GE - General Electric Company
9.35 -0.01 (-0.11%)
Pre-Market: 4:34AM EDT
| Previous Close | 9.38 |
| Open | 9.30 |
| Bid | 9.32 x 45100 |
| Ask | 9.39 x 1300 |
| Day's Range | 9.25 - 9.39 |
| 52 Week Range | 6.40 - 13.25 |
| Volume | 35,247,510 |
| Avg. Volume | 66,961,368 |
| Market Cap | 81.685B |
| Beta (3Y Monthly) | 1.13 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | N/A |
| EPS (TTM) | -2.16 |
| Earnings Date | Oct 30, 2019 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 0.04 (0.43%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | 2019-09-13 |
| 1y Target Est | 10.76 |
- Investor's Business Daily
GE, Engine Rivals Eye Contest To Extend This Cold War Icon's Life
General Electric, United Technologies and Rolls-Royce will compete to put new engines on the venerable Boeing B-52 bomber.
- Investopedia
8 Stocks With Biggest Upside Amid Oil Spikes on Middle East Chaos
Equity investors seeking to profit from rising oil prices amid escalating violence in the Middle East should focus on eight energy stocks and suppliers that are uniquely positioned to outperform. Stocks that could see the biggest sustained gains include energy producers Brigham Minerals Inc. (MNRL), Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR), Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD), and EOG Resources Inc. (EOG). Also poised to benefit are energy industry suppliers such as valve and seal maker Flowserve Corp. (FLS), compressor maker Gardner Denver Holdings Inc. (GDI), valve maker Circor International Inc. (CIR), and General Electric Co. (GE), which owns 40% stake in Baker Hughes (BHGE).
- InvestorPlace
5 Stocks to Buy With Great Charts
When it comes to investing, everything matters. The fundamentals matter. The stock needs to be undervalued or fairly valued relative to its long-term growth prospects. The optics matter. There needs to be a reason why investors will want to buy the stock for the foreseeable future. And, yes, the technicals matter. The chart needs to support the bull thesis.In this gallery, we will focus on the last of those three characteristics. Specifically, we will be looking at five stocks that have great charts.But, we won't neglect the other two characteristics, either. In other words, we are going to look at five stocks that have great charts, and are simultaneously supported by favorable fundamentals and optics. Why? Because when great charts converge on favorable fundamentals and optics, you usually get a winning stock.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips * 7 Momentum Stocks to Buy On the Dip Without further ado, then, let's take a look at five stocks to buy with great charts -- and strong fundamentals and optics, too. Stocks to Buy with Great Charts: Okta (OKTA)First up, we have a momentum cloud stock, Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA), which was killed amid the massive September shift from momentum stocks to cloud stocks. And its fundamentals, optics and technicals all say it should bounce back in a big way soon.Let's start with the chart. Throughout the summer of 2019, OKTA stock was forming a bearish head-and-shoulders pattern. Indeed, that head-and-shoulders pattern ended with a big plunge at the end of the summer. But, it appears that this head-and-shoulders pattern has now fully played out. That is, the stock has retraced its way all the way back to the starting point of that head-and-shoulders pattern. OKTA stock appears to be finding support there. It also should find support at the 200-day moving average, which happens to be right around the same level.The technical picture implies that the worst of the recent OKTA selloff is over, meaning the coast is clear to buy the dip.On the fundamentals side, Okta is a big growth cloud security company. It has been, still is and will remain a big growth company with big margins, supported by secular tailwinds in cloud, cybersecurity and the internet of things. Nothing about this secular growth narrative has changed over the past few weeks. As such, the fundamentals remain robust here and support further upside in OKTA stock.On the optics side, the momentum-to-value shift which materialized in September won't last forever. History says it will end, and soon. When it does, the optic backdrop will improve and provide support for a rebound in OKTA stock. General Electric (GE)Next up, we have a beaten up industrial giant, General Electric (NYSE:GE). GE's fundamentals, optics and technicals all imply it could be on the verge of a meaningful breakout.Let's start with the chart. There is one very important thing to watch here -- the 50-day moving average. Specifically, after spending several months sharply below its 50-day moving average, GE stock is on the verge of breaking above the 50-day moving average in a meaningful way. GE stock has only done this once before, back in early 2019. That breakout above the 50-day following a long stint below the 50-day led into a big, multi-month rally in GE stock. The same thing could happen this time around.On the fundamentals side, GE's depressed fundamentals are starting to improve. This breaks down into three things. First, the global economy appears to be stabilizing, and that should provide an upward lift for economically sensitive stocks like GE. Second, GE continues to simplify its operations with asset sales and business divestitures -- moves which create more visibility towards sustained profitability in the long run. Third, GE also continues to reduce its debt load, which ultimately reduces operational risk in the long run and should result in continued multiple expansion for the stock.When it comes to the optics, those look good, too. GE is a very economically sensitive stock. No one wants to buy this stock when the economy appears to be decelerating. But, signs are starting to emerge that the global economy is actually improving, and there's a fresh wave of European Central Bank and U.S. Federal Reserve stimuli on the way which should help improve things even further. As such, over the next few months, the global economic outlook should improve. * 7 Tech Stocks You Should Avoid Now In response, investors