One of those earnings reports that everyone will be watching.. yes, that’s right, it’s time again for Apple (AAPL) to report.  Last quarter, "selling on the news" led to the first correction in many months despite a strong report.  Since the stock has been carving out a base for the past couple months, the odds of a spike up in the stock come Thursday morning are much better than the last go around.  Consensus estimates call for a .31/share, but the whisper number comes in at .36 which would represent a 400% increase over the year ago quarter and continue the streak of accelerating earnings growth to 4 quarters.   Most likely, Apple would have to miss badly for the stock to break below that 200 day moving average.  If I’m in the stock I’m holding, but wouldn’t be a buyer here.  I like to wait until after earnings to evaluate a position for purchase.  Apple will report after the bell.

___________________

Another earnings report worth mentioning comes in before the bell from AAR Corp (AIR).  AAR Corp is an independent provider of products and services to the worldwide aviation/aerospace industry.  The stock has had a great run, rising around 50% in the last 4 months alone.. and for good reason.  Quarter over quarter sales growth has been accelerating in the last 3 quarters with growth of 9%, 12% and 24% respectively.  Earnings growth has been equally impressive in the same time frame with quarter over quarter growth of 999%, 999% and 114%.  Despite the recent run, the stock has yet to clear a 5 year high – the stock has been rebounding after the company lost money in ’02 and ’03.

Taking a look at a 3 year chart and you can see the recent move is the right side of a long base.