Stocks fell on Monday, posting their biggest drop since June, as the S&P fell 2.14%. Asia markets closed lower overnight while Europe stocks are nearly flat this morning and well off their lows of the day. U.S. futures are pointing to a small bounce as I write this. The Dollar, Yields, and Oil are higher while Gold is lower.
And this is what UPB is reading this morning: https://www.optionmillionaires.com/morning-reads-85/
Stocks continued their sell-off from Friday, seemingly melting lower for the entire session with nary a bounce. A soaring US dollar and rising Yields seemed to be some of the catalyst, along with worries Powell will spin more hawkish commentary during his Friday speech at Jackson Hole. The SPY closed at $413.35 and was nearing another key support area at $410 overnight before bouncing. Will be patient before adding anything today, but if markets can find some footing, that $415 level could be back in play. Don't forget we also get the July PCE data on Friday, so it will be a busy day:
ICPT was able to close higher yesterday despite the market weakness. Would love to see some continuation today and move into the $19s. Still have plenty of time on my September strikes and may start looking to add further dated strikes as well:
ULTA closed lower yesterday in sympathy with the rest of the market but is gapping higher and above that $400 level this morning. Still hopeful to get an opportunity to close some/all of my calls out before earnings but will need to see $410+ today or tomorrow:
SAGE is setting up nicely after two weeks of consolidation. The next leg should be coming soon with a move over $50 in the cards. Will be watching today:
A boring session for AMLX. One of these days it will break-thru and head over $30:
PANW has held up relatively well this year in the face of the market swoon. After the close yesterday it showed why, reporting earnings that bested estimates and raising guidance. Not going to chase at the open but may nibble some speculative calls to play for a move over $600 in the next week or two. Such a great story:
Still like this SCVL into their earnings Thursday morning so may look to add some speculative calls today as well with the possibility of closing some out before the close Wednesday to cover costs:
Here are the analyst changes of note for today:
| alo Alto Networks price target raised to $733 from $728 at Northland |
| Northland analyst Nehal Chokshi raised the firm's price target on Palo Alto Networks to $733 from $728 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. Palo Alto's Q4 billings were up 44% y/y and 49% q/q, 15% above the midpoint of guidance and representing the highest reported quarterly growth for billings in four years, Chokshi tells investors in a research note. The analyst believes Palo Alto's multi-platform & best-of-breed approach to enterprise cybersecurity continues to gain increasing market validation |
| Zoom Video price target lowered to $125 from $135 at MKM Partners |
| MKM Partners analyst Catharine Trebnick lowered the firm's price target on Zoom Video to $125 from $135 but keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company attributed its Q2 revenue coming in at the low end of guidance to headwinds from FX, the Ukraine/Russia war, and online subscriptions, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Trebnick adds however that Zoom Phone was the star of the quarter and surpassed over 4M seats, up from over 3M reported in Q1, also citing Zoom Video having landed two customers with over 125,000 seats, which is a record and a milestone that demonstrates the continued demand that the product is experiencing in the market |
| Estee Lauder price target lowered to $318 from $342 at DA Davidson |
| DA Davidson analyst Linda Weiser lowered the firm's price target on Estee Lauder to $318 from $342 but keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst cites the company's below-consensus FY23 earnings guidance, though the management still expects robust top-line growth to resume in the second half of the year. Weiser adds that while she is cutting her 2023 EPS view to $7.94 from $8.56, she also believes that Estee Lauder could surprise to the upside as China economy reopens |
| iQIYI initiated with Underperform on 'growth obstacles' at Macquarie |
| Macquarie analyst Esme Pau initiated coverage of iQIYI with an Underperform rating and $2.80 price target. The analyst sees "growth obstacles" eroding the company's ecosystem, which include content control regulations in China and intensifying competition from short video. In addition, "liquidity risks remain a concern," Pau tells investors in a research note |
| Foot Locker price target raised to $34 from $31 at Deutsche Bank |
| Deutsche Bank analyst Gabriella Carbone raised the firm's price target on Foot Locker to $34 from $31 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares post the Q2 results. Importantly, Foot Locker saw sales trends "pick up meaningfully" in the back half of July, particularly in early back-to-school markets, Carbone tells investors in a research note |
And here is what I am watching today: PANW. SAGE, SCVL, PTON, TRIP, YOU, SPOT, ICPT, and BIIB.
Let's have a great day!
-JB