Stocks were hurling toward a big losing week on Friday as investors weighed a warning from FedEx as well as a hot inflation reading. Still, some parts of the market outperformed. The S & P 500 is 5.3% lower this week, on pace for its fourth losing week in five. Every sector in the broader market index was in the red this week, with real estate, information technology and materials all losing more than 6%. Among the relative outperformers within the index were energy and health care, as each sector was down roughly 2%. Here are the best-performing stocks this week. APA Corp . was the top S & P 500 stock this week after advancing 6.1% as of 9:40 a.m, ET. On Monday, the energy stock was upgraded to buy from neutral by Citi, which said APA is an “under-appreciated growth story.” FactSet data shows analysts expect the stock to rise more than 35% from here. However, there isn’t a consensus in favor of buying the stock, with only 45% of analysts rating it a buy. Cruise stocks Royal Caribbean Group , Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings , and Carnival Corporation also outperformed, climbing 4.7%, 3% and 1.3%, respectively. They are all expected to go up double digits from here, but only about four in 10 analysts rate them as buys. More defensive stocks such as Bristol-Myers Squibb and AbbVie took their place on the list. Bristol-Myers Squibb rose 2.2% this week, and is expected to jump 13.1% from here. AbbVie gained 1.4%, and could see 11% upside to its price target. Humana is also among this week’s best performers. The stock got a boost after the health insurance giant raised its full year earnings guidance. The company expects annual earnings of about $25 per share, above a StreetAccount consensus of $24.83 per share. Other stocks included in this list include Starbucks and Allstate . — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
