Top Stocks

Updated: 5:54 p.m. ET

 

A new treatment for prostate cancer was so effective that its clinical trial was halted early, and shares of the developer rocketed Thursday as a result.

Medivation (MDVN) shares saw their biggest intraday percentage spike since December 2004, Bloomberg reports. The stock soared 140.5% to $39.75. Shares closed Wednesday at $16.53.

 

Surprise? Or no surprise? I am talking about the rate cut Thursday morning in Europe, which signaled to many investors that the new chief central banker, Mario Draghi, is going to try to put out the economic fire while governments deal with the debt issues at hand.

 

I think it's obvious that we rallied Wednesday because some people knew this was going to happen, so the euphoria quickly died down and we are left with, alas, the ISM report on services in this country, which was disappointing; retail, which was really disappointing; and some earnings reports that were exceptional, like Qualcomm's (QCOM).

 

By Tom Aspray, MoneyShow.com

A sharp jump in debit card use helped MasterCard (MA) report a 38% increase in third-quarter earnings Wednesday. The stock closed up 7.3%. Debit card use was up 23%, and company earnings at $5.63 per share were well above the average analyst estimate of $4.81 per share.

MasterCard has outperformed Visa (V) so far this year, but will this continue? Let's take a look at the weekly and daily charts.

 

By Jeff Reeves, InvestorPlace.com

 

The consumer front hasn't seen many encouraging signs in the past year or so. The big issues remain unresolved: Unemployment is persistently high, housing markets remain battered, and there's a general fear of more hard times to come.

 

Most investors have become immune to a lot of these major trends, adjusting their expectations to a "new normal" in which the benchmark is significantly less impressive than in previous years. However, just because you've set the bar lower doesn't mean consumers will easily jump over it. A host of disturbing headlines about consumers have cropped up recently, and they could foretell that a rather bleak holiday shopping season.

 

By Joseph Woelfel, TheStreet 

 

Updated at 8:30 a.m. ET

 

Social network LinkedIn (LNKD) is expected to post its second quarterly earnings report as a public company. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect a loss of 4 cents a share in quarter ended in September on revenue of $127.6 million.

 

American International Group (AIG) is expected by analysts to post a quarterly loss of 27 cents a share on revenue of $13.6 billion. On Tuesday, AIG paid back the Treasury Department $972 million of the billions it received in a rescue package from the U.S. government in 2008.

 

By Jeff Reeves, InvestorPlace.com

Tim Hortons (THI) is an up-and-coming coffee stock focused mainly on the Midwest and Canada. For 15 straight quarters, sales have beaten totals from the previous year. Shares are up almost 20% in 2011 despite the summer volatility in the stock market. Things are looking up.

 

With an eye at continuing this kind of growth, Tim Hortons announced this week it will branch out from traditional coffee and pastries into lattes and mochas to appeal to more American tastes.

 

Look out, Starbucks (SBUX) and Dunkin' Brands (DNKN).

 

By Jonathan Chen, Benzinga Staff Writer

Boston Beer (SAM) hopped past analyst expectations with its quarterly earnings and raised full-year guidance significantly, sending shares soaring Wednesday.

The Boston brewer, which makes more than 25 styles of beer, reported third-quarter profit of $1.19 per share on $134.8 million in revenue.

 

By Jonathan Chen, Benzinga Staff Writer

Fox Sports, a division of News Corp. (NWSA), may be considering a bid for the L.A. Dodgers.

Fox Sports may participate in an auction for the bankrupt team, according to Bloomberg. But CNBC reports that the division has not explored a bid.

 

China is Apple's (AAPL) fastest-growing region by far.

The company clocked record sales of $4.5 billion there, or 16% of the global total, in its most recent quarter. Revenue in China grew to $13 billion in fiscal 2011, up from about $3 billion, or 2% of total sales, in 2009.

 

Two consumer-based Internet IPOs are coming -- and their reception could pave the way for other technology companies watching the market.

Groupon, the one-time Internet darling, is expected to price its initial public offering Thursday and get listed on Nasdaq Friday under the symbol GRPN. 

By Dan Freed, TheStreet

 

Bank of America (BAC) may have backed down from its bid to charge users of its debit cards $5 per month, but if you think that's the end of the bank's attempts to gouge its customers, you are living in a fantasy land.

 

"Eventually they've got to get that money back," Jefferson Harralson, an analyst at Keefe Bruyette & Woods, told the New York Post for an article published Wednesday. "I think you're going to see other types of fees come up."

 

By Stan Luxenberg, TheStreet 

 

During the volatile markets of recent months, many target-date funds delivered disappointing results.

 

When the S&P 500 ($INX) dropped 13.9% in the third quarter, Goldman Sachs Retirement Strategy 2040 (GRNAX) lost 17.7%, while DWS LifeCompass 2040 (TGTAX) declined 17%, according to Morningstar. The showing was especially painful because target-date funds are supposed to protect assets in downturns by holding diversified mixes of stocks and bonds. But not all target-date funds trailed the S&P 500. During the quarter, Invesco Balanced-Risk Retirement 2040 (TNDAX) returned 2.3%, while PIMCO RealRetirement 2040 (POFAX) lost 9.7%.

 

The Automatic Data Processing (ADP) employment survey was stronger than expected in October, showing that private sector employment rose by 110,000 -- above consensus expectations for a 100,000 increase.

In addition, the September numbers were revised up to a gain of 116,000 jobs from the initial report of a 91,000 gain.

 

By Morgan Housel

 

Meet Nancy Stein.

 

Nancy is a retired real-estate agent from Illinois, and she's had it with the stock market. Unnerved by market volatility, she sold almost all of her investments earlier this year. "I felt the people buying were people inside the market. They weren't the investors of the past who wanted to protect what they had or see it grow a little bit," she told The Wall Street Journal, which interviewed her for a story on investors cashing out of stocks. "Across the country, investors are fleeing the stock market for the safety of cash," it wrote.

 

Now meet Fritz Dixon.

 

Updated: 4:55 p.m. ET

 

Shares of Career Education (CECO) got slaughtered Wednesday in response to a perfect storm of bad news, and other for-profit education stocks were pulled down by the drama.

Career Education, which runs Le Cordon Bleu North America cooking schools, saw shares plunge 47.8% to $8.32. Before the steep drop, shares had lost about 23% year to date.