Thursday's Best and Worst Stocks: SBUX, NVDA, RIG, and JOY

Tomorrow is Thursday, which means it's the best day of the week to own stocks, according to data compiled by Schaeffer's contributor Adam Warner. What about individual equities? We had our Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White push the envelope, and break down the best -- and worst -- performers per day. While Wednesday's results are ringing true, tomorrow's watch list includes coffee concern Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), semiconductor specialist NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), oil-and-gas issue Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG), and mining equipment maker Joy Global Inc. (NYSE:JOY).

SBUX has put in a strong performance on the charts in 2015, up 40% at $57.35. In fact, since tumbling to a low of $42.05 on Aug. 24, the shares have rallied more than 36%. What's more, the equity has posted a positive Thursday return almost 76% of the time this year, averaging a gain of 0.6%.

Nevertheless, the stock's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 0.84 ranks in the 85th annual percentile, meaning puts have been bought to open over calls at a faster-than-usual clip. While some of these puts may be protective in nature, an unwinding of the traditional bearish bets could help propel Starbucks Corporation higher.

NVDA, meanwhile, is boasting a 14.4% year-to-date lead to trade at $22.93. More recently, the equity has enjoyed a lift from its 50-day moving average -- a trendline that worked against the shares in late June. Today, the stock is up 0.2%, and could see some additional gains tomorrow, if history is any guide. Specifically, NVDA has averaged a Thursday return of 0.9% this year, and has been positive 73% of the time.

What's more, the shares could see an additional boost, should analysts capitulate to its upward momentum. Twelve out of the 20 brokerage firms covering the stock maintain a "hold" or worse recommendation, while the average 12-month price target of $23.85 is within a chip-shot of current trading levels. In other words, the door is wide open for another round of upgrades and/or price-target hikes.

At the other end of the spectrum, RIG has shed an average of 0.2% on Thursdays throughout 2015, and has been positive less than 38% of the time. However, this negative price action is just more of the same for a stock that's surrendered one-quarter of its value year-to-date. In fact, RIG is off 5.2% today at $13.74.

In the options pits, call buyers have been active, per the stock's 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 0.64 -- in the 79th annual percentile. With nearly 34% of Transocean LTD's float sold short, though, some of this call buying may be a result of shorts hedging against any unexpected upside.

Lastly, JOY is down 4.2% today at $15.98 -- and fresh off a six-year low of $15.87 -- following a raft of disappointing manufacturing data from around the globe. Longer term, the shares have given back roughly 66% in 2015, and tomorrow's action may be no different. Specifically, the stock has lost an average of 0.8% on Thursdays this year, and has been positive just 38% of the time.

Against this backdrop, sentiment is skewed toward the skeptical side. For starters, nearly 21% of the stock's float is sold short, representing 6.3 times Joy Global Inc.'s average daily trading volume. Plus, no fewer than 12 out of 16 analysts maintain a "hold" or "strong sell" suggestion toward the security.