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  • Warning Signs Are Emerging in Credit Markets as Yields Rise

    (Bloomberg) -- Concern is mounting in corporate credit markets globally as longer-term Treasury yields continue to rise, leading borrowers from New York to Tokyo to delay bond sales and strategists to warn of trouble ahead.Gauges of credit fear jumped in Europe for investment-grade and high yield debt on Friday. Two borrowers that had expected to sell bonds in the U.S. opted to push their offerings into next week, after a stronger-than-expected jobs report brought fresh inflation concerns and lifted the 10 year Treasury rate briefly above 1.6%. The extra yield that investors demanded to own U.S. corporate bonds increased 4 basis points on Friday to 96 basis points, the biggest jump since Nov. 12, Bloomberg Barclays index data show.In the U.S. junk market, Ronald Perelman’s Vericast Corp. withdrew a $1.775 billion bond offering after failing to reach an agreement with investors on terms. And in Asia, two state-owned firms in India withdrew planned rupee note sales on Thursday and at least three Japanese companies have put off yen debt offerings in recent days.Still, there are signs that the party isn’t over just yet for corporate bonds. In the U.S. credit derivatives market, the Markit CDX North American Investment Grade Index, which investors use to hedge against defaults on company notes, fell from a four-month high, signaling that firms trading that instrument are a bit less concerned about credit risk. Dealers expect as much as $50 billion of bond sales next week, after more than $65 billion of sales this week.But market sentiment may be shifting. On Thursday, companies selling bonds in the U.S. got orders for just 1.8 times the amount of debt for sale, far below the average of 3.2 times for this year or four times for all of last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Strategists are starting to sound alarms. Bank of America Corp. cut U.S. investment-grade credit to underweight in a note dated Thursday, citing its expectations that yields will continue to rise, which will likely push credit spreads wider. The underweight is a temporary trade, strategists led by Hans Mikkelsen wrote.Citigroup Inc. warned high-grade investors to “brace for fund outflows” in a Thursday note. Spread tightening is no longer offsetting rising Treasury yields, strategists led by Daniel Sorid wrote, adding that a flight-toward shorter duration strategies may be coming.The speed at which rates have risen is a concern for Barclays Plc, which is watching for a “shift in sentiment” on credit, according to a Friday note. Spreads have been resilient so far, “but there is some risk for spreads in the near term from a more disorderly move higher in rates,” strategists Bradley Rogoff and Shobhit Gupta wrote.Sentiment soured Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told a Wall Street Journal webinar that the recent run-up in yields was notable, but declined to be drawn on what tools might be used if disorderly conditions or any persistent tightening in financial conditions threatened the Fed’s goals. With energy prices rising and Covid-19 vaccines fueling bets that an economic rebound will spur inflation, financing costs have started to bounce back from recent lows.In Europe, issuance remains robust for now, and notwithstanding recent bouts of turmoil, selling bonds remains cheaper than it was at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.Companies and governments have sold over 407 billion euros ($487 billion) of bonds so far this year, the region’s fastest pace of issuance ever, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.“Issuers want to take advantage of this supportive environment provided by the central banks, before the market starts to anticipate tapering,” said James Cunniffe, director for corporate syndicate at HSBC Holdings Plc. “As we enter the second quarter, we expect to see a more normalized level of supply reverting back to previous years’ volumes.”U.S.Mobile gaming company Playtika Holding Corp. sold its debut junk bond Friday.A group of unsecured lenders to Hertz Global Holdings Inc. are proposing an alternative reorganization of the rental car company that would take it public, a move that counters a plan to sell the company to two investment funds for as much as $4.2 billion.For deal updates, click here for the New Issue MonitorFor more, click here for the Credit Daybook AmericasEuropeBooming ethical debt sales have increased the market share of green, social and sustainability debt to 17% of this year’s syndicated debt volumes, from around 7% a year earlier.The much maligned London interbank offered rate is finally within sight of retirement after the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority confirmed that the final readings for most rates will take place on Dec. 31The Republic of Italy’s debut green bond was the most-subscribed deal in Europe’s primary market this week, according to data analyzed by BloombergAsiaChina’s Ji’an Chengtou Holding Group was the sole borrower selling a dollar bond on Friday.“Inflation is likely to rise sharply in developed and emerging markets in the coming months on unfavorable base effects and higher commodity prices,” said Michael Biggs, macro strategist and investment manager at GAM in London. “We do not think the rise in inflation will be sustained, but it could scare the market”Combined with relatively lower liquidity versus investment grade and potential outflows, Asia high yield is ripe for a correction, according to Ek Pon Tay, a senior portfolio manager for emerging market debt at BNP Paribas Asset ManagementIn mainland China, a recent jump in defaults has led investors to favor safer assets, which is being reflected in smaller risk premiums for local-currency top-rated corporate bonds(Updates figures throughout)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.

