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When gasoline prices shot upward earlier this year, Mark Adams tapped the brakes on his hobby of exploring ghost towns and other historic sites across Oregon and sharing the imagery on YouTube. Now, he is back.
A medical-device technician by day, Mr. Adams bought a more fuel-efficient car and has since watched his weekly gas bill fall from as high as $75 to about $30 . It is enough of a difference that the 57-year-old has begun charting out which abandoned structures he is going to visit next.
"It doesn't pay for itself when you're just a YouTuber," Mr. Adams said of his pastime.
Many other motorists like Mr. Adams are finally getting some relief at the gas pump, signaling that some of the recent pressures on the gasoline market are easing.
The U.S. average for regular unleaded gasoline has declined to $3.32 a gallon, falling below its average of $3.36 from last year, according to GasBuddy data. That is down about 35% from its peak of about $5 earlier in the year, when the war in Ukraine disrupted supplies and boosted prices for raw materials from copper to corn to diesel.
The decline in gas prices bodes good news for consumers, whose wallets have been pinched this year by higher prices for nearly everything from milk to bread to eggs. Higher gas prices have been the biggest contributor to multidecade highs in inflation, which have propelled the Federal Reserve to aggressively raise interest rates, battering stocks and bonds alike.
The decline extends a wild year for gas prices, which soared to records in the summer, upending motorists' travel plans. Now, some analysts expect them to fall below $3 by the end of the year.
Gas prices can vary regionally because of taxes and distance from refineries. But all 50 states have seen monthly drops, with the slide led by Wisconsin , Indiana and California . Prices for diesel, used in trucking and manufacturing, have fallen in about 48 of 50 states, led by Oklahoma , South Dakota and Kansas .
"Most Americans are going to start to feel that gas prices are no longer a thorn in their side," said Patrick De Haan , head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy . Mr. De Haan also expects diesel prices will retreat below $5 a gallon in the next few days and below $4 a gallon in the next few months.
The cost of gasoline climbed after the global flow of crude oil was disrupted by economic fallout from Russia's invasion into Ukraine . Higher gas prices heightened political tensions during the midterm elections and contributed to President Biden authorizing the release of 180 million barrels of oil from the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The global benchmark for crude prices has since plunged about 40% from its war-driven 2022 high. Russian oil has kept flowing to the market and stringent lockdowns in China , the world's biggest consumer of commodities, has hurt demand.
The U.S. crude futures contract lost 3% Wednesday to settle at $72.01 a barrel. Brent crude slid 2.8% to $77.17 .
Energy stocks have surged despite a tepid performance by other companies. The S&P 500 energy sector is the only one of the index's major groups in the green, up about 53% so far this year. Shares of energy-giant Exxon Mobil Corp. have added 70%, Hess Corp.'s have gained 82% and Halliburton Co.'s have more than doubled through the same period.
Oil traders don't expect Western sanctions on Russian crude, which took effect Monday, to push prices meaningfully upward by taking supplies off the market. Analysts also worry that demand from China remains soft despite a gradual move to reopen its economy.
To be sure, investors hope that China's eventual reopening, coupled with a flat production outlook among many oil producers, could boost gasoline prices and energy stocks next year.
"You're going to need to refill oil inventories in the U.S. and China , and supply is not going to be that substantial," said Rob Thummel , portfolio manager at Tortoise, an energy asset manager. Mr. Thummel said that along with the ability to return cash to shareholders could lead to extended energy stocks' gains next year.
Upgrades:
AT&T (T) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Argus; tgt $24
BWX Technologies (BWXT) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays; tgt $64
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (DLAKY) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA Securities
Huntington Ingalls (HII) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays; tgt $270
Int'l Consolidated Airlines (ICAGY) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA Securities
Kearny Financial (KRNY) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Compass Point; tgt $11
MakeMyTrip (MMYT) upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; tgt $36
Nu Holdings (NU) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan
Swiss Re (SSREY) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan
Vulcan Materials (VMC) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan; tgt raised to $200
Downgrades:
easyJet (ESYJY) downgraded to Underperform from Buy at BofA Securities
Inter & Co (INTR) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Grupo Santander; tgt $2.8
Intercorp Financial (IFS) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Grupo Santander; tgt $29
Nestle (NSRGY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC Securities
Omeros (OMER) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS; tgt lowered to $2
Polaris Industries (PII) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital Markets; tgt lowered to $110
Principal Fincl (PFG) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse; tgt $86
Sinclair Broadcast (SBGI) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan; tgt lowered to $16
Sovos Brands (SOVO) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS; tgt lowered to $16
Tricon Residential (TCN) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman; tgt lowered to $9.50
Unity Software (U) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BTIG Research
