Best Stocks to Buy Now: A Money Morning Weekly Round-Up

Money Morning's best stocks to buy last week hinged on several key third-quarter earnings reports that had a big impact on markets.

Lifted by a barrage of encouraging data, the Dow and S&P 500 Index logged their third consecutive week of gains. The Dow jumped 1.11%, the S&P climbed 0.88%, and the Nasdaq added 0.74% for the week. All key sectors of the S&P ended in positive territory, boosted by telecoms and utilities.

Yet markets remain temperamental, influenced by earnings and driven by drama on Capitol Hill. And despite all the stock frenzy, consumer sentiment slid to 73.2 in October – its lowest read since December 2012.

Investors must tread carefully and be selective as money managers cash in year-to-date winners.

Money Morning provides readers with carefully selected moves to make when markets are volatile – and in any market conditions. Here's a recap of our best stocks to buy now and investing tips from last week:

• Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald joined FOX Business News to tell investors what to look for in the week's market-moving earnings reports, from tech to tacos. As Fitz-Gerald explained, investors can learn a lot from companies' earnings if they know what to watch for. He tackled the tech market by discussing Google Inc.'s (Nasdaq: GOOG) gigantic gains. He also weighed in on the debate of whether the Internet search leader's shares are akin to the dot-com bubble era or if they have more upside. From fast food giant McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) to video-streaming behemoth Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), get Fitz-Gerald's insight here.

• Speaking of tech, Money Morning Defense & Tech Specialist Michael A. Robinson is bullish on Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL). Robinson owns more than a dozen Apple products himself, and he's also enthusiastic about Apple stock. Robinson closely follows Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook's strategy and says the Apple leader is focused on improving shareholder value, achieving high profit margins, and rewarding shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks. Robinson lists three catalysts demonstrating Apple's potential, and he believes the Apple stock price will double from here.

• This year's stock market has been anything but boring. A number of companies like Tesla Motors Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) and Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) have seen shares more than double and presently trade at sky-high multiples of earnings and cash flow. While these companies have been lucrative for active traders, they're risky for conservative investors who prefer the buy-and-hold approach. Select stodgy equities, dubbed "boring" stocks, offer significant advantage to investors who hold shares long enough for them to grow into their businesses. Sometimes boring is better, so check out these boring stocks to buy now.