He once visited The Virgin Islands... they are now called The Islands
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Ford cutting orders from EV battery suppliers, Bloomberg reports
Ford Motor has begun cutting orders from battery suppliers to stem growing electric-vehicle losses that topped $100,000 per car in the first quarter, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg's Keith Naughton, Archie Hunter and Heejin Kim.
Largest total stock option open interest increases the over the last two weeks $NKLA $AMZN $MPW $GRAB $SOUN $SNAP $AAPL
Xponential Fitness board removes Geisler from CEO duties, names interim CEO
Xponential Fitness announced that the company's board of directors has appointed Brenda Morris, a member of Xponential's board of directors since 2019, as interim Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. In connection with Ms. Morris' appointment as Interim CEO, Chelsea Grayson has been appointed Lead Independent director of the board. The board has removed Anthony Geisler from his duties and suspended him indefinitely as CEO, also effective immediately. "The company received notice on May 7 of an investigation by the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. The company previously disclosed an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company intends to continue cooperating with the SEC and intends to cooperate with the USAO. The Board has formed a Special Committee of Directors, comprising independent directors Ms. Grayson, Jair Clarke and Jeffrey Lawrence, to investigate these matters," Xponential stated. "The Board has determined that appointing Brenda Morris to serve as Interim CEO is in the best interest of Xponential, its employees, customers, franchisees and shareholders. Over the last five years, Brenda has been a deeply involved Board member as we have pursued Xponential's mission to make health and wellness accessible to everyone. The Board and I have every confidence that Brenda will be an excellent leader during this period and we look forward to working alongside her," said Mark Grabowski, Chairman of Xponential.
YPF call volume above normal and directionally bullish
Bullish option flow detected in YPF with 5,985 calls trading, 1.6x expected, and implied vol increasing over 7 points to 49.39%. Jun-24 23 calls and 5/24 weekly 22 calls are the most active options, with total volume in those strikes near 2,200 contracts. The Put/Call Ratio is 0.22. Earnings are expected on August 8th.
Puma price target raised to EUR 47 from EUR 42 at RBC Capital
RBC Capital analyst Piral Dadhania raised the firm's price target on Puma to EUR 47 from EUR 42 and keeps a Sector Perform rating on the shares.
GEA Group price target raised to EUR 45 from EUR 44 at RBC Capital
RBC Capital raised the firm's price target on GEA Group to EUR 45 from EUR 44 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares.
yes
McDonald’s Will Offer a $5 Meal Deal to Lure Customers Back Into Stores
Week Ahead: key data and Fedspeak top the calendar. The focus will be on April CPI and retail sales (Tuesday), along with industrial production, the regional PMIs, and housing numbers. Hotter inflation and sales data could throw the markets for another loop. Meanwhile, Chair Powell will be speaking (Tuesday) with the ECB's Knot at a special event by the Netherlands' Foreign Bankers' Association. Though it is an unlikely venue from something dramatic from Powell, it is a risk factor. There are several other FOMC voters on tap next week too with the hawks Bowman and Mester, along with Jefferson, Barr, and Bostic. Nonvoters slated include Logan, Kashkari, Goolsbee, and Harker.
Papa John's says Q2-to-date North America comp sales down 1%
CEO Ravi Thanawala said: "Looking at our outlook for the balance of the year. For the first four weeks of the second quarter, North America comp sales were down approximately 1% and may remain under pressure in the near term as the challenging macroeconomic environment continues and consumer confidence softens. Because of this, we have chosen to update our full year guidance with a more cautious outlook. If orders remain at a similar level as the past four weeks, we anticipate 2024 North America comps to be flat to down low single digits for the full year 2024. As a reminder, we are in the early stages of our Back to Better 2.0 investments and are committed to providing updates as the year progresses. Internationally, we remain in a dynamic environment and continue to maintain a cautious outlook on international comps in 2024." Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call yesterday.
gme
Momentum is back in the markets, with major indices like the Dow (DJI), S&P 500 (SP500) and Nasdaq (COMP:IND) all just 1% away from their all-time record highs. The bull run is continuing despite concerns that the Fed might hold rates higher for longer, with recent data tilting expectations toward future easing. Among those are higher-than-estimated jobless claims, rising unemployment, and slowing growth that could force the central bank's hand before it falls behind the curve.
