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TheStreet.com
Jim Cramer: Here's Why the Market Is Cheering Georgia's Results
The fears of what would happen from Democratic wins in Georgia's race failed to pan out, aside from tech taking a few hits. Here's what's happening instead and why.
9h ago
MarketWatch
10 Biden tax plans that will sail through a Democratic-controlled Senate — and how to prepare for them
Tax Guy weighs in on President-elect Joe Biden's major tax plans with a Democratic-controlled Senate.
11h ago
Benzinga
Tesla Option Traders Are Dumping Massive Amounts Of Calls
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) gained another 2.8% on Wednesday and is now up 1,560% in the past 18 months.While Tesla bulls are betting the stock's insane run will continue following a Democratic Senate sweep in Georgia, some Tesla option traders are dumping massive amounts of call options on Wednesday.Related Link: What A Democratic Victory In Georgia's Runoff Election Means For The Stock MarketThe Tesla Trades: On Wednesday morning, Benzinga Pro subscribers received dozens of alerts related to unusually large Tesla option trades. Here are the four largest: * At 9:30 a.m. ET, a trader sold 310 Tesla call options with a $260 strike price expiring on Sep. 17. The contracts were sold at the bid price of $500 and represented a $15.5 million bearish bet. * At 11:31 a.m. ET, a trader sold 921 Tesla call options with a $1,400 strike price expiring in Jan. 2022. The contracts were sold near the bid price at $100 and represented a $9.21 million bearish bet. * At 11:33 a.m. ET, a trader sold 798 Tesla call options with an $850 strike price expiring on Jun. 18. The contracts were sold at the bid price of $117.46 and represented a $9.37 million bearish bet. * Less than a minute later, a trader sold 798 Tesla call options with a $700 strike price expiring on Mar. 19. The contracts were sold at the bid price of $130.38 and represented a $10.4 million bearish bet.Why It's Important: Even traders who stick exclusively to stocks often monitor option market activity closely for unusually large trades. Given the relative complexity of the options market, large options traders are typically considered to be more sophisticated than the average stock trader. Many of these large options traders are wealthy individuals or institutions who may have unique information or theses related to the underlying stock.Unfortunately, stock traders often use the options market to hedge against their larger stock positions, and there's no surefire way to determine if an options trade is a standalone position or a hedge. In this case, given the relatively large size of the largest Tesla option trades, there's certainly a possibility they could be an institutional hedge on a large position in Tesla stock.Tesla Investors Cashing In: Wednesday's big option trades come after Tesla reported a record 180,570 vehicle deliveries in the fourth quarter, up 29.6% compared to the third quarter. That number exceeded analyst estimates of 174,000 vehicles.For the full year of 2020, Tesla delivered 499,550 vehicles. Tesla bulls highlight the fact that growth of any kind is impressive given the difficult 2020 environment, while bears point out that Tesla's 800% increase in market cap isn't exactly in-line with its 35.9% increase in deliveries.Tesla had previously said it would "comfortably exceed" 500,000 vehicle deliveries in 2020. CEO Elon Musk had also said Tesla would have a million robotaxis in operation in 2020.Tesla investors are hoping Democrats in control of the White House and Congress will provide a significant tailwind for clean energy stocks. On Wednesday, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said a sweep in Georgia would be particularly bullish for electric vehicle stocks like Tesla, General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) and Fisker Inc (NYSE: FSR). TSLA Chart by TradingView new TradingView.widget( { "width": 680, "height": 423, "symbol": "NASDAQ:TSLA", "interval": "D", "timezone": "Etc/UTC", "theme": "light", "style": "1", "locale": "en", "toolbar_bg": "f1f3f6", "enable_publishing": false, "allow_symbol_change": true, "container_id": "tradingview_12fc0" } ); Benzinga's Take: The four largest option trades on Wednesday morning were all call sales, and they represented an aggregate of more than $44 million in bearish Tesla option trading volume. Tesla bulls can't be upset about option traders cashing out on what could potentially be massive trading gains on these calls after Tesla's historic run.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * What A Democratic Victory In Georgia's Runoff Election Means For The Stock Market * 10 Best Performing S&P 500 Stocks Of 2020(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