will buy into beaten up, economically sensitive stocks like GE. The Trade Desk (TTD)Much like Okta, programmatic advertising leader The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) is a momentum growth stock which: 1) was damaged meaningfully in the recent pivot out of momentum stocks, and 2) looks ready to rebound in an equally meaningful way.The chart here looks compelling. Since January 2018, TTD stock has formed a solid uptrend. Amid this uptrend, the stock has dropped into technically oversold territory (as defined by a Relative Strength Index reading below 35) only a few times. Each time, TTD stock bounced back from those oversold conditions over the subsequent few weeks to months. Right now, TTD stock finds itself in similar oversold territory. History says what comes next is a sizable rebound rally.It helps that the fundamentals for TTD stock remain very robust. This company is a leader in the field of programmatic advertising, which automates the ad transaction process using data and algorithms. This is a secular growth industry supported by the fact that all processes across the globe are becoming data-driven, automated processes. Nothing about this favorable secular growth narrative has changed recently. Indeed, the last thing we heard from the company was a double-beat-and-raise second-quarter print that showed continued robust revenue growth, margin expansion and profit growth.When it comes to the optics with TTD stock, investor demand should return soon. As mentioned with Okta stock, history says that significant momentum-to-value shifts don't last very long, and when they come to a close, they ultimately result in a big rally for momentum stocks. I don't see this time being any different. As such, current weakness in TTD stock should end with a significant rebound rally. Pinterest (PINS)Next up, we have yet another momentum growth stock, Pinterest (NYSE:PINS). PINS has all the necessary ingredients to stage a meaningful rebound here and now.The technical picture for Pinterest looks very similar to the technical picture of Okta. That is, in late summer 2019, PINS stock was forming a bearish head-and-shoulders pattern. That head-and-shoulders pattern has now fully played out. PINS stock dropped and ultimately found support right around the same level that the head-and-shoulders pattern started. From a technical perspective, it looks like the next few months in PINS stock should be defined by a rebound bid to all-time highs.On the fundamentals side of things, PINS stock remains supported by favorable growth fundamentals. Pinterest is a unique social media platform with hundreds of millions of users. Those users don't go to Pinterest for the same reasons they go to Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) or Twitter (NYSE:TWTR). They go to Pinterest for visual discovery and inspiration -- two use cases which lend themselves particularly well to ads. As such, Pinterest should have no problem over the next several years building out its ad business. Thus, PINS stock will be supported by robust revenue and profit growth -- the sum of which should keep PINS stock on a long-term winning trajectory. * 10 Stocks to Sell in Market-Cursed September On the optics side of things, PINS stock should benefit from the fact that its last earnings report was very, very good. Over the next weeks, investors will look for opportunity in the momentum rubble by identifying stocks which most recently had strong momentum. Pinterest had that. Last quarter, the numbers were so good that PINS stock rallied 20% to all-time highs. Activision Blizzard (ATVI) Last, but not least, we have video game publisher Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI). ATVI stock seems fundamentally, technically and optically positioned for a big breakout rally over the next 12 months.Starting with the chart, we can see that ATVI stock appears to be in the first few innings of a multi-month technical breakout. Look at the moving averages in the above chart. A golden cross pattern has emerged. The 50-day moving average has poked its head above the 200-day moving average for the first time in several months. This golden cross pattern has emerged only a few times over the past decade. Each time it has emerged in this way, it preceded a multi-month breakout in ATVI stock.2020 could be a big year for Activision. Next-generation video game consoles from Sony's (NYSE:SNY) PlayStation and Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Xbox are launching next year, marking the first console refresh cycle in seven years. More than that, these next-gen video game consoles will have cloud gaming capabilities -- yet another huge advance in the video game industry. Also, Activision's game lineup for 2020 should be stellar.On the optics side, you have a long-term winning stock that went through a rough patch in 2018-2019. Now, the stock appears to be bouncing back from that rough patch. Importantly, it's bouncing back ahead of what is shaping up to be a big 2020. That's a pretty compelling rebound story. Thus, I think buying action in ATVI stock should outweigh selling action for the foreseeable future.As of this writing, Luke Lango was long OKTA, TTD, PINS, FB and ATVI. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 7 Momentum Stocks to Buy On the Dip * 7 Dow Titans Breaking Higher * 5 Growth Stocks to Sell as Rates Move Higher The post 5 Stocks to Buy With Great Charts appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- InvestorPlace
Why Rite Aid Stock Will Probably Underperform Alternatives