  • Stocks Slump as Treasury Yields Top 1.5% on Powell: Markets Wrap

    (Bloomberg) -- Stocks and bonds sold off after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell underwhelmed markets by refraining from pushing back more forcefully against the recent spike in Treasury yields.The S&P 500 briefly erased its 2021 gains, notching its lowest close in about five weeks. Benchmark 10-year bond rates topped 1.5% and the dollar climbed. The Nasdaq 100 extended losses from a February peak to almost 10%, and the Russell 2000 of small caps slid 2.8%. Reddit users appeared to rush back into GameStop Corp., with the video-game retailer soaring.Powell said in an online event Thursday that he’d be “concerned” by disorderly markets, but stopped short of offering steps to curb heightened volatility. The surge in Treasury yields has triggered fears about elevated stock valuations after a torrid equity rally from the depths of the pandemic. While bulls have decided to view the jump in rates as a sign of economic strength that could lift corporate profits, there’s been mounting concern over a potential inflation pickup. For Bleakley Advisory Group’s Peter Boockvar, the Fed has put itself in a “tough situation.”“We are again seeing a market that is taking control of monetary policy from the Fed,” said Boockvar, the firm’s chief investment officer. “Long rates are rising right now because Powell is again very dovish. The more dovish they get in the face of market expectations of higher inflation, the more financial tightening we’ll see.”Stock-Market Momentum Comeuppance Gets No Sympathy From the FedDespite the lingering uncertainties about the impacts of rising bond yields, such fears are “misplaced,” according to Candice Bangsund, portfolio manager of global asset allocation at Fiera Capital.“As long as the back-up in bond yields reflects stronger growth expectations (versus tighter monetary policy), then the long-term bull market will not be at risk,” she said. “The latest normalization in bond yields should be viewed as an encouraging sign that growth is healing, while the prospect for a hawkish turn from the Federal Reserve is clearly not in the cards today.”The U.S. Senate voted to take up a $1.9 trillion relief bill backed by President Joe Biden, setting off a debate expected to end this weekend with approval of the nation’s sixth stimulus since the pandemic-triggered lockdowns that began a year ago.Elsewhere, Bitcoin’s appeal as a hedge against inflation was put to the test, with the largest cryptocurrency joining a slump in other risk assets. Oil surged after the OPEC+ alliance surprised traders with its decision to keep output unchanged, signaling a tighter crude market in the months ahead.Some key events to watch this week:The February U.S. employment report on Friday will provide an update on the speed and direction of the nation’s labor market recovery.These are some of the main moves in markets:StocksThe S&P 500 sank 1.3% at 4 p.m. New York time.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.4%.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dipped 2.5%.The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 2.6%.CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.7%.The euro decreased 0.8% to $1.1971.The Japanese yen depreciated 0.8% to 107.92 per dollar.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries rose six basis points to 1.54%.Germany’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to -0.31%.Britain’s 10-year yield decreased five basis points to 0.731%.CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude jumped 4.8% to $64.24 a barrel.Gold fell 0.8% to $1,698.21 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.

  • Suze Orman: Something's ‘radically wrong’ if you’re getting a tax refund

    Personal finance guru Suze Orman said the receipt of a tax refund indicates "something's radically wrong," since the money returned to filers could otherwise have accrued value over the period it stood in the government's possession.

  • To get the next stimulus check, you may need to hustle with your taxes

    Payments will be harder to get this time, but it might help to file your tax return soon.