12h ago
Bloomberg
Trump Era Ends on a Sour Note for a Wall Street Power Couple
(Bloomberg) -- The Donald Trump era is ending badly for the Wall Street power couple of Jeff Sprecher and Kelly Loeffler.First, the New York Stock Exchange, owned by Sprecher’s Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange Inc., flip-flopped -- twice -- on whether to delist several major Chinese companies, as the Trump administration has demanded.Then Loeffler, a former ICE executive, lost her U.S. Senate seat in Georgia to Raphael Warnock, a defeat that -- coupled with an expected victory for Jon Ossoff -- will hand Democrats control of the upper chamber.The double blow cost more than bruised egos. The couple spent $23.7 million on Loeffler’s ill-fated campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Confusion over NYSE’s move drove down the share prices of three big Chinese telecommunications companies, at one point shaving a combined $12 billion off their value.Still, it hasn’t all been recent bad news for the pair: the Bloomberg Billionaires Index last week introduced Sprecher as the latest entrant to the 10-figure club.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
18h ago
Yahoo Finance
These 2 big airlines may shock everyone and merge in a bid to survive COVID-19 pandemic: analyst
Consolidation could soon be flying into the boardrooms of the major airlines as they look to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
2d ago
Investor's Business Daily
Warren Buffett's Worst 12 Stocks Lost Nearly $11 Billion
Warren Buffett stocks aren't known for being losers. But when they are, including some in the S&P 500, the pain can be severe.
20h ago
Benzinga
Mark Cuban Will Run For President When Bitcoin Touches $1M
"Dallas Mavericks" owner Mark Cuban said Tuesday he will run for the office of the president of the United States if Bitcoin hits $1 million.What Happened: The "Shark Tank" fame investor proposed the foray into politics on Twitter.> I'll run if BTC gets to $1m AND we can get commitments to donate 350 BTC to the Treasury each of the 4 yrs so that we can give 1 satoshi to every citizen each yr, that they must hold for 10 years. How's that sound :) https://t.co/dW0e7FJ91m> > -- Mark Cuban (@mcuban) January 5, 2021Cuban also decried the current system in a separate tweet which he described as "broken." The entrepreneur prophesied that there would be a viable third political party in the U.S. by 2030.If "SPAC King" and Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE) Chairman Chamath Palihapitiya is to be believed, under this condition, Cuban might just be ready to run for the office of POTUS in 2024.On the last day of 2020, Palihapitiya had said he would buy the Hamptons and convert it to sleepaway camps for kids, working farms, and low-cost housing should BTC hit $150K.Why It Matters: Bitcoin has risen about 19% at $34,249 as of press time in 2021 so far, touching an all-time high at $35,587.66 late Tuesday.JPMorgan analysts see Bitcoin reaching 6,000 levels in the long term should private sector investments into the cryptocurrency match those in gold.Institutional investors continued to invest in the apex cryptocurrency despite the high valuations above $30,000 on Coinbase Pro.Price Action: Bitcoin traded 5.45% higher at $34,193.11 at press time. Related Link: PayPal, Square Gobbling Up All New Bitcoin Supply Fuels Current Price Spike: ReportPhoto by Gage Skidmore on FlickrSee more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Bitcoin Breaches All-Time High Above K, Sidelining Ethereum Rally * As Bitcoin Crossed K, Institutional Buyers On Coinbase Made Record Purchases(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
1d ago
Benzinga
Buffett-Backed BYD Outdoes Nio, Xpeng EV Sales: What Investors Need To Know
Chinese automaker BYD Co Ltd (OTC: BYDDF) is outshining leading rivals in the luxury electric sedan monthly sales despite an 11% year-over-year drop in total electric passenger car sales in 2020, reports CNBC. BYD sold 130,970 units of battery-powered electric vehicles in 2020.What Happened: In December 2020, BYD's combined sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles increased to 27,594 units, a 150% YoY growth.The "Han" electric sedan has been the key sales driver for BYD, crossing 10,000 units in the first five months of its launch since July, CNBC noted. Individual sales figures for December 2020 is currently not available.BYD's Han is performing at par with market peer Nio Ltd (NYSE: NIO), and