The coming week is a shortened one but not without a slew of news. Investors will hear a number of economic reports including consumer confidence, gross domestic product and durable goods. Also, a number of companies are slated to report quarterly results including TiVo Inc. (TIVO), Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST), and HJ Heinz Co. (HNZ).
Novell Inc. (NOVL) is slated report its fiscal second-quarter results after the bell Thursday, and analysts expect the company to post earnings of $0.06 per share, even with the same time last year, on revenue of $218 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
Investors trading into earnings should know that this stock is a strong performer between the sessions, demonstrating a consistent tendency to follow through with more aggressive, same-direction next-day movement following its evening earnings events. It’s posted more robust next day trade following 15 of the last 20 after-hours earnings events we’ve tracked. In the near-term, the stock is maintaining its follow-on trend, adding to its after-hours performance in next-day trade in three of the past four quarters.
Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) is due with its first-quarter results after the bell Thursday and is expected to report earnings of $0.04 per share, down from $0.24 a year ago, on revenue of $510.6 million.
Marvell has a tendency to see its after-hours performance narrow or reverse course in next day trade, with only a few exceptions. In the near-term, the stock’s performance is shifting, the stock has widened in three of four quarters with the most recent quarter being the exception. On March 3, the stock rallied 8.9% in after-hours trading after the company reported results that topped the Street. The stock trimmed the gain slightly the following regular session, ending up 7.2%.
A number of big-name tech and retail companies are set to report earnings results this week including The Home Depot Inc. (HD), Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ), and Target Corp. (TGT). Investors will also be paying close attention to housing starts, which will be released on Tuesday.
Last week, investors got a peak at how well retailers are faring after companies from Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) to Wet Seal Inc. (WTSLA) reported their sales results for April. For the most part, April retail sales were better-than-expected, showing signs that their declines are slowing. Next week, earnings from Wal-Mart, Macy’s Inc (M), Kohl’s Corp. (KSS) and Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) will give investors a better idea of their outlooks for the near future.
Stocks will kick off their first full week of May with earnings from Walt Disney (DIS), Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Lincoln National (LNC), among many other. Investors will also hear the latest reading on unemployment on Friday. 
Stocks ended their sixth straight week with gains, but a number of financial companies, including Bank of America (BAC) and U.S. Bancorp (USB) still have yet to report results. Aside from banks, technology companies will also dominate earnings this week as investors hear from IBM (IBM), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD).
Stocks have been on a role since the beginning of March, with the major averages touching their highest levels since at least mid-February. With first-quarter earnings set to start in the coming week and the unemployment report out of the way, investors will want to see if the rally can continue.
