Top Performing Stocks for the Week Ended Jan 30

The five best performing stocks on the Zacks #1 Rank List last week were: LaBranche & Co. Inc. (LAB - Snapshot Report), Open Text Corporation (OTEX - Snapshot Report), Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc. (MFLX - Snapshot Report), Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD - Analyst Report) and Novo Nordisk A S (NVO - Snapshot Report).

LaBranche & Co. Inc. (LAB - Snapshot Report) has experienced a 50% rise in earnings estimates for this year over the past month. The company was featured as an Aggressive Growth Stock of the Day at Zacks.com on Jan 28. LAB was a top-performing Zacks #1 Rank company for the week ended Jan 30 as shares advanced 13.2%.

The company recently announced fourth-quarter net income per share of 41 cents on a pro forma basis, compared to 4 cents in the year-ago period. Furthermore, the result beat the consensus estimate by more than 140%.

Open Text Corporation (OTEX - Snapshot Report) is a Focus List stock that reported a solid fiscal second-quarter performance last week, which included a year-over-year gain in total revenue of 14% to $207.7 million. Earnings per share also advanced from the previous year, while also eclipsing the consensus by approximately 10.7%. The company has an excellent record of surpassing Wall Street's quarterly profit expectations, amassing an average surprise of more than 9.7% over the past 4 quarters.

OTEX made the Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers List for last week as shares gained almost 10%. In reaction to the quarterly performance, analysts have boosted earnings estimates for the fiscal year ending June 2009 by 7% over the past 7 days. Expectations have increased by 15% over the past 3 months. OTEX is the world's largest independent provider of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software.

Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc. (MFLX - Snapshot Report) is scheduled to report its fiscal first-quarter results on Feb 5, and earnings estimates have moved higher in anticipation. In January, the circuit board maker raised its guidance for the soon-to-be-announced quarter, sending earnings estimates for the year ending September 2009 up by approximately 31% over the past 30 days. Expectations for the year ending September 2010 advanced in the past month as well. It also announced a share repurchase program. For its fiscal fourth quarter, the company reported earnings per share that surpassed analyst expectations by almost 79% while easily topping the year-ago result.

Shares of MFLX moved higher by 6.4% last week, which was enough to place it on the Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers List. This Focus List stock was the Momentum Stock of the Day at Zacks.com on Jan 30, and is also featured in this week's Earnings Preview as a company that could issue a positive earnings surprise.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD - Analyst Report) reported solid fourth-quarter numbers last week, helping shares to gain 5.2%. That gain made this biotech company a top-performing Zacks #1 Rank company for the week ended Jan 30. Earnings estimates for this year are up 3.4% in 2 months, including a gain of 2% in the past 7 days. Furthermore, analysts currently expect profit for next year to advance from this year by as much as 14%.

GILD's HIV treatments were the big drivers for its strong fourth-quarter performance. Earnings per share of 60 cents beat the consensus by more than 9% while also eclipsing the year-ago performance of 41 cents. Total revenues advanced 30% to $1.43 billion from $1.09 billion. Some of the highlights in the quarter included sales increases of 25% for Truvada and 79% for Atripla.

Novo Nordisk A S (NVO - Snapshot Report) announced solid results for its fourth quarter recently, which has helped earnings estimates move higher of late. Expectations for this year are up 4.2% over the past 2 months, including a gain of 2 cents in the past 7 days. For next year, estimates are up 2.6% and 1.1%, respectively, in those timeframes. Analysts currently expect next year's profit to advance almost 17% from this year. The company made the Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers List for last week with a gain of 5.1%.

Earnings per share for its fourth quarter more than doubled from the previous year, due to strong sales for its insulin products. The company still expects double-digit growth in both sales and operating profit for 2009, and is increasing its long-term financial targets. Based in Denmark, NVO is a healthcare company and a world leader in diabetes care. It also manufactures and markets a variety of other pharmaceutical products.