Why 3M Co (MMM), Coach Inc (COH) and Rambus Inc. (RMBS) are 3 of Today’s Best Stocks

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U.S. markets soared today, despite ongoing weakness in China and the first meeting of the Fed in the new year. Overnight, China’s Shanghai index dropped 6%, likely reacting to oil’s large decline on Monday and the accompanying slide in U.S. indices.

Why 3M Co (MMM), Coach Inc (COH) and Rambus Inc. (RMBS) are 3 of Today's Best StocksBut traders here did not seem too concerned about that, nor about the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting which begins today. While most investors are not expecting the Fed to raise interest rates again, the language used in statements after the meeting could determine whether markets will rise or fall over the latter part of this week.

Also helping the indices was the 5.8% rise in the S&P/Case-Shiller 20 City Price Composite for the month of November. This was better than the 5.6% increase that economists were anticipating, and also superior to the October reading of 5.5%. Real estate continues as a seller’s market with just a 4.8 month supply of pre-existing homes, according to David Blitzer of S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up a solid 1.8%, while the S&P 500 was up 1.4% and the Nasdaq was 1.1% higher. All sectors were up for the day, and in sharp contrast to yesterday, energy and materials stocks were the strongest of all. Crude oil was lifted 3% on talk that OPEC countries may be closer to cutting supply than previously.

It was earnings which really drove the markets higher today. Traders were looking ahead to the earnings report of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), after the closing bell today. Several stocks, such as 3M Co (NYSE:MMM), Coach Inc (NYSE:COH) and Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS) reported strong earnings today, and are three of today’s best stocks.

3M Co (MMM)

3M stock flew 5% higher today after reporting adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of $1.80 per share, easily ahead of Zacks consensus estimates for $1.62 a share.

Revenue was also better than anticipated, coming in with $7,298 million, well ahead of the estimates for $7,211 million.

This was welcome news for MMM shareholders, after watching their stock slip from $160 to $140 in recent weeks.

Coach Inc (COH)

COH stock also surged today after announcing second-quarter fiscal 2016 earnings of 68 cents a share, three cents better than estimates by Zacks Consensus. This was the eighth consecutive quarter that COH has made the analysts look silly.

However, the maker of upscale handbags and other apparel missed the analysts’ mark on revenue. Revenue of $1,274 million was well under the estimates for $1,298 million.

Still, Wall Street focused on the fact that revenue increased 4.5% from the year-ago quarter, sending COH up nearly 10% on the day.

Rambus Inc. (RMBS)

RMBS stock was also a 6% winner today after the Sunnyvale, CA technology firm announced fourth-quarter earnings of 18 cents a share on revenue of $76.8 million. Both measures were much better than the street’s estimates for 8 cents a share on revenue of $74 million. Revenue was up 7% on the year, largely due in part to RMBS’ associations with both International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) and Toshiba Corp this past quarter.

Also pushing the stock higher was yesterday’s announcement that Rambus has acquired Smart Card Software Ltd for 64.7 million euros. The company is predicting that earnings will improve from this acquisition within the first year.

RMBS is a company that has struggled in recent years, and RMBS stock has basically traded flat since the spring of 2014.

As of this writing, Ethan Roberts does not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2016/01/3m-co-mmm-coach-inc-coh-rambus-inc-rmbs-3-todays-best-stocks/.

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