SPECIAL ALERT: The latest episode of the Zacks Ultimate Strategy Session will be available for viewing no later than this Wednesday, February 12. Kevin Matras, Sheraz Mian, Ben Rains, Dan Laboe and Kevin Cook will cover the investment landscape from several angles in this informative event.
Don’t miss your chance to hear:
▪ Ben and Dan Agree to Disagree on which FANG stocks will still rule in the 2020s
▪ Kevin Matras answers your questions in Zacks Mailbag
▪ Sheraz and Kevin Cook choose one portfolio to give feedback for improvement
▪ And much more
So be sure to mark your calendar then log on to Zacks.com and bookmark this page.
Stocks are off to a strong start for the week as two of the major indices returned to all-time highs on Monday.
We’re coming back from the best week of the year so far, which saw the NASDAQ jump 4% while the S&P and Dow rose 3.2% and 3%, respectively.
Let’s not expect a repeat of that performance, especially since all bets are off on Fridays during these coronavirus concerns.
But another green week is certainly doable given the market’s resilience amid a strong earnings season and solid economic data. This session was a good first step.
The NASDAQ again left its counterparts in the dust with a surge of 1.13% (or nearly 108 points) to 9628.39. All of the FAANGs were positive on Monday, especially gains of 2% or more for Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL). And Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was up another 3.1% while Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) improved 2.6%.
The S&P rose 0.73% to 3352.09 and joined the NASDAQ at all-time highs once again. All three of the indices hit record highs last Thursday, but the sharp drop on Friday ended their winning streaks.
The Dow advanced 0.60% (or about 174 points) to 29276.82, which leaves it only about 0.3% away (or around 100 points) from making history again. Maybe tomorrow!
The market was certainly excited to get back to work on Monday, recovering from an initial move lower after the opening bell and then rallying right into the close.
The coronavirus remains front and center on the market’s mind, but it’s been dealing with the still spreading sickness very well (except on Fridays).
Investors don’t seem too concerned at the moment, but we’ll see what happens if the virus takes a big bite out of China’s economy.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell will likely have something to say on this issue when he testifies in front of Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington D.C.
In addition to his testimony and continuing coronavirus concerns, this week also sees the continuation of earnings season.
It’s been pretty good so far with approximately 70% of the S&P companies beating earnings estimates. This week, we’ll see reports from the likes of Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO), Nvidia and Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT), along with more than 400 other names.
Today's Portfolio Highlights:
Surprise Trader: The first addition of this new week is Air Lease (AL), which is a great name for an aircraft leasing company. It purchases commercial aircraft directly from manufacturers and leases them to airline customers across the globe. AL reports after the bell on Friday and has a positive Earnings ESP of 0.73%. Shares have sold off from highs near $50 in mid-January to the 200-day moving average just below the current stock price of $43.54. The editor added AL with a 12.5% allocation. He also sold Manitowoc (MTW) after going nowhere since its quarterly report. Read the full writeup for more on today’s moves.
Healthcare Innovators: The Top Movers of the Day list was full of CRISPR names on Monday as Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) presented encouraging data on a couple of its development programs. The stock was the biggest winner among all ZU portfolios in the session with a surge of 9.4%. And it had coattails! The performance lifted other CRISPR stocks like CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) and Editas Medicine (EDIT), which advanced 8.2% and 5.9%, respectively. That means three of the top five came from this portfolio. Read Kevin’s complete commentary to learn all about NTLA’s updates… and much more!
Technology Innovators: In preparation for a new buy later this week, Brian sold a couple of names on Monday and cashed in a double-digit winner. Defense equipment company CAE Inc. (CAE) was added to the portfolio a little over a month ago and has made 13.2% in that time. The editor decided to bank that gain today, while also selling Universal Display Corporation (OLED) for a loss.
Black Box Trader: Only two positions were changed in this week’s adjustment. The portfolio sold Spirit Airlines (SAVE, +3.5%) and DICK’S Sporting Goods (DKS), and replaced them by adding Best Buy (BBY) and Adient (ADNT). Read the Black Box Trader’s Guide to learn more about this computer-driven service designed to take the emotion out of investing.
Until Tomorrow,
Jim Giaquinto
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