in the fast-food category of the American Customer Satisfaction Index. It is also the largest company in the category in sales.
The Starbucks loyalty program is, by any measure, a huge success, and the company's latest high-tech innovation, a Starbucks for Outlook add-in, could be the next big thing.
MCX last week announced that it is suspending its beta-testing of the CurrentC mobile app in Columbus, Ohio, on June 28 and postponing further releases of the product.
The insiders are back and they are buying and selling. Until the period for second-quarter earnings rolls around in July, the windows for insiders will be wide open.