better than other peers like Xpeng Inc (NYSE: XPEV) and Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ: LI), as per CNBC.Why Does It Matter: Among the Warren Buffet-backed company's Chinese rivals in the EV segment, Nio topped the leader board. It doubled its YoY growth clocking 43,728 unit sales in 2020, with sales peaking at 7,000 units in December.Xpeng, the Guangzhou-based EV maker, disclosed Monday that 2020 deliveries grew by 112% YoY to 27,041 units. In the fourth quarter, Xpeng recorded 303% YoY growth and a 51% sequential rise. December was the best month for Xpeng, with monthly deliveries standing at 5,700 units, a 326% increase on a YoY basis, and a 35% increase over November.Li Auto reported that deliveries in the fourth quarter were approximately 14,146 units, of which 6,106 units were delivered in December. Total deliveries for 2020 crossed the 30,000 milestones in a mere 12 months since its launch on Dec. 4, 2019.Price Action: BYD ADRs jumped 6.77% higher to close at $59.88 Tuesday.Click here to check out Benzinga's EV Hub for the latest electric vehicles newsImage Courtesy: WikimediaSee more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Amazon-Backed EV Maker Rivian Close To Raising Fresh Funding At B Valuation: Report * Achronix Semiconductor In Talks For B SPAC Merger Deal: Report(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
21h ago
Bloomberg
Xi’s Push Against Jack Ma Sparks New Threat for China Tech
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese tech companies did a pretty good job convincing global investors that they operated independently from the Communist Party. Now, Jack Ma has become a case study for the firms’ biggest skeptics.Companies from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to Tencent Holdings Ltd. splashed out billions on overseas acquisitions while developing apps and technologies that challenged Western rivals, with little or no state interference. But Beijing’s pursuit of Ma and his Ant Group Co. after he criticized regulators arguably plays directly into the hands of China’s biggest critics in Washington, who have long asserted that no Chinese tech giant or entrepreneur is beyond the reach of Xi Jinping.U.S. authorities are now debating whether to ban investments in Alibaba and Tencent, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be a dramatic blow to two of the companies whose shares are most widely held by global investors. Already on Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications including Ant’s Alipay, and Tencent’s WeChat Pay, citing concerns that Beijing will have access to the data collected by the platforms. “I stand with President Trump’s commitment to protecting the privacy and security of Americans from threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement on the order.Beijing’s moves could raise pressure on the incoming Joe Biden administration to push through further action detrimental to China, though it’s not clear how much of Trump’s aggressive policies the president-elect will continue.The party’s sway over business has become even clearer over the past 12 months as Xi pushes to consolidate power ahead of next year’s big party congress, when he’s expected to extend his rule for at least another five years. Covid-19 has only served to strengthen his grip, fueling a war-like campaign to steer the economy back on track and snuff out perceived threats to national security.“You need to be very mindful of who ultimately controls regulations, who controls licensing -- of who’s in charge,” said Mark Natkin, managing director of Beijing-based Marbridge Consulting. “And if you forget and you start to be overly critical or take too much of a role that normally belongs to the party, then you’re going to get chopped down a notch or two.”Beijing has moved to fundamentally overhaul Ma’s trillion-dollar internet empire since demolishing Ant’s $35 billion public offering in November, a record-breaking debut that was to have been the entrepreneur’s crowning achievement. Authorities then forced his online finance titan to cap loans and devise a plan to hive off its most lucrative businesses. The government also launched a probe into alleged anti-competitive practices at Alibaba. The billionaire has not been seen in public since November and his absence from the recent taping of an African TV program he created spurred speculation of his whereabouts.