3 Predictions for the New Week

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

• I predicted that hhgregg (HGGGQ) would move higher on the week. The consumer electronics superstore retailer was reporting quarterly results on Tuesday, and despite coming up short in back-to-back quarters the stock seemed cheap after taking a 40% hit this year. That's how it played out. The stock moved 8% higher on the week. I was right.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.69%) has been clobbering the Nasdaq Composite lately, but I still think the tech-centric Nasdaq is the place to be. My second prediction was for the Nasdaq to beat the Dow on the week. It happened. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.3% on the week. The Dow moved 0.7% higher. I was right.
• My final call was for PetSmart (PETM) to beat Wall Street's income estimates in its latest quarter. The country's largest specialty retailer of pet products and services had beaten analyst targets consistently over the past four quarters, and I was banking on a repeat performance. We saw it close out the quarter with a profit of $1.04 a share. Analysts had been projecting net income of $1.01 a share. The stock took a hit on PetSmart's weak guidance, but it was a beat on the bottom line. I was right.

Three out of three? I call that a pretty good week!

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. JinkoSolar will move higher on the week
The holiday-shortened trading week kicks off with JinkoSolar (JKS 4.86%) reporting quarterly results on Tuesday morning. It has blown analyst profit targets away with ease over the past year. The market hasn't always responded right away. The profitable Shanghai-based solar company saw its stock dip 6% the last time that it reported financial results, only to soar 17% the very next day.

Beyond Tuesday's report, JinkoSolar shares are a lot lower now than they were at the time of its last report in early March. Solar is a volatile sector, naturally. However, between the oversold state of the shares, JinkoSolar's recent consistent profitability, and its streak of bottom-line beats there are more potential catalyst to push the stock higher than lower. 

My first call is for the stock to move higher for the week. 

2. Nasdaq will beat the Dow this week
I've routinely picked the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite to beat the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and it was a bad bet through most of March and April, but it's been rolling in recent weeks. I'm going to stick with it again for a repeat performance. My second call is for the Nasdaq Composite to beat the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the week.

3. Micheal Kors will beat Wall Street's earnings estimates
Some stocks are just flat-out better than others.

Michael Kors (CPRI -3.82%) is a fast-growing seller of luxury handbags and accessories. It offers its stylish purses through a growing network of namesake stores and other distribution outlets. At a time when its closet rival has been stagnant, Michael Kors has been gobbling up market share.

Another thing it does is make analysts look like perpetual underachievers. If analysts say the company rang up a profit of $0.68 a share in its latest quarter, I'll argue that it held up better than that. History's on my side!

One of my best tricks to beating the market is finding stocks that perpetually land ahead of the prognosticators. Let's go over the past year of earnings reports.

Source: Thomson Reuters.

Things can change, of course. The weakness at its once dominant rival could eventually signal a negative trend for the entire high-end handbag market. Michael Kors can also be replaced as the hot brand.

That's all stuff to keep in mind down the road, but not now. Everything seems to be falling into place for another market-thumping quarter on the bottom line.