New Strong Buy Stocks for April 9th

FX Empire
Oil Price Fundamental Weekly Forecast – All Eyes on Pipeline Shutdown, Gasoline Inventory Numbers
Setting aside the pipeline issue, the direction of crude oil prices this week is likely to be determined by the API and EIA gasoline inventory data.
1d ago
Reuters
Dell chief executive sees chip shortage lasting a few years
A worldwide lack of semiconductors is proving a challenge for computer manufacturers, but the shortage is likely to persist for some years, the chief executive and founder of Dell Technologies told Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper. A surge in demand for electronic devices, coupled with U.S. sanctions against Chinese technology firms, has caused a dearth of the chips, crimping output of items ranging from cars to computers and smartphones. "The shortage will probably continue for a few years," Michael Dell said in an interview published on Tuesday.
6h ago
Bloomberg
China Is Hot Again as Foreign Bond Buyers Yearn for Yield
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese debt is back in favor with overseas investors.After the nation’s government bonds suffered their first outflow in two years in March, foreigners added 52 billion yuan ($8.1 billion) to their holdings in April, bringing the total to a record 2.1 trillion yuan, data compiled by ChinaBond show.In a game-changing shift -- compared by some to the birth of the euro -- yuan-denominated debt has emerged as a refuge during this year’s global bond rout. Investors looking for diversification have piled in, seeking its relatively high yields and low correlation to other markets. While that partially reversed in March, as rising U.S. yields dimmed Chinese bonds’ appeal, the quick turnaround has underscored the resilience of demand and China’s growing clout since opening its fixed-income market.“The underlying case for Chinese bonds is still very, very strong,” said Pramol Dhawan, head of emerging markets portfolio management at Pacific Investment Management Company LLC. “Because of its low correlation to global rates, its high nominal yields and high real yields form a very important part of portfolio construction.”Foreign investment in China’s interbank fixed-income market, as compiled by ChinaBond, rose 65 billion yuan in April to an all-time high of 3.2 trillion yuan, the data showed. Those holdings more than doubled over the past two years as Chinese bonds were included in global benchmarks compiled by Bloomberg Barclays and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Still, foreign investors only account for 4.3% of the total debt in China’s interbank market.“We are increasing our exposure to the Chinese bonds,” said Kheng Siang Ng, Asia Pacific head of fixed income at State Street Global Advisors. “It’s hard for the markets to ignore.”Even as foreign investors returned, the April numbers suggest the momentum of inflows has slowed from the breathtaking pace earlier this year. Last month’s inflow was less than half the amount seen in January.The yield premium of China’s benchmark 10-year bond over Treasuries narrowed by around 1 percentage point to about 154 basis points from a record in November. On top of that, FTSE Russell said in March that it will take three years to add Chinese debt into its global index, instead of the 12 months initially envisioned. That disappointed some investors who expected a faster inclusion.Defensive BuyersNick Maroutsos, head of global bonds at Janus Henderson Investors, is among those who aren’t yet ready to buy Chinese bonds.“We get asked this a lot, and my answer to whether we own or will own Chinese bonds is, ‘Not right now,’” said Maroutsos, whose firm managed more than $414 billion as of March.“Ultimately, we are defensive buyers, and I have a hard time looking at emerging markets as a safe haven for investors,” he said. “Chinese government bonds aren’t going to protect you and won’t behave in a manner similar to Treasuries.”China’s bonds have been dancing to their own tune, in part because they are less owned by foreign investors, and China’s independent economic and policy cycles set them apart from the rest of the world. Over the past 10 years, their correlation with the U.S. Treasuries was less than 0.2, according to a Bloomberg analysis.Read: Carry Trades in China, Korea Are Best in Low-Yield Covid EraWhile the yield spread has narrowed, at 3.1%, China’s 10-year yield is almost double that of Treasuries. Even if U.S. yields rise further, Chinese bonds remain appealing because of their low correlation to global markets, which helps investors lower volatility in their portfolio, said Lucy Qiu, a strategist at UBS Global Wealth Management.“Investors still need to look for uncorrelated sources of returns, as negative bond-equity correlations may be challenged during a rapid rise in yield,” Qiu said.The Shanghai Clearing House also compiles data on foreign investment in Chinese bonds, with the focus on corporate debt.Read: China’s Bonds Only One to Gain Among Biggest Markets in Rout (Updates with Shanghai Clearing House data reference in last paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
10h ago
Bloomberg
Oil Declines With Inflation Fears Eroding Market Confidence
(Bloomberg) -- Oil fell with global equities after a recent rally that has taken some commodities to record high levels brought on concerns over inflation.U.S. crude futures were down 1.2%. Gasoline and heating-oil markets were also weaker with the hacked Colonial Pipeline system in the U.S. returning operations at one section of the key link. Full services are expected by the end of the week, though some Gulf Coast refiners are already cutting processing.While the pipeline halt is causing some retail gasoline shortages, U.S. crude oil prices remain capped near $65 a barrel. The market’s structure has weakened in recent days, suggesting coronavirus-induced demand concerns are returning, particular as the virus spreads afresh across parts of Asia. Still, consumption in the U.S. and Europe has been recovering.“After taking into account the fact that the Colonial Pipeline is expecting to resume full services by the end of the week, the market appears to have set aside the incident as a temporary disruption,” said Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights. “Oil market attention is shifting back to the global dichotomy between countries emerging out of the Covid storm and some still in its grip.”The knock on impact of the Colonial disruption is starting to ripple through to everything from refining to shipping. Among processors, Total SE scaled back activity in a key unit at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, and Citgo Petroleum Corp. cut rates at its Lake Charles, Louisiana plant. There’s been a rush to book oil tankers as traders seek to redress the supply imbalance caused by the stoppage.See also: India’s Oil Demand Spared 2020’s Collapse Despite CrisisThe main three main energy agencies will release their monthly oil market updates this week, starting with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on Tuesday. The group and its allies are continuing with a plan to steadily add supplies back to the oil market.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
