Leave it to the NASDAQ to continue making history on a day that seemed set for the market to take a break.
The index only rose by 0.09% (or about 12 points) to 13,543.06, but that was enough to reach a new closing high for the third consecutive session.
It now has a four-day winning streak, including two gains of more than 1.5%, and jumped 4.2% for the week. And this was a short week with only four days.
The report from Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) on Tuesday really whetted the market’s appetite for big tech names. The streaming giant’s top and bottom lines weren’t very impressive, but investors loved seeing the company surpass 200M subscribers.
The stock has been down the past two days, but its still up double digits for the week after climbing approximately 17% on Wednesday.
The market can barely wait for the rest of the FAANGs… and they won’t have to wait long. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL, +1.6%) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB, +0.6%) will report next Wednesday, January 27. Both of these stocks jumped more than 9% this week.
We’ll also be getting reports from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on Tuesday and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) on Wednesday, along with dozens of others as earnings season picks up some steam.
By the way, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (GOOG) won’t be reporting until February 2, so we’ll be spared the ‘four FAANGs in one day’ scenario that we saw in October.
Meanwhile, the S&P couldn’t keep the record pace going, but it only slipped 0.3% on Friday to 3841.47. It was still up 1.9% this week.
The Dow got shellacked by big declines from IBM (NYSE:IBM, -9.9%) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC, -9.3%). It finished lower by 0.57% (or nearly 180 points) to 30,996.98, but still rose 0.6% for the week.
Today's Portfolio Highlights:
Blockchain Innovators: The portfolio added its most direct blockchain play on Friday. CleanSpark (CLSK) is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) that considers itself an advanced software and controls technology solutions company. But Dave is most interested in its direct connection to bitcoin prices through its crypto mining business. In fact, an additional 1,000 ASICs bitcoin miners were purchased last month. Meanwhile, the editor decided to sell its recently stagnating Akamai (NASDAQ:AKAM) position for a nice return of approximately 54.4%. Read the complete commentary for more on today’s moves.
Technology Innovators: Big cap tech can be a safety play when the small caps get smashed, which is something we’ve seen in recent sessions. Brian doesn’t have a lot of exposure to the big guys because he’s more of an aggressive investor, but he decided to add NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) on Friday. This $14 billion computer storage company isn’t a “glamour name”, but it is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) that has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate for three straight quarters now. It has a four-quarter average surprise of 35%. The editor also likes its valuation. “This isn’t a fast grower, only mid to high single digits on the top line, but there is great stability in the business,” he said. See the full write-up for more specifics on this addition.
Surprise Trader: You’re not going to run into a whole lot of people out on the open water, so boats have become quite popular during this pandemic. One of the biggest names in the field is MarineMax (HZO), a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) that beat by more than 190% last time. Now it has a positive Earnings ESP of 24.63% for the quarter coming before the bell on Thursday, January 28. Dave added HZO on Friday with a 12.5% allocation, while also selling Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) for a slight loss. Read the full write-up for more on today’s moves.
Have a Great Weekend!
Jim Giaquinto
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