Each week Forcerank runs a variety of games covering different industries. What we have found, is that the top three ranked companies in their respective games deliver the biggest positive price movement for that week. This week the winners feature popular names like Netflix and Google.
Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) | Ecommerce: After an outstanding earnings report last Monday, Netflix (NFLX) replaces Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) as the highest ranked stock in this week’s e-commerce contest. The surprise report including a user base that added 370K memberships in the U.S. and 3.2 million internationally, handily beating the 2.3 million analysts had predicted.
A majority of these gains can be attributed to the recent glut of original content including Stranger Things and the newest season of House of Cards. Its newest series, Luke Cage, was in such high demand at the time of its release that it crashed Netflix’s servers. In 2017 the company intends to release over 1,000 hours of original programming, up from 600 hours this year. That has required the streaming platform to up its latest debt offering to $1 billion to meet those lofty goals.
Shares skyrocketed 33% in the past 30 days most of which has come following its earnings report.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) | Large Enterprise Software: Microsoft (MSFT), like Netflix, is seeing a boost in its rankings following its earnings report last week. The company recorded a 5 cent beat on the bottom line and nearly $600 million on the top. A majority of these gains came from its cloud computing and productivity segments. MS Azure is now firmly the second best cloud computing platform only behind Amazon Web Services.
Personal Computing only declined 2% despite most of which came from waning phone and gaming demand. A shocking 38% increase in tablet sales during the first quarter have Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) investors questioning what the company can do to jumpstart iPad sales. The report also caused a huge breakout in its technicals which could be the start of a lengthy run. A new peak in the on balance volume, bullish crossover in the MACD and 20 day moving average all indicate positive upside.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) | Financials: The financial sector may finally be returning to profitability after every major bank reported better than expected earnings. Investors were most surprised by the wide margin that Goldman Sachs (GS) topped analysts’ estimates. Reported revenue of $8.17B was nearly $500 million above the Estimize consensus while earnings of $4.88 topped by over a dollar.
The report also led to a strong surge in the stock and the top position in the investment banking game. Technical breakouts at the beginning of the month supported this movement even prior to its earnings report. A bullish crossover in the MACD and steadily improving OBV have led to 9% gains since the start of October. The situation is only about to get better as the energy market finds its legs and a rate hike is all but certain in December.
Domino’s Pizza Group Plc (NYSE:DPZ) | Restaurants: A common theme you might have noticed is that all the companies mentioned so far have reported better than expected earnings reports. Domino’s (DPZ) isn’t any different after it topped analysts estimates last week. The pizza chain continues to see improving traction as it incorporates its legacy brand with new technologies. Domestic same store sales for the quarter rose 13%, marking the 22nd consecutive quarter of positive growth in the U.S.
The company continues to execute efficiently and capture any lost sales from Pizza Hut’s ongoing struggles. As the pizza chain makes further efforts to expand growth, the stock will likely follow in the same direction. Forcerank user’s positioned Domino’s in the third spot of the restaurant game this week, just behind Buffalo Wild Wings and Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX), but at its current pace it won’t be long before it warrants the top spot.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) | Social Media: Google (GOOGL) has been trending higher since the debut of the Google Home and Pixel Smartphone at an event earlier this month. Both the stock and its Forcerank position have shot up over this time in anticipation of these two devices. Shares are up about 3% since then and continue to make new highs. As for its ranking, Google surpassed Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) as the number 1 social media stock and maintains that position for a third consecutive week.
Google Home and Pixel are a slap in the face to Amazon and Apple which both offer comparable products. This week’s earnings report will likely shed some light on projected sales of these two. It will more importantly let investors know whether its moonshot investments have remained unprofitable. If Google can’t correct it then don’t expect to see it ranked so highly in future weeks.