Apple stock outperformed its fellow FAANG stocks
While a
bear-market risk remains on the radar, it was another week for the record books on Wall Street. The Dow made its inaugural trek across the
22,000 threshold, marking its fourth crossing of a 1,000-point level since the U.S. presidential election. What's more, the blue-chip index notched eight all-time highs in a row -- a
rare Dow signal that could suggest the low-volatility uptrend continues. And while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (COMP) failed to carve out new highs, they held near the
all-time peaks hit just last week.
Boeing, Apple Stocks Boost Dow
The Dow's impressive outperformance got off to an early start, after
Boeing stock hit a record high on a bullish brokerage note. A positive earnings reaction for
Apple stock -- a move nailed by
options traders -- only added fuel to the proverbial fire, with shares of the iPhone parent soaring to new highs on Wednesday. While Boeing and Apple easily maintain their titles as best Dow stocks of the 2017,
Pfizer is near the bottom of the pack, though the drug stock continues to hold above key technical support.
FANG Stocks Sell-Off
Though Apple had a record-setting week, its fellow FAANG stocks weren't so lucky.
Amazon, for instance, extended last week's slide, and is pacing toward its lowest close since early July. Shares of Netflix and Google parent Alphabet are also staring at significant week-to-date losses, while a rare
Facebook downgrade sent the shares retreating from record highs.
Ford Gets Downgraded, While Trump Weighs on BABA Stock
Detroit darling
Ford Motor was also in analysts' bearish crosshairs this week, getting hit with a downgrade following disappointing sales data at home and abroad. Elsewhere, disappointing outlooks garnered negative analyst notes for music streaming service
Pandora, healthcare name
Community Health, and restaurant chain
Cheesecake Factory -- the latter of which panned annual-low waters.
There were plenty of bullish brokerage notes doled out, though. Chinese e-tailer Alibaba earned praise from analysts before selling off on
Trump administration trade talk. Several notable
airline stocks were upgraded at J.P. Morgan Securities, while talk of a potential partnership with Boeing could have analysts raising their ratings on
Spirit AeroSystems.
A Prime Time to Trade Straddles
Drilling down on other stocks that saw
volatile trading after earnings: flooring name Lumber Liquidators gapped nearly 36% higher, while online retail firm Shopify shares surged into record-high territory. And while internet mail stock Stamps.com crushed
short sellers after its quarterly report, drugmaker GenMark Diagnostics gave
bearish traders exactly what they were hoping for.
Such volatile moves from stocks during
earnings season make now a prime time to
trade straddles -- especially with the CBOE Volatility Index (
VIX) hovering near record lows. And while Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White compiled a list of the
best stocks for straddle players over the past two years, financial names JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are currently two
stocks with cheap options.