“There is a lot of power in the Chinese government’s economic and financial management infrastructure, and if Ant was going to erode that power, important people would see it as a step too far,” said Graham Webster, editor of the DigiChina project at the Stanford Cyber Policy Center. But “the Chinese government also prizes these leading companies as drivers of technological independence. The party would have to perceive significant threats to tear them down.”The action against Ma sends the latest signal that Beijing feels emboldened to risk international fallout from measures meant to address domestic challenges. Xi has previously defied threats of U.S. sanctions to impose sweeping national security legislation on the former British colony of Hong Kong. Crushing Ant’s IPO risked alienating a plethora of powerful global financiers from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund to Carlyle.The U.S. has also cited concerns about Chinese government influence over private industry to justify its efforts to force ByteDance Ltd. to sell the American share of its TikTok social network and the global campaign to convince allies to swear off equipment made by Huawei Technologies Co. Supporters of such actions often cite Chinese policies such as a 2017 law that requires companies to “support, assist and cooperate” with intelligence agencies.Like Huawei, Ant has also asserted its independence from the Chinese government, saying in a 2017 application to the U.S. securities regulator that it is “a private sector company and while a handful of Chinese state-owned or -affiliated funds own non-controlling minority stakes, they do not participate in company management.”The party has long reached into private firms, including foreign ones operating in China. One way it does that is through the presence of party committees in companies, among them tech enterprises, that are made up of employees.In addition, it dispatches officials to companies to oversee certain activities. Many tech leaders are also party members, including Ma, Lenovo founder Liu Chuanzhi and Huawei’s Ren Zhengfei. Tencent’s Pony Ma and Xiaomi Corp.’s Lei Jun are both delegates to the National People’s Congress.The party’s also stepped in on several occasions to punish executives for mismanagement, including Anbang Insurance Group’s Wu Xiaohui.But recent efforts to exert government influence over companies and intervene in the business landscape have reached new levels. That’s provided fuel to the China hawks in Washington, who argue that the party exerts too much influence over Chinese companies.Xi needs business executives on his side to achieve strategic goals such as the “dual-circulation” economic plan focused on domestic consumption, developing secure supply chains and reducing reliance on foreign technology. While the world’s second-largest economy was the first to rebound from Covid-19, its recovery is showing signs of peaking even as global growth remains sluggish and ties with the U.S. stay fraught.In a rare direct plea to the business sector in July, Xi called on executives including those from the tech industry to be more patriotic and help the post-pandemic economic recovery. “Outstanding entrepreneurs must have a strong sense of mission and responsibility for the nation, and align their businesses’ development with the prosperity of the nation and the happiness of the people,” he said.Weeks later, the party revealed plans to tighten control over the private sector by extending its United Front networking operations further into the business community. The policy will “strengthen ideological guidance” and “create a core group of private sector leaders who can be relied upon during critical times,” according to guidelines published at the time.“Under President Xi, the CCP has tightened its grip over tech companies and doubled down on its techno-nationalist initiatives,” researcher Alex Capri wrote in a recent report for the Hinrich Foundation. “In addition to placing party officials within prominent companies, it continues to neuter high profile corporate executives where there is the perception that they were operating independently from party directive or becoming too influential.”(Updates with debate over Alibaba and Tencent bans from third paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
9h ago
Yahoo Finance
‘Buy banks, energy, emerging markets’: Expert
As Democrats seem poised to pick up two Senate seats in Georgia’s runoff, Renaissance Macro Research’s head of economics Neil Dutta lays out the areas investors should focus on going forward.
16h ago
Investor's Business Daily
Dow Jones Futures: Congress Back To Work After Pro-Trump Mob Storms Capitol Hill; Apple Sells Off, But These 5 Stocks Are Buys
The stock market turned mixed after a pro-Trump mob stormed Capitol Hill. Apple and Nvidia fell, but Target, GM and Qorvo broke out.
