Top Stocks To Watch in the Week Ahead (BAC, BIG, CVX, CBLI, FSIN, HPQ, EWJ, KV-A, LWSN, LEA, EGPT, SNDK, CIGX, TAYD, TRAD, YHOO)

This next week is going to be a very light one for earnings but will be a very active week for other news.  The Japanese quake aftermath and many other more company-specific events are either coming up or surfaced going into the weekend that will still deserve attention from traders and investors.  We are tracking events and reactions in the following issues: Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC); Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG); Chevron Corporation (NASDAQ: CVX); Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLI); Fushi Copperweld, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSIN); Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ); iShares MSCI Japan Index (NYSE: EWJ); KV Pharmaceutical Co. (NYSE: KV-A); Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA); SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK); Star Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ: CIGX); Taylor Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: TAYD); TradeStation Group Inc. (NASDAQ: TRAD); and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO).

On each we have summarized what you will want to watch for, what move came into the event or what move is expected if applicable.  None of these key events are earnings based, but we did prepare a separate earnings calendar with the few top earnings we are monitoring for this week ahead.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) was given a boost this weekend by Barron’s after the financial publication said that shares could rise 40% from a $14.38 close on Friday.  That would take shares to roughly $20.13.  For whatever it is worth, its 52-week range is $10.91 to $19.86 and the consensus one-year price target from Thomson Reuters is $18.39.

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) is one of the discount retailers in the trade-down economy retailers and the company is up for sale.  While volume was not astronomical, there was elevated trading in the April11 $45 CALLS on Friday and shares were up 2.6% at $43.05 on Friday.  Another issue worth noting was over 2,800 of the July11 $50 CALLS with an open interest of only 237 contracts before.  “Unusual options trading on Fridays” leads to the rumor mill picking back up.

Chevron Corporation (NASDAQ: CVX) hosts an analyst call on Monday.  At $99.93, its 52-week trading range is $66.83 to $104.99.

Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLI) is another Japan-related play to watch as the nuclear reactor continues to be under watch for fallout in Japan.  Its shares rose 3.6% Friday on triple-volume as the company makes anti-radiation pills and its CLBL502 is under an FDA Fast-Track designation.

Fushi Copperweld, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSIN) won the Mr. Dumas Accounting Award as the company delayed its 10-K filing to review non-cash accounting issues.  Shares fell 10% to $8.435 in the after-hours on Friday and its 52-week range is $6.70 to $12.94. Keep in mind that the company’s co-CEO made an offer to take it private at $11.50 per share before this move.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is set to hold its first investor meeting on Monday with new CEO Leo Apotheker.

iShares MSCI Japan Index (NYSE: EWJ) is the most liquid of the dozen or so funds, ETFs and ADRs we covered as the go-to Japan names.  Unfortunately, the 1.6% drop it saw on Friday does not appear to be enough as the earthquake that battered Japan on Friday came too late in the day for the local Japanese stock market to price in the sudden economic damage that the country will feel.

KV Pharmaceutical Co. (NYSE: KV-A) is going to likely see an increase in the skeptic and harsh coverage for the days and weeks ahead.  The company is under fire for hiking its prices 100-fold (yes, one-hundred) for its premature birth drug. Full details at Biohealthinvestor.com.

Lawson Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: LWSN) did end up receiving that buyout offer that holders were hoping for.  The problem is that it is for $11.25 from Infor and Golden Gate Capital versus an $11.55 close on Friday and against a 52-week range of $6.20 to $11.95.  Shares had been around $10.00 earlier in teh week and they jumped to over $11.00 after reports of a possible sale.

Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA) is now over $100.00 per share and next Thursday will mark the ex-date for its pending 2-for-1 stock split.  At $102.12, the 52-week range is $58.00 to $114.06.

Market Vectors Egypt Index ETF (NYSE: EGPT) remains a muted ETF that is really just a closed-end fund at this point.  The Egyptian Stock Exchange has been closed for weeks and no one knows where the real market value is at the moment.  We have indications that the market “could” reopen this week, but frankly we have grown tired of North African and Middle East “could” scenarios by now as the region’s turmoil continues.

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) recovered handily Friday as its joint-venture semiconductor manufacturing plants in Japan were very far away from the quake’s epicenter.  We noted this one Friday as being far enough away when we covered the dozen or so liquid Japanese funds, ETFs, and ADRs.

Star Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ: CIGX) rose in the after-hours on Friday after already having risen 24% to $2.95 in much higher volume on Friday on the heels of news that the U.S.P.T.O. confirmed its patents after a request from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco.  With a 52-week range of $1.07 to $3.69, this will be one to watch.

Taylor Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: TAYD) was up over 15% Friday at $5.63 after it is viewed as the quake and tsunami monitoring device company.  Keep in mind that its shares have a mere $18 million market cap.

TradeStation Group Inc. (NASDAQ: TRAD) was voted as the #1 pick by Barron’s this weekend in its annual ranking of online brokerage trading platform for traders.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) was shown by Barron’s this weekend as one more outlet covering the notion that Yahoo! Japan can be monetized after Carol Bartz signaled this before.  The question to ask now is if the earthquake will have harmed the valuation of Yahoo! Japan or not.

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JON C. OGG