There's an intriguing case for Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) stock at the moment. For a long time, bulls have been awaiting a turnaround that can boost Rite Aid stock, and a new CEO has finally come on board. Meanwhile, with the RAD stock price down over 95% from its early 2017 highs, the stock's valuation seems like it should be reasonable.Source: J. Michael Jones / Shutterstock.com And there is an intriguing, albeit high-risk, positive case for RAD stock at these levels.The current RAD stock price of $7.50 indicates a market cap of just under $400 million. The company's net debt (adjusted for the pending sale of two distribution centers) is over $3.2 billion. If the company's enterprise value of roughly $3.6 billion rises by just 10%, Rite Aid stock will almost double.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsBut I've been a longtime bear on RAD stock for reasons that go to the heart of the current bull case. The easy bull argument is that former CEO John Standley ran Rite Aid into the ground. Certainly, the revised deal with Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA) was a massive disappointment. But the pressures on Rite Aid are the same pressures facing the rest of the industry.And so it's a bit too simplistic to believe that a new CEO can simply "fix" Rite Aid all that quickly amid the pressures on the sector. Meanwhile, the company's debt creates a major risk to Rite Aid stock going forward. Much like General Electric (NYSE:GE), a popular turnaround pick, new leadership can help RAD stock. But there are significant obstacles that add risk to the company's outlook. * 7 Momentum Stocks to Buy On the Dip Moreover, there are other ways, besides buying RAD stock, to bet on the turnaround of the sector. At the very least, those who are bullish on RAD stock should consider those options. Not Just Rite Aid's ProblemIt's important to put the performance of Rite Aid stock in the context of the pharmacy space. The entire industry is struggling right now. Fred's (NASDAQ:FRED), which was going to buy Rite Aid stores as part of the original Walgreens takeover, just filed for bankruptcy. Walgreens stock touched a five-year low last month. CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) bounced off its lowest levels in six years this spring.The RAD stock price has fallen further than other pharmacy equities. But that's because Rite Aid has more debt than its peers.In fact, since the beginning of 2018, Rite Aid stock has fallen 81%. But its enterprise value (its market cap plus the face value of its debt) is down only 22%. Over the same period, Walgreens' EV has dropped almost 20%, but its shares are down only 24%.It's clear that the entire sector is struggling with pressures. Reimbursement rates from insurance companies are falling. And sales of OTC products, perhaps due to competition from the likes of Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), remain weak.Those pressures, combined with higher fixed costs, have dragged down the sector's profits. Indeed, the operating profit of Walgreens' U.S. pharmacy business fell in the third quarter. Should Investors Buy CVS or Walgreens Instead of Rite Aid Stock?For RAD stock to finally rally, those industry pressures have to ease. But if that happens, investors can benefit by buying CVS or Walgreens instead. In terms of EV/EBITDA, Rite Aid stock is only modestly cheaper than CVS and Walgreens. As a result, investors would likely be better off buying one of the larger companies, which are big enough to muddle through if the environment doesn't improve.In an uber-bullish scenario, Rite Aid stock will no doubt outperform its peers (as it did after the financial crisis). That's because not many shares of RAD stock are available, so Rite Aid stock price can jump tremendously if its EBITDA increases and its free cash flow and net income move into the black from their current stagnation.But if the sector remains stable, Rite Aid stock will likely continue to underperform. And with $3 billion in debt due in 2023, and the company's net debt over six times its annual EBITDA, RAD may not be able to refinance.Rite Aid stock will outperform in a bullish scenario if the industry's pressures finally ease. In any other environment, Walgreens or CVS will likely do better. So investors who want to bet on the industry have to at least consider buying the shares of those larger operators instead. What Level Does the RAD Stock Price Need to Reach to Outperform Rite Aid's Bonds?There's another option to consider: Rite Aid's bonds. Like the RAD stock price, the prices of Rite Aid's bonds are at multi-year lows.The 6.125% bonds that mature in April 2023 have a current price of 79 and an annual yield to maturity of 13.7%. Longer-dated issues are potentially more attractive. The 7.7% February 2027 bonds are priced at 50, with a YTM of 21.2%.The 6.875% bonds that mature in 2028 have a similar price, with a yield to maturity of 18%.The bonds are less risky than Rite Aid stock, since secured bonds may have some value even if RAD goes bankrupt.And it's important to realize that RAD stock needs to climb substantially just to outperform those bonds. To top the April 2023 bonds, RAD stock price would need to reach $12. To beat the 2027 bonds, the RAD stock price would need to soar over 320%.The bond prices have an impact on Rite Aid stock because high demand for the bonds may cause demand for the equity to be low. And it's worth noting for near-term traders that the bond prices haven't moved lately, even as the RAD stock price has bounced 50% off its August lows. Consequently, the bonds are more attractive than they were a month ago.In the most bullish scenario, Rite Aid stock will outperform Rite Aid's debt. It will also outperform CVS, and Walgreens, and probably over 90% of the stocks in the market. The sheer size of the company's debt is why RAD stock has fallen so far - and why RAD stock can soar if it's finally able to lower its debt.But there's a long path to that bullish scenario, and some outside help is needed. And in anything less than a blue-sky outcome, investors likely will do better if they buy alternatives to Rite Aid stock.As of this writing, Vince Martin has no positions in any securities mentioned. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 7 Momentum Stocks to Buy On the Dip * 7 Dow Titans Breaking Higher * 5 Growth Stocks to Sell as Rates Move Higher The post Why Rite Aid Stock Will Probably Underperform Alternatives appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- American City Business Journals
GE earns $11.6M Navy contract
As part of the three-year deal, GE will research future concepts for advanced propulsion system technology.
