A few minutes after it reported, there seemed to be sellers everywhere. They say they "saw through the numbers" and recognized that there was a "slowdown." It didn't matter that the quarter was a nice improvement over the last one; this was regarded as another form of disappointment.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the $70s. The sellers--I mean the real sellers--didn't materialize. Then buyers came in, recognizing that the quarter was for real.
Yesterday, four firms reiterated their "buy" ratings on the stock, which has kept it from falling back down despite myriad attempts to deck it.We saw this action recently with a bunch of firms. Remember when FedEx reported its weak quarter? It forced the hand of only one analyst who downgraded it. The rest defended. The defense worked.
American Express reported a weak quarter recently and not a soul blinked. The stock went right back up.
In fact, the only stock I know that has not been able to get a defense is Intel, which yields almost 4 percent.
It's tough for the shorts to get traction when the analysts just stand there and rebut the critics. But that's been what's happening during this rather positive and benign period.
Disclosures: Cramer's charitable trust has no positions in the stocks mentioned.
