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503 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/27/target-is-poised-to-benefit-from-bed-bath-beyonds-demise-oppenheimer-says.html | BBWI | Bath & Body Works, Inc. | Target is poised to benefit from Bed Bath & Beyond's demise, Oppenheimer says | Bed Bath & Beyond's potential bankruptcy could bode well for Target as the retailer picks up the sales from more store closures, Oppenheimer said. "We think TGT could have even better access to more brands over time to the extent a significant BBBY retrenchment comes to fruition," Oppenheimer analysts said in a note. Bed Bath & Beyond said Thursday it doesn't have enough cash to pay down its debts and it has defaulted on its credit line with JPMorgan. In a securities filing , the struggling home goods retailer warned that "this will lead the Company to consider all strategic alternatives, including restructuring its debt under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code." BBBY 5D mountain Bed Bath & Beyond Bed Bath & Beyond's stock plunged 22% following the news Thursday. Oppenheimer said a full liquidation of Bed Bath & beyond could conservatively add in the shorter-term 50–100 basis points to Target comps and between 14 cents and 28 cents per share to earnings. Earlier this week, Oppenheimer initiated coverage of Target with an outperform rating, betting the retailer will gain share over time from its challenged peers. Wall Street analysts have been assessing which competitors would get the biggest boost. UBS and Telsey Advisory Group both believe Walmart and Target stand to gain the most market share from Bed Bath & Beyond as they both have significant overlap with their product offerings and geography. | 2023-01-27T00:00:00 |
504 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/26/bed-bath-beyond-appoints-interim-ceo-sue-gove-to-the-position-permanently.html | BBWI | Bath & Body Works, Inc. | Bed Bath & Beyond appoints interim CEO Sue Gove to the position permanently | Bed Bath & Beyond said Wednesday it has appointed interim CEO Sue Gove to the position permanently.
The company's shares closed down over 5% Wednesday. The stock has declined about 65% so far this year. The company's market cap stands at about $401 million.
Gove, a company board member and longtime retail consultant, is stepping into the role at a pivotal time for the home goods retailer. Bed Bath is trying to reverse declining sales, win back customers and strengthen relationships with suppliers. It is also gearing up for the holiday season, a key quarter that could determine whether it can stabilize its finances.
Gove was named interim CEO in June after the company's board pushed out former Chief Executive Mark Tritton. She is the founder of a retail consulting and advisory firm, Excelsior Advisors. Before she became a consultant, she had several financial and strategic roles, including president and chief executive officer of Golfsmith International Holdings and chief operating officer of Zale Corp., according to the biography on Bed Bath's website.
Gove has already overseen major changes at the company. In late August, Bed Bath announced cost cuts and a new loan on a call with investors. At the time, it said it would close 150 of its namesake stores and reduce its head count by about 20% across its corporate and supply chain workforce. It secured more than $500 million in new financing, including a $375 million loan through Sixth Street Partners, a lender that has provided financing to other retailers including J.C. Penney and Designer Brands. It also expanded its $1.13 billion asset-backed revolving credit facility.
Yet the company must also overcome another major struggle: its tense relationships with its suppliers of products that stock its shelves. It had trouble getting hot brands and popular items during previous holiday seasons, such as KitchenAid stand mixers and Dyson vacuums. Without those items this holiday season, Bed Bath could have a hard time competing with rivals like Amazon , Target and Walmart .
Bed Bath is having its first supplier summit on Wednesday, which the company said will strengthen those relationships.
The retailer has another top vacancy to fill. It is searching for a new CFO after Gustavo Arnal died by suicide. Last month, it tapped its chief accounting officer, Laura Crossen, as interim finance chief.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for support and assistance from a trained counselor. | 2022-10-26T00:00:00 |
505 | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/13/jeff-smiths-starboard-builds-9point8percent-stake-in-magellan-health.html | BAX | Baxter International | Shares of Magellan Health jump as activist Starboard takes aim at health insurer with 9.8% stake | Activist hedge fund Starboard Value has built a 9.8 percent stake in small health insurer and pharmacy-benefits manager Magellan Health .
Though Starboard partners and founders Jeffrey Smith and Mark Mitchell said in a regulatory filing that they do not at the moment have an official plan for Magellan, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC that the fund could consider advocating for a potential sale or managerial changes to help boost shareholder value.
Magellan shares, which were down 35 percent this year, jumped nearly 8 percent Thursday following news of the Starboard stake.
Smith and Mitchell said in the regulatory filing that they believe "the shares, when purchased, were undervalued and represented an attractive investment opportunity." The fund reported that it owns 2.3 million shares and made purchases from Nov. 7 through Dec. 12.
The hedge fund said that it may eventually decide to open dialogue with Magellan — worth about $1.5 billion — to discuss the business, including ownership structure, board composition and potential business combinations, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Starboard Value declined to comment for this story while Magellan Health did not respond to CNBC's request for comment.
The company has disappointed investors several times this year by cutting its 2018 earnings forecast three times. In an attempt to remedy poor performance in its insurance segment, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based company said last month that it had fired the head of its largest division, Sam Srivastava.
"In light of our recent performance and lowering of guidance, we acknowledge that our financial results have been below our expectations," Magellan CEO Barry M. Smith said in a release last month. "In the short-term, we expect the environment to remain challenging, but we see significant long-term opportunity in both our Healthcare and Pharmacy businesses."
Starboard also had a small position in medical equipment and supplies company Baxter International at the end of the third quarter with 727,000 shares. | 2018-12-13T00:00:00 |
506 | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/04/14/3-firms-unleashing-big-value-cramer.html | BAX | Baxter International | 3 firms unleashing big value: Cramer | Cramer is a big fan of breakups as a tool for unlocking value for two reasons; "1) companies typically become leaner and more focused and 2) Wall Street prefers pure plays over more diversified conglomerates."
They are Baxter International, H&R Block and ADP, all of which are involved in some kind of spinoff or break up.
Jim Cramer always scours the market for value. And he thinks 3 companies are actively unlocking serious value right now.
Baxter International
Earlier this year, Baxter International announced plans to separate its medical device and instruments division from its biosciences segment.
"I've been advocating a Baxter breakup for ages," reminded Cramer. "I believe the fast-growing biosciences business could command a much higher multiple as an independent company, and the slower-growing medical supply business could pay a larger dividend. This is a textbook breakup play: when you have a growth business and a cash-cow under the same roof, you can create a lot of value simply by splitting them up."
Although the spinoff has been known to the market for several weeks already, Cramer has crunched the numbers and he doesn't think it's all priced in.
"The Medical Supply business generated $9.4 billion in revenue last year, so if it were to trade in-line with other large-cap hospital supply plays, then I think it could have an enterprise value of $25 billion," he said.
"Baxter's Bioscience division brought in $5.8 billion last year, but it has higher margins and a faster growth rate. Still, even if we assume it will trade at a sizable discount to other biopharma companies, you end up with a company that should have an enterprise value of at least $25 billion, maybe much more."
"Add them up, and subtract the net debt on Baxter's balance sheet, you end up with two companies that could be worth $45 to $50 billion on a break-up. That's 14 to 25% higher than Baxter's current market cap of below $40 billion.
"At $72, I think there's a lot more upside ahead, although I'd prefer to buy this one into weakness."
H&R Block
Cramer says H&R Block is unleashing value through the spinoff of its bank business.
"Because owning a bank classifies H&R Block as a bank holding company, the Federal Reserve has the power to limit the company's ability to return capital to shareholders via buybacks and higher dividends," Cramer explained.
However by jettisoning its bank business, H&R Block will rid themselves of such strict oversight.
"In January, during an interview on Mad Money, H&R Block CEO William Cobb made it very clear to me that he plans to buy back stock aggressively, the kind of buyback that could dramatically shrink the company's share count over time," Cramer said.
The spinoff should allow for that kind of a buyback to get underway.
"I can see H&R Block gobbling up roughly a third of its market capitalization," Cramer said. "That would be just huge."
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ADP
Cramer noted that ADP intends to spin off its dealer services business in a move that should raise roughly $700 million.
"Now, ADP has already spun off its claims business and its brokerage business, so with this move, it will finally become a pure play on the human capital management business. The company can use the money from the spin-off to buy back stock, in a move that should boost ADP's annual earnings per share by 7 cents. Right now ADP is trading at $74. I think the leaner, more focused, post-spin-off ADP could ultimately be worth $90 a share," Cramer said | 2014-04-14T00:00:00 |
507 | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/14/one-unique-method-of-picking-stocks-is-outperforming-in-2019.html | BAX | Baxter International | One unique method of picking stocks is outperforming the market this year | One of the best stock pickers on Wall Street isn't even human.
The artificial intelligence (AI) powered equity exchange-traded fund (ETF), or AIEQ , has nearly doubled the gain of the S&P 500 so far this year. Powered by IBM's artificial intelligence Watson, this actively managed portfolio is the first of its kind, said Sam Masucci, founder and CEO of ETF Managers Group, which operates the fund.
"Literally it's looking at 6,000 stocks every single day, millions of pieces of information to whittle that down to a portfolio of 75 to 100 stocks," Masucci told CNBC's "ETF Edge" on Monday.
The AI-powered stock picker analyzes the equivalent data load of 1,000 research analysts, to identify the stocks that could outperform the rest of the market. The list is dynamic: As of the end of December, its top 10 holdings included high-flying tech ("FANG") stocks Alphabet , Amazon and Netflix , as well as wholesale retailer Costco , and health-care company Baxter International .
"It's looking for value," Masucci said about the stock-picking process. "It does that based on what it expects to happen in a particular sector. It is sector agnostic ... they will go in and look at all the financials, the 10-Qs and that type of thing, but on top of that, they'll dive into social media and find out what social media is saying about the underlying constituents."
While the AIEQ lagged the broader market in 2018, it has surged so far this year. The ETF is up 11 percent in January, beating the S&P 500's 6.5 percent increase.
Tom Lydon, CEO of Global Trends Investments, has a different play on the cutting edge of technology: The ARKK innovation ETF .
"It's got robotics, AI, it's got DNA genome sequencing — areas of the market that really if you're looking for the future of technology stocks, it's all here," Lydon said Monday on "ETF Edge."
He added: "It's very high conviction. There are about 30 stocks in there, but it covers all of the futuristic technology sectors."
The ARKK ETF has performed even better than the AIEQ ETF so far this year. It has risen 15 percent in January, and was positive in the past three months compared with a 4 percent decline for the S&P 500. Its best performers in 2019 include NanoString Technologies , Netflix , and Square . | 2019-01-14T00:00:00 |
508 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/04/cramer-most-lucrative-way-to-unlock-stock-value.html | BAX | Baxter International | Cramer: Most lucrative way to unlock stock value | Sure enough, the Baxter board agreed to provide investors with a special dividend called Baxalta which was made up of top blood franchise drugs. Investors received Baxalta on July 1, and Cramer immediately praised it as a way to get exposure for the company.
On Tuesday, Cramer heard terrific news of two top companies choosing to split up to bring out more value— Baxter International and RR Donnelley . Cramer has been pushing for Baxter to split up for ages, and even dedicated a chapter to it in his book "Get Rich Carefully." He pushed for it to broken up into a slower growing, methodical device company, and a fast ramping biosciences company.
The " Mad Money " host has been a huge fan of the school of thought that breaking up is easy to do. The question is how they choose to do it. Management in some companies choose to shed their poorly performing divisions, while others choose to unlock value by splitting up into a multi-division company.
Jim Cramer has always said that sometimes the easiest way for a company to create value is to split itself up into understandable parts for investors.
The company before this new configuration did seem like a confusing mosaic
Clearly someone was listening! On Tuesday morning Shire , an aggressive Ireland domiciled pharmaceutical company, launched a hostile takeover of Baxalta. And of course, the $45.23-per-share bid for Baxalta immediately prompted the stock to skyrocket as investors drooled with dollar signs. Once the deal closes, investors would be up 18 percent from when the spinoff occurred.
"That said, it makes a ton of sense for Shire to pursue it, even at a higher price, because Shire has a very favorable overseas tax status and can immediately boost its earnings if the deal does close," the "Mad Money" host said. (Tweet This)
RR Donnelley also knocked off Cramer's socks when it announced its decision to split itself into three companies. This made a ton of sense to Cramer, as he thought that they all did not belong together under one roof.
The publishing and retail services company announced it would be a financial communications services company, a customized, multi-channel communications management company and a printing services business.
"The company before this new configuration did seem like a confusing mosaic," Cramer said.
The new structure will allow RR Donnelley to lock down the financial communication aspect of public companies, while cashing in the popularity of bricks-and-mortar retailers to expand in ecommerce.
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However, the most exciting aspect of the business for Cramer is its print services business. He considers it to be a fantastic opportunity for RR Donnelley to make strategic acquisitions and consolidate the industry.
"I salute both management teams for recognizing the need to create easy to understand structures that immediately unlock value," Cramer added.
Ultimately, Cramer wants other management teams to realize that breaking up doesn't always have to be hard to do. It can be both easy and lucrative in the long run. | 2015-08-04T00:00:00 |
509 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/19/hedge-funds-stay-defensive-up-bets-on-healthcare.html | BAX | Baxter International | Hedge funds stay defensive, up bets on healthcare | The 10 largest U.S. hedge funds moved out of China amid recession fears and snapped up more healthcare and pharmaceutical stocks than any other industry in the second quarter, spending $7.2 billion on the sector, new data finds. Baxter International , the maker of hospital supplies was the most sought-after stock, boosting the overall popularity of the sector after Dan Loeb's Third Point invested $1.9 billion in the firm, making up some 18 percent of his portfolio, according to data compiled by S & P Capital IQ. Activist investor Loeb has also set his sights on two board seats and a say in the hunt for a new chief executive at Baxter International. Read More Dan Loeb's simple strategy destroys the market Other notable healthcare buys were in pharmaceutical companies Valeant and Abbvie , which quit talks with London-listed firm Shire last year, abandoning what could have a $54 billion deal. Both groups were ranked in the top 10 buys, in terms of money invested, the research found. Healthcare was also the preferred sector in the first three months of the year, but has seen its popularity increase, with the largest hedge funds spending $2.4 billion more on medical and pharmaceutical stocks in the second quarter compared to the first. Meanwhile, information and technology stocks were firmly out of favor, with a $3.1 billion sell-off. This trend has also picked up pace from the first quarter, where funds ditched $942 million of info tech stocks. China's Baidu was the quarter's most-sold stock, losing $1.3 billion of the largest hedge fund's cash. Stephen Mandel's Lone Pine sold out of the stock entirely, and also ditched $874 million in Apple stock. "There is a lot of negative sentiment towards China. Baidu is interesting because it was one the dark horses and favourite stocks when we first started doing this report nearly two years ago, but now it is completely role reversal and the momentum seems to be negative side of things," director of market development at S & P Capital IQ, Pavle Sabic told CNBC. Read More Icahn blames BlackRock for bond market volatility S & P Capital IQ analysed the latest 13F Securities and Exchange Commission filings to determine the largest hedge funds based on reported equity assets. The company looked at hedge funds that have a 100 or fewer positions in order to focus on the biggest bets and overweight positions and no short positions were taken into consideration. Icahn Capital is listed as the largest hedge fund in the U.S. in the S & P report, with $27 .6 billion in assets under management. Viking Global Investors, managed by Andrea Halvorsen came in second with $26.5 billion. Halvorsen had an active second quarter, upping his stake in Valeant by $124 million and also splashed out a hefty $952 million in Amazon , the data showed.
Jill Fromer | E+ | Getty Images
The 10 largest U.S. hedge funds moved out of China amid recession fears and snapped up more healthcare and pharmaceutical stocks than any other industry in the second quarter, spending $7.2 billion on the sector, new data finds.
Baxter International , the maker of hospital supplies was the most sought-after stock, boosting the overall popularity of the sector after Dan Loeb's Third Point invested $1.9 billion in the firm, making up some 18 percent of his portfolio, according to data compiled by S&P Capital IQ. Activist investor Loeb has also set his sights on two board seats and a say in the hunt for a new chief executive at Baxter International.
Read MoreDan Loeb's simple strategy destroys the market Other notable healthcare buys were in pharmaceutical companies Valeant and Abbvie , which quit talks with London-listed firm Shire last year, abandoning what could have a $54 billion deal. Both groups were ranked in the top 10 buys, in terms of money invested, the research found. Healthcare was also the preferred sector in the first three months of the year, but has seen its popularity increase, with the largest hedge funds spending $2.4 billion more on medical and pharmaceutical stocks in the second quarter compared to the first. Meanwhile, information and technology stocks were firmly out of favor, with a $3.1 billion sell-off. This trend has also picked up pace from the first quarter, where funds ditched $942 million of info tech stocks. China's Baidu was the quarter's most-sold stock, losing $1.3 billion of the largest hedge fund's cash. Stephen Mandel's Lone Pine sold out of the stock entirely, and also ditched $874 million in Apple stock. | 2015-08-19T00:00:00 |
510 | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/17/buy-medtech-names-due-to-improving-fundamentals-and-a-favorable-fda-environment-barclays-says-in-sector-initiation.html | BAX | Baxter International | Buy MedTech names due to improving fundamentals and a favorable FDA environment, Barclays says in sector initiation | Stewart initiated coverage on the sector with a "positive view," noting that "innovation trends continue to improve thanks in part to a more favorable FDA environment" and that "the industry's structure (e.g. oligopolies) is favorable and conducive to profitable growth."
Now is the time to buy MedTech names because positive fundamentals and a favorable regulatory backdrop will continue to drive gains, Barclays analyst Kristen Stewart wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday.
Stewart is bullish on Abbott Labs specifically because she believes the company's product pipeline and "favorable mix of businesses" can drive the stock to $80 -- a 12.76% jump from Tuesday's closing price of $70.95.
Some investors, however, believe there's better value elsewhere in the sector given Abbott's 24.3% rise year-to-date. Stephanie Link, managing director at Nuveen which has $970 billion in assets under management, recently sold her position in Abbott and used the profits to buy competitor Zimmer Biomet .
"I think this new management team at Zimmer has a lot of optionality," she said on Tuesday's "Halftime Report." "I think they're going to make some asset sales. I think they're going to fix the base business - they're already in the process - and this CEO is so highly regarded."
Zimmer is cheaper than Abbott at 16.2X forward earnings compared to 22.4X, and the stock is only up 5.8% year-to-date, through Tuesday's close, compared to Abbott's 24.3% gain.
Barclays' Stewart has an underweight rating on Zimmer since she believes the "transformation [is] likely to take significant time." While Link agrees that it's going to "take time to turn around," she believes the relative underperformance is an attractive entry point to buy the stock. "I just find more value in Zimmer. I'm not saying I don't like Abbott, I just think it [Abbott] has run its course," she said.
Virtus Investment Partners' Joe Terranova, on the other hand, owns Abbott Labs and is sticking with it since he believes the company's foothold in emerging markets will lead to continued gains.
"I still think Abbott is the place to be," he said on Tuesday's "Halftime Report." "I like the emerging market story. I like the pediatric nutrition business both in Latin America and greater China...I believe in the emerging consumer. I believe they're going to want this type of health care, and this is as good of a diversified health care company as you're going to find," he continued.
In medical devices Terranova also likes PerkinElmer . He had previously owned the stock, but sold his position after it hit an all-time high of $98.33 on October 1. Since then, however, it's fallen more than 9%. So Terranova took advantage of the pullback and bought the stock again on Tuesday since he believes it's a "great quality name."
Health care led all sectors in Q3 -- posting a 14.04% gain for its best quarterly performance since Q1 2013 -- as investors rotated away from some of the high-flying tech names and into more defensive plays. And with an increasing number of Street watchers warning this bull market could be in its final stages, Terranova believes the health care sector is a good bet for investors going forward.
"I think from a quality standpoint when you're looking at sustainable earnings this is definitely a sector [health care] that where we are in the cycle you want to have exposure to. And I don't think investors are nearly as exposed as they should be," he said. | 2018-10-17T00:00:00 |
511 | https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/19/maria-part-2-puerto-rico-to-take-another-hit-from-tax-bill.html | BAX | Baxter International | ‘Maria part 2:’ Puerto Rico to take another hit from tax bill | The federal government could put another obstacle in Puerto Rico's road to economic recovery.
If Congress passes the bill to revamp the U.S. tax code, companies with operations on the island would be treated as those functioning abroad. The bill would put a 12.5 percent tax on intellectual property income made by those companies. Gov. Ricardo Rossello said Friday that companies would be taxed at a minimum rate of 10 percent on their overseas profits.
The move would make it less attractive for companies in Puerto Rico to stay there since they could get a more favorable tax rate elsewhere.
Heidie Calero, president of HCalero Consulting Group, a firm based in Puerto Rico, said manufacturers on the island would get hit the hardest. This would further cripple the commonwealth's already reeling economy.
"Manufacturing in Puerto Rico accounted for 47 percent of Puerto Rico's GDP during fiscal 2016," Calero said. "That's not something you can just replace easily."
"We're pretty much just getting ready for 'Maria part 2,'" she said.
Puerto Rico was ravaged three months ago by Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 hurricane that decimated the island's power grid and pushed thousands of residents to leave.
Companies that could be affected by the tax bill are medical device makers and pharmaceutical makers, which have a lot of intellectual property. Amgen , Eli Lilly , Boston Scientific , Medtronic and Baxter International all have operations in Puerto Rico and are major employers.
A Medtronic spokesman told CNBC the company is still evaluating "the tax bill's ultimate impact." Boston Scientific declined to comment. The other companies mentioned did not respond to CNBC's request for comment.
"It won't be an easy road moving forward," said Jose Joaquin Villamil, president of Estudios Tecnicos, an economic consulting firm based in Puerto Rico. "This bill could have a big impact on the companies already established in Puerto Rico."
Calero of HCalero said the bill gives her a sense of deja vu, recalling the phasing out of a corporate tax break known as Section 936. The break was fully phased out by 2006, when Puerto Rico's current recession began.
The island's finances have been in shambles ever since. The commonwealth is struggling to pay a massive debt of more than $70 billion. Its tax base is also dwindling as many residents leave to find better job opportunities and a higher standard of living elsewhere.
Puerto Rico's population fell to an estimated 3.4 million residents as of July 2016 from 3.7 million in 2010, an 8 percent decline, according to the Census Bureau. Thousands have also left Puerto Rico since the storm hit.
Its unemployment rate is also higher than that of any state, at 10.6 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The island also has a poverty rate of 43.5 percent, according to the Census Bureau, more than double that of Mississippi, the poorest state.
"It is devastating and unconscionable that Congress would do this at this juncture," Rossello told NBC News last week, when the bill was first released. | 2017-12-19T00:00:00 |
512 | https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/29/cramer-adds-new-stocks-recommends-buying-12-laggards-in-his-covid-19-index.html | BAX | Baxter International | Cramer adds new stocks, recommends buying 12 laggards in his Covid-19 index | CNBC's Jim Cramer on Monday reviewed and made changes to his pandemic playbook to bring more diversification to his coronavirus index.
The Cramer Covid-19 Index , a basket of 100 stocks he determined can work in a coronavirus-plagued market, has outgained the major indexes since Cramer last updated the stock catalog.
"When you look at the biggest winners in the index, they're overwhelmingly tech companies that help facilitate the stay-at-home economy, and a lot of these got hit today," the "Mad Money" host said.
Cramer dropped two health-based stocks and one packaged foods company to make room for two cloud-based names and one gold business. VMware , Fastly and Newmont Mining were substituted for Baxter International , GlaxoSmithKline and Kellogg .
Baxter, a medical supplies company, was removed because of its high exposure to voluntary surgeries delayed by the impact of the health crisis on hospitals. GlaxoSmithKline, a drug company that's working on a Covid-19 vaccine, was taken off because the stock is "not enticing many investors," Cramer said. Kellogg, the cereal producing giant, was axed because the stock is lagging and the Cramer index already contains seven other similar plays.
As for the new additions, Cramer added VMware, one of his cloud king stocks, because the stock is "cheap on an earnings basis" and the prospect that the company could be spun off from Dell. Fastly, a cloud content delivery network whose stock price has increased sevenfold since bottoming in March, is one that in hindsight Cramer wishes he included when he created the index in April. Newmont is a gold company that can provide investors "more insurance against economic chaos" as the country continues to deal with fallout from the coronavirus crisis, he said.
The biggest winners on Crammer's list – Zoom Video , Spotify , Zscaler , DocuSign , Etsy , The Trade Desk , Livongo Health , Square , Peloton and Cloudflare – are among the top plays in the stay-at-home economy.
"As the pandemic flares up again, get ready after the industrial rotation ends. It's time to circle back to the blue-chip Covid stocks that are still way off their highs. That's what offers the best risk-reward," he said. "I love a rotation. They throw out the good, they buy the bad and then they change their mind two days later." | 2020-06-29T00:00:00 |
513 | https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/24/fed-balance-sheet-unwind-cuts-chance-of-more-rate-hikes-ex-dallas-fed-advisor.html | BAX | Baxter International | Fed balance sheet unwind 'absolutely' reduces chance of more rate hikes: Former Dallas Fed advisor | "There are a lot of caveats in these minutes. But will they double-tighten? … I don't think so."
"They're going to be very measured. They'll be data-dependent. They might pull back, reduce the size," Danielle DiMartino Booth said in an interview with " Power Lunch ."
Officials have recently indicated the Fed will begin to unravel its $4.5 trillion portfolio, and minutes released Wednesday from the Federal Open Market Committee meeting earlier this month shed some light on how the central bank plans to do it.
Once the Federal Reserve starts to wind down its balance sheet, it "absolutely" reduces the chance of more rate hikes from the central bank, a former advisor to the Dallas Fed told CNBC on Wednesday.
According to the minutes, the central bank sees a system where it will announce cap limits on how much it will allow to roll off each month without reinvesting. Any amount it receives in repayments that exceeds the cap limit will be reinvested.
Many economists have been anticipating the central bank will increase interest rates in June and September and begin to focus on its balance sheet at its December meeting.
However, Booth, now president of Money Strong, isn't so sure the markets believe a September hike is coming, and she thinks they are also beginning to question whether it will happen in June.
"We've seen rents start to come down in many major metropolitan areas. That will feed into the inflation metrics that they pointed out in these minutes. They're concerned that inflation is declining," she said.
Ernesto Ramos, head of equities at BMO Global Asset Management, has "mild concern" about the upcoming hikes and winding down of the balance sheet.
"We've gotten to somewhat … heightened levels of valuations in the stock market and I think part of that has been sustained by the easy money. So, as that easy money goes away, gradually those valuations become more sustainable," he told "Power Lunch."
"Except earnings growth is picking up substantially … we expect that to continue in the double digits for the next year," he added.
He suggests investors stay exposed to stocks, but in a defensive way. He specifically likes Apple , Baxter International , American Express and Darden Restaurants .
—CNBC's Jeff Cox and Patti Domm contributed to this report.
Disclosures: Ramos owns Apple, Baxter International, American Express and Darden Restaurants through BMO funds.
Disclaimer | 2017-05-24T00:00:00 |
514 | https://www.cnbc.com/select/american-express-centurion-lounge-denver-international-airport/ | BAX | Baxter International | American Express opens 14th Centurion Lounge at Denver International Airport | Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
American Express continues to expand the number of its Centurion Lounge locations and will open its 14th location at the Denver International Airport (DEN) on Feb. 1, 2021. Since nearly half of consumers (49%) expect to travel by plane this summer, according to an Amex Trendex survey, this lounge opening is a helpful way for guests to relax at one of the busiest airports in the U.S.
“We’re excited to unveil a new Centurion Lounge at one of the most frequented airports by our premium card members, Denver International Airport, and provide a safe and comfortable space for them as they look to start their travels again,” Alexander Lee, Vice President of American Express Travel Experiences and Benefits, said in the press release.
Spanning more than 14,000 square feet in DEN’s concourse C mezzanine, this is the second-largest Centurion Lounge. Like all other Centurion Lounges, guests will experience locally inspired food and beverages, as well as a uniquely designed space.
While this is the first new opening in 2021, it won't be the last — a new lounge will open in London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) later this year.
Below, Select has the scoop on what card members can expect in Amex’s newest Centurion Lounge. | 2021-01-29T00:00:00 |
515 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/05/fridays-biggest-wall-street-analyst-calls-including-western-alliance.html | BDX | Becton Dickinson | Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Coinbase, Western Alliance, Playboy, SolarEdge & more | Here are Friday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Evercore ISI upgrades TE Connectivity to outperform from in line Evercore said it sees "multiple paths for upside" for the consumer electronics company. "We are upgrading TEL to OP from In Line as we think FTM (forward 12 months) estimates should have room to move higher. While the margin ramp in H2 may contain some risk, their revenue guide appears rather conservative which could offset weaker pricing." JPMorgan upgrades Kellogg to neutral from underweight JPMorgan said the risks for Kellogg are already baked in. "On the positive side, fundamentals are improved and more consistent, investor sentiment remains slanted cautiously (in our view), and many risks that previously worried the Street (e.g. pension income, interest expense) are now baked in." Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight Morgan Stanley said Apple is "delivering under pressure" after its earnings report on Thursday. "March and June largely in-line with our expectations; attention shifts to the AR/VR and iPhone 15 launches." Read more about this call here . Guggenheim upgrades Portillo's to buy from neutral Guggenheim said it sees multiple expansion for the restaurant chain. "We think 2023 will prove to be a year of getting back on track for Portillo's with a pivot towards openings in Florida, Arizona and Texas (and the core market of Chicago) supporting investor confidence in the opportunity for near-term development." Bernstein upgrades Rio Tino to outperform from market perform Bernstein said the metals and mining company has an opportunity to "seize the lead." "Third, RIO's exposure to energy-hungry aluminum provides an interesting set up in a world of potential energy woes. Goldman Sachs downgrades Atlassian to neutral from buy Goldman said the company's "cloud transition [is] likely taking longer than expected." "We are downgrading Atlassian to Neutral (from Buy) with a $165 PT (vs $240 prior) as we see the pace of the company's cloud transition likely taking longer than expected." Wells Fargo upgrades VF Corp to equal weight from underweight Wells said "green shoots are getting harder to ignore" for the footwear and apparel company. " VFC : Vans Still a Ways from Turning, but Green Shoots Harder to Ignore; Upgrading to EW." Citi reiterates Disney as buy Citi said it's bullish heading into earnings next week. " DIS will report F2Q23 results Wednesday (5/10) after the close. We believe the primary focus will be on profitability and the company's cost initiatives announced last quarter. We maintain our Buy rating and $130 target price." UBS upgrades Shopify to neutral from sell UBS said in its upgrade of Shopify that it sees revenue upside. "The sale of the logistics ops, higher focus on profitability, and the 23% reduction in workforce remove a key source of gross margin dilution, and raise the prospect of significantly higher FCF generation from 2H onwards." Morgan Stanley upgrades Avis to equal weight from underweight Morgan Stanley said the risks are already priced in for the car rental company. " Avis' Q1 results were strong with positive forward view on travel patterns and fleet discipline. While we continue to expect earnings to decline we believe such risks are discounted in the share price, Upgrade to EW." Deutsche Bank upgrades SolarEdge to buy from hold Deutsche said cost concerns are "fading" for the solar company. "We upgrade SolarEdge to BUY rating (PT $375, 30% upside). We are increasingly constructive on the name, given previous concerns around cost control, better geographic localization of its supply chain and margin pressure have faded away." Read more about this call here. Piper Sandler upgrades Becton Dickinson to overweight from neutral Piper said in its upgrade of the medical devices company that it sees earnings per share upside. "We're upgrading shares of BDX to Overweight today and raising our price target to $290 We've been patiently waiting for the margin ramp in the back half of FY'23 to be de-risked and for evidence that we're moving closer to other shareholder friendly activities Oppenheimer upgrades Blue Owl to outperform from perform Oppenheimer said in its upgrade of the alternative investment management firm that investors should buy the dip. "We have long admired this franchise, but have been put off by a comparatively-rich valuation versus others. But now, when people are throwing the baby out with the bathwater, we say 'grab the baby.'" Jefferies initiates Playboy Group as buy Jefferies said it sees "significant upside" for the adult themed global media and lifestyle company. "As PLBY comes out of a turnaround, proof of profitability and the early success of Centerfold offers significant upside." Piper Sandler reiterates Carvana as outperform Piper said the car seller is "coming back from the brink" after its earnings report on Thursday. " CVNA was indicated higher by 25% after the company released Q1 results, and if recent trends continue, we think there's ample room for more upside." Wedbush reiterates Coinbase as outperform Wedbush said it's standing by shares of the crypto company. "Outperform rated COIN reported better than expected Q1/CY23 results, with outperformance in most metrics, including Transaction and Subscription for both Retail and Institution areas, Adjusted EBITDA margin, as well as institutional trading volumes." Needham reiterates Amazon as buy Needham said it's standing by its buy rating on the e-commerce giant. "As we detail each quarter, since services revs are > 50% of total revs, AMZN should be valued as a services company, we believe. Also, based on our sum-of-the-parts analysis, investors are only paying about 1x forward year eCommerce revs, we calculate." JPMorgan upgrades Western Alliance and Comerica to overweight from neutral and Zions Bancorporation to overweight from underweight JPMorgan upgraded several regional banks on Friday morning and said it sees "significant intermediate-term favorable re-rating of regional bank stocks." "We are upgrading WAL and CMA from Neutral to OW and ZION from UW to OW. With sentiment this negative, in our view it won't take much to see a significant intermediate-term favorable re-rating of regional bank stocks." Bank of America reiterates Alphabet as buy Bank of America said the internet giant should continue to take share in search. "While traffic to potential competitors is increasing, Google's search share continues to be up y/y and is stable since December." | 2023-05-05T00:00:00 |
516 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/12/top-wall-street-stock-analyst-calls-on-wednesday.html | BDX | Becton Dickinson | Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Netflix, Tesla, Honeywell, Amazon, Shopify, Hyatt & more | Here are Wednesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Deutsche adds a catalyst call buy on Honeywell Deutsche named Honeywell as a short-term buy idea and said it's getting more constructive on the company's execution. "Moreover, the company is in the midst of a CEO transition that could bring a more active portfolio management story. In the short-term, we also expect a 1% 1Q23 EPS beat vs. consensus, 2Q23 guidance positioned in line with the Street, and perhaps a raise to the low end of full year guidance, at a minimum." UBS upgrades Goldman Sachs to buy from neutral UBS said in its upgrade of the banking giant that it's "resilient." "We are upgrading GS to Buy from Neutral as the firm appears well positioned to outperform amidst elevated levels of market volatility." Read more about this call here. Barclays reiterates First Republic as equal weight Barclays said the regional bank remains "structurally challenged." "While FRC appears to be managing short-term liquidity and deposit outflows may have slowed, a jump in its funding costs coupled with fixed rate assets will likely weigh heavily on its NIM (net interest margin.)" Morgan Stanley upgrades MongoDB to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said in its upgrade of the developer data platform that it has "share gain opportunities." "With our AlphaWise survey pointing to the majority of optimizations already underway and cloud growth expectations reaccelerating in 2024, we upgrade MDB to OW given market leadership in the ~$45B operational database market, multiple share gain opportunities and a pivot to profitability." Read more about this call here. Morgan Stanley names Box a top pick Morgan Stanley named the cloud content management company as a top pick and says it sees more margin upside ahead. "Not only has Box expanded operating margins by ~22%, from 1% in FY20 to 23% in FY23, but Box is expecting another 10- 12% operating margin expansion in its long-term targets to reach 32-35%." Roth MKM initiates Las Vegas Sands as buy Roth said in its initiation of the casino company that it's bullish on a Macao recovery. "We initiate coverage on LVS with a Buy rating and bullish outlook on Macau." JMP upgrades Shopify to market outperform from market perform JMP said in its upgrade of the e-commerce company that helps businesses that it's a "leader in commerce enablement." "After analyzing the OpEx structure across the website builders, assessing third-party website traffic data, and speaking to professional website developers across these platforms, we are reaffirming our view that Shopify is the leader in commerce enablement and continues to take share as we upgrade Shopify to Market Outperform from Market Perform and establish a $65 price target." Read more about this call here. Morgan Stanley upgrades Evercore to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said the investment bank has "underappreciated resiliency." " EVR trades at one of the lowest multiples in the Midcap Advisors space, despite having solid 'pay for performance' comp ratio management and a resilient revenue base, ⅓ of which comes from non-M & A sources." Citi reiterates Netflix as buy Citi said it's standing by its buy rating on the stock heading into earnings next week. "Relative to most quarters, 1Q23 may be confusing given: 1) an incipient ad tier, 2) slower rollout of password sharing enforcement, and 3) questions around NFLX's sharply lower prices in ~100 smaller, lower penetration markets." Goldman Sachs reiterates Tesla as buy Goldman said it's standing by its buy rating heading into earnings next week. "We remain positive on Tesla shares, although we modestly lower our 2023/2024 EPS estimates and our 12 month price-target reflecting the lower US vehicle pricing the company instituted on 4/6/23 (mostly offset by our updated assumptions including for higher vehicle unit volumes, higher storage revenue, and lower input costs)." Goldman Sachs upgrades Global Payments to buy from neutral Goldman said investors should buy the dip in the payment solutions company. "We are upgrading shares of GPN to Buy with an $127 price target for ~20% upside. Shares have been weak year to date and, in particular, in recent weeks following the stress in the regional bank space in March and the increased uncertainty this caused as it relates to the macro environment." Wolfe upgrades Raytheon to outperform from peer perform Wolfe said it has more long-term clarity on the stock. "Our prior hesitation on shares of RTX has rested on two primary issues: more attractive relative valuation elsewhere in commercial aero & continued downside EBITDA pressure from underperforming defense businesses. Both of these items plus a couple others (improved outlook for munitions/missiles long-term, clearer path on the F-35 sole-source engine position) prompt our rating upgrade." Baird downgrades Lockheed Martin to neutral from outperform Baird downgraded the stock due to growth concerns ahead of earnings next week. "LMT (Apr 18) 2023 guide intact, but downgrading to Neutral as LMT stock is within 3% of price target, and we remain concerned on growth and margins going forward." KeyBanc upgrades Becton Dickinson to overweight from sector weight Key said in its upgrade of the med tech company that it's ready for a "breakout." "After 5 years of being fully range-bound, we believe BDX is finally capable of sustaining a breakout given more consistent execution toward LT financial targets and a reasonable valuation." Argus downgrades Abercrombie & Fitch to hold from buy Argus said in its downgrade of the stock that it's concerned about consumer spend weighing on sales growth. " Abercrombie has struggled to expand margins amid inflation and currency headwinds, and cautious consumer spending has weighed on sales growth." Piper Sandler upgrades Dow Chemical to outperform from neutral Piper said in its upgrade of the stock that it sees earnings upside. "The most significant changes come for DOW, LYB, WLK and EMN, which are each being upgraded to Overweight (OW) from Neutral (N) based on the earnings upside we see being generated by the reduced feedstock costs, lower utility costs and the improving operating rates generated, in part, by export opportunities." Bernstein reiterates Hyatt as a top pick Bernstein said the hotel chain is its top luxury pick for 2023. "Hyatt is our top pick for the year, as it's well exposed to the most attractive areas of travel in 2023." Read more about this call here . Truist reiterates Amazon as buy Truist said the e-commerce has a "best-in-class" logistics and delivery network. "We're incrementally constructive on AMZN and are tweaking our ests and PT to $144 from $142 given our expectations for 1Q23's NA eCommerce growth to be slightly ahead of expectations." | 2023-04-12T00:00:00 |
517 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/14/sleep-easy-this-earnings-season-with-these-dependable-and-stable-stocks.html | BDX | Becton Dickinson | Sleep easy this earnings season with these dependable and stable stocks | There may be some stocks that could let investors rest easy this earnings season, as companies deal with the hottest inflation print in decades and the likelihood of sharp interest rate hikes. CNBC Pro screened for stocks that met the following criteria: Earnings per share have beaten estimates by at least 1% in the last three quarters Lowest stock price volatility in the S & P 500 Positive total return for 2022 (as of July 8) The search yielded a slew of consumer noncyclicals, utilities and health-care names that could offer portfolios some stability at a time of heightened market volatility. Investors are monitoring corporate reports for downside risk to earnings forecasts, which could indicate how companies will weather challenges in the latter half of the year. On Thursday, stocks dropped as traders weighed a disappointing start to big bank earnings from JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley. Here is our list: Some consumer noncyclical names that made the list include Kellogg , General Mills and Hershey . All three stalwarts demonstrated low price volatility over the last three years, even while posting double-digit total returns, which include dividends. Respectively, the stocks have returned 12%, 11% and 12% this year. Notably, General Mills has repeatedly breached an all-time high this year . In its most-recent earnings report, the food company pleased investors after showing it can pass on rising costs to consumers, as rising inflation spurs more consumers to dine at home. Health-care stock Becton, Dickinson and Company made the list. The company is considered a buying opportunity by Wells Fargo, which last month upgraded the stock to an overweight rating. The firm said Becton, Dickinson and Company can handle macro challenges better than its peers. "Given BDX's pricing power and the less elective nature of its products, we see BDX as an excellent defensive name given the risk of a recession," analyst Larry Biegelsen wrote. Other names that came up include Coca-Cola, telecommunications stock AT & T , health-care name Bristol-Myers Squibb and finance stock Jack Henry & Associates . Two utilities names that surfaced include CMS Energy and DTE Energy . | 2022-07-14T00:00:00 |
518 | https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/30/15-minute-coronavirus-test-gets-the-green-light-for-a-european-rollout.html | BDX | Becton Dickinson | 15-minute coronavirus test gets the green light in Europe | Dr. Vincent Carrao draws blood from a patient for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test at Palisades Oral Surgery, in Fort Lee, New Jersey, U.S., June 15, 2020. Picture taken June 15, 2020.