- Investopedia
GE Struggles to Break Through Resistance Despite Bullish Analysts
General Electric shares continue to struggle to breakout from 50- and 200-day moving averages despite favorable analyst coverage of its turnaround process.
- American City Business Journals
South Texas military contracting roundup: Maintenance and bomb testing lead solicitations and contracts
Aircraft maintenance and airfield testing lead solicitations and contracts awarded this week were two of four major contracts awarded last week by the Department of Defense that are of interest to the community. The other two contracts involve a local company producing laser-guided bomb test sets, as well as dike construction in Corpus Christi.
- MarketWatch
This low-volatility dividend-stock strategy can give you peace of mind
DEEP DIVE (This is the sixth article in a series about dividend stocks in today’s low interest-rate environment based on interviews with professional investors. Links to the previous articles are below.
- American City Business Journals
GE closes Baker Hughes sale
The offering's underwriters exercised their options in full, and GE’s voting power over Baker Hughes fell to 36.8 percent.
- InvestorPlace
Can General Electric Stock Stay Above Vital Support?
Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) had enjoyed a strong 2019. The stock bottomed out in December just below $6.50, before General Electric stock rallied more than 75% to $11.27 in February.Source: Carsten Reisinger / Shutterstock.com Since then though, GE stock has been consolidating in a mostly sideways pattern. However, that sideways pattern is starting to develop into a rather negative look. That's even as General Electric stock has remained well-above its December lows. * 7 Tech Stocks You Should Avoid Now It has got investors wondering if there's been a "change in tune" with GE stock and if the sideways action will result in dead money -- or worse, losses -- rather than resolve higher. Before diving into the company, let's look at the technicals.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Trading General Electric StockWe have been covering General Electric stock here on InvestorPlace for quite some time. It's no wonder, given its former place among America's blue-chip companies. That's no longer the case, even among its own industry. Names like Honeywell (NYSE:HON), 3M (NYSE:MMM) and United Technologies (NYSE:UTX) are all considered superior entities.In any regard, we kept such a close eye on GE stock because of its tight trading range. Specifically, we continued to highlight range support at $9 and range resistance near $10.50. The latter elevated itself to around $10.70 in June and July, but we've seen a drastic shift in sentiment since. Click to EnlargeInterestingly enough, those range levels have now doubled in significance, as it highlights two key Fibonacci retracements. The 38.2% retracement sits up at $10.60, while the 61.8% rests at $8.99.The question now is, can GE stock reclaim former range support and the 61.8% near $9?Last month, General Electric stock traded down to support and gapped below it, plunging to $7.65. On the subsequent retest though, this former support level acted as resistance, as GE again pulled back to sub-$8 levels. That's where the "change in tune" reference comes in.Now just under $9 again, bulls need to make a strong showing. If General Electric stock can reclaim the $9 level, it puts the 200-day moving average at $9.25 and the 50-day moving average at about $9.50 on the table.GE stock will need to reclaim those two key moving averages in order to get back to range resistance near $10.60.If $9 acts as resistance, August support at $8 is a possibility. Below that and the August lows, and sub-$7 is on the table. Key Analyst Will Move GE StockA key catalyst for General Electric stock has been JPMorgan analyst Stephen Tusa.Tusa upgraded GE from underweight to neutral in December, sparking an enormous rally. To be clear, he wasn't bullish, just less bearish given that the stock had gone from $30 to $7 in a relatively short period of time.Throughout the past few quarters -- through earnings and investor presentations -- Tusa has been critical of the company and of management's outlook. He has since gone back to his underweight rating. About a month ago, he wrote that the company's fundamentals "continue to look negative."He still maintains an underweight rating and $5 price target on the stock, implying more than 45% downside. GE Stock GrowthFor the most recent quarter, General Electric stock beat on earnings and revenue expectations. It also provided better-than-expected guidance. But not everything was perfect in the quarter.For one, GE warned about headaches stemming from the grounding of Boeing's (NYSE:BA) 737 MAX planes. Specifically, GE's cash flow could take a $1.4 billion hit if the planes remain grounded all year. It could also impact guidance.Growth is far from robust, too. Analysts expect revenue to decline almost 4% year-over-year in 2019. In 2020, estimates call for just a 70 basis point advance. The plus side is that revenue would be done going down in this scenario, but disappointing in that it's still sub-1%.GE is still a few years away from returning to any type of impressive growth for investors. In the meantime, it needs to focus on strengthening its balance sheet and improving its free cash flow. If it can attack the latter, investors -- and Tusa -- will take notice.Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 10 Recession-Resistant Services Stocks to Buy * 7 Hot Penny Stocks to Consider Now * 7 Tech Stocks You Should Avoid Now The post Can General Electric Stock Stay Above Vital Support? appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- MarketWatch
Baker Hughes to shed GE from its name after stock offering cuts GE's voting power below 50%
Baker Hughes a GE Co. said Monday it closed a secondary offering of 132.25 million Class A shares by General Electric Co. and certain affiliates at a price of $21.50 a share. The oilfield products song said it also repurchased 11.9 million shares of Class B voting from "one or more" of GE and its affiliates, which means GE now holds less than half of the voting power of the company. Baker Hughes stock jumped 2.2% in morning trading, while GE shares edged up 0.1%. Baker Hughes said the deal reduces the number of individuals GE is entitled to designate to Baker Hughes' board to one from five. And Baker Hughes plans to change its corporate name to Baker Hughes Co., with the ticker symbol for the Class A shares to change to "BKR." Baker Hughes stock has gained 4.9% over the past three months, while GE shares have shed 8.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 3.8%.