  • Elon Musk Loses $27 Billion as Historic Wealth Gains Unravel

    (Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk set records last year for one of the fastest streaks of wealth accumulation in history. The reversal is underway, and it’s steep.The Tesla Inc. chief executive officer lost $27 billion since Monday as shares of the automaker tumbled in the selloff of tech stocks. His $156.9 billion net worth still places him No. 2 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, but he’s now almost $20 billion behind Jeff Bezos, who he topped just last week as world’s richest person.Musk’s tumble only underscores the hard-to-fathom velocity of his ascent. Tesla shares soared 743% in 2020, boosting the value of his stake and unlocking billions of dollars in options through his historic “moonshot” compensation package.His gains accelerated into the new year. In January, he unseated Bezos as the world’s richest person. Musk’s fortune peaked later that month at $210 billion, according to the index, a ranking of the world’s 500 wealthiest people.Consistent quarterly profits, the election of President Joe Biden with his embrace of clean technologies and enthusiasm from retail investors fueled the company’s rise, but for some, its swelling valuation was emblematic of an unsustainable frothiness in tech. The Nasdaq 100 Index fell for the third straight week on Friday, its longest streak of declines since September.Bitcoin InvestmentMusk’s fortune hasn’t been solely subject to the forces buffeting the tech industry. His net worth has risen and slumped recently in tandem with the price of Bitcoin. Tesla disclosed last month it had added $1.5 billion of the cryptocurrency to its balance sheet. Musk’s fortune took a $15 billion hit two weeks later after he mused on twitter that the prices of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies “do seem high.”Extreme volatility has roiled many of the world’s biggest fortunes this year. Asia’s once-richest person, Chinese bottled-water tycoon Zhong Shanshan, relinquished the title to Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani last month after losing more than $22 billion in a matter of days.Read more: Ambani Again Richest Asian as China’s Zhong Down $22 BillionQuicken Loans Inc. Chairman Dan Gilbert’s net worth surged by $25 billion on Monday after his mortgage lender Rocket Cos. was said to be the next target of Reddit day traders. His fortune has since fallen by almost $24 billion. Alphabet Inc. co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page are among the biggest gainers on the index this year. They’ve each added more than $13 billion to their fortunes since Jan. 1.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.

  • Getting A Third Covid-19 Stimulus Check Just Got Tougher — But You Might Still Influence How Big Yours Is

    Congress is nearing passage of the third economic stimulus check it will send out to you and other taxpayers as part of its Covid-19 relief bill.

  • ARK’s Cathie Wood Disrupted Investment Management. She’s Not Done Yet.

    Within a few months, he made enough for a down payment on a second home, in sunny Tampa, Fla. “I looked her up, and it all sounded really good,” he tells Barron’s. “I started investing with ARK just three days later.” The “her” is Cathie Wood, who founded ARK Investment Management seven years ago, and joins our list of the 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance this year. It isn’t just that ARK’s actively managed funds have done well, although they have—phenomenally so: Last year, five of its seven ETFs returned an average of 141%; three were the top performers among all U.S. funds.

  • How stimulus checks can give you a $14,000 windfall this year

    Some households are collecting a big pile of federal money in 2021.

  • ‘It is simply not possible.’ Calls for tax deadline extension mount as accountants say they can’t do everything by April 15

    As the April 15 deadline to file and pay taxes closes in, some of the accountants preparing those returns are telling the Internal Revenue Service they need more time. “In the current environment, it is simply not possible for many taxpayers and their tax advisers to meet their filing and payment obligations that are due on April 15,” according to a Thursday letter from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The professional organization with more than 431,000 members wants the IRS to move the tax deadline to June 15.

