Investors had plenty of news to chew on coming into this week, but the fresh highs printed by the major indices on Monday told them all they needed to know. For now at least, equities are still in risk-on mode, inflation concerns are dissipating, and there’s no sign of a taper tantrum on the horizon.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that we’re due some kind of a break from the relentless march higher, but as the old adage goes, “you don’t fight the tape.”
Here are three stocks breaking out from their peer groups that are worth adding to the watchlist and maybe even the portfolio in the coming sessions.
1. Macy’s
Everyone’s favorite department store spent the last two months of 2020 in full on recovery mode and spent the first half of 2021 consolidating those gains. Macy’s (NYSE:M) shares are now up more than 400% from their post-pandemic low, and hit a post pandemic high during Monday's session.
They’re now well above the levels they were trading at before the pandemic hit, suggesting that what doesn’t kill does indeed make you stronger. Their most recent earnings report, released last week, had revenue up 58% on the year and well ahead of what analysts had been expecting, as was the company’s bottom line EPS. Management went so far as to raise their forward guidance on the full-year outlook, while also reinstating their dividend, and launching a fresh share repurchase plan.
These three actions are among the most bullish steps management can take, and indicate to investors that they not only believe that shares are undervalued at their current levels, but that the company has a much brighter than expected outlook for itself as well. Look for shares to continue trending up and through $25 with $30-$40 their next target range.
2. Snap Inc
Shares of social media giant Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) finished up close to 4% in Monday’s session which means they’re up 7% already from the lows of last week. The pre-market indications for Tuesday suggested they were going to continue to add to the gains and investors would do well to take notice of this move.
The folks over at Arete Research were out with an upgrade to their price target on the stock on Monday, moving it up to $82. Even with Monday's jump in Snap’s shares, the new price target suggests there’s still upside of about 10% to be had from where they closed on Monday. Increased marketing spending by the Snap team seems to be paying off, as seen by the increase in ad impression pricing. If this trend holds, it’s not unreasonable to expect to see Wall Street having to upgrade their expectations for the company’s next earnings report.
Considering that their most recent numbers had revenue up more than 100% on the year, not many will be surprised if they do. Snap seems to be hitting its stride with global daily active users close to crossing the 300 million mark, and average revenue per user also cruising higher.
3. NVIDIA
After trading sideways for much of the time between last September and May of this year, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares have finally woken up and gone back to doing what they do best—rallying. They’re up close to 20% in the past three sessions and back into the blue sky territory their investors have been so used to seeing in the past.
A 68% jump in revenue will do that though, which is what the company reported late last week for Q2.
There was a lot to like in that report, with some major growth seen in the company’s gaming revenue and data center revenue streams. On top of this, management issued fresh guidance for the coming quarters which was ahead of the consensus, so the 5.5% jump seen in their shares on Monday should come as no surprise.
Tech stocks in particular seem to be hitting a purple patch right now, and Nvidia is well up towards the top of those that are best positioned to maintain any rally that continues to build from this week. The stock’s RSI is just approaching the 70 mark, suggesting shares have some room to run before they can be called overbought, and investors could do worse than picking a stock with that kind of momentum.