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Stocks Rise on Stimulus Hopes

Rising speculation of a Washington DC stimulus bill continues to push stocks higher this Thursday afternoon.

Latest Stories

  • Your next stimulus check: Congress to speed along $1,400 payments this week

    Speaker Pelosi and other leaders want quick approval. How soon could you get more money?

  • 3 Top Dividend Stocks With Growth Opportunity; Goldman Sachs Says ‘Buy’

    Investing is all about finding profits, and investors have long seen two main paths toward that goal. Growth stocks, equities that will give a return based mainly on share price appreciation, are one route. The second route lies through dividend stocks. These are stocks that pay out a percentage of profits back to shareholders – a dividend, usually sent out quarterly. The payments vary widely, from less than 1% to more than 10%, but the average, among stocks listed on the S&P 500, is about 2%. Dividends are a nice addition for a patient investor, as they provide a steady income stream. Goldman Sachs analyst Caitlin Burrows has been looking into the real estate trust segment, a group of stocks long-known for dividends that are both high and reliable – and she sees plenty of reason to expect strong growth in three stocks in particular. Running the trio through TipRanks’ database, we learned that all three have been cheered by the rest of the Street as well, as they boast a “Strong Buy” analyst consensus. Broadstone Net Lease (BNL) First up, Broadstone Net Lease, is an established REIT that went public this past September in an IPO that raised over $533 million. The company put 33.5 million shares on the market, followed by another 5 million-plus picked up by the underwriters. It was considered a successful opening, and BNL now boasts a market cap over $2.63 billion. Broadstone’s portfolio includes 628 properties across 41 US states plus the Canadian province of British Columbia. These properties host 182 tenants and are worth an aggregate of $4 billion. The best feature here is the long-term nature of the leases – the weighted average remaining lease is 10.8 years. During the third quarter, the most recent with full financials available, BNL reported a net income of $9.7 million, or 8 cents per share. The income came mainly from rents, and the company reported collecting 97.9% of rents due during the quarter. Looking ahead, the company expects $100.3 million in property acquisitions during Q4, and an increased rent collection rate of 98.8%. Broadstone’s income and high rent collections are supporting a dividend of 25 cents per common share, or $1 annually. It’s a payment affordable for the company, and offering investors a yield of 5.5%. Goldman’s Burrows sees the company’s acquisition moves as the most important factor here. "Accretive acquisitions are the key earnings driver for Broadstone… While management halted acquisitions following COVID-induced market uncertainty (BNL did not complete any acquisitions in 1H20) and ahead of its IPO, we are confident acquisitions will ramp up in 2021, and saw the beginning of this with 4Q20 activity… We estimate that BNL achieves a positive investment spread of 1.8%, leading to 0.8% of earnings growth (on 2021E FFO) for every $100mn of acquisitions (or 4.2% on our 2021E acquisition volumes),” Burrows opined. To this end, Burrows rates BNL a Buy, and her $23 price target implies an upside of ~27% for the year ahead. (To watch Burrow’s track record, click here) Wall Street generally agrees with Burrows on Broadstone, as shown by the 3 positive reviews the stock has garnered in recent weeks. These are the only reviews on file, making the analyst consensus rating a unanimous Strong Buy. The shares are currently priced at $18.16, and the average price target of $21.33 suggests a one-year upside of ~17%. (See BNL stock analysis on TipRanks) Realty Income Corporation (O) Realty Income is a major player in the REIT field. The company holds a portfolio