6h ago
Bloomberg
Alibaba, Tencent Shares Drop as U.S. Weighs Investment Ban
(Bloomberg) -- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. led a technology stocks selloff as the Trump administration considers barring investments in China’s two most valuable companies.Alibaba fell 3.9% and Tencent dropped 4.7% in Hong Kong trading on Thursday, tracking losses in their New York-listed securities. The State Department, Department of Defense and Treasury Department are among authorities involved in the deliberations, according to people with knowledge of the talks. The discussions focus in part on how such a move might affect capital markets, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier Wednesday.Imposing a ban on the two companies would mark the most dramatic escalation yet by President Donald Trump’s administration, given the sheer size of the two firms and the difficulty unwinding positions. At $1.3 trillion, the combined market value of their primary listings is nearly twice the size of Spain’s stock market, while the firms together account for about 11% of the weighting for MSCI Inc.’s emerging markets benchmark.“If the bans are implemented then it’d be a huge thing for the market,” said Steven Leung, executive director at Uob Kay Hian (Hong Kong) Ltd. “It’s still too early to say. After the Biden administration starts, the policy could change again.”If implemented, the ban would further fray the relationship between the world’s two largest economies, which have clashed over everything from Covid-19 to Hong Kong. Authorities in Washington have been ramping up efforts to deprive Chinese companies of U.S. capital in the final months of the Trump administration, adding to economic tensions as President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take over this month.“The U.S. behavior is against international trade rules and principles of fair competition,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in response to a question about the potential investment ban at a briefing in Beijing on Thursday. “It undermines normal market order and Chinese companies’ rights and interests. And it will also eventually weaken global investors’ confidence in the U.S. business environment.”Representatives for the companies had no immediate comment when contacted. Spreads on Tencent’s dollar bonds widened as much as 20 basis points over Treasuries on Thursday, while those on Alibaba notes were about 15 basis points wider, according to credit traders. The e-commerce company was said to be planning a dollar bond sale that could raise as much as $8 billion as early as next week, which could now be threatened by the U.S. actions.What Bloomberg Intelligence Says:Alibaba may face minimal financial and operational disruptions from a potential ban considered by U.S. officials, which could prohibit Americans from investing in the company. Alibaba had $60 billion cash as of September, and generated $6 billion in free cash flow in the September quarter. The dual listing of its shares in Hong Kong should mitigate any risk of removal from U.S. exchanges.\-- Vey-Sern Ling and Tiffany Tam, analystsClick here for the researchJD.com Inc. sank 3.8% in Hong Kong, following a 7.7% drop in its ADRs. Pinduoduo Inc. tumbled 5.6%. The closely-watched iShares China Large-Cap ETF fell 1.2% in the U.S. while the NASDAQ Golden Dragon China Index, which tracks other large Chinese technology stocks, dropped 2.1% for its worst day since November.Citing national security, Trump previously signed an executive order in November requiring investors to pull out of Chinese companies linked to that nation’s military. On Tuesday, Trump signed an order banning U.S. transactions with eight Chinese apps including Ant Group Co.’s Alipay and Tencent’s digital wallets. It will be up to Biden to decide whether to enforce that policy once it takes effect.Hasty measures have at times sown confusion in markets and prompted price swings, such as when the New York Stock Exchange reversed course twice this week on a decision to delist three Chinese telecommunications companies. The NYSE is now proceeding with its original delisting plan after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin disagreed with its decision to give the firms a reprieve.The order bans trading in the affected securities starting Jan. 11. If Biden leaves Trump’s executive order in place, U.S. investment firms and pension funds would be required to sell their holdings in companies linked to the Chinese military by Nov. 11. And if the U.S. determines additional companies have military ties in the future, American investors will be given 60 days from that determination to divest.