Top 5 stocks of the week and how to trade them

Published Fri, Sep 4 20153:06 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 indexes, we profiled the second best too.) Best in the Dow: Intel (INTC), up 1 percent for the week Source: FactSet Shares of Intel bounced off a 52-week low reached last week as consolidation in the semiconductor space is projected to continue, while PC sales are expected to get a boost from the release of Windows 10. "We will see further consolidation in the industry, there's no question about that," said Wedbush Securities analyst Betsy Van Hees, explaining that mergers may trump fundamentals . The unveiling of Intel's Skylake chip along with Microsoft's new operating system will give the PC market a boost, she forecast. "2016 should be a much better year for the PC market than 2015 and Skylake will be a big driver of that, so Intel definitely is one of our most defensive names in [the chip] universe," Van Hees told CNBC. Wedbush has a "buy" rating on ticker INTC with a price target of $35, implying a 22 percent gain from here. Best in the S & P 500: Cablevision Systems (CVC), up 8 percent for the week Source: FactSet Shares of the cable television distributor spiked higher on the back of speculation that the company may be a takeover target. On Thursday, CNBC "Halftime Report" trader Jon Najarian spotted unusual activity in the options market for the stock, with the purchase of about 15,000 September 27 calls for 85 cents as of midday. The buyer of these options would only make money if shares of Cablevision rallied significantly more than $28 in the next few weeks. Read More "An unlikely winner during correction: Cablevision" So far this year, shares of Cablevision are up 32 percent, placing the stock 15 percent above Wall Street's consensus target price of $23. Of course, if a potential merger materializes, it could move even higher from here. Best in the Nasdaq 100: Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR), up 6 percent this week Source: FactSet Shares of the coffee company recovered from a 52-week low last week as analysts see potential for activist involvement. According to SEC filings, activist firms like Owl Creek Asset Management, Citadel and Gamco Investors are long the name. On the back of a 56 percent drop in the stock this year, analysts such as Pablo Zuanic from Susquehanna hinted at potential for activist investors to step in. The sentiment on the Street, however, remains muted with the majority of analysts rating the stock a "hold." Best in the S & P MidCap 400: SunEdison (SUNE), up 16 percent this week Source: FactSet Shares of the solar panel maker recovered from a 52-week low last week, after hedge fund titan Steven Cohen disclosed a 5.1 percent stake in the company. Cohen's firm, Point72 Asset Management, joined a growing list of hedge funds that are long the name such Greenlight Capital, Third Point, Fir Tree Partners and Altai Capital Management, all of which have stakes of at least 2 percent on SunEdison, according to S & P Capital IQ. The sentiment on the Street is also bullish, with the majority of sell-side analysts rating the stock a "buy." The consensus 12-month price target for ticker SUNE stands at $27, implying a gain of 125 percent from here, based on data from FactSet. Best in the Russell 2000: Trevena (TRVN), up 77 percent this week Source: FactSet Shares of the biotech firm, which has a market cap of about $426 million, soared this week after the company announced positive results from a Phase 2b trial of its postoperative pain medication "TRV130." "We view these data as complementary to the positive Phase II data in bunionectomy and believe these data in aggregate set a clear path towards regulatory approval," wrote Wedbush analyst Heather Behanna in a note to clients Wednesday. After the upbeat data, Behanna also boosted her 12-month price target for the stock to $20, forecasting another 87 percent gain from here. As with most stocks that surge higher on sudden news, traders advise investors to use caution and select better entry points. —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this story.

Jin Lee | Bloomberg | CNBC

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 indexes, we profiled the second best too.)