Stocks soared to start the week, with the S&P rallying 1.6% as the WallStreetBets Reddit craze started to simmer. Asia markets closed higher overnight and Europe indexes are in the green this morning. U.S. futures are pointing to higher open, the Dollar, Yields, and Oil are higher while Gold is lower.
And this is what UPB is reading this morning: Tuesday Morning Reads
It is a big day for earnings with Google and Amazon set to report after the close. It would be a surprise to see either of the companies report anything but strong reports on the tailwinds created by Covid-19. With AMZN it will be interesting to see how much the Ad side of the business continues to grow. The Ad side reminds me of the early days of AWS. High margin growth areas that most do not pay much attention to. Premiums remain sky high so will likely sit on my hands with those names, though I may be open to adding some QQQ calls if there is any weakness today.
ALGN reports earnings after the close tomorrow and is another great example of premiums being completely unplayable into earnings. Strikes $50 and $60 out of the money are going for over $10. On the flip side, if I was one who liked to sell premium, it looks like a can't miss opportunity... but then you look at last earnings where the stock rallied $150 in 4 sessions. Will be watching for a potential trade Thursday morning:
Will also be watching for a trade on CMG tomorrow morning after they report today. Would not be surprised to see it trade north of $1650... and who knows, maybe they announce a split:
Gold is finding a bit of pressure this morning and is trading under that key $1850 level. If that holds it bodes well for a move under $1800 this week. No plans to add anything to my GLL calls but may look for some inexpensive weekly GLD puts:
GSHD received an upgrade from RBC Capital this morning. Should set it up for a move over $150 in the coming days. Spreads are wide but may try some $150/155 Feb strikes:
Still eyeing FCX calls - did not chase that gap yesterday. Also watching VRTX for a post earnings ramp.
Here are the analyst changes of note for today:
| Goosehead Insurance price target raised to $155 from $120 at RBC Capital | |
| RBC Capital analyst Mark Dwelle raised the firm's price target on Goosehead Insurance to $155 from $120 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The company delivered "excellent growth" in 2020 and there is not reason to expect that to change in 2021, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Dwelle adds that Goosehead's growth oriented business model remains "attractive" given the market conditions in personal lines, which reflect improving homeowners pricing and strong margins as revenue tailwinds into 2021 | |
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals price target lowered to $275 from $315 at H.C. Wainwright | |
| H.C. Wainwright analyst Andrew Fein lowered the firm's price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals to $275 from $315 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares to reflect the company's provided revenue guidance for 2021 | |
| Amazon.com's Q4 results to show 'strong topline growth', says Truist | |
| Truist analyst Youssef Squali keeps his Buy rating and $3,650 price target on Amazon ahead of it Q4 results. The quarter is expected to show "strong" top-line growth given the extended holiday shopping season in which the company pushed back Prime Day to meet the heightened ecommerce demand caused by the pandemic, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Squali adds that the market "still under-appreciates" Amazon's long-term growth and margin prospects derived from the dominance of eCommerce and Cloud growth industries as well as its emerging leadership in online advertising | |
| Thermo Fisher price target raised to $530 from $500 at Citi | |
| Citi analyst Patrick Donnelly raised the firm's price target on Thermo Fisher to $530 from $500 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares following the company's Q4 results. The analyst views the initial 2021 guidance as essentially in-line with investor expectations, and acknowledges that it likely includes a fair amount of conservatism on the COVID and non-COVID sides of the business | |
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals price target raised to $347 from $307 at Piper Sandler | |
| Piper Sandler analyst Edward Tenthoff raised the firm's price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals to $347 from $307 and reiterates an Overweight rating on the shares following the company's Q4 results. The analyst says "strong" cystic fibrosis sales will fund Vertex's "emerging" early stage pipeline | |
| Align Technology price target raised to $610 from $525 at Piper Sandler | |
| Piper Sandler analyst Jason Bednar raised the firm's price target on Align Technology to $610 from $525 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The analyst remains bullish on Align ahead of tomorrow's Q4 results. Both recent orthodontic channel checks and several measures of consumer interest in Invisalign are supportive of upside to Q4 estimates, Bednar tells investors in a research note. The analyst also sees measures of domestic and international consumer engagement pointing to continued momentum for Invisalign to start 2021 | |
| Nevro initiated with an Overweight at Piper Sandler | |
| Piper Sandler analyst Adam Maeder initiated coverage of Nevro with an Overweight rating and $190 price target. While COVID-19 has had a meaningful impact on the company's performance in recent quarters, the underlying fundamentals of the story are strong and Nevro is "poised to hit its stride exiting the pandemic," Maeder tells investors in a research note. The company's NVRO's HF10 remains "highly differentiated" and the ongoing launch of Omnia "firmly places" Nevro in a "share capture mode in subsequent years," says the analyst. He views the company as a "high-quality medtech growth name with a compelling product offering and top-notch management team. | |
And here is what I am watching today: CMG, QQQ, GLD, GSHD, EVBG, FCX, VRTX, LITE, and TMO.
Let's have a GREAT DAY!
-JB