A test to detect Covid-19 that can be done at the point of care and gives results in 15 minutes has been given the greenlight in Europe, according to its maker, Becton Dickinson .
The test should be commercially available in Europe by the end of October, the diagnostics specialist said Wednesday, as it announced its antigen test had been granted a "CE mark" in Europe, meaning it conforms with health, safety, and environmental protection standards for products sold within the region.
The new test delivers results in 15 minutes on a small, portable instrument, BD said, adding that this is a "critical improvement in turnaround time for Covid-19 diagnostics, because it provides real-time results and enables decision-making while the patient is still onsite."
"The addition of a truly portable, point-of-care test that can deliver results while the patient waits will be welcomed by health care providers and patients alike to help protect against additional waves of Covid-19," BD EMEA Roland Goette said.
It is by no means alone in developing a rapid antigen test for the virus. Roche announced earlier in September that its own 15-minute antigen test had received the CE mark and German diagnostic test maker Qiagen also announced earlier this month that it planned to launch a 15-minute antigen test.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization in July to the company's rapid antigen test, which works by looking for proteins that can be found on or inside the Covid-19 virus.
It has been widely reported that while antigen tests can be carried out faster than molecular diagnostic tests conducted in laboratories, they are generally less accurate.
Becton Dickinson says that clinical studies performed at more than 20 sites across the U.S. demonstrated that the test is capable of achieving 84% sensitivity (a measure of how well it correctly identifies infections) and 100% specificity (how well it correctly identifies negative tests) but the FDA recommends that negative test results be confirmed by a molecular method to confirm the result.
BD said it is leveraging its global manufacturing network and scale to produce 8 million Covid-19 antigen tests per month by October and expects to produce 12 million tests per month by March.
In mid-September it was reported that BD was looking into reports from nursing homes that its rapid Covid-19 testing equipment was producing false positive results in some cases. | 2020-09-30T00:00:00 |
519 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/24/fridays-top-analyst-calls-tesla-apple-sunoco-exxon-uber-amazon.html | BDX | Becton Dickinson | Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Tesla, Apple, Sunoco, Exxon, Microsoft, Uber & more | Here are Wall Street's biggest calls on Friday: Goldman Sachs upgrades Wolfspeed to buy from neutral Goldman said it's getting "tactically more bullish" on the semiconductor company. "While WOLF's growth story tied to EVs is likely well appreciated by investors given the company's ongoing investment and backlog growth in this space over the past couple of years, the stock has given back a significant amount of the momentum trade, in our view.' Credit Suisse reiterates Tesla as outperform Credit Suisse lowered its price target on tesla to $1,000 from $1,125. "Nevertheless, we remain positive on Tesla , as the long-term fundamentals are intact – and the widening supply constraints will likely extend Tesla's lead over other OEMs in the race to EV." Read more about this call here. Wolfe reiterates Uber as outperform Wolfe said in a note that Uber has "elements of counter-cyclicality." "We think UBER has counter-cyclical elements in its business model that could help mitigate downside estimate risks during a weaker macro environment. We recommend adding it to shopping lists for "post-multiple correction" buys.' Mizuho upgrades Sunoco to buy from neutral Mizuho said in its upgrade of the oil and gas company that the stock is now attractive. "In the aftermath of SUN' s -21% unit price decline since February 1, we view its equity as attractive, yielding ~9.1%." Read more about this call here . Wells Fargo reiterates Bed Bath & Beyond as sell Wells said it's bracing for a poor quarterly earnings report when the company reports next week. "With BBBY shares -51.1% YTD (vs. -20.4% SPX), we believe investors are clearly bracing for challenging Q1 results and further evidence that the company's aggressive turnaround efforts are taking a back seat to lingering operational challenges and deteriorating macro conditions." Barclays initiates Iron Mountain as overweight Barclays said in its initiation of the record services management company that the stock provides "resilience in a volatile world." " IRM combines short duration leases (which can reprice with inflation), with long term recurring revenue. Diversification of business segments has reduced risk and created new avenues for growth, while efficiency initiatives have removed excess costs." Read more about this call here . Wedbush downgrades Denny's to neutral from outperform Wedbush said in its downgrade of Denny's that the restaurant chain is still stuck in its "pre-pandemic business mode." "A lack of fundamental catalysts is likely to persist, based on our current expectation of incremental top- and bottom-line pressure relative to guidance and consensus. Furthermore, unlike peers, we cannot currently point to valuation as a potential catalyst." Morgan Stanley upgrades Altria to equal weight from underweight Morgan Stanley upgraded the tobacco company following recent "underperformance." " MO has materially underperformed the S & P 500 (by 13% June to date) and we now see a balanced risk-reward. We remain cautious on US cigarette fundamentals and MO's limited reduced risk offering, but our concerns appear to be increasingly priced in with the stock trading at 7.3x NTM EV/EBITDA." Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight Morgan Stanley said Apple is one of the "best positioned" stocks in a rising interest rate environment. "Best positioned names include AAPL , CRCT, GPRO, GRMN, LOGI, SMRT and SONO given these companies all have meaningful net cash positions." Citi names Microsoft a top pick Citi said in a note that Microsoft has "defensive" characteristics. "Top megacap/GAARP pick on high conviction in sustained DD (double digit) growth led by commercial cloud (Azure + O365) momentum, and long-term pricing power." Read more about this call here . Wells Fargo upgrades Becton Dickinson to overweight from equal weight Wells said in its upgrade of the medical device company that it's better positioned than some peers to weather the current environment. "We are upgrading shares of BDX to Overweight from Equal Weight as we believe the company may be better positioned to weather the macro challenges vs. some of its peers." Read more about this call here. Morgan Stanley resumes Shopify as equal weight Morgan Stanley resumed coverage of Shopify and said it sees several near-term risks. "While strong positioning against large longer-term opportunities like Fulfillment is likely undervalued in SHOP today, risks around the macro sensitivity of small business, a normalization of e-commerce spending and limited transparency from management present near-term risks." Goldman Sachs reiterates Exxon as buy and Chevron as neutral Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients on Friday that in a head to head match it prefers Exxon over Chevron. "From 1990 to the 2009 timeframe, XOM has relatively outperformed US Major peer CVX . We saw this outperformance degrade following various returns-dilutive investments (XTO, increased Russia exposure, Canadian Oil Sands) and coupled with a consequent deterioration in XOM's balance sheet.' Evercore ISI reiterates Amazon as outperform Evercore lowered its price target on Amazon to $180 per share from $205 after the firm conducted an online shopper survey, but says the company still has a strong leadership position. "That said, Amazon-specific survey results were largely positive—Amazon continues to maintain its leadership position in Online Retail, with Record High Frequency & Spend among its customers, though Prime Penetration appears to be plateauing." | 2022-06-24T00:00:00 |
520 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/24/wells-fargo-says-this-medical-stock-can-weather-big-macro-challenges-ahead.html | BDX | Becton Dickinson | Wells Fargo says this medical stock can weather big macro challenges ahead | Becton, Dickinson and Company, also known as BD, is one of the best defensive names in medtech, particularly at a time when the economy is at risk of a recession, according to Wells Fargo. The firm upgraded the stock on Friday to overweight from equal weight, saying it's better positioned than some of its industry peers to navigate upcoming macro challenges. "BDX shares have outperformed the S & P 500 over the past 4 recessions, which we believe reflects the company's products being used in procedures that are less deferrable," senior equity analyst Larry Biegelsen said in a note Friday. "Given BDX's pricing power and the less elective nature of its products, we see BDX as an excellent defensive name given the risk of a recession." He added that the overweight rating "reflects our view that BDX is well positioned to deliver on 5.5%+ base organic sales and double-digit underlying EPS growth." Biegelsen noted that the company has been more proactive than competitors about using price to offset inflation pressure and investing in its supply chain. He also pointed out the company's pathway to expanding operating margins "appears clear." Financial targets from its December 2021 analyst day have remained intact or have improved, he said. "On the top line, our sense is that management is more confident in exceeding the 5.5% top-line growth, driven by accretion from the EMBC spin-off, accretion from recent tuck-in deals and strength of the underlying business," Biegelsen said. "On the bottom line, BDX remains comfortable targeting double-digit EPS growth, which seems doable based on the revenue growth and margin expansion goals." Wells Fargo expects the company to report a strong third quarter, adding that it's well positioned for a strong 2023. It also sees the acquisition of Parata, a pharmacy automation company, as a positive driver for estimate revisions to next year's forecast. | 2022-06-24T00:00:00 |
521 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/04/sell-health-care-stock-baxter-international-as-headwinds-mount-goldman-says.html | BDX | Becton Dickinson | Sell health-care stock Baxter International as headwinds mount, Goldman says | Baxter International is overexposed to more risks compared to other health-care companies, according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Amit Hazan downgraded Baxter International to sell from neutral, saying in a Sunday note to clients that the health-care company is more exposed to rising oil prices, semiconductor shortages and currency headwinds than its peers. "As we relate all the factors discussed in this report to the companies we cover, it is our view that BAX is over-indexed to most of these factors relative to others in the group," Hazan wrote. Hazan cut the 12-month price target to $77 from $88. The new price target implies 2% downside from where shares closed on Friday. Other "pockets of concern" remain for Baxter's core business. Demand for products for kidney disease will remain "subdued" during the pandemic, and its vaccine refilling business will likely be a $50 million headwind for the company, Goldman said. An inability to pass on higher costs to customers, as well as a lower margin profile, also hurts the company. In comparison, other peers including Agiliti , Becton Dickinson and Company , and Intuitive Surgical had buy ratings from the investment bank. Shares for Baxter International dipped 3.3% in Monday premarket trading.
In this photo illustration, the stock market information of Baxter International Inc displayed on a smartphone while the logo of Baxter International Inc seen in the background. Igor Golovniov | Lightrocket | Getty Images | 2022-04-04T00:00:00 |
522 | https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/02/goldman-on-how-to-play-the-major-market-opportunity-in-coronavirus-screening.html | BDX | Becton Dickinson | Goldman on how to play the 'major market opportunity' in coronavirus screening | (This story is for CNBC Pro subscribers only.) Goldman Sachs expects coronavirus testing to become a multi-billion dollar investing opportunity over the next year, with one stock in particular poised to benefit. Covid-19 testing "is very likely to become a major market opportunity over the next 12-18 months that exceeds current expectations," Goldman Sachs analyst Amit Hazan told clients. The Wall Street firm said testing volumes could grow towards 50 million to 100 million tests per month by the first half of 2021. These levels could drive peak sales for population screening to around $2.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020 and moderate towards $1.6 billion by this time next year, the firm estimates. On the heels of news that President Donald Trump tested positive with Covid-19, investors are reminded of the non-discriminatory nature of the deadly coronavirus. The United States — where more than 7.2 million have been infected and more than 207,000 people have died, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University — will likely need to use increased testing as a way to reopen the economy, put children back in schools and workers back in the workforce. The US testing market for COVID-19 can generally be broken down into diagnostic testing, conducted to diagnose symptomatic or potentially infected individuals, and population screening of healthy individuals conducted to reduce future transmission, the firm said. With population screening reaching $2.4 billion in sales, Goldman expects the diagnostic market for COVID testing to slow to about $1.1 billion in sales for the current quarter of 2020 and then further slow towards $900 million in sales by the fourth quarter next year. This results in a total COVID testing market —including screening and diagnostic testing — to reach $3.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020 and slowing to $2.5 billion in Q4 of 2021. "We anticipate antigen tests are the modality that will garner the lion's share, and we anticipate demand dynamics to be positive for all related players for at least the next six months," said Hazan. Goldman said the testing opportunity should directly benefit medical technology company B ecton Dickinson and Company , which the firm just added to its Conviction Buy List. The company's 15-minute Covid-19 test was cleared for use in Europe on Wednesday. Quicker screening methods for Covid-19 testing are likely to gain popularity and benefit the companies that are able to mass produce them. However, the company's stock is down 15% this year, which could set it up for outperformance if the Goldman view comes true. "Valuation now resides below BD's 10-year average...and we think now fully reflecting these high level concerns, offering an improved buying opportunity that we don't often see at a time when we expect key product issues to dissipate, COVID testing upside to be increasingly likely, and broader recovery benefiting procedure based sales lines along with the group," said Hazan. Goldman has a buy rating on Becton Dickinson and raised its 12-month price target to $279 per share from $278 per share. Abbott Laboratories also has a rapid Covid-19 test and Hazan said that Abbott' s strong antigen testing sales will continue; however, it is already reflected in the stock. Goldman has a sell rating on Abbott. "Our Sell call continues to be largely related to valuation (peak vs prior years) and the overestimation of earnings given the impact from these temporary revenue streams," said Hazan. — with reporting from CNBC's Michael Bloom.
Medical Assistant Suleika Nunez takes a swab sample from Mass. State Representative Daniel Ryan at the NEW Health COVID-19 testing site at the Bunker Hill Housing Development on August 11, 2020 in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Matt Stone | MediaNews Group | Getty Images | 2020-10-02T00:00:00 |
523 | https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/06/us-coronavirus-response-still-crippled-by-lack-of-testing-dr-scott-gottlieb-says.html | BDX | Becton Dickinson | U.S. coronavirus response still crippled by lack of testing, Dr. Scott Gottlieb says | watch now
As coronavirus outbreaks continue to grow across a number of states, the U.S. response is still hampered by a lack of testing and an inability to direct resources to so-called hot spots, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Monday. Nationally, the U.S. has ramped up testing from an average of just over 174,000 diagnostic tests per day through April to an average of 666,081 tests per day so far in July, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by the Covid Tracking Project. While testing has risen nationally, Gottlieb said, demand for more tests has outpaced supply in hard-hit states like Florida and Texas. "We don't have a national plan. We don't have a national strategy. We don't have a national pool of resources and swing capacity that we can move around when we have these epidemics, and so states start to get pressed very quickly," he said on CNBC's "Squawk Box."
watch now
The testing capacity in states such as Texas and Arizona is reportedly strained under the spike in demand that's come as parts of those states experience severe outbreaks. The overall supply chain for diagnostic tests, which includes sample-collection swabs, chemical reagents and other materials, has been strained since the start of the pandemic.
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While the supply chain has been bolstered since March through public investment, test manufacturers such as LabCorp and Quest have reported a backlog in recent weeks. LabCorp said it delivers test results, on average, within one to two days from specimen pickup, but spokeswoman Kelly Smith Aceituno told CNBC last week "results on average may take 1-2 days longer" due to the recent surge in parts of the U.S. "It's a bigger problem than we thought it would be at this point," Gottlieb said Monday. "There's delays of three to five days, when you talk to doctors on the ground. There's long lines, long waits to get testing, and so we really still don't have a national system where you can distribute these products nationally." The FDA granted emergency use authorization to Becton Dickinson for a Covid-19 antigen point-of-care test that can produce results within 15 minutes, the company said on Monday. The company said the test can be processed on the company's existing platform, which is already installed in about 25,000 health facilities across the country. Such tests will be crucial to ramping up testing, especially in hard-hit states with expanding outbreaks and overwhelmed health systems, Gottlieb said.
Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards | 2020-07-06T00:00:00 |
524 | https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/08/wednesday-stock-calls-tesla-netflix-gamestop-apple-amazon.html | BDX | Becton Dickinson | Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Tesla, Netflix, GameStop, Dave & Buster's, Amazon & more | Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Wednesday: Deutsche Bank reiterates Tesla as buy Deutsche reiterated its buy rating on the automaker in its 2022 outlook and said "no one else" comes close to Tesla in the U.S. "Meanwhile, we will look for Tesla to make strides with the development of its Full Self-Driving system, potentially leading to stronger take-rates and improved subscription revenue generation. UBS reiterates Apple as buy UBS kept its buy rating on shares of Apple and said its recent checks show wait times for the high-end iPhones remain mixed. "Compared to last year, wait time or days until available remain elevated for the highest priced iPhone 13 Pro Max in all of the key regions including the US, China, Japan and key markets in Europe. Although we are beginning to see modest improvement in availability on a week-to-week basis in most of the regions, specifically in the US, availability in China shows no signs of improvement. Loop reiterates McDonald's as buy Loop kept its buy rating on the fast food chain and said its better-than-expected comps could "drive meaningful multiple upside." "Given the shares of MCD are trading at ~17x our 2022 EV/EBITDA estimate, which is a modest discount to its closest peers despite MCD containing one of the most attractive same-store sales growth beat stories, we believe better-than expected comps next year could drive meaningful multiple upside." Deutsche Bank upgrades Goodyear to buy from hold Deutsche said in its upgrade of the tire company that it's a top electric vehicle beneficiary. "We upgrade Goodyear from Hold to Buy, as we believe the company is well positioned for considerable additional earnings growth in 2022 and beyond, driven by favorable market dynamics, deep restructuring benefits, large additional synergies from the Cooper acquisition, and perhaps most importantly, very favorable mix impact from electric vehicles." Read more about this call here. Bank of America downgrades Honeywell to neutral from buy Bank of America said in its downgrade of the stock that it's concerned about revenue and margin headwinds. "There is a lot to like about Honeywell. M & A and organic investments (such as Forge software) have shifted the portfolio towards structurally higher growth and margins. However, HON is likely to face revenue & margin headwinds in 1H22." Read more about this call here. Wells Fargo reiterates Amazon as overweight Wells reiterated the e-commerce giant as a signature pick and said it sees more upside. "We remain confident on AMZN' s ability to drive penetration of additional retail product categories and key emerging geographies, maintain its lead in cloud computing and execute against additional opportunities such as online advertising which we believe offer the company compelling growth and profit characteristics." Guggenheim downgrades Kraft Heinz to neutral from buy Guggenheim downgraded the stock due to concerns about inflation. " Kraft Heinz portfolio's lack of pricing power is getting more apparent as weeks pass, which, in our view, has a significant consequence in near term top and bottom line growth, but also longer term as it alters the implementation of the critical strategic plan revealed a year ago. In the new context of continued severe cost inflation, we are downgrading KHC to NEUTRAL." Morgan Stanley reiterates Netflix as overweight Morgan Stanley kept its overweight rating on the streaming giant and said it thinks "margins can ultimately continue to run." "Our OW rating on NFLX is based on the view that it will scale a large, global, and highly profitable streaming business. This thesis manifests itself in an expectation of roughly 30% EPS CAGR from '21E through '25E, and even more rapid FCF growth." Cowen initiates coverage of Tattooed Chef as outperform Cowen initiated coverage of the food company with an outperform rating and said it sees a favorable risk/reward for shares of Tattooed Chef. "We like the company's single brand focus and vertical integration, as well as its approach to scaling the business by acquiring capacity—which, compared to greenfielding a facility or utilizing co-manufacturers, appears prescient in the current landscape." Baird reiterates GameStop as not rated Baird said it expects an upbeat tone from management when the video-game retailer reports earnings Wednesday, Dec. 8 after the market closes. The firm also reiterated the stock as "not rated." "Meantime, the company will report F3Q results after the close.... We expect a more upbeat tone in the release despite the obvious secular headwinds, reflecting healthy demand trends for key hardware platforms and GameStop retail share gains." UBS initiates coverage of NXP Semiconductors as sell UBS rated the semiconductor company a sell due to increased competition. "While we believe NXP will remain a leader in its product categories with a solid business, we expect the automotive division's growth (50% of revenues) to underperform the automotive semis market, due predominantly to a relatively lower content opportunity in EVs vs. peers STM/ON/Infineon." Piper Sandler downgrades Becton Dickinson to neutral from overweight Piper said in its downgrade of the med tech company that it sees a lack of catalysts for the stock. "We're downgrading shares of BDX to Neutral today. Our decision to move to the sidelines with this stock is the lack of catalysts (revenue, margin, or otherwise) that we see for shares over at least the next six months combined with nagging uncertainty regarding the achievability of consensus margin targets later this year." Citi reiterates FedEx as buy Citi said in a note to clients on Wednesday that it sees a positive risk/reward heading into FedEx's earnings report next week. "Clearly investor sentiment has improved during F2Q22 on the back of more constructive commentary from the company regarding labor availability. With that in mind, we think F2Q results are likely to exceed consensus expectations and be flat to up sequentially from F1Q." Morgan Stanley reiterates Hostess Brands as overweight Morgan Stanley kept its overweight rating on shares of the maker of Twinkies and said it's the firm's top pick in packaged foods. "We reiterate our OW following strong Q4 measured channel data. TWNK offers a compelling growth outlook driven by attractive sweet snacks category growth, TWNK share gains, and Voortman distribution expansion." Cowen names Caterpillar a top 2022 idea Cowen named Caterpillar a top idea in 2022 and said the stock is "well positioned for a broad recovery." "We are modeling for revenue growth, gross and operating margin expansion, and EPS increases for three consecutive years. This would be the first such cycle in 14 years, something that is likely underappreciated. We see potential for revenue opportunities of $35Bn from autonomy in the next 10 years. We estimate that 33% of total revenues can benefit from the infrastructure bill." Wells Fargo reiterates Coca-Cola as overweight Wells kept its overweight rating on shares of Coca-Cola and said it likes the risk/reward heading into 2022. "We estimate there's 100bps upside flex to 2022 Street estimates for KO gross margins, and see GM a good story in KO' s delivery on algorithm in 2022. KO is a 'flex to beat' story in our view, with one of the more interesting price-cost lags in all of Consumer Staples. The stock sets up well, and we like risk-reward into next year." KeyBanc downgrades Stitch Fix to sector weight from overweight KeyBanc said in its downgrade of the online clothing company that it sees "limited near-term visibility" for the stock. "While we think that SFIX' s personalization capabilities remain some of the best in apparel e-commerce, and valuation at 1.0x 2022E EV/sales remains accommodating, limited near-term visibility drives us to Sector Weight." Barclays reiterates Exxon as overweight Barclays raised its price target on shares of the oil and gas giant to $73 from $71 per share and said "XOM's rate of change bull case continues to have legs." "We are Overweight XOM based on rate of change in chemicals and downstream, rapid deleveraging and potential shareholder return in the medium term." Cantor Fitzgerald reiterates Pfizer as overweight Cantor kept its overweight rating on the multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company after it said on Wednesday morning that the booster provides a high level of protection against the omicron variant. "Today (12/8), PFE and its partner, BNTX provided a positive update on the companies efforts to address the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529 lineage). The takeaways from PFE's update underscore our belief that the durability of PFE's vaccine sales for COVID-19 remain underappreciated by the Street." Cowen names Constellation Brands a top 2022 idea Cowen named the beverage company as a top pick for 2022 and said it sees an attractive entry point. "With shares currently trading at a HSD (high single digits) discount to the S & P 500, we believe this offers an attractive entry point for investors looking for a defensible stock, that provides exposure to a best in class beer business, a leaner wine & spirits portfolio and a renewed focus on cash returns to shareholders. STZ is now our overall Top Pick." New Street raises price target on Tesla to $1,580 from $1,298 New Street raised its price target on shares of the automaker to a Street high of $1,580 per share and said it sees "multiple strong catalysts." "We expect Tesla to sustainably trade in the 50-100 P/E range (and probably in the higher-end through a strong year), and the stock to therefore end the year at least at $1,580 TP, presenting a further 50% upside from recent levels." Raymond James reiterates Dave & Buster's as strong buy Raymond James reiterated its strong buy rating after the company's third-quarter earnings report and said the stock is undervalued. "We reiterate Strong Buy rating on PLAY shares following the company's better than expected F3Q results (margins) and encouraging F4Q guidance. Sales are trending slightly above '19 levels (stronger walk-in partially offset by weaker special events), while profitability continues to significantly exceed management's post-COVID recovery targets."
A GameStop store is pictured in New York, January 29, 2021. Carlo AllegriI | Reuters | 2021-12-08T00:00:00 |
525 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/17/warren-buffetts-berkshire-hathaway-cuts-activision-stake-as-microsoft-deal-inches-closer.html | BRK.B | Berkshire Hathaway | Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway cuts Activision stake as Microsoft deal inches closer | Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, smiles as he plays bridge following the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 5, 2019.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway dumped a significant portion of its stake in Activision Blizzard as Microsoft's deal to buy the video game company edged closer to the finishing line.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate disclosed a 1.9% stake in Activision with 14,658,121 shares, a new 13G filing released Monday evening showed. That compared with a 6.3% stake at the end of March and a 6.7% stake at the end of 2022.
Shares of Activision soared more than 9% last week on news that the Federal Trade Commission lost its bid to block Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of the video game publisher. Microsoft's appeal against U.K. regulators' block on Monday was granted a two-month pause.
The stock closed Monday at $93.21 apiece. In January 2022, Microsoft announced intentions to buy Activision for $95 per share.
The "Oracle of Omaha" previously revealed that one of his investing lieutenants, Ted Weschler and Todd Combs, first took a stake in Activision in October and November 2021with an average cost of $77 per share.
The 92-year-old investing legend has since added to the holding in a merger arbitrage play, betting that Microsoft's proposed acquisition of the video game company would close.
Buffett revealed that he and his longtime business partner Charlie Munger started doing merger arbitrage deals five decades ago, back when it was called "workouts." | 2023-07-17T00:00:00 |
526 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/29/berkshire-hathaway-boosts-occidental-stake-to-25percent-why-warren-buffett-loves-this-energy-play-so-much.html | BRK.B | Berkshire Hathaway | Berkshire Hathaway boosts Occidental stake to 25%. Why Warren Buffett loves this energy play so much | Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway keeps buying the dip in Occidental Petroleum , now owning a quarter of the oil giant. The conglomerate purchased an additional 2.1 million Occidental shares on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, boosting its stake in the Houston-based energy producer to 25.1%, a new regulatory filing showed. Berkshire now owns 224.1 million shares, worth $12.9 billion based on Wednesday's closing price of $57.46. The buying spree this year came as Occidental shares pulled back after a stellar 2022. The stock is down nearly 9% in 2023 after soaring 117% last year, becoming the best performer in the S & P 500 for 2022. Occidental, once known for being founded by legendary oilman Armand Hammer, is now Berkshire's sixth-biggest equity holding. OXY 1Y mountain Occidental Buffett has ruled out the possibility of taking full control of the energy company. The legendary investor previously revealed that he started buying the stock after reading through Occidental's annual report and gaining confidence in the company's growth and its leadership. "Vicki Hollub, she's an extraordinary manager of Occidental. Her first job was with Cities Service. That was the first stock I bought in 1942. She knows what happens beneath the surface," Buffett said at Berkshire's annual meeting in May. "I know the math of it. But I wouldn't have the faintest idea what to do if I was in an oil field." Hollub is CEO of Occidental. In August, Berkshire received regulatory approval to purchase up to 50%, spurring speculation it may eventually buy all of Occidental. The 92-year-old investor also told shareholders that he's content with the warrants he owns, which were obtained as part of the company's 2019 deal that helped finance Occidental's purchase of Anadarko . "We may or may not own more in the future but we certainly have warrants on what we got on the original deal on a very substantial amount of stock around $59 a share, and warrants last a long time, and I'm glad we have them," he said. Berkshire also owns $10 billion of Occidental preferred stock, and has warrants to buy another 83.9 million common shares for $5 billion, or $59.62 each. | 2023-06-29T00:00:00 |
527 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/20/buffetts-holdings-in-five-japanese-companies-could-go-beyond-10percent.html | BRK.B | Berkshire Hathaway | Berkshire Hathaway's holdings in five Japanese companies could go beyond 10%, Jefferies says | Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway once again increased its stakes in five Japanese trading houses, and Jefferies said to watch out for more such buying from the Oracle of Omaha. The Omaha-based conglomerate on Monday said its wholly owned subsidiary National Indemnity Company had hiked its bets in Itochu , Marubeni , Mitsubishi , Mitsui and Sumitomo to more than 8.5%. Thanh Ha Pham, equity analyst at Jefferies, said Berkshire's holdings in these companies could go even beyond 10% in the future, and collaboration with Berkshire's businesses is another avenue to explore. "We think there is a good likelihood that Berkshire would continue increasing its stakes in the GTCs, and could even go beyond the 10% threshold as the relationship between Japanese trading houses' management and Warren Buffett remains robust with mutual understanding of the business model and management style," Pham said, referring to general trading companies. Buffett first acquired these stocks on his 90th birthday in August 2020 through regular purchases on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, saying he was "confounded" by the opportunity and was attracted to their dividend growth. The 92-year-old Buffett paid a visit to Japan and met with the heads at these Japanese firms earlier this year. Similar to Berkshire, the Japanese trading firms, also known as sogo shosha, are conglomerates involved in a wide range of products and services, including energy, machinery, chemicals, food, finance and banking. Berkshire said it intends the Japanese investments as long-term positions, but Buffett pledged he will only purchase a maximum of 9.9% in any of the five firms unless given specific approval by each company's board of directors. Jefferies has a buy rating on Mitsubishi and Sumitomo, citing their solid dividend yield and buyback programs. The Wall Street firm has a hold rating on Mitsui and Itochu, noting the former's share repurchase program is ending in July. Jefferies has no rating on Marubeni. "By investing in trading houses, investors obtain a well-diversified business portfolio that is not exposed to any single industry or geography," Pham said. "Note that on top of shareholder returns, investors could add to their returns if they use currency swaps, capturing the interest rate differential between U.S. and Japan. As most GTCs guarantee dividends, we believe the downside is limited." Berkshire said it owns no other investments in Japan. | 2023-06-20T00:00:00 |
528 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/18/sp-treasurys-or-berkshire-where-investor-guy-spier-would-put-his-cash.html | BRK.B | Berkshire Hathaway | S&P 500, Treasurys or Berkshire Hathaway? Here's where value investor Guy Spier would put his money | Investors are almost spoilt for choice between the safety of bonds and the potential upside of stocks. On the one hand, the U.S. economy is showing signs of healthy growth, and some analysts expect stocks to continue soaring. Simultaneously, U.S. government bonds offer more than 5% in risk-free yield. Renowned value investor Guy Spier weighed in on CNBC's Pro Talks on whether it's better to put your money in an S & P 500 index fund , in U.S. Treasurys , or in shares of Berkshire Hathaway for the long run. Spier, who calls himself an "ardent disciple" of legendary investor Warren Buffett and follows his principles, manages the $350 million Aquamarine Fund — a portfolio inspired by the original 1950s Buffett Partnership era . Asked whether he would invest in the S & P 500 or Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway stock for the rest of his life, Spier said the question poses a false choice that investors don't need to make. "It is perfectly reasonable to own both," Spier said. "I think that if I were in [the questioner's] shoes, I might imagine myself actually doing this is: those are two extremely good choices." Rather than picking one over the other, Spier suggests dividing the investment 50-50 between the S & P 500 and Berkshire, then rebalancing positions at the end of each year. "Investing for the rest of one's life is the right question. But then we shouldn't tie our hands too much. We do get the ability to make adjustments," he explained. When asked by a 71-year-old investor if a 5% fixed return asset — such as 2-year U.S. Treasurys — is more attractive than risking a percentage in equities, Spier suggested that the answer depends on how flexible individual needs are. "If you need 100% of that [5% return] to live on, and there's no place you could cut your expenditures, then you probably should stay in extremely safe instruments," Spier explained. He nevertheless believes most investors will do better in equities over time, if they don't need all their income immediately and are flexible in cutting expenses if the market suffers an initial fall. Spier says context is valuable in determining the right investment approach. A small risky bet may be acceptable for an investor, if it represents a tiny percent of their overall portfolio. But the same bet could be disastrous, if it accounts for the majority of someone's wealth. "There's a huge difference between somebody making a 1% or 2% bet in their portfolio, but they might talk about it a lot because it's fun to talk about, and it's totally valid as a 1 or 2% bet, but not as a 50 or a 60% bet," Spier noted. He urges investors to consider their full financial picture and required income before deciding how much risk to take. Spier's fund has posted an annualized return of 9% since he started it in 1997, according to Aquamarine. That compares to the S & P 500 ′s 8.2%, the MSCI World 's 6.9%, and the FTSE 100 ′s 3.6%. | 2023-08-18T00:00:00 |
529 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/15/warren-buffetts-berkshire-hathaway-adds-capital-one-and-these-other-stocks-to-holdings.html | BRK.B | Berkshire Hathaway | Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway adds Capital One and these other stocks to holdings | Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway made a slew of changes to its massive equity portfolio last quarter, including adding a financial stock during the latest banking crisis, according to a new regulatory filing. The Omaha-based conglomerate built a new stake in Capital One Financial in the first quarter, worth more than $950 million, the filing showed. The McLean, VA.-based financial institution fared relatively well during the recent banking chaos with shares rising more than 3% in the first quarter. Capital One shares jumped more than 5% in afterhours trading following the news. It's unclear if it was Buffett who purchased the stock or one of his investing lieutenants, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, who oversee about $15 billion each for Berkshire. At the same time, Berkshire dumped its remaining stakes in Bank of New York Mellon and U.S. Bancorp . The "Oracle of Omaha" recently struck a pessimistic tone about the health of banks, saying we were not through with bank failures and American banks could face more turbulence ahead. The recent tumult has led to the collapse of three mid-sized institutions since March. Activision and Paramount The conglomerate continued to trim its merger arbitrage play Activision Blizzard last quarter, but the stake was still worth more than $4 billion at the end of March. Microsoft's $69 billion takeover deal on Monday won the approval from the European Union, but it was opposed by the U.S. and the U.K. regulators. Berkshire kept its Paramount stake relatively unchanged at the end of the first quarter. The stock slid more than 30% this month alone after an earnings miss and a big dividend cut. Buffett said at Berkshire annual meeting that "it's not good news when any company passes its dividend, or cuts its dividend dramatically." He also called streaming a tough business. Berkshire's stakes in its two biggest holdings - Apple and Bank of America - increased slightly in the first quarter. That's because Berkshire combined the equity holdings of its Gen Re insurance subsidiary in the regulatory reporting for the first time. Berkshire acquired Gen Re in 1998 and previously reported securities owned by Gen Re's subsidiary, New England Asset Management, separately. The increase in Berkshire's HP stake also stemmed from Gen Re. Correction: A previous version misstated Berkshire's adjustments to its Apple, Bank of America and HP stakes. The changes were a result of the inclusion of Gen Re's equity holdings in the 13F filing. | 2023-05-15T00:00:00 |
530 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/21/berkshire-hathaway-is-about-to-hit-a-big-renewable-energy-milestone.html | BRK.B | Berkshire Hathaway | Berkshire Hathaway’s utility company is about to hit a major renewable energy milestone | Siemens wind turbines operate on a wind farm in Marshalltown, Iowa, where many of Berkshire's first big renewable investments were made over the past decade as the former MidAmerican Energy under now-Berkshire Energy was well situated in one of the nation's top wind corridors.
