Markets rallied the most in two weeks on Tuesday, with the S&P adding 1.78% while the Nasdaq soared 2.48%. Comments from POTUS helloed remove fear of country-wide lockdowns with Omicron cases picking up. Asia markets closed higher overnight while Europe stocks are flat this morning. U.S. futures are pointing to a slightly lower open, the Dollar is lower while Yields, Oil, and Gold are all higher.
And this is what UPB is reading this morning: Wednesday morning reads
Markets rallied on Tuesday, with renewed hopes of the $2bil infrastructure bill passing at the start of the New Year along with commentary from POTUS that helped alleviate worries of Nationwide lockdowns due to Covid. The SPY closed back over the 50dma but who knows what today may bring. After last Thursdays reversal we had 3 straight weak sessions with not much in the way of new catalysts. Not saying were get a 1% pullback today, but would not be surprised to see weakness. These swings make it very hard to hold anything longterm as gains from the previous session can be wiped out on gaps in either direction:
A report came out from Bloomberg yesterday that CTXS is on the verge of a potential buyout: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/elliott-vista-are-said-to-weigh-joint-bid-for-citrix-systems
Who knows what the company would fetch, but it is well off its May $140 highs and its post-Covid $170 high in 2020. Jan $115 calls look interesting on a risk/reward basis, if a bid does come in before expiry and its for $125+. May nibble some speculative calls today:
FUBO rallied 6% yesterday but the calls remained in the red. The annoying part of playing calls when the market is pricing in high volatility - you can pick the right direction and still lose money. Still think this trade north of $20 in the coming weeks and may look for some other strikes:
Add EXAS to the bounce list. It looks to have found a bottom around $75 and should be back into the $90s in the next week or two. Will be eyeing some calls today:
Stil watching IQV:
And TREE, which broke thru that resistance yesterday:
Still using the same game plan for other names, you can read on yesterdays WL:
Here are the analyst changes of note for today:
| Dick's Sporting price target lowered to $145 from $180 at Cowen | |
| Cowen analyst John Kernan lowered the firm's price target on Dick's Sporting Goods to $145 from $180 and reiterates an Outperform rating on the shares. Dick's digital traffic, which is down 21% year-over-year, and declining search versus the 2019 base "marks a change in trend," Kernan tells investors in a research note. The analyst adds, however, that Dick's can repurchase 20% of its market cap within two years under its buyback program | |
| Under Armour price target lowered to $30 from $35 at Cowen | |
| Cowen analyst John Kernan lowered the firm's price target on Under Armour to $30 from $35 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. His analysis of Google Search trends shows that promotional trends in men's seem to have increased and that the search data has deteriorated for Under Armour, Kernan tells investor | |
| Rev Group price target lowered to $15 from $19 at BMO Capital | |
| BMO Capital analyst Joel Tiss lowered the firm's price target on Rev Group to $15 from $19 and keeps a Market Perform rating on the shares. The analyst cites the company's Q3 earnings miss and believes that investors will "need to be more patient" for the "new REV" to emerge. Execution issues over the past few years, along with some lingering supply-chain disruptions, remain the primary reasons for his neutral stance on the stock, Tiss tells investors in a research note | |
| Cognyte price target lowered to $25 from $40 at Evercore ISI | |
| Evercore ISI analyst Kirk Materne lowered the firm's price target on Cognyte to $25 from $40 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. While the company reported "solid" fiscal Q3 results, it also lowered FY22 guidance due to new travel restrictions that affect the timing of deployments and supply chain constraints of third party components required to deliver certain hardware solutions. While the headwinds are likely transitory, it remains unclear when these headwinds will resolve and he believes Cognyte shares will likely continue to trade at a discount to peers until there is a more consistent "beat/raise cadence," Materne tells investors | |
| Green Dot price target lowered to $42 from $45 at Northland | |
| Northland analyst Mike Grondahl lowered the firm's price target on Green Dot to $42 from $45 and keeps a Market Perform rating on the shares. 2021 was an "investment/transition" year at Green Dot and he believes 2002 will be another one, Grondahl tells investors. While he hopes Green Dot's current work "will bear fruit in 2023," Grondahl adds that the turnaround is "clearly a work in process | |
| Apple's iPhone production 'surprising to the upside,' says Morgan Stanley | |
| Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said she has come across "a handful of data points" in the last month that suggest the supply of semi-related components is improving in the December quarter and points to evidence that iPhone lead times contracted considerably in the last month. While some investors may view lead time contraction as a sign of slowing demand, she notes that major end markets like China are posting high iPhone shipment growth and she believes that iPhone production is "surprising to the upside." The recent data support her 7% above consensus December quarter iPhone revenue forecast, added Huberty, who keeps an Overweight rating and $200 price target on Apple shares | |
And here is what I am watching today: Calls: CTXS, QDEL, ROKU, DKNG, FUBO, MED, JYNT, TREE, CDL, FVRR. Puts: MA, PANW, NOW, GOOGL, MDB, TEAM, LRCX, ZS, and NFLX.
Let's have a great day!
-JB