Image source: PixabayWhat has Wall Street been buzzing about this week? Here are the top 5 buy calls and the top 5 sell calls made by Wall Street’s best analysts during the trading week of April 22-26, 2024. First, here is a look at the top 5 buy calls of the week. 1. Tesla Upgraded to Buy at BofA After Q1 “Clears Deck” of Negative Catalysts BofA upgraded Tesla (TSLA) to Buy from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $220 after the company reported what the firm says were better-than-expected Q1 results. This, coupled with management commentary, addressed key concerns and “revitalized the growth narrative,̶...
Image Source: PexelsIs there anything more meta than the thing that’s supposed to drive a company’s future growth being the exact thing that trips it up? Because that’s exactly what we saw during this week’s results from Meta Platforms Inc. (META), notes Tom Bruni, head of market research at The Daily Rip by Stocktwits.The stock fell sharply on Thursday despite beating earnings and revenue for the current quarter. That’s because its guidance came in below expectations, and AI spending forecasts have investors concerned about near-term results.Adjusted earnings per share of $4.71 topped the $4.32 expected, as did revenues o...
Image Source: Pexels Key Takeaways The NFIB Small Business Survey has consistently shown pessimistic expectations for sales, the economy, and earnings, but the U.S. economy has performed well despite this pessimism. Adjusting sales for inflation is considered nonsensical, and mentions of “inflation-adjusted revenues” are unlikely to appear in earnings reports. Small businesses have not fully participated in the post-COVID-19 recovery, and their potential involvement could be a significant economic catalyst. Ignoring data can be useful. Because not all data is, in fact, useful. As the number of datasets has proliferated, so too has th...
Image: BigstockThe world’s largest software maker — Microsoft (MSFT – Free Report) — reported strong third-quarter fiscal 2024 results, beating earnings and revenue estimates. driven by strong demand for cloud and artificial intelligence offerings.Buoyed by robust results, shares of Microsoft’s stock jumped as much as 5% in after-market hours. Investors could tap the opportunities in this software leader through ETFs having double-digit exposure to Microsoft. Such ETFs include the likes of Select Sector SPDR Technology ETF (XLK – Free Report), MSCI Information Technology Index ETF (FTEC – Free Repo...
The backing up of US rates did not broadly lift the dollar as it appeared to have done previously. The dollar-bloc currencies, led by the Australian dollar, advanced last week, while the Swiss franc and Japanese yen were unable to find traction. The Bank of Japan had an opportunity to have protested the yen’s weakness more adamantly, but did not do so.Recognizing the role of interest rate differentials as an important driver, the Ministry of Finance threatens action, but seems reluctant to intervene. Still, the market continues to probe for the official pain threshold. This year, the greenback has generally weakened in the run-up to t...
Image Source: UnsplashIn this recap of the most recent trading session, I review my portfolio and share one of the trades taken this week.00:18:50More By This Author:Masters In Trading – Saturday, April 20Masters In Trading – Saturday, April 13Masters In Trading – Wednesday, April 10...
Image Source: UnsplashEdward Eastman knew he was facing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was 1888, and the Oregon City banker had heard about the electric revolution sweeping across the country. Oregon City happened to be home to Willamette Falls, a perfect place to generate cheap hydroelectric power.Back in 1888, most power plants were located close to cities because electricity couldn’t be sent very far. When electricity flows through wires, some of it is turned into heat and lost.Unfortunately, there weren’t many people living in Oregon City. So there wasn’t enough demand for all the electricity the river could produce. If only ...
Photo by energepic.com The Federal Trade Commission has banned noncompete clauses in employment contracts. The rule—not a law—is being challenged in federal courts. The economic impacts will not be huge, but they will slow innovation in the economy as businesses seek alternative ways to protect their trade secrets.Initial controversy surrounds wage rates. The FTC claims that noncompetes have suppressed wages, so the ban will boost wages. The contrary view has been expressed, including by Tyler Cowen. The simple idea is that employers and job applicants strike a bargain. If the employer wants a particular term that is not in the employe...
The good news is: Breadth improved along with prices last week. The Negatives The first chart covers the last 6 months showing the Nasdaq composite (OTC) in blue and a 10% trend (19 day EMA) of Nasdaq new highs (OTC NH) in green. Dashed vertical lines have been drawn on the 1st trading day of each month. OTC NH continued falling after failing to confirm the recent index high. The next chart is similar to the one above except it shows the S&P 500 (SPX) in red and NY NH in green has been calculated with NYSE data. NY NH has been falling sharply since confirming the recent all time SPX high. The next chart covers the past 6 ...
Stagflation is a term that is invoked in a CNN article today. I think of stagflation as weak growth combined with high inflation. A little context:As noted here, advance estimate for q/q GDP growth is 1.6%, below 3.4 consensus. But as discussed here, GDP+ is at 2.6%, and final sales to private domestic purchasers is running 3.0%. In addition we have the following key monthly indicators followed by the NBER’s Business Cycle Dating Committee.Figure 1: Nonfarm Payroll (NFP) employment from CES (bold blue), civilian employment (orange), industrial production (red), personal income excluding current transfers in Ch.2017$ (bold green), manufa...