With annual meeting season coming soon, Warren Buffett's climate record is back in the news – and activists are still not happy.
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate faces three different shareholder resolutions heading into its annual "Woodstock for capitalism" on May 6. While no one expects any of the resolutions to pass – Buffett's opposition and 32% voting stake will likely prevent that – they are attracting support from high-profile investors like California's $445 billion pension giant CalPERS and have in recent years seen an increasing base of Berkshire shareholders push up vote totals against Buffett's clearly stated wishes.
The resolutions demand better disclosure of climate risks Berkshire faces from its mix of utilities, reinsurance companies, shipping coal on its Burlington Northern railroad, and investments in oil stocks, which he has been increasing recently, specifically through a big stake in Occidental .
Buffett's climate metrics getting better
Berkshire is a climate paradox: Many of its climate metrics are improving rapidly, if not as fast as some competitors. The biggest: Its utilities' renewable power projects completed or under construction are on track to double the recent national average of electricity generation from renewable sources, and its revenue from coal shipping has moved steadily lower over the past decade. But Berkshire both dishes out and absorbs climate risk – in emissions from power plants and, through its investments in Chevron and Occidental, gasoline-powered cars; and in its insurance exposure to flooding and wildfires that are expected to worsen as global temperatures rise.
"It's fair to say that for their size, the breadth and complexity of their business, that their approach to climate change continues to lag behind peers," CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert said. "They could be front and center, but I don't think they will be."
Any discussion of Berkshire and climate necessarily begin with its utility business, since electricity production accounts for a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Berkshire Hathaway Energy, whose CEO Greg Abel is the heir apparent to the 92-year old Buffett himself as the parent company's chief executive, would be the fifth-biggest U.S. utility holding company if it were independent.
Berkshire Energy spokesman Brandon Zero said the company would have no comment.
BHE is moving rapidly to shift its power mix to wind and solar. Counting plants under construction, Berkshire will soon get 45% of its power from wind, solar, geothermal energy and hydropower, according to Berkshire Hathaway Energy's annual report, which will comfortably exceed the 21.5% the government reports that all utilities actually generated in 2022. The 31% of electricity capacity Berkshire will be getting from natural gas when its coming plants are done is less than the 40% national share. But it still uses more coal, the dirtiest major electricity fuel – coal represents 23% of Berkshire's power mix – more than the national average of 20%. | 2023-04-21T00:00:00 |
531 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/05/why-warren-buffett-is-keen-on-japans-versions-of-berkshire-hathaway.html | BRK.B | Berkshire Hathaway | What Warren Buffett is buying in Japan's Berkshire Hathaway look-alikes | In this article BRK.A Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT
Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway, photographed during a 2011 trip to Japan. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Japanese stocks have been on a tear since late last year, up nearly 15% since November, as the weak yen and inbound tourism help to reactivate the economy. But Warren Buffett added a spark in April when he visited Japan to announce that Berkshire Hathaway boosted its investment in Japanese trading houses to 7.4%. Overseas investors followed suit, buying $7.83 billion in Japanese stocks during five days of trading through April 14. Buffett said the five — Itochu Corp., Marubeni Corp., Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui, and Sumitomo Corp. — are comparable to Berkshire itself. They have diversified portfolios with long-term investments and a focus on value and cash flow. "I just thought these were big companies. They were companies that I generally understood what they did. Somewhat similar to Berkshire in that they owned lots of different interests," Buffett told CNBC's Squawk Box during his April visit to Japan. "And they were selling at what I thought was a ridiculous price, particularly the price compared to the interest rates prevailing at that time."
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But many observers and Berkshire investors may still have questions for Buffett about his bigger bet on Japan's economy as they descend on Omaha, Nebraska, this weekend for the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting. For an investor who, in addition to looking for stocks trading a discount to intrinsic value, has always sought companies with durable economic "moats" in their industries and markets, what makes these Japanese firms so appealing? Here are a few answers. Samurai roots for Buffett's Japanese stocks The five trading firms that Berkshire has invested in are the biggest of Japan's so-called sogo-shosha, or general trading companies. Their traditional role has been to import energy, minerals and food into Japan, a mostly mountainous archipelago with few natural resources, and to export finished products. The sogo-shosha occupy a special place in the country's business world, partly as a result of Japan's unusual history. During the samurai period, the Tokugawa shogun dynasty closed Japan off from the rest of the world for over 200 years. After it was opened to trade in the 19th century, its new leadership feared colonization by Western powers and embarked on a rapid program of modernization. As industrialization began reshaping what had been an essentially feudal economy, the zaibatsu financial cliques centered on mercantile houses, some with roots going back to the 17th century, took on key trading roles and accumulated enormous influence on national policy. The Empire of Japan quickly caught up to Western powers and engaged in protracted military conflicts. Post-World War II reorg through 1990s recession The zaibatsu were dissolved or reorganized under the Allied occupation of Japan following World War II and replaced by keiretsu, which are groups of companies with cross-shareholding relationships and centered on a bank. They helped the country rebuild after wartime devastation, again accumulating massive wealth and clout. The trading companies played a key role in the keiretsu system by leveraging their overseas connections to help Japanese manufacturers expand their business abroad. But keiretsu began losing influence after the long Japanese recession that began in the early 1990s, while trading houses saw their own role diminish. "They used to be the quarterback of their groupings (particularly for the zaibatsus, mainly linked with the main bank of the group), mainly helping Japanese firms expand their business abroad," says Seijiro Takeshita, professor of management and informatics at the University of Shizuoka. "However, such need has dropped significantly, as the manufacturers are now able to negotiate on their own. Hence, the sogo-shoshas have diversified into various areas, particularly into energy and natural resources," Takeshita said. Business revenue beyond trading Among Berkshire's biggest investments are utility operations, rails, financials and insurance, and energy companies, but Buffett has bought everything from truck stops (Pilot Flying J) to fast-food chains (Dairy Queen), industrials and manufacturing companies (e.g., Lubrizol and Precision Castparts), and one of China's leading EV developers, BYD. Today, Japan's trading companies derive most of their revenue from non-trade activities. In shifting from import-export to business management, they have built up interests in everything from logistics and real estate to frozen foods and aerospace; newer investments include electric vehicles and renewable energy. Their affiliated brands are fairly ubiquitous in Japan, but what they don't have in common with some other notable Berkshire stock holdings is powerful global consumer products like Apple or Coca-Cola. Still, their economic clout makes them underrated players. The shosha and their affiliates represent a large industrial grouping of 5,900 companies and 460,000 workers in over 200 cities around the world, according to the Japan Foreign Trade Council (JFTC), a shosha industry group representing 40 companies and 20 associations. These complex global operations make their business relatively difficult to understand for investors, but they're also an advantage.
Kazuhiro Nogi | Afp | Getty Images
"By getting involved in mutually related businesses in a wide range of areas, from upstream to downstream, shosha gain a bird's-eye view of the entire business process and provide convenience to customers by providing functions such as finance, information, and logistics where necessary," said Ryosuke Kawai, general manager of the Research Group at JFTC. "They are able to create new businesses with higher added value." "The point is not only that the scope of business is extensive and diverse, but trading companies also play a significant role in the global economy," says Chika Fukumoto, a trading companies analyst with J.P. Morgan Japan. But some recent tailwinds are fading. Amidst heightened worry around a global economic slowdown, the trading companies ability to maintain and improve capital efficiency won't necessarily come from higher commodity prices and a weaker yen, and to enhance shareholder return, Fukumoto says, "enhancing the quality of their portfolios would be the key determinant for longer-term share price." Shosha: The Big Five Mitsubishi The largest of Japan's trading companies is Mitsubishi Corp. , set up in 1954. Group founder Yataro Iwasaki was born in 1835 into a poor farming family that had lost its samurai status but he quickly climbed the social ladder as Japan underwent rapid social change. Iwasaki found success in shipping, transporting troops and materiel for the new imperial government, and founded the precursor of Nippon Yusen (NYK Line), Japan's first passenger liner. Today, the Mitsubishi Corp. is one of the three core companies of the Mitsubishi keiretsu along with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, the largest financial group in Japan, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the country's biggest defense contractor. Mitsubishi Corp. is fairly typical of the other shosha in that it has businesses ranging from finance to raw materials to food; newer segments are focused on digital transformation and next-generation energy including offshore wind, solar, hydrogen and ammonia. It recently signed a $1.9 billion deal to supply rails, signals and communications equipment for a commuter railway project in Manila, part of its operations in 90 countries and regions through its 11 business groups. Mitsubishi is probably most familiar to everyday Japanese for its convenience store chain Lawson, named after Ohio dairy farmer James Lawson, which has some 19,000 outlets across Japan and East Asia. Itochu Another trading house dating from the opening of Japan is Itochu Corp. It began in 1858 when Chubei Itoh began selling fabrics door-to-door. Textiles remain one of the company's business groups today, along with typical segments of machinery, metals and minerals, energy and chemicals, food, general merchandise and real estate, and finance. Itochu's 8th Company is designed to leverage synergies between its other segments, especially in consumer markets. Itochu is the majority holder in the FamilyMart convenience store chain, which has about 24,500 stores in Japan and overseas. Its other recent investments include the 160 MW Prairie Switch Wind Project outside Houston, licensing and distribution rights for the L.L. Bean brand, and supplying sustainable aviation fuel, produced by Finland's Neste OYJ, to Japan Airlines and other carriers.
A customer leaves a FamilyMart Co. convenience store in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, July 8, 2020. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images | 2023-05-05T00:00:00 |
532 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/06/warren-buffett-says-berkshire-hathaway-wont-take-full-control-of-occidental-petroleum.html | BRK.B | Berkshire Hathaway | Warren Buffett says Berkshire Hathaway won't take full control of Occidental Petroleum | Follow our live coverage of Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway meeting.
OMAHA, Neb. — Warren Buffett said Saturday that Berkshire Hathaway doesn't plan on taking full control of Occidental Petroleum , an oil giant where it has amassed a stake north of 20%.
"There's speculation about us buying control, we're not going to buy control," the 'Oracle of Omaha' said at Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting. "We wouldn't know what to do with it."
In August last year, Berkshire received regulatory approval to purchase as much as a 50% stake. Since then, Buffett has been steadily adding to his bet, including this year, boosting the conglomerate's stake in the Houston-based energy producer to 23.5%. The moves had fueled speculation that the 92-year-old investor could acquire the whole company.
"We will not be making any offer for control of Occidental, but we love the shares we have," Buffett said. "We may or may not own more in the future but we certainly have warrants on what we got on the original deal on a very substantial amount of stock around $59 a share, and warrants last a long time, and I'm glad we have them."
Berkshire owns $10 billion of Occidental preferred stock, and has warrants to buy another 83.9 million common shares for $5 billion, or $59.62 each. The warrants were obtained as part of the company's 2019 deal that helped finance Occidental's purchase of Anadarko.
Shares of Occidental were down about 3% this year, after more than doubling in 2022. The stock was the best-performing name in the S&P 500 last year.
— CNBC's Sarah Min contributed reporting. | 2023-05-06T00:00:00 |
533 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/06/berkshire-hathaway-brka-q1-earnings-2023.html | BRK.B | Berkshire Hathaway | Berkshire Hathaway's operating earnings increase 12% in the first quarter, cash hoard tops $130 billion | Earnings for Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway jumped in the first quarter, thanks in part to a rebound in the conglomerate's insurance business.
Operating earnings, which encompass profits from the conglomerate's fully-owned businesses, totaled $8.065 billion in the first quarter. That's up 12.6% from $7.16 billion a year prior.
Profit from insurance underwriting came in at $911 million, up sharply from $167 million a year prior. Insurance investment income also jumped 68% to $1.969 billion from $1.170 billion.
Geico saw a big turnaround in the quarter, returning to a big underwriting profit of $703 million. The auto insurer suffered a $1.9 billion pretax underwriting loss last year as it lost market share to competitor Progressive. Ajit Jain, Berkshire's vice chairman of insurance operations, previously said the biggest culprit for Geico's underperformance was telematics.
The company's railroad business, BNSF, along with its energy company saw year-over-year earnings declines. Operations classified under "other controlled businesses" and "non-controlled businesses" had slight increases from the year-earlier period. | 2023-05-06T00:00:00 |
534 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/05/warren-buffetts-berkshire-hathaway-has-been-a-fortress-stock-during-recessions-and-bear-markets-heres-how.html | BRK.B | Berkshire Hathaway | Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has been a fortress stock during recessions and bear markets. Here's how | As investors head to the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting this weekend, they can rest easy in a stock that's not only trading near all-time highs, but is also a safe haven during turbulent times.
Berkshire has a history of outperforming the S&P 500 during recessions, and performing especially well during bear markets, according to data from Bespoke Investment Group. Since 1980, Berkshire shares have beat the broader market over the course of six recessions by a median of 4.41 percentage points.
Even more impressive is the stock's performance during bear markets. During the same time period, the conglomerate outpaced the S&P 500 each time it dropped 20%, beating the broader index by a median of 14.89 percentage points.
For Warren Buffett, that reputation is no accident, but one that has been built over many decades by maintaining a long-term focus to steer investors through tough waters, and keeping conservative investments.
"[One] stock that has gained a reputation for safety is Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A), and based on the last several decades, the distinction has been earned," read a Bespoke note from earlier this week.
Long-term focus
Known for his value-based investing style, the Oracle of Omaha makes long-term bets on companies that boast strong fundamentals and are likely to see future growth.
Among his notable winners over the years is Apple , which he started buying in 2016 and which has been compared with his legendary investment in Coca-Cola . The iPhone maker has outperformed throughout the bear market, similarly driving outperformance for Berkshire as Apple accounts for roughly 45% of the firm's portfolio, according to CNBC's Berkshire Hathaway portfolio tracker. It's also about one-quarter of Berkshire's market cap. Apple shares are up 27% this year.
"As goes Apple, so goes a good deal of Berkshire," Bespoke's Paul Hickey said.
That has helped Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares climb more than 4% this year. That's slightly below the S&P 500, but the stock is still trading near 52-week highs it reached just this week. On Monday, it reached $506,000 per share. It first crossed the half-million-dollar threshold last year.
For Berkshire shareholders attending this year's conference, the stock price performance proves the value of holding shares over a long period of time.
"The vast majority of the people that show up here are over the age of 60. That's who's gotten rich from owning Berkshire Hathaway," said Bill Smead, founder and chairman of Smead Capital Management and a Berkshire shareholder. "People held Berkshire Hathaway to a fault and they got that benefit."
To be sure, his wagers haven't always paid off. The billionaire investor notoriously sold all his airline stocks at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, which meant a loss to his investment.
A conservative stance
Buffett has also maintained a conservative stance. While that has meant he's sometimes underperformed during bull runs, it's what's helped the investor beat the market during periods of volatility.
Part of that has to do with his massive cash hoard. While Buffett's operating profits fell during the fourth quarter in 2022, his cash allocation grew to $128.651 billion, up from roughly $109 billion in the third quarter. In fact, Buffett said Berkshire will continue to hold a "boatload" of cash and U.S. Treasury bills.
"We will also avoid behavior that could result in any uncomfortable cash needs at inconvenient times, including financial panics and unprecedented insurance losses," Buffett wrote in his annual shareholder letter. "And yes, our shareholders will continue to save and prosper by retaining earnings. At Berkshire, there will be no finish line."
It also has to do with his long-held affection for insurance companies. The firms that are well-run constantly review their risks to remain profitable and are huge cash generators.
He first bought property and casualty insurer National Indemnity more than a half century ago, which helped produce cash for Berkshire's future ventures. Last year, he bought insurance firm Alleghany in an $11.6 billion transaction, a deal that was Buffett's biggest since 2016.
In the past, Buffett has called investing a "simple game," and that has proved out over his career. Berkshire has had a compounded annual gain of 19.8% from 1965 to 2022, compared with 9.9% for the S&P 500 during the same time.
"Buffett, throughout his career, has made a habit of going against the crowd, and that has served him well," Bespoke's Hickey said. "That's something that most investors, while they say they like to do that, they have a much harder time doing in practice."
— CNBC's Yun Li contributed to this report | 2023-05-05T00:00:00 |
535 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/19/analyst-calls-all-the-market-moving-wall-street-chatter-from-friday.html | BBY | Best Buy | Friday's analyst calls: Netflix earnings reaction, beauty stock gets a downgrade | (This is CNBC Pro's live coverage of Friday's analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) Netflix and a popular beauty stock were featured among Friday's biggest analyst calls. Canaccord Genuity downgraded Netflix after the streaming giant posted its first-quarter results. Ulta Beauty also got a downgrade from Jefferies. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 7:38 a.m.: Edward Jones downgrades Hershey, cites record-high cocoa prices Edward Jones is moving to the sidelines on Hershey despite its leading brand position. "Hershey is facing headwinds from record-high cocoa prices, which we expect to limit near-term earnings growth," wrote analyst Brittany Quatrochi as she downgraded shares to a hold rating. To be sure, Quatrochi expects Hershey to partially offset elevated cocoa prices by hiking prices and downsizing sizes. New product innovations and international growth should also drive sales growth. "These long-term positives are balanced by our belief that it will take several years for Hershey to offset higher cocoa costs, which we expect to weigh on earnings growth in the near term," she wrote. Hershey shares have dipped less than 1% this year. – Samantha Subin 7:03 a.m.: Loop Capital says buy this 'category killer' with more than 30% upside It's time to take a look at this food delivery platform and "category killer," according to Loop Capital. Analyst Rob Sanderson initiated coverage of DoorDash with a buy rating and $170 price target, citing strong execution. "We think that years of debate over viability and earnings potential of on-demand gig platforms has been settled," he wrote. "Industry leaders like DoorDash have demonstrated continued momentum postpandemic and the ramp in free cash generation is undeniable." DoorDash shares have rallied more than 31% so far this year, with the firm's $170 price target suggesting that shares can rally another 31% from here. "While DoorDash carries a valuation premium vs. many peers, it is justified by a higher growth rate, best-in-class execution and earnings power that we think is meaningfully understated by investment in new categories, new regions and new products," Sanderson said. – Samantha Subin 6:48 a.m.: Wolfe Research upgrades Bank of America as net interest income reaches an 'inflection' Now is the time to buy shares of Bank of America, according to Wolfe Research. Analyst Steven Chubak upgraded Bank of America to an outperform rating, citing expectations for a net interest income turnaround and a discounted valuation. "While some of these NII pressures should persist in a higher-for-longer rate backdrop, with BAC's 1Q24 results reflecting better asset repricing trends … we believe that we're now approaching the point of NII inflection where "under-earning" banks including both BAC and SCHW should post stronger gains following multiple years of underperformance," he wrote. Shares of Bank of America have added 6% this year, with the firm's $42 price targets suggesting that shares can rally another 17%. Along with improving net interest income, Chubak also noted that Bank of America appears to be gaining market share in trading and investment banking, which should bode well for fee growth. "Combined with a discounted valuation and the capacity to repurchase ~16% of market capitalization through YE25 (by our estimates), we are more confident in BAC's ability to drive durable EPS growth over the next few years," he wrote. – Samantha Subin 6:28 a.m.: Wells Fargo upgrades First Solar to overweight, says shares can surge more than 40% Investors should consider snatching up "port in the storm" stock First Solar, according to Wells Fargo. Analyst Michael Blum upgraded First Solar to an overweight rating and lifted his price target to $250 a share as the company sells out through 2026 and provides "[near-term] earnings stability." "While it's hard to predict which of the following regulations will pass, at a minimum, we see many ways in which FSLR could maintain [average selling prices] through the end of the decade (implies a $340/sh stock price) and a few scenarios in which [average sales prices] increase further from here (implies at least a $390/sh stock price)," he wrote. Blum cites a slew of catalysts for the upgrade, including the expectation that The Biden Administration will revoke tariff exemption of bifacial modules used in solar and potential trade restrictions on Chinese panels. New proposals would also bar solar companies based in China from obtaining Inflation Reduction Act credits. Blum's adjusted $250 price target implies that shares can rally 43% from Thursday's close. The stock added 1% before the bell and is up 1% this year. Alongside the upgrade, Blum downgraded Sunnova Energy to an equal weight rating and slashed his price target to $6 from $11, citing a higher-for-longer rate environment. The stock lost nearly 4% before the bell. "While some companies can afford to wait for rates to fall & the [residential] solar market to rebound, NOVA has upcoming debt maturities & tight liquidity," he wrote. "YTD, NOVA's pace of cash generation seems to be tracking below required levels to address debt maturities." – Samantha Subin 6:06 a.m.: Morgan Stanley upgrades Shopify, says shares can rally more than 20% Morgan Stanley is turning more bullish on Shopify . "Share gains upmarket by Shopify support confidence in the durability of growth against tempered consumer spending expectations," wrote analyst Keith Weiss. "A disciplined view on headcount provides room for further operating leverage against more measured expectations, supporting our upgrade to Overweight." Shares of the Canada-based e-commerce company jumped about 3% before the bell on the upgrade. The stock has tumbled 11% this year, but could rally 22% based on the firm's adjusted $85 price target. SHOP YTD mountain SHOP year to date Underpinning the firm's overweight rating is a bet that Shopify will expand its international traction and hold onto 20% growth even as consumer expectations moderate. Weiss also estimates that advertising can add 100 basis points to the company's take rate by 2030, while a "largely flat headcount" should benefit 2024 operating margins. The take rate refers to the fees collected on a sale. "Despite questions around the durability of Shopify's operating margin expansion following Q4 results, we believe investor expectations have over corrected and commentary pointing to modest headcount expansion in FY24 still leaves room for further realization of operating leverage and FCF growth in the business," Weiss wrote. — Samantha Subin 5:53 a.m.: Canaccord Genuity downgrades Netflix, cites slower growth ahead Beware of slower growth ahead for Netflix , according to Canaccord Genuity. Analyst Maria Ripps downgraded the media giant to hold from buy after its first-quarter print, saying the company's paid sharing initiative "meaningfully pulled forward member growth." "Despite these mostly solid results and outlook, we see limited growth catalysts for the next few quarters and with the stock up ~90% over the last 12 months and up ~25% YTD, we think investors may be well served to look elsewhere for upside and are downgrading the stock to hold," she wrote. Shares slumped nearly 6% before the bell even after Netflix topped first-quarter results and reported a 16% rise in total memberships in extended trading Thursday. NFLX 1D mountain NFLX falls Along with the results, Netflix also said it plans to stop reporting quarterly membership numbers and average revenue per member, which Ripps views as further contributing to this "uncertainty." "We think this decision and the timing of when the company plans to sunset the disclosure indicates that member growth may become challenged in FY25, as paid sharing likely pulled forward member additions, although that benefit could still continue for another few quarters," she said. Despite the news, some Wall Street majors retained their overweight rating on the stock. Although net additions will likely subside in 2025, Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall expects average revenue per user to accelerate as Netflix's advertising program rolls out across the U.S. and Canada. Price hikes later this year in other countries and the continued build-out of Netflix's advertising tier should also help offset some pressures on average revenue per user, added JPMorgan's Doug Anmuth. Elsewhere, Morgan Stanley's Benjamin Swinburne viewed the results and outlook as a sign that the company can support 25% to 30% EPS growth. "The business model transition put into place two years ago, when growth stalled, appears well on track," he wrote. "Healthy double digit top-line growth looks sustainable beyond 2024." – Samantha Subin 5:53 a.m.: Jefferies downgrades Ulta Beauty The competition against Ulta Beauty is heating up, and Jefferies thinks it could hurt the stock. Analyst Ashley Helgans downgraded the stock to hold from buy. She also slashed her price target to $438 from $585. The new forecast is just 3% above Thursday's close. Shares slipped more than 1% in the premarket. "We have viewed Ulta as a share taker in current macro, but see constraints on ULTA's prestige biz (50% sales) due to lack of newness and increasing pressure from Sephora which raises the potential for downward revisions in the [next 12 months]," Helgans wrote. The analyst added that, after meeting with management, she wouldn't "be surprised to see ULTA be more promotional to hold market share, weighing on [gross margins] and delaying SG & A investments to maintain the current [operating margins] guide." Ulta shares have struggled in 2024, losing 13.2%. ULTA YTD mountain ULTA year to date — Fred Imbert | 2024-04-19T00:00:00 |
536 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/18/were-making-a-small-buy-of-this-troubled-cosmetics-firm-and-upgrading-our-rating-on-the-stock.html | BBY | Best Buy | We're making a small buy of this troubled cosmetics firm and upgrading our rating on the stock | Shortly after the opening bell, we will be buying 50 shares of Estee Lauder at roughly $139. Following the trade, Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust will own 475 shares of EL, increasing its weighting to 2.1% from 1.9%. We're making a small buy in Estee Lauder and upgrading our rating to a 1. At Wednesday's closing price of $138 per share, the stock has essentially given back all of its gains from the post-earnings pop in February when CEO Fabrizio Freda declared the company has finally reached an "inflection point" and was positioned to return to strong organic sales growth and profitability in the second half of its fiscal year. We've been very patient about adding to Estee Lauder until we had more confidence that inventories in China and its travel retail channel have normalized. Any set back to the destocking process would likely cause management to push out when it expected to return to growth, causing the stock to fall. That's why we took notice Thursday when analysts at Deutsche Bank made a bullish call on Estee Lauder. Analysts at the firm named the stock of this prestige beauty company a "Catalyst Call: Buy Idea," pointing to a positive setup into earnings May 1. The analysts think it's likely that Estee Lauder will report an in-line to better-than-expected result versus Wall Street estimates while reiterating guidance. To be sure, the strong dollar could cause a tweak to the downside, but investors will be more focused on the operational results given the challenges the company has had. Deutsche Bank also sees management speaking constructively about its market share while maintaining its commitment to its so-called Profit Recovery Plan. As a reminder, Estee Lauder expects this plan will increase operating profit by $1.1 billion to $1.4 billion. The plan began in the company's fiscal 2024 third quarter — the one that just concluded — and is expected to be completed by the end of fiscal 2026. All in, Deutsche Bank thinks the results and commentary "would surpass market fears of a potential hiccup and spur relative relief in EL's stock price." We agree with this view. Given the fact that Estee Lauder shares are trading only a few dollars above when Freda said the inflection point was here, we think this is a sign the market wants to see the proof before the stock gets the credit. If Deutsche Bank is right and Estee Lauder makes the number, we expect a stronger move higher in the stock as well. That being said, the company isn't out of the woods just yet. Deutsche Banks acknowledges that the company still faces longer-term questions about category demand and execution. We agree with this as well, which is why we are keeping this buy on the smaller side – this is still a high-risk, volatile situation. Getting inventories clean will represent a major milestone in the company's recovery, but we still have some lingering concerns about the Chinese consumer and the company's ability to retake market share in the United States. On the latter point, we are encouraged by some of the company's recent efforts to expand its consumer reach. We were pleasantly surprised to see Estee Lauder finally embrace Amazon and open a premium beauty store on the online platform. Other prestige beauty brands have found success on Amazon, and we think the same will happen for Estee Lauder. According to Deutsche Bank, the current bull-versus-bear debate is on what multiple the stock should trade on $6 of earnings per share over time. They see the bulls arguing for a 30-times earnings multiple as the company begins the road to recovery from here, while the bears think it should be closer to 20 because they think the recovery will inevitably find problems. We fall on the more bullish side now that inventories have come down and management has a plan in place to boost profits and innovation. That said, we prefer to err a little more cautiously than those bulls. That's why we are using a 27 multiple on those $6 of earnings, which puts our price target at $162. Lastly, this buy falls in line with our investing discipline of putting money to work in the market when it is heavily oversold. Following Wednesday's decline in the market, the S & P 500 Short Range Oscillator moved deeper into oversold territory at -6.68%. As a reminder, we view an oversold market as a sign that stocks have fallen fast and we need to start thinking about the selloff more and more opportunistically. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long EL. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. | 2024-04-18T00:00:00 |
537 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/18/analyst-calls-all-the-market-moving-wall-street-chatter-from-thursday.html | BBY | Best Buy | Thursday's analyst calls: Nvidia a top pick, dating stock gets a downgrade | (This is CNBC Pro's live coverage of Thursday's analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) Nvidia and a major dating stock were among the names featured Thursday by analysts. TD Cowen reiterated the chipmaker as a top pick, citing strong earnings ahead. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley lowered its rating on Match Group, citing slowing growth for online dating. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 7:50 a.m.: Cost cuts will lead to higher profits at Amazon, Needham says Amazon's cost-cutting actions should quickly fall through to the tech giant's bottom line, according to Amazon analyst Laura Martin. In a note to clients Thursday, Needham hiked its estimate for Amazon's 2024 fiscal year earnings per share by 12%. The estimate now shows a year-over-year gain of 43%. "The catalyst for this note is to raise our FY24 profit ests for AMZN, based on CEO Andy Jassy's shareholder letter promising more cost-cutting at AMZN's inbound fulfillment architecture and inventory placement during FY24. We also expect FY23's cost-cutting actions to drive margin expansion throughout FY24," Martin said. Amazon is set to report its first quarter earnings on April 30. Needham has a buy rating on Amazon with a price target of $205 per share, implying upside of roughly 13%. Martin said that Amazon projects to be one of just a few major winners from artificial intelligence. "AMZN is developing GenAI chips to train and drive better inferences from LLMs (large language models), AND it has the widest variety of choices related to LLMs, because it offers a captive O & O (owned & operated) LLM, and its also hosts dozens of other LLMs of various sizes," Martin said. — Jesse Pound 7:38 a.m.: Loop Capital downgrades BJ's Wholesale Club, believes stock has reached fair value A year-to-date rally has boosted shares of BJ's Wholesale Club to fair value, according to Loop Capital. The financial firm downgraded the membership warehouse club to a hold rating from buy. Analyst Laura Champine also lowered her price target to $80 from $85, implying a 6% increase for the stock. In the note, Champine wrote that her in-line earnings and sales estimates no longer support a buy rating for the stock. The analyst cited inflation as a key concern for the company. "We are concerned that BJ's stock may hit a wall as investors see evidence of still-high inflationary pressures on the company's core consumer," she wrote. "We see risk to management's expectation for a 20 bps lift in merchandise margin as inflation stays firm on grocery categories." Additionally, Champine noted "mixed" performance at the store level. On one hand, BJ's patio furniture and apparel mix looks "much more attractive," with the company's merchant making solid choices likely to drive cross-category purchases. "That said, we still see room for improvement," the analyst added. "The mix of incremental improvements and unforced errors is likely to translate to in-line comps in our view, with less upside potential than we'd need for a Buy rating given BJ's YTD outperformance." BJ's Wholesale Club stock has risen 13% this year. Champine noted that strong membership metrics stand to protect the stock's current valuation, which is trading around its fair price. — Lisa Kailai Han 7:23 a.m.: Tesla gets a downgrade from Deutsche Bank The tough times will continue for Tesla , according to Deutsche Bank. Analyst Emmanuel Rosner downgraded the electric vehicle maker to hold from buy. He also slashed his price target to $123 from $189. The new forecast implies downside of 20.9% over the next 12 months. The downgrade comes after a Reuters report earlier this month said Tesla had canceled plans to build a low-cost car, known as the Model 2, due to increasing competition in China. The car, according to the report, would have started at about $25,000. CEO Elon Musk said that that Reuters was "lying" but did not elaborate. "The delay of Model 2 efforts creates the risk of no new vehicle in Tesla's consumer lineup for the foreseeable future, which would put continued downward pressure on its volume and pricing for many more years, requiring downward earnings estimate revisions for 2026+," Rosner wrote. Tesla shares were down more than 1% in the premarket. For the year, the stock has fallen more than 35%. TSLA YTD mountain TSLA year to date — Fred Imbert 7:16 a.m.: BMO Capital Markets sees upside for SL Green Realty as NYC commercial real estate recovers With a recovery on the horizon for the New York City commercial real estate space, shares of SL Green Realty look poised to rise, according to BMO Capital Markets. The financial services firm upgraded shares of the real estate investment trust, which focuses on commercial properties in Manhattan, to an outperform rating. Analyst John Kim also lifted his price target to $58 from its previous $56. This updated price target is nearly 17% higher than where shares of SL Green closed on Wednesday. As a catalyst, Kim cited an improving backdrop for the New York City commercial real estate space due to higher utilization and relocation of tech workers and graduate students. "New York City office is one of the few REIT subsectors seeing improved demand," the analyst wrote. "SLG continues to exhibit strong leasing momentum, which we believe will lead to improved occupancy and Net Debt / EBITDA." While SL Green's biggest risk has been its exposure to a high amount of debt maturities and high leverage, Kim noted that the firm has been taking the necessary steps to address this issue through debt refinancing. Upcoming catalysts for the stock also include asset disposition of at least $4.5 billion, the closing of an opportunistic debt fund and a maturing lease. Shares of SL Green Realty are up 10% this year. — Lisa Kailai Han 7:12 a.m.: KeyBanc upgrades Zscaler to overweight, citing waning competitive pressures More favorable factors have painted a bright outlook for Zscaler ahead, according to KeyBanc Capital Markets. The firm upgraded the cloud security stock to overweight from its previous sector weight rating. KeyBanc also established a $220 price target for the stock, which corresponds to a 27% upside from Zscaler's Wednesday close. Analyst Eric Heath cited positive consumer sentiment towards the firm as a reason for the upgrade. He also believes that while Zscaler's competitive concerns are still valid, their potential impact on the company's sales cycles and win rates have lessened greatly. Additionally, the analyst sees catalysts to Zscaler's adoption of the Secure Access Service Edge cloud architecture model. The firm has made the model, also known as SASE, an increasing priority in the future. "Ongoing weakness in firewall suggests network security budgets may orient toward SASE," Heath wrote. The analyst compared the company's favorable risk/reward to being able to see the forest through the trees. Shares of Zscaler have slipped 22% this year. — Lisa Kailai Han 6:53 a.m.: Morgan Stanley double upgrades eBay, sees 25% upside ahead Generative artificial intelligence might be what's needed to reinvigorate eBay , according to Morgan Stanley. The bank double-upgraded the e-commerce platform to overweight from underweight and hiked its price target to $62 from $35. This updated price target implies that eBay could rise 25% from its current levels. Analyst Nathan Feather said eBay has reached an inflection point in terms of its current performance – and sees upside for the stock going forward. "We are turning more positive on EBAY as it appears to have found a trough with GMV [gross merchandise volume] growth, active customers, and margins stabilizing in FY24," he wrote. Besides evolving its underlying strategy to more "site-wide horizontal solutions," Feather also believes that generative AI features will help boost the stock. "We are turning more positive as we believe the shift to scalable horizontal solutions such as AI-assisted listings can enable a balance of slight GMV acceleration while maintaining or expanding margins," he noted. Shares of eBay have risen 13% in 2024. Feather added that eBay stock is currently trading at a discount versus peers, with Etsy trading around 35% higher. EBAY YTD mountain EBAY year to date "We believe this gap will narrow and EBAY can see positive estimate revisions and multiple expansion," the analyst said. — Lisa Kailai Han 6:50 a.m.: Evercore ISI names GE Vernova the 'key player' of electrification Evercore ISI has big hopes ahead for GE Vernova . The investment firm initiated the energy business — which spun off from General Electric earlier this month — at an outperform rating. Analyst James West's $174 price target implies that shares could rise 29% from Wednesday's close. Going forward, West thinks that GE Vernova could prove itself as "the key player in the mission to electrify and decarbonize the power system." The company can leverage its existing customer base and relationships to take advantage of its increasing total addressable market, which West estimated would grow to around $435 billion by 2030 from $265 billion. "Investors have been waiting for a company like GE Vernova given its scale, competitive moat, positive adjusted EBITDA generation, and leverage to the electrification of everything mega theme," he wrote. West added that the company stands to benefit from rising demand and significant capital spend towards the energy transition and electricity grid in upcoming years. Not even counting rising data center and artificial intelligence usage requiring more power, the world will need 55% more electricity generation in 2040 compared to 2022, the analyst added. — Lisa Kailai Han 6:08 a.m.: JPMorgan upgrades JetBlue JPMorgan likes what it's seeing from JetBlue . The bank upgraded the airline to neutral from underweight. Analyst Jamie Baker has a $7 price target, which indicates upside of 2.5%. While JetBlue has rallied 23% this year, Baker wrote that the stock is the second least-liked airline, according to sell-side ratings. But as the airline's catalysts become even more clear in its upcoming earnings report and guidance, he expects sentiment around the stock to improve. Jetblue is slated to report earnings next week. JBLU YTD mountain JBLU year to date "Simply put, for airline investors intrigued by the notion of a potential domestic turnaround, we expect JetBlue to largely monopolize the spotlight going forward," the analyst wrote. As one reason for the upgrade, Baker highlighted the company's new management, which lacks the "high tolerance for loss production" as JetBlue's previous CEO. Additionally, an activist shareholder has also joined the company. Additionally, the airline also has some solid fundamental business practices that are working in its favor. "JetBlue's DNA aligns with our broader preference for loyalty, premium, and international exposure ... albeit with less vigor than the Big 3," the analyst wrote. "While we continue to expect JetBlue margins to trail those of the Big 3, in turn limiting our enthusiasm for the stock, we believe the combination of JetBlue's New York real estate, established brand and management resolve may yield more turnaround momentum than elsewhere in the beleaguered domestic space." — Lisa Kailai Han 5:47 a.m.: TD Cowen reiterates Nvidia as top pick The future looks even brighter for Nvidia , and TD Cowen expects the company's upcoming results to reflect that. The firm highlighted Nvidia as its top pick in a recent note. Analyst Matthew Ramsay reiterated his buy rating and $1,100 price target on the name. This implies that shares of Nvidia could rally 31% from its Wednesday close. Share of the tech titan and Magnificent Seven darling have already rallied 70% this year. But Ramsay said its "full speed ahead" for the chipmaker. "Significant revenue and EPS growth are now largely expected following three consecutive quarters of the print coming in > $2B above previous company guidance," the analyst wrote. Although some investors will question the sustainability of demand for Nvidia, Ramsay is much more confident that "all signs continue to point up" for the stock. He pointed to Nvidia's March GPU Technology Conference, which highlighted its competitive advantage versus its peers, as well as its market-leading position as proof of its staying power. "NVIDIA remains the top franchise in accelerated compute and AI ... and we are in the early innings of both paradigm shifts," he wrote. "While valuation is above core semis, the suite of superior technology, long pedigree of innovation, and extensive growth-oriented investments should allow for strong, sustained, above-peer growth across a widening set of verticals." Nvidia is slated to report earnings next month. — Lisa Kailai Han 5:47 a.m.: Morgan Stanley downgrades Match Growth in online dating is slowing, spelling trouble for Match Group , according to Morgan Stanley. Analyst Nathan Feather downgraded the Hinge and Tinder parent company to equal weight from overweight. He also cut his price target to $37 from $53, implying upside of 14.6%. "After 2 years of underperformance, we step to the sidelines on online dating as user growth remains cloudy," Feather wrote. "We believe that soft user growth is more attributable to a lack of innovation than saturation as ~70% of US singles actively looking for a relationship do not currently use online dating." "We are cautiously optimistic that innovation could reaccelerate user growth at Tinder and Bumble, especially as they have a wide slate of improvements to the core user experience planned for 2024," he added. "However, visibility into the potential success of these initiatives is low and, as online dating is a momentum business, it will likely take some time to sustainably reaccelerate growth." Match Group shares are down more than 11% year to date. Last year, the stock dropped 12%. MTCH YTD mountain MTCH year to date — Fred Imbert | 2024-04-18T00:00:00 |
538 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/26/best-trade-historically-has-been-to-buy-the-stock-kicked-out-of-the-dow.html | BBY | Best Buy | History shows the best trade has usually been to buy the stock getting kicked out of the Dow Industrials | If history is any guide, Walgreens Boots Alliance may fare better after getting tossed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average . Amazon replaced Walgreens on Monday, marking the first change in the index since 2020. It comes less than six years after the U.S. and British pharmacy chain first joined the Dow, replacing General Electric. WBA mountain 2018-06-26 Walgreen's stock performance since joining the Dow But a coveted spot in the 30-stock Dow may not prove all it's cracked up to be for Amazon, which has surged more than 87% over the past year, helping to power the market higher alongside other megacap technology stocks. In fact, data shows that betting on a stock that's leaving the Dow is often a better trade for investors than buying shares of a stock that's entering the 127-year-old average. That could bode well for shares of Walgreens, which have been on a downward spiral for years, more than halving in value since joining the Dow. The stock dropped 28% in 2022, another 30% last year and is down more than 18% in the first two months of 2024. CNBC Pro used its stock screening tool to track the one-year performance of the last 10 stocks that went into the Dow versus the last 10 that left the blue-chip index. The search showed that stocks removed jump an average 23.3% in the following year, far outperforming the average 2.4% gain in those stocks that went in. Data from Ned Davis Research shows a similar pattern. Stocks removed from the Dow since 1972 jumped an average of 17.5% in the year after stocks left the Dow since 1972, while stocks that were new to the blue chips scored a 10% gain, NDR said. What history shows Alcoa was the best-performing stock among the last 10 outgoing Dow members. The aluminum stock, along with HP and Bank of America , was replaced by Nike , Visa and Goldman Sachs in 2013. In the year that followed, Alcoa surged 91% and HP added about 72% while Bank of America tacked on 18%. Of the three additions that year, Nike saw the largest share price appreciation: roughly 16%. Other companies that left the Dow also posted strong returns. RTX Corporation , Exxon Mobil and Pfizer were also ejected from the Dow in 2020, and in the year that followed, surged roughly 39%, 37% and 29%, respectively. Two of their replacements — Salesforce and Amgen — declined about 3% and 11%, respectively. Even Apple wasn't immune, falling more than 17% in the year following its elevation to the Dow. The trend isn't fail safe. For example, Honeywell International surged more than 40% one year after joining the Dow, while UnitedHealth rallied nearly 28%. General Electric , the last of the original 12 Dow stocks, plunged about 58% one year after leaving the average in 2018. AT & T and DuPont de Nemours fell more than 14% and 21%, respectively, in the year after getting booted from the Dow. — CNBC's Fred Imbert contributed reporting. | 2024-02-26T00:00:00 |
539 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/18/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-midday-duol-jblu-tsla-dhi.html | BBY | Best Buy | Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Duolingo, JetBlue, Tesla, D.R. Horton and more | Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Duolingo — The online language app company popped 5.3% after JPMorgan reiterated its overweight rating on the stock , saying it has an attractive risk/reward and potential upside for its first-quarter guide and 2024 outlook. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing — U.S.-traded shares of the Taiwanese chipmaker dropped 4.9% after the company noted that, although it did not experience structural damage, some wafers "had to be scrapped" after the earthquake in Taiwan earlier in April. Most of the lost production will be recovered in the second quarter, according to management. The company still beat revenue and profit expectations in the first quarter and forecasted healthy growth in 2024. JetBlue Airways — Shares jumped 4.1% after JPMorgan upgraded the airline to neutral from underperform, saying it likes its turnaround potential. Bitcoin miners – Shares of bitcoin mining companies rallied ahead of the widely anticipated "halving," which cuts miners' main stream of revenue in half , as mandated by the Bitcoin code. Marathon Digital rose 2.7%, while Riot Platforms and Iris Energy gained 4%. CleanSpark , which is one of the only miners still up for the year, rallied 8.8%. Estee Lauder — Deutsche Bank added a short-term buy rating on the cosmetics giant, sending shares 4.9% higher. The firm positively views the setup into Estee Lauder's earnings, which are due May 1. Meta Platforms — The tech giant advanced 1.5% after striking a partnership with Google to include its search results in its new AI assistant, Meta Llama 3. Tesla — The electric vehicle manufacturer slid 3.6%, hitting its 52-week low, after Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner downgraded Tesla stock to hold from buy. Rosner pointed to a report from Reuters that said Tesla had canceled plans to build its inexpensive Model 2 car, which he said creates the risk of no new vehicle in Tesla's consumer lineup for the foreseeable future and would put continued downward pressure on the company's volume and pricing for many more years, lowering earnings. Barnes Group — The global industrial tech and aerospace stock jumped 9.3% after DA Davidson upgraded the company to buy from neutral, saying shares are attractive. Alaska Air Group — Shares of the airline jumped nearly 8.1% on better-than-expected first-quarter results. Alaska Air's loss per share of 92 cents ex-items was lower than an LSEG estimate of $1.05 per share. Revenue came in at $2.23 billion, beating analysts' forecasts of $2.19 billion. Blackstone — The asset manager slipped 2.3% after lowering its dividend to 83 cents per share from 94 cents per share. Earnings in the first quarter came in at 98 cents per share, slightly higher than the LSEG consensus estimate of 96 cents per share. BJ's Wholesale Club — Loop Capital downgraded BJ's on valuation, sending the stock 3.6% lower. The firm lowered its estimates on the warehouse store company for merchandise same-store sales and gross margin. D.R. Horton — Shares added 0.1% after D.R. Horton exceeded expectations in its fiscal second quarter, posting earnings of $3.52 per share on revenue of $9.11 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG, meanwhile, expected the homebuilder to post earnings of $3.06 per share on revenue of $8.27 billion. eBay — The e-commerce stock rose 1% following a double upgrade at Morgan Stanley to overweight from underweight. The firm said eBay seems undervalued relative to its peer Etsy. Elevance Health — Shares jumped 3.2% after the health insurance company posted an earnings beat and raised its full-year guidance. Elevance's revenue came out slightly below estimates, however. Zoom Video Communications — Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of the video conferencing company to buy from neutral, saying it is optimistic on Zoom's "refocused" channel strategy and its healthy balance sheet. The stock rose 1.5% on the new rating. Trump Media & Technology Group — Shares of former President Donald Trump's media firm and Truth Social parent company climbed 25.7%, adding to gains from a day earlier . Earlier in the week, the company announced plans to launch a TV streaming arm of Truth Social which sent shares lower. — CNBC's Samantha Subin, Brian Evans, Hakyung Kim and Lisa Kailai Han contributed reporting. | 2024-04-18T00:00:00 |
540 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/01/cramers-lightning-round-tyler-technologies-is-a-buy.html | BBY | Best Buy | Cramer's Lightning Round: Tyler Technologies is a buy | Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Tyler Technologies' year-to-date stock performance.
Tyler Technologies : "That's a very well-run company...I think it's a buy."
Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Cisco Systems' year-to-date stock performance.
Cisco Systems : "I would certainly hold on to that."
Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Kodiak Gas Services' year-to-date stock performance.
Kodiak Gas Services : "Let's ring the register...that stock's gone up too much."
Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Palantir's year-to-date stock performance.
Palantir : "I like it. I thought they had a good quarter, they have a good defense business, I like IT defense work, and they've owned that franchise."
Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon United Airlines' year-to-date stock performance.
United Airlines : "I think you've got a nice gain there and I would do some 'ka-ching'-ing."
Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Vita Coco's year-to-date stock performance.
Vita Coco : "I think Vita Coco is a good stock."
Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Fastly's year-to-date stock performance.
Fastly : "That's not one of my favs...I'm not going to endorse that stock."
watch now | 2024-04-01T00:00:00 |
541 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/17/were-buying-a-health-care-stock-that-should-be-higher-after-reporting-a-strong-quarter.html | BBY | Best Buy | We're buying a health-care stock that should be higher after reporting a strong quarter | Shortly after the opening bell, we will be buying 100 shares of Abbott Laboratories at roughly $108.26. Following the trade, Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust will own 800 shares of ABT, increasing its weighting to roughly 2.8% from 2.45%. Abbott Laboratories on Wednesday reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, but its stock is trading lower in the premarket, opening the door for us to add to our position for the third time in recent weeks. In the three months ended March 31, Abbott's worldwide sales increased 2.2% year over year to roughly $10 billion, edging Wall Street estimates of about $9.88 billion, according to LSEG. Organic sales growth for the underlying base business, which excludes Covid-19 testing-related sales, continued its momentum, growing 10.8% year over year, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. The performance was broad based. Organic sales in Abbott's Medical Devices segment led the way, increasing 14.3% on an annual basis, followed by Established Pharmaceuticals up 13.7%, Nutrition up 7.7% and Diagnostics up 5.4%. Abbott also beat on the bottom line, with adjusted earnings per share of $0.98 topping analyst estimates of $0.95, according to LSEG. Following the better-than-expected quarter, Abbott raised the low end of its full-year adjusted EPS and organic sales outlooks. The EPS guidance range moved to $4.55 to $4.70 from $4.50 to $4.70, while the organic sales growth range for the underlying base business increased to 8.5% to 10% from 8% to 10%. This second line is what's most important to us. The best way to look at the company is by analyzing its underlying business because it does not include Covid-related sales. Abbott is not going to get any credit in the market for Covid testing-related guidance raises, but it should if the underlying business is performing better than expected. The fact Abbott raised its full-year outlook at the low end is a good sign of what is in store this year. And yet its stock is down about $1 year to date, or nearly 1%, and trading lower by another $1 in the premarket Wednesday. Perhaps there is always someone looking for an outlook boost at both the low and high end of guidance, but that is not Abbott's way a few months into the year. We think this weakness on a strong quarter is an opportunity to add to our position. We initiated our Abbott stake in late January. Our two most-recent purchases came on March 15 and March 21 . (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long ABT. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. | 2024-04-17T00:00:00 |
542 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/17/stocks-to-buy-wednesday-like-nvidia-tesla.html | BBY | Best Buy | Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Broadcom, Apple, Tesla, Netflix, Amazon, Microsoft & more | Here are Wednesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Barclays reiterates Tesla as equal weight Barclays lowered its price target on Tesla to $180 per share from $225, saying it sees a negative catalyst heading into earnings. "Facing an investment thesis pivot and a sea of uncertainty, this Tesla call is extra highly anticipated; expect negative catalyst." Mizuho initiates Royal Caribbean as buy Mizuho said the cruise company has a "differentiated" offering. " RCL has a unique mix of quality ship assets, as well as differentiated destinations, the combination of which drives upside potential to estimates." Citi upgrades Hancock Whitney to buy from neutral Citi said the regional bank holding company is undervalued. "With the market unfairly pricing in a dour credit outlook across the regional bank space, we are stepping off the sidelines and upgrading HWC to Buy." Raymond James initiates GE Vernova as outperform Raymond James said it's bullish on shares of the stock. "Combining strengths across a broad spectrum of conventional and renewable generation, as well as grid technology, Vernova is involved in practically everything. Diversification has both advantages and drawbacks." HSBC upgrades Danaher to buy from hold HSBC said in its upgrade of the life sciences company that it sees a "Biotech funding recovery." "We upgrade Danaher to Buy from Hold as a quality proxy for the Biotech funding recovery." Wells Fargo upgrades Omnicom to overweight from equal weight Wells said it's bullish on shares of the media company. "We also think OMC can rerate as, in our experience, Agency data points become themes and those themes impact the multiples." Loop reiterates Apple as hold Loop said China is still a major issue for Apple. "Issues remain in China and globally frankly. In China, AAPL has been heavily discounting iPhones, and we are seeing a similar aggressive discount program in several other Asian locales." Wells Fargo reiterates Microsoft as overweight Wells raised its price target on the stock to $480 per share from $460. "Also continue to see MSFT as the best way to play AI, another 2H catalyst." TD Cowen upgrades Elf Beauty to buy from hold TD Cowen said it sees robust revenue growth for the beauty company. " ELF could double revenues over the next 3 years, yielding low-to-mid 20s annual growth rate through digital community marketing leadership, awareness flywheel, skincare & international expansion." Jefferies downgrades Urban Outfitters to underperform from buy Jefferies said in its downgrade of the stock that it sees slowing traffic. "We have some concern regarding URBN' s near-term positioning due to slowing foot traffic data, promotional headwinds, and increased competition." Barclays reiterates Broadcom as overweight Barclays raised its price target on Broadcom to $1,500 per share from $1,405. "Ultimately we come away with a valuable second opinion on the future of AI and a greater appreciation for the company's many ways to win." Morgan Stanley reiterates Nvidia as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's bullish heading into earnings in late May. " NVDA continues to see strong spending trends in AI, with upward revisions in demand from some of the newer customers such as Tesla and various sovereigns." Wells Fargo reiterates Goldman Sachs as overweight Wells said it gives Goldman a "gold star" coming out of earnings. "Overall capital markets revenue was up 14% YoY (best of top 5 U.S. banks), driven by higher IB [investment banking] and trading." Maxim initiates Apple as hold Maxim said shares of Apple are fairly valued. "We are initiating coverage of Apple ( AAPL) with a Hold rating and $178 12-month price target based on applying the average forward P/E multiple of 25.9 from a comparable list of big-tech companies to our FY25 EPS estimate of $6.89." Maxim initiates Amazon as buy Maxim said it's bullish on shares of the e-commerce giant. "We are initiating coverage of Amazon (AMZN) with a Buy and 12-month $218 price target based on applying a 17.5x EV/EBITDA multiple to our 2025 forecast." Truist upgrades Strategic Education to buy from hold Truist said the educational services company is in an attractive sector. "We are upgrading Strategic Education (STRA) to Buy from Hold and increasing our PT to $125 from $110." Morgan Stanley upgrades Antero Resources to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said the hydrocarbon exploration company has "attractive leverage to rising gas prices." "With this note, we upgrade Antero Resources to Overweight as we see the company providing attractive leverage to rising gas prices and leading exposure to the growing LNG fairway in the Gulf Coast." Raymond James upgrades Commerce Bancshares to outperform from market perform Raymond James upgraded the regional bank following its earnings report. "We are upgrading CBSH shares to Outperform from Market Perform following the release of impressive 1Q results that led us to raise our EPS estimates." Guggenheim upgrades Group 1 Automotive to buy from neutral Guggenheim said investors should buy the dip on the auto dealership company. "Upgrading GPI to BUY from NEUTRAL, best positioned dealer to navigate current landscape somehow trading at lowest multiple." Benchmark initiates Canoo as buy Benchmark said the electric-vehicle company can "fund growth." "We are initiating coverage of GOEV with a Buy rating and $5 target price." Loop reiterates Netflix as buy Loop said it's bullish heading into earnings on Thursday. "We believe NFLX's improving engagement is primarily due to an easing competitive environment as traditional media companies have raised prices, scaled back content investment, and resumed licensing content to NFLX." Jefferies initiates Nuvalent as buy Jefferies said the biotech company is "best-in-class." " NUVL leverages strong expertise in structure-based chemistry and deep understanding of unmet pts needs to develop potentially ;best-in-class' small molecule targeted cancer therapy." Truist reiterates Amazon as buy Truist raised its price target on the stock to $216 per share from $195. "We remain constructive on AMZN ahead of 1Q24 earnings slated for 4/30, expecting a beat based on 1) our tracking of NA sales using the Truist Card Data; 2) positive checks into the ads business." | 2024-04-17T00:00:00 |
543 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/16/buy-stocks-tuesday-like-nvidia-super-micro-computer.html | BBY | Best Buy | Here are Tuesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, Kroger, GM, Super Micro Computer, Rivian, Reddit & more | Here are Tuesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Evercore ISI initiates Nvidia as outperform Evercore said Nvidia is an "ecosystem play, not a semiconductor company." "We think investors underestimate 1) the importance of the chip+hardware+software ecosystem that NVDA has created, 2) that computing eras last 15-20 years and are typically dominated by a single vertically integrated ecosystem company, whose returns are measured in 100-to-1000 bagger range." UBS upgrades Rivian to buy from neutral UBS said it sees a more balanced risk/reward for Rivian shares. "We believe the near-term risk/reward is more balanced at current levels." Deutsche Bank downgrades Honeywell to hold from buy Deutsche downgraded the stock and lowered its price target to $215 per share from $227. "We downgrade HON to Hold as we only see 10% upside to our new, lower $215 price target." Bank of America initiates Reddit as neutral Bank of America said Reddit is still "too early in its journey" for the firm to recommend the stock. "But we expect historically volatile user & revenue trends to continue and with current macro/rate uncertainty, we prefer larger cap stocks in sector." JPMorgan reiterates Tesla as underweight JPMorgan said it's sticking with its underweight rating on the stock. " Tesla's announcement yesterday that it would conduct its largest ever layoffs, amounting to more than 10% of its global workforce, should firmly dispel the notion that the firms earlier reported big 1Q delivery miss was somehow supply-driven rather than reflective of a demand problem." Citi adds a positive catalyst watch on Coty Citi said shares of the beauty company are attractive. "At COTY , we are opening a positive 30-day catalyst watch as we see a compelling near-term opportunity post the negative stock reaction on ULTA's comments on U.S. beauty, which we believe are less applicable (low US exposure, fragrances), and expect a FQ3 topline/profit beat." Goldman Sachs initiates GE Vernova as buy Goldman said it's bullish on the company's electrification opportunity. " GEV is a global electric power (i.e., gas, wind, nuclear, hydro, solar) company that provides equipment/services to generate, transfer, convert and store electricity." Goldman Sachs initiates DraftKings as buy Goldman said the sports betting company is a "revenue compounder." "We initiate coverage of DraftKings (DKNG) with a Buy rating and a 12-month price target of $60." Goldman Sachs initiates Genius Sports as buy Goldman said it sees an "attractive buying opportunity" for the sports data and tech company. "We initiate coverage on Genius Sports Ltd. (GENI) with a Buy rating and a 12-month price target of $7.50 (40% upside)." HSBC upgrades Advanced Micro Devices to buy HSBC said in its upgrade of AMD that investors should buy the dip. "We upgrade the stock to Buy as we expect AMD to gain 10% market share by 2025 and benefit from Nvidia's AI GPU product transition in 2024." Wells Fargo upgrades Kroger to overweight from equal weight Wells said it sees an "attractive stock setup" for the grocery company. "We have turned bullish on KR. Fundamentals look poised to improve, potential for a huge buyback is growing, its alt. value opportunity seems underappreciated, and $5+ in '25 EPS is coming into focus." Needham reiterates Apple as buy Needham lowered its estimates on the stock but said it's sticking with its buy rating. "AAPL's anemic and/or negative growth outlook, along with expected cost increases to fund GenAI, are the biggest gating factors preventing new investors from buying AAPL, based on our conversations." JPMorgan reiterates Amazon, Meta and Alphabet as top picks JPMorgan said it's bullish on several internet stocks heading into earnings. "We reiterate our Overweight ratings across AMZN, META , & GOOGL, w/our preference in that order. Amazon is our Best Idea, even as it is most owned across our coverage." Barclays upgrades Tyson Foods to overweight from equal weight Barclays said in its double upgrade of the poultry company that shares are undervalued. "With this, we believe TSN as a whole is undervalued, as we see further upside to its Chicken segment and its Prepared Foods segment also seems undervalued." Morgan Stanley initiates Auna as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's bullish on shares of the Latin American health-care company. " AUNA has entered an organic growth phase, expanding earnings from the occupancy ramp-up in hospitals with limited CAPEX, and deleveraging from its strong operating cash generation." Loop reiterates Super Micro as buy Loop raised its price target on the stock to a Street high of $1,500 per share from $600. "We're raising our PT to $1500 as we continue to gain confidence in both our net-bullish Gen AI server industry posture and SMCI as an increasing leader in the need for both complexity and scale." William Blair initiates On Holding as buy William Blair said in its initiation of On Holding that the footwear company is best in class. "Best Opportunity for Durable Growth Among Emerging Athletic Brands; Initiating With Outperform Rating." Cantor Fitzgerald initiates Klaviyo as buy Cantor said it's bullish on shares of the marketing tech company. " Klaviyo was really the only software IPO of any meaningful size in 2023, 'IPO'ing at $30/ share." UBS upgrades TD Synnex as buy UBS said it sees "revenue acceleration" for the information technology company. "We are upgrading shares of TD SYNNEX to Buy and raising our price target to $145 from $115 as we expect growth to accelerate in FY24 and FY25 to 6%, which is not priced in by the market." Baird upgrades Crown Holdings to outperform from neutral Baird said investors should buy the weakness in shares of the packaging company. "Following significant YTD underperformance we are upgrading our investment rating on the shares of Crown Holdings to Outperform, noting that we are commensurately raising our price target to $90 based on ~15x our 2024 EPS estimate of $5.95." Argus upgrades Goldman Sachs to buy from neutral Argus upgraded Goldman Sachs following its earnings report on Monday. "Upgrading to BUY following 1Q results. We are upgrading our rating on the GS shares to BUY following 1Q results, which demonstrated the considerable strengths of the Goldman franchise during an investment banking upturn." Guggenheim reiterates Netflix as buy Guggenheim raised its price target on Netflix to $700 per share from $600. "Netflix share performance has remained strong in 2024, up 29% vs. 7% for the NASDAQ 100, and investor confidence into earnings is high." Deutsche Bank names General Motors a top pick Deutsche said it's bullish on shares of GM ahead of earnings next week. "Top picks. Beyond the quarter, we stay tactically positive on GM into potentially much better full-year outlook and additional share buyback announcement." | 2024-04-16T00:00:00 |
544 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/24/wall-street-is-getting-excited-about-these-chinese-stocks.html | BBY | Best Buy | Wall Street is getting excited about these Chinese stocks — and upgrading three to 'buy' | Investment analysts have upgraded at least three U.S.-listed Chinese stocks to buy so far this month. The positive view comes as the many Chinese companies are reporting earnings for the last three months of 2023 and the full year. While many analysts are skeptical China can meet its "around 5%" growth target for 2024 without further stimulus, the country did report better-than-expected economic data in retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment for the first two months of the year. Here are the Chinese stocks that analysts are turning bullish on: Tencent Music Entertainment — Citi upgraded the stock to buy on Wednesday with a price target of $13 a share, up nearly 18% from Tuesday's close. The company operates one of China's major alternatives to Spotify. TME's fourth quarter results beat expectations, helped by "outperformance of online music" revenues, the Citi report said. "We believe TME's steady/resilient subscription music business with expanding capabilities of music value chain and ramp-up of long-form audio and diversified use case scenarios across multi-channels/devices would support [a] sustained growth outlook," the analysts added. Kingsoft Cloud — JPMorgan on March 10 upgraded the cloud services company to overweight, but trimmed its price target by 30 cents to $4.20 a share based on a lower revenue forecast. That's still about 30% above where Kingsoft Cloud shares closed Tuesday. JPMorgan expects the company will break even in the first quarter on an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization basis, and achieve break even for all of 2024 — the first time ever. That's contrary to the consensus view of an EBITDA loss, the analysts noted. Their optimistic case is based on revenue shifting to higher-margin sources such as Kingsoft's fast-growing business in artificial intelligence, as well as a decline in costs due to asset write-offs in the third quarter. Vnet Group — BofA on Tuesday upgraded the data center operator's stock to buy with a $2.70 price target, down from $3.90 previously but still more than 35% above where shares closed Tuesday. The analysts expect news of a local government contract and demand from short video companies to boost VNET's revenue in the years ahead. The company already operates data centers in more than 20 cities in China, according to the report. Analysts are also finding more reasons to turn incrementally optimistic about other Chinese stocks. Earlier this month, on March 10, JPMorgan upgraded shares of video streaming and gaming company Bilibili to neutral, from underweight, with a price target of $11, slightly below where shares closed Tuesday. The analysts expect Bilibili can reach its double-digit revenue growth target for the year with the help of new game releases. They also pointed out the company achieved two quarters of positive operating cashflow in 2023. "With these catalysts, we think share price downside is limited in the next 3-6" months, the report said. Deutsche Bank analysts on March 8 also initiated coverage of China's auto sector with five buy-rated stocks: Great Wall Motor, BYD, Seres, Li Auto and JMC. Only Li Auto is listed in the U.S. —With reporting by Michael Bloom | 2024-03-24T00:00:00 |
545 | https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/05/sec-warns-americans-to-be-on-alert-for-coronavirus-investing-scams.html | TECH | Bio-Techne | Watch out for these coronavirus scams, SEC and FTC warn | If you've seen research reports or promotions touting opportunities to invest with companies that are working to cure coronavirus, think twice before buying stock shares.
That's according to U.S. regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which all released investor alerts in the past week warning Americans about an uptick in investment scams attempting to take advantage of the coronavirus outbreak.
"Fraudsters often use the latest news developments to lure investors into scams," the SEC's office of investor education and advocacy said in a Feb. 4 email. The coronavirus has particularly dominated the news cycle in past weeks. As of Feb. 10, China's National Health Commission reported the coronavirus has killed over 1,000 people and infected more than 42,600 in China.
The SEC released its warning after it became aware of "a number of Internet promotions, including on social media, claiming that the products or services of publicly traded companies can prevent, detect or cure coronavirus, and that the stock of these companies will dramatically increase in value as a result."
But as the World Health Organization noted on Feb. 5, there are "no known effective therapeutics" available at this time to fight coronavirus, despite news reports in recent days touting breakthroughs. Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to crack down on misinformation about coronavirus prevention and treatment.
"We know scammers follow the headlines and it would not be surprising to see fraudulent pitches related to medical or bio-technology, or 'sure cures' related to the coronavirus situation," says Bob Webster, a spokesman for the North American Securities Administrators Association, an investor protection organization comprised of state regulators. | 2020-02-05T00:00:00 |
546 | https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/26/beth-cameron-helped-write-the-white-house-pandemic-playbook.html | TECH | Bio-Techne | She helped write the White House 'pandemic playbook.' Here's what keeps her up at night and her advice for Trump | Biologist Beth Cameron spent nearly two decades preparing for a biological threat like Covid-19.
Most notably, in 2016, Cameron, then the Obama Administration's director of countering biological threats, helped create a "pandemic playbook" to guide the White House in handling a pandemic.
They knew one was eventually coming.
"[W]e starting working on the playbook following the Ebola outbreak in West Africa," Cameron tells CNBC Make It. (The outbreak, from 2014 to 2016, was the largest Ebola outbreak in history, including 11 people who were treated in the U.S.)
The resulting 69-page document, completed in 2016, included a step by step list of priorities for federal officials to follow in the event of a pandemic. (You can read the document here.)
"The playbook is a decision-making tool intended to help the White House bring together all sectors of the federal government so that all capabilities, all expertise, all relevant science and technology can be brought to bear in anticipating needs, filling gaps and avoiding single points of failure," Cameron says.
In March 2017, Cameron left her job at the White House's pandemic readiness office after four years. A year later it was disbanded (whether by design or by reorganization) by incoming National Security Advisor John Bolton.
Now, Cameron is involved in the fight against Covid-19, as well as preparing the country for future biological threats, as vice president for Global Biological Policy and Programs at non-profit the Nuclear Threat Initiative.
Over two interviews with CNBC Make It, Cameron talked about the pandemic playbook, what keeps her up at night and her advice for President Donald Trump and other leaders as dozens of states see a spike in Covid-19 cases. The interviews have been edited together for length and clarity. The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC Make It's request for comment.
CNBC Make It: Would you say that the pandemic playbook was followed by the Trump Administration?
Beth Cameron: The questions in the playbook were not operationalized early enough. There are questions in the playbook about diagnostic capacity...about [stores of] personal protective equipment. Those rigorous questions really should have been asked ... in January and February.
The job at the White House is to ask questions about what's going to happen next, to try to get ahead and frankly, to ask what the points of failure might be so that you can have a backup plan or a backup plan to the backup plan, which we didn't have.
We're still not where we need to be with respect to a unified plan for things like contact tracing and testing as well as personal protective equipment, and understanding what our views might be over the next several months or years.
There is a lot of talk about a "second wave" of Covid-19 and there has been an uptick in cases in more than half the states in the U.S. as they reopen. As an expert, when you see what's happening now, what are your thoughts?
I'm nervous that we haven't gotten out of the first wave and I'm worried that we will continue to see a high number of cases moving into the fall, when people will start spending more time indoors and we'll see more transmission.
In that event, I worry that we'll see a larger increase and ... we won't have the contact tracing in place, the testing capacity in place or the isolation capability in place to manage that additional caseload.
I'm also worried about the fact that it doesn't appear that [the federal government has] come up with a unified national plan for personal protective equipment and supplies, which could place us and the rest of the world right back in the position that we were in March.
PPE shortage continues tweet
I feel like there is a sense of complacency in the federal government, and the White House in particular, right now about Covid-19. And I think when you look at our case counts and the rest of the world's case counts, we should not be complacent at all.