“We’re seeing with the telecommunications companies and with the ADRs the kind of worst-case scenario because you have a tremendous amount of confusion,” said Nicholas Turner, a lawyer at Steptoe & Johnson LLP in Hong Kong who specializes in economic sanctions. Even if Alibaba and Tencent fend off a delisting threat, U.S. investors will still be prohibited from purchasing a wide variety of financial instruments exposed to their securities, he added.The potential U.S. ban comes as pressures mount within China on Jack Ma’s Alibaba and Tencent. In recent months, officials blocked Ant Group’s $35 billion IPO, proposed new rules to curb the dominance of internet giants and fined Alibaba and Tencent over acquisitions from years before. Closer scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions could add uncertainty over the growth of large internet firms within China.(Updates with share performance, Chinese foreign ministry comment in sixth paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
21m ago
Benzinga
Jim Cramer's 9 Dividend Stock Picks For Fixed Income Investors
Bond yields and interest rates are expected to remain at a historical low for a while, and the next best way for investors to find income is the stock market, CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer said Tuesday. "With my diversified dividend portfolio, you can get a 5% plus yield with the possibility of actual upside," Cramer said. According to the former hedge fund manager, it's still possible to get an income with a degree of safety in the current environment.Cramer warned that investors should not chase high yielding stocks as more than 8% dividend yield resembles a red flag. "It tells you that there's a lot of risk, and if you're investing for income, risk is the last thing you want," he added.Dividends are like rewards that companies pay for holding a stock. Fast-growing companies like Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) invest full profits back into the business for growth and expansion in lieu of a dividend payment, Cramer noted.He put together a diversified portfolio of nine high-yielding dividend stocks that have a strong balance sheet.Dow Inc (NYSE: DOW): It yields 5.02%. Cramer thinks the stock is a good performer and is likely to go higher due to polyethylene's rising price.See What Analysts Think about DowIBM (NYSE: IBM): It yields 5.17%. Though Cramer called IBM a controversial pick, he thinks that IBM's Red Hat acquisition was smart, and the company is focusing on fast-growing future opportunities. IBM also named former Trump advisor Gary Cohn as vice-chairman recently.AbbVie Inc (NYSE: ABBV): It yields 4.88%. The company has a great pipeline of drugs and two blockbuster drugs that are "growing like crazy," as per Cramer.B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE: BGS): It yields 7.11%. The company has a steady cash flow. According to Cramer, with more people cooking during the lockdown, B&G brand foods are perfect for consumers.Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX): It yields 5.93%. They have a strong balance sheet and Cramer thinks the company will do well under the Biden administration as it will be difficult to acquire new wells, making the existing ones more valuable.Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ): It yields 4.28%. Cramer called it a slow and steady grower.In the utility stocks group, Cramer recommended American Electric Power Company Inc (NASDAQ: AEP) with 3.64% yield, Dominion Energy Inc (NYSE: D) with 3.45% yield, and Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) with 3.93% yield.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Self-Driving Tech Startup Oxbotica Raises M To Focus On Industrial Application * Bilibili To Raise Billion In Secondary Hong Kong Listing: CNBC(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
1d ago
Oilprice.com
BlackRock Is Leading A $120 Trillion Investment Boom That Is Upending Wall St.
The entire stock market was transformed in 2020 by an investment trend that reallocated trillions of dollars, in 2021 this trend is only going to get even bigger
9h ago
MoneyWise
Joe Biden's plan for third, $2,000 stimulus checks is looking a lot more possible
Biden promised checks "immediately" if Democrats won Senate control — and they have.
9h ago
Yahoo Finance
CEO of Bill Gates-backed electric car battery startup comments on company outlook after stock plunges 40%
QuantumScape founder Jagdeep Singh talks with Yahoo Finance after the company's stock fell 40% Tuesday morning.
