D.R. Horton, Inc. (DHI), Lennar Corporation (LEN): Why Stocks Are Shooting Higher

On the Dow, meanwhile, shares of Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) are leading the blue-chip index higher this afternoon, up by 2.5% at the time of writing. The struggling personal-computer maker has been on a run since the beginning of the year, up by nearly 60%. This makes it the best-performing Dow component of 2013 by a long shot. Whether or not this streak can continue will be based in part on the leadership of relatively new CEO Meg Whitman, who formerly ran the show at eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY).

Heading lower, alternatively, are shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), down by 0.3%. It’s nearly impossible to determine what’s behind this move, as there were no obvious catalysts in the news today. One potential explanation is that investors are simply taking gains. As my colleague Brian Orelli discussed earlier, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock has been on a tear of late, prompting the likes of Warren Buffett to take gains by paring his holdings.

The article Why Stocks Are Shooting Higher originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by John Maxfield.

John Maxfield has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool owns shares of Johnson & Johnson.

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