There's never a dull week on Wall Street. Let's go over some of the news that will shape the week to come.
Monday
The first trading day of the week kicks off with Herbalife (HLF 1.65%) reporting quarterly results on Monday afternoon. Is Herbalife a fast-growing company that sells nutritional products through a network of independent distributions? Is Herbalife a pyramid scheme with distributors merely recruiting more distributors?
This has been one of the more heated publicly traded companies over the past year, as Bill Ackman (the bear) and Carl Icahn (the bull) have a lot of money riding on which way Herbalife ultimately turns.
Tuesday
3D Systems (DDD 0.57%) steps up on Tuesday morning with fresh financials. The company went public two years ago, failing to generate a whole lot of excitement in 2011. It was a different story last year, as the stock soared on the prospects for 3-D printing.
This isn't sci-fi stuff. 3D Systems has real products on the market, and they're selling briskly. Analysts see share growth in revenue and earnings come Tuesday.
Wednesday
NVIDIA (NVDA 3.65%) is finally ready to pull up its SHIELD. The video graphics giant is putting out the handheld gaming device that plays PC and Andriod games, complete with a 5-inch touchscreen and an analog controller.
NVIDIA abruptly delayed the release last month, blaming a faulty component provided by a third-party supplier. The company has also slashed the price by $50 to $300.
The device is geared toward diehard gamers, but it remains to be seen whether they're geared up for the device.
Thursday
ZAGG (ZAGG) has been a brutal disappointment for investors who thought they were getting a thinking investor's play on the smartphone and tablet revolutions. The maker of protective screens, keyboard covers, and other mobile-gadget accessories has fallen hard after hosing down its outlook twice over the past three months.
ZAGG reports on Thursday, but it has already let the market know that this is going to be another difficult quarter.
Friday
The market is usually quiet on Fridays, but we're waist-deep in earnings season. One of the companies checking in with its latest quarterly financials is Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR).
Coal has been out of favor lately, and Alpha Natural Resources has shed more than 90% of its value since the start of 2011. The supplier of metallurgical and thermal coal is posting losses these days, but the silver lining is that it has posted much smaller deficits than analysts were expecting in its three previous quarters.
