Hopes are high for health care companies reporting this week. The forecast is for higher profits from AmeriSourceBergen Corp. (NYSE: ABC), Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), Chemed Corp. (NYSE: CHE), CR Bard Inc. (NYSE: BCR), Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY), Genzyme Corp. (NASDAQ: GENZ), IMS Health Inc. (NYSE: RX), Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX), St. Jude Medical Inc. (NYSE: STJ), and WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP). Analysts expect Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD), maker of the anti-HIV drug Truvada, to report first-quarter earnings of $0.59 per share, which is 13.6% higher than a year ago. Its estimated revenue of $1.3 billion is 21.9% higher. Gilead beat earnings expectations in the past five quarters. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 17.6% and the forward PE ratio estimate is 18.0. In the previous quarter, Gilead reported having more cash on hand than debt. The First Call consensus recommendation is to buy GILD. The share price has fallen 12.6% since the beginning of the year to $44.69.

Bucking the trend, however, are Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) and Schering-Plough Corp. (NYSE: SGP), which are expected to report that earnings declined in the past quarter.

We've seen rising optimism about financial companies in the past week, along with a healthy dose of skepticism. Analysts are certainly optimistic about Republic Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCAA), the largest bank holding company in Kentucky. Its first-quarter earnings are estimated to be 28.4% higher than a year ago, or $1.34 per share. Revenue for the quarter is expected to have grown 55.7% to $122.1 million. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 10.0% and the trailing PE ratio is 13.5. Republic pays a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share. Analysts on average consider RBCAA a strong buy; Bank Director magazine called Republic one of the top ten banks in the nation. While shares fell to a 52-week low of $14.37 in March, they are up nearly 10% in the past month.

Most of the financials reporting this week are expected to post earnings that are lower year over year, including American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP), Ameriprise Financial Inc. (NYSE: AMP), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK), Janus Capital Group Inc. (NYSE: JNS), M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB), Northern Trust Corp. (NASDAQ: NTRS), PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC), State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT), TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: AMTD), T. Rowe Price Inc. (NASDAQ: TROW), and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB). Those expected to report a loss include Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF), CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT), Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB), Marshall & Ilsley Corp. (NYSE: MI), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF), SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI), and Zions Bancorp (NASDAQ: ZION).

The tech sector is another of concern, and analysts have high expectations for Axsys Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AXYS). First-quarter earnings for the optical systems maker are forecast to be 25.0% higher, or $0.60 per share. Revenue is expected to total $65.0 million, which is 15.2% higher than a year ago. Axsys topped earnings expectations in four to the past five quarters. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 20.0% and the forward PE ratio estimate is 15.0. Axsys, which was debt free when it reported results in the previous quarter, may be for sale. The consensus recommendation of analysts is to buy AXYS. The share price fell to a 52-week low of $24.35 in March, and is still 24.9% lower than at the beginning of the year.

Other tech companies expected to post larger quarterly profits include L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LLL), Sybase Inc. (NYSE: SY), and WMS Industries Inc. (NYSE: WMS), while IBM Corp.'s (NYSE: IBM) earnings are expected to be about the same as a year ago. Anticipated earnings decliners include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM), Juniper Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR), Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM). Those expected to report a loss for the past quarter include Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD), Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS), SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK), and Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN).

Pennsylvania-based CONSOL Energy Inc.'s (NYSE: CNX) first-quarter profit is expected to have risen 56.4% from a year ago to $0.94 per share. The revenue estimate for the coal producer of $1.2 billion is 19.9% higher. CONSOL beat earnings expectations by 54.5% in the fourth quarter. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 29.0% but the forward PE ratio estimate is only 6.4. CONSOL pays a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share. Analysts, on average, recommend buying CNX. At $26.50, the share price is well off its 52-week high of $119.10.

Other energy-related companies expected to report higher quarterly earnings this week include Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO), Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC), and NorthWestern Corp. (NYSE: NWE), while ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL), Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY), and Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) are expected to post declines in quarterly earnings. And analysts expect Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) to report that it swung to a loss in its first quarter.

And the final sector we'll look at here is travel/transportation. Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Co. (NASDAQ: ALGT) is expected to report first-quarter earnings of $1.26 per share, which is 62.7% higher than a year ago. However, revenue is expected to have only risen 4.7% to $139.4 million. Allegiant beat earnings expectations in four of the past five quarters. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 20.0% and the forward PE ratio estimate is 12.0. The consensus recommendation of eight analysts is to buy ALGT. The share price surged to a 52-week high of $55.72 Friday.

Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) will report a higher first-quarter profit and that JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) will have swung to a small profit in the first quarter. Anticipated earnings decliners include Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (NYSE: BNI), Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC), and Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP), while Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) and US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC) are expected to post quarterly losses.

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