Snapshot: It's not all bad news is good news. Results from earnings season have caused the recent rally to grow legs, while the AI frenzy continues to be featured on corporate earnings calls and in daily headlines. In fact, over 80% of S&P 500 companies have already finished reporting, with around 5% growth in Q1 earnings per share, according to FactSet. That's the largest Y/Y increase since Q2 of 2022 and would handily beat most analyst expectations.
What happened to "Sell in May"? As previously mentioned on Wall Street Breakfast, staying fully invested could "prove safer than trying to time the market in any given year." While seasonal patterns do exist and equities could face some increased risk in the summer months, they still tend to go up over the long term despite additional volatility.
SA commentary: Investing Group Leader Lawrence Fuller, who previously flagged the weak track record of the 'Sell in May and go away' adage, is back with a fresh outlook on the rest of the year. "The bears are looking in the rearview mirror today to predict what may happen tomorrow. I think this is a big mistake, as was selling stocks during the pause to refresh in April. This bull market should march on throughout the remainder of 2024."
Tariff time
The Biden administration is expected to announce new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and other strategic sectors, including batteries and solar equipment, on Tuesday. The fresh duties are a result of the White House's multi-year review of the Trump-era Section 301 tariffs that began in 2022. It's not just EVs. Biden last month proposed raising tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products to 25%, more than triple the current levy of 7.5%. An investigation into Chinese trade practices in shipbuilding, maritime and logistics may also lead to new tariffs. (26 comments)
AI content
Popular short-form video hosting service TikTok is starting to automatically label artificial intelligence-generated content from other platforms. "We want to make sure people have the ability to understand what is fact and what is fiction," said Adam Presser, head of operations, TikTok. Meta's (META) Facebook and Instagram, as well as Alphabet's (GOOGL) YouTube, already have such labels in place. OpenAI is also working on a tool to let content creators manage how their content is used to train artificial intelligence. (1 comment)
Search competitor
Speaking of OpenAI, the company is likely to unveil its AI-powered search product as soon as Monday, as it attempts to break into a space dominated by Google (GOOGL). The product, which will be added to ChatGPT, will be able to search the web for information and cite sources in its results. Search is a major area of focus for the AI industry, as companies crowd the market with their own chatbots, prompting competition over features. ChatGPT has also been integrated with Microsoft's (MSFT) Bing, while generative AI features have been added to Google. (16 comments)
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan +0.4%. Hong Kong +2.3%. China flat. India +0.4%.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.8%. Paris +0.7%. Frankfurt +0.6%.
Futures at 7:00, Dow +0.3%. S&P +0.3%. Nasdaq +0.4%. Crude +0.8% to $79.92. Gold +1.8% to $2,383.40. Bitcoin +3.6% to $63,006.
Ten-year Treasury Yield unchanged at 4.46%.
Today's Economic Calendar
9:00 Fed's Bowman Speech
10:00 Consumer Sentiment
10:00 Fed's Logan Speech
10:00 Fed's Kashkari Speech
12:45 PM Fed's Goolsbee Speech
1:00 PM Baker Hughes Rig Count
1:30 PM Fed's Barr Speech
2:00 PM Treasury Statement
Companies reporting earnings today »
What else is happening...
BHP-Anglo American deal sets off alarm bells in Japan's steel industry.
BP (BP) eyes Tesla's (TSLA) supercharging sites for U.S. expansion.
Musk’s Neuralink reports malfunction in first in-human brain implant.
Pride Month: Target (TGT) limits LGBTQ-themed items in stores.
Roblox (RBLX) plummets after cutting full-year bookings forecast.
T-Mobile (TMUS), Verizon (VZ) in talks to split up US Cellular (USM).
Report: Sinclair (SBGI) explores sale of 30% of broadcast stations.
Warner Bros. (WBD) flips to gain as Lord of the Rings set to return.
Norfolk Southern (NSC) CEO keeps job, activists win board seats.
Another investigation: SEC probing Boeing’s (BA) 737 safety claims.
Largest decreases in stock option open interest $AMZN $AAPL $WYNN $TSLA $JBLU $BSX
Largest decreases in stock option open interest $AMZN $AAPL $WYNN $TSLA $JBLU $BSX
Bilibili price target raised to $17 from $15 at Mizuho
Mizuho analyst Wei Fang raised the firm's price target on Bilibili to $17 from $15 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Heading into the Q1 results, the analyst sees some sequential recovery in enterprise investments and improvement in retail sales, indicating that weak consumer sentiment in China may have bottomed. This partially explains the recent rally for China stocks, the analyst tells investors in a research note. However, structural overhangs such as weak real estate market and high unemployment remain, so it's not clear the recovery is sustainable, says the firm.
