Investing.com’s stocks of the week

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks looked set to end the week on a positive note on Friday, with the S&P 500 poised to add to its three-day winning streak as investors assessed earnings from major tech companies and continued trade concerns. 

Here are Investing.com’s stocks of the week.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

While Tesla reported weak quarterly earnings on Tuesday, the company’s shares have risen. At the time of writing on Friday, the stock is up more than 9%. 

Investors were already braced for bad results from the electric vehicle giant. However, there have been some positives for the company this week, with CEO Elon Musk pledging to significantly cut back his role at DOGE, investor enthusiasm for FSD and robotaxis, and reports that President Trump’s NHTSA will ease self-driving regulations.

In its earnings call, Tesla made pledges to launch commercial robotaxi operations soon.  

Analysts at Barclays said the NHTSA’s plans to ease self-driving regulations is positive for Tesla’s Robotaxi venture.

“We see changes as supporting to Tesla robotaxi efforts, as regulatory compliance has been seen as key challenge,” Barclays commented.

Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR)

Palantir is another name that has had a positive week. Investors are seemingly positive on the company as it is reportedly a frontrunner to build a core part of President Donald Trump’s proposed "Golden Dome" missile defense shield.

Meanwhile, in a recent note, UBS reiterated a Neutral rating on the stock, telling investors that “given the tough/deteriorating macro, investors are stress-testing the resiliency of software firms.”

“Palantir seems very resilient, with the one key risk being that the company is exposed to Fed deal delays that our checks argue are happening today,” wrote the bank. “We remain constructive on Palantir’s fundamentals but are Neutral-rated with the stock still +43% YTD.”

3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads.Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)

Despite looking set to end the week higher, Intel stock is down almost 7% on Friday after its latest quarterly results, posted after the close on Thursday, fell short of expectations. The company beat earnings and revenue expectations but missed the analyst consensus for guidance. 

Intel also outlined aggressive cost-cutting and management restructuring plans. 

In response to slowing growth and volatile market conditions, Intel is flattening its leadership structure and cutting costs. “Organizational complexity and bureaucracies have been suffocating the innovation,” said CEO Lip-Bu Tan. “As a first step, I have flattened the structure of my leadership team. All critical product, manufacturing, and G&A functions… now report directly to me.”

Earlier this week, it was reported that Intel will lay off more than 20% of its workforce.

Northrop Grumman 

Finally, Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) plunged more than 12% on Tuesday after its earnings also disappointed. The company missed earnings and revenue expectations as well as the full-year EPS consensus estimate.

Analysts at TD Cowen lowered their price target for the stock to $480 from $540 following the results, stating it is a “tough start to C25.”

“A sales shortfall and B-21 charge drove Q1’s miss. NOC held its C25 guide, which implies a huge H2 sales uptick vs. H1. This limits the potential for upward sales guidance revisions on the Q2/Q3 prints,” wrote the bank.

They added that there is heightened potential that NOC’s guidance midpoint is “adjusted lower on the Q2 print -- extending the overhang that began with Q1’s weak start."

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