- Investopedia
Walgreens Stock Could Reward Bottom Fishers
Walgreens Boots Alliance stock has carved a double bottom after posting the most extreme oversold readings since the 1970s.
- Market Realist
Lehman Moment? Buffett and Others on the Next Crisis
Fund managers such as Warren Buffett and Ray Dalio have differing opinions on what could cause the next financial crisis.
- Zacks
3D Systems D2P Gets Clearance, Boosts Footing in 3D Printing
3D Systems' (DDD) D2P's automatic segmentation tools enable medical practitioners to create accurate, digital 3D anatomic models from medical imaging data.
- InvestorPlace
3 Big Stock Charts for Monday: Merck, Facebook and Microsoft
The market didn't end last week on a high note, but then again, it didn't need to. Even with Friday's 0.07% setback for the S&P 500, the index still mustered just a little less than a 1% advance for the five-day stretch. That makes a third winning week in a row.Source: Shutterstock Oversized Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is the reason the broad market could get up and over the hump, falling nearly 2% in Friday's action after investors rethought the costs related to the company's strategy of attracting people to its hardware and new streaming service. That impact was more than smaller names like General Electric (NYSE:GE) could offset. GE was up nearly 1% on the last day of last week, buoyed by optimism surrounding what should amount to a $5 billion debt reduction, funded by asset sales. * 10 Recession-Resistant Services Stocks to Buy As for names worth exploring as Monday's action gets going, however, the stock charts of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Merck (NYSE:MRK) are of the most interest. Here's why.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Microsoft (MSFT)There's no denying Microsoft shares have been one of the market's best and most reliable performers for years now. Even the headwind that hammered most names late last year wasn't horrific for MSFT stock, and shares recovered quite nicely this year from that lull.This year's overheated rally looks like it has run its full course though, progressing even faster than the 2017/2018 gain. Although it's not past the point of no return yet, the action since late July suggests the bears are taking their shot. They've been nice enough to leave clear clues. * Click to EnlargeThe biggest clue to speak of is the converging wedge shape that's formed since July. The lower boundary, plotted in blue, traces all the lows going back to December's low. * Although not overwhelmingly so, the volume tide has started to lean bearishly. Should the Chaikin line on the weekly chart fall under zero, that may be the proverbial tipping point. * As for a plausible downside target, the past two major setbacks have pulled Microsoft shares just below the 200-day moving average line, marked in white on both stock charts. Merck (MRK)Shares of drugmaker Merck have dished out a healthy, even if at times uneven, rally over the course of the past year and a half. Even factoring in the current lull, MRK stock is still up 56% from its early 2018 low.The complexion of that advance has slowly but surely -- maybe even imperceptibly -- taken a turn for the worst though. While still seemingly in bullish mode, the momentum is fading and the pokes at key technical floors are more frequent and more potent. * 7 Tech Stocks You Should Avoid Now * Click to EnlargeThe slowdown of the advance is easily indicated on the daily chart, with each resistance line, marked in yellow, plotted at a shallower direction than the prior one. * It's not a detail even the most focused of chart watchers would notice or care about, but each peak of the Chaikin line since the beginning of this year has been lower than the past, underscoring the slowdown. Ditto for the MACD crossunders. * So far the 200-day moving average line, marked in white on both stock charts, has held up as a floor. The straight-line support that tags all the key lows since early 2018, however, was tested again last week. That's the make-or-break level, marked as a dashed blue line on the weekly chart. Facebook (FB)It's interesting. All stock charts demonstrate some degree of interplay with their moving average. Sometimes it means a lot, and sometimes it means little. It's something that at the very least has to be respected though.To that end, Facebook has been strangely responsive to its moving average line, sometimes being stopped and reversed at them, and other times being blasted past them when they're passed. That's what makes the past couple of weeks so curious … and a little bearish. * Click to EnlargeThe chief worry here is how FB stock tested but failed to hurdle the 50-day moving average line, plotted in purple on both stock charts, this month. As the daily chart shows, the 50-day line has been a biggie. * That being said, there are still a couple of other, albeit less meaningful, moving average lines that have been boundaries in the past that could become a boundary again. * Fueling the prospect of more downside is the fact that, over the long haul, FB stock is no stranger to major moves. The stock is still closer to being overbought than not from this year's rebound move, as indicated by the weekly chart's RSI tool.As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. You can learn more about him at his website jamesbrumley.com, or follow him on Twitter, at @jbrumley. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 10 Recession-Resistant Services Stocks to Buy * 7 Hot Penny Stocks to Consider Now * 7 Tech Stocks You Should Avoid Now The post 3 Big Stock Charts for Monday: Merck, Facebook and Microsoft appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Market Realist
Federal Reserve Meeting: Can the Party Continue?
