A Trio of Earnings Plays

It's another busy week of earnings, and there's no shortage of setups for investors to consider. Biogen (BIIB) is due to report Tuesday before the open. The headline flow has been positive in recent weeks, and the chart looks solid ahead of earnings. In particular, expectations are high for Biogen's experimental multiple sclerosis (MS) pill BG-12. Late-stage trial data has been terrific, and the company plans to see approval for the proposed drug in the first half of this year. If approved, analysts say the drug could contribute as much as $1.5 billion in revenue in 2105. As for the upcoming numbers, fourth-quarter profit is seen rising 5% to $1.49 per share, with sales expected up 6% to $1.3 billion. Biogen's current MS treatments -- Tysabri and Avonex -- account for much of the company's revenue. In the third quarter, global sales of Tysabri rose 28% from a year earlier to $393 million. Sales of Avonex, meanwhile, rose 6% to $682 million. Chart-wise, Biogen is acting as if it wants to go higher. The stock has been under accumulation for several weeks, and it's working on a bullish base-on-base, which forms when a second base forms above a prior one. The stock recently cleared a resistance level at $117.55, the level in play now looks to be its 52-week high of $120.66. Biogen is a buy if it clears that area in heavy volume in the coming days. Shares closed Friday at $118.56, up 0.6%. Biogen (BIIB) -- Weekly Source: StockCharts.com View Chart » Meanwhile, NuSkin Enterprises (NUS) continues to trade well ahead of its earnings report, which is set for Thursday. The stock has been basing and consolidating gains constructively since November, and its recent high of $51.67 is clearly in play. NuSkin, with market capitalization of $3.2 billion, has been a model of consistency in terms of annual and quarterly growth. Annual return on equity is also solid at 32%, and there are plenty of strong-performing growth fund managers who currently own the stock. NuSkin is a network marketer of personal care products and nutritional supplements under the NuSkin and Pharmanex brands. It operates in 52 markets worldwide, and it has more than 825,000 independent distributors. It recent broke ground on a $50 million research-and-development lab in China in order to capitalize on growth opportunities in the region. Fourth-quarter profit is expected to rise 24% to $0.72 a share. Sales are seen climbing 20% to $480.8 million. NuSkin also looks solid ahead of earnings, although it could use more accumulation. Several price gains recently have come in light volume. That's not a deal-breaker by any means, but it's always good to see signs of accumulation as a stock preps for an upside breakout. Shares closed Friday at $50.84, up 2.3%, and not far from the 52-week high of $51.67. NuSkin Enterprises (NUS) -- Weekly Source: StockCharts.com View Chart » Finally, Trimble Navigation (TRMB) looks interesting ahead of earnings, scheduled for Thursday. The company makes advanced positioning equipment like GPS receivers, laser rangefinders and inertial navigation systems. Its products are mostly found in the fields of surveying, construction, agriculture, scientific instrumentation and mobile and fleet management. Trimble has a market cap of $5.7 billion and also has also shown nice earnings and sales growth in recent quarters. The consensus estimate is for quarterly profit of $0.48 a share, up 4% from a year earlier, and for sales to gain 30% to $419.1 million. In similar fashion to Biogen, Trimble is flashing nice signs of accumulation. Last week, the stock rose 4.6% and cleared a key resistance level at $45, with weekly volume totaling 3.5 million shares. The stock normally trades about 2.9 million shares per week. Shares closed Friday at $46.47, up 2%. Trimble Navigation (TRMB) -- Weekly Source: StockCharts.com View Chart »

A Trio of Earnings Plays

These stocks are all looking interesting ahead of their reports this week.

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