Markets closed higher for the 4th session in a row, with the S&P closing up over 1% in a somewhat quiet session. Asia markets closed mostly higher overnight while Europe indexes are in the red this morning. U.S. futures are pointing to a rough open as I write this, the Dollar and Yields are higher while Oil and Gold are higher.
Futures were pointing to a possible 5th session in a row of gains before the CPI data came out at 8:30. The Core CPI came in well above expectations erasing optimism that inflation may have peaked. Futures tanked after the release and looks like it will be a rough session today. This certainly adds fuel for the Fed to raise rates at least .75% next week and now will likely raise expectations for continued, aggressive hikes at the November and Decembers meetings. Would want to see that 50dma on the SPY hold today or things will remain dicey this week with a possible $390 test on the horizon:
If the SPY fails to hold the 50dma may revisit TZA calls again as a hedge, likely $35 or $36 strikes:
APRN fell for the second session in a row and is gapping lower this morning. Still think $10+ is in the cards in the coming weeks but will be a bumpy ride:
EVH squeezed out a small gain with a late day rally yesterday. Once this breaks $40 it should be off to the races:
I was looking to enter PTCT but the stock fell despite the rally in Biotech names. Will be watching again for another possible entry for a move into the $60s in the coming weeks:
CI is back on watch after breaking out yesterday. Could see a move into the low $300s soon so may add some calls for that outcome:
ICPT closed ups nearly 5% yesterday. This morning AKRO announced positive phase 2 data from their NASH drug. The stock is gapping up over 100% in the pre-market... and ironically enough the stats from their study are not much better than ICPT's and it is only a Phase 2 trial. Hopefully ICPT can see a sympathy move here in the coming days. May look to add some later dated strikes before Friday:
Here are the analyst changes of note for today:
| Medifast among DA Davidson's 'high-conviction small cap ideas' |
| DA Davidson analyst Linda Weiser keeps her Buy rating and $278 price target on Medifast, also selecting the stock as one of DA Davidson's 'high-conviction small cap ideas'. The analyst is positive on the management's track record of growing the company and sees several drivers of Medifast continuing long-term growth. Weiser adds that the stock is "particularly inexpensive" with a high dividend yield |
| Campbell Soup's top-line guidance may be hard to achieve, says UBS |
| UBS analyst Cody Ross keeps his Sell rating and $45 price target on Campbell Soup after speaking with its Chief Commercial Officer Michael Goodman. Ross notes that while Goodman expects the company to likely meet its FY23 profit guidance, he also warns that the top-line outlook may be more difficult to achieve as Private Label service levels increase and competitive tensions with other branded competitors ramp up as inflation moderates over the next year |
| Oracle price target raised to $87 from $78 at Evercore ISI |
| Evercore ISI analyst Kirk Materne raised the firm's price target on Oracle to $87 from $78 and keeps an In Line rating on the shares, stating that the Oracle delivered "solid" fiscal Q1 results when backing out the Cerner contribution. While there are some moving parts in terms of the Cerner integration and the expanding capital spending related to the growth in OCI, he believes the broader trends are "heading in the right direction as it relates to the Cloud opportunity," Materne tells investors |
| Kroger price target raised to $54 from $53 at Deutsche Bank |
| Deutsche Bank analyst Krisztina Katai raised the firm's price target on Kroger to $54 from $53 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The company reported a "very good" which "all key metrics checked the boxes," Katai tells investors in a research note. However, the analyst remains on the sidelines given the likely moderation in inflation in the second half of 2022 and "more balanced risk/reward" at current share levels |
Total U.S. time spent on Meta down 3% year/year in August, says Morgan Stanley |
| Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak estimates using third party data from Sensor Tower that total time spent on Meta in the U.S. was down 3% year-over-year in August, noting that this was the second consecutive monthly decline but also pointing out that both Instagram and core Facebook total time remained up about 7% and 33%, respectively, above estimated August 2019 levels. His negative revisions and estimate cuts made previously on August 19 are "well understood by the market," but these time spent trends create more tactical risk and uncertainty to near-term estimates, said Nowak, who adds that Meta must be clear about trends on the upcoming Q3 earnings call in October to clearly describe whether U.S. time spent is actually growing and if third party data are inaccurate. Nowak has an Overweight rating and $225 price target on Meta shares |
And this is what I am watching today: TZA, CI, UNH, CMG, WING, PTCT, SAGE, APRN, ZS, TWLO, SPOT, and ROKU.
Let's have a great day!
-JB