Individual investors have never been more worried about a U.S. stock market crash. This counterintuitive reaction is because investor sentiment is a contrarian indicator. Historical data on investor beliefs about crash probabilities comes from Yale University finance professor (and Nobel laureate) Robert Shiller.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 600 points early Wednesday, as Boeing and Microsoft reported earnings. First Solar surged on earnings.
While you might not need to make changes if President Trump wins a second term, financial advisors suggest planning now for potential changes under a Biden administration so you’re so you’re not scrambling at the last minute.
(Bloomberg) -- General Electric Co. surged after the company reported a surprise profit and predicted gains in free cash flow late this year and in 2021.Adjusted earnings of 6 cents a share in the third quarter bucked Wall Street’s expectations for a 4 cent loss, and sales of $19.4 billion also exceeded analyst estimates. Industrial free cash flow, a key gauge of earnings power, will be at least $2.5 billion in the fourth quarter and positive next year, GE said in a statement Wednesday as it reported quarterly results.The financial improvement buoys Chief Executive Officer Larry Culp’s efforts to get his turnaround back on track after the coronavirus pandemic upended GE’s jet-engine division and slammed its other businesses. While orders still sank in the third quarter in GE’s aviation, power equipment and health-care units, the upbeat outlook underscores the company’s progress in stabilizing its operations amid the crisis.“GE’s transformation is accelerating,” Culp said in the statement. “We are managing through a still-difficult environment with better operational execution across our businesses, and we are on track with our cost and cash actions.”The shares climbed 7.4% to $7.63 at 9:39 a.m. in New York, confounding a slump in the broader market. GE tumbled 36% this year through Tuesday, compared with a 4.9% decline in a Standard & Poor’s index of U.S. industrial companies.Industrial free cash flow was $514 million in the third quarter. Analysts had expected GE to burn through $968.3 million in cash.(Updates shares in fifth paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
A survey finds many people are making these six money moves with an eye on Nov. 3.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) fell more than 4% Tuesday after announcing that it would buy Xilinx (XLNX) in an all-stock transaction.
Mastercard missed Q3 earnings and revenue views, with Visa's fiscal Q4 results due tonight. Shares of both card giants fell in early trading.
Beijing has massive ambitions for electric vehicles (EV), and it seeks 25% of all car sales in the country to be EVs by 2025, Financial Times reports.In 2019, China sold 1.2 million EVs, accounting for more than half of global sales. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers expects new EV sales to reach 1.1 million by the year-end despite the pandemic, Reuters reports.According to FT, China can leverage its vast scale advantages to make the first EV that can compete with traditional cars on price and tap the international market, which is ready due to growing worries about climate change.The EV industry in China is at a critical juncture. The price of EV batteries is set to drop below $100 per kWh by 2023, down from the current $160.Ev batteries account for a significant portion of the overall car's cost, and the price point below $100 is a cost parity with internal combustion engine cars.Market Leader: Tesla Inc's (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model 3 is the leader in China with sales of 70,951 units in 2020 through August, accounting for 13% of the overall EV sales. However, the Wuling HongGuang Mini EV clocked sale of 9,150 units in August, its second full month of sales.The boxy EV sees huge sales numbers because it comes at $4,200, a fraction of Tesla's $42,691 price tag for Model 3, FT reports.The HonGuang Mini EV is a joint-venture product between General Motors Company (NYSE: GM), SAIC Motor, and Liuzhou Wuling Motors Co Ltd.Nio Inc's (NYSE: NIO) ES6 EV sold 2,840 units in August and 17,161 units in the year through August.Valuation: Observers call the valuation of Chinese EV companies overcooked. The three US-listed Chinese EV start-ups Nio, Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ: LI), and Xpeng Inc (NYSE: XPEV) are valued at $35.4 billion, $15.9 billion, and $14.4 billion respectively, despite all of them making sizeable losses, FT reports.EV makers and component suppliers that are profitable are trading at lofty valuations. The Hong Kong-listed EV and traditional carmaker BYD is trading at a trailing 12-month price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 245, while the EV battery maker CATL is has a trailing 12-month PE of 117.5.PE valuations are high but still lower than Tesla's PE of 1,045.8, according to Hong Kong-based East Capital fund partner Karine Hirn.When mass-market is reached, China will benefit due to supply chain and scaling advantages, said Hirn.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Tesla's Regisrations In California Drop 13% In Q3(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