worth more than $20 billion, with more than 6,500 properties located in 49 states, Puerto Rico, and the UK. Annual revenue exceeded $1.48 billion in fiscal year 2019 (the last with complete data), and has kept up a monthly dividend for 12 years. Looking at current data, we find that O posted 7 cents per share income in 3Q20, along with $403 million in total revenue. The company collected 93.1% of its contracted rents in the quarter. While relatively low, a drill-down to the monthly values shows that rent collection rates have been increasing since July. As noted, O pays out a monthly dividend, and has done so regularly since listing publicly in 1994. The company raised its payout in September 2020, marking the 108th increase during that time. The current payment is 23.45 cents per common share, which annualizes to $2.81 cents – and gives a yield of 4.7%. Based on the above, Burrows put this stock on her Americas Conviction List, with a Buy rating and a $79 price target for the next 12 months. This target implies a 32% upside from current levels. Backing her stance, Burrows noted, “We estimate 5.3% FFO growth per year over 2020E-2022E, versus an average of 3.1% fo rour full REIT coverage. We expect key earnings drivers will include a continued recovery in acquisition volumes and a gradual improvement in theater rents (in 2022)." The analyst added, "We assume O makes $2.8 billion of acquisitions in each of 2021 and 2022, versus the consensus expectation of $2.3 billion. [We] believe our acquisition volume assumptions could in fact turn out to be conservative as, eight days into 2021, the company has already made or agreed to make $807.5 mn of acquisitions (or 29% of our estimate for 2021)." Overall, Wall Street takes a bullish stance on Realty Income shares. 5 Buys and 1 Hold issued over the previous three months make the stock a Strong Buy. Meanwhile, the $69.80 average price target suggests ~17% upside from the current share price. (See O stock analysis on TipRanks) Essential Properties Realty Trust (EPRT) Last up, Essential Properties, owns and manages a portfolio of single-tenant commercial properties across the US. There are 214 tenants across more than 1000 properties in 16 industries, including car washes, convenience stores, medical services, and restaurants. Essential Properties boasts a high occupancy rate of 99.4% for its properties. In 3Q20, the company saw revenue increase of 18.2% year-over-year, reaching $42.9 million. Essential Properties finished the quarter with an impressive $589.4 million in available liquidity, including cash, cash equivalents, and available credit. The strong cash position and rising revenues had the company confident enough to raise the dividend in going into Q4. The new dividend payment is 24 cents per common share, up 4.3% from the previous payment. The current rate annualizes to 96 cents, and gives a yield of 4.6%. The company has been raising its dividend regularly for the past two years. In her review for Goldman, Burrows focuses on the recovery that Essential Properties has made since the height of the COVID panic last year. “When shelter in place mandates went into effect in early 2020, only 71% of EPRT’s properties were open (completely or on a limited basis). This situation has improved in the intervening months and now just 1% of EPRT’s portfolio is closed… We expect EPRT’s future earnings growth to be driven by acquisition accretion and estimate 2.8% potential earnings growth from $100 mn of acquisitions,” Burrows wrote. In line with her optimistic approach, Burrows gives EPRT shares a Buy rating, along with a $26 one-year price target, suggesting a 27% upside. All in all, EPRT has 9 recent analyst reviews, and the breakdown of 8 Buys and 1 Sell gives the stock a Strong Buy consensus rating. Shares are priced at $20.46 and have an average price target of $22.89, giving ~12% upside potential from current levels. (See EPRT stock analysis on 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.

