As the first week of 2023 comes to a close, some stocks are already outperforming. A mixed set of economic data released this week has prompted rocky trading as investors try to predict how the Federal Reserve will move interest rates this year. Friday’s closely-watched December jobs data showed employment growth was hotter than economists forecast, while hourly wage growth was lower than expected. Data earlier in the week on job openings and manufacturing was similarly mixed. That’s created a varied landscape for stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S & P 500 are on pace to add 0.8% and 0.5% this week. On the other hand, the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite is poised to shed 0.4%. Some individual stocks are lapping the Dow and S & P 500’s modest gains. The following chart shows some of the biggest advancers this week in terms of share value, according to FactSet. The data is current through Friday’s market open. Warner Bros. Discovery is the best performer this week, on track to advance 13.9%. The media company came out of the merger WarnerMedia and Discovery last year . Shares slumped about 60% in 2022. About two out of every five analysts rate the stock a buy. After last year drawdown, the average analyst expects WBD shares to rise about 82% in the next 12 months. If the average price target was met, the stock would more than double from where it closed 2022. WBD 1Y mountain Warner Bros Discovery over 1 year Runner-up Western Digital is posting about a 12.6% return. The stock rallied Thursday after Bloomberg reported the digital storage provider restarted merger discussions with competitor Kioxia. Western lost about 52% in 2022 as demand for memory storage technology fell. Like Warner Bros. Discovery, about two out of every five analysts rate WDC a buy, with an average upside of 20.4%. Wynn Resorts also gained big this week, rising 11.5% so far. Just about every other analyst rates the stock a buy, and the average analyst expects a 4.3% upside for the stock. Wynn lost about 3% in 2022, outperforming the S & P 500 as travel demand increased. Investors have grown optimistic over how a more robust rollback of Covid restrictions in China could help Wynn and other travel stocks with exposure to China. China announced it would scrap quarantine requirements for inbound travelers starting this month. Wells Fargo named Wynn a top tactical idea earlier this week, noting China’s move toward reopening as a catalyst. Further down the list, Lamb Weston added 10%. The french-fry maker posted better-than-expected earnings per share and revenue in the second quarter on Thursday. Lamb Weston also lifted its full-year guidance for earnings per share, revenue and EBITDA, which investors cheered given broader concerns that earnings will slide if the economy slows further in 2022. More than three out of every five analysts rate Lamb Weston a buy with an average price target reflecting upside of about 6%. The stock jumped 40% last year, avoiding the 2022 market downturn, reversing course after sliding during the first two years of the pandemic. General Electric is closely behind, with a 9.9% gain. On Wednesday, the company completed its spinoff of GE Healthcare, which now trades on Nasdaq under the ticker GEHC. More than 50% of analysts rate GE a buy, but the average price target shows it losing about 1% in the next 12 months. That would mark another year of losses, as General Electric fell more than 11% in 2022.