Roblox price target lowered to $37 from $50 at Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski lowered the firm's price target on Roblox to $37 from $50 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. Wells Fargo is encouraged that more normal growth has resumed but disappointed that medium-term guidance is already in question, and believes more consistent execution is needed.
Shift4 Payments price target lowered to $100 from $105 at Evercore ISI
Evercore ISI lowered the firm's price target on Shift4 Payments to $100 from $105 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. Shift4 Payments' Q1 adjusted EBITDA fell short of consensus estimates, but management maintained their 2024 net revenue guidance, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Evercore remains constructive on Shift4 given multiple opportunities to drive "superior" net revenue growth and margin expansion.
goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood morning!!!
it is another quiet day with no strong, fresh catalysts to provide direction. There is Fedspeak from voter Daly later, but she is unlikely to counter the current view of patience and a high-for-longer stance. Meanwhile, it looks as though the markets are coiling for action next week when key data on CPI, retail sales, production, and manufacturing reports are due. Additionally, Chair Powell will be speaking (Tuesday) with the ECB's Knot at a special event by the Netherlands' Foreign Bankers' Association. Though it is an unlikely venue from something dramatic from Powell, it is a risk factor. There are several other FOMC voters on tap next week too with the hawks Bowman and Mester, along with Jefferson, Barr, and Bostic. Nonvoters slated include Logan, Kashkari, Goolsbee, and Harker. Treasuries are mixed with modest richening in the front end with the 2-year down -1.7 bps to 4.820%. The 5.036% close from April 30 looks like a solid top. The 10-year is up 1.2 bps to 4.496%, largely capped by 4.50%, with the 4.70% close from April 25 looking like solid resistance. The wi 30-year is 2.5 bps cheaper at 4.663% ahead of the auction. Wall Street has pared opening losses with the Dow and S&P 500 now slightly in the green. The S&P has recaptured the 5200 resistance level. Earnings season is coming to an end, leaving a bullish tone in its wake. The major indexes are 3% to 4% higher on the month after the April pullback.
Airbnb price target raised to $151 from $135 at BMO Capital
BMO Capital analyst Brian Pitz raised the firm's price target on Airbnb to $151 from $135 and keeps a Market Perform rating on the shares after its Q1 earnings beat. The company continues executing against its strategic initiatives, evident by supply growth of 17% and Gross Nights Booked up 10%, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Airbnb's expected Q3 summer backlog growth is also healthy, implying potential market share gains given accelerating revenue growth in the quarter, the firm added.
FX Update:
FX Update: the DXY has extended its drop to 105.355 but is keeping its head above the 104 support level, last seen on a closing basis on April 9. The buck has slumped against all its G10 peers except for JPY, where USD-JPY sits at 155.53 as the market disrespects the verbal intervention BoJ Governor Ueda and Finance Minister Suzuki. Concurrently, GBP-USD has clawed back post-BoE losses and is now at 1.2509 after the knee-jerk drop to 1.2446. Meanwhile, the weakening in the dollar s helping underpin gains in gold and oil which are also being supported by geopolitical factors with an eye on events in the Middle East. Gold is 1% higher at $2333.22 per ounce, and oil is up 0.5% to $79.37.
SoftBank Group upgraded to Buy at Deutsche Bank on AI positioning
AppLovin sees Q2 revenue $1.06B-$1.08B, consensus $1.01B
Sees Q2 adjusted EBITDA $550M-$570M.
SolarEdge reports Q1 EPS ($1.90), consensus ($1.57)
Reports Q1 revenue $204.4M, consensus $195.98M. "Our first quarter results were aligned with our expectations of inventory clearing and typical seasonality," said Zvi Lando, Chief Executive Officer of SolarEdge. "As we enter spring when installations historically tend to rise, we expect channel inventory to continue to decline and revenues to improve. In parallel, we are focused on a suite of new products that we plan to release in the next several quarters to position ourselves for the next growth cycle in our industry."
