Benzinga's Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Beyond Meat, Netflix, Johnson & Johnson And More

• Benzinga has examined the prospects for many investor favorite stocks over the past week.
• Bullish calls included a second-tier telecom and a fast-casual restaurant leader.
• Bearish calls included beleaguered health care giant and an international bank.

The third-quarter earnings reporting season got off to strong start last week, offering analysts and investors some tiny respite from the ongoing trade war, Brexit and other geopolitical dramas. Yet, the major U.S. indexes gave up early marginal gains and ended essentially flat in a week that also saw the potential end to the autoworkers strike and the passing of a noted chief executive and a respected congressman.

As usual, Benzinga continues to examine the prospects for many of the stocks most popular with investors. Here are just a few of this past week's most bullish and bearish posts that may be worth another look.

Bulls

In "Mark Cuban Still Long Netflix After Q3 Earnings," Elizabeth Balboa looks at why this billionaire investor is sticking with Netflix Inc NFLX after earnings when some others turned more bearish.

Dave Royse's "Bernstein Positive On Telecoms: A Stock-By-Stock Breakdown" shares why one key analyst particularly liked T-Mobile US Inc TMUS as it initiated coverage of the telecom, cable and satellite segment.

"Bank Of America Upgrades Chipotle On Stronger Comps, Margin Outlook" by Priya Nigam shows why Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG may be poised to beat near-term consensus expectations.

See what gave AstraZeneca plc AZN shares a boost last week, according to Shanthi Rexaline's "AstraZeneca Shares Trade Higher After FDA Grants Breast Cancer Drug Priority Review."

For additional bullish calls, also have a look at 3 Growth Stocks To Consider Investing In Now and Analyst: Nvidia Earnings Will Triple In The Next 5 Years.

Bears

Some were betting that the post-opioid-settlement boost in Johnson & Johnson JNJ shares would not last. So says "Large Option Traders Aren't Buying The Johnson & Johnson Rally" by Wayne Duggan.

"Wells Fargo Is Cautious On Beyond Meat's Stock As Competition Rises" by Elizabeth Balboa examines why this top analyst is skeptical despite the growth in retail sales and consumer channels at Beyond Meat Inc BYND.

Renato Capelj's "Analysis: Santander Share Buybacks Come Alongside Rising Auto Loan Delinquencies" takes a look why Banco Santander SA SAN might not be as attractive versus peers as it first appears.

In Brett Hershman's "Cowen: Bang's Popularity Continues To Weigh On Monster Energy's Market Share," find out how much the viral popularity of a competitor is pressing Monster Beverage Corp MNST.

Be sure to check out Sales, Cycle And Strike Expected To Impact Big 3 Auto Earnings and Infosys Continues To Face Margin Pressure, BMO Says for additional bearish calls.

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