The Federal Reserve meeting is scheduled for September 17-18. At its last policy meeting in July, the Fed lowered rates by 25 basis points.
- MarketWatch
As Larry Culp tries to turn around GE, this is the next phase to watch
Keep betting on Larry Culp to turn around General Electric. One year into his tenure at the top, Culp faces steep challenges, and the stock market isn’t yet convinced he can pull it off. A corporate turnaround has three phases.
- Zacks
General Electric Makes Tender Offers for $5B Debt Securities
General Electric's (GE) tender offerings to purchase its U.S. dollar and Euro-denominated debt securities will help it strengthen the balance sheet.
- Barrons.com
GE CEO Larry Culp Talks Progress, Debt, and Restructuring
General Electric CEO Larry Culp spent time with investors Thursday at an investor conference in California. Here’s what he said about two big issues facing GE: debt and restructuring.
- Market Realist
GE Debt Set to Fall by $5 Billion, Market Not Excited
GE will receive $2.7 billion in net proceeds from reducing its stake in Baker Hughes. GE announced tender offers for its dollar- and euro-denominated bonds.
- Zacks
General Electric (GE) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, General Electric (GE) closed at $9.26, marking a -1.07% move from the previous day.
- Bloomberg
GE Plans $5 Billion Debt Buyback to Help Tame Balance Sheet
(Bloomberg) -- General Electric Co. plans to buy back as much as $5 billion of bonds as the manufacturer seeks to cut its debt load as part of its turnaround.The repurchase will cover up to $2.5 billion of dollar debt and the equivalent of $2.5 billion (2.28 billion euros) of euro-denominated notes, GE said in a statement Thursday. The company said it wouldn’t expand the size of the buyback plan.Reducing debt is a cornerstone of Chief Executive Officer Larry Culp’s attempt to overhaul GE after one of the worst slumps in the company’s 127-year history. Since taking the helm last year, Culp has been pruning operations to focus on making jet engines, power equipment and medical scanners while tackling more than $100 billion in borrowing.“We’re doing what we said we’d do,” Culp said at a Morgan Stanley conference Thursday. “The reset year thus far here in early September is playing out fundamentally in line with what we anticipated, but we know we have a lot more to do both with respect to the balance sheet and the way we run the business.”The shares fell 1.1% to $9.26 at the close in New York. GE has advanced 27% this year, compared with a 22% gain for a Standard & Poor’s index of U.S. industrial companies. GE lost more than $200 billion in market value during the two-year period ending Dec. 31, as profits dropped amid flagging demand for gas turbines and high costs.The company said Wednesday it would raise about $2.7 billion by cutting its holdings in oil-services company Baker Hughes to a minority stake. That sets GE up for about $38 billion in asset sales including the pending $21.4 billion sale of GE’s bio-pharmaceutical business to Danaher Corp., Culp said.GE reiterated Thursday that it seeks to reduce the debt load at the industrial businesses to under 2.5 times a measure of earnings and is evaluating other options to cut debt, including pension funding and intercompany debt repayment between GE and its financial services unit.That means GE will have to erase about $25 billion of debt at the industrial businesses from $51 billion at the end of the second quarter, Culp said. Improving profits at the company’s businesses will take more time, he said.“With respect to running the businesses, this is what takes longer, both in terms of how we operate and having that translate into results,” Culp said.Rate ImpactThe drop in interest rates will add about $7 billion to GE’s pension obligations and deliver a hit to insurance-reserve assumptions of “somewhere south” of $1.5 billion, Culp said. GE made contributions of $6 billion to the pension fund last year that covers the company through next year, he said.GE shares last month posted their biggest one-day plunge in 11 years after financial investigator Harry Markopolos skewered the company’s accounting. Markopolos, best known for blowing the whistle on Bernie Madoff, accused GE of fraud over the handling of its insurance and oil businesses and said “impending losses will destroy GE’s balance sheet.”The Boston-based company called the claims meritless, with Culp criticizing the report as “market manipulation, pure and simple.” A number of Wall Street analysts and some prominent investors came to GE’s defense as well.GE is being more transparent about its financial situation to “demystify it as much as we humanly can,” Culp said.Major IssuerThe company said in March that it was looking at buying back debt, and said in January that it doesn’t expect to issue new debt until 2021. GE is one of the 10 biggest issuers of corporate bonds in the Bloomberg Barclays US Corporate Bond index outside of the financial sector.The buyback offer expires on Oct. 9. Holders that submit their bonds by Sept. 25 are eligible to receive an early participation premium.The dollar-denominated bonds that can be bought back mature between 2022 and 2044, while the euro-denominated notes are due between 2022 and 2037. The company said $8 billion of dollar-debt and 10.5 billion euros of euro-denominated debt is eligible for the offer.JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are managing the buyback. D.F. King & Co. is serving as the information and tender agent.(Updates with asset sales in fifth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Brendan Case, Molly Smith and Tony Robinson.To contact the reporters on this story: Claire Boston in New York at cboston6@bloomberg.net;Thomas Black in Dallas at tblack@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Nikolaj Gammeltoft at ngammeltoft@bloomberg.net, Dan Wilchins, Christopher DeRezaFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- InvestorPlace
Stock Market Today: Should Investors Expect More Quantitative Easing?