Match Group price target lowered to $33 from $43 at RBC Capital
RBC Capital lowered the firm's price target on Match Group to $33 from $43 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares, stating that the company reported another quarter "in what has been a string of disappointments owed to ongoing Tinder weakness." The firm, while lowering its estimates and price target, says it is giving Match "another chance to prove the bears wrong that the online dating market is not actually saturated."
Shopify Q1 'fell short of elevated investor expectations,' says Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer notes that Shopify's revenue and GMV growth of 23% each topped consensus forecasts in Q1, but fell short of elevated investor expectations tracking closer to about 25% with "light" GMV growth pointed to as the source of the shortfall. While Q1 results fell short of high buyside expectations, "overall fundamentals appear intact," says the analyst, who maintains an Outperform rating and $90 price target on Shopify shares.
$RDDT Reddit price target raised to $55 from $40 at Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan raised the firm's price target on Reddit to $55 from $40 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm updated its forecasts for the company's inaugural public company earnings report and managment's updated forward commentary. The firm expects the broader digital advertising landscape health, Reddit's idiosyncratic execution of Daily Active Uniques and sustaining momentum around advertiser count growth and advertiser budget as likely to be "the key driver of investor debates and any stock price volatility" in the coming quarters, the analyst tells investors.
bobberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Pfizer Agrees to Settle More than 10,000 Zantac Cancer Lawsuits
yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Centers, a non-profit mental and behavioral health provider, has selected the Netsmart CareFabric® platform to help enhance clinical, financial and operational efficiencies across the organization’s five facilities in Arkansas . Through this collaboration, Netsmart will equip The Centers with the technology and tools designed to support delivery of comprehensive, integrated care to the individuals and families they serve.
The Centers will utilize myAvatar™, an ONC-certified electronic health record (EHR) specifically built for enhanced user experience, leveraging near real-time analytics and clinical decision support to drive value-based care. By integrating the Netsmart comprehensive suite of solutions, The Centers aims to optimize care delivery and drive positive outcomes for each individual it serves.
In Tesla Autopilot probe, US prosecutors focus on securities, wire fraud
Sweden is following Switzerland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic in easing monetary policy for the first time since hiking cycles began in 2022, when inflation surfaced in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. The Riksbank overnight lowered its policy rate by 0.25 basis points to 3.75%, making it more likely that the ECB will also jump on the bandwagon. The shift is noteworthy to global investors as it highlights the current central bank divergence taking place across the world.
Press release: "When inflation approaches the target while economic activity is weak, monetary policy can be eased," Sweden's Riksbank said in a statement. "However, the outlook for inflation is uncertain. As inflation now falls from very high levels, there is uncertainty on both the upside and downside. The adjustment of monetary policy going forward should therefore be characterized by caution."
This contrasts with the wait-and-see mode of the United States, which is taking a more gradual path toward easing. Many in Europe are scared of getting stuck behind the curve as growth slows and unemployment rises. The housing market is also of concern, with many mortgages across the region carrying short-term variable rates, which can pinch the economy if interest levels stay elevated for too long.
Ahead of the Fed: There have been some worries that cutting before the U.S. could cause the krona or euro to lose value against the greenback, which in turn could lift dollar-denominated imports and even cause inflation to resurface. European policymakers seem to be less concerned about these effects, putting more of a focus on domestic conditions and not linking policy to other central banks. "I have said we are data dependent, we are not Fed dependent," ECB President Christine Lagarde declared at a press conference in April. (8 comments)
China tensions
TikTok and its Chinese parent, ByteDance (BDNCE), have sued the U.S. federal government to block a new law that would force the sale of the popular short-video app or face a ban in the country. TikTok said the bill violated the First Amendment right to free speech, adding that the divestment being demanded is "simply not possible." Things will likely head to the Supreme Court as Washington pushes ahead with efforts to protect its national security interests. The Biden administration is also revoking export licenses that allowed Qualcomm (QCOM) and Intel (INTC) to supply Chinese firm Huawei with chips for laptops and phones. (41 comments)
House of Mouse
Sliding 9.5% to $105/share, Disney (DIS) wrapped up its worst session in 18 months on Tuesday. The company reported a profit for its entertainment streaming division (Disney+ and Hulu), and forecast full combined streaming business profitability in FQ4 (including ESPN+). So what went wrong? SA Investing Group Leader Long Player believes the decline was an overreaction, driven by a combination of "sell on the news" and some fears about a Q3 loss from its Direct-to-Consumer business. Disney's box office and TV business might still be a problem, but does the pullback represent a buying opportunity? (20 comments)
Robotaxi rollout
Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk reportedly proposed testing Full Self-Driving software in China through robotaxis during his surprise visit to the country last month. While the government in Beijing was open to the proposal, Tesla would still need approval to collect and transfer data in China to train the software. Musk was also said to have sent one of his trusted lieutenants back to China to lead operations there, following back-to-back layoffs and executive exits. In other news, the U.S. NHTSA has threatened Tesla with $135M in penalties unless it provides more information on last year's Autopilot recall. (5 comments)
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan -1.6%. Hong Kong -0.9%. China -0.6%. India -0.1%.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.3%. Paris +1%. Frankfurt +0.4%.