For investors, finding the right sign is part of the game. Stocks don’t necessarily pick themselves, and the investors who do pick them need to know that they’re making the right choice. Fortunately for investors – and the safety of their portfolios – there are reliable signals that a stock is worth buying. One of the best is the insider buying.Insiders are corporate officers, deeply invested in their company’s success or failure, they are usually stockholders themselves – but they are responsible for more than just their own portfolios. Corporate officers are beholden to their Boards of Directors, to their fellow company officers, and to the stock owning public to ensure profits and returns on the shares – and so, when these insiders start buying large blocs, investors should take note.TipRanks follows the insiders’ trades, making use of the publicly published stock moves to track them. The Insiders’ Hot Stocks page provides the scoop on which stocks the market’s insiders are buying – or selling – so that you can make informed purchases. We’ve picked three stocks with recent informative buys to show how the data works for you.Agree Realty Corporation (ADC)First on the list is a major company in the REIT segment. Agree Realty, based in Metro Detroit, focuses on acquiring and developing properties for big-name retail tenants. At the end of 3Q20, Agree’s portfolio included 1,027 properties across 45 states, and totaled some 21 million square feet of leasable area. The company’s tenants include 7-Eleven, AutoZone, Dollar General, and Wendy’s franchises, among many others.Agree’s third quarter results, reported earlier this month, showed a sequential increase in EPS from 76 cents to 80 cents, and total rental income of $63.7 million. The company reported a quarterly record of $470.7 million in rental property investments, and increased its dividend. The 60 cents a share dividend offers investors a 3.67% yield.All of that comes at a time when many REITs have been reporting difficulty in collecting rents, as tenants have been coping with the financial repercussions of the corona crisis. In this area, however, Agree has been conspicuously successful. The company reported receiving 96%, 97%, and 99% of rents due in July, August, and September. Agree has deferral arrangements for another 2% of its tenants. This success in rent collection has provided the base for the solid quarterly income stream already noted.On October 22, Agree has seen one big insider trade. CEO and President Joey Agree bought up 15,293 shares, shelling out over $1 million. This brings the insider sentiment here into positive territory.Covering this stock for Raymond James, analyst RJ Milligan writes, “With rent collections at 99% for September, ADC continues to play offense while most peers are still tracking down rents. We believe the big increase in acquisition guidance will push Street estimates meaningfully higher for 2021/2022, which will likely serve as the positive catalyst ADC investors have been waiting for.”Milligan rates the stock a Strong Buy, and sets an $82 price target that indicates room for 27% upside growth in the year ahead. (To watch Milligan’s track record, click here)Overall, ADC gets a Strong Buy consensus rating, based on a unanimous 5 Buy reviews given recently. ADC shares are selling for $64.61 and their $74.38 average price target makes the one-year upside 14%. (See ADC stock analysis on TipRanks)First American Financial (FAF)Next on our list is First American Financial, a title and lenders insurance company. FAF is a staple of the mortgage industry, where its insurance products are essential to guaranteeing home loans. The company also deals in property and casualty policies, and saw $6.2 billion in total revenues last year.After seeing sharp declines at the top and bottom lines in the first quarter this year during the economic shutdown period provoked by the coronavirus pandemic, FAF has seen a clear recovery. The company saw sequential growth in revenues in Q2 and Q3, with the top line growing from $1.4 billion in the first quarter to $1.6 billion in the second and finally $1.9 billion in the third quarter. Q3 earnings grew 24% to $1.31 per share.FAF has seen one major insider buy recently. It wasn’t a million dollars, but the $191,000 purchase of 4,000 shares was still significant and gave the stock an overall positive insider sentiment. The buyer was Mark Oman, from the Board of Directors.Among FAF's fans is Mark Hughes, 5-star analyst with Truist Financial. The analyst gives the stock a Buy rating with a $66 price target to suggest an upside of 41% in the next 12 months. (To watch Hughes’ track record, click here)Backing his stance, Hughes notes the company’s steady flow of business, writing, “Purchase open orders last month equaled 2,500 per day, up 21% year over year. This compared to the July total of 2,400 per day, which was up 6% versus that same month last year. In the refi category, the daily number held steady sequentially at 3,200, up 46% compared to August 2019.”"Our price target of $66 assumes the stock trades at just under 15x our 2021 earnings estimate, at the upper end of the recent range for the title companies – we believe this is appropriate in light of healthy fundamentals in the sector – but still with a wider-than-usual discount to the S&P 500," the analyst concluded. Hughes’ review is one of two recent recommendations on record for FAF, making the analyst consensus here a Moderate Buy. The average price target is $65, giving the stock a 39% upside potential from the current share price of $46.62. (See FAF stock analysis on TipRanks)Eastern Bankshares (EBC)The last stock on our list is a new one to the market. Easter Bankshares is a holding company, the owner of Eastern Bank, a Massachusetts-based community bank – and the oldest mutual bank in the US. Earlier this month, Eastern conducted a changeover from mutual organization status to a join stock company, selling over 179 million shares of common stock. The offering price was $10 per share, and the sale grossed over $1.79 billion for the company.And this is where the insider trades come in. Eastern’s corporate officers made large stock purchases during the IPO. Company CEO and Board Chairman Robert Rivers made the largest single purchase, for $2 million, and executive VP Barbara Heinemann bought $1.02 million worth of the stock. Five Board members made purchases in excess of $1 million or more.For the most part, these buys were the company officers making their personal stakes in the company, and setting up stock holdings as part of their compensation packages. It’s a routine in the corporate world. But these large stock buys – 7 of at least $1 million, and 10 more of $200,000 or more – show confidence in the company and a willingness by the top brass to put their own skin in the game.Turning to the analyst community, analyst Laurie Havener, who covers this new stock for Compass Point, wrote: "We like the EBC story as it offers investors a unique opportunity to invest in an overly-well-capitalized, 200+ year old, Boston based bank substantially below book. Importantly, EBC has a desirable franchise footprint, ranking 5 in the Boston MSA, with a fabulous low-costing deposit base.” To this end, Havener rates EBC a Buy along with $15 price target, suggesting that this bank holding company has room for 24% upside growth in the year ahead. (To watch Hunsicker’s track record, click here)Judging from the consensus breakdown, it has been relatively quiet when it comes to other analyst activity. Over the last few weeks, only 2 analysts have reviewed the bank. Both of which, however, were bullish, making the consensus a Moderate Buy. (See EBC stock analysis on TipRanks)Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
GE defied forecasts for a third-quarter loss. General Electric reported positive cash flow, with even better seen in Q4. GE stock jumped after the open.
Dow Jones futures were in focus early Wednesday after Apple and Tesla led the Nasdaq higher Tuesday. Microsoft earnings smashed estimates after the close.
Bonds are too volatile for the puny yields they sport, and holding cash for too long will drag on your portfolio, says the founder of the world's largest hedge fund.
Boeing earnings reflect the dual crises of COVID-19 and the grounded 737 MAX, which hasn't flown in more than a year.
(Bloomberg) -- The world’s biggest exchange-traded fund is losing cash at a faster pace than any of its peers as investors seek lower fees amid a wave of cost cutting.Traders have yanked $33 billion from SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) so far this year, the most in the industry, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While the exodus was concentrated in February and March, when the coronavirus pandemic roiled global markets, it put the $294 billion fund tracking the U.S. stock benchmark at odds with the broader equity ETF universe -- which has lured $119 billion in 2020.As issuers race to slash costs, SPY’s relatively hefty expense-ratio could be one of the reasons limiting its rebound. The ETF carries a fee of 0.095% that’s roughly triple the cost of investing in three of its largest competitors. That means investors who are re-entering the market may be gravitating toward cheaper options, according to analysts.“As the market recovered, investors put that money back to work in lower-cost products,” said Nate Geraci, president of investment-advisory firm the ETF Store in Overland Park, Kansas. “My expectation is SPY will continue ‘bleeding’ assets, regardless of the market environment, as investors continue flocking to lower-fee competitors.”While SPY is leading outflows, the $162.8 billion Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) -- with its 0.03% expense ratio -- has taken in $23.3 billion in 2020, the most among its peers. Meanwhile, the lower-cost SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPLG), which has the same holdings as SPY but charges 0.03%, has lured $2.9 billion of new cash.Vanguard Group, the second-largest issuer in the $4.8 trillion ETF market, has vaulted ahead of its competitors, with $148 billion worth of inflows in 2020. BlackRock Inc. and State Street Corp. have attracted $79 billion and $19 billion, respectively. While Vanguard’s flows have been boosted by the conversion of some its mutual-fund clients to lower-cost ETF shares, that process has only been responsible for $22.8 billion worth of its inflows, according to Vanguard spokesman Freddy Martino.