  • Nancy Pelosi’s Husband Bought Stock Options in Apple, Tesla, and Disney

    Paul Pelosi, the businessman spouse of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, bought calls in Apple, Tesla, and Disney, and bought shares of investment firm AllianceBernstein in late December.

  • Here's how celebrities use mortgages to build wealth (and you can, too)

    A home loan is a powerful financial tool, even if you have the cash to pay outright.

  • NIO: There’s a New Bull in Town

    Up more than 1,150% in the past year, Chinese electric-vehicle maker NIO (NIO) turned into one of the best-performing stocks of 2020 -- but one analyst thinks there are more gains to come. Initiating coverage on the "epitome of Chinese luxury brand[s]" and "domestic leader in EV manufacturing," Nomura analyst Martin Heung argues that even after its steep run-up, Nio stock remains a "buy" and has at least another 30% to run (above Friday's closing share price of $61.95). So why does Heung like Nio? In one word: Growth. And in another word: Batteries. On the growth front, Heung observes that EV-friendly infrastructure in China is improving, encouraging more car buyers to make the leap to electrics. "Conservatively," says the analyst, by as early as 2025 16.5% of new cars sold in the Middle Kingdom should be electrics, which implies an overall 31% annual sales growth rate for the industry (and probably a faster growth rate for leaders like Nio). Additionally, at some point electrics should reach critical mass (Heung estimates this will happen at 20% market penetration), which will convince even more car buyers to transition to electrics -- accelerating sales growth further. Helping Nio to maintain a market-leading position in China will be its "batteries as a service" (BaaS) business model, in which Nio sells cars to customers, leases the batteries to run those cars -- and then offers customers the ability to swap out their current batteries for new, fully-charged batteries as a faster alternative to charging the batteries. "By improving swapping time to only three minutes" and by placing such battery swapping stations throughout "most parts of the major cities in China, NIO hopes to redefine the whole user experience of owning an EV," says Heung. Swappable batteries, notes the analyst, helps to eliminate customers' range anxiety at the same time as it reduces wait times at charging stations, improving the customer experience in two different ways. Additionally, when arguably the most expensive and most important part of an electric car -- the battery -- is removed from the equation, customers will no longer need to worry about whether an aged car battery might reduce the resale value of their cars years down the road, removing yet another impediment to making a sale. In this way, Nio's BaaS strategy also helps to differentiate Nio's offerings, and builds a moat around the business. Widening and deepening that moat even further (to steal a phrase from Warren Buffett), Nio is encouraging customers to sign up for long-term, five-year battery leases in exchange for a lower cost per year -- essentially locking customers into its ecosystem for the lease term. All of the above, says Heung, positions Nio to become "the dominant power in China," in electric vehicles, at a time when EV adoption is surging, says the analyst. Even valuing the stock at a 25% discount to the prices investors are paying for its highest profile US rival, Tesla (on a price-to-sales basis), Heung feels these factors justify placing an $80.30 price target on Nio stock. So, that’s Nomura's view. Let’s have a look at what the rest of the Street has in mind for NIO shares. Based on 8 Buys and 6 Holds, the analyst consensus is a Moderate Buy. However, going by the $59.40 average price target, shares are anticipated to be changing hands at a 4% discount. (See NIO stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for EV 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 analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

  • Suze Orman says these are Americans' biggest money blunders

    Avoid making these errors and you'll enjoy a better financial life, the money guru says.

  • Warren Buffett says this is how to protect your finances from the pandemic

    Listening to Buffett, you can pick up these tips for surviving the pandemic financially.