  • China’s Plan for Digital Yuan Imperils Bitcoin’s Biggest Markets

    (Bloomberg) -- Trouble may be brewing in China for Bitcoin’s raucous and divisive rally as the nation pushes ahead with a world-leading effort to create a digital version of its currency.That’s because the eventual rollout of the virtual yuan could roil cryptocurrency markets if Chinese officials tighten regulations at the same time, according to Phillip Gillespie, chief executive of crypto market maker and liquidity provider B2C2 Japan, which mainly works with institutional investors.“Once a digital yuan is introduced, that’s going to be one of the biggest risks in crypto,” Gillespie, who previously worked in currency markets for Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said in an interview. “Panic selling” is possible if the new rules end up sucking liquidity from trading platforms for digital coins, he said.Central banks’ power to issue virtual money and proscribe rivals is one of the key risks for the crypto sector. Chinese citizens are already banned from converting yuan to tokens but the practice continues under the table using Tether, a digital coin that claims a stable value pegged to the dollar. The money parked in Tether then gets routed to Bitcoin and other tokens.Tokyo-based Gillespie sees potential for an outright ban on Tether, which could raise the stakes for anyone minded to continue using it.A draft People’s Bank of China law setting the stage for a virtual yuan includes a provision prohibiting individuals and entities from making and selling tokens. In recent days, China’s Inner Mongolia banned the power-hungry practice of cryptocurrency mining.Representatives of the People’s Bank of China didn’t reply to a fax seeking comment on the prospect of regulatory changes. While there’s no launch date yet, the PBOC is likely to be the first major central bank to issue a virtual currency after years of work on the project.Tether officials have downplayed the concern, saying that central bank digital currencies won’t mean the end of stablecoins.“Tether’s success has provided a blueprint for how a CBDC could work,” said Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer for Tether and Bitfinex, an affiliated exchange. “Furthermore, CBDC’s are unlikely to be available on public blockchains such as Ethereum or Bitcoin. This last mile may be left to privately-issued stablecoins.”Still, Gillespie points out that Tether is “this massive amount of fuel for Bitcoin purchases” and few people realize the potential for disruption. A “tremendous amount of liquidity” is coming from exchanges tapping Chinese demand, he added.Tether QuestionsBitcoin surged fivefold in the past year and hit a record above $58,000 last month before dropping back about $10,000. The rally has split opinion, with some arguing a new asset class is emerging and others seeing pure gambling by retail investors and speculative pros in the Wild West of finance.Tether is an equally controversial token deep in the plumbing of the nascent cryptocurrency market. Traders use it to park money as they shift from virtual to fiat cash.More than $18 billion of Tether moved overseas from East Asian addresses over a one-year period, including spikes suggesting Chinese origin, according to an August report from Chainalysis, which analyzes the blockchain network technology underlying tokens. The report indicated citizens may be using Tether to dodge rules that limit capital transfers abroad.Questions about Tether continue to swirl. The companies behind it were banned from doing business in New York last month as part of a settlement with state officials who found that they hid losses and lied about reserves.‘Liquidity Shock’A recent report from JPMorgan Chase & Co. said there’d likely be “a severe liquidity shock to the broader cryptocurrency market” if issues arose that affected the “willingness or ability of both domestic and foreign investors to use Tether.”“All the volume goes through Tether,” said Todd Morakis, co-founder of digital-finance product and service provider JST Capital. “As regulators become more and more restrictive on stablecoins, that could be very negative for the market because that could mean less liquidity.”B2C2 Japan’s Gillespie said Tether is “such a risky asset” and a “massive liquidity shock” is possible if China does ban it. “What would happen is there’s going to be massive panic selling,” he said.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.

  • Big Trade in Oshkosh Shares Before Postal Award Spurs Questions

    (Bloomberg) -- A lawmaker is calling for an investigation of a $54.2 million, after-hours purchase of Oshkosh Corp. stock the day before the company won a blockbuster contract to build trucks for the U.S. Postal Service.The transaction of 524,400 shares is bigger than Oshkosh trading volume for some entire days. The block itself amounted to almost 1% of the company’s publicly available shares and 74% of the firm’s 20-day average volume, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Oshkosh shares surged as much as 16% the next day, Feb. 23, and have risen further since. The holdings would be worth $59.6 million at Friday’s closing price of $113.65, or more than $5 million above the purchase price. The parties involved in the trade couldn’t be determined.“It definitely stinks and needs to be looked into at the highest levels,” Representative Tim Ryan, an Ohio Democrat who is fighting the award to Oshkosh, said in an interview. “If that is not suspicious, I don’t know what is. Somebody clearly knew something.”Ryan said he will ask the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate. Representatives of the agency didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment after normal business hours.The Postal Service awarded the Wisconsin-based maker of military trucks a 10-year contract for as many as 165,000 vehicles worth as much as $6 billion.Ryan is backing the losing bid of Workhorse Group Inc. which has a 10% stake in Lordstown Motors Corp., which makes electric vehicles at a facility in Ryan’s congressional district.An Oshkosh representative didn’t respond to a voicemail and and email seeking comment.The move to award Oshkosh the contract stunned Wall Street analysts who had predicted Workhorse’s proposal to make electric trucks would win at least some of the order. Workhorse is considering challenging the award.Trades outside of normal market hours can have a significant impact on share prices because market activity is thinner.Ryan, who said he is drafting a letter to the SEC, has joined with Ohio Democrats Marcy Kaptur and Senator Sherrod Brown in calling for the Biden administration to halt and review the Postal Service award to Oshkosh.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.