3h ago
Bloomberg
Pound Surges 1% as Risk of Imminent Scotland Referendum Recedes
(Bloomberg) -- The pound strengthened more than 1% against the dollar after the Scottish National Party’s election showing pushed back the risk of a near-term vote on independence, yet traders are bracing for further clashes over the U.K.’s future down the road.Sterling climbed by the most in almost a month to $1.4134 on Monday, its highest level since February, after the SNP fell one seat short of a parliamentary majority. Strategists from Rabobank International to Credit Agricole SA cite the push for a referendum -- which U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson opposes -- as a headwind that could create volatility in the months to come.“There are a lot of voices in the market that see the lack of a majority for the SNP combined with Johnson’s refusal to hold a referendum as meaning that the risks to the union are a non-issue for the pound,” said Jane Foley, head of foreign-exchange strategy at Rabobank. “I would be more cautious on this.”Investors will now be paying attention to how SNP’s leader Nicola Sturgeon pursues the goal of changing Scotland’s constitutional future. Her party boosted its haul to 64 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and, alongside the Green party that also increased its share, would have enough to form a pro-independence majority. Johnson has said that he would not grant one any time soon, which could lead to a clash in the courts.Sterling’s rally started during Asia as investors covered short positions and Japanese banks bought the currency, traders said, before extending through London trading. U.K. government bonds led a selloff of haven sovereign assets following the vote. Ten-year yields climbed as much as four basis points to 0.81%.The U.K. prime minister did strengthen his hand across Northern England, benefiting from the country’s speedy rollout of vaccines. Britain is due to be fully re-opened by June 21 and the corresponding economic boost could be another tailwind for the pound over the coming months. One-month risk reversals, a gauge of market sentiment, show pound traders are at their most bullish versus the dollar since last month.“’What matters is the U.K. economy, the Bank of England, the dollar and risk markets,” said James Athey, a money manager at Aberdeen Standard Investments. If the dollar suffers in coming months, sterling could rise as high as $1.45, a level last seen in 2016, he said.Read more: Why Scotland’s Road to Independence Vote Is RockyFor Rabobank’s Foley, continued uncertainties over Scotland’s future could spur volatility in sterling over the next 18 months. Sturgeon has said that if Johnson wants to stop Scottish legislation on a referendum, he would have to go to the Supreme Court to challenge it. A draft Referendum Bill has already been published. While a majority voted to remain in the union in 2014, odds show that a new referendum could be much tighter.“The pound is not out of the woods just yet,” said Valentin Marinov, head of Group-of-10 foreign-exchange research at Credit Agricole. “The confrontation over independence between Holyrood and Westminster could grow more intense in the wake of the Scottish election and thus add to the downside risks for sterling once again.”(Updates prices to reflect 1% rally from first paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
23h ago
Bloomberg
Tech-Fueled Selloff Goes Global on Inflation Fears: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) -- A technology-led selloff that started on Wall Street reverberated across the world as worries over inflation pushed investors to dump expensive stocks. Treasuries were steady while the dollar erased its gains.The benchmark for European stocks tumbled the most this year, after the Asian gauge posted the biggest losses since March. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index futures extended a slump that sent the underlying gauge down 2.6% on Monday. A smaller drop in S&P 500 contracts signaled the index will extend a retreat from all-time highs.Debate rages over whether the expected jump in price pressures will be enduring enough to force the Federal Reserve into tightening policy sooner than current guidance suggests. A measure of U.S. inflation expectations reached the highest level since 2006.“There is a risk the discussion could trigger market volatility,” according to BlackRock Investment Institute strategists led by Jean Boivin. “We believe investors should look through any such bouts of volatility. The Fed will likely be much slower than in the past to raise rates in the face of rising inflation.”Among the biggest pandemic winners, tech stocks whose valuations often depend on earnings prospects far into the future are now at the center of the inflation-fueled selloff. That was epitomized in Cathie Wood’s Ark Innovation ETF, which dropped down more than 3% in pre-market trading after plunging 5.2% yesterday.Read more: Global Tech Rout Deepens as Sector Slides Further From PeaksEven after the declines, the Nasdaq trades at 26 times the 12-month projected profits, while the gauge of European technology shares enjoys a valuation of 29 times.Wednesday’s U.S. inflation report along with a series of U.S. government bond auctions this week are seen as the next factors to deepen or arrest the slide. The latest reading is expected to show an accelerated pace of consumer-price increases, with the year-on-year comparison made starker by the pandemic shock in 2020.Copper prices traded near a record, while iron also rallied. Oil dipped as traders monitored progress on reopening the largest U.S. oil-products pipeline, which was paralyzed by a cyberattack, and is expected to be mostly back online by the weekend.See here the MLIV Question of the Day: How Far Can Reflation Trades Go?Here are some key events to watch this week:A range of Fed speakers are due this week, including Governor Lael Brainard on TuesdayOPEC monthly Oil Market Report is published with global demand forecasts and production estimates TuesdayU.S. CPI report Wednesday is forecast to show prices continued to increase in AprilBank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speaks WednesdayThese are some of the main moves in markets:StocksFutures on the S&P 500 Index decreased 0.8% as of 6:53 a.m. New York time.