August 31st, 2022 Watch List

Markets fell for the third session in a row on Tuesday, with the S&P falling 1.07%. Asia markets closed mostly lower overnight while Europe indexes are in the red this morning but off their lows. U.S. futures are pointing to a bounce as I write this, the Dollar and Yields are higher while Oil and Gold are lower.

Here is my rant from yesterday if you missed: https://www.optionmillionaires.com/jbs-pre-market-rant-august-30th-2022/

And this is what UPB is reading this morning: https://www.optionmillionaires.com/morning-reads-89/

Stocks reversed early morning gains to close solidly in the red yesterday as data coming out, including consumer confidence, came in better than expected - just adding fuel to the Fed's hawkish stance from Friday. The SPY closed under $400 and also under its 50dma. Not the type of action one would want to see heading into Friday's Jobs report. A repeat of yesterdays morning reversal would be an ominous sign and think a test of $390 comes. If stocks can hold their gains in the morning, then maybe we can close back above $400 into Friday:

I flipped some TZA calls yesterday for small profits as the SPY broke that $400 handle. If the stocks can't hold the gains this morning, I will be back in TZA as a hedge with a tight leash. As I have been saying for months now, I prefer to play the bounces then trying to time puts that already have expensive premiums:

APRN soared in the morning, exploding up into the mid-$7s before giving back most of the gains. This was not on any news that I could see and just shows how volatile this name will be in the coming weeks. I really love the story and think it trades into the teens and higher in the coming months. Some of my tweets from yesterday if you missed:

After the close yesterday APRN announced an amendment to their financing agreement. In the fine print they say they may use half of the $50 million for stock buybacks!?:

Probably not the best deployment of capital in the midst of a turnaround but would certainly add fuel to the short squeeze fire. I may look to add some later dated strikes today:

LULU closed flat yesterday. Not the type of session I want to see before earnings tomorrow - although the premiums remained flat in most of the weekly calls. Will be watching again toys for a possible entry:

It was an another annoying session for ICPT yesterday. It has been a slow, meticulous sell-off after breaking into the $19s mid-afternoon on Monday. ICPT fell into the $15s late yesterday before closing at $16.28 on no news to speak of. Still mind-boggled that this trades down here. Won't be adding anything until Sept expiration:

EVH is still on watch:

Along with PANW:

And CMG:

Here are the analyst changes of note for today:


Crowdstrike price target raised to $225 from $210 at Needham
Needham analyst Alex Henderson raised the firm's price target on Crowdstrike to $225 from $210 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company's Q2 results were "strong" as revenue growth of 58% topped consensus estimate of 52%-53% and its net new ARR growth accelerated to 45%, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Henderson further cites Crowdstrike indicating on the earnings call that it is benefiting from strong customer adoption, strong existing customer upsell, and the broad industry-wide trend toward scale Cloud Native Security platforms from point products
Best Buy price target raised to $69 from $67 at Truist
Truist analyst Scot Ciccarelli raised the firm's price target on Best Buy to $69 from $67 but keeps a Hold rating on the shares after its Q2 earnings and guidance yesterday. Sales were largely in line but the sales environment remains very challenging as the company laps Covid-related demand, copes with changing consumer spending patterns and navigates high levels of channel inventory with heightened promotional pressures, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Ciccarelli adds that it is "difficult to get excited" about a long Best Buy position at current levels, but he also sees any incremental downside on the stock as limited because of its modest valuation

Ambarella price target lowered to $94 from $100 at Stifel
Stifel analyst Tore Svanberg lowered the firm's price target on Ambarella to $94 from $100 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after the company's "roughly in-line" quarter and moderated outlook. He has slightly lowered his calendar year 2023 sales estimates following the report, Svanberg noted

Best Buy price target lowered to $99 from $110 at DA Davidson
DA Davidson analyst Michael Baker lowered the firm's price target on Best Buy to $99 from $110 but keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company's Q2 results had some "bright spots" including lower inventories and a solid implied Q4 outlook, but promotional activity was worse than expected and trends for August were "not great", the analyst tells investors in a research note. The good outweighs the bad given the stock's very low valuation, though his new price target now reflects a 13.5-times forward earnings multiple on his "relatively unchanged" 2023 estimates, Baker adds
Lululemon will trade higher Friday after earnings, says Wedbush
Wedbush analyst Tom Nikic is "bullish" on Lululemon Athletica shares into the company's Q2 report on September 1. Lululemon has been one the strongest growth brands in the space for many years and will prove to be one of the most resilient amid the ongoing macro uncertainty due to its demographic/distribution profile, "fiercely loyal customer base, and exceptional product innovation," Nikic tells investors in a research note. In Q2, he thinks Lululemon will benefit from one of its products, the "Belt Bag," going viral online and becoming a "must have" for many young consumers. Despite the issues facing other retailers, the company will beat guidance this quarter, and the stock will trade higher on Friday, predicts Nikic. He keeps an Outperform rating on the shares with a $430 price target

And here is what I am watching today(took YOU off watch for now): LULU, CMG, TZA, EVH, PANW, SAGE, TWLO, SPOT, ROKU, NFLX, ICPT, and SPLK.

Let's have a great day!

-JB

JimmyBob (Scott)has been trading equities for over 15 years, a majority of which were OTC micro-cap stocks. He started trading high risk stock options over the past 7 years, and has proven winning trades in excess of 15,000%.

As one of the Co-Founders of optionmillionaires.com, Scott enjoys sharing his knowledge with other investors through timely blog posts, daily watch lists in the forum, weekly webinars, and helpful advice within the chatroom.

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