The SPDR S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:SPY) hit new all-time highs on Thursday. Who would have predicted that for the stock market today?Not many were looking for such a robust rally to take place over the past few trading sessions. But InvestorPlace readers were ready. They knew that the stock market was trading in a well-defined range throughout the month of August and they knew when that range resolved to the upside.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsOnce resistance gave way and we saw follow through from the bulls, that's when it was clear new highs were possible. In fact, we wrote: "Above resistance could send the S&P 500 back to 3,000, while a move below support likely brings up a test of the 200-day moving average."So what's causing this rally anyway? Markets liked the de-escalating tone between China and the U.S., even though there some reports say the trade war will not likely be resolved any time soon. More Quantitative Easing, Please?For those looking for more quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve, don't hold your breath. The Fed is scheduled to make its rate decision next week on Wednesday, Sept. 18. As it currently stands, the Fed Funds Rate is pricing in an 88.8% probability of a 25 basis point cut next week. The other 11.2% probability has the Fed keeping rates unchanged.Put simply, the U.S. is not in the economic position -- either with low growth or negative interest rates -- to warrant more stimulus. But the European Union is. * 10 Battered Tech Stocks to Buy Now The European Central Bank announced a 10-basis-point cut in its deposit rate to -0.5%, in-line with expectations. The ECB also announced that it will restart its QE program to the tune of $20 billion per month beginning Nov. 1. While ECB president Mario Draghi says there's only a low chance chance of an E.U. recession, those odds have increased.QE should be a boost, but it's concerning that it's needed after a near-decade of various policies. Movers in the Stock Market TodayIt was an exciting day in the stock market today, if not just because equities are flirting with their all-time highs. However, not all assets are moving favorably.While gold prices -- and the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEARCA:GLD) -- closed higher on the day, GLD finished well off its morning highs. The can be said for bonds too, via the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT). The fall in bonds helped pave the way for bank stocks to continue their rally on Thursday, even as they approach resistance.The Top Stock Trades column took a closer look at the bank stocks earlier today.What else was moving?Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB) fell roughly 10% and hovered near its session lows in the stock market today. The decline came after the company reported its quarterly results, missing revenue expectations and showing margin pressure. The woes of the cannabis space continue.Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) fell 1.2%, but Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHGE) was making waves after the former became a seller of the latter.BHGE opened notably lower on the day and fell to $21.36. However, it finished higher by 1.5% at $22.63 despite GE announcing it will cut its stake from 50.3% to roughly 39.5% as it looks to raise capital.The IPO market remains a mixed bag, with the latest shake-up coming from SmileDirectClub (NASDAQ:SDC). Shares priced at $23, above the $19-$22 range. But that didn't please investors, as shares tumbled 27.5% in their debut. Ouch. Heard on the StreetShares of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) got off to a hot start in the stock market today. However, the stock only managed to climb 1% by the time the market closed. That's despite Nomura analysts upgrading the stock to "buy" and raising their price target from $49 all the way to $64. The target implies more than 16% upside from Wednesday's closing price.Wells Fargo analysts are ringing the bell on Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and Deere (NYSE:DE). They downgraded both stocks from "outperform" to "market perform," assigning price targets of $170 and $143, respectively.Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 10 Battered Tech Stocks to Buy Now * 7 Strong-Buy Stocks Hedge Funds Are Buying Now * The 7 Best Penny Stocks to Buy The post Stock Market Today: Should Investors Expect More Quantitative Easing? appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Bloomberg
GE’s Recovery Remains on the Slow Track
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- It’s been a busy week for General Electric Co. On Tuesday, the company announced it would sell another chunk of its stake in its Baker Hughes oil and gas venture, ultimately raising about $3 billion. Two day later, it said it would buy back up to $5 billion of bonds. This activity gave CEO Larry Culp something concrete to point to on Thursday when he took the podium at a Morgan Stanley conference to update analysts and investors on the industrial conglomerate’s turnaround progress. “We’re doing what we said we would do," Culp said. That means "tending to the balance sheet, making sure that we’re strengthening our overall financial position, and making sure that we’re in a position to run the businesses better."GE’s efforts to reduce its bloated debt load are a positive; that’s what it’s supposed to be doing. Culp’s ability