Benzinga's Bulls And Bears For The Past Week: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly In Retail

• Benzinga has featured a look at many investor favorite stocks over the past week.
• Earnings reports from big retailers brought plenty of attention on retail stocks.
• The industry's woes continue, but it wasn't all bad news this week.

The markets remain close to all-time highs and feel pricey to many analysts and investors. Also, that part of the earnings season when the big retailers start to take their turns in the spotlight has finally arrived. So far, many of the reported results have once again affirmed the ongoing woes in the sector.

Among investor favorites featured by Benzinga during the past week, the retail industry was well represented. There was plenty of disappointing news to go around, but it was not all bad.

The Good

"Amazon's Not Slowing Down On Investment Spending, And Investors Like It" by Shanthi Rexaline takes a look at what one analyst had to say about the pace of investment spending by online retail behemoth Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, as well as the faith that investors have in the company.

In "A Resurgence In Luxury Drives Goldman To Upgrade Tiffany," Wayne Duggan examines why an upswing in luxury spending led Goldman Sachs to upgrade Tiffany & Co. TIF to a Buy. See how company management has an opportunity to give the company's cash flow a shot in the arm.

The Bad

Shanthi Rexaline's "Nordstrom's Stock Sell-Off 'Overblown,' But Company Has To Get Tough On Cost Controls" discusses why the drop in share price in the wake of a bottom-line beat may have been overblown. While an analyst was encouraged by the company's cost control in the first quarter, more needs to be done to get Nordstrom, Inc. JWN back on track.

Disappointing first-quarter results prompted J C Penney Company Inc JCP shares to fall below $5 for the first time since 2014, according to " Why JC Penney's Fall Under $5/Share Might Be Worse Than Last Time" by Wayne Duggan. But should investors trust that the struggling retailer will bounce back like it did in 2014?

The Ugly

In Jayson Derrick's "Sears CEO Eddie Lampert Says Using The Word Bankruptcy Is 'Very Unfair For Us,'" see why the Sears Holdings Corp SHLD CEO objected to the use of the word at the company's annual general meeting last week. A new SEC rule did require the retailer to disclose its "ability to continue as a going concern."

"Why Would Anyone Buy Abercrombie?" by Brett Hershman focuses on the Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF search for rescue via a buyout. One analyst wondered what potential suitors such as American Eagle Outfitters AEO see in the company, given the history of failed mergers in specialty retail.