Hot Stocks to Watch for March 16: MEMS, JVA, LPH, SCHL, FRO, INVN

Today was definitely lucky number 7 for the markets. The Dow closed in positive territory for the seventh straight session. Most of this was due to a litany of economic data points – all of them positive. Jobless claims led off, dropping to a 4-year low. Manufacturing indexes also rose to multi-month highs.

In addition to the data points, analysts point to the Fed as the reason why the markets continue on their bullish tear. Investors think that the Fed will be there at the first sign of trouble, so the risk-on attitude is permeating the markets. The lack of the EU imploding has also boosted sentiment.

The flip-side to the bullish trend is that some fear we are getting ahead of ourselves. We are not so far away from the heyday prior to the 2008 crisis. The labor market is weak at best and the housing market defines anemic. 80% or mortgage applications are for refinancing. Sure, that’s great the current homeowners can save money on the attractive rates. The construction firms? Not so much.

Gas prices also remain an outlier that can come in and spoil the party. The tensions in the Middle East will probably be heightened once the third carrier battle group arrives on station in the gulf sometime in the next week. Obviously they are not there for a pleasure cruise.

Memsic, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEMS) closed the day up more than 30% at $4.95. MEMS shares have jumped more than $1.50 over the past week. Volume was extremely high for Memsic today with over 1.4 million shares. The company has a market cap of 118.72 million.

Coffee Holding Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:JVA) finished Thursday up 14.77% at $13.68. JVA has been trending higher for the past week now after posting good fourth quarter results. JVA slid the past two days after running quickly from $8 to $14. Coffee Holding then fell from $14 to $12 before jumping back up today. The company has a market cap of 87.17 million.

Longwei Petroleum Investment Holding (AMEX:LPH) closed today up 13.38% at $1.61. LPH traded nearly 1.6 million shares today, well above its daily average of 252 thousand shares. Longwei Petroleum announced shareholder communication initiatives today including a planned reconciliation of its tax filings. The company has a market cap of 163.23 million.

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) ended Thursday up about 13% at $36.36. SCHL traded heavy volume today as it released quarterly results. Increased sales of ‘The Hunger Games’ helped the company beat Wall Street estimates. The company posted a third quarter loss from continuing operations of $0.09, crushing Wall Street estimates of a $0.70 per share loss. The company has a market cap of 1.13 billion.

Frontline Ltd. (NYSE:FRO) finished up 12.57% today at $6.18. FRO traded over 5 million shares today, three time its average volume. Frontline stock is up more than $1 a share over the past week. The company has a market cap of 481.16 million.

InvenSense, Inc. (NYSE:INVN) closed Thursday up 8.80% at $20.89. INVN traded 2.9 million shares today, nearly 3 times its average volume. INVN has jumped more than $3 a share over the past few days. The company has a market cap of 1.67 billion.