2d ago
TipRanks
2 “Strong Buy” Penny Stocks That Could Deliver Massive Returns
There’s a strong feeling growing among investors – of relief – that the new year will feature lower volatility than 2020. That along would be enough to boost spirits, but better yet, there is also a perception that the markets are going to drive higher in the new year.Marko Kolanovic, JPMorgan’s well-known quant expert, sees the initial stages of a positive feedback loop, with lower volatility and systematic investment strategies coming together to drive gains, attracting more investors – and, in Kolanovic’s view, pushing the S&P 500 to 4,600 by year’s end. That will be a 25% increase for the index.A general market environment like that is bound to produce plenty of stock winners, and Wall Street’s analysts are busy pointing them out. Among other things, they are tapping penny stocks, equities priced at less than $5 per share. Their rock-bottom starting price makes pennies the logical place to look for huge returns on investment. Although their risk factor is high, even a small gain in absolute numbers will turn into a massive percentage gain in share price.Using TipRanks’ database, we identified two penny stocks the pros believe could see explosive gains in the coming months. Not to mention each one gets a “Strong Buy” consensus rating from the analyst community.9 Meters Biopharma (NMTR)Some biopharma companies take a broad-based approach, while others focus on a niche. 9 Meters is one of the latter, taking aim at unmet needs for gastrointestinal patients. The company’s development pipeline features drug candidates under investigation as treatments for short bowel syndrome (SBS) and celiac disease (CeD), two conditions that are both dangerous and difficult to treat.Drilling down to pipeline details, 9 Meters’ flagship product, Larazotide, is in Phase 3 development for the treatment of CeD. CeD affects about 1% of the population, yet there are no approved therapies. Top-line data from the study is expected in the second half of 2021.Furthermore, this past December, the company announced that it had entered an agreement with EBRIS, the European Biomedical Research Institute of Salerno, to investigate Larazotide as a potential treatment for respiratory complications due to COVID-19.The other major drug in the company’s pipeline is NM-002, for SBS. The company has recently announced positive Phase 1b/2a results, with a measurable impact on disease symptoms from a compound that was well-tolerated by patients.NMTR’s strong pipeline and $0.89 share price have scored it substantial praise from the pros on Wall Street.One of these NMTR bulls is Truist’s Srikripa Devarakonda. Citing Larazotide as a key component of his bullish thesis, the analyst noted, “We acknowledge investors are likely to see a pivotal trial in a tough-to-crack Celiac disease program as high risk despite encouraging Ph2b data. We model $705M/$353M in peak unadjusted/adjusted sales and see potential upside of 400% - 1650% from positive Ph3 readout.”Devarakonda also sees “significant unmet need in SBS” and continues to believe that “NM-002 has a differentiated profile vs. SOC.” His key takeaways from the recent Phase 1b/2a results include: “1) we believe that the drug showed early activity in SBS patients; all 9 patients showed meaningful reduction in total stool output volume; average TSO reduction was 42% from baseline; 2) responses occur rapidly, with effects on TSO seen within 48 hours of dosing; 3) safety profile looks favorable, we would like to see greater durability.”To this end, Devarakonda rates NMTR shares a Buy along with a $5 price target. This figure conveys his confidence in NMTR’s ability to soar 462% in the coming year. (To watch Devarakonda’s track record, click here)Turning now to the rest of the Street, other analysts are on the same page. With 4 Buys and no Holds or Sells, the word on the Street is that NMTR is a Strong Buy. Given its $4.33 average price target, upside of 386% could be in store for investors. (See NMTR stock analysis on TipRanks)Orchard Therapeutics (ORTX)Orchard Therapeutics takes the broad-based approach to the biopharma industry. The company is engaged in the development of gene therapies for rare, frequently terminal, diseases, including neurometabolic disorders, primary immune deficiencies, and blood disorders. The gene therapy approach uses blood stem cells to deliver corrected genetic information directly into the patient’s body.Orchard’s pipeline demonstrates the diversity of disorders amenable to gene therapy – the company has no less than 12 drug candidates in development. Among these candidates, Libmeldy (OTL-200) stands out.Libmeldy is in commercialization stages as a treatment for MLD (metachromatic leukodystrophy), a rare, mutation-based genetic disorder of the nervous system. Libmeldy, which is designed to treat children suffering from the infantile for juvenile forms of MLD by replacing the defective ARSA gene, received its approval for medical use in the EU in December 2020.Wedbush analyst David Nierengarten notes the European approval of Libmeldy, and its implication for Orchard’s progress. He writes, “We look forward to the company’s commercial execution in the EU and an eventual 2022 approval in the US. Last month ORTX received IND clearance from the FDA for the program paving the way for discussions with the US regulators to decide a suitable path forward toward a BLA filing.”"Net-net, with possibly two gene therapies approved in the next 12-18 months and a pivotal study beginning in a third (MPS-I), we think ORTX shares are undervalued at these levels," the analyst concluded. In line with his bullish comments, Nierengarten rates ORTX as Outperform (i.e. Buy), and his $15 price target indicates a potential for 241% growth in the year ahead. (To watch Nierengarten’s track record, click here)Do other analysts agree with Nierengarten? They do. Only Buy ratings, 3, in fact, have been issued in the last three months. Therefore, ORTX gets a Strong Buy consensus rating. At $15, the average price target indicates shares could appreciate by 241% in the year ahead. (See ORTX stock analysis on TipRanks)To find good ideas for penny stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.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.