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 2.2%.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index tumbled 1.9%.The MSCI Emerging Market Index shed 1.4%.CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.The euro jumped 0.2% to $1.2157.The British pound gained 0.1% to $1.4131.The onshore yuan weakened 0.1% to 6.425 per dollar.The Japanese yen strengthened 0.1% to 108.74 per dollar.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries gained less than one basis point to 1.60%.The yield on two-year Treasuries was unchanged at 0.15%.Germany’s 10-year yield gained three basis points to -0.18%.Japan’s 10-year yield sank one basis point to 0.078%.Britain’s 10-year yield gained three basis points to 0.817%.CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude declined 0.9% to $64.32 a barrel.Brent crude dipped 0.9% to $67.72 a barrel.Gold strengthened 0.2% to $1,840.49 an ounce.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
58m ago
MarketWatch
My boyfriend’s brother lent me $6K to buy a house 12 years ago. It rose 128% in value. How much extra should I give him back?
‘I bought the house for $125,000 and it is now worth approximately $285,000, with a total owed of $185,000.’
5h ago
Barrons.com
Marijuana Megamerger Would Create a U.S. Cannabis Giant
The U.S. cannabis deal would give Florida’s dominant player a notable southwestern U.S. footprint. Trulieve (ticker: TCNNF) and Harvest Health (HRVSF) combined would be one of the largest cannabis companies in the world, in terms of sales. Combining analyst estimates for both companies puts the estimated 2021 revenue at $1.24 billion, only slightly below consensus estimates for Curaleaf (CURLF) at $1.26 billion.
19h ago
Bloomberg
Cathie Wood’s Main ETF Drops in Premarket After Holdings Slump
(Bloomberg) -- Cathie Wood’s Ark Innovation ETF looked set for another difficult day on Tuesday as it extended losses in early trading after suffering its worst drop in seven weeks.The ARKK exchange-traded fund fell 2.9% as of 5:38 a.m. in New York. The product, which makes concentrated bets on tech companies aiming to disrupt industries, plunged 5.2% on Monday to a six-month low with all but five of its 58 holdings retreating in a broad tech selloff.That was double the loss of the Nasdaq 100 Index, and took ARKK’s decline from a February peak to 34%.Wood has doubled down on some of her favorite bets in recent downdrafts, buying Twitter Inc. in three out of five days last week as it fell 5.2% in the worst week since March. She said in a television interview that the tech selloff has only set her fund up for a strong rebound. ARKK surged almost 150% in 2020 and is down 16% this year.While all of ARKK’s major holdings retreated on Monday -- Tesla Inc., its biggest exposure, dropped 6.4% -- the hardest-hit names in the portfolio were two biotech stocks. Twist Bioscience Corp. was the fund’s biggest laggard, plunging more than 17% for its worst one-day performance since Feb. 5. NanoString Technologies Inc. sank 12%.On the bright side, Coinbase Global Inc., which accounts for about 3% of the ETF’s holdings, gained 11.3% in the best day since its April 14 direct listing.Wood’s firm, Ark Investment Management, added 33,300 Coinbase shares on Monday, according to Bloomberg’s calculations of data from the company’s daily trading update. The asset manager also sold 30.4% of its Apple Inc. holdings, the data show.(Updates Tuesday move. An earlier version corrected the second paragraph to show 5.2% drop was Monday.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
2h ago
TipRanks
Buy These 2 New Stocks Before They Jump Over 80%, Says JPMorgan
In the past week, investors have had to cope with multiple conflicting signals from the markets. The April jobs report, which was expected to show almost 1 million new positions for the month, showed only 266,000. The official unemployment number ticked upward slightly to 6.1%, and hourly wages also gained – by 0.7%. That last would seem to be a positive – except that, combined with the massive government stimulus injecting cash into the economy – higher wages are seen as a portent of inflation. At first glance, it seems like an environment that would have investors cautious. Except – the Fed has signaled that it will not be winding down its easy money policies. Low interest rates have helped to fire up the bull market engine in recent years, for two reasons. First, it keeps the cost of credit low, making it easy to leverage all sorts of purchases – cars, homes… even stocks. And second, with rates low, bond yields have been unable to make any significant rise. For investors seeking a return, this makes stocks the place to go. It also creates an environment that’s conducive to IPO events. Markets have been on a steady, long-term upward trend for months; the S&P 500 has gained 44% over the last 12 months. With a return potential like that, it’s no wonder that companies are turning to the public trading markets to raise capital. When it comes to equities, a rising tide truly will lift all boats. This brings us to JPMorgan. The banking firm’s stock analysts have been looking for the equities primed to gain in current conditions. And they’ve tapped two stocks new to the public markets as likely to jump 80% or more in coming months – a solid return that investors should note. After running both tickers through TipRanks’ database, we found out that the rest of the Street is also standing squarely in the bull camp as