and willingness to be proactive is undoubtedly an improvement over former CEO John Flannery’s long stretches of paralysis. But the timing of this flurry of deleveraging steps strikes me as slightly curious.Most companies wouldn’t go around buying back bonds when rates are so low; they would swap them out for new bonds at better terms. GE, however, has pledged not to add any new debt through 2021, and appears to be trying to signal its liquidity is such that it doesn’t need to. Yet Culp has also talked about running the company with a higher cash balance in order to reduce its reliance on commercial paper. And the $21.4 billion divestiture of GE’s biopharmaceutical business to Danaher Corp. – the linchpin in Culp’s debt reduction plan – hasn’t closed yet.Perhaps the Baker Hughes stake sale and the bond buyback were planned well in advance; perhaps GE is just being opportunistic and taking advantage of recent trading conditions. I can’t help but notice, though, that GE’s actions this week appeared to hit at the heart of criticisms made by Bernie Madoff whistle-blower Harry Markopolos last month in a lengthy, explosive report.Markopolos has an agreement with an undisclosed hedge fund that will give him a share of the profits from bets that GE shares will decline. GE has called his allegations “meritless.” His report claimed GE needed to immediately funnel $18.5 billion in cash into its troubled long-term care insurance business and accused the company of avoiding a writedown on its Baker Hughes stake. One way to read the debt buyback is that GE must not be too worried about a fresh cash shortfall at the insurance unit if it’s willing to plop down $5 billion to repurchase bonds on a voluntary basis. And GE’s stake sale this week will bring its holdings in Baker Hughes below 50%, which will prompt a charge that could be in the ballpark of $8 billion to $9 billion but also allow management to put one more inevitable writedown behind them.(1)There were a number of flaws in the Markopolos report, not least his liberal use of hyperbole, but it struck a nerve with investors who were already wary of more negative surprises at GE and the opaqueness of its underlying financials. Whether or not there’s any truth to his allegations, being on the hot seat like that appears to have shaken GE executives as well.What’s most telling is the one Markopolos criticism that GE hasn’t yet moved to address, and that is the lack of detailed transparency in its financial statements and the seeming differences in its aviation unit’s accounting relative to engine partner Safran SA. Culp missed an opportunity when he became CEO to move away from GE’s historical tendency to rely on a myriad of adjustments and a micromanaging of Wall Street expectations to bolster the appearance of the company’s results. This week’s actions and Culp’s presentation were in a way a reminder that of all of Markopolos’s claims, questionable as the others may be, that one has the potential to stick.Otherwise, the key takeaways from Culp’s Thursday presentation were that he expects the drop in interest rates to result in a “somewhere south” of $1.5 billion hit to its GAAP reserve assumptions for the long-term care insurance business, before accounting for any other adjustments as part of a third-quarter test. GE's projected pension benefit obligations, meanwhile, will also increase because of the drop in interest rates. Offsetting that is an improvement in returns, but GE is still looking at an impact in the $7 billion range, Culp said. Neither of those figures are disastrous, but serve as a reminder that it’s not just regular old debt that’s looming over GE. There are many other demands on its cash.Culp gave no update to GE’s expectation for roughly zero dollars in industrial free cash flow this year. Interestingly, he did allude to the idea that the company’s forecasts for 25 to 30 gigawatts of gas turbine demand this year may prove overly dire; still, I remain skeptical of GE’s ability to drive a huge surge in free cash flow at the power unit over the next few years. Other challenges at the company include persistent questions about the true underlying free cash flow of the aviation unit, the loss of cash-flow contributions from divested assets and the need to backstop its huge underfunded pension balance with more cash. Culp didn't rule out additional contributions to the pension over the next few years.Progress on the debt reduction front is good, but without a significant increase in free cash flow, it will be a while before GE can shift investors’ focus elsewhere. (1) GE said in July that deconsolidating Baker Hughes's results from its own would prompt a $7.4 billion writedown, based on the company's stock price at the time of $24.84. This week, it said every $1 change in Baker Hughes's stock price would increase or decrease that number by about $500 million. GE's share offering was priced at $21.50 and the stock was trading on Thursday for about $22.50.To contact the author of this story: Brooke Sutherland at bsutherland7@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Beth Williams at bewilliams@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Brooke Sutherland is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals and industrial companies. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Schaeffer's Investment Research
GE Options Trader Braces for a Bigger Retreat
The weekly 9/13 9-strike put is GE's most active option today