  • The Bottom Is in for These 3 Stocks? Analysts Say ‘Buy’

    Never say that one person makes no difference. This past Thursday, stocks tumbled, bonds surged, and investors started taking inflationary risks seriously – all because one guy said what he thinks. Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, held a press conference at which he gave both the good and the bad. He stated, again, his belief that the COVID vaccination program will allow a full reopening of the economy, and that we’ll see a resurgence in the job market. That’s the good news. The bad news, we’ll also likely see consumer prices go up in the short term – inflation. And when inflation starts rising, so do interest rates – and that’s when stocks typically slide. We’re not there yet, but the specter of it was enough this past week to put serious pressure on the stock markets. However, as the market retreat has pushed many stocks to rock-bottom prices, several Wall Street analysts believe that now may be the time to buy in. These analysts have identified three tickers whose current share prices land close to their 52-week lows. Noting that each is set to take back off on an upward trajectory, the analysts see an attractive entry point. Not to mention each has earned a Moderate or Strong Buy consensus rating, according to TipRanks database. Alteryx (AYX) We’ll start with Alteryx, an analytic software company based in California that takes advantage of the great changes brought by the information age. Data has become a commodity and an asset, and more than ever, companies now need the ability to collect, collate, sort, and analyze reams of raw information. This is exactly what Alteryx’s products allow, and the company has built on that need. In Q4, the company reported net income of 32 cents per share on $160.5 million in total revenues, beating consensus estimates. The company reported good news on the liquidity front, too, with $1 billion in cash available as of Dec 31, up 2.5% the prior year. In Q4, operating cash flow reached $58.5 million, crushing the year-before figure of $20.7 million. However, investors were wary of the lower-than-expected guidance. The company forecasted a range of between $104 million to $107 million in revenue, compared to $119 million analysts had expected. The stock tumbled 16% after the report. That was magnified by the general market turndown at the same time. Overall, AYX is down ~46% over the past 52 months. Yet, the recent sell-off could be an opportunity as the business remains sound amid these challenging times, according to 5-star analyst Daniel Ives, of Wedbush. “We still believe the company is well positioned to capture market share in the nearly ~$50B analytics, business intelligence, and data preparation market with its code-friendly end-to-end data prep and analytics platform once pandemic pressures subside…. The revenue beat was due to a product mix that tilted towards upfront revenue recognition, an improvement in churn rates and an improvement in customer spending trends," Ives opined. Ives’ comments back his Outperform (i.e. Buy) rating, and his $150 price target implies a one-year upside of 89% for the stock. (To watch Ives’ track record, click here) Overall, the 13 analyst recent reviews on Alteryx, breaking down to 10 Buys and 3 Holds, give the stock a Strong Buy analyst consensus rating. Shares are selling for $79.25 and have an average price target of $150.45. (See AYX stock analysis on TipRanks) Root, Inc. (ROOT) Switching over to the insurance sector, we’ll look at Root. This insurance company interacts with customers through its app, acting more like a tech company than a car insurance provider. But it works because the way customers interact with businesses is changing. Root also uses data analytics to set rates for customers, basing fees and premiums on measurable and measured metrics of how a customer actually drives. It’s a personalized version of car insurance, fit for the digital age. Root has also been expanding its model to the renters insurance market. Root has been trading publicly for just 4 months; the company IPO'd back in October, and it’s currently down 50% since it hit the markets. In its Q4 and Full-year 2020 results, Root showed solid gains in direct