each boasts a “Strong Buy” analyst consensus. LAVA Therapeutics (LVTX) We’ll start with a Netherlands-based biotech firm. LAVA Therapeutics has a focus on cancer treatments, and is working to develop what it calls gamma-delta bispecific T cell engagers. These compounds are intended to activate the innate and adaptive immune systems, using the body’s own response to fight tumors. LAVA’s pipeline includes four proprietary compounds, and a fifth that is being investigated in combination with Janssen. All five drug candidates are in preclinical trials. The leading candidate, LAVA-051, is scheduled to begin a Phase 1/2a clinical trial in the first half of this year, while a second candidate, LAVA-1207, will begin a Phase 1/2a trial during 2H21. These drug candidates are being developed as treatments for multiple myeloma and prostate cancer, respectively. LVTX shares entered the public markets on March 25, in an IPO that raised $100.5 million. The shares started trading at $15, and saw 6.7 million shares hit the market. Among the bulls is JPM analyst Jessica Fye, who likes the fundamental of this newly public stock. Fye rates LVTX an Overweight (i.e. Buy), and her $22 price target implies a robust upside potential of ~86% for the year ahead. (To watch Fye’s track record, click here) "Our Overweight rating is based on our positive view of the company’s proprietary platform, gamma-delta bsTCE, which redirects a specific group of T cells called gamma-delta T cells towards tumor cells. We see LAVA’s off-the-shelf bsTCEs, which can conditionally activate gamma-delta T cells in a tumor/antigen directed manner, as differentiated, potentially leading to a safer therapy and more durable benefit. To the extent that initial data for lead asset LAVA-051 begins to derisk the platform, we see upside for shares as soon as early 2022," Fye noted. In its short time on the public market, LAVA’s unique approach to cancer treatment has attracted notice from three Wall Street biotech analysts – and all three agree that this is a stock to buy, making the Strong Buy consensus rating unanimous. The shares are trading for $11.80, and their $23.67 average price target is even more bullish Fye allows, suggesting an upside of ~100% in the next 12 months. (See LVTX stock analysis on TipRanks) Zhihu (ZH) From biotech, let’s shift gears to online content. The net has given content creators a nearly unlimited field to work in, and Zhihu operates in the Chinese online content market. The company’s website is a question-and-answer forum, on the model of Quora, allowing users to pose questions to the community or offer replies. A look at some of the company’s numbers shows its size. By the end of December last year, Zhihu had a total of 43.1 million content creators, who has posted over 315 million questions and answers. The monthly average users (MAU), a key metric for any website, increased from 43.1 million in 4Q19 to 75.7 million in 4Q20. Zhihu held a US IPO on March 26, to raise capital for further operations and expansion. The company put 55 million shares on the American public markets, at $9.50 each. The IPO raised $522.5 million in gross proceeds, and Zhihu now shows a market cap of $4.58 billion. In their early trading, ZH shares faced pressure after a Securities and Exchange Commission ruling on accounting regulations. US law requires that accounting firms permit US regulators to review the financial audits of overseas companies, under threat of potential delisting from the US equity markets. The SEC ruling promises stricter enforcement of this provision. Even under this pressure, however, the Zhihu IPO was the third-largest by a Chinese company in the US markets so far this year. In an initiation of coverage report on Zhihu, JPM analyst Binbin Ding notes several factors that bode well for the stock, with two in particular standing out: “(1) Differentiated positioning. Unlike online content communities that are mostly entertainment-oriented, Zhihu is known for its depth of content and is recognized as the most trustworthy online content community in China (CIC survey). This positioning makes it the go-to platform for users seeking quality answers. (2) Diversified monetization models, including ads, membership, content-commerce solution, ecommerce and education. In particular, we believe Zhihu’s content-commerce solutions is an innovative model with significant potential growth upside…” Ding summed up, "We expect Zhihu to see a 112% top-line CAGR over 2020 to ’22E, driven by a 35% traffic CAGR and a 57% monetization CAGR. Such growth rates make Zhihu the fastest-growing digital content operator in our coverage universe." To this end, Ding gives ZH shares an Overweight (i.e. Buy) rating, along with a $16 price target that suggests room for an impressive 96% growth potential this year. (To watch Ding’s track record, click here) Ding's bullish stance on ZH is in line with Wall Street’s view. The stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating, based on 3 Buy ratings set in recent weeks. The shares are trading for $8.15, and their $15.23 average price target suggests ~87% upside for the year ahead. (See ZH stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
22h ago
Bloomberg
Gas Stations Run Dry as Pipeline Races to Recover From Hacking
(Bloomberg) -- Gas stations along the U.S. East Coast are beginning to run out of fuel as North America’s biggest petroleum pipeline races to recover from a paralyzing cyberattack that has kept it shut for days.From Virginia to Florida and Alabama, stations are reporting that they’ve sold out of gasoline as supplies in the region dwindle and panic buying sets in. An estimated 7% of gas stations in Virginia were out of fuel as of late Monday, according to GasBuddy analyst Patrick DeHaan.The White House said in a statement it is monitoring the situation and directing government agencies to help alleviate any shortages. Colonial Pipeline Co. said it’s manually operating a segment of the pipeline running from North Carolina to Maryland and expects to substantially restore all service by the weekend.The Colonial pipeline has been shut down since late Friday. On Monday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation pointed the finger at a ransomware gang known as DarkSide. While President Joe Biden stopped short of blaming the Kremlin for the attack, he