2d ago
Investor's Business Daily
Marijuana Stocks Surge With Democratic Senate Likely; Are Any Good Buys Now?
Marijuana stocks surged as a Democratic Senate adds to cannabis legalization momentum. Are any pot stocks good buys now amid profitability challenges?
17h ago
ETF.com
'Blue Wave' Lifting These ETFs
With Democrats in control of the House, Senate and White House, some sectors will benefit better than others.
14h ago
Benzinga
Will Palantir Or Snowflake Stock Grow More By 2022?
Every week, Benzinga conducts a sentiment survey to find out what traders are most excited about, interested in or thinking about as they manage and build their personal portfolios.We surveyed a group of over 500 Benzinga investors on whether shares of Palantir (NYSE: PLTR) or Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) stock would grow the most by 2022.Palantir Vs. Snowflake Stock Palantir builds and deploys software platforms for the intelligence community in the United States to assist in counterterrorism investigations and operations. The company is known for Palantir Gotham, a software platform for government operatives in the defense and intelligence sectors.Palantir Gotham enables users to identify patterns hidden deep within datasets, ranging from signals intelligence sources to reports from confidential informants, as well as facilitates the handoff between analysts and operational users, helping operators plan and execute real-world responses to threats that have been identified within the platform.The company also offers Palantir Foundry, a platform that transforms the ways organizations operate by creating a central operating system for their data. Foundry also allows individual users to integrate and analyze the data they need in one place.See Also: Best IPOs 2020In one of the year's most anticipated IPOs, Palantir went public in September via a direct listing. Shares of Palantir opened for trading at $10 and currently trade around $25.Snowflake is a software company that provides data cloud platforms for customers in data engineering, data lake, data warehousing, data science, data applications, and data sharing. The company also provides solutions for data silos and data governance.In its first earnings report as a public company on Dec. 2, Snowflake reported quarterly sales of $159.62 million, which beat the $147.52 million estimate and represents 119% year-over-year growth.The company reported a third-quarter loss of $1.01 per share, which missed estimates by 75 cents. Snowflake reported 3,554 total customers and 65 customers with trailing 12-month product revenue greater than $1 million.Snowflake had one of the largest IPOs ever for a software stock and now trades around $283.Survey SaysFifty-five percent of participants said shares of Palantir will grow more by 2022.Many respondents to our study expressed confidence that CEO Alex Karp will lead Palantir to win several more data software contracts with the government and private-sector firms throughout 2021, something the company had great momentum with going into the end of 2020.Taking a look at Palantir's recent wins: * The company won a three-year, $44 million contract with the Food and Drug Administration. * Announced the U.S. Army's Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems opted to execute the second year of its partnership on the Army Vantage program for $113.8 million * Won a two-year, $31.5 million contract with the U.K.'s National Health Service.Kicking off 2021 on the right note, on Jan. 4 Palantir announced a one-year, $22.5 million contract with SOMPO Holdings.As a measuring stick for investors, it can be said much of Palantir's 2021 growth will be tied to garnering more contracts like the aforementioned examples.This survey was conducted by Benzinga in January 2021 and included the responses of a diverse population of adults 18 or older.Opting into the survey was completely voluntary, with no incentives offered to potential respondents. The study reflects results from over 500 adults.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Is Now The Time To Buy Stock In Apple, GE, Boeing, FuboTV Or Ideanomics? * Will United Or American Airlines Stock Grow More By 2022?(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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