  • Don’t Buy CCIV Stock Now. But Pounce on the Lucid Motors Merger

    Shares of special purpose acquisition company Churchill Capital Corp IV (NYSE:CCIV) have been soaring over the past two weeks on rumors that the company is set to acquire premium EV maker Lucid Motors. Such murmurs have been neither confirmed nor denied by either Churchill Capital or Lucid Motors. Still, CCIV stock has more than doubled on the merger chatter alone. Source: Shutterstock My two cents? Don’t buy CCIV stock now. The rally is based on rumors. Rumors are dangerous. If they prove to be untrue, Churchill Capital is just another run-of-the-mill SPAC, and CCIV will plunge back to $10. And, the reality is, none of us really have an “insider” insight into whether Churchill Capital will merge with Lucid Motors. We are all just shooting in the dark.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Too risky for my taste. But, whenever Lucid Motors does come public — via a merger with CCIV or any other SPAC — pounce on that stock right away. Lucid Motors is one of the highest quality plays on one of the biggest megatrends of our lifetimes. It’s a potential 10X investment that you’ll want to own for the long haul (to read more about potential 10X investment opportunities, click here.) Sign Up for Hypergrowth Investing and Get Your Free Special Report Here But, back to Churchill Capital stock and Lucid Motors, let’s take a deeper look. EVs Are the Future Electric vehicles are the future. By now, that’s a foregone conclusion. The entire auto market is pivoting from gas-powered cars, to electric cars. We are still in the early stages of this seismic shift. EV penetration of total passenger car sales measured less than 5% in 2020. That share is expected to rise 30%, 40% and 50%-plus over the next 10 to 20 years. The EV Revolution unequivocally represents one of the best investment opportunities of the 2020s. Thus far, this revolution has birthed two enormous winners: Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), the EV pioneer with the best-performing EVs in the world and Nio (NYSE:NIO), Tesla’s little brother in China. Lucid Motors will be the third big winner. Lucid Motors Is a Long-Term Winner The company is a luxury EV maker that has assembled a world-class team of executives and engineers that have spent the last few years designing a high-performance, super-sleek electric vehicle dubbed the Lucid Air that — when it launches — will rival the Tesla Model S for luxury EV supremacy. On the surface alone, the Lucid Air looks amazing. Leather interiors. Big iPad-like control screen. Full-glass “canopy” front window that spills into a sunroof. Earthy tones that make it feel even more eco-friendly. Sleek and shiny exterior. Unique and futuristic headlights. A logo that reminds you of a private jet company (indeed, the design inspiration for the Lucid Air was a private jet). The cover of this book will make a few jaws drop. But it’s not the look of the Lucid Air that excites me, or will get tons of consumers to buy it over the Tesla Model S. Rather, it’s two big performance features: unrivaled driving range and lightning fast recharge times. The top-shelf model of the Lucid Air features 517 miles of driving range, which tops the driving ranges of Tesla’s longest-range cars and marks the new gold standard of the EV industry. Concurrently, thanks to a unique onboard charging unit dubbed “Wunderbox,” every Lucid Air has hyper-fast charging capability. With the right charger, Lucid cars can recharge up to 300 miles in just 20 minutes — an industry record-low time by at least 10 minutes. On top of those two huge performance advantages, the Lucid Air is also equipped with a state-of-the-art DreamDrive semi-autonomous driving platform and is hyperconnected with smartphones (your phone basically acts as your key and all-in-one control unit). Long story short, the Lucid Air is legit. It’s the next big thing in the premium EV world. Lucid Motors will sell a lot of Lucid Air vehicles over the next few years, will develop a strong brand around this first generation of luxury EVs, and then leverage that brand to launch new vehicles to equally huge demand in subsequent years. It’s a winning recipe which Tesla pioneered, and which Lucid Motors will follow with great success. Wait for Confirmation The only problem? Lucid Motors does not equal CCIV stock. Right now, the price action surrounding CCIV stock — it’s more than doubled in two weeks — strongly implies that the market thinks the Lucid Motors merger is a done deal. It’s not. Sure, the deal may get done. If and when it does, I’ll start pounding on the table about CCIV stock. But, until then, there’s simply too much speculation surrounding this SPAC. To that end, patience seems like the right path forward here. Bottom Line on CCIV Stock Lucid Motors is a long-term winner with 10X upside potential during the 2020s (to read more about potential 10X investment opportunities, click here.) But CCIV stock is not yet representative of Lucid Motor’s disruptive and promising business, nor is there any guarantee it will be anytime soon. So don’t rush into this name on rumors. Wait for confirmation. Then, either forget CCIV stock if the merger falls through, or buy CCIV stock if the merger gets confirmed. Either way, keep a close eye on Lucid Motors, and buy shares in the company once it does finally come public. On the date of publication, Luke Lango did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The New Daily 10X Stock Report: Dozens of triple-digit winners, peak gains as high as 926%… 1,326%… and 1,392%. InvestorPlace’s bold new initiative delivers one breakthrough stock recommendation every trading day, targeting gains of 5X… 10X… even 15X and beyond. Now, for a limited time, you can get in for just $19. Click here to find out how. In addition, you can sign up for Luke’s free Hypergrowth Investing newsletter. Click here to sign up now. More From InvestorPlace Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG Top Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. The post Don’t Buy CCIV Stock Now. But Pounce on the Lucid Motors Merger appeared first on InvestorPlace.