So if you had Trump's ear right now, what advice would you give him?
I would emphasize that unlike other natural disasters that we face, like hurricanes, for example, the pandemic is affecting all 50 states and the federal government has to lead a response. There will be no way to decrease our cases and beat the pandemic in the U.S. unless we have a concerted effort and a national plan for testing and contact tracing.
I think it's really important for the U.S. to be at the table with the World Health Organization and with our global partners to fight this disease. We can't do it alone and we're not going to beat Covid-19 here until we beat it everywhere.
Why is a federal plan and response so crucial?
We can't fight a pandemic state by state and country by country. This will always leave us in reaction mode rather than anticipating, which is where we need to be. A whole-of-government, whole-of-world, unified approach is still essential to surge needed testing, tracing and gear to all locations where the disease may seed and spread.
Given that a comprehensive federal plan has not been implemented, what is the best thing people or leaders can do now?
Local leaders need a "playbook," too. That's why we designed COVID-Local.org, a partnership between the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security, the Center for Global Development, and Talus Analytics. They need decision-making tools, as well as clear metrics to track progress, clearly communicate progress to their constituents and understand policies that are in place and whether they are working.
At NTI, you do work to combat various kinds of catastrophic biological risk. In that context, what keeps you up at night?
One is just the risk that the current [Covid-19] crisis will continue and impact the U.S. and the world longer than it has to because we're not functioning as a unified government or a unified world. Some mortality associated with this disease could have been avoided with better collaboration with partners that have been able to get their cases down. There's just a lot more that can be done to more effectively fight this virus.
The other thing that keeps me up at night is the possibility of an even more catastrophic biological event. Covid-19 has demonstrated the havoc that a biological event can cause. For people like me, who have spent a career worried about biological terrorism and deliberate biological threats, I worry that it will lead to ... an even greater emphasis on biological threats in the future. I hope that will cause the United States and the world to spend more time and resources on preventing it from happening and being able to quickly respond to those threats.
Are we as unprepared for a bio attack as we were for the pandemic?
Yes, and potentially even more so, because there are major gaps in global capability for bringing together security, health and humanitarian leaders to share information, investigate and attribute to identify perpetrators and reduce the likelihood of a second attack.
[Some of the gaps are outlined here.]
In addition to things like mask use, social distancing and washing your hands, what have you learned actually works with regards to navigating Covid-19?
In terms of tips...that public health experts provided to me, know how to access diagnostic testing in your area so that if you are in a situation where you feel that you have been put at risk, you can quickly get a test. ... [And] just knowing to the extent that you can, who you have come in contact with
To suppress Covid-19, it's vital to rapidly trace contacts for those who test positive and for their close contacts to be quickly quarantined and tested. This is how you break the cycle of transmission — by identifying those who may have been exposed as quickly as possible and preventing them from spreading it to others.
Also, know your stats and use the great information that's out there. There are several sources like Covid Act Now, Covid Exit Strategy ... that [use] the Johns Hopkins dashboard [a map of confirmed Covid-19 cases by country/region/sovereignty]. Some have really great data, even down to the county level. And course, your local health department.
It's important to know how COVID-19 is being managed in your community. ... With clear information about whether their community is meeting metrics for suppressing the disease, people will make more well-informed choices about behavior.
There should also be ways for local businesses that are encouraging mask use, that have good policies for encouraging social distancing, that are looking out for people who are at risk, like seniors, to be recognized for that. I'd like to see that developed at the local level so that we can use a good practice model for encouraging additional practices in local businesses.
Those things can really help ... while we're in this period where we don't have a vaccine.
How are you personally navigating the pandemic?
One thing that has really helped me, is trying to change my scenery. I've been teleworking so I don't just work in one place, like going outside in my yard or on my porch. I've also been trying to restart my yoga, and having a dog has really helped. A pet has been very comforting right now — to be at home with my husband with a pet.
I've also made a concerted effort to eat better. My husband has been excellent about cooking things like vegetables. I'm just trying to stay as healthy as possible so that I'm able to keep working, keep mentally fit and also to be able to fight the disease if I have to.
In addition to focusing on Covid-19, what are you working on now at NTI?
Our main efficiency is combating globally catastrophic biological risk. We have a site called Covid Local that provides decision making guidance for U.S. and global leaders.
Then globally, we produce a global health security index in concert with partners at Johns Hopkins University and The Economist. And we are preparing for the next round of that index and building on some of the lessons that are already starting to come out of the Covid-19 response.
We're also looking at future risks, including deliberate and accidental release of biological agents and how we can be prepared for something that could be worse than Covid-19.
Correction: This story has been corrected to reflect that Cameron left her job at the White House in 2017, started working on the playbook in 2016 and her department was later disbanded by Bolton.
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White House advisor Anthony Fauci on keeping up with Covid-19 news: 'It's like drinking from a fire hydrant'
White House advisor Dr. Fauci works 20-hour days and his wife reminds him to eat, sleep and drink water | 2020-06-26T00:00:00 |
547 | https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/09/how-chris-messina-got-twitter-to-use-the-hashtag.html | TECH | Bio-Techne | This Twitter user 'invented' the hashtag in 2007 — but the company thought it was 'too nerdy' | Today, the hashtag is ubiquitous on platforms like Twitter and Instagram as well as Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok. Log on to Twitter anytime and you'll find a list of trending hashtags with tens of thousands of tweets apiece. But the hashtag hasn't always been a social media tool. Someone had to dream of using it that way — and convince Twitter that the idea wasn't "too nerdy." That someone was Chris Messina, who in 2007, had an idea he thought could make then newly launched Twitter easier to use: Put a pound symbol in front of words or phrases in tweets in order to filter them by topic and maybe even make them searchable. While it's impossible to estimate the number of hashtags on social media today, if Messina received a penny for every time someone posted on Instagram with the hashtag "#love" alone (one of the web's most popular tags and with over 1.7 billion Instagram posts), he would have $17 million and counting. Alas, Messina, now 38, did not monetize his idea, but it did change social media history.
The problem with early Twitter
In 2007, Twitter was a year old and Chris Messina was a tech product designer running his own internet consulting company. Messina and his Silicon Valley friends were using Twitter, but found the endless, unorganized scroll of tweets made it next to impossible to isolate groups of messages around a certain topic.
A screengrab of Twitter's homepage circa 2007. Source: Twitter/Web Design Museum
Messina thought if people used the same word or phrase and put the hash symbol in front of it that could "create an instant channel that anybody can join and participate in" in the conversation, Messina tells CNBC Make It. That was the "genesis of the idea," Messina says. He picked the pound sign as a nod to the chat platform Internet Relay Chat (IRC) that he and many of his friends in tech used to communicate at the time. IRC featured various channels, where users chatted about relevant topics (similar to newer platforms like Slack, Messina says) and the channel names were also preceded by a pound symbol. Messina set out to see if he could get other Twitter users on board with his hashtag idea. In August 2007, he tweeted a question to his followers asking how they felt about using the pound symbol to make it easier to follow conversations about specific topics. More than a decade later, that somewhat prophetic tweet has more than 10,000 "likes" and nearly 5,000 retweets, but Messina tells CNBC the post mostly received "mixed reviews" at the time. (The tweet references BarCamp, a series of tech workshops that Messina helped create.) 2007TWEET "So, I started to kind of experiment and put down symbols in front of words and places that I was going to, you know, just kind of trying to get the ball off the ground," says Messina.
It's too nerdy
Of course, at that point, putting a hashtag in front of a word or phrase in a Twitter post did not automatically create a channel or link to anything. So Messina wrote a 2,000-word proposal for his hashtag idea — including mock ups of how he envisioned the hashtagged channels would look — and he took it to Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco. "I walked in the front door, because they didn't have security, and I walked up to Biz Stone, one of the co-founders and, kind of, presented my idea," Messina tells CNBC Make It.
Chris Messina, creator of the hashtag, in 2005. Source: Chris Messina/Flickr
Stone (who subsequently left and then returned to the company in an unspecified role in 2017) wrote in a Medium post that Messina walked into Twitter's "grungy office" and pitched the hashtag idea to Stone and a few other Twitter employees while they "were working frantically to fix a tech issue that had brought Twitter down, as was often the case in those early days." Messina says that the preoccupied Stone "probably half-listened to my idea and then kind of dismissed it out of hand as being something that was too nerdy that would never catch on." Messina says Stone also promised that Twitter could simply write an algorithm to solve the problem of sorting topics of discussion.
Twitter offices at 164 South Park in San Francisco, California in March 2008. Courtesy of Biz Stone
Twitter users make it happen
As it happened though, Messina's hashtag idea ended up taking off anyway. Messina kept promoting hashtags through his own social media accounts and in conversations with friends. Then that October, Messina convinced a friend named Nate Ritter to use hashtags in his tweets posting information about a San Diego wildfire, and pretty soon other Twitter users were following suit in order to keep track of tweets sharing news about the wildfire. The event ended up being an "important test case" for Messina's idea, he says, and Wired even wrote an article about the phenomenon that helped create more awareness of how hashtags could be used on Twitter. From there, Messina convinced some third-party developers who were building apps for Twitter users to add support for hashtags to their apps. (One of those third-party apps was Summize, a content summary app that Twitter eventually acquired for a reported $15 million in 2008.) As more people started using hashtags, and more developers were building apps for Twitter that recognized the hashtag, Twitter eventually got on board with the idea. In 2009, the company added an automatic search tool that allowed users to search the platform based on a specific hashtag. From there, use of the hashtag spread beyond Twitter to other platforms, including Instagram, which launched in 2010.
It's a hashtag world and Messina is just living in it | 2020-01-09T00:00:00 |
548 | https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/13/people-are-working-from-home-with-pets-during-coronavirus-outbreak.html | TECH | Bio-Techne | Amid the coronavirus outbreak, people are working remotely with new coworkers: their pets | This month, many companies have been switching to online formats for their employees, opting for remote work to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.
While employees adjust to working from home, many are discovering that even though they're out of the office, they still have "coworkers" to keep them company throughout the day: their pets. And they've taken to social media to introduce them.
@bio anth_rags tweet
@fox_gloves tweet
@emmagraeauthor tweet
Some workers joke that their new coworkers remind them to practice good hygiene, such as covering their mouths when they cough. | 2020-03-13T00:00:00 |
549 | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/13/john-cena-positivity-and-authenticity-garnered-success-in-wwe-career.html | TECH | Bio-Techne | From Vanilla Ice 'wannabe' to Mr. positivity: John Cena says staying authentic is key to his success | What does it take to have a career as fruitful and diverse as John Cena's?
The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star is one of the highest-paid and most decorated wrestlers in the franchise. In the 2017 calendar year, Cena earned $10 million, according to Forbes.
Cena is also an accomplished actor and will appear in the upcoming "Fast and Furious 9." When he's not acting, he's writing children's books, practicing piano, learning Mandarin and sending uplifting tweets out to his 11.9 million followers.
Cena attributes his success in all these fields and his popularity on social media to one trait: authenticity.
"It's the same thing that garnered me a lot of success in the WWE, which was remaining authentic," Cena told Sports Illustrated in a recent interview.
In Cena's early WWE days, he was known for his persona, Doctor of Thuganomics, who was a "Vanilla Ice exaggerated wannabe" with a lot of "bravado and swagger," Cena told Sports Illustrated. At the time, it felt authentic: When he was younger, "hip hop was part of my life, a part of my culture," he said. | 2019-12-13T00:00:00 |
550 | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/22/twitter-exchange-with-elon-musk-lands-a-british-man-a-job-at-tesla.html | TECH | Bio-Techne | A Twitter exchange with Elon Musk about a sheep lands a British man a job at Tesla | Elon Musk, chairman and CEO of Tesla, addresses a press conference in Beijing on October 23, 2015.
Tesla has hired a British man behind a viral tweet that caught the attention of Elon Musk last month.
Adam Koszary, who engineered a viral Twitter exchange between Musk and an English museum, will begin a new role as Tesla's social media manager in July.
Back in April, Koszary, the digital lead for the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL), tweeted a photo of a ram with the caption: "Look at this absolute unit."
The picture has been liked more than 100,000 times to date – and its popularity really took off when Elon Musk used the image as his own profile picture on Twitter.
"I'm an absolute unit too," he said in a tweet, temporarily changing his Twitter bio to "absolute unit."
In response, the MERL switched its own picture for one of Elon Musk, sparking an ongoing exchange between the two accounts.
Koszary, who had been due to start a new job at the U.K.'s Royal Academy of Arts (RAA), announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he had instead accepted a role with Tesla.
"I'm no longer moving to the Royal Academy. Instead, I'll be Tesla's Social Media Manager from July," he said. | 2019-05-22T00:00:00 |
551 | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/16/sleep-box-mark-zuckerberg-invented-launched-on-kickstarter.html | TECH | Bio-Techne | 'Sleep box' Mark Zuckerberg invented launched on Kickstarter, raised more than $100,000 so far | When Mark Zuckerberg throws out an idea for a business, it doesn't take long for an entrepreneur to turn it into a reality.
In April, the Facebook CEO shared that he built his wife, Priscilla Chan, a device he called a "sleep box," a wooden box that sits on the bedside table and emits a soft light between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., when it's time to go get theit kids. That way Chan doesn't have to constantly wake up and check the time on her phone.
Zuckerberg said "a bunch" of his friends seemed interested in having one, so he posted his creation on Facebook "in case another entrepreneur wants to run with this and build sleep boxes for more people," he said.
Greg Hovannisyan did just that — he and a team engineers and builders developed a prototype for Zuckerberg's sleep box and launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the production in June. | 2019-07-16T00:00:00 |
552 | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/24/how-i-stopped-someone-impersonating-me-on-instagram.html | TECH | Bio-Techne | Someone impersonated me on Instagram (and had 3x more followers than me)—here's how I stopped him | My Instagram drama started at exactly 11:37 p.m. on Sept. 10. I was in bed about to go to sleep, when a direct message alert from the 'Gram popped up on my phone. It was a message from an Instagram user who I do not follow or recognize, Justin_smith_26. It said: "Just wanted to let you know this guy is using your pictures to try to scam people into investing into a fake bitcoin company…"
A screen grab of the Instagram direct message from user Justin_Smith_26 alerting me that my pics are being used on another account profile.
My exact thought right now, "Uh-oh this is not good." Justin also sent a few pictures. I tapped the first image and it expanded to fill my phone screen. It was a screen-shot of someone's Instagram profile, and I immediately recognized the person's face on the account. My first thought was, "Wait, what the f---? That's me!"
The impostor's account using my face as a profile pic. (CNBC blurred the website promoted in the bio).
Under my face was the name Leon Ellis (likely not this impostor's real name). The photo was the same one I use for my own Instagram profile, only it had been turned into a black and white image.
On the left, the black & white profile pic of me used on the impostor profile for Leon Ellis (unlikely his real name). On right, my REAL profile pic in color.
I was looking at my face happily staring back at me from someone else's profile. OK, this was officially creepy. The impostor account's username said energy_hashminer. The fake me had a bio too. It started with the words: "Bitcoin Mining Rig." The next line read: "Follow To Learn Trade Profit" and it went on "Foreign Exchange Trader" and "Financial Education Mentor…" It was mostly crypto-themed and focused on the computing power and hardware required to mine for bitcoins, something I honestly know very little about. Beneath the bio was a link to a website that's described as a social trading crypto platform, and I'm purposely not mentioning/promoting its name in this article (CNBC has also blurred the web address in the photos shared in this article). I'm not sure it was just a coincidence that the real me is a writer and executive producer at the business network CNBC, while my impersonator's account was pushing a crypto mining scheme and financial education in its bio.
Screen grab of my impersonator's Instagram feed filled with strange electronics and me on a boat in the top middle and me with a friend on the bottom right.
And it gets worse, because it wasn't not just my profile pic being used on this bizarre account. When I scrolled down, the feed I found 55 posts, the first one dating back to January 2019.
Another screen grab of my impostor's Instagram feed with images of me through out.
Twenty of the pictures were images of me with my friends, co-workers family and dogs. Among the photos ripped off of my real Instagram was a shot of me with my brother and my 12-year-old nephew at his racquetball tournament.
Middle bottom pic is me with my brother and nephew next to a rocket going to the bitcoin moon.
The post next to the family photo was a cartoon image of a rocket blasting off toward a bitcoin moon in the sky. There was also a selfie of a friend and me sandwiched between an image of someone wearing a vest emblazoned with: "Buy bitcoin" and another image of gold letters: "Grow your bitcoin."
Screen grab of my impersonator's feed. The top middle pic is me with a friend surrounded by bitcoin images.
There was even a photo of me and my husband, Ben, holding an American flag at his parents' house; in the feed we are surrounded by pictures of electronics with lots of crypto-related hashtags underneath them. I clicked on our photo and read a caption I never wrote: "Made in America #vision #art #love..." In fact, all my photos had captions.
More pics of me in my impostor's IG feed, my husband and I are in middle bottom row surrounded by images of electronics.
And as if someone stealing my face and images of my friends and family to grow followers for an account promoting crypto-mining wasn't bad enough, I spotted something even more annoying. The fake-me had over 12,700 followers — way more than the real me. And the fake me grew all those followers in just nine months.
Now I was not just angry someone stole my face, I was also bummed that my face got him more followers than it did me. I was starting to feel like I was in a bad episode of "Seinfeld." Back in my direct message thread with Justin_Smith_26, my insta-good-samartin sent me another pic. It was a screen grab of a DM conversation he had with the energy_hashminer account. Justin was fast becoming my Insta-hero:
Screen grab of Justin_Smith_26's direct messages to and from my Instagram impostorL energy_hashminer. Source: @Justin_Smith_26
Justin_Smith_26 typed: "Can't find any information on you. Big give away." Energy_hashminer replied: "Oh really did you check the link I sent you." Justin_Smith_26: "You are fake." Energy_hashminer: "OK if [sic] say so no problem" But my impostor was not ready to give up. Energy_hashminer: "But you can try it out and see how it works to be sure" When I saw the next thing Justin sent to my insta-impostor it made me laugh out loud. It was a screen grab of my real profile followed by...
Screen grab of Justin_Smith_26's last DM to energy_hashminer. Justin sent my instagram impostor a screen grab of my REAL profile. Source: @Justin_Smith_26
Justin_Smith_26: "Try again dumb a--." Justin told me he had no idea who was behind the account, and he only discovered it after energy_hashminer sent him a DM that said, "how's it going?," which Justin thought was odd coming from a person he had never met before. And when he looked at the profile, a couple of things stood out as fishy: none of the people with "Leon" (aka, me) in the posts were tagged, and despite having more than 12,000 followers, he received very few likes and comments on his posts. And that started Justin on a deep dive into google and Instagram to find the real me and warn me about my impersonator. (Smith explains the techniques he used to expose my impostor in the video below.)
Inspired by Justin_Smith_26, I immediately started gathering evidence on energy_hashminer. I took screen grabs and recorded my phone screen while scrolling through my impostor's profile page. Next. I started the process to insta-eradicate my impersonator.
To start the process I tapped these three dots on my impostor's profile.
First I clicked the three little dots on the upper right side of energy_hashminer's profile and it lead me through a gauntlet of drop down menus. In the first, I tapped "Report profile" and five more drop downs later, I was faced with three menu options: "me," "someone I know," or a celebrity or public figure. I tapped, "me." When I made the selection, I was delivered to Instagram's help page, where the real reporting process actually starts...
Screen grab of Instagram's Help Center page for reporting an impersonation.
I made a few more selections and found the line I was looking for. It read: "If someone is pretending to be you on Instagram you can report the account with this form." I filled out the digital form with my full name; my email; the name I had for my impersonator, Leon Ellis (again unlikely his real name); and his username: energy_hashminer. Then I clicked to confirm I was the one being impersonated.
The selfie I took holding my driver's license to prove to Instagram that I'm really me.
To finish, the report wanted me to upload a selfie while holding a valid form of ID. I used my driver's license. And that was it! It was finally over, Leon was out of my life right... Wrong! The next day I got an email with the subject line: "Report an impersonation Account on Instagram." When I read the email I was baffled.
Screen grab of the email I received from Arnold at Facebook (the company that owns Instagram) after filing a report against the account impersonating me.
"We can't... continue with your request because we haven't received an acceptable ID that matches the information listed on the account." The salutation read: "Thanks, Arnold" It took a while for me to realize the issue: My first name on my license is spelled "Raimondo," which is my birth name, and that does not match the shortened version of my name that I use on Instagram, which is "Ray." That little spelling issue prevented the report against my impostor from being processed. It's a big problem because all my IDs, including my passport use my birth name, so not one matches my Instagram profile. Arnold's email from Insta looked like one of those coded emails that you can't reply to, but I replied anyway and got no response. I did some google searches to see if I could find an Instagram customer service number, and as you might expect that search was futile. I wondered if I was seriously going to need to change the name on my passport to shut my impostor down. Then I realized there's a painfully obvious fix. I hopped on my Instagram account and tapped edit profile and temporarily changed Ray to Raimondo in my profile. Then I filled out the report form again, and uploaded the same selfie with my license and in minutes... Voilá! My stolen pics instantly disappeared, in fact Instagram vaporized my impersonator's entire account. Sadly I didn't inherit any of the fake me's followers.
Instagram's message announcing: "We've removed energy_hashminer's account..."
Before energy_hashminer's account got scrubbed, I reached out multiple times via direct message and asked him to remove my photos from his account, he never replied.
One of three direct messages I sent to my impostor before the IG account was deleted by Instagram, he never replied.
I also sent emails to the website promoted in my impostor's profile (which according to WHOis.net is registered to cheapname.com). I asked to speak with a press representative or executive, but as of this publishing have not received a response. It remains unclear how, or even if, that crypto trading site is connected to my impersonator. I reached out to the press department at Instagram with some questions including how many of its users are victim's of impersonation but a spokesperson for the company declined to comment. I also asked if the photo-sharing platform had any security features in place to alert a user when another account is created using his or her same profile pic and a spokesperson replied: "At this time we don't have alerts when someone else has uploaded the same photo as you, however keeping our community safe remains a top priority for us," a spokesperson said. As for the birth name versus profile name issue that I ran into, a spokesperson said, "We have internal protocols in place that account for this discrepancy... we'll review other available information such as your photos or bio, to ensure that your claim is valid." "We do our best to respond to reports in a timely manner," the Instagram spokesperson said. Ray Parisi is CNBC's senior executive producer of special projects. Don't Miss: This is the biggest home for sale in the Hollywood Hills — take a look inside | 2019-09-24T00:00:00 |
553 | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/18/photo-instagram-star-covered-her-lamborghini-with-swarovski-crystals.html | TECH | Bio-Techne | This is what $420,000 Lamborghini looks like covered with 2 million Swarovski crystals | First bitcoin enthusiasts were into buying Lamborghinis with the crypto, and now a Russian Instagram star has covered her Lambo in Swarovski crystals.
Blogger and Instagram model Daria Radionova (also CEO of DR Jackets, according to her Instagram bio) says she bedazzled her Lamborghini Aventador SV in 2 million Swarovski crystals, revealing the car in London on April 6. The supercar costs around $421,000 without the custom bling.
"Two million crystals were applied by hand, and it took over 700 hours to make" the car, Radionova wrote in an Instagram post. The majority of the crystals are black, with red crystals used to spell out "SV" on the car's sides. | 2019-04-18T00:00:00 |
554 | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/04/how-you-could-win-beyonce-concert-tickets-for-life.html | TECH | Bio-Techne | A Beyonce fan could win free concert tickets 'for life'—but there's a catch | On January 30, music power couple Beyonce and Jay-Z announced that one lucky fan could win a free concert ticket a year for the next 30 years — or, as Beyonce put it, "for life."
The catch? You have to adopt a plant-based diet.
The A-listers have teamed up with the Greenprint Project, a venture created by Beyonce's trainer Marco Borges, which encourages people to reduce their environmental impact by cutting back on animal products. The website focuses on the idea that even small changes can make a large impact.
Beyonce publicized the contest on Instagram, writing, "Click the link in my bio for a chance to win tickets to any JAY and/or my shows for life. #greenprintproject." She shared a link to the Greenprint Project and declared her commitment to meatless Mondays and eating plant-based breakfasts. | 2019-02-04T00:00:00 |
555 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/06/alzheimers-fda-will-review-eisais-and-biogens-treatment-leqembi-with-decision-expected-in-july.html | BIIB | Biogen | FDA will review Eisai and Biogen's Alzheimer's treatment Leqembi with decision on full approval expected in early July | The Food and Drug Administration will make a decision on whether to fully approve Eisai and Biogen 's Alzheimer's treatment Leqembi by July 6, the companies announced Monday.
Leqembi is an antibody treatment that targets brain plaque associated with the mind-robbing disease. It is administered intravenously twice a month and slowed the progression of early Alzheimer's disease by 27% in clinical trials. However, it also carries risks of brain swelling and bleeding and costs $26,500 a year.
Although the FDA approved Leqembi on an expedited basis in January, access to the treatment is virtually nonexistent right now. Medicare will only cover classes of drugs like Leqembi that receive expedited approval for people participating in clinical trials.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in January that it would provide broader coverage of Leqembi as soon as it receives full FDA approval.
Though coverage would be broader, the number of people who could access the drug will still likely be limited. Medicare has agreed to cover drugs like Leqembi once they receive full approval, but only for people who participate in research studies, called registries, so Medicare can collect real-world data.
It will take time to set up those studies; health-care providers and research institutes have to be recruited, and patients would also have to agree to participate. The health-care system would also need more capacity to administer the diagnostic tests and infusions needed to administer the drug.
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The Alzheimer's Association called on CMS in December to provide unrestricted coverage of treatments like Leqembi. Members of Congress have also asked Medicare to provide broader coverage, arguing that the restrictions put people who live in rural communities at a disadvantage because providers that participate in such studies are usually in bigger cities.
CMS rejected the Alzheimer's Associations request to provide unrestricted coverage last month, but the agency reiterated that it will cover Leqembi more broadly on the same day it receives full FDA approval.
"As defined in statute, to provide coverage nationally, CMS is required to examine whether a medication is reasonable and necessary," the agency said in its statement. "This standard differs from the criteria used by the FDA to assess whether medications are safe and effective."
The Alzheimer's Association said it was "appalled" by CMS' decision. The group estimates that 2,000 people ages 65 and older progress from mild dementia to a more advanced state of the disease every day, making them ineligible for Leqembi. | 2023-03-06T00:00:00 |
556 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/28/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-midday-apple-netflix-biogen-canopy-growth-and-more.html | BIIB | Biogen | Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Apple, Netflix, Biogen, Canopy Growth and more | Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Apple — Apple shares fell 3.4% on Wednesday following a report that the company is ditching plans to boost new iPhone production. Instead of aiming to increase output by 6 million units in the second half of the year as it had planned, it will shoot for 90 million units, unchanged from the prior year, according to Bloomberg.
Biogen — Shares of the biopharmaceutical company soared 37% following upbeat results from its experimental Alzheimer's drug study and a slew of upgrades from analysts. Biogen and its Japanese partner Eisai said the drug reduced cognitive decline by 27% and slowed the progression of the disease.
Broadridge — Spruce Point Capital Management issued report containing a strong sell opinion, saying it sees as much as 75% downside risk.
Illumina — The biotech company saw shares climb 8% after Evercore ISI upgraded the stock to outperform from in line, saying it's bullish on Illumina's new products as it comes out of a "multi year underperformance" period.
Netflix — Shares of the streaming giant jumped more than 6% after Atlantic Equities upgraded the stock to overweight, saying Netflix's lower-cost, ad-supported subscriber tier, which it plans to launch in coming months, could boost its share price by 26%.
Thor Industries — Shares jumped 3.4% after the recreational vehicle maker topped profit and revenue expectations in its most recent quarter. Thor said its motorized RV segment saw a 24.5% gain from the prior year.
Ocugen — The drugmaker's shares soared by about 8% after it came to a licensing agreement with Washington University in St. Louis to develop, commercialize and manufacture its intranasal Covid-19 vaccine.
Canopy Growth — Shares of the cannabis company were up 2.6% on plans to pull back from its retail operations in Canada. Ontario-based Canopy said earlier this year it was extending its timeline for profitability.
DocuSign — Shares of the electronic signature service rose about 5.4% after announcing Wednesday it would shed about 9% of its workforce as part of a restructuring. The company expects to incur costs of as much as $40 million as part of the plan.
Paychex — Shares of the payroll company gained more than 2% after earnings and revenue before the bell beat expectations. It also raised its earnings outlook for the year.
— CNBC's Alex Harring, Samantha Subin, Michelle Fox and Sarah Min contributed reporting. | 2022-09-28T00:00:00 |
557 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/04/bmo-downgrades-biogen-asserts-company-is-spending-too-much-on-controversial-alzheimers-drug.html | BIIB | Biogen | BMO downgrades Biogen, asserts company is spending too much on controversial Alzheimer's drug | Biogen is investing a lot of time and money for a drug that won't pay off for the company or its investors, according to BMO Capital Markets. Analyst Evan David Seigerman downgraded the biotech stock to market perform from outperform, saying in a note to clients Friday that Biogen's controversial Alzheimer's drug is proving to be more trouble than it's worth and the company needs to cut costs. "We think the current view on opex is reflective of a commercial story for Aduhelm that is unlikely to play out: Simply put, Biogen is spending too much on a product that is likely to generate too little," Seigerman wrote. Aduhelm was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in June 2021, but some health officials were publicly skeptical of its effectiveness , and Biogen's high initial price for the drug drew pushback. In January, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that it would only cover the cost of the drug in limited circumstances. Biogen has cut the price of the drug in half in an effort to generate more demand. The company said the drug generated just $3 million of revenue last year. The downgrade comes after Biogen beat estimates on the top and bottom lines for its fourth quarter, but forward guidance for revenue and earnings came in short of expectations. The stock dipped 2.1% on Thursday. With one of its most high-profile drugs struggling, Biogen's stock could be stuck in neutral unless a takeover attempt emerges, according to BMO. "Yesterday's FY21 results lost the last piece of our confidence that management will be able to turn the Aduhelm ship around," the analyst said. BMO cut its price target on Biogen to $238 per share from $260. The new target is 8% above where the stock closed Thursday. — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
A Biogen facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Brian Snyder | Reuters | 2022-02-04T00:00:00 |
558 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/12/piper-sandler-downgrades-biogen-as-alzheimers-drug-hits-another-speedbump.html | BIIB | Biogen | Piper Sandler downgrades Biogen as Alzheimer's drug hits another speedbump | Piper Sandler on Wednesday downgraded Biogen after the biotechnology company faced another hiccup in the rollout of its Alzheimer's drug. Medicare on Tuesday said it would limit coverage of Biogen's Aduhelm medication only to patients who are willing to enroll in qualifying clinical trials. Biogen shares were down roughly 10% in the premarket Wednesday. "Combining this with continued pressure on the base business and little in the way of pipeline backfill, we think the right thing to do here is cut our losses and move on," Piper Sandler's Christopher Raymond said in a note after the Medicare decision. Piper Sandler lowered its rating on the stock to neutral from overweight. The firm also cut its price target on the stock to $216 from $362. The new projection implies 10.6% downside from Tuesday's close. Aduhelm is the first treatment approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. to treat cognitive decline in Alzheimer's patients, but it has sparked controversy in the medical community . The FDA's independent panel of outside experts had recommended against approving the treatment, citing unconvincing data. The drug also has a hefty price tag and some doctors have refused to prescribe the medication. "Our upgrade thesis – that while neurologists may not believe in Aduhelm's clinical premise, they'll prescribe it anyway – has clearly not played out," Raymond said. A majority of neurologists in a September survey said the efficacy of Aduhelm is the primary barrier to prescribing the drug, Piper Sandler highlighted. Plus, the firm sees limited good news down the line with Biogen's other drug developments. "We are hard-pressed to see anything in Biogen's pipeline to meaningfully change the narrative here," Raymond said. Biogen shares lost 2% in 2021, compared with the S & P 500's nearly 27% gain. The stock had been up 0.7% in 2022 through Tuesday's close. —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
A sign marks a Biogen facility, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, March 9, 2020. Brian Snyder | Reuters | 2022-01-12T00:00:00 |
559 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/03/biogen-ceo-to-step-down-as-the-drugmaker-plans-further-aduhelm-cost-cuts.html | BIIB | Biogen | Biogen CEO to step down as the drugmaker plans further Aduhelm cost cuts | Biogen's Chief Executive Officer Michel Vounatsos is stepping down, at a time the drugmaker is grappling with Medicare restricting coverage for its Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm to patients in clinical trials.
Vounatsos, who will continue in his role until his successor is appointed, was named as the CEO in 2016 and has been at the helm as Biogen developed and launched several flagship drugs including spinal muscular atrophy drug Spinraza, multiple sclerosis drug Vumerity and most recently Aduhelm.
Biogen said on Tuesday it was looking at substantially eliminating commercial infrastructure related to the Alzheimer's drug and plans for more cost cuts, in addition to the current program to save $500 million annually.
Coverage for Aduhelm is restricted to patients in clinical trials, and the company said it will retain minimal resources to make the drug available to patients currently on treatment in the U.S.
The company was betting on Aduhelm, the first new treatment for the memory-robbing disease in nearly 20 years, to act as a buffer as its main revenue drivers face rising competition.
However, Aduhelm has faced multiple hurdles after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved it last June under an accelerated approval pathway.
Since then, investigations have been launched into the FDA's decision taken over objections of its own outside advisers, doctors have held back on prescribing the drug and the U.S. Medicare operator in April decided to limit coverage of Aduhelm under the government insurance plan.
"We think the Street will view tough changes as a move in the right direction for the sake of BIIB sentiment, longer-term spend and need to move forward ... the changes have been talked about previously ... but the timing was not necessarily expected this soon," Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said in a note.
Biogen is now counting on its second Alzheimer's drug lecanemab, which like Aduhelm, has also been developed with Japanese company Eisai Co. Ltd.
Biogen plans to complete the rolling submission for lecanemab under the accelerated approval pathway in the U.S. in the second quarter. | 2022-05-03T00:00:00 |
560 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/20/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-premarket-baker-hughes-biogen-netflix-and-more.html | BIIB | Biogen | Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Baker Hughes, Biogen, Netflix and more | Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
Baker Hughes (BKR) – The oilfield services company reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of 11 cents per share, just half of what analysts had forecast. Revenue also fell below estimates, with Baker Hughes citing various challenges including component shortages and supply chain inflation. Baker Hughes tumbled 6% in premarket trading.
Biogen (BIIB) – Biogen gained 2.4% in premarket action after reporting an adjusted profit of $5.25 per share for the second quarter. That was well above the consensus estimate of $4.06, and revenue also topped forecasts. The beat came even as Biogen said it faces increasing generic and biosimilar competition for its Tecfidera and Rituxan drugs.
Netflix (NFLX) – Netflix jumped 6.1% in premarket trading after reporting subscriber losses that were substantially below expectations. The streaming service also said it would add a net 1 million new subscribers this quarter. Netflix reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, though revenue did fall slightly shy of Wall Street estimates.
Casino Stocks – Shares of casino operators rose in premarket action following a Reuters report that Macau would reopen casinos on Saturday amid a drop in Covid infections. Las Vegas Sands (LVS) gained 1.5% while Wynn Resorts (WYNN) rose 1.9%.
Merck (MRK) – Merck fell 1.5% in premarket trading after its Keytruda cancer drug failed to meet its goal in a late-stage study focused on head and neck cancer patients.
Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) – Cal-Maine rose 1% in the premarket after beating Street forecasts on the top and bottom lines for its latest quarter. The nation's largest egg producer was helped by higher egg prices, but also saw increases in feed costs that it expects to continue in fiscal 2023.
Elevance Health (ELV) – The health care and insurance company, formerly known as Anthem, beat top and bottom line second-quarter estimates and raised its full-year outlook. Elevance's profits got a boost from a strong performance in its pharmacy benefits management unit.
ASML (ASML) – ASML slid in the premarket after the Netherlands-based semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker cut its full-year sales outlook. ASML reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings but said its customers are turning somewhat cautious in anticipation of slowing chip demand.