premiums, although the company still reports a net loss. For the quarter, the direct earnings premiums rose 30% year-over-year to $155 million. For all of 2020, that metric gained 71% to reach $605 million. The full-year net loss was $14.2 million. Truist's 5-star analyst Youssef Squali covers Root, and he sees the company maneuvering to preserve a favorable outlook this year and next. “ROOT's mgt continues to refine its growth strategy two quarters post IPO, and 4Q20 results/2021 outlook reflects such a process... They believe their stepped-up marketing investment should lead to accelerating policy count growth as the year progresses and provide a substantial tailwind heading into 2022. To us, this seems part of a deliberate strategy to marginally shift the balance between topline growth and profitability slightly more in favor of the latter,” Squali noted. Squali’s rating on the stock is a Buy, and his $24 price target suggests a 95% upside in the months ahead. (To watch Squali’s track record, click here) Shares in Root are selling for $12.30 each, and the average target of $22 indicates a possible upside of ~79% by year’s end. There are 5 reviews on record, including 3 to Buy and 2 to Hold, making the analyst consensus a Moderate Buy. (See ROOT stock analysis on TipRanks) Arco Platform, Ltd. (ARCE) The shift to online and remote work hasn’t just impacted the workplace. Around the world, schools and students have also had to adapt. Arco Platform is a Brazilian educational company offering content, technology, supplemental programs, and specialized services to school clients in Brazil. The company boasts over 5,400 schools on its client list, with programs and products in classrooms from kindergarten through high school – and over 405,000 students using Arco Platform learning tools. Arco will report 4Q20 and full year 2020 results later this month – but a look at the company’s November Q3 release is instructive. The company described 2020 as a “testament to the resilience of our business.” By the numbers, Arco reported strong revenue gains in 2020 – no surprise, considering the move to remote learning. Quarterly revenue of 208.7 million Brazilian reals (US$36.66 million) was up 196% year-over-year, while the top line for the first 9 months of the year, at 705.2 million reals (US$123.85 million) was up 117% yoy. Earnings for educational companies can vary through the school year, depending on the school vacation schedule. The third quarter is typically Arco’s worst of the year, with a net loss – and 2020 was no exception. But, the Q3 net loss was only 9 US cents per share – a huge improvement from the 53-cent loss reported in 3Q19. Mr. Market chopped off 38% of the company’s stock price over the past 12 months. One analyst, however, thinks this lower stock price could offer new investors an opportunity to get into ARCE on the cheap. Credit Suisse's Daniel Federle rates ARCE an Outperform (i.e. Buy) along with a $55 price target. This figure implies a 12-month upside potential of ~67%. (To watch Federle’s track record, click here) Federle is confident that the company is positioned for the next leg of growth, noting: "[The] company is structurally solid and moving in the right direction and... any eventual weak operating data point is macro related rather than any issue related to the company. We continue with the view that growth will return to its regular trajectory once COVID effects dissipate.” Turning to expansionary plans, Federle noted, “Arco mentioned that it is within their plans to launch a product focused on the B2C market, likely already in 2021. The product will be focused on offering courses (e.g. test preps) directly to students. It is important to note that this product will not be a substitute for learning systems, rather a complement. Potential success obtained in the B2C market is an upside risk to our estimates.” There are only two reviews on record for Arco, although both of them are Buys, making the analyst consensus here a Moderate Buy. Shares are trading for $33.73 and have an average price target of $51, which suggests a 51% upside from that level. (See ARCE stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for beaten-down 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.