  • Barron's Picks And Pans: Roundtable Picks, GameStop, LKQ, Netflix, Roblox And More

    * This weekend's Barron's cover story offers a slew of stock and bond picks from the latest Barron's Roundtable. * Other featured articles examine how last year's Barron's stock picks fared, what to focus on when investing in China and the latest signs of a speculative frenzy. * Also, the prospects for digital infrastructure stocks, video game IPOs, a video streaming leader, an auto parts supplier and more.Cover story "28 Investment Picks to Beat the Market" by Lauren R. Rublin offers a slew of top stock and bond recommendations for 2021 from Barron's Roundtable members Rupal J. Bhansali, Scott Black, Mario Gabelli and Sonal Desai. See if Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) made the cut.Daren Fonda's "4 Ways to Play a Boom in Digital Infrastructure" points out that cell tower stocks like Crown Castle International Corp (NYSE: CCI) and data center stocks like CoreSite Realty Corp (NYSE: COR) have lagged behind, despite their key role in the digital transformation.In "Barron's Stock Picks Beat the Market Again Last Year. Here's How We Did It," Avi Salzman indicates that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR) were among the key picks last year that helped Barron's beat the market. See how things turned out for the Barron's 2020 bearish calls though.Even as China is criticized for its social practices (including its treatment of the Uighur ethnic minority), it is making rapid progress on its environmental actions. So says "Investing in China Isn't Easy. Focusing on ESG Can Help" by Leslie P. Norton. Find out whether Barron's believes Tencent Holdings (OTC: TCEHY) is among the stocks that are worth a look now.In Jack Hough's "Roblox's Stock Listing and the Boom Market in Desperate Parents," the focus is on the wave of initial public offerings that is about to hit the market, now that everyone is playing video games. See how Barron's recommends that investors play this IPO boom, starting with Roblox, an online platform offering games created by users."GameStop Stock Is Just the Latest Sign of a Speculative Frenzy" by Randall W. Forsyth discusses how last week's short squeeze on GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) stock is the sort of action that was prevalent last August, just before the big techs stocks that drive the Nasdaq Composite topped out.See also: Benzinga's Weekly Bulls And Bears: Eli Lilly, Ford, GameStop, Intel, McDonald's And MoreApple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) and the rest of the FAANGs helped lift the stock market this past week, according to Ben Levisohn's "Big Tech Stages a Comeback. A Correction Could Be the Market's Next Act." See why Barron's now believes a retreat may be in the cards.In "For All Us Netflix Skeptics, It's Finally Time to Concede," Eric J. Savitz examines how, as Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) starts to generate cash, the company has a lot more flexibility. Discover what Barron's thinks could come next from the video streaming colossus. Sports? News? Music? Perhaps even gaming?Teresa Rivas's "LKQ Is Helping Itself to a Higher Price" explains that shares of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ: LKQ) have been stuck in neutral for years, but 2021 could see things turn around for the specialty automotive parts supplier. See why Barron's says that the pandemic forced the company to do what it should have done long ago and now the stock is a buy.Also in this week's Barron's: * Barron's annual ranking of the top-performing sustainable funds * How Biden's China policy will look different from Trump's * Why Biden shouldn't let the federal debt deter a spending spree * Why the stock market is ignoring coming tax hikes * What the originator of the 4% rule thinks about it now * How the tourism industry is scrambling after new CDC guidelines * The humanitarian crisis at sea that threatens global supply chains * What to know about expiring COVID-19 homeowner protections * Undervalued European stocks poised to beat pre-pandemic earnings in 2021At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.Photo by Dwight Burdette via Wikimedia.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Notable Insider Buys Of The Past Week: Affirm, HEICO, Vector Group, Biotechs And More * Benzinga's Weekly Bulls And Bears: Eli Lilly, Ford, GameStop, Intel, McDonald's And More(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  • Dow Jones Futures: Stock Market Rally Extended As Apple, Tesla Lead Earnings Tsunami

    The stock market is riding a bullish wave, but here comes a tsunami of earnings, led by Apple and Tesla. With the Nasdaq extended, here's what to do.

  • Will Carnival, Royal Caribbean Or Norwegian Stock Grow The Most By 2022?

