Steven Mallas
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Earlier in the week, I exhibited a bearish tone on Ross Stores (ROST). I haven't had a change of heart necessarily, but I do have to concede that the company's latest earnings report, issued yesterday morning, was a good one.

According to Reuters, Q4 net profit increased 18% to $1.37 per share. While this number merely met Wall Street's projection, I enjoyed the growth rate. Furthermore, same-store sales experienced a healthy 4% expansion.

Nike, Inc. (NKE) is doing horribly this afternoon. As I write this, a quote of $77.51 is on my screen. That represents a drop of over 9% for the shares. Volume is huge. Hopefully many of you out there didn't do an earnings trade on this one.

How bad were the fiscal Q3 numbers? According to MarketWatch, net income of $1.08 per share was four pennies below the overall call by Wall Street. In addition, the potential for a weakening gross margin is said to have played a part in the sell-off.

3M Company (MMM) is in the news today because of an investor meeting. Here's one bullet point from TheFly. The gathering brought my mind back to the stock. How is it looking these days?

Well, it's pulled back from the 52-week high. At the time of this writing, shares were fetching a price of $88.68. The top point for the year is currently set at $94.16; the low point is $67.98, so thankfully we're nowhere near that depressing level. (Could the bearishness become so bad that we eventually get close to that price? Don't even think it!).

FedEx (FDX) released an earnings report earlier today; for a summary of the results, see this item.

With one hour to go before the end of Thursday's session, the stock is up 4% to $88.68. Volume of shares is heavy and convincing. I should therefore jump on the bandwagon and buy, correct? Go with the flow? I don't think so. Yes, it's a pretty good move. But I might be more comfortable buying if the stock were closer to its 52-week high of $98.52. Such strength would give me pause for consideration.

Apple, Inc. (AAPL) was down at the time of this writing. The shares were off by 3.7% to $332.77. Volume was heavy.

The 52-week low for the stock is $199.25; the 52-week high is $364.90. The one-year chart still looks pretty good, but obviously anything can happen at this point. There's no real way to predict how deep the overall sell-off will get.

The title of Walt Disney's (DIS) latest film release is Mars Needs Moms. I don't know whether the Martian planet needs moms or not, but the Mouse certainly could have used a few more of them to bring their kids to theaters this past weekend.

Box Office Mojo says that the motion-capture-fueled Moms made $6.9 million at domestic screens during its debut outing. That's $6.9 million over three days. But wait, there's more: that's $6.9 million over three days for a movie produced by Robert Zemeckis. What the heck happened?

So the video-game data report for February is out. According to InvestorPlace's survey of NPD figures, consoles systems saw a 10% increase in sales. Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox 360 was particularly robust. The Nintendo (NTDOY) Wii didn't do badly, either.

As you might imagine, there were other companies mentioned in the article. Electronic Arts (ERTS) scored pretty well, as did Activision Blizzard (ATVI). In fact, the latter's latest Call of Duty entry is apparently still selling a bunch of copies in retail shelves even though the holiday season is long gone.

National Semiconductor (NSM) issued its fiscal third-quarter numbers Thursday after the bell. The stock was behaving in a highly unexciting way in reaction to the data at the time I was writing this. At an extended-hours quote of $14.10, it was off by a mere 0.4%.

It was a different story heading into the report, however; the shares lost 2.1% of their value, closing at $14.16. Volume was strong. I should also note that in the early stages of the extended-hours session, the stock was more active, as indicated by this item over at Barron's.

I was checking out an article over at GuruFocus on companies that have recently raised their dividend payments to shareholders. The Gap, Inc. (GPS) was on the list. I decided to take a brief look at the stock's current status.

At the time of this writing, shares of the retailer were off fractionally, priced at a quote of $21.44. The 52-week low for the shares is $16.62 while the 52-week high is $26.34. Don't you hate that? The stock is basically stuck in the middle of the range. So which way is it going to go?

Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) has been a good holding for those who believed in the company at the 52-week low. Kudos to you if you bought in at $22.50, you certainly have my respect.

The 52-week high for the stock is currently set at $34.79. At the time of this writing, shares were exchanging hands for $34.34. Is now the time to sell? Or should investors bravely hold on for a further ride higher?

Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) issued its fourth-quarter report today. The company was rocking this afternoon: with a little more than two hours to go before the close of the session, the stock was up 6% to $39.93. Earlier during the intraday session, a new 52-week high of $40.26 was achieved. It's good to get over that psychological round-number level, right?

The volume of shares traded so far is already in the spectacular range. The 52-week low for the stock is $24.02, so the current price is more than a comfortable distance away from that point. The one-year chart is attractive even if it doesn't plot a straight-up line.

Target (TGT) has not been a good stock at all since the turn of the year. Take a look at the twelve-month chart. Find where the shares were on Jan. 3. Got it? Now, do you see what happened since then? I don't think you can miss such a big drop.

The 52-week low for the retailer is $48.23; the 52-week high is $60.97. The equity finished down 0.7% to $51.30 on Monday. Volume, thankfully, was below average. That lack of conviction could be a saving grace.

You didn't want to be a short-term shareholder in Urban Outfitters (URBN) during Monday's after-hours session. At the time I was writing this, I saw a quote of $34.10. That's a 10% drop. And that isn't good.

A fourth-quarter earnings report caused the volatility. According to TheFly, net income came in seven pennies less than expected. Also, gross margin experienced a decline.

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) is down 1.2% to $159.86 as I write this during the afternoon session. Volume is below average, however. More perspective: the 52-week low is $116 and the 52-week high is $166.25. Here's the one-year chart.

A few days ago, IBM received a positive initiation from CLSA, according to our Analyst Calls piece. The stock was given an outperform rating. Indeed, this company has been impressive as of late. I enjoyed the fourth-quarter results myself.