said “there is evidence” the hackers or the software they used are “in Russia.”Colonial Chief Executive Officer Joe Blount and a top lieutenant assured Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk and state-level officials that the company has complete operational control of the pipeline and won’t restart shipments until the ransomware has been neutralized.The dwindling supplies come just as the nation’s energy industry was preparing to meet stronger fuel demand from summer travel. Americans are once again commuting to the office and booking flights after a year of restrictions. Depending on the duration of the disruption, retail prices could spike, further stoking fears of inflation as commodity prices rally worldwide.The U.S. East Coast is losing around 1.2 million barrels a day of gasoline supply due to the disruption, according to a note from industry consultant FGE.In Asheville, North Carolina, Aubrey Clements, a clerk at an Exxon Mobil station answered the phone with “Hello, I’m currently out of gas.” The Marathon gas station in Elizabethtown, North Carolina, had roughly two dozen cars waiting to fuel up, said an employee there. Drivers pulling into a station with a sign offering unleaded gasoline for $2.649 per gallon in Manning, South Carolina, were met with pumps covered in yellow and red “out of service” bags.Shortages are also hitting the aviation industry, forcing American Airlines Group Inc. to add additional stops to two long-haul flights originating from Charlotte, North Carolina. Airlines flying out of Philadelphia International Airport are burning through jet-fuel reserves and the airport has enough to last “a couple of weeks,’ a spokeswoman said.In an 18-minute virtual meeting, Blount said Colonial is working with refiners, marketers and retailers to prevent shortages, according to a person involved with the meeting who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the discussion. The pipeline serves 90 U.S. military installations and 26 oil refineries, the person said.The shutdown has prompted frenzied moves by traders and retailers to secure alternative supplies. Oil tanker charter rates skyrocketed in the U.S. with refiners scrambling for ships to store fuel that has nowhere to go.Emergency shipments of gasoline and diesel from Texas are already on the way to Atlanta and other southeastern cities via trucks, and at least two Gulf Coast refineries began trimming output amid expectations that supplies will begin backing up in the nation’s oil-refining nexus.The national average retail gasoline price rose to $2.967 a gallon on Monday, a 2.4% increase from Friday, according to AAA. The premium for wholesale gasoline in the New York area expanded to its widest in three months.Gasoline futures that initially surged as much as 4.2% earlier this week have since declined. Futures prices had gained more than 50% this year, helped by the recovery from the pandemic.The event is just the latest example of critical infrastructure being targeted by ransomware. Hackers are increasingly attempting to infiltrate essential services such as electric grids and hospitals. The escalating threats prompted the White House to respond last month with a plan to increase security at utilities and their suppliers. Pipelines are a specific concern because of the central role they play in the U.S. economy.Ransomware cases involve hackers seeding networks with malicious software that encrypts the data and leaves the machines locked until the victims pay the extortion fee. This would be the biggest attack of its kind on a U.S. fuel pipeline.DarkSide said in a post on the dark web that it wasn’t to blame and hinted that an affiliate group may have been behind the attack. The group promised to do a better job of screening customers that buy its malware.Government officials haven’t advised Colonial on whether it ought to pay the ransom, Deputy National Security Adviser for Cyber and Emerging Technologies Anne Neuberger said during a briefing.Learn more about how emergency powers can counter fuel-supply disruptions.“It’s an all-hands-on-deck effort right now,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. “We are working closely with the company, state and local officials to make sure that they get back up to normal operations as quickly as possible and there aren’t disruptions in supply.”The White House pulled together an inter-agency task force to address the breach, including exploring options for lessening its impact, according to an official. Biden can invoke an array of emergency powers to ensure supplies keep flowing to big cities and airports along the East Coast.Some rules curbing domestic transportation of fuel have been eased to help deal with any shortages. That doesn’t extend to waiving the Jones Act, a measure that would allow foreign tankers to help shuffle more petroleum products between U.S. ports.The Northeast can secure gasoline shipments from Europe but it will come at an increasing cost the longer the pipeline stays shut. In the meantime, fuel producers including Marathon Petroleum Corp. are weighing alternatives for how to ship their products to the Northeast.Landlocked cities face the greatest danger of fuel shortages compared with those with access to water-borne deliveries, said Steve Boyd, senior managing director at Houston-based distributor Sun Coast Resources Inc. If the pipeline remains down for many more days, he’s anticipating a “massive surge” in orders.(Adds Virginia situation in second paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
4h ago
Reuters
Cryptocurrency ethereum hits new record high again; dogecoin slumps
NEW YORK/LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Cryptocurrency ethereum climbed to a new peak for a third straight day on Monday on continued optimism about further growth in decentralized finance or "DeFi", although some analysts said it was overvalued at current levels. Ethereum has soared this year, fuelled by the boom in DeFi, which are platforms that facilitate crypto-denominated lending outside traditional banking. Many DeFi applications are embedded in the ethereum blockchain.
1d ago
TipRanks
2 “Strong Buy” Stocks With at Least 7% Dividend Yield
