Apple Inc. (AAPL), RF Micro Devices, Inc. (RFMD): Three Predictions for Next Week

I went out on a limb last week, and now it’s time to see how that decision played out.

• I predicted that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) would close higher on the week. The company behind the da Vinci surgical robotics system took a hit a week earlier after revealing that sales were soft in its latest quarter. I figured the bad news was already out of the way heading into Thursday’s report. Unfortunately, the report was an even bigger disappointment. The stock fell 8% on the week. I was wrong.
• I predicted that the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) would outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average 2 Minute (INDEXDJX:.DJI). This has been a tricky call lately, so how did it play out this time? Well, this was a close race until tech stocks fell on Friday. The Nasdaq moved 0.3% lower, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 2 Minute (INDEXDJX:.DJI) managed to close 0.5% higher. I was wrong.
• My final call was for CSX Corporation (NYSE:CSX) to beat Wall Street’s income estimates in its latest quarter. The railroad giant has been posting blowout quarterly results over the past year, and I was banking on seeing the trend continue. Analysts were looking for a profit of $0.47 a share during the quarter, and it came through with net income of $0.52. I was right.

One 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. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will close higher on the week

It’s time for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to shine. The consumer-tech giant has been a disappointing investment since the iPhone 5 came out, and it probably doesn’t help matters that many of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) ‘s tech peers posted uninspiring quarterly results this past week.

However, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been beaten down too far. Everybody knows that margins are being squeezed at this stage in the product cycle of the tech bellwether’s main products. There’s so much pessimism baked into the numbers that the market should give a positive interpretation to even a ho-hum report on Tuesday.

My first call is for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to close higher 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.