    Every week, Benzinga conducts a survey to collect sentiment on what traders are most excited about, interested in or thinking about as they manage and build their personal portfolios.This week we posed the following question related to cruise line stocks:Over the next year, which cruise line stock will have the largest percentage gain? * Carnival Corp (NYSE: CCL) * Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE: RCL) * Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE: NCLH)Survey Says About 38% of traders and investors back Carnival to grow the most by 2022. Carnival operates in virtually all major vacation destinations worldwide. Carnival's cruises were shut down completely for most of 2020 due to the pandemic and will likely remain shut down for at least a couple of months in 2021, as well. The stock dropped 57.2% in 2020.Next, 33% of investors believe Royal Caribbean will gain the most. Like Carnival, Royal Caribbean operates as a global cruise vacation company. The company's mainstay brands include Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and Silversea Cruises.Meeanwhile, traders and investors were the least confident in Norweigan's growth prospects over the next year, as 29% of respondents told us shares of Norweigan would grow the most in 2021.Norwegian shares dropped a nearly identical 56.2% in 2020 for nearly identical reasons that the Carnival and Royal Caribbean shares lagged.As far as other travel stocks are concerned, it can be said that low-cost ticket models in the vein of Spirit Airlines Incorporated (NYSE: SAVE), JetBlue Airlines Corporation (NASDAQ: JBLU) or Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE: LUV) have the potential to lead travel demand once the pandemic subsides.As the American and global economy recover, and if vacation travel were to return by summer 2021, budget-conscious travelers may first seek accommodations from the most affordable cruise lines. This survey was conducted by Benzinga in December 2020 and included the responses of a diverse population of adults 18 or older.Opting into the survey was completely voluntary, with no incentives offered to potential respondents. The study reflects results from over 500 adults.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Benzinga Named One Of The Top Detroit Startup, Tech Companies For 2021 * Will FuelCell, Plug Power Or Blink Charging Stock Grow The Most By 2022?(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  • Top Stocks to Buy in 11 Different Sectors

    Here are the best stocks to buy in each market sector.Heading into an uncertain and potentially volatile year like 2021, one of the best ways for investors to protect their portfolios is through the power of diversification.

  • How Biden's student loan forgiveness could throw you a big tax bomb

    Saying goodbye to some of your student debt could come at a huge price.

  • Bearish Bets: 2 NYSE Stocks You Should Consider Shorting This Week

    Each week Trifecta Stocks identifies names that look bearish and may present interesting investing opportunities on the short side. Using technical analysis of the charts of those stocks, and, when appropriate, recent actions and grades from TheStreet's Quant Ratings, we zero in on five names. While we will not be weighing in with fundamental analysis, we hope this piece will give investors interested in stocks on the way down a good starting point to do further homework on the names.

  • Strategic Ways to Distribute Your RMD

    Eventually, you have to take required minimum distributions (RMDs). Here are tips for preserving your nest egg in the face of unavoidable withdrawals.

  • Microsoft Steps Closer To A Breakout; When To Buy Alibaba, Epam, Thermo Fisher

    As the uptrend continues, now is the time to build your watchlist and look for actionable ideas. Veeva Systems is the newest addition to the IBD Long-Term Leaders list.

  • Tesla Accuses Employee Who Worked For Company For Less Than 2 Weeks Of Stealing Trade Secrets

    Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) on Friday sued a former employee over claims of stealing trade secrets.What Happened: The electric-vehicle maker accuses Alex Khatilov of stealing more than 6,000 files of software code. The suit was filed in a U.S. District Court in California.Khatilov is a software engineer who worked at Tesla for under two weeks at the tail end of last year and the beginning of this year. Tesla alleges that he immediately began uploading source code when he took the job.Khatilov says he uploaded files to Dropbox so he could access them on his personal computer and that he didn't know that using Dropbox was prohibited. He says he did not share the files with anyone.Why It Matters: The code is used for back-end business and automation processes that Tesla says could be used by competitors. Tesla has a track record of aggressively going after former employees on grounds of stealing trade secrets. Trade Action: Tesla shares closed at $846.64 on Friday, up 0.2%.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Tesla Takes Legal Action Against Chinese News Outlet Over Report Of 'Sweatshop' Conditions At Shanghai Gigafactory: Global Times * Tesla Searching For Director, Staff As It Plans To Set Up Design Studio In China: Reuters(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  • Fed meeting, Big Tech earnings, Q4 GDP: What to know in the week ahead

    Traders will have no shortage of events to consider this week, with the Federal Open Market Committee’s January policy meeting and bevy of major corporate earnings results and economic data releases all on deck.