Are we seeing some signs of danger in the markets? At first glance, it wouldn’t seem so. The S&P 500 is sitting just below its record high, as is the Dow Jones average. The big tech giants – Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Facebook, and Microsoft – all posted great results in their recent earnings reports. And yet, they are leading the declines in the NASDAQ. According to Morgan Stanley equity strategist Michael Wilson, we’re in for a volatile ride, at least in the near-term. "With the S&P 500 making new highs every day, few seem worried... rather than getting excited about reopening, we are getting more concerned about execution risk and what’s already priced in,” Wilson noted. “Whatever correction the market experiences this year, we are likely to make higher highs next year. The goal as an investor is to navigate the... transition, avoid the stocks with the biggest drawdowns and be in position to capture the next leg." So, let’s take this advice, and look for ways to protect the portfolio in the short term while staking a position for the longer term. That’s a strategy which will naturally draw investors toward dividend stocks, the classic defensive play. We’ve used the TipRanks database to pull up two dividend players that combine a Strong Buy sentiment from Wall Street with a yield of at least 7%. Let's take a closer look. New Residential Investment (NRZ) We’ll start with a real estate investment trust (REIT), since these companies have a reputation as solid dividend payers. That’s in part an artifact of their position in regard to tax regulation; they are required to return a certain percentage of profits directly to shareholders, and the dividend is often a convenient vehicle for compliance. New Residential Investment is typical of its sector, holding a $6 billion investment portfolio, of which just over half is mortgage servicing rights. In its recent 1Q21 financial release, New Residential showed a net income of $301 million, up from $101 million at the end of Q4. The company declared a quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share; the payments totaled $82.9 million. At the declared rate, the dividend annualizes to 80 cents per common share, for a yield of 7.5%. This compares favorably to the ~2% yield found among S&P-listed companies. NRZ shares are up 77% in the past 12 months, gaining as the company switched from net losses at the height of the corona crisis to profitability in the last four quarters. To take advantage of the share appreciation, and to raise additional capital, the company announced a public offering of shares in April. The sale generated gross proceeds of $522.4 million on 51.7 million shares sold. The funds raised were used to acquire Caliber Home Loans, with plans to integrate the acquisition into NRZ’s wholly owned mortgage origination service. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 of this year. Covering the stock for BTIG, analyst Eric Hagen writes: “[We] think the company has the capital to be acquisitive in bulk sales transactions as some originators potentially look to offload more thinly capitalized MSRs if origination volume slows more meaningfully. It confirmed the $500 million of capital raised in connection to the Caliber deal was about $0.15 dilutive to NAV, so book is around $11.20. The stock is less than 0.93x book, and about 6.5x forward earnings assuming a 15% ROTCE.” Hagen rates NRZ a Buy, and his $13 price target implies a 25% upside for the year ahead. (To watch Hagen’s track record, click here) Hagen is no outlier in his bullish opinion here. Of the 10 recent analyst commentaries on this stock, 9 recommend it to Buy, against a single Hold. The $12.69 average price target is almost as bullish as Hagen’s, and suggests an upside of ~22% from the current trading price of $10.38. (See NRZ stock analysis on TipRanks) Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) We’ll switch gears now, and take a look at an energy company. Specifically, a midstream company. Enterprise Products Partners controls over 50,000 miles of pipelines, along with facilities capable of storing 160 million barrels worth of oil and 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas. In addition, Enterprise has shipping terminals in the state of Texas, on the Gulf Coast. As the US economy has reopened, demand for fuel has increased – which in turn increased the flow of fuel through Enterprise’s system. The company’s financials have been rebounding since the second half of last year, and the recent 1Q21 report showed $9.1 billion at the top line, the best result in the last two years. EPS came in at 61 cents per share, flat year-over-year, but higher than the last three quarters. Enterprise declared a Q2 dividend of 45 cents per common share, the second quarter in a row at this level. The current payment is backed by the company’s $1.7 billion in distributable cash flow. The annualized payment of $1.80 per common share gives a yield of 7.7%. Among the bulls is Raymond James analyst Justin Jenkins, who sets a Strong Buy rating on EPD shares, along with a $26 price target. (To watch Jenkins’ track record, click here) Backing his stance, Jenkins writes: “While Enterprise (EPD) has not been immune to energy industry challenges, the asset base has continued to show resilience in the difficult environment. Looking forward, EPD's unique combination of integration, balance sheet strength, and ROIC track record remains best in class, in our view. We see EPD as arguably best positioned to withstand the volatile landscape... This is a compelling opportunity for entry into ownership of one of the best positioned MLPs…” Overall, Wall Street’s analysts are sanguine about EPD’s path forward, as evidenced by the unanimous Strong Buy consensus rating, supported by 8 Buy recommendations. The average price target, at $28.75, is more bullish than Jenkins’ and suggests a one-year growth potential of 24% for EPD. (See EPD’s stock analysis at TipRanks) To find good ideas for dividend stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
12h ago
MarketWatch
Ethereum price surges above $4,000 but overshadowed by dogecoin buzz. What is Ether?
Ether prices on the Ethereum blockchain have been steadily and quietly carving out new highs as buzz in the crypto has centered predominantly on the fervor around more speculative assets like dogecoin in recent weeks.
18h ago
Bloomberg
Goldman Laments ‘Noise’ of ESG Data Barrage Amid New Rules
