I went out on a limb last week, and now it’s time to see how that decision played out.
I predicted that Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) would close lower on the week. The leading music streaming service had been hitting new highs ahead of a report that had to be spectacular to justify the recent gains. It wasn’t. The stock was moving higher ahead of Thursday afternoon’s report but gave it all back and then some, after the poorly received report. Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) shares plunged 13% on Friday, taking it 7% lower for the entire week. I was right.
I predicted that the tech-heavy Nasdaq would outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.
My final call was for Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) to beat Wall Street’s income estimates in its latest quarter. The PC market has been horrendous lately, but Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ)’s business services and other tech specialties have bailed it out in the past. It had also been posting blowout quarterly results over the past year. I was banking on seeing the trend continue. Analysts were looking for a profit of $0.87 a share during the quarter, and it came through with net income of $0.86. The stock fell on the report. I was wrong.
Two out of three? I can do better than that.
Let me once again whip out my trusty, dusty, and occasionally accurate crystal ball to make three calls that may play out over the next few trading days.
1. Microsoft will close lower on the week
Steve Ballmer’s pending departure at Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) intrigued and delighted the market on Friday. The stock soared 7% in anticipation of a brighter future at the software giant.
Really?
I think reality will kick in during the week ahead. There’s no CEO out there who can restore things to the way they were before Android and, to a lesser extent, iOS made Windows less relevant. The game has changed permanently.
The type of buzz we saw on Friday is usually accompanied by CEO changes at companies that are buyout bait, and that’s certainly not the case here. A stock pop of this sort likewise happens at companies where a new CEO can institute an easy fix, and that’s certainly not happening here, as Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) embarks on the long transformation into a devices and services company that may never be as lucrative as it was when the world has no choice but to embrace Windows as its premium operating system of choice.
My first call is for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to close lower on the week.
2.The Nasdaq Composite will beat the Dow this week
Tech has been a big winner in recent years, so betting on tech over stodgy blue chips has been a good bet for me more often than not.
