There are several key stocks to watch this coming week in The Unusual Suspects.  We are watching for moves and events in the stocks of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Ameristar Casinos Inc. (NASDAQ: ASCA), Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR), Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI), Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA), and Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: WPI).  We have compiled the news or the catalyst for each, as well as offered additional color and an expected move for the week ahead.

We did not cover any earnings previews this week on The Unusual Suspects.  We gave a detailed preview on the major earnings reports on deck this week.  Those include tickers LOW, HD, WMT, TGT, SHLD, DLTR, HPQ, and DELL.  We also tracked much of the usual options volume from Friday in individual names in case it was a prelude to something large.  We saw unusual options trading in the tickers NLY, COCO, HPQ, PCS, NTAP, NFLX, PHM, and SUN.  Here are the eight best IPOs of 2010.  Also listed were three of our top defensive stock picks which can still grow if we enter into a new bear market.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) may not get clipped too hard on this because of the cult-like love from the public.  The reports from the weekend show an Apple manager getting a grand jury indictment over kickbacks from suppliers.  Couple this with the labor problems of contract companies and the handling the Steve Jobs health disclosures of 2009 and the recent iPhone issues, its “clean transparency” could become a real issue if any more lapses of judgment come to light.  The problem is that Apple is now 10% off of recent highs, so the bargain hunters may have more of an argument than the naysayers.  Food for thought.

Ameristar Casinos Inc. (NASDAQ: ASCA) confirmed late last week that it is considering strategic alternatives which could include a sale of the company.  TheStreet.com ran a poll showing that Boyd Gaming was the likely buyer, but we’d throw out there that Ameristar’s $1 billion market cal after a 1.76% gain on Friday leaves it in an easy category that would allow private equity or traditional casinos to bid.  At $17.36, the 52-week range is $13.44 to $20.69.

Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) was listed in Barron’s as a stock which could rise from $44 to $60 over the next year and perhaps to $80 by 2013. In a market neutral scenario this could be up 3% on Monday morning.

Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) was given the cover story for this weekend in Barron’s called “Totally In Control.” Mike Santoli said it is greening investors’ wallets and  is a promising play on an auto revival and a cleaner world.  With this being the cover story, in a market neutral scenario it could be up 2% to 3%.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was listed as the #1 pole position chart in IBD this weekend. A 12% gain this last week despite a drop of -0.6% Friday to $132.26 was hard to ignore when you consider how poor the markets were last week.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA) is getting close to a 52-week low as the market pulls back.  We covered this one twice on Friday and have more in-depth analysis coming this week.  This alone may not be a catalyst and admittedly weak stocks tend to stay weak until a critical point is reached.  For long-term investors, Teva looks like one that should be one of the safer defensive stocks that still offers growth during a bear market.

Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: WPI) is the apparent beneficiary of a new emergency contraceptive approved by the FDA.  HRA Pharma won approval and Watson will manufacture the drug.  With Watson’s market cap only at $5.2 billion, this is potentially going to be close to free new business for Watson.

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JON C. OGG

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