(Bloomberg) -- The head of sustainable finance at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says companies are starting to provide more data on their climate and social metrics than is useful for investors.John Goldstein, who’s been running the Wall Street firm’s sustainable finance group since it was created in 2019, says the risk is that asset managers lose track of what’s important, and businesses buckle under the paperwork as they try to demonstrate their commitment to environmental, social and governance goals.“My mantra tends to be: if we could have better data on fewer things that matter more,” Goldstein said in an interview.“Companies feel like they’re asked for too many different things by too many different people, and that the list is changing,” he said. And “investors feel, to some degree, that they get a lot of noise and not a lot of signal.”Companies are racing to adapt their businesses as politicians, regulators and investors acknowledge that capitalism needs to change to prevent a catastrophic overheating of the planet. But the sheer volume of new regulations presents a challenge for both firms and investors as they try to figure out what’s expected. Goldstein says that to gain access to financing, some companies are having to provide more data than genuinely aids transparency.Sea Rise From Melted Land Ice May Double If Paris Pact FailsFitch Ratings says the European Union’s taxonomy requirements will help investors and regulators determine how sustainable a project or asset is, but “impose complex disclosure requirements on corporates.”Goldstein says the concern is that some of the demands being made on corporations might be counterproductive. “All of these emerging metrics, tools and data sets, when you get into the algebra of them, there still is that challenge of: do they inadvertently say you’re going to look a lot better if you just avoid the hard-to-do stuff?”He recalls a meeting with a chief financial officer who told him that she “had been asked for 2,000 different ESG data points in the last year.”But asset managers can’t afford to ignore ESG considerations, whether they’re pitching an investment product as sustainable or not, Goldstein said.“Increasingly, there needs to be an ESG story,” regardless what kind of product is being sold, he said. At the same time, excluding a company from portfolios “doesn’t mean it miraculously ceases to exist.”Government and international standard-setting authorities have acknowledged that greater coordination is needed, not least to ensure comparability across companies and asset managers, and to prevent greenwashing. The European Union last month unveiled new standards for classifying sustainable investments and expanded the climate reporting requirements that officials hope will be used globally.EU Eyes ‘Re-Engineering’ of Global Finance With Green StandardsMeanwhile, the market for sustainable investments is booming. Global issuance of ESG bonds will probably exceed $650 billion this year, after offerings tripled in the first quarter alone, Moody’s Investors Service said.Part of this year’s surge is due to the change in attitudes in the U.S. since the election of President Joe Biden, according to Goldstein.“If we look back at 2020, which was a pretty remarkable year for sustainable investing in ESG, all of that really happened with U.S. federal policy as a fairly pronounced headwind,” he said. Now, the U.S. “is a tailwind.”(Updates to add 2021 ESG bond market forecast)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
4h ago
Reuters
Chip shortage dampens Nissan's route back to profit after record loss
TOKYO (Reuters) -Nissan Motor Co expects to break even this business year, defying expectations for a return to profitability, as the global chip shortage curbs the car maker's recovery from a record annual operating loss. "The fiscal year 2020 was a year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic and impacted by multiple factors including growth of environmental awareness and political as well as economic changes," said Chief Executive Makoto Uchida. The forecast by Nissan, Japan's No.3 carmaker by sales, to break even for the year that began April 1 was lower than a 241.7 billion yen ($2.23 billion) profit predicted by SmartEstimate.
3h ago
Bloomberg
Rout Lands on Nasdaq Where Shorts Are Massing, Bulls Getting Out
(Bloomberg) -- Whatever caused the tech selloff, and inflation angst looks to be the likeliest culprit, evidence has been gathering for weeks that traders were bracing for declines.Short interest in the Nasdaq 100 exchange-traded fund, in free fall as recently as March, was surging before the index had its biggest plunge since March. Flows to the ETF were negative in April and would’ve been this month, too, if not for a jump on Friday. All told, about half a billion dollars has been drained from the QQQs this year.As the Nasdaq 100 -- trading at more than 5 times annual revenue -- dropped more than 2.5%, volatility in tech stocks jumped by the most since early March. With inflation expectations leaping to the highest level since 2006, everything from the biggest megacap tech stocks to the frothiest small fry was slammed. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 slid as much as 1.4% in early Asian trading on Tuesday.“Inflationary pressures are becoming harder to ignore,” said Adam Phillips, managing director of portfolio strategy at EP Wealth Advisors. “Although the jury is still out on whether this is merely a temporary issue, the prospect of inflation is leading investors to seek out areas that are better insulated from the threat of rising prices.”Duck and CoverThe breadth of the tech plunge made Monday particularly painful for bulls. Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF (ticker ARKK) sank 5.2% to the lowest since November as its biggest holdings nosedived, with the likes of Tesla Inc., Roku Inc. and Teladoc Health Inc. skidding. After an eye-watering 150% gain in 2020, ARKK has dropped 16% so far this year.But damage wasn’t limited to tech’s speculative fringe. The New York Stock Exchange FANG Index fell 3.6%, putting the gauge on track for its worst month since March 2020. With inflation threatening to break higher, the cohort’s expensive valuations are growing increasingly harder to justify. Alphabet shares are trading at eight times revenue, the highest in more than a decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, while Facebook’s price-to-sales multiple is nine -- nearly twice that of the average Nasdaq 100 company.Roaring BearsBears boosted bets against tech stocks as the industry’s leadership faltered amid a flight to the reflation trade. Short interest on the biggest ETF tracking the Nasdaq 100, or QQQ, increased to 3.6% of the stock outstanding, the highest level since August and up from 0.9% in December. The spike in bearish wagers stood out in a market where shorts have collapsed amid the S&P 500’s 88% rally since the pandemic trough in March 2020.Meanwhile, after several years of one-way flows, investors are starting to pull cash from the $161 billion Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 ETF. The fund has bled roughly $425 million so far in 2021, after absorbing nearly $17 billion in 2020 -- the second-biggest haul on record. The ETF is on track for its first yearly outflow since 2016.Troubling TechnicalsCharts on the Nasdaq 100 look precarious. In the short term, the gauge is approaching its average price over the 100 days, a trend line that sits within 0.1% of the index’s current level and has served as support during the selloff in last November and again in March. A sustained breakdown in late 2018 and March 2020 foreshadowed losses that exceeded 20% from peak to trough.Viewed from a wider lens, the picture is no better. Plot the Nasdaq’s relative altitude versus the S&P 500 shows the ratio has fallen back below its 2000 peak again. Its failure in March to hold above that resistance was flagged by DoubleLine Capital LP founder Jeffrey Gundlach as a sign that another collapse may be in store.Cooling CallsWhile none of the data shows significant jumps in bearish sentiment, it’s consistent with a backdrop in which the extreme bullishness that has marked the last 14 months shows signs of subsiding. That may make sense after the index’s 92% gain since its pandemic low.The largest companies, loosely known as Faamg, last September saw day traders flocking to bullish options for quick profits. That demand has since waned, with their combined call open interest falling almost a third from the peak, data compiled by Bloomberg show.(Adds Nasdaq futures move in the third paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
11h ago
Benzinga
Gemini Crypto Exchange Lets Dogecoin Holders Earn 2.5% APY
Winklevoss-owned crypto exchange Gemini announced on Sunday that investors holding Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) could earn 2.5% APY through Gemini Earn. What Happened: “With our trading and custody support for DOGE, we are the only regulated exchange in the U.S. where you can trade and earn interest on DOGE in all 50 states,” said Gemini. Available to investors in the U.S and Singapore, daily interested generated on Dogecoin will be added to the amount held on the platform. Investors would be able to withdraw and deposit their DOGE with relative ease, given that Gemini Earn doesn’t charge fees or require a minimum investment amount. Why It Matters: The exchange only recently listed DOGE on its platform, adding that “Dogecoin is no joke.” “Dogecoin continues Bitcoin’s tradition of giving the control of money back to the people. Yes, it’s a meme coin, but all money is a meme,” said Gemini CEO Tyler Winklevoss in a blog post. Winklevoss also stated that recent demand for the cryptocurrency had outstripped its supply, resulting in its price reaching unprecedented highs. “The people are speaking,” he said. In fact, if Google search volume is any indication of retail interest, then Winklevoss’s comments stand true as Dogecoin recently outpaced Bitcoin for the first time. In absolute terms, Dogecoin recorded a higher level of interest than Bitcoin hitting a peak popularity of 100/100 while Bitcoin stood at 69/100 for the period between May 2 and May 8, 2021. Price Action: Dogecoin regained support above $0.50 after a disappointing SNL weekend saw the cryptocurrency dip over 30% on Saturday. At press time, the cryptocurrency was trading at $0.4487, down 23.75% in the past 24-hours. Image: MazRx on Wikimedia Commons See more from BenzingaClick here for options trades from BenzingaEthereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Binance Coin (BNB) Set All-Time Highs As Bitcoin Dominance DropsNFL's First Crypto Partnership: New York Giants And Grayscale Investments© 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
12h ago
Bloomberg
Jessica Alba’s Honest Co. Slumps Less Than a Week After Its IPO
(Bloomberg) -- Honest Co.’s shares tumbled again on Monday, extending a slide just days after the consumer-goods company started by actress Jessica Alba made a splashy debut in the public markets.A decline of as much as 13% sent the shares as low as $16.52, approaching the initial public offering price of $16 on May 4. After soaring 44% on its first day of trading, the stock declined more than 7% in the next two sessions and was on pace Monday for its third straight drop.The slump is an inauspicious start for a company looking to capitalize on elevated demand for packaged-goods and cleaning supplies during the pandemic. Alba, who co-founded the direct-to-consumer brand in 2011 and now serves as chief creative officer, brought some Hollywood glamour to the IPO last week with multiple media appearances.There have been hints that the pandemic boom is starting to subside for packaged goods, with some peers reporting higher costs and uneven demand trends recently. Data and research company New Constructs called Honest “overvalued” and said the stock is “worth no more than $7” a share.Honest didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
19h ago
MarketWatch
What the dogecoin army is saying as the cryptocurrency’s tumble triggers a bearish break in the long-term trend line
Dogecoin's stratospheric run was in jeopardy early Sunday, with the popular crypto unwinding a chunk of its recent rally.
2d ago

S&P Futures

Dow Futures

Nasdaq Futures

Russell 2000 Futures

Crude Oil

Gold

Silver

EUR/USD

10-Yr Bond

Vix

GBP/USD

USD/JPY

BTC-USD

CMC Crypto 200

FTSE 100

Nikkei 225

AutoNation, Inc. Price and Consensus

CBRE Group, Inc. Price and Consensus

NATIONAL ENERGY Price and Consensus

Owens Corning Inc Price and Consensus

Kforce, Inc. Price and Consensus

Zacks Names “Single Best Pick to Double”

Recommended Stories