The Fool's Look Ahead

Monday
The new trading week -- heck, the new trading month, for that matter -- kicks off by donning kid gloves, as LeapFrog (NYSE: LF) reports earnings. The company that revolutionized electronic edutainment for toddlers with its Leapster learning games has been taught a few hard lessons by Mr. Market in recent years. It hasn't turned a profit since the 2005 holiday season. Losses will continue, though analysts expect the quarterly deficit to narrow in Monday's report.

Tuesday
The country's No. 2 tax-preparation specialist checks in on Tuesday. Analysts project that Jackson Hewitt's (NYSE: JTX) fiscal second-quarter profits will climb 12% to $0.96 a share. A little detail on the upcoming tax filing deadline, as well as the future of controversial tax refund anticipation loans, is probably in order.

Wednesday
Expect Mindray over matter on Wednesday, as Rule Breakers stock pick Mindray Medical (NYSE: MR) checks in. The fast-growing Chinese maker of medical devices finds Wall Street looking for a 67% spike in earnings. It may sound ambitious, but Mindray has beaten analyst profit targets in the three previous quarters.

If you still have time to shop, you can go thrifty on Wednesday, with both Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) and Costco (Nasdaq: COST) reporting.

Thursday
Let's make it a Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) night on Thursday. The video-rental giant should let investors know how its turnaround strategy is coming along. After losing 500,000 net Total Access subscribers during the previous quarter, shareholders will also want to see whether the company's online strategy is working, or at least more cost-effective.

Friday
It's time to wrap up the trading week with Ciena (Nasdaq: CIEN) on the clock. Wall Street thinks the tech bellwether will be good enough to see profits nearly double to $0.40 a share. Like Mindray, it's an aggressive target, but Ciena has also trounced forecasts for three straight quarters.

Until next week, I remain,
Rick Munarriz