Futures at 7:00, Dow +0.04%. S&P -0.02%. Nasdaq -0.1%. Crude -1% to $77.63. Gold flat at $2,324.70. Bitcoin -2.9% to $62,236.
Ten-year Treasury Yield +3 bps to 4.48%.
Today's Economic Calendar
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
10:00 Wholesale Inventories (Preliminary)
10:30 EIA Petroleum Inventories
11:00 Fed’s Jefferson Speech
11:45 Fed's Collins Speech
1:00 PM Results of $42B, 10-Year Note Auction
1:30 PM Fed’s Cook Speech
Companies reporting earnings today »
What else is happening...
Apple (AAPL) unveils new iPad Air, iPad Pro, AI-focused M4 chip.
U.S. set to resume purchases for Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Reddit soars after first post-IPO results, forecast comes in strong.
Investigation finds sexual discrimination, harassment at FDIC.
Record cruise demand: Royal Caribbean (RCL) to hire thousands.
Uber (UBER) and Instacart (CART) team up on restaurant deliveries.
Getting a ride: Loss narrows at Lyft (LYFT) as bookings climb 21%.
Boy given Pfizer (PFE) experimental muscular dystrophy therapy dies.
Amid lawsuits, OpenAI building tool to let content creators manage use.
EXCLUSIVE -- U.S. PROSECUTORS EXAMINING WHETHER TESLA COMMITTED SECURITIES, WIRE FRAUD IN CRIMINAL PROBE OF SELF-DRIVING CLAIMS, THREE SOURCES SAY
Needham analyst Laura Martin maintains Reddit (NYSE:RDDT) with a Buy and raises the price target from $55 to $63.
U.S. 30-year mortgage rates fell to 7.18% in the most recent week, according to the MBA, from 7.29% last week, versus a 23-year high of 7.90% in October and a 6.71% recent trough in December. The rate is well above the 2023 low of 6.18% in February of 2023. The weekly MBA purchase index rose 1.8%, leaving a 15.2% rise from the 28-year low in October. Lending is well below the mid-January peak, leaving a headwind for new and existing home sales into the spring sales season. The MBA purchase index is entering May 0.9% above the April average. Analysts expect a -10% contraction pace for the purchase index in Q2 and a -3% drop for 2024 overall, following a record -30% decline for 2023, and a -21% 2022 drop. The refi index is entering May -0.7% below the April average, leaving a 17-month rise of 41% from the 22-year low average in December of 2022. Analysts expect a 30% growth clip for the refi index in Q2 and a 17% rise for 2024 overall, after a -54% drop for 2023, and a -72% drop in 2022.
Cirrus Logic price target raised to $120 from $100 at KeyBanc
KeyBanc raised the firm's price target on Cirrus Logic (CRUS) to $120 from $100 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes Cirrus Logic posted strong Q4 results and Q1 guidance, which were solidly above expectations. Results indicate iPhone demand continues to track in line and has yet to see a major correction, as Apple (AAPL) represented 86% of revenues, which has been consistent with most of Cirrus' peers with the exception of Skyworks (SWKS).
Reddit price target raised to $65 from $53 at Citi
Citi raised the firm's price target on Reddit to $65 from $53 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. With daily active users accelerating 37% year-over-year to 82.7M, monetization ramping and EBITDA margin expanding, Reddit delivered a strong first quarter post its initial public offering, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes the company's improving engagement trends are lasting given investments across its new web-platform, Shreddit, Search, and the Onboarding experience.