  • Virgin Galactic chairman sold off more than $210 million worth of stock as prices plunged

    Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. Chairman Chamath Palihapitiya sold off a chunk of his shares this week, and played a part of the plunge in prices.

  • Buy these 3 battery stocks to play the electric-vehicle party, but stay away from this company, says UBS

    Despite the recent selloff in electric-vehicle stocks like Tesla and Nio, there is still intense investor interest in the sector, with demand for electric-vehicles expected to climb dramatically over the next decades.

  • Oppenheimer: 2 Stocks That Could Climb Over 100%

    Markets are taking us all for something of a roller coaster ride in recent sessions, alternating gains and drops in precipitous fashion. There’s no telling exactly what comes next, but some of Wall Street’s sharpest minds are on the job. One of those sharp minds is John Stoltzfus, chief investment strategist and managing director at Oppenheimer. Stoltzfus sees us in the preparatory phases of further market gains, and he goes to great lengths to explain his outlook. While he agrees that we have not yet succeeded in putting the COVID-19 pandemic crisis fully behind us, he points out that the data indicate a resilient economy. Stoltzfus starts with the Treasury bond market, which he describes as ‘normalizing.’ Yes, yields are up in recent days from historic lows reached late last summer, but the strategist sees this as evidence that “as the pandemic crisis begins to ebb better times are likely ahead for the US economy.” Stoltzfus goes on to the recent earnings season. Of the corporate earnings reports, Stoltzfus says, “With 97% of companies in the S&P 500 having reported profits are up 5.37% on the back of 2.47% revenue growth—a much stronger result than had been anticipated by consensus analytics at the start of the season.” But solid earnings results are not the only support Stoltzfus offers for his view that better times are ahead of us. Stoltzfus points out the rising price of oil, noting that its year-to-date rise has coincided with the spreading vaccination campaigns and the prospect of economic reopening, and he notes copper. In his words, “The rise in copper prices serves as a sign that expectations are for global growth to accelerate as the world moves out from under the pandemic.” Against this backdrop, one of Stoltzfus’s colleagues at Oppenheimer, 5-star analyst Kevin DeGeeter, has followed up and tapped two stocks that he as primed for big gains in a market rebound, gains on the order of 100% or better. We ran the two through TipRanks database to see what other Wall Street's analysts have to say about them. Evaxion Biotech (EVAX) The first Oppenheimer pick we’re looking at is Evaxion, a biotech company that uses proprietary AI-immunology platforms to develop novel immunotherapies for the treatment of various cancers and infectious diseases. The company currently has two immunotherapy candidates in the clinical trial stage for several cancers, and two other candidates in pre-clinical research. Evaxion went public on the NASDAQ in early February, announcing the pricing of the IPO on February 4 and closing the offering on February 10. The shares were priced at $10 each, the lower end of the range, and the company put 3 million shares on the market, raising gross proceeds of $30 million. The key point to Evaxion, as far as investors are concerned, are the two candidates in Phase IIa clinical trials. The candidates, EVX-01 and EVX-02, are designed to be patient-specific treatments for non-small-cell lung cancer, bladder cancer, and various types of melanoma. Results for both candidates’ studies are expected in the first half of 2021. DeGeeter initiated coverage on this stock in early March, basing his optimism on “1) Artificial Intelligence-driven immunology platform generating a broad portfolio; 2) personalized cancer vaccines, EVX-01 and EVX-02, with two important Phase I/IIa updates in 2Q21; 3) capital-efficient business mode…” At the bottom line, DeGeeter writes, “We view EVAX as an AI platform story with multiple differentiated programs either in early-stage human studies or nearing clinical development. Our near term focus is on the oncology platform…” In line with his upbeat outlook, DeGeeter rates EVAX an Outperform (i.e. Buy), and his $18 price target implies a robust upside of 157% for the coming year. (To watch DeGeeter’s track record, click here) DeGeeter’s review is one of two that have been published on EVAX, but both are Buys, making the consensus here a Moderate Buy. The stock is selling for $7, and the average price target is $18, the same as DeGeeter’s. (See EVAX stock analysis on TipRanks) Sensei Biotherapeutics (SNSE) For the second stock on our short list from Oppenheimer, we’re staying in the biotech industry. Like Evaxion above, Sensei Biotherapeutics is an immunotherapy research company with a focus on cancer treatments; what makes Sensei different is its platform, using a bacteriophage to deliver the therapeutic agent and trigger an immune response in the patient. In another similarity to Evaxion, Sensei held its IPO in February. The company put 7 million shares of common stock on the market, at a price of $19 per share, and closed its first day’s trading at $18.90. The IPO grossed a total of $152.6 million, and the company now boasts a market cap of $418 million. That company's leading candidate, SNS-301, is an experimental cancer vaccine that targets the overexpression of aspartyl beta hydroxylase (ASPH) in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck. The product is in Phase I/II development, and preliminary data demonstrated long duration of response, including 30+ weeks disease stability in 2 patients. Further data is expected in the second half of this year. In his note initiating coverage on Sensei Biotherapeutics, DeGeeter takes an optimistic view. “We view SNSE's ImmunoPhage immuno-oncology platform as offering important differentiation based on 1) potential to easily combine low-cost off-the-shelf and personalized neoepitopes in a single product, 2) self-adjuvant profile of ImmunoPhage, and 3) rapid turnaround time of ~four weeks for personalized neoepitope production. Our positive outlook is based on potential for Phase I/II study of SNS-301 ASPH ImmunoPhage to demonstrate clinically meaningful benefit in first-line treatment and neoadjuvant head and neck cancer settings based on improved durability of response,” DeGeeter commented. To this end, DeGeeter puts an Outperform (i.e. Buy) rating on SNSE shares, along with a $36 price target that indicates potential for ~141% upside over the next 12 months. (To watch DeGeeter’s track record, click here) Sensei has only been a public company for a few weeks, but in that time it has attracted 4 analyst reviews – all are Buys, making the analyst consensus view a unanimous Strong Buy. Shares are priced at $14.95 and have an average price target of $29.50, which implies a one-year upside of ~97%. (See SNSE 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.

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