“Former SPY money may not have gone back to SPY, but to lower-cost equivalents or to active, thematic or ESG funds,” said Linda Zhang, chief executive officer of New York-based Purview Investments, which specializes in active-ETF research and managed solutions. “It’s probably a combination of both.”To Matt Bartolini of State Street Global Advisors, the money that left SPY during the height of the virus turmoil has rotated into sector-specific funds, such as State Street’s Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE). But with just one week until the U.S. presidential election, the flow picture could soon be upended once more, he said.“A lot of those investors have migrated to other sectors of single-stock names,” said Bartolini, SSGA’s head of SPDR Americas Research. “Who knows what’s going to happen this election, but there’s definitely going to be money in motion.”For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Jim Cramer on Tuesday's "Mad Money" shared his thoughts on Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD), Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: INO) and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE: HMC).On AMD: Cramer says "AMD has much more room to go" following the company's strong earnings results and acquisition of Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX). Cramer also notes AMD's CEO Lisa Su has amazing leadership and will continue to grow this company. On INO: Amid the FDA halting the company's COVID-19 vaccine trial, Cramer says "there are better fish to fry" in this industry and would get out of that company. On HMC: When Cramer was asked about his thoughts on Honda, he says he would rather have General Motors (NYSE: GM) or Ford Motor (NYSE: F).See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Jim Cramer Talks American Express Earnings * Jon Najarian Sees Unusual Options Activity In Sonos And Sabre(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
An “enormous” bubble in tech stocks likely popped in September, putting the top in the market, hedge-fund manager David Einhorn warned in a letter to investors.
Enphase Energy and First Solar earnings easily beat views late Tuesday. The two leaders from the No. 1 solar stock group were big winners overnight.
Shares of Tupperware Brands Corp. shot up 9.9% in premarket trading Wednesday, after food storage products company reported a third-quarter profit and sales that rose well above expectations, as more consumers cook at home and store leftovers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Net income rose to $34.4 million, or 65 cents a share, from $7.8 million, or 16 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share increased to $1.20 from $36 cents, compared with the FactSet consensus of 37 cents. Sales rose 14% to $477.2 million, beating the FactSet consensus of $362.8 million. North America sales surged 42%, Europe sales grew 23% and South America sales increased 4%, while Asia Pacific sales fell 6%. The company said it remains in compliance with its financial covenants. Tupperware Chief Executive Miguel Fernandez said the revenue growth reflects a "rapid adoption of digital tools by our sales force to combat the social restrictions surrounding COVID-19, and the increased consumer demand for our innovative and environmentally friendly products, as more consumers cook at home and are concerned with food safety and storage." The stock has more than doubled (up 121.4%) over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 5.4%.
General Electric CEO Larry Culp says industrial free cash flow will rise to 'at least $2.5 billion in the fourth quarter,' and continue to be 'positive in 2021.'
Big tech stocks have some "bounce" left in them, CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer said Tuesday.What Happened: Cramer theorized, basing his analysis on chart interpretation by Katie Stockton, that the so-called FAANG stocks -- made up of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB), Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX), and Google parent Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) -- along with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) are "ready to roll higher," reported CNBC.Cramer singled out the stochastic oscillator, an indicator used to measure overbought and oversold conditions on the daily chart mapping of the FAANG stocks."FAANG came down too far, too fast, which means it could be due for a continued bounce," said Cramer.Why It Matters: All the FAANG stocks rose, along with the Nasdaq by 0.64%, on Tuesday."Whenever Covid cases spike, you had to buy the FAANG names [plus Microsoft] because they've all found ways to benefit from the pandemic," said Cramer.The former hedge fund manager said investors had his "blessings to buy a little bit" before these companies announce their earnings on Thursday night."If they get dinged after earnings, I'm betting that they will be safe to buy into even more weakness," quipped the television host. See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Trump Campaign Website Hacked, Attackers Demand Cryptocurrency In Exchange For Spilling Secrets * Bitcoin Nears 2018 Post-Bubble Highs As Mainstream Adoption Drives Rally(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Yahoo Finance