Top 5 stocks of the week and how to trade them

Published Fri, Apr 10 20152:16 PM EDTUpdated Fri, Apr 10 20154:01 PM EDT

CNBC Pro highlights the top performing stocks this week and analyzes whether the good times will continue. (The price change was calculated as of midday Friday so it is subject to change. If one stock led multiple indices, we profiled the second best, too.) Best in the Dow: General Electric , up 12 percent this week Shares of General Electric rose on Friday to their highest level in more than five years after the company announced a $50 billion stock repurchase program and said it plans to sell most of GE Capital assets in an effort to focus on industrial businesses. On the news, Bernstein analyst Steven Winoker wrote: "We have been expecting GE over time to divest many of its Capital businesses, which has been an important part of our Outperform thesis on the stock. What we did not expect was the speed with which management would move to undertake this transformation. Though there are drawbacks ($16B in charges, repatriation taxes), we view today's announcement as an overwhelming positive for the company." The consensus on the Street is an "overweight" rating on GE, according to FactSet. Best in the S & P 500: Mylan , up 20 percent this week (second best behind Perrigo ) Mylan shares spiked this week after the drugmaker announced a proposal to acquire Perrigo for $29 billion. Some analysts viewed the move as a way for Mylan to fend off speculation of an unwanted takeover bid from Teva Pharmaceuticals or even Pfizer, according to reports. "I love this Mylan deal as much as I have loved Perrigo, one of my favorite stocks," said "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer. "I think both are one-time only and this knock-off drug company [Perrigo] will dovetail perfectly with Mylan's generic business," he added. Read More Wall Street's biggest bull and what he's buying Shares of Mylan closed at a record on Thursday, up 24 percent on the year, compared to a gain of 18 percent for the SPDR S & P Pharmaceutical ETF . One word of caution: Some financial analysts believe the offer of $205 per share may not be enough for the deal to go through and another bidder may come in, or at the very least, Perrigo will demand a larger premium. Best in the Nasdaq-100 Index: Tesla Motors , up 10 percent this week (second best behind Mylan) Tesla's stock spiked this week after news that the automaker delivered 55 percent more cars in the first quarter of 2015 compared with the same period last year. The company also announced it will upgrade its entry-level Model S60 with a newer version that includes more power and an extended driving range. Analysts believe Elon Musk's company could be well positioned to capitalize on the demand for electric cars due to what some call a "pronounced" competitive advantage. "Simply put, we believe TSLA is a supply-constrained story, not one that is demand-constrained," wrote Stiefel's analyst James Albertine, who thinks ticker TSLA could double in price within the next 12 months to $400. The consensus estimate on the Street calls for a more conservative price of $250 or 20 percent higher from here, according to FactSet. Best in the S & P Midcap: Tidewater , up 25 percent this week Shares of the offshore driller rose this week as some investors believe there might be a bottom in oil prices, which are up 21 percent from their low of $42 last month. Tidewater is seeing a major reversal this week, after the stock was cut in half in the past year. That turnaround, led Oppenheimer's Ari Wald, head of technical analysis, to remove ticker TDW from its sell list. Beaten-down names in the energy space such as Tidewater could also become takeover targets. "The collapse in energy prices is going to lead to M & A activity," said Jim Lebenthal during CNBC Pro's live webinar this week. The investor, who is up 10 percent this year in the Halftime Report model portfolio , believes oil could be back at the $65 level in the next six to 12 months. Best in the Russell 2000: Sucampo Pharmaceuticals , up 30 percent this week Guggenheim Securities initiated ticker SCMP with a "buy" rating as the investment firm believes the biopharma company could become a global player in the sector. "We think Sucampo's forward integration from a royalty-driven business model to revenue-generating company will drive upward earnings revisions," wrote Guggenheim's senior analyst Louise Chen, noting Sucampo has a strong pipeline and is well positioned to potentially acquire one of its competitors. The price target of $23 calls for a 15 percent upside within the next 12 months. —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this story

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CNBC Pro highlights the top performing stocks this week and analyzes whether the good times will continue.

(The price change was calculated as of midday Friday so it is subject to change. If one stock led multiple indices, we profiled the second best, too.)