  • Buy Undervalued Southwest Airlines As Recovery Looms

    Investing in airlines is a dicey proposition due to the challenging macro-environment. And because of this, some of the more notable airline names on Wall Street like Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) stock have taken a beating. Source: Eliyahu Yosef Parypa / Shutterstock.com That said, International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecasts a massive loss of $38.7 billion in 2021. Nevertheless, demand is starting to pick up. And though it’s nowhere near 2019 levels, things are moving in the right direction. That said, top legacy carriers in the USA like Southwest have been hammered the past year. However, a relatively clean balance sheet, strong domestic positioning and the economic-pull back in 2021 will help LUV stock recover faster than its peers. Overall, airline stocks have been surging ever since the approval of the novel coronavirus vaccine. In fact, three-month returns for LUV stock are up 11.3% in comparison to a negative 12-month return of 14.4%. Demand, though, is expected to remain relatively weak for the first few months of 2021. Leisure travel will pick up as the summer approaches, and a significant portion of the world’s population would be inoculated by then.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Moreover, the company earning results beat analyst estimates for the past couple of quarters and could post another surprise in the upcoming quarter. Earning surprises will be vital in ensuring that LUV stock continues its good run at the stock market. 7 Great Sub-$20 Stocks to Buy After Inauguration Day So, will all of that in mind, let’s dive into Southwest’s position in more depth to understand what to expect in the coming months. Fourth-Quarter Results Preview As we touched on, Southwest Airlines has had it incredibly tough like the rest of the industry from an earnings perspective. Revenues tanked roughly 83% year-over-year, at the height of the pandemic. Subsequently, Southwest and other airliners were forced to implement precautionary measures to optimize their customers’ trust. As a result, demand has started to improve — albeit, rather slowly. It will be interesting to see how the company has done in the fourth quarter, considering how it showed some improvement signs in the previous quarter. The airliner stopped blocking middle seats in December last year, which heavily cost the company. Moreover, it will also be charting 19 new leisure routes across the U.S. and Mexico. Analysts expect revenues to be in the region of $2.11 billion for the quarter and approximately $9.14 billion for the year. That represents a 63.2% reduction from the same quarter last year. However, judging from recent quarters, it should surpass estimates again. Furthermore, there is a concerning bit is its cash burn — which the company expects to be in the region of $12 million. It previously expected a daily cash burn of $10 million to $11 million. However, the increase is attributable to the surge in coronavirus cases in the U.S. due to the second wave. Strong Financial Positioning Additionally, Southwest Airlines has done well in fortifying its balance sheet in the past year. Belt-tightening measures in the past year have significantly reduced its cash burn and solidified its liquidity. In the third quarter, the company only had an additional $100 million in net interest expenses. Its net cash position of $3.7 billion is more than enough to cover the additional finance costs. Moreover, its ratio of current assets to current liabilities is at 2.07, more than two times its 10-year median. LUV stock is also undervalued based on average analyst estimates. It is currently trading at 15% lower than the consensus analyst estimates. Price metrics based on forward estimates are also in line or slightly lower than sector averages. Its robust balance sheet makes it one of the lowest-risk airlines at this time. Bottom Line on LUV Stock Collectively, it’s been a tough year for airline stocks. But with the coronavirus vaccine approval, investor sentiment is improving rapidly. Demand is picking up steadily for airliners, and the higher revenues will offset a lot of the cash burn. Southwest has done well in maintaining its strong liquidity position and is, therefore, one of the lower-risk stocks in the industry. There has also been a lot of activity in the past few months for the company, which points to a turn-around in its earnings performance. Moreover, LUV stock trading at a discount — making it a great bet on the aviation industry’s resurgence. On the date of publication, Muslim Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. Muslim Farooque is a keen investor and an optimist at heart. A life-long gamer and tech enthusiast, he has a particular affinity for analyzing technology stocks. Muslim holds a bachelor’s of science degree in applied accounting from Oxford Brookes University. More From InvestorPlace Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG Top Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. The post Buy Undervalued Southwest Airlines As Recovery Looms appeared first on InvestorPlace.

