Markets tumbled on Thursday, reversing all the previous days gains. The S&P dropped 3.5% while the Nasdaq tumbled nearly 5%. Asia markets fell overnight while Europe indexes are also in the red. U.S. futures are pointing to a lower open as I write this, the Dollar and Yields are red while Gold and Oil are higher.
And this is what UPB is reading this morning: https://www.optionmillionaires.com/morning-reads-17/
The roller-coaster ride called the stock market, continued its journey yesterday. Stocks fell at the open and could not find a bid until a small bounce after the 3:30 hour. The selling was relentless when just 12 hours ago it was the other way around. There was no true catalyst to speak of... some cite overnight digestion of the Feds decision and Powells comments, other cite the Bank off England, while others point to weak productivity data(the worst since 1947). Momentum and Growth names took the brunt of the selling, like has been the case for a while now. The difference with yesterday was some of the big cap tech names took it on the chin in a big way: AMZN was down over 7%, AAPL nearly 6%, and GOOGL nearly 5%. I guess the silver lining is that the S&P is still green on the week and the Nasdaq is only down .08%. Hard to imagine $15 intra-day swings on the S&P being a good thing but this chop since the end of April could be a bit of consolidation just like the first few weeks of March. Just does not feel like the next leg here will be to the upside. If that $410 handle doesn't hold today would not be surprised to see a test of $400 today and then a bounce:
TRIP tested $27.43 after the open yesterday only to succumb to the market sell-off to close up 5% at $25.80. As mentioned yesterday, will be looking at some later dated calls today for a move into the $30s in the coming weeks:
IBM was somewhat of a bright spot yesterday, only closing down 1% and that was on the heels of a strong rally on Wednesday. Still holding the last of my $140 calls. If it finds support today above $136 I may actually look to add some June strikes, likely the $150s:
OLED reported a strong Q after the close yesterday but offered up slightly conservative guidance, The stock is gapping up a bit in the pre-market. Think can see $140+ today so may nibble some speculative calls and/or add some strikes into next week:
IRTC reported earnings yesterday that beat estimates, but the bigger point that came out of their earnings was a reimbursement update. The main reason the stock fell from $280 to $40 last year was concerns over medicare reimbursement. Looks like there is more clarity there and it is not an issue. Could see a move to $$160+ today so may look to add some speculative calls:
These market swings can drive an option trader nuts. You can be sitting pretty on some calls or puts, only to see the market reverse and watch those positions turn red in a flash. Some times not making a trade is a winning position... so I continue to be cautious adding anything until I get more conviction. Some of these tech names I was looking by puts on as hedges have insane premiums so even when the market falls, those premiums do not go up as much... and then one market spike and the position is red. Hoping to find more high conviction plays in the days ahead.
Here are the analyst changes of note for today:
| Block price target lowered to $148 from $188 at Cowen |
| Cowen analyst George Mihalos lowered the firm's price target on Block to $148 from $188 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The analyst said trends through April are encouraging given macro concerns and the pull back in the shares. He said comps should begin to ease going forward aiding growth even in a more challenging environment |
| FuboTV price target lowered to $5 from $15 at Needham |
| Needham analyst Laura Martin lowered the firm's price target on FuboTV to $5 from $15 but keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company's Q1 adjusted EBITDA loss of $105M was 87% below her estimate and its (2%) negative gross margins were the lowest since Q2 of 2020 when FuboTV only had 286,000 paid subs, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Martin maintains that she expects FuboTV's content deals to be renewed at lower prices per sub now that it has over 1M paid subs, but its gross margin expansion will take longer than she had hoped |
| LendingTree price target lowered to $185 from $240 at Truist |
| Truist analyst Youssef Squali lowered the firm's price target on LendingTree to $185 from $240 but keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company's "diverse" product portfolio showed "mixed" results in Q1 amid rising interest rates but the long-term investment thesis on the company remains "unchanged", the analyst tells investors in a research note. Squali adds that the current valuation on LendingTree is attractive, already reflecting the company's current challenges. |
| Cassava Sciences price target lowered to $58 from $72 at B. Riley |
| B. Riley analyst Mayank Mamtani lowered the firm's price target on Cassava Sciences to $58 from $72 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares post the Q1 results. The analyst says the ongoing CUNY investigation of scientific collaborator, Dr. Wang, "remains a key overhang somewhat diluting the potential risk/reward," which he views to be largely baked into the equity underperformance |
And here is what I am watching today: OLED, IRTC, IBM, ROKU, TWLO, SITE, CDLX, REGN, ICPT, EDIT, ZYME, SAM, ALGN, DDOG, MDB, TEAM, RNG, and ZS.
Let's have a great day!
-JB