Omnicom Group (OMC) – Omnicom beat top and bottom line estimates for its latest quarter, with the ad agency operator also raising its organic revenue growth forecast for the year. Omnicom also said it is maintaining a "healthy level of caution" to deal with challenging macroeconomic conditions. The stock surged 7.3% in the premarket.
Comerica (CMA) – The bank's stock gained 1% in the premarket after it reported better-than-expected profit and revenue for the second quarter. Results were helped by strong loan growth as well as a rising interest rate environment. | 2022-07-20T00:00:00 |
561 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/04/why-biogens-alzheimers-drug-aduhelm-is-so-controversial-.html | BIIB | Biogen | Why Biogen's Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm is so controversial | The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of Biogen 's Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm in June was heralded as a historic triumph in the fight against a disease that kills thousands of Americans every year.
But the excitement around the first FDA-approved drug to target the underlying cause of the memory-robbing disease—not just its symptoms—has ebbed since then. The drugmaker reported just $300,000 in revenue from Aduhelm sales during the third quarter, a fraction of what Wall Street was expecting.
Physicians have been split over whether clinical trial data proves the monoclonal antibody actually slows cognitive decline. What's more, Medicare is debating whether to cover seniors on the government-run insurance program for Alzheimer's treatments, a decision that is crucial to their profit potential.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plans to issue a draft decision by mid-January, a spokesperson told CNBC.
Meanwhile, shares of the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech have cratered roughly 40% since the beginning of June. Given Aduhelm's lackluster debut, as well as generic competition for Biogen's other drugs, the company now plans to cut $500 million in annual costs.
In December, it also said it would slash Aduhelm's controversial $56,000 annual list price by about 50% in a bid to boost sales. The company anticipates 50,000 new patients could start Aduhelm in 2022 with insurance coverage and greater access to diagnostics and specialized centers.
"In terms of this new drug, we are keeping an open mind," said Dick Novik, who retired from the broadcast business to help care for his wife, Eugenia Zukerman, following her Alzheimer's diagnosis.
"If only there were a way of being more certain in our minds that it works," Novik told CNBC.
Why is Biogen's Alzheimer's drug so controversial? Watch the video above to learn. | 2022-01-04T00:00:00 |
562 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/11/medicare-plans-to-pay-for-controversial-alzheimers-drug-from-biogen.html | BIIB | Biogen | Medicare plans to pay for controversial Alzheimer’s drug, from Biogen | Medicare plans to provide insurance coverage for Aduhelm, a contentious Alzheimer's treatment from the drugmaker Biogen , the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Tuesday.
The drug, which is intended for Alzheimer's patients in the early stages of the disease, will be limited to Medicare recipients who are willing to enroll in qualifying clinical trials, the CMS said.
The drug is the first treatment approved in the U.S. to slow cognitive decline in people living with Alzheimer's, but some doctors have refused to prescribe it because of mixed data supporting Biogen's application to the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA approved the drug last June under an accelerated pathway, but asked the company to continue to study it to confirm its benefits or risk withdrawal of the therapy.
The CMS's ruling on insurance coverage is preliminary. The agency's decision will be followed by a 30-day public comment period, where members of the public can submit feedback to CMS. A final decision is expected in April.
Still, Tuesday's ruling is expected to have large implications for Medicare and how the drug is prescribed going forward.
More than 6 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer's, a progressive disease that affects memory, reasoning and behavior, according to the Alzheimer's Association. The vast majority of Americans with the disease are old enough to receive Medicare.
All other drugs approved by the FDA for Alzheimer's are aimed at helping symptoms, not actually slowing the progression of the disease, which is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Biogen's drug, a monoclonal antibody, is given as an infusion every four weeks. It targets a "sticky" compound in the brain known as beta-amyloid, which some scientists believe plays a role in the disease. It's unclear, however, whether reducing levels of beta-amyloid has any effect on progression of the disease, experts say.
The treatment is expected to cost Medicare billions of dollars a year, and has substantially raised premiums for Medicare beneficiaries.
Due to the drug's high price and potential demand for the treatment, CMS announced in November that it would increase monthly premiums by 15 percent for Medicare Part B beneficiaries, from $148.50 in 2021 to $170.10 in 2022, the agency's largest price increase in the program's history. But on Monday, Xavier Becerra, the secretary for the Department of Health and Human Secretary, asked the agency to reassess its premium hike after Biogen slashed the price of its drug in half.
The lower out-of-pocket cost from Medicare coverage may also persuade some unwilling doctors, whose patients may have to pay the full price of the drug, to prescribe the treatment.
Still, previous statements and confusing data by the company are likely to sway doctors who are still skeptical about recommending the drug, despite the Medicare coverage.
In 2019, Biogen halted two studies of the drug after an analysis revealed it was unlikely to work. The company reversed course several months later by announcing that a new analysis showed the drug was effective at a higher dose and that it would seek regulatory approval for the drug after all.
When the agency did clear the drug last June, it was a departure from the advice of its independent panel of outside experts, who concluded that there wasn't enough evidence that the drug slowed the disease. At least three members of the panel have resigned in protest following the agency's approval.
The drug's side effects include brain swelling and bleeding.
In July, acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock called for a government investigation into contacts between some of her agency's drug reviewers and Biogen. | 2022-01-11T00:00:00 |
563 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/28/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-midday-apple-draftkings-biogen-williams-sonoma-and-more.html | BIIB | Biogen | Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Apple, DraftKings, Biogen, Williams-Sonoma and more | Check out the companies making the biggest moves midday:
Apple — Apple shares fell 3.89% following a report that iPhone production could take a big hit due to unrest at a Foxconn factory in China, amid protests in China against the nation's zero-Covid policy. Analysts have expressed concern about recent manufacturing interruptions ahead of the holiday season too.
Taboola — Shares of the advertising company surged 43.48% after Taboola announced Yahoo had taken a 25% stake in the company as part of a 30-year agreement, in which Taboola will power native advertising on all Yahoo platforms.
Wynn Resorts, Melco Resorts — Shares of casino operators Wynn Resorts and Melco Resorts gained 4.36% and 9.86% respectively, after the Chinese government granted them provisional licenses to continue operating in Macau. Las Vegas Sands and MGM Resorts also got the licenses, with the former up 1.11% and the latter down 2.27%.
DraftKings — Shares dropped 4.23% after JPMorgan downgraded DraftKings to underweight from neutral, saying in a note that the company's competitors are more likely to achieve online sports betting profitability.
Biogen — Biogen's stock fell 4.34% after a Science.org report that a woman participating in an experimental Alzheimer's treatment trial, sponsored by Biogen and a Japanese pharma company, recently died from a brain hemorrhage.
Tyson Foods , Beyond Meat — Shares of Tyson Foods fell 2.67%, and Beyond Meat slumped 2.44%, after Barclays downgraded both companies to underweight, noting that the worst is yet to come for protein companies.
Anheuser-Busch InBev — Shares of the beer giant climbed 2.79% after getting a double upgrade from JPMorgan. Analyst Jared Dinges said Anheuser-Busch InBev will benefit from a resurgence in demand for domestic light beer and the decline in hard seltzer demand in the U.S.
First Solar — The solar stock shed 3.39% following a downgrade to neutral from JPMorgan. The bank said shares are due for a breather after rallying more than 150% following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Twilio — Twilio slid 3.69% after the stock was downgraded by Jeffries to hold from buy. The firm said it sees "sustained headwinds" the communications tool and messaging company.
Aptiv — Shares fell 3.63% after Morgan Stanley downgraded Aptiv to equal weight from overweight, saying in a note that the automotive technology supplier could get hurt from a slower rollout of electric vehicles.
Williams-Sonoma — Shares tumbled 4.84% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the home furnishings stock to underweight, saying shares could fall further as demand weakens in a difficult macro environment.
Live Nation Entertainment — Live Nation's stock moved 0.34% higher after it was upgraded to buy from neutral by Citi, which said the risk/reward outlook looks more reasonable.
Pinduoduo — Shares of Pinduoduo jumped 12.62% after the e-commerce platform posted third-quarter results that beat analyst expectations. "We continued to deepen our value creation in the third quarter," CEO Lei Chen said. "We will increase our R&D investment to further enhance the supply chain efficiency and agricultural digital inclusion."
Energy stocks — Energy stocks dropped after oil prices fell near the year's lows on worry over China demand. Shares of Exxon Mobil lost 3% and Conocophillips dropped 2.34%, while Chevron fell 2.91% and Occidental Petroleum shed 2.92%
— CNBC's Carmen Reinicke, Samantha Subin, Tanaya Macheel and Sarah Min contributed reporting. | 2022-11-28T00:00:00 |
564 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/03/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-premarket-eli-lilly-honeywell-biogen-and-others.html | BIIB | Biogen | Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Eli Lilly, Honeywell, Biogen and others | Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
Eli Lilly (LLY) – The drugmaker beat estimates by 3 cents with adjusted quarterly earnings of $2.49 per share, while revenue beat forecasts as well. Results were boosted by a jump in sales of Lilly's Trulicity diabetes drug and Covid-19 therapies. However, the stock slid 1.1% in the premarket.
Honeywell (HON) – Honeywell fell 3.4% in premarket trading after quarterly revenue missed estimates due to supply chain issues and other factors. Honeywell did beat estimates by a penny with an adjusted quarterly profit of $2.09 per share.
Biogen (BIIB) – Biogen fell 2.8% in premarket action after the drugmaker issued a lower than expected 2022 adjusted earnings forecast. Biogen expects sales of Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm to be minimal following the government's move to limit Medicare coverage of the drug. Biogen reported better-than-expected profit and revenue for the fourth quarter.
Merck (MRK) – Merck earned an adjusted $1.80 per share for the fourth quarter, beating the $1.53 consensus estimate. Revenue also topped Wall Street forecasts as its Covid-19 treatment molnupiravir helped to drive sales higher. Merck forecast adjusted 2022 earnings of $7.12 to $7.27 per share, below the consensus estimate of $7.29.
Cardinal Health (CAH) – The pharmaceutical distributor's stock fell 2.1% in the premarket after it cut its full-year forecast due to inflation pressures and supply chain constraints. Cardinal Health beat estimates by 4 cents for its latest quarter, earning an adjusted $1.27 per share.
Meta Platforms (FB) – Meta Platforms plummeted 22.1% in premarket trading after missing bottom-line estimates for only the third time in the Facebook parent's nearly ten-year history as a public company. It also issued a cautious outlook, pointing to factors such as a decline in user engagement and inflation taking a toll on advertiser spending.
T-Mobile US (TMUS) – T-Mobile earned 34 cents per share for its latest quarter, more than doubling the 15-cent consensus estimate, though the mobile service provider's revenue fell short of analyst forecasts. T-Mobile also issued an upbeat forecast, and the stock soared 7.7% in the premarket.
Spotify (SPOT) – Spotify shares tumbled 9.6% in the premarket after the audio service issued a weaker-than-expected subscriber forecast. Spotify also reported a narrower-than-expected loss for its latest quarter and saw its revenue exceed estimates. The audio streaming service benefited from a jump in ad revenue, even amid the controversy surrounding its Joe Rogan podcast.
Align Technology (ALGN) – Align shares fell 2.6% in premarket trading after the maker of Invisalign dental braces said 2022 revenue would rise by 20% to 30% compared with the prior year's growth of 60%. Align also beat top and bottom-line estimates for its latest quarter as volume sales for its aligners rose.
McKesson (MCK) – McKesson rallied 4.5% in the premarket after the pharmaceutical distributor reported better-than-expected top and bottom-line results. McKesson earned an adjusted $6.15 per share compared with a consensus estimate of $5.42, helped by the strength of its Covid-19 vaccine distribution business. | 2022-02-03T00:00:00 |
565 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/06/where-youll-find-attractive-income-in-the-new-year-says-blackrock.html | BLK | BlackRock | Get out of cash in 2024. Here’s where you’ll find attractive income in the new year, BlackRock says | While rising interest rates made 2023 a great year for cash, it's a different story for next year, according to BlackRock. Investors piled into money market funds this year, earning yields around 5% as the Federal Reserve continued to increase interest rates. While the central bank could raise rates again , the market believes it is done. Rate cuts are expected in 2024, based on fed funds futures pricing data, but BlackRock anticipates those cuts won't come until the second half of the year. That means investors sitting in cash could be missing out on better fixed-income opportunities, Kristy Akullian, senior iShares investment strategist, said during a presentation of BlackRock's 2024 global outlook Tuesday. "Risk cuts both ways, and right now we see the greatest risk to holding too much cash," she said. In fact, investors could be rewarded the most during a Fed pause period, according to a BlackRock analysis of the past five rate-hiking cycles. It found that, on average, bonds returned almost twice as much during a Fed pause than in the months following the first rate cut, Akullian said. "Now is the time to get a little bit more active. Now is the time to take a little bit more risk in fixed income," she said. That means starting to extend in duration, but not to the long end of the curve, BlackRock's iShares Investment Strategy, Americas said in its 2024 outlook, which accompanied BlackRock's global forecast. "We believe the intermediate portion of the yield curve represents the 'sweet spot,' optimizing potential price appreciation, liquidity, and current yield," wrote Gargi Pal Chaudhuri, head of iShares Investment Strategy. The iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEI) captures that so-called "sweet spot" and has a 4.38% 30-day SEC yield, according to BlackRock. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.15%. IEI YTD mountain iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF Investors should hold off on taking significant exposure to the long end until the yield curve returns to a more normal shape, Chaudhuri said. However, investors can supplement their core bond allocations with agency residential mortgage-backed securities, she said. The securities offer a diversified income stream that can help reduce credit risk, she added. The iShares MBS ETF (MBB) has a 30-day SEC yield of 3.39% and is composed of a broad-range of U.S. mortgage-backed bonds, including those issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.05%. MBB 6M mountain iShares MBS ETF "We believe that exposure to mortgage backed securities has the potential to outperform broad based fixed income indices in 2024 as fixed income implied volatility normalizes alongside greater clarity on the path of policy rates," Chaudhuri wrote. Lastly, emerging market debt is inexpensive right now, she said. Investors who want to dip a toe into that space can do so through the BlackRock Flexible Income ETF (BINC) , she said. The fund invests across emerging markets, high yield, securitized and non-U.S. credit and counts Brazil and Mexico debt among its top holdings. "A selective and active approach may be helpful as investors extend from cash and seek diversified income opportunities," Chaudhuri said. The ETF has a 30-day SEC yield of 5.63%, and an expense ratio of 0.53%. BINC YTD mountain BlackRock Flexible Income ETF — CNBC's Jesse Pound contributed reporting. | 2023-12-06T00:00:00 |
566 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/25/cramers-lightning-round-buy-blackrock.html | BLK | BlackRock | Cramer's Lightning Round: Buy BlackRock | Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon SolarEdge's year-to-date stock perforamance.
SolarEdge : "This one, along with my friend Enphase, they're just too hard to own."
Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon BlackRock's year-to-date stock performance.
BlackRock : "I think you buy it. Period, end of story. I think that was an amazing quarter. That acquisition Larry Fink was really brilliant and the stock should go much higher."
Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Axsome Therapeutics' year-to-date stock performance.
Axsome Therapeutics : "I don't know it...I have to do more work because so many companies have failed when it comes to central nervous system. More work to do."
Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon HanesBrands' year-to-date stock performance.
watch now | 2024-01-25T00:00:00 |
567 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/15/the-winning-themes-of-2023-could-mature-and-keep-climbing-next-year-blackrock-says.html | BLK | BlackRock | The winning themes of 2023 could mature and keep climbing next year, BlackRock says | Investors don't need to abandon the themes that worked in 2023 just because the calendar is about to change, according to BlackRock. The asset management giant released its 2024 thematic outlook on Wednesday, highlighting some top ideas that have already proved successful. They include artificial intelligence and health care, two themes that have produced bright spots in what has been a bifurcated market over the past 10 months. "With $6 trillion sitting on the sidelines, clearly investors are happy to take 5% yields on cash and have been a bit hesitant to take on thematic exposures. But what we look for in our thematic outlook is not just what are the most compelling long-term themes, but what are the most compelling long-term themes that are going to reach new catalysts in 2024," Jay Jacobs, the U.S. head of thematics and active equity ETFs at BlackRock, told CNBC. AI Excitement around AI has fueled big years for megacap tech stocks, like Nvidia and Microsoft . Jacobs said that 2023 could prove to be a "year of training" for AI but that the benefits could broaden out going forward. "What we're looking more towards is what are the small and midcap pure-play AI names that are involved in that AI ecosystem but haven't yet enjoyed that same high level of return," Jacobs said. That could include other semiconductor and networking stocks to help build out technological infrastructure, and other areas where AI is allowing new economies to be built, Jacobs said. IShares has a broad AI fund — the iShares Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Multisector ETF (IRBO) — that is up 26% year to date. The Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ) , which has a higher weighting for Nvidia and some other megacap stocks, has gained more than 44%. IRBO YTD mountain This broad iShares ETF focused on AI and automation has outperformed the S & P 500 year to date. Jacobs said investors could also look at sector funds, such as those that focus on semiconductors, to get more targeted exposure. Health care Health care is another area that has produced some big winners in 2023, with pharmaceutical companies delivering breakthroughs in treatments for weight loss and Alzheimer's. The business impacts of those new developments should become more clear next year, Jacobs said. "We see 2024 as really the mass commercialization of those drugs as we see aging populations really starting to take hold in the United States," he said. But while individual stocks like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have soared, many health-care ETFs have struggled in 2023. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) is down about 10% this year. The VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH) is roughly flat in 2023. Emerging markets Another area of focus of the BlackRock outlook is emerging markets — especially those that benefit from the "rewiring of supply chains," Jacobs said. Two markets that the firm highlighted were Mexico and India. BlackRock's report shows that investors have less than 1% exposure to the themes of Mexico and India, based on an analysis of more than 20,000 investor portfolios. Mexico stocks, as measured by the iShares Mexico ETF (EWW) , has been a strong performer this year with a total return of 25%, according to FactSet. The iShares MSCI India ETF (INDA) has lagged behind that, with a total return of about 8%. A competitor fund, the WisdomTree India Earnings Fund (EPI) , has performed better in 2023 with a total return topping 15%. | 2023-11-15T00:00:00 |
568 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/04/blackrocks-rick-rieder-sees-first-rate-cut-in-mid-2024-thinks-market-is-pricing-in-easing-too-soon.html | BLK | BlackRock | BlackRock's Rick Rieder sees first rate cut in mid-2024, thinks market is pricing in easing too soon | BlackRock fixed income chief Rick Rieder thinks the Federal Reserve should start enacting small rate cuts in the middle of 2024, later than the current market pricing suggests. "I think the market's ahead of itself," Rieder said on CNBC's " Closing Bell ." He said market expectation of a March rate cut is "over the top." "In May, June, I think they'll start cutting," Rieder said. "They'll start doing something like 25-basis-point cuts to get the real rate down to what is a level...that by the way, would be restrictive, and it's just too restrictive today." Market pricing indicated about a 60% chance of a rate cut starting March next year, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Moreover, futures are pointing to cuts totaling 1.25 percentage points by the end of the year, the equivalent of five quarter percentage point reductions. Buy income The asset management giant's CIO of global fixed income believes that the economy could skirt a severe downturn. "I don't think the economy is falling off a cliff. I don't think I don't believe that we're going to have a significant recession," he said. The Fed's next meeting and last of the year is Dec. 12-13. The central bank enacted a series of 11 interest rate hikes, taking its policy rate to the highest in 22 years at a target range between 5.25%-5.5%. Rieder believes that going forward, equities won't have as good a year as 2023, but investors can still easily enjoy some solid returns, "I don't think you're going have the spectacular risk performance like you saw in beta this year," Rieder said. "But I think you could still have a pretty good year.,,, I would build in your portfolio, a lot of income and you could do it by not taking a lot of risks today." | 2023-12-04T00:00:00 |
569 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/30/sec-meets-with-grayscale-blackrock-about-potential-bitcoin-etfs.html | BLK | BlackRock | SEC meets with Grayscale, BlackRock about potential bitcoin ETFs | The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is formally engaging with asset managers ahead of a much anticipated decision on whether the regulator will approve a bitcoin exchange-traded fund, according to memos published this week.
The regulator said in a memo that it met with Grayscale on Thursday about the potential conversion of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into an ETF. The SEC had previously blocked this move, but Grayscale challenged that decision in court and won.
SEC officials also met with representatives from BlackRock and the Nasdaq on Wednesday, according to a separate memo. BlackRock filed for a bitcoin ETF in June, followed shortly by a handful of other asset management firms.
While the SEC could still decide to block crypto ETFs, many industry experts expect that such funds will launch in the U.S. early next year. The regulator has delayed decisions on several bitcoin funds in recent months and may choose to approve or deny all applications at around the same time.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler has been a vocal critic of crypto but has said in recent public appearances that he would listen to his staff's input on a potential bitcoin ETF.
Grayscale also recently hired John Hoffman, a longtime Invesco ETF executive, as a managing director. Hoffman will serve as the head of distribution and strategic partnerships for Grayscale, a sign that the crypto asset manager is gearing up to launch the fund if approved.
The growing confidence in the market that a bitcoin ETF will eventually be approved appears to have boosted the price of bitcoin. The cryptocurrency was trading above $37,000 on Thursday after falling to about $26,000 late this summer.
Don't miss these stories from CNBC PRO: | 2023-11-30T00:00:00 |
570 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/09/blackrock-appears-to-take-first-steps-toward-an-ether-etf.html | BLK | BlackRock | BlackRock appears to take first steps toward an ether ETF | The BlackRock logo is displayed at its headquarters in New York City, Nov. 14, 2022.
Asset management giant BlackRock appeared to take the first steps toward an ether ETF on Thursday, sparking a rally in the cryptocurrency.
The website for Delaware's Division of Corporations showed that an iShares Ethereum Trust was registered Thursday. A similar notice for the iShares Bitcoin Trust came one week before BlackRock's filing for a bitcoin ETF in June.
BlackRock declined comment on the matter. The firm's iShares product is the leader in exchange-traded funds with more than $2.3 trillion in assets under management.
The price of ether jumped 7% on Thursday, topping $2,000 for the first time since April. Bitcoin's price saw a similar rise when asset managers began filing to launch ETFs this summer.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has still not approved a bitcoin ETF. The regulator has long opposed such a fund and blocked Grayscale's attempt to convert its bitcoin trust product into an ETF, though a court overruled that decision in August.
The SEC did not appeal that court decision but still could choose to block Grayscale's conversion and the other bitcoin funds in the pipeline, including BlackRock's, for other reasons.
If the SEC does allow bitcoin ETFs, then ether funds would likely be next in line. Ether is the second most popular cryptocurrency behind bitcoin.
Don't miss these stories from CNBC PRO: | 2023-11-09T00:00:00 |
571 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/02/blackrocks-rick-rieder-dont-underestimate-the-us-economy.html | BLK | BlackRock | BlackRock's Rick Rieder: Don't underestimate the resilience of the U.S. economy | BlackRock's Rick Rieder said this week that while the economy is slowing, he believes it can rebound.
"I call the U.S. economy, the polyurethane economy because it flexes, adjusts like a Tempur-Pedic bed. It can take some pretty significant shots, and it just rebounds," Rieder told CNBC's "ETF Edge" on Monday.
"We think real GDP will finish at 2½%. Next year, we think it's going to be a percent and a half positive so moderating slower," the firm's Global Fixed Income chief investment officer explained. "But I think people underestimate" the U.S. economy.
He added that he "doesn't understand the concept of a 'landing'" and believes cycles are something we saw 20 years ago.
Rieder, who also oversees BlackRock's Global Allocation team, thinks that people are still going to buy equities despite the current demand for Treasury bonds.
"Are we going to see 25% returns in equities? I don't think so, but I think equities will do their job. I think the multiple will stay relatively unchanged," he said.
He noted that his thesis will hold as long as rates move lower in the second half of 2024.
"If you think the yield curve can normalize, you could create a decent tail wind for the equity market," Rieder added.
Morningstar's 2023 Outstanding Portfolio Manager winner prefers the U.S. to Europe for investment opportunity as he thinks Europe is "slowing faster."
"If you take the multiples of the Magnificent Seven, you can find a lot of stocks trading at three, four or five times cash flow," Rieder said. "I've learned in my life if you can buy stable businesses at three, four or five times cash flow that's pretty darn attractive."
Disclaimer | 2023-11-02T00:00:00 |
572 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/05/rick-rieder-says-investors-underestimate-active-fixed-income-etfs.html | BLK | BlackRock | Why BlackRock's Rick Rieder says investors 'underestimate' active fixed income ETFs | BlackRock Chief Investment Officer of Fixed Income Rick Rieder said investors underestimate actively managed fixed income exchange-traded funds.
He told CNBC's "ETF Edge" this week that one of his firm's newest fixed income funds, the BlackRock Flexible Income ETF (BINC), has outperformed peers because its allocations are based on current market opportunity.
"The beauty of this active ETF is we can move around and take advantage of where the opportunity is," said Rieder, who manages roughly $2.6 trillion in fixed income assets. "I think active ETFs in fixed income, people underestimate."
BINC has gained 0.28% since its May 23 debut, as of Friday's close. The benchmark iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) fell 3.89%, and the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) lost 0.16% during the same period.
The fund's biggest allocation currently is in non-U.S. credit, which accounts for roughly 22% of the ETF, according to BlackRock's website. U.S. high yield credit follows at nearly 17%, then U.S. investment grade credit at approximately 14% of total allocations. About 30% of the fund's holdings originate outside the U.S.
According to Rieder, BINC has benefited due to opportunities overseas created by a stronger dollar.
"It's the flip side of a European or Japanese investor. You can't buy U.S. assets because the cost to hedge your currency is so expensive, but as a dollar investor, it is a windfall," he said.
The fund has capitalized on emerging market fixed income opportunities in Brazil and Mexico, but Rieder added that Europe comprises a "much bigger" portion of the fund's allocation given enticing currency swap rates.
"What we do is we swap back things like European investment grade credit to dollars. You get 6.5% for two-year [notes], good quality investment grade companies," he said.
Rieder also underscored the advantage of active management not only in finding opportunity, but in avoiding pockets of weakness.
"The secret about fixed income is if you can build more yield in your portfolio than the index and kick out the stuff you don't want to own, you can create 50 to 75 basis points a year. … Get more yield in the index and manage your volatility aggressively."
Disclaimer | 2023-11-05T00:00:00 |
573 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/08/how-blackrocks-rieder-navigates-the-bond-market-sell-off-in-his-etf.html | BLK | BlackRock | Here's how BlackRock's Rick Rieder is navigating the bond market sell-off in his outperforming ETF | BlackRock global fixed income CIO Rick Rieder said Friday that this year's bond market volatility has created opportunities to buy high quality yields on the cheap. The result is his new fund outperforming some of the biggest bond ETFs during the most recent sell-off. The BlackRock Flexible Income ETF (BINC) , managed by Rieder, has dipped less than 1% on a total return basis over the past month even as interest rates have soared. That compares to a drop of 2.5% in the far larger iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) and 2.2% for the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) , the two biggest bond ETFs. BINC 1M mountain BlackRock's BINC has held up better than major bond ETFs over the past month. Rieder said his fund's focus on shorter-term bonds has allowed it avoid some of the swings caused by the recent moves in interest rates, which have been more dramatic at the long end of the yield curve. "We've got an environment for fixed income where you can create a lot of yield, and you don't have to get the yield the traditional ways that you use to. And you don't have to extend your duration and go out the yield curve," Rieder told CNBC. The fund has an effective duration of under three years, and the majority of its holdings mature in seven years or less. "I think what people underestimate is the long end of the bond market, the 30-year Treasury, is about the same volatility as the stock market," he said. The portfolio Outside of cash, the fund's top individual holdings include mortgage backed securities, the iShares iBoxx Investment Grade Corporate Bond Fund (LQD) and sovereign debt from Mexico and Brazil, according to BlackRock's website . The mortgage market has seen a shift that lets the fund add highly-rated assets at a discount, Rieder said. "Normally, the buyers of mortgages are the banks, the Fed and Japan. And none of the three are buyers today, and at least two of the three are sellers. ... So it has cheapened up agency mortgages, and it is a AAA asset that is extremely liquid," Rieder said. Mortgage-backed securities, and many other bonds, can be difficult for investors to access individually, though there are index funds that track different segments of the market. The price of ETFs that track mortgage-backed securities from iShares ( MBB ) and Vanguard ( VMBS ) are each down more than 5% this year. Nearly 40% of BINC's exposure is to assets outside the United States. Rieder said that the strong dollar has sometimes made it more attractive for a U.S.-based fund to shop overseas. "If you're an international investor, the hedging costs are extremely expensive to buy dollar assets. But if you're a dollar investor, you can buy things like European investment grade credit and you actually get a currency benefit," Rieder said. BINC, which launched in May, has more than $150 million in assets under management. It has a 30-day SEC yield of 5.75%, an average yield to maturity of 7.31% and a net expense ratio of 0.40%. The fund pays distributions on monthly basis, and has a total return of 1% since it debuted. | 2023-10-08T00:00:00 |
574 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/15/biggest-stocks-to-watch-on-wall-street-friday.html | BLK | BlackRock | Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Nike, Penn, Wynn, Costco, Moody's, Palo Alto, BlackRock and more | Here are Friday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Morgan Stanley names BlackRock a top pick Morgan Stanley said BlackRock shares are attractive for 2024. "Improved macro prospects lead us to selectively add risk; elevate BLK to Top Pick (replacing CBOE)." JPMorgan downgrades BlackRock to neutral from overweight JPMorgan said in its downgrade of BlackRock that it sees the company's ETF business slowing. "Downgrading to Neutral — Equity ETF Business Pressured." Morgan Stanley reiterates Tesla as overweight Morgan Stanley stood by Tesla in light of the company's autopilot recall. "On the recall itself, Tesla will release an [over the air] software update free of charge (notification letters expected to be mailed Feb 10, 2024). We do not expect a material cost impact during FY24 related to the recall." Bernstein reiterates Nvidia as outperform Bernstein stood by its outperform rating on the stock. "We cannot say for sure that Nvidia will never encounter some sort of air pocket. But we remain very bullish on the long term opportunity in front of them, and continue to believe that in 5 years or 10 years we will all be talking about an industry that is far larger than the numbers being bandied about today." Morgan Stanley upgrades R1 RCM to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said the management services company is an "industry leader." "We view R1 as an industry leader possessing the scale and capabilities to capture durable double-digit growth in revenue cycle management." UBS upgrades STMicroelectronics to buy from neutral UBS said the semiconductor company is underappreciated. " STMicro faces several headwinds both in the near (cyclical) and midterm (Chinese competition); however, at current valuation, we believe these are more than priced in." JPMorgan upgrades Credicorp to overweight from neutral JPMorgan said the Latin American financial services company is a "winning franchise." "We have been on the sidelines on Credicorp for some time, just waiting for the right moment to become more constructive on the name." Jefferies initiates CyberArk as buy Jefferies said the cyber security company is well-positioned. " CYBR is well-positioned in a sizable market ($48B in '27 +14.5% CAGR) making strides in profitability as it completes its sub transition." Jefferies initiates First Solar, Sunrun and Enphase as buy Jefferies said it likes solar stocks with a "strong backlogs and balance sheet." "We initiate with a BUY on FSLR (PT $211), ENPH (PT $145), and RUN (PT $25), and a HOLD on ARRY (PT $18) and SPWR (PT ~$6)." Barclays names Penn, Caesars, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Hilton Grand Vacations top picks Barclays named several gaming and cruise companies top ideas for 2024 in an outlook note Friday. "Our favorite ideas in 2024 are PENN (all-in on ESPN BET), CZR (underlying FCF resilience and deleveraging story under-appreciated, digital profitability catalyst), RCL / CCL (consumer value proposition, co-specific drivers), and HGV (valuation, significant self-help)." KeyBanc names Walmart and Ollie's as top picks KeyBanc said Friday that it sees market share gains for both stocks in 2024. "This backdrop favors WMT and OLLI , some of our top picks that are driving share gains. For patient investors, the outlook for 2025 seems to be improving, given the increased likelihood that the Fed will cut rates in 2024 (and the lagging flow-through to fundamentals for our sector)." Morgan Stanley reiterates Nike as overweight Morgan Stanley stood by Nike shares heading into earnings next week. "Though we see risk to 2Q & FY topline, EPS appears well protected, & the market seems braced for this outcome." Bernstein names Kraft Heinz a top 2024 idea The firm said food "stock prices vs. the market in 2022 is now rather overblown." "Our favorite names on the long side are Mondelez, Simply Good Foods, Hain Celestial, Kraft Heinz, McCormick and Tyson." Morgan Stanley names T-Mobile a top pick Morgan Stanley said the cellular company is a top idea in 2024. "We reinstate T-Mobile as our Top Pick and are updating estimates and/or price targets for FYBR, LUMN, UNIT, and ATEX." Morgan Stanley upgrades Elanco to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said in its upgrade of the animal health company that it has "tangible innovation drivers." "In the interim, we'd focus on companies with tangible innovation drivers, such as ELAN (upgrade to Overweight from Equal-weight), ZTS, and IDXX as we head into 2024." Wells Fargo upgrades General Electric to overweight from equal weight Wells Fargo said in its upgrade of the stock that its balance sheet is attractive. " GE combines an attractive business with high aftermarket mix, solid management team with a clean balance sheet, L-T margin upside and built-in catalyst with the Vernova spin in early Q2." Bank of America upgrades Advanced Micro Devices and Micron to buy from neutral Bank of America said in its upgrade of AMD that it has "accelerator share capture." The firm also upgraded Micron and said it should benefit from rising semiconductor memory prices. "Upgrade AMD to Buy from Neutral as we now see potential for 5-10% accelerator share capture in a growing market. … We believe the latest memory down cycle is now generally behind us, and MU should benefit from rising spot/contract prices of DRAM/NAND into CY24/25E." Bank of America names Nvidia a top pick Bank of America said the company is a top pick in 2024. "We believe it's early to predict a peak, as these trends take decades to play out. NVDA remains our top pick with a $700 PO." Deutsche Bank downgrades Northrop Grumman to hold from buy Deutsche Bank said in its downgrade of the defense stock that Northrop shares are expensive right now. "If we can't convincingly articulate a thesis for positive revisions or multiple expansion, then the intellectually honest result is that we can't argue for outperformance, driving our downgrade." Deutsche Bank upgrades L3Harris to buy from hold Deutsche Bank said in its upgrade of the defense contractor that it sees a "positive revision opportunity." "We are upgrading LHX to Buy (from Hold) and raising our target price to $240 (from $184), reflecting 16% upside potential." MoffettNathanson downgrades Roku to sell from neutral MoffettNathanson said in its downgrade of Roku that it sees challenging comps. "Heading into Roku's third quarter 2023 earnings, we decided to take our Sell call off the stock as we believed that the company was getting more focused on efficiency and margin expansion. Hard to believe, but at over $100 per share now, Roku's share price has nearly doubled since then." Susquehanna initiates Intuit as positive Susquehanna said it likes the company's wide array of products. "While there are many reasons to like Intuit's vast fintech franchise that extends from SMB [small midsize business] accounting (QuickBooks) to consumer and SMB tax (TurboTax), SFG [Susquehanna] sees the active rollout of their B2B Payments Platform introduced in October as materially accretive to consensus estimates." Susquehanna initiates Palo Alto Networks as positive Susquehanna said Palo Alto is a "category leader." "We are launching coverage of the cybersecurity software sector, within the broader software universe." Bank of America raises Colgate-Palmolive to buy from neutral Bank of America said it sees a margin inflection for Colgate. "In our view CL holds potential to grow above its long-term targets over the next 12 months which should serve as a catalyst for the stock." Bank of America upgrades Clorox to neutral from underperform Bank of America said it sees a recovery picking up for Clorox shares. "We see a recovery in volume and shelf space taking shape following impacts from the cyberattack, which we expect will allow Clorox to return to its annual growth rate of +3-5% from its Ignite strategy in F25/F26." Bank of America downgrades Hershey to neutral from buy Bank of America said it sees limited upside for the candy stock. "We lower our rating on Hershey (HSY) shares from Buy to Neutral and price objective from $250 to $200. HSY is a best in class snacking franchise that has delivered consistent EPS upside in recent years. However, we see limited upside potential in FY24." Wells Fargo upgrades Moody's to overweight from equal weight Wells Fargo says the financial services company is a top idea in 2024. "Our top picks into 2024 include ECL , FICO , MCO (upgrade to OW from EW) and EFX (upgrade to OW from EW)." JPMorgan names Marvel, Micron and Arm top ideas The bank named several semis companies as top picks for 2024. "2024 Outlook: Cyclical Recovery and Sustained Cloud/AI Demand Trends; Continue to Be Positive on Stocks - Favor ADI, MCHP, MRVL , MU, ARM, SNPS, KLAC." Morgan Stanley upgrades Omnicom to overweight from equal weight The firm said it sees organic growth for the ad and media company. "Why OMC to OW and why now? We see upside to organic growth estimates for '24 at 3% with a realistic bull case of 5.5%." Baird downgrades Zions and U.S. Bancorp to neutral from outperform Baird downgraded several banks on Friday mainly on valuation. "Given the significant outperformance by bank stocks over the last several weeks, we are of the view that risk/reward is deteriorating at the margin, and although we are still seeing value in the broader group, we are downgrading ZION and USB to Neutral." UBS initiates Box and Dropbox as buy UBS initiated several content management software companies on Friday and said they are attractive. "We believe a 11.5x multiple is appropriate to value shares of DBX; applying this multiple to the current share price implies the street expects $881 million of CY2025 FCF, below our $1,019 million estimate. … Box has numerous mid-term growth levers in progress, maturing, and set to surface over the next 24 months creating a meaningful monetization opportunity in CY2025-2026..." Susquehanna initiates Las Vegas Sands and Wynn as positive Susquehanna has a "bullish industry outlook" for stocks such as Las Vegas Sands and Wynn. "We initiate coverage of the Macau-focused casino stocks LVS , WYNN, and MLCO with Positive ratings and a bullish industry outlook." UBS reiterates Costco as buy UBS is sticking with the stock after its earnings report Thursday. " COST is proving that it is a high performing business regardless of the macro. The company performed exceptionally well before COVID as well as during COVID, and it is once again replicating its superior performance in the post-COVID era." Goldman Sachs initiates MYR Group as buy Goldman Sachs said it's bullish on shares of the construction engineering company. "We are initiating coverage of MYRG with a Buy rating and a $164 target price, representing 12% upside from the current price." | 2023-12-15T00:00:00 |
575 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/09/blackstone-closes-in-on-6point3-billion-bid-for-crown-resorts-after-australian-regulatory-approvals.html | BX | Blackstone | Blackstone closes in on $6.3 billion bid for Crown Resorts after Australian regulatory approvals | Australian gambling regulators have cleared private equity giant Blackstone to run the troubled casinos of Crown Resorts in the country's two largest cities, a crucial but largely expected step in its $6.3 billion buyout.