  • Stock Wars: Coca-Cola Vs. Pepsi

    Comb through the annual reports of Coca-Cola and Pepsi, and you will see the two rivals list one another as their main competition. White both are giants in the beverage field, there is one key difference, which could be the reason to pick one over the other.About Coca-Cola: Sparkling soft drink brands for Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO) include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta. The company also has a growing portfolio of non-sparkling soft drinks that includes Powerade, Vitaminwater, Minute Maid, Costa Coffee, Fuse and Gold Peak.Coca-Cola also owns a stake in energy drink maker Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST) and helps distribute the brand. The company owns a stake in growing sports drink company BodyArmor.Sparkling soft drinks made up 69% of unit case volume for Coca-Cola in fiscal 2019. The company's portfolio includes four of the top five non-alcoholic sparkling beverages with Coke, Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite.About Pepsi: Sparkling soft drink brands for PepsiCo Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) include Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Mug Root Beer. The company's portfolio of non-sparkling soft drinks includes Gatorade, bubbly, Pure Leaf and Tropicana.The Key Difference: The big difference between the two beverage giants is the huge portfolio of food brands owned by PepsiCo.Under its Frito-Lay and Quaker Oats divisions, Pepsi owns brands like Lay's, Doritos, Quaker Oats, Sabra, Cheetos, Fritos, Tostitos, Cap'N Crunch and Aunt Jemima.Pepsi got 54% of its revenue from food in fiscal 2019, making its beverage division the smaller segment. The Frito-Lay North America and Quaker Foods North America segments made up 25% and 4% of overall fiscal 2019 revenue, respectively.Frito-Lay North America made up 45% of the operating profit for PepsiCo in fiscal 2019. This high margin segment has been a key to the financial success of the company over the years.Related Link: Stock Wars: General Mills Vs. Kellogg Vs. PostFinancials: Coca-Cola has products in more than 200 countries. The company got 18% of its unit volume from the United States in fiscal 2019, with the rest coming from international markets.Sales for Coca-Cola rose in fiscal 2019, but that came after three straight years of declining sales. Revenue was $37.3 billion in fiscal 2019. Net income for the company hit a five-year high of $8.9 billion in fiscal 2019.Coca-Cola reported third-quarter revenue declined 9% year-over-year to $8.7 billion. Coca-Cola lost value share in the non-alcoholic ready-to-drink segment.Coca-Cola presently pays dividends of $1.60 per year, equal to a 3.4% dividend yield. The company has raised its dividend 58 consecutive years.Pepsi got 58% of its revenue from the United States in fiscal 2019 and 42% from international territories. Revenue for PepsiCo was $67.2 billion in fiscal 2019 and was up year over year for the fourth consecutive year.PepsiCo had revenue growth of 5.3% year over year in the third quarter to $18.09 billion.The dividend yield for shares of Pepsi is 2.9%. Pepsi has raised its dividend 48 consecutive years.Stock Action: Shares of Coca-Cola have fallen 14% over the last year. The stock is up 18% in the last five years and up 56% in the last 10 years.Shares of Pepsi are down 2% over the last year. Shares are up 48% over the last five years and up 112% over the last 10 years.What's Next: Coca-Cola has made several acquisitions over the years to grow its non-sparkling soft drink segment. This could be a continued focus by the company.Coca-Cola is also phasing out underperforming brands like Zico and Tab. A national launch of the company's Topo Chico hard seltzer is happening in the first half of 2021 with distribution partner Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE: TAP).Pepsi has been acquiring food brands to boost its more profitable business segment. Acquisitions of Pioneer Foods and Be & Cheery will help strengthen the company in Africa and China, respectively.Benzinga's Take: Coca-Cola has a strong brand and international presence. The company has the higher dividend yield of the two beverage giants. But the growing food portfolio of PepsiCo and the consecutive years of revenue growth could make the food and beverage giant the winner in this battle. Photo courtesy Pexels.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Barstool Fund Nears M For Small Businesses And Is About To Get A Huge Boost From Michigan * Madison Square Garden Sports: Buying The Knicks And Getting The Rangers For Free(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.