The Sydney-listed target that is 37% owned by billionaire James Packer has been under pressure for years since damaging inquiries found it enabled money laundering, while Covid-19 lockdowns and border closures battered its profit and shares.
Crown has since backed Blackstone's buyout offer as a way for investors to exit what has become a volatile investment, while analysts have said the sheen of new ownership might speed up efforts to show regulators it has overhauled its governance.
The new approvals, though widely expected, remove concern of the buyout facing more regulatory headaches in Crown's two main markets. Already Crown's A$2.2 billion ($1.58 billion) Sydney casino has been banned from taking bets since opening in 2020, while its Melbourne resort is under government supervision.
Regulators in Perth where Crown operates its third casino, which is also under state supervision, have not made a decision about Blackstone.
In a statement, Crown said only that Blackstone received two regulator approvals and was awaiting a third. Blackstone did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Crown's share price rose nearly 2% to A$12.99 in Thursday morning trade, against a 1% decline in the broader market. It is hovering just below Blackstone's A$13.10 offer, signaling growing expectation of the buyout going ahead.
"These approvals are a key step ... to ensure Crown Sydney is able to fully meet its undertakings for major operational, governance and structural reforms," said Philip Crawford, chair of the New South Wales Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority, which has suspended Crown's Sydney gambling license. | 2022-06-09T00:00:00 |
576 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/02/lse-group-targets-blackstone/thomson-reuters-stake-buyback-as-raises-outlook.html | BX | Blackstone | LSE Group targets Blackstone/Thomson Reuters stake buyback as it raises outlook | A view of the London Stock Exchange Group sign in the City of London.
LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - London Stock Exchange Group announced plans to buy back more of its shares on Thursday as it raised its income growth outlook and hailed the successful integration of Refinitiv, which it said had supercharged its ability to generate cash.
LSEG said it would seek shareholder consent to buy more of its own stock from a consortium of Blackstone and Thomson Reuters from which it acquired the data analytics group for $27 billion in January 2021.
"In addition to our existing share buyback, we are today announcing plans to seek shareholder approval for a buyback directed towards the Blackstone/Thomson Reuters consortium's stake, which will benefit all shareholders," LSEG Chief Executive David Schwimmer said in a statement.
The Refinitiv deal transformed the exchange, with data and analytics accounting for 4.944 billion pounds of its total income of 7.743 billion pounds in 2022, eclipsing the sums earned by its traditional activities, including share trading, which go back more than 300 years.
The directed buyback is expected to be up to 750 million pounds by April 2024, LSEG said.
Schwimmer said the consortium owned just over 30% of LSEG shares when the Refinitiv deal was completed. Thomson Reuters, the parent company of Reuters News, owned about $5.6 billion worth of LSEG shares as of Jan 31.
About of 10% of LSEG equity is available for sale by the consortium.
LSEG said 300 million pounds of a separate, broader 750 million pound share buyback was carried out in 2022, with the remainder to be completed by July 2023.
"We see the result as strong enough to keep sentiment for LSEG intact ahead of any potential share disposals over the coming months," RBC Europe said in a note to clients.
Shares in LSEG, which released preliminary 2022 results in-line with forecasts, traded 1.3% lower. | 2023-03-02T00:00:00 |
577 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/12/salesforce-more-cnbcs-halftime-report-traders-answer-your-questions.html | BX | Blackstone | Salesforce, Blackstone and more: CNBC's 'Halftime Report' traders answer your stock questions | On Thursday's "Ask Halftime," traders answered questions from CNBC Pro subscribers about stocks and ETFs during this market volatility, including whether to buy, sell or hold specific names. Jim Lebenthal of Cerity Partners shares why he thinks Salesforce is a "hypergrowth" stock along witha name to build slowly into a portfolio. Karen Firestone of Aureus Wealth Management, meanwhile, said Blackstone is an attractive stock with a high-paying dividend. Finally, Jason Snipe of Odyssey Capital Advisors said he likes the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund as a way to play the materials sector, and thinks the space has room to run. | 2023-01-12T00:00:00 |
578 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/19/blackstone-to-buy-american-campus-communities-in-12point8-billion-deal.html | BX | Blackstone | Blackstone to buy American Campus Communities for nearly $13 billion | Blackstone will buy American Campus Communities for $12.8 billion including debt, the student housing company said on Tuesday, as the world's biggest alternative asset manager bets on rents rising after colleges reopen.
ACC owns 166 properties across 71 university markets including Arizona State University and the University of Texas at Austin.
The per-share price of the all-cash deal is $65.47, nearly 14% higher than ACC's last stock close. Shares of the Austin, Texas-based company surged nearly 13% to $64.84 in premarket trading on Tuesday.
The deal comes months after Jonathan Litt's activist investment firm Land & Buildings sought a seat on ACC's board and urged the company to sell its assets aggressively and buy back stock.
M&A activity in the real estate investment trust (REIT) sector reached a record high in 2021 thanks to cheap capital from low interest rates, a robust U.S. housing market and an economic recovery from the pandemic.
In 2021, REIT M&A transaction volumes rose to $140 billion from $17 billion in the previous year, according to real estate services provider JLL.
ACC said it will be taken private through Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc and Blackstone Property Partners.
In another bet on real estate, Blackstone in December agreed to buy Bluerock Residential Growth REIT in a $3.6 billion deal. | 2022-04-19T00:00:00 |
579 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/30/top-wall-street-analyst-calls-apple-tesla-amazon-carvana-netflix.html | BX | Blackstone | Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Amazon, Blackstone, Carvana, Netflix & more | Here are Wednesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Morgan Stanley adds Blackstone to the financials' finest list Morgan Stanley added the investment bank and private equity firm to its top pick list and said it sees a compelling entry point. "We add BX to our Financials' Finest list, given attractive entry point on a longer term view with shares trading at a low teens P/E multiple on normalized earnings, for a best-in-class franchise with unrivaled product breadth and distribution capabilities that can grow faster than the market expects." Read more about this call here. Bank of America downgrades Carvana to neutral from buy Bank of America said it has "liquidity and cash burn concerns." " Carvana has been struggling to turn profitable, and with ~$600mn in annual interest expense is burning through cash quickly." Read more about this call here . Baird upgrades Cooper Companies to outperform from neutral Baird upgraded the medical-device company on Wednesday and said it sees double-digits earnings per share growth. "We believe FX and interest rate risks will also prove more manageable for the company in FY'23, and with double-digit EPS growth likely resuming in the back half of next year, we now see a path to improving sentiment and share price outperformance over coming quarters." Read more about this call here . Baird reiterates Apple as outperform Baird said it's sticking with its outperform rating on the stock, but that "continued lockdown risks could force AAPL to accelerate any plans to diversify assembly away from China, though likely gradual." "Following AAPL's November 6 comments and ongoing iPhone 14 Pro assembly challenges in China, we are lowering our December quarter iPhone forecast by 8 million units, reducing total FQ1 revenue by 5.6%." Atlantic Equities reiterates Disney as neutral Atlantic Equities said there's "no easy fix" for Disney after Bob Iger returned as the media giant's chief executive. "Morale needs to be improved. Iger changed the company's structure on his first day back, moving from a streaming-first approach and returning power (and profits) into the hands of key content executives." Citi downgrades XPO Logistics to neutral from buy Citi resumed coverage of the shipping and logistics company and says it sees too many macro headwinds. "We are reinstating coverage of XPO with a Neutral rating following a period of restriction. While valuation remains compelling, we think macro headwinds will likely dampen tonnage growth, even with easier comps than peers." KeyBanc reiterates Netflix as sector weight KeyBanc said it's standing by its sector weight rating on shares of Netflix, but that the company's new Addams Family show, "Wednesday," appears to be a hit. " Netflix's successful launch of 'Wednesday' (most viewed debut ever at 341M hours) screens as an incremental positive against rather underwhelming viewership for 'The Crown' (consistent w/w declines) and perceived viewership competition from World Cup." Citi reiterates General Motors as buy Citi said it sees several positive catalysts ahead for GM. "The recent Investor Day affirmed our conviction, and we still see several potential future catalysts: (1) Strong Q4E FCF should accommodate a healthy pace of buybacks. (2) Expected U.S. Treasury IRA guidelines could bolster GM's EV margin upside case and peer advantages." Bank of America reiterates Amazon as buy Bank of America attended Amazon's AWS Re:Invent conference and said Amazon Web Services ecosystem "remains strong." "On Tuesday, AWS CEO Adam Selipsky gave his second keynote address at AWS Re:Invent. The keynote started with a focus on cost savings and sustainability, and then had a heavy focus on data management & new technology." Morgan Stanley reiterates Lowe's as overweight Morgan Stanley said the home-improvement retailer is in a "strong fundamental position." "14%-15% long-term EBIT margin framework potentially on tap. Constructive on LOW's margin ascent, cautious on slowing housing metrics." UBS reiterates Tesla as buy UBS predicted Tesla will be at the forefront in the rise of automotive software. The firm sees a "~$700bn opportunity by 2030." " Tesla , GM and Mercedes-Benz stand out positively in our global OEM coverage whereas smaller mass-market OEMs and legacy tier-1 auto suppliers are at risk of being left behind." Evercore ISI initiates Fisker as outperform Evercore said the electric vehicle company has a "unique business model." "While questions will center around '25 volume & margins, FSR has the lowest market cap, largest TAM, and an attractive SUV, giving belief management goals for '23 are attainable." Stifel downgrades CrowdStrike to hold from buy Stifel downgraded CrowdStrike after the cybersecurity company's earnings report on Tuesday. "The poor performance was driven by macro headwinds that contributed to elongated smaller customer sales cycles (worst new customer acquisition quarter since F3Q21), as well as a greater portion of enterprise clients moving to multi-phase subscription start dates." Read more about this call here. Jefferies reiterates Amazon and Microsoft as buy Jefferies said in its bear case scenario analysis that Microsoft is insulated, but Amazon has the "most downside." "1) AMZN has the most downside, with MSFT most insulated in a bear case scenario; 2) META has the least downside in Internet in a bear case scenario; 3) AMZN & GOOGL bottomed 3 months prior to the overall market during the last downturn in '08/09." Redburn initiates Marriott as sell Redburn initiated the hotel giant with a sell rating, noting it's having trouble differentiating itself. "While the Starwood deal moved Marriott's chain scale mix significantly higher, in most other ways Marriott now struggles to differentiate itself from the broader dynamics for the franchisors, and it has amongst the highest EBITDA conversions of any group, leaving little upside to profitability." | 2022-11-30T00:00:00 |
580 | https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/22/spanx-founder-sara-blakely-says-business-will-to-expand-to-denim-and-more.html | BX | Blackstone | Spanx founder Sara Blakely says business will expand into denim and more after Blackstone deal | Spanx is famous for its form-fitting shapewear. But according to founder Sara Blakely, it's making a huge push into other categories of apparel — including denim — in hopes of making all clothing more comfortable for women.
The business, founded in the late 1990s, is also positioned to keep expanding its direct-to-consumer arm, lessening its reliance on discount retailers and other wholesale partners, such as department stores. Direct-to-consumer sales are typically more profitable. This also means Spanx has formed closer relationships with its customers.
According to Blackstone , those were two key reasons why the investment firm decided to take a majority stake in Spanx. That investment, announced Wednesday, values Spanx at $1.2 billion.
"There aren't very many brands that have been able to successfully make that transition," Ann Chung, Blackstone's global head of its consumer division, said in an interview Friday on CNBC's "Squawk Box."
"What we really saw was that the consumer was following the company and the brand ... whether they were putting shapewear out, or leggings out, or jeans out, and they were following all the products and being very loyal," Chung said.
About 70% of Spanx's sales are from direct-to-consumer channels, according to Blakely. Spanx used to depend on department stores and other wholesale partners. But in recent years, it has invested more into its own website. That's a similar shift that major consumer brands — including Nike , Coach and Levi Strauss — have been making to build tighter relationships with customers and keep more money from each transaction.
The deal is Blackstone's latest move to back women-run businesses. It follows investments in Whitney Wolfe Herd's Bumble and Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine media conglomerate. | 2021-10-22T00:00:00 |
581 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/14/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-in-the-premarket-splunk-blackstone-aerojet-rocketdyne-and-more.html | BX | Blackstone | Stocks making the biggest moves in the premarket: Splunk, Blackstone, Aerojet Rocketdyne and more | Take a look at some of the biggest movers in the premarket:
Splunk (SPLK) – Cisco Systems (CSCO) made a more than $20 billion takeover bid for the cloud software company, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Wall Street Journal. A deal of that size would represent the networking equipment maker's largest-ever acquisition. Splunk surged 7.9% in the premarket, while Cisco shares fell 1%.
Blackstone (BX) – The private-equity firm finalized a $6.3 billion deal to buy Australian casino operator Crown Resorts. Shareholders are expected to vote on the transaction during the second quarter, with the deal also requiring regulatory approval. Blackstone fell 2.6% in the premarket.
Aerojet Rocketdyne (AJRD) – Defense contractor Lockheed Martin (LMT) has abandoned its $4.4 billion deal to buy the rocket motor builder. Federal regulators had sued to block the transaction in January, amid concerns that the combination would be anti-competitive. Aerojet Rocketdyne fell 2.2% in premarket trading, while Lockheed Martin edged up 0.5%.
Rivian (RIVN) – Soros Fund Management bought nearly 20 million shares of the electric truck maker during the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the fund's quarterly filing. The stake was worth about $2 billion at the time of purchase, but its value has fallen to about $1.17 billion. Rivian was down 1.8% in premarket trading.
Just Eat Takeaway (GRUB) – Just Eat Takeaway CEO Jitse Groen told a Dutch TV program that the food delivery company's decision to delist from the Nasdaq should not be taken as a sign that the company intends to sell its Grubhub unit. Groen said the delisting is a cost reduction measure, but added the company is still considering options for the U.S.-based delivery service. Shares fell 1.3% in premarket action.
Eli Lilly (LLY) – Eli Lilly's new Covid-19 antibody drug received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for use in adults and adolescents. The FDA had placed limitations on earlier Covid treatments after finding they were less effective against the omicron variant.
Tyson Foods (TSN) – Tyson was downgraded to "equal weight" from "overweight" at Barclays in a valuation call, with the meat and poultry producer's stock up 12.4% so far this year. Barclays said it sees limited upside potential at current levels, with anticipation of strong quarterly results already priced in. Tyson fell 1.4% in the premarket.
Texas Instruments (TXN) – The chip maker's stock fell 1.4% in premarket trading after Raymond James downgraded it to "market perform" from "outperform." The firm points to unanticipated details surrounding a late-cycle increase in capital spending.
CORRECTION: This article was updated to show that the stake Soros Fund Management bought in Rivian was worth about $2 billion at the time of purchase. | 2022-02-14T00:00:00 |
582 | https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/02/reese-witherspoons-hello-sunshine-to-be-sold-for-900-million.html | BX | Blackstone | Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine to be sold to Blackstone-backed media company for $900 million | A venture backed by Blackstone Group and led by entertainment executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs has agreed to buy a majority stake in Reese Witherspoon's media company Hello Sunshine.
The terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but a person familiar with transaction told CNBC's Julia Boorstin, it was valued at about $900 million.
This is the first acquisition being made by the newly formed company under Mayer and Staggs, who are both former Disney executives. The goal is to build an independent entertainment company for the streaming era. In a battle for subscribers, many streaming services are hungry for new content.
Witherspoon and Hello Sunshine CEO Sarah Harden will continue to oversee its day-to-day operations and will join the yet-to-be-named company's board.
"Our platform will foster a uniquely creator-friendly culture that gives elite talent the resources they need to create and capitalize on their best, most inventive work. We look forward to backing Reese, Sarah, and their world-class team as they continue to produce and identify dynamic, engaging content for years to come," Mayer and Staggs said in a release.
Blackstone will spend $500 million on buying shares of Hello Sunshine from its current investors including AT&T and Emerson Collective, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported news of the deal. Witherspoon and some Hello Sunshine executives and investors will retain ownership stakes in the new company.
"Today, we're taking a huge step forward by partnering with Blackstone, which will enable us to tell even more entertaining, impactful and illuminating stories about women's lives globally. I couldn't be more excited about what this means for our future," Witherspoon said in a release.
Hello Sunshine was founded by Witherspoon in 2016 to create content focused on female voices. Its productions include HBO's "Big Little Lies," Hulu's "Little Fires Everywhere" and Apple 's "The Morning Show."
"Kevin and Tom and our partners at Blackstone see what we see – women's stories matter, and we have economic power as consumers, creators and business leaders. Their commitment enables us to double-down on our mission and our ambitious growth agenda," Harden said in a release.
Blackstone Group and Hello Sunshine did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Disclosure: Comcast owns a stake in Hulu and is the parent of NBCUniversal and CNBC. | 2021-08-02T00:00:00 |
583 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/20/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-premarket-att-american-airlines-blackstone-and-more.html | BX | Blackstone | Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: AT&T, American Airlines, Blackstone and more | Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
AT&T (T) – AT&T rose 2.4% in the premarket after reporting better-than-expected profit and revenue for the third quarter. The company said wireless revenue rose 5.6%, the best quarterly improvement in more than a decade, and postpaid phone net additions came in higher than expected.
American Airlines (AAL) – American Airlines beat top and bottom line estimates for the third quarter as travel demand continued to surge despite economic worries. American stock jumped 2.6% in premarket trading.
Blackstone (BX) – Blackstone added 1% in premarket action following better-than-expected quarterly results. Distributable earnings fell 16% from a year ago, due in part to market declines.
Dow Inc. (DOW) – The chemical maker's stock fell 2.5% in the premarket, despite a top and bottom line beat for the third quarter, with investors focusing on higher energy costs that hurt Dow's profit margins.
Tesla (TSLA) – Tesla slid 5.3% in premarket trading after it reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue and cut its full-year delivery target. The electric vehicle maker reported a better-than-expected profit for the quarter.
IBM (IBM) – IBM rallied 3.3% in off-hours trading after reporting a top and bottom line beat for its latest quarter and raising its full-year revenue outlook. IBM saw improved results in multiple business segments, including software, consulting and infrastructure.
Las Vegas Sands (LVS) – Las Vegas Sands reported a larger-than-expected loss for the third quarter, while revenue beat analyst forecasts. The casino operator's results are still being impacted by China's Covid-19 policies, which are crimping business In Macau. However, Las Vegas Sands shares rose 1% in premarket trading.
Allstate (ALL) – Allstate tumbled 10.3% in the premarket after the insurance company said it would report a third-quarter loss. Catastrophe losses will grow for the quarter, largely due to the impact of Hurricane Ian, which struck in September.
WD-40 (WDFC) – WD-40 slid 6.3% in premarket action after saying inflation will affect the lubricant maker's ability to hit its 55% gross margin target.
Alcoa (AA) – Alcoa shares slumped 10.7% in the premarket after the aluminum producer reported an unexpected third-quarter loss. A drop in aluminum prices and higher costs affected Alcoa's results. | 2022-10-20T00:00:00 |
584 | https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/27/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-premarket-mcdonalds-blackstone-netflix-and-others.html | BX | Blackstone | Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: McDonald's, Blackstone, Netflix and others | Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
Comcast (CMCSA) – The NBCUniversal and CNBC parent earned an adjusted 77 cents per share for the fourth quarter, 4 cents above estimates, with revenue also above analyst forecasts. Comcast also announced an 8% dividend hike and increased its share buyback program to $10 billion. Comcast rose 1.1% in premarket trading.
McDonald's (MCD) – McDonald's fell 2% in the premarket after missing top and bottom-line estimates for the fourth quarter. The restaurant operator fell 11 cents shy of consensus with adjusted quarterly earnings of $2.23 per share, hurt by higher expenses.
Blackstone (BX) – The private equity firm's stock jumped 4% in premarket trading after reporting a better-than-expected quarterly profit. Blackstone reported distributable earnings per share of $1.71, compared with a consensus estimate of $1.37, thanks to strong investment performance and record cash inflows.
Netflix (NFLX) – Investor William Ackman's Pershing Square bought 3.1 million shares of the video streaming service, saying a recent sell-off in Netflix shares presented an attractive buying opportunity. Netflix gained 4.5% in the premarket.
Tractor Supply (TSCO) – The home improvement and farm supplies retailer reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter, raised its quarterly dividend by 77%, and increased its stock buyback program by $2 billion. The stock rallied 3.8% in the premarket.
Tesla (TSLA) – Tesla reported an adjusted quarterly profit of $2.54 per share, 18 cents above estimates, with revenue also topping Wall Street forecasts. Tesla said it would not introduce any new models this year – including its Cybertruck – as it prioritizes deliveries in the wake of ongoing supply chain issues. Tesla fell 1.2% in premarket action.
Intel (INTC) – Intel beat estimates by 18 cents with adjusted quarterly earnings of $1.09 per share and revenue above analyst estimates. Overall profit was down from a year earlier, as the chipmaker ramped up spending on new production facilities and products, and the stock fell 3.3% in premarket trading.
Levi Strauss (LEVI) – Levi Strauss surged 8.3% in the premarket after the apparel company issued an upbeat annual forecast amid strong demand for its jeans and jackets. Levi Strauss beat estimates on the top and bottom lines for the fourth quarter, earning an adjusted 41 cents per share, one cent above estimates.
LendingClub (LC) – LendingClub shares plunged 15.6% in the premarket despite beating top and bottom-line estimates for its latest quarter, as it issued a weaker-than-expected full-year forecast.
Lam Research (LRCX) – Lam Research beat estimates by 2 cents with adjusted quarterly earnings of $8.53 per share. However, the chipmaker's revenue missed estimates and it issued a weaker-than-expected quarterly forecast amid continuing supply chain issues. Lam shares declined 5.3% in premarket trading.
Seagate Technology (STX) – Seagate Technology jumped 8% in premarket action after the disk drive maker issued an upbeat forecast and raised its long-term profit margin target. | 2022-01-27T00:00:00 |
585 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/20/boeing-to-burn-more-cash-in-q1-as-it-limits-737-production-.html | BA | Boeing | Boeing to burn more cash in Q1 as it limits 737 production | A Boeing 737 airplane outside of the company's manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington, US, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.
Boeing said on Wednesday it would burn more cash in the first quarter than previously expected and pushed back a company cash-flow goal as it constrains 737 production to improve quality amid a worsening crisis at the U.S. planemaker.
CFO Brian West said Boeing would produce fewer than the maximum 38 737 aircraft allowed each month under a Federal Aviation Administration imposed limit.
Shares of the company were down 1% before the bell.
"We're deliberately going to slow to get this right," West told a Bank of America conference. "We are the ones who made the decision to constrain rates on the 737 program...And we'll feel the impact of that over the next several months."
Manufacturing quality at Boeing and major supplier Spirit AeroSystems is under scrutiny following a Jan. 5 incident in which a door plug blew off a 737 MAX 9 plane mid-flight. The two companies are now engaged in tie-up talks.
West added that Boeing's cash burn in the first quarter will be somewhere between $4 billion and $4.5 billion, "higher than we originally planned back in January."
That is due to a combination of lower deliveries, lower production volumes at its commercial division as well as some working capital pressure.
It will also take longer for Boeing to hit a goal outlined in 2022 of achieving annual cash flow of about $10 billion by 2025 or 2026.
"It's going to take us longer to get there than we planned," West said, without elaborating further. "But we believe that the actions that we're taking right now better position us for that long term."
West said margins at the commercial airplanes business would be "more like negative 20%" in the first quarter, in part due to customer compensation for delivery delays. They will improve through the year but still be negative overall in 2024, he added.
The CFO said that in future Boeing would only take deliveries of fully conforming fuselages from Spirit. Spirit currently assembles the fuselage for the 737 before it is shipped to a Boeing factory in Washington state to be completed.
The door panel that blew off the 737 MAX 9 jet appeared to be missing four key bolts, according to a preliminary report from U.S. investigators.
"For years, we prioritized the movement of the airplane through the factory over getting it done right, and that's got to change," West said.
On a possible buyout of Spirit, West said Boeing would fund any deal with a mix of cash and debt, rather than using stock. | 2024-03-20T00:00:00 |
586 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/02/buy-stocks-like-nvda-on-tuesday.html | BA | Boeing | Here are Tuesday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Meta, Boeing, Eli Lilly, Disney, Coca-Cola, Grindr and more | Here are Tuesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Oppenheimer reiterates Nvidia as outperform Oppenheimer said it is sticking with its outperform rating on shares of Nvidia. "We continue to favor structural growth for long-term outperformance. Top picks are NVDA, MPWR, MRVL and AVGO." JPMorgan adds HealthEquity to the focus list JPMorgan said shares of the health-care management company are "compelling." "We view HealthEquity as a compelling overweight given the strong fundamental trajectory over the next 3 years and are adding the name to the Analyst Focus List as a growth pick with a positive view." Argus upgrades McCormick to buy from hold Argus said the food manufacturer will benefit from new products. "We think McCormick can reverse weak volume in some regions, and expect it to benefit from new products, enhanced packaging and its ability to narrow price gaps between it and private-label brands." Needham reiterates Disney as buy Needham said it is standing by its buy rating on the stock despite the proxy battle with Nelson Peltz. "We believe DIS is already doing the right things to improve its growth prospects and to right-size its cost structure. We believe Trian and Blackwells have added urgency to the turnaround, but not substance. Since we believe the vote will be close." Melius downgrades Boeing to hold from buy Melius said in its downgrade of the stock that the company is in need of a restructure. "Overall, we believe Boeing is headed for, and in need of, a multi-year restructuring. Negative newsflow is also unlikely to abate and will continue to be an overhang on the stock." Citi names Coca-Cola a top pick Citi said sales growth is looking strong for the beverage giant. "We are moving Coca-Cola (KO) to top overall pick as we see a strong OSG [organic sales growth] outlook both near-term and long-term with stronger pricing power vs. peers and high EM exposure, and we see the imminent appeal to the IRS tax case as a potential clearing event with investors focusing back on fundamentals." Wedbush downgrades Lennar and D.R. Horton to underperform from neutral Wedbush downgraded several homebuilders following what it sees as weak seasonal homebuilder demand. "We are downgrading the shares of LEN, DHI, CCS, MTH, and LGIH to UNDERPERFORM from NEUTRAL and lowering our PTs." RBC initiates GE Vernova as buy RBC said it is bullish on shares of the General Electric spinoff. " GEV participates across the electrification value chain providing the company with unique perspective and enables it to be an early mover in responding to the growing complexity and demand of electrical networks." Citi reiterates Eli Lilly as buy Citi said the biopharma company is "riding the GLP-1 rocket." "We have increased our PT from $675 to $895, reflecting increased anticipated risk-adjusted peak sales for LLY's oral small molecule GLP-1 agonist orforglipron as mono/ fixed dose combination." Bank of America reiterates Meta as buy Bank of America raised its price target on Meta to $550 per share from $510. "Internet multiples have room to run in 2024 with rate cut." Citi downgrades Clorox to neutral from buy Citi said the bullish thesis for the stock has largely played out for now. "We are downgrading Clorox ( CLX) to Neutral from Buy as we believe our call for a quick recovery post the August 2023 cybersecurity incident has largely played out, with the pace of shelf space and market share recovery expected to slow in FQ3 and more tied with the spring shelf space resets in FQ4." Citi upgrades Estée Lauder to buy from neutral Citi said it sees a "topline inflection point" for the stock. "We are upgrading EL to Buy-rated from Neutral as we believe the company is nearing a topline inflection point as channel inventories in Asia Pac Travel Retail are normalizing and EL is closer to balanced sell-in/sell-through." Barclays upgrades Array Technologies to overweight from equal weight Barclays said it sees share gains for the solar company. "While ARRY encountered some execution mishaps last year which resulted in market share losses, we think we see some green shoots to indicate that it will be much more competitive on a go-forward basis, which could materialize in it taking back some share." Barclays upgrades Moody's to overweight from equal weight Barclays said it is getting more constructive on shares of the global markets and ratings company. "As such we upgrade MCO to OW but still prefer SPGI given a similar $M revenue uplift, lower valuation…" Barclays upgrades Eaton to equal weight from underweight Barclays said there are better values in electrical stocks elsewhere but that it is upgrading Eaton regardless. "The stock looks set to enjoy among the highest organic sales growth rates in the MI [multi industry] sector in the next few years; this, coupled with the widespread perception that this growth is 'secular' in nature, means that a sharp valuation multiple compression may not occur for some time." JMP initiates Grindr as market outperform JMP said it is bullish on shares of the dating app company. " Grindr Inc. is a leading dating app focused on the GBTQ+ community, and we expect its position to strengthen as it continues to convert its large network of highly engaged users to paying users." Piper Sandler initiates Q32 Bio as overweight Piper Sandler said in its initiation of the biopharma company that it is bullish on shares of Q32. "Initiating at OW; Emerging Inflam [inflammatory] Story With Meaningful Near-term Catalysts." Barclays downgrades Nio to underweight from equal weight Barclays said in its downgrade of the stock that it is concerned about weakening sales. "Weaker March sales suggest NIO's troubles in selling its 2024 models (launched in March), putting its 2024 FY consensus estimates at significant risk." CFRA upgrades DoorDash to buy from hold CFRA said in its upgrade of DoorDash that it sees "financial strength." "We lift our 12-month target to $158 from $110 on a P/E of 40x our 2025 EPS view, above peers, reflecting financial strength (net cash of $4B) and higher growth." Goldman Sachs initiates Olema Pharmaceuticals as buy Goldman Sachs said the biopharma company has "best in class" potential. "We are initiating coverage of Olema Pharmaceuticals (OLMA) with a Buy rating and a $24 target price." UBS downgrades Blackstone to neutral from buy UBS downgraded the stock due to what it sees as a longer recovery. "We are downgrading BX to Neutral and lowering our PT to $135, driven mainly by lower estimates." UBS upgrades Blue Owl to buy from neutral UBS said in its upgrade of the capital markets company that it sees a "positive inflection across fundraising channels." "OWL's fundraising has turned a corner across asset classes and distribution channels, with total capital raised of $6.2 bn in 4Q23 vs $15.8bn for the full year, including $3.6 bn vs $8.9 bn in wealth management and $2.6 bn vs $6.9 bn in institutional." Bank of America downgrades Petco to underperform from buy Bank of America said it is concerned about share erosion. "We downgrade Petco (WOOF) from Buy to Underperform and lower our PO to $1.50 (from $5.00). We think Petco has lost much of its competitive bite. Its market share has eroded meaningfully (from 7% in 2015 to 4% today." Bank of America downgrades FIGS to underperform from neutral Bank of America said in its downgrade of the surgical wear company that it sees "curtailed" sales growth. "We think COVID caused a pull-forward in demand for scrubs, creating outsized growth and margins for FIGS." | 2024-04-02T00:00:00 |
587 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/22/airbus-says-its-not-happy-about-issues-at-rival-boeing.html | BA | Boeing | Airbus says it's 'not happy' about issues at rival Boeing | French plane maker Airbus is "not happy" about the multitude of problems facing its U.S. rival Boeing , according to its chief financial officer.
"We're not happy with the issues that our competitor's having. I think it's not helpful for the industry, and if it's not helpful for the industry, it's not helpful for Airbus," Thomas Toepfer told CNBC's Charlotte Reed in an interview Thursday.
"We do think that we have very good products. And we have seen this in the very good order intake that we've seen in 2023. And that is simply continuing also in 2024."
Boeing is under intense pressure after a series of costly and reputationally damaging incidents. A door plug on one of its 737 Max 9 aircraft blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight on Jan. 5, over which it is now facing a lawsuit and a Federal Aviation Administration investigation.
That came after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving the 737 Max, its bestselling aircraft, which dented public trust in the company and raised serious questions about its culture and quality control processes. | 2024-03-22T00:00:00 |
588 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/25/analyst-calls-all-the-market-moving-wall-street-chatter-from-monday.html | BA | Boeing | Monday's analyst calls: Disney upgrade, Goldman trims Boeing price target | (This is CNBC Pro's live coverage of Monday's analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) A major media stock and an aerospace giant were in focus during Monday's analyst chatter. Disney was upgraded to overweight by Barclays, noting shares have room to run from here. Goldman Sachs, meanwhile trimmed its price target on Boeing, citing several risks amid the company's ongoing safety issues. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 8:07 a.m.: Wells Fargo upgrades GoodRx, says shares can rally more than 50% It's time for investors turn constructive on shares of GoodRx , according to Wells Fargo. Analyst Stan Berenshteyn upgraded the digital healthcare stock to overweight from equal weight and upped his price target to $10, citing strong visibility into 2024 guidance and potential upside to estimates and valuation multiples. "We think this sets up GoodRx to deliver on a beat & raise narrative in 2024 with upside to consensus expectations in 2025," Berenshteyn wrote. "We expect this dynamic to help GDRX close the valuation gap to its peers (Ex.1), in turn setting up the stock to see meaningful outperformance over the next 12 months." The updated price target suggests that shares can surge another 52% from Friday's close. The stock rallied about 7% before the bell and is down about 2% year to date. Underpinning the firm's thesis is a bet on improving visibility that should help counteract expectations for slower growth. Berenshteyn also expects EBITDA margins to come in ahead of consensus expectations in 2025. "Net-net, we think GoodRx is positioned to execute consistently with revenue/margin risk skewed to the upside alongside prospects for a recovery in valuation multiples," he wrote. — Samantha Subin 7:51 a.m.: Citi hikes price target for Netflix, sees upside for subscriber growth Netflix's recent burst of subscriber growth will prove to be more than a short-term change from the password sharing crackdown, according to Citi. Analyst Jason Bazinet raised estimates for the streamer, saying that sub growth can surprise again in the coming quarters. "Net adds have exceeded consensus estimates for three consecutive quarters. We believe the outperformance has been driven by the firm's ad tier and password crackdown. Looking ahead, we expect the firm to continue to see healthy sub growth and see scope for consensus subscriber estimates to move higher," Bazinet wrote. "We believe 1Q24 and 2Q24 net additions may be ~3 million too low. In addition, it suggests consensus 2024 net additions may be ~5 million too low, while net additions from 2025 through 2027 may be ~3 million too low," he added. Citi also raised the price target on Netflix to $660 from $550. The new price target is about 5% above where the stock closed Friday. Citi maintained its neutral rating on the stock. — Jesse Pound 7:49 a.m.: Wells Fargo upgrades Masimo on possible spinoff Wells Fargo upgraded Masimo to overweight from equal weight on Monday, citing the medical technology company's announcement Friday it is considering the separation of its consumer business . Spinning off the business, which includes consumer health and audio products, would be a step in the right direction for Masimo, analyst Vik Chopra said in a note to clients. Masimo acquired audio products maker Sound United LLC in 2022 for $1 billion. "Investors have never come around to the Sound United deal, and we believe a separation will allow MASI to focus on its core HC business. As such, we see potential for multiple expansion over time for MASI as mgmt works through strategic options," Chopra said. He also raised his price target to $160 from $117, suggesting nearly 19% upside from Friday's close. Shares of Masimo were up 12% in premarket trading. — Michelle Fox 7:47 a.m.: Evercore initiates Motorola as outperform, says stock is a 'unique asset' While Evercore ISI notes that Motorola Solutions isn't a cheap stock, the firm says there is still plenty of room for upside. "While the stock isn't cheap, we don't think it's trading at an excess premium to other 'set it and forget it' peers," Evercore analyst Amit Daryanani wrote in a Sunday note. The firm initiated coverage of the telecommunications company at outperform with a $400 per share price target, or more than 14% upside from Friday's $348.56 close. Shares have ticked up 11.3% in 2024. "MSI is a unique asset that is well-positioned to sustain high single digit topline growth and mid-teens EPS growth over the next several years and do so with limited volatility and high consistency," Daryanani added. — Brian Evans 7:45 a.m.: Evercore becomes bullish on Foot Locker The difficult days may finally be behind Foot Locker , according to Evercore. Analyst Michael Binetti upgraded shares to outperform from in line. He also raised his price target on shares to $32 from $28, implying 31% upside from Friday's close. The stock has struggled in the past 12 months as the shoe retailer's brand relaunch and real estate reorganization, known as the "Lace Up" plan, struggled to gain traction. Shares are down more than 20% in 2024 alone and more than 30% over the last 12 months. Despite the difficult start to the Lace Up turnaround initiative, Binetti believes the worst is now behind the company. "With broken inventories now improved and multi-faceted new growth initiatives coming online, FL has pivoted back to share gains in each of the past 4 months. 40% of FL's sales are with brands that are growing fast, and FL's biggest brand gave a clear-throated endorsement that it will be reinvesting aggressively for growth in the wholesale channel," the analyst wrote in a Monday note. Shares gained more than 3% Monday during premarket trading. — Hakyung Kim 7:21 a.m.: Nvidia, Applied Materials included in BofA's favored global stocks list Bank of America updated its second-quarter "Best of Breed" list to include Nvidia , Applied Materials , Intuitive Surgical and Monster Beverage , among several other global names across a variety of sectors. This group of stocks, also referred to as "BoB," comprises high quality companies with strong business models and high growth potential, according to analyst Michael Hartnett. These highly liquid companies have solid earnings growth, strong management, healthy balance sheet and potential for margin expansion, he said. BofA's BoB group outperformed the MSCI All Country World Index in the first quarter of 2024, and has gained 432% since its inception on April 5, 2010, also outperforming the ACWI, according to the Sunday note. — Pia Singh 6:40 a.m.: Mizuho downgrades major EV makers—including Tesla—citing 'Catch-22' industry challenges Mizuho Securities analyst Vijay Rakesh downgraded EV makers Tesla , Rivian and China-based Nio each to neutral. "While we remain constructive on the broader EV landscape with the LT trend to electrification, near-term EV demand and tightening liquidity are creating challenges into 2025E," Rakesh wrote in a Sunday note. "EV sales growth is decelerating and much needed lower-cost models are now expected late 2025-26E. We believe EV OEMs face a "Catch-22" juggling profitability and production ramps." Citing challenges of moderating growth, increasing China competition and higher inventory, Rakesh lowered his price target on Tesla to $195, which implies shares could gain just 2.4%. Already, the stock has fallen more than 31% this year. His $12 price target on Rivian and $5.50 target on Nio suggests each stock could gain more than 11%, meanwhile. Rivian shares are down nearly 54% since the start of the year, while Nio is down 46%. The analyst raised his price target on buy-rated General Motors, on the other hand, favoring its measured EV rollout strategy. — Pia Singh 6:28 a.m.: Raymond James downgrades lawn products maker Scotts Miracle-Gro Scotts Miracle-Gro appears to have limited near-term upside, according to Raymond James. Analyst Joseph Altobello downgraded shares to market perform from strong buy, saying the recent rally has pushed it into "fair value territory." He also removed his $70 price target on the company, which sells branded consumer lawn and garden products. Shares have jumped 15% this year, outperforming the broader market. According to Altobello, these gains have been driven by the company's positive quarterly results and optimism on the regulatory and legal fronts with the cannabis industry, which would benefit the company's Hawthorne hydroponics segment. It's also a highly-levered company that has benefitted from overall market strength, helped by the Federal Reserve's positive commentary last week about the rate-cutting timeline, the analyst added. The stock is likely pricing in a "plausible fiscal year 2026 scenario," Altobello said, adding that "investors are clearly not valuing SMG on FY24 or even FY25 numbers, as the company appears to be in the midst of a significant multi-year margin expansion opportunity." — Pia Singh 5:51 a.m.: JPMorgan initiates coverage of Super Micro, citing its AI compute market dominance As the AI compute industry grows, so should Super Micro Computer , according to JPMorgan's Samik Chatterjee. The analyst initiated coverage of the stock with an overweight rating and year-end price target of $1,150, which implies shares could jump 18.2%. "Super Micro is the leading company in the AI compute market, which is burgeoning with demand stemming from training AI models, Retrieval-Augmented Generation by Tier 2 CSPs and Enterprises, and eventually AI inferencing workloads," Chatterjee wrote in a Monday note. "We expect the leadership to continue, led by a balance of custom built solutions and fast time to market, although potential upside is more likely from rapid expansion in the AI Server market rather than expansion of the already premium valuation multiple," he added, saying the "compute revolution" is still in its early stages of demand and investments. The AI server market should expand from $41 billion in 2023 to $283 billion in 2028, he said. Shares of Super Micro — which makes servers, storage systems and other solutions related to data centers and cloud computing — have already soared 242.2% this year, fueled by the AI craze. — Pia Singh 5:37 a.m.: Barclays upgrades Disney to overweight, says shares could pop more than 16% Disney shares still have room to run even after significantly outperforming the broader market this year, according to Barclays. Analyst Kannan Venkateshwar upgraded shares of the media giant to overweight from equal weight and also raised his price target by $40. His new $135 price target implies 16.5% potential upside over the next year. "The recent narrative reset is likely to be followed by positive estimate revisions, which is still early in the cycle and should further support valuation," Venkateshwar wrote in a note. "While this phase of earnings stabilization has been largely driven by tactical tailwinds from the strike last year, accounting benefits from Hulu consolidation and cost cuts, we do believe the next phase may be more impactful as a number of turnaround elements still remain work in progress and may manifest more in numbers starting next year." As part of its bull case, the analyst expects Disney's streaming business to potentially break even a quarter or two earlier than the company's guidance of the fourth quarter of this year, driven partly by cost cuts and price increases. The stock has gained more than 28% this year, helped by Disney's better-than-expected free cash flow and earnings per share guidance for the 2024 fiscal year given during its last quarterly earnings call. Shares rose 1.5% in premarket trading Monday. — Pia Singh 5:37 a.m.: Goldman Sachs trims Boeing price target Goldman Sachs lowered its price target on Boeing to $257 from $268 amid the airplane maker's ongoing issues safety issues. "We now assume Boeing delivers 377 737 MAX units in 2024, with relatively light deliveries through the entire first half," analyst Noah Poponak wrote. "We assume the delivery rate approaches 38/month in 3Q24, and then is in the 40s in 4Q24." Boeing is the second-worst performing S & P 500 stock this year, down nearly 28%. The performance comes after a section of a plane blew off midair during an Alaska Airlines flight. Poponak reiterated his buy rating on the stock, but highlighted three risks for the company going forward: A slower pace of air traffic growth Supply chain risk "contract operating performance within the defense segment" To be sure, the new target still implies upside of 36%. BA YTD mountain BA year to date — Fred Imbert | 2024-03-25T00:00:00 |
589 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/13/boeing-failed-to-retain-security-camera-footage-showing-work-on-max-jet-door-that-blew-out-ntsb-says.html | BA | Boeing | Boeing failed to retain security camera footage showing work on Max jet door that blew out, NTSB says | The fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing 737-9 MAX, which was forced to make an emergency landing with a gap in the fuselage, is seen during its investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Portland, Oregon, U.S. January 7, 2024.
Security camera footage showing work being done on a Boeing Max 9 door plug that later blew out mid-air has been overwritten, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said.
In a letter to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation that is reviewing the incident and Boeing's role in it, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said her agency still lacks critical information about the chain of events that led up to the January incident that caused an Alaska Airlines flight carrying 177 people to make an emergency landing.
"We still do not know who performed the work to open, reinstall, and close the door plug on the accident aircraft," Homendy wrote. "Boeing has informed us that they are unable to find the records documenting this work."
She continued: "A verbal request was made by our investigators for security camera footage to help obtain this information; however, they were informed the footage was overwritten. The absence of those records will complicate the NTSB's investigation moving forward."
Homendy said in the letter that she also personally called Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun and asked him for the names of the workers who performed the work in question. But, Homendy said, Calhoun stated he was "unable to provide that information and maintained that Boeing has no records of the work being performed."
A Boeing spokesperson said the company, like many others, does not retain security footage for longer than 30 days. The Alaska Airlines plane in question was in the factory last year in September and delivered in October.
"We will continue supporting this investigation in the transparent and proactive fashion we have supported all regulatory inquiries into this accident," Boeing said. "We have worked hard to honor the rules about the release of investigative information in an environment of intense interest from our employees, customers, and other stakeholders, and we will continue our efforts to do so."
Homendy had previously publicly reprimanded Boeing for failing to turn over information her agency had requested, calling it "absurd."
Last week, NBC News confirmed a Wall Street Journal report that the U.S. Department of Justice had opened a criminal case into the incident.
On Monday, South Carolina officials confirmed a Boeing whistleblower was found dead of an apparent self-inflected gunshot wound. The former employee, John Barnett, 62, was preparing to testify in a deposition in a federal legal action against Boeing dating back to at least 2017.Barnett's family in a statement that he had encountered "a culture of concealment" that valued "profits over safety" at Boeing.
The New York Times also reported this week that an FAA audit of Boeing's 737 Max production reportedly found "dozens of issues."
This week, major carriers that fly Boeing fuselages including Alaska Airlines, Southwest, and United Airlines said they may have to trim capacity and push back orders as a result of Boeing's issues.
"Boeing needs to become a better company and the deliveries will follow that," Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said at a JPMorgan industry conference Tuesday, according to CNBC. | 2024-03-13T00:00:00 |
590 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/14/europe-regulator-says-it-would-pull-boeing-approval-if-needed.html | BA | Boeing | Europe regulator says it would pull Boeing approval if needed | Signage outside the Boeing Co. manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington, US, on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. The acting head of Europe's aviation regulator said on Wednesday the agency would halt its indirect approval of Boeing's jet production if warranted, but he feels reassured that the plane maker is tackling its latest safety crisis.
The acting head of Europe's aviation regulator said on Wednesday the agency would halt its indirect approval of Boeing's jet production if warranted, but he feels reassured that the plane maker is tackling its latest safety crisis.
In an interview with Reuters, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency's, or EASA, acting executive director, Luc Tytgat, gave the first public indication that international cooperation underpinning global airplane production was being tested by the ongoing crisis as it rarely has been.
Asked if EASA would be prepared to stop recognizing U.S. production safety approvals declaring that Boeing jets are built safely, Tytgat said, "If need be, yes."
Boeing has been under mounting pressure over factory quality control since Jan. 5, when a door plug tore off a 737 MAX 9 jet in mid-air in an incident blamed on missing bolts.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, said last week an audit of Boeing and supplier Spirit AeroSystems found multiple instances of poor controls.
Under a transatlantic pact, the FAA and EASA regulate the factories of their respective plane makers — Boeing and Airbus — and recognize each other's safety approvals. | 2024-03-14T00:00:00 |
591 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/22/jim-cramer-shares-his-thoughts-on-lulu-nke-fdx-tsla-and-ba.html | BA | Boeing | Jim Cramer shares his thoughts on Lululemon, Nike, FedEx, Tesla and Boeing | Jim Cramer's daily rapid fire looks at stocks in the news outside the CNBC Investing Club portfolio. Lululemon : Shares plunged more than 18% after the athletic apparel maker issued current-quarter revenue and earnings guidance below Wall Street estimates. Its quarterly sales forecast implies annual growth between 9% to 10%, compared with the 12.5% growth expected by analysts, according to LSEG . "When you go to high-single digit [growth] from being a major growth company, you're going to get this kind of decline. I was surprised and disappointed" by the outlook, Jim Cramer said. Nike : Shares tumbled 8% after the apparel maker also issued light guidance for its current quarter. Its business in China also continued to slow in its fiscal 2024 third quarter. Cramer said Nike and Lululemon management sent a similar message to investors with their reports and outlooks. "They basically said, 'If you're an owner ... maybe you should sell us and come back later,'" Cramer said. FedEx : Shares jumped nearly 8% after the delivery giant reported better-than-expected margins at its Express division and announced a $5 billion stock buyback initiative. Its per-share earnings in the quarter totaled $3.86, well above analyst expectations. "These earnings are being done without any revenue growth whatsoever. If you get any revenue growth, you're going to see leverage that's immense," Cramer said. "It's a stock I want to talk about when we get to [the CNBC Investing Club's upcoming] Monthly Meeting. It may be another one that we have to think about. There's a lot of good stocks out there right now." Tesla : The electric vehicle maker is cutting back on production in China, Bloomberg News reported Friday. Tesla shares fell nearly 2%, extending their year-to-date declines to more than 31%. "They can't get a break. ... I think the Chinese cars are the real existential threat to them. They're too cheap and good," Cramer said. In autos, the CNBC Investing Club owns Ford Motor . Boeing : The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. airline executives asked to meeting with Boeing's board of directors as the plane maker continues to grapple with the fallout of the Alaska Airlines door blowout earlier this year. Boeing's chief executive, Dave Calhoun, is not expected to attend the meetings, the newspaper reported. "That's a very challenging situation for Calhoun," Cramer said, adding he thinks the airlines wanting to meet without Calhoun could mean his "days are numbered." | 2024-03-22T00:00:00 |
592 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/12/boeing-february-orders-airbus-widens-aircraft-delivery-lead.html | BA | Boeing | Airbus widens aircraft delivery lead over Boeing as Max crisis deepens | Boeing handed over 27 airplanes to its customers last month as it continues to struggle with quality control problems and production delays that have frustrated the CEOs of some of its biggest airline customers.
So far this year, Boeing has handed over 54 planes, while Airbus has widened its lead over its main rival, delivering 79 planes in the first two months of 2024.
Delayed Boeing planes have been difficult for airline leaders. Southwest Airlines , which flies only Boeing 737s, on Tuesday said that it would trim capacity plans this year because of fewer Boeing Max deliveries and that it will have to reevaluate its 2024 financial estimates. United Airlines earlier this year said it was taking the 737 Max 10, which hasn't yet been certified, out of its fleet plans.
Boeing's February deliveries included 17 Max jetliners and seven wide-body 787-9 Dreamliners. Deliveries are important to manufacturers because customers pay the bulk of the aircraft's price when they receive the plane.
Boeing logged 15 gross orders for new planes in February, while Airbus sold just two. And customers aren't abandoning Boeing because of its recent struggles. Last week American Airlines announced an order for 260 narrow-body airplanes split between Boeing, Airbus and Embraer. | 2024-03-12T00:00:00 |
593 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/12/boeing-whistleblower-who-warned-of-aircraft-safety-flaws-found-dead.html | BA | Boeing | Boeing whistleblower who warned of aircraft safety flaws found dead | A Boeing 737 MAX sits outside the hangar during a media tour of the Boeing 737 MAX at the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington.
Barnett, known as Mitch to his family and "Swampy" to his friends, had worked at Boeing's 787 plant in Charleston, South Carolina, since 2010, his family said.
In a statement Monday, Boeing said: "We are saddened by Mr. Barnett's passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends." NBC News has asked Boeing for comment on the allegations in the Barnett family's statement.
The statement from Barnett's family said he had suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety attacks and that the "hostile work environment at Boeing" led to his death.
Charleston County Coroner Bobbi Jo O'Neal said in a statement Monday that Barnett died "from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound," in the South Carolina city on Saturday.
His family said in a statement Monday that he had tried to highlight serious concerns but was met with "a culture of concealment" that valued "profits over safety."
John Barnett, 62, spent more than three decades at the aircraft manufacturing giant and sounded the alarm with aviation authorities in 2017 over what he said were potentially "catastrophic" safety failings.
A former Boeing quality inspector who filed a whistleblower complaint over alleged plane safety flaws was found dead "from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound," officials in Charleston, South Carolina, said Monday.
In 2019, The New York Times interviewed several former Boeing employees about their safety concerns. Barnett told the paper that metal shavings — created when metal fasteners are screwed into nuts — could potentially cut wiring that connects the flight controls.
The FAA ordered Boeing to clear the shavings from the Dreamliners in 2017. Boeing said then that it was following the ruling and would look to improve the design of the nut, but also said it wasn't a flight safety issue.
But Barnett told The Times: "I haven't seen a plane out of Charleston yet that I'd put my name on saying it's safe and airworthy."
After his retirement in 2017, Barnett filed a whistleblower complaint to federal regulators about his experiences at the South Carolina plant. He also launched a separate legal action against Boeing, accusing the company of denigrating his character and hampering his career. Boeing denied the allegations.
His case was up for trial this June, the family statement said, adding: "He was looking forward to having his day in court and hoped that it would force Boeing to change its culture."
While Barnett loved his work for most of his career, in Charleston "he learned that upper management was pressuring the quality inspectors and managers to cut corners" and not to follow legally-required safety processes, the statement said.
He alleged that staff were pressured not to document defects because it would slow down the assembly line, it added.
"John told us that every day was a battle to get management to do the right thing," the family said. The statement added that Barnett and others who highlighted problems were labeled as "trouble-makers," whereas previously the company had rewarded those who discovered defects.
"It caused John so much stress that his doctor told him that if he stayed, he would have a heart attack," the family said.
"Mitch was fun-loving, and totally devoted to family, especially his nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews," an obituary shared by the family said.
It added that he is survived by his mother, Vicky Melder Stokes; brothers, Mike Barnett, Robbie Barnett, and Rodney Barnett; eight nieces and nephews and 11 great-nieces and nephews.
The news comes as Boeing faces regulatory and public scrutiny over a series of incidents involving its planes.
A Justice Department investigation has been opened after a door plug blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight in January which led to the temporary grounding of some Boeing 737 Max 9 airplanes, although they have since returned to the air.
And on Monday, 50 people were injured on a Boeing Dreamliner plane after a sudden movement mid-air, on a flight from Sydney to Auckland, New Zealand.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources. | 2024-03-12T00:00:00 |
594 | https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/15/qatar-airways-to-launch-first-class-as-airline-courts-airbus-and-boeing-for-new-planes.html | BA | Boeing | Qatar Airways to launch First Class, as airline courts Airbus and Boeing for new planes | watch now
Qatar Airways is developing a First Class concept and pursuing aircraft orders from aviation giants Boeing and Airbus, as part of a broader strategic overhaul under new group CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer. "This is a new era," Al Meer told CNBC on Thursday, unveiling changes at the airline that follow a multi-month "war room" review. Formerly the chief operating officer of Qatar's Hamad International Airport, Al Meer took over from long-time predecessor Akbar Al Baker as Qatar Airways CEO in November and seeks to refresh the airline's strategy and reset supplier relationships. Al Meer confirmed to CNBC that Qatar Airways is now developing a high-yielding First Class concept for its cabins. "We wanted to combine the experience of flying commercial and flying on a private jet and develop something new," he said. "We are 70% to 80% ready. We are only finalizing colors and small touches, but hopefully we will be able to announce it very soon." First Class seating typically offers a more spacious, premium quality and higher cost experience aboard an aircraft. Some airlines have abandoned, reduced or rebranded First Class seats in a bid to maximize aircraft space and offer more economic seating for budget-conscious travelers. Along with preparing its First Class proposal, Qatar Airways is redesigning its premium "Q-Suite" class of seats, and the latest offering is set to debut at the Farnborough International Airshow in July.
New orders
The Gulf carrier has also submitted a Request for Proposal to Boeing and Airbus for a "big" new aircraft order, Al Meer said. "We released an RFP to create some competition between both suppliers," he noted, without disclosing specifics. "We will go through the process, and, with an order this big, we need to take our time." Al Meer wants to enhance the service offering and capitalize on momentum following the Qatar World Cup, which helped the airline deliver a record net profit of $1.21 billion in the fiscal year 2022-23, as well as the highest yields and load factors in its history. "The markets that we want to grow in are China, India, Australia, Japan, Korea, and a few others," Al Meer said. He separately flagged that regional demand for flying is high, and passenger numbers had picked up by more than 30% in the last four months, while forecasting growth is likely to "be more settled below 10%-15%," for the rest of the year.
A Qatar Airways Boeing 777 In New York. Leslie Josephs | CNBC
The new aircraft order proposal follows a major legal dispute between Qatar Airways and Airbus over safety concerns caused by paint degradation. It also comes amid an ongoing crisis of confidence at Boeing after the Max 9 door blowout in January raised concerns over safety, quality controls and production and delivery delays. "We are affected when our aircrafts are not being delivered on time," Al Meer said. "I know Airbus and Boeing have certain problems. We have full trust in both organizations and they're strong enough to overcome those problems." Al Meer noted he expects to receive Qatar's latest Boeing 777X order by the end of next year, adding he's "110% confident" Boeing makes safe planes.
Al Meer also said Qatar Airways would halt Al Baker's plans for a fast "phase-out" of the flagship Airbus A380. Rival Emirates also signaled it would hold onto the airliner, despite Airbus ending its production in 2021.
Next steps | 2024-03-15T00:00:00 |
595 | https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/04/vcs-favorite-books-will-teach-you-how-to-achieve-success.html | BKNG | Booking Holdings | The 4 books most recommended by top VCs to teach you how to succeed | On "The Twenty Minute VC" podcast with Harry Stebbings, more than 200 top venture capitalists have stopped by to share advice and insights on building viable start-ups and overcoming challenges in business, as well as to name-drop some of their favorite books.
On Tableau, entrepreneur Joe Hovde compiled all of the books mentioned in the podcast into a helpful chart, which reveals the reads VCs mention again and again.
Whether you're hoping to hack it in Silicon Valley, launch your own business or just get ahead in your career, there's wisdom to glean from the favorite books of successful people.
Here are the four most popular books today's top venture capitalists recommend. | 2017-05-04T00:00:00 |
596 | https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/09/tony-robbins-turns-to-these-3-books-for-inspiration.html | BKNG | Booking Holdings | When Tony Robbins needs inspiration, he turns to these 3 books | "Tools of the Titans" by Tim Ferriss Why Robbins loves it: "Tim is a brilliant thinker. The way he approaches mastery is inspiring in many ways. His latest book is no exception. What I loved about 'Tools of Titans' is that it distills key tactics, routines and habits of the ultra-successful in actionable ways that anyone can take advantage of. Highly recommended. Every chapter is a valuable lesson."
"Living Forward" by Michael Hyatt & Daniel Harkavy Why Robbins loves it: "The people who have achieved greatness are not just lucky. They created and executed a plan, took massive action to get results, and were willing to adjust the course when the plan didn't work. "While most people understand this in business, they don't always apply it to every area of their life. That's why I recommend this book. It's a guide that will show you how to develop and utilize a clear and compelling Life Plan to create the life you want."
| 2017-03-09T00:00:00 |
597 | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/06/andreessen-horowitz-vc-marc-andreessens-summer-reading-list.html | BKNG | Booking Holdings | Silicon Valley billionaire VC Marc Andreessen recommends these 7 books | When billionaire Marc Andreessen has something to say, the tech world listens. He's a co-founder and general partner of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which backs companies like AirBnb, Facebook and Lyft. Andreessen also co-founded Netscape, which sold to AOL for 4.3 billion in 1998. In a return to Twitter on Thursday (a platform with which he has had a storied history), Andreessen shared a list of books he's been reading while on a hiatus from tweeting. Tweet By the looks of Andreessen's Twitter account, he's feeling inspired to read: His avatar is Charlie Brown holding a book, and his bio states, "Read with me." Here, CNBC Make It highlights seven of the billionaire businessman's recommendations that focus on productivity, psychology and success. 1. "The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance" by Steven Kotler
Author Steven Kotler interviews dozens of high level athletes in "The Rise of Superman" in search of answers around the idea of "flow," which according to the book is "an optimal state of consciousness in which we perform and feel our best." For Andreessen, the book is a "startling walk through a series of domains where peak human performance is rising at remarkable rates due to 'flow state,'" he tweets. "Thought provoking and then some." 2. "Thinking in Bets" by Annie Duke
Annie Duke is a former World Series of Poker champion, and she dives into how to make better decisions without certainty in "Thinking in Bets." It's a "compact guide to probabilistic domains like poker, or venture capital," Andreessen tweets. "Best articulation of 'resulting,' drawing bad conclusions from confusing process and outcome. Recommend for people operating in the real world." 3. "A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy" by William B. Irvine
If you're worried that working and hustling for weeks on end may still leave you unfulfilled, "A Guide to the Good Life" seeks to find some answers from the ancient philosophy of Stoicism, for which one of the goals was "tranquility of mind," according to Encyclopedia Britannica. "Best (?) walk through the ancient/current philosophy of Stoicism. You can't control other people but you can control yourself, so do that," Andreessen tweets. 4. "The Courage to be Disliked" by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga
"The Courage to be Disliked" has already sold millions of copies in Asia, and Andreessen says anyone can find value in the writing, which was published in English in May. "Smash hit in Japan, and easy to see why," he tweets. "Adlerian psychology meets Stoic philosophy in Socratic dialogue. Compelling from front to back. Highly recommend." Alderian therapy is "a short-term, goal-oriented, and positive psychodynamic therapy based on the theories of Alfred Adler—a one-time colleague of Sigmund Freud," according to Psychology Today. 5. "When Wolves Bite: Two Billionaires, One Company and an Epic Wall Street Battle" by Scott Wapner
Written by CNBC's Scott Wapner, "When Wolves Bite" tells the story of billionaire activist investors Bill Ackman and Carl Icahn, and their fight over nutrition company Herbalife. Andreessen tweets that the story is "'Wall Street'-esk," referring to the 1987 movie with Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas. 6. "But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past" by Chuck Klosterman | 2018-07-06T00:00:00 |
598 | https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/30/one-part-of-chinas-consumer-market-is-holding-up-in-a-broad-decline.html | BKNG | Booking Holdings | One part of China’s consumer market is holding up against a broad slowdown | Customers enjoy food at a new Costco store in Shanghai on the first day of its trial operation on March 10. China News Service | China News Service | Getty Images
BEIJING — If retail sales slowed this summer, it hasn't felt that way in parts of China. In the weeks around early July, New York residents David and Susan Schwartz visited three Costco stores, known as warehouses, on the outskirts of Shanghai and the neighboring city of Suzhou. They said average daily foot traffic was around 7,000 people — double that of the U.S. — for stores that are about the same size. "In China we just saw a lot of people every day we went, anytime we went, from morning to evening, weekdays and weekends, just lots and lots and lots of people," said David Schwartz. "We didn't get a sense of any ebb and flow at all." That contrasts with Costco locations in the U.S., where weekdays aren't as busy as the weekends, he said in an interview last week.
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David and Susan are co-authors of the forthcoming book "The Joy of Costco: A Treasure Hunt from A to Z." They spent seven years visiting warehouses in nearly every region where Costco has a presence — more than 10 countries and over 40 U.S. states. The book is not sponsored or officially authorized by Costco, although the U.S. retailer has put in orders to stock it, the Schwartzes said. Costco did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China's retail sales slowed to a 2.5% year-on-year increase in July, adding to growing uncertainty about the country's future growth. Meanwhile, Costco opened two new stores in China this summer: One in Hangzhou, where Alibaba is headquartered, and another in the city of Ningbo, a two-hour drive away. Annual membership, excluding promotional discounts, costs 299 yuan ($41) versus $60 in the U.S.
The premium market
The wholesale retailer is far from being the only foreign brand expanding in China. In August, premium New York-based skincare brand Malin+Goetz opened its first mainland China store in Shanghai. Coach parent Tapestry this month said it plans to open a net of 10 Kate Spade stores on the mainland in the fiscal year ending summer 2024. "There are some multinational companies, they're still having a hugely successful business in China," Chris Reitermann, CEO of Ogilvy Asia Pacific and Greater China, said in an interview Friday. "What you will see is the premium market will definitely continue to do well," he told CNBC. But "targeting [the] middle class, that will be challenging. You will see people trade down."
Definitions of middle class can vary by country. In China, McKinsey Global Institute estimates the upper-middle class earns an annual income of more than 160,000 yuan ($21,950). Between 2019 and 2021, that income category grew from 99 million households to 138 million, the institute estimates. It expects another 71 million households could enter that higher income bracket by 2025. As large those numbers may be, that also means most households earn far less. China has a population of 1.4 billion — about four times the size of the U.S.
Ad spending drops
Pockets of growth haven't been enough to assuage uncertainty. Companies are holding off on marketing campaigns, Ogilvy's Reitermann said. "Media spending is between 10% to 20% down versus last year, and last year was not a good year because last year was down versus the year before," he said. "So you have a kind of a double decrease. That's across the board." China's economic recovery from the pandemic lost steam after the first quarter, with tourism a rare bright spot. The official consumer confidence index plunged in April to near lows last seen in fall 2022, when China was still grappling with Covid controls.
Even at the lower end of the spectrum, [China is going to have] 3% to 4% GDP growth over the next three years. Chris Reitermann CEO, Ogilvy Asia Pacific and Greater China
The massive property market, where the majority of household wealth is stored, accelerated its decline in July. "You can tell we're speaking in a time of uncertainty where we see a very healthy first half of the year, but there are indicators to watch going forward which will impact the outlook for the next 12 to 18 months," McKinsey senior partner Daniel Zipser said in early August. He said companies need to think about being successful in China in the next two to three years, rather than the next 12 months.
New business skills | 2023-08-30T00:00:00 |
599 | https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/02/billionaire-warren-buffett-discusses-the-book-that-changed-his-life.html | BKNG | Booking Holdings | Billionaire Warren Buffett discusses the book that changed his life | Warren Buffett started reading books about investing when he was just 7 or 8 years old. His father owned a small investment shop, and young Buffett often picked up the books lying around the office.
By the time he was 11, Buffett was going to the local public library in Omaha and reading every book he could find on the topic.
One book in particular stood out. The billionaire now says "The Intelligent Investor" changed his life. The investing manual was written by former Columbia Business School professor Benjamin Graham and first published in 1949. | 2017-02-02T00:00:00 |
600 | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/04/watch-white-house-press-briefing-after-trump-lawyers-push-back-against-book.html | BKNG | Booking Holdings | Watch: White House's Sanders holds briefing as Trump pushes back against explosive book | [The stream is slated to start at 2 p.m., ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders briefs reporters Thursday as President Donald Trump and his legal team push back against an explosive upcoming book about the early days of the president's administration.
Sanders could also face questions about the Department of Justice's move to enforce federal marijuana laws more stringently and the president's meeting with Republican senators about immigration policy.
Read more:
Trump lawyer demands a halt to publication of tell-all book, 'Fire and Fury,' seeks full retraction and apology
Attorney General Jeff Sessions to end policy that let legal pot flourish
Trump: Any deal on DACA must include additional border security, immigration reforms | 2018-01-04T00:00:00 |
601 | https://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/09/marvel-holds-comic-book-dominance-tops-june-comic-book-sales.html | BKNG | Booking Holdings | Marvel holds comic book dominance, tops June comic book sales | Who's king of the comic book nerds? Marvel Comics, that's who.
The creative powerhouse behind The Avengers, X-Men and Spider Man has led resurgence in both movies and comic books. In June, Marvel maintained its dominance as the top comic publisher with a market share of just over 44 percent, according to figures released on Friday by Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. Marvel's dollar sales comprised more than 40 percent of the total market, the data showed.
Marvel's dominance was bolstered by "Civil War II," a new Marvel Universe story arc that has already ushered in the demise of two major characters associated with The Avengers.
DC Comics was a distant second, with June unit share of under 32 percent and a dollar share of 29.93 percent. Sales during the month were helped by DC's own universe-altering "Rebirth" storyline; two related Batman titles landed in the month's top 5 most popular comics.
June was a mixed bag for comic producers, which reported double-digit monthly gains versus a year ago, but appeared to suffer in other comparisons.
Year to date, comic sales are down more than 8 percent from the same period in 2015, Diamond reported, with dollar sales off by nearly 4 percent. For the second quarter, comic book sales tumbled by more than 8 percent vs. Q2 of last year—but those losses were partly offset by strong graphic novel sales, which are comparatively more expensive. | 2016-07-09T00:00:00 |
602 | https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/19/habits-holding-you-back-from-getting-rich.html | BKNG | Booking Holdings | 5 habits holding you back from getting rich, according to self-made millionaires and billionaires | If you want to get rich, try taking advice from those who have already done it. There are certain wealth-building habits that successful people swear by. And it's just as important to avoid toxic behaviors that could be holding you back from getting rich. Do any of these bad habits sound familiar?
Not paying yourself first
According to self-made millionaire and bestselling author David Bach, there's "one, proven, easy way to get rich," and that is to pay yourself first. What that means is simple, Bach writes in "The Automatic Millionaire": "When you earn a dollar, the first person you pay is you." Most people don't do this. "What most people do when they earn a dollar is pay everyone else first. They pay the landlord, the credit card company, the telephone company, the government ...," Bach writes, and pay themselves only whatever is left over.
Relying on a single, steady paycheck
Many people choose to get paid based on a steady salary or hourly rate, while rich people choose to get paid based on results and tend to have multiple streams of income. "You won't get rich without multiple flows of income," says self-made millionaire Grant Cardone, who was deep in debt before reaching seven figures. "That starts with the income you currently have. Increase that income and start adding multiple flows."
Not getting paid what you're worth
"The number one thing that will dictate your future earning potential and get you to $1 million the fastest is how much money you are being paid today," says self-made millionaire Grant Sabatier. "Unfortunately, you probably aren't being paid what you are worth." The simplest way to boost your earning potential is to ask for a raise. Read up on simple negotiation strategies that will help you get paid what you deserve.
Trying to get rich quick
"It's pretty easy to get well-to-do slowly. But ," legendary investor Warren Buffett likes to say. The golden rule of is to think long-term. The most successful investors, like Buffett, use the buy-and-hold strategy. "The money is made in investments by investing," the billionaire tells CNBC, "and by owning good companies for long periods of time. If they buy good companies, buy them over time, they're going to do fine 10, 20, 30 years from now."
Believing that being rich is only for a lucky few | 2017-10-19T00:00:00 |
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