Volkswagen AG (VWAGY) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Exane BNP Paribas
Wolverine (WWW) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Williams Trading; tgt $13
Others:
CEMEX S.A. (CX) initiated with a Neutral at Redburn; tgt $4.90
Churchill Downs (CHDN) resumed with a Neutral at JP Morgan; tgt $243
Enhabit Inc. (EHAB) initiated with a Sell at UBS; tgt $12
GreenLight Biosciences (GRNA) initiated with a Buy at Canaccord Genuity; tgt $4
Match Group (MTCH) initiated with a Neutral at UBS; tgt $46
Omega Therapeutics (OMGA) initiated with a Buy at H.C. Wainwright; tgt $11
Opthea Ltd. (OPT) initiated with a Buy at H.C. Wainwright; tgt $14
Original BARK Co. (BARK) initiated with a Buy at Lake Street; tgt $5
Privia Health (PRVA) initiated with a Buy at UBS; tgt $30
PVH (PVH) named Top Idea at UBS
Raytheon Technologies (RTX) initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup; tgt $104
Science Applications (SAIC) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup; tgt $141
Shopify (SHOP) initiated with a Sell at UBS; tgt $30
STAAR Surgical (STAA) initiated with a Hold at Stifel; tgt $60
Wartsila (WRTBY) initiated with a Buy at Deutsche Bank
The 4k initial claims rise to 230k from 226k (was 225k) leaves claims closer to the 3-month high of 241k in late-November, while continuing claims rose by 62k to a 10-month high of 1,671k from to a prior high of 1,609k (was 1,608k). The insured jobless rate rose to 1.2% from 1.1% in the prior two weeks and 1.0% in the 20 weeks before that, versus an all-time low of 0.9% in June. Initial claims are entering December above averages of 229k in November, 219k in October and 207k in September. Analysts assume a 233k December BLS survey week reading that sits above recent BLS readings of 223k in November, 214k in October and 209k in September. For continuing claims, analysts expect an 89k rise between the November and December BLS survey weeks, after increases of 113k in November and 92k in October. The climb for initial and continuing claims since September implies downside risk for our 180k December nonfarm payroll estimate.
S&P 500 futures are 0.4% above fair value; the Nasdaq 100 futures are 0.4% above fair value; and the DJIA futures are 0.3% above fair value
Key factors driving the futures market:
Speculative buying interest based on belief that the market, down eight of the last nine sessions, is due for a bounce
Reports of Hong Kong and Macau easing COVID testing requirements
Beijing facing constraints on medical supplies as it deals with COVID outbreak, according to FT
ECB staff members reportedly considering a strike after being offered pay raises that are below the rate of inflation
Chinese President Xi meets with Saudi Arabia leaders today
Elon Musk's bankers could provide him with new margin loans supported by Tesla (TSLA) stock to replace high interest Twitter debt, according to Bloomberg
Brokerage research calls of note:
Upgrades: AIRC, AMH, DTE, HSY, MAA
Downgrades: APP, AVB, CASY, FLGT, INVH, KVHI, MERC, MRTX, MDLZ, OLLI, CRM
WTI crude futures +3.0% to $74.20/bbl; nat gas futures +2.4% to $5.86/mmbtu; copper futures +0.8% to $3.89/lb.
2-yr note yield +3 bps to 4.27% and 10-yr note yield +5 bps to 3.46%
The U.S. Dollar Index is flat at 105.12
Today's economic data: Weekly Initial and Continuing Jobless Claims at 8:30 a.m. ET
Saudi Arabia is rolling out the red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has arrived in the country for a four-day visit. Xi's plane was escorted by Saudi fighter jets on the way into Riyadh, while he was greeted at the airport by the capital's governor and the Saudi foreign minister. It's a stark contrast to when President Biden visited the country in July after previously pledging to make a "pariah" out of the Kingdom over the killing of U.S.-based columnist Jamal Khashoggi (and considered a return to the JCPOA with archrival Iran).
Bigger picture: After much debate within the administration, Biden eventually decided to visit the Saudis amid an energy crisis at home and a need to reassert American leadership in the region. Beijing is viewing the trip through much of the same lens as it expands its sphere of influence. For Saudi Arabia, China has heavily outpaced the U.S. as its largest trading partner since 2016, and while the Kingdom has historically relied on American military aid under "oil for security" policies, the times may be changing. The U.S. shale industry has eliminated the need for a lot of Middle East oil, while China has subsequently become the Saudi's top crude customer.
"We are mindful of the influence that China is trying to grow around the world," noted John Kirby, a spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council. "The Middle East is certainly one of those regions where they want to deepen their level of influence."
Economically speaking: Some $30B worth of agreements are expected to be signed, including energy and infrastructure deals, and sectors that could benefit from U.S.-blacklisted firms like telecoms equipment giant Huawei Technologies. The two sides are also expected to coordinate China's Belt and Road Initiative with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 development plan, while talks on a free trade agreement between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council are entering their final stage. (9 comments)
#NYTStrike
More than 1,100 New York Times (NYT) newsroom workers and staffers are set to walk out today in a historic one-day strike following the breakdown of talks between the workers' union and the company. Negotiations between the two sides have gone on for some time, but frustration at the union - The NewsGuild of New York - has grown over the lack of progress since its last contract with the paper expired in March 2021. It's a notable strike as the last industrial action to hit the NYT occurred some 40 years ago.
Quote: "Today we were ready to work for as long as it took to reach a fair deal, but management walked away from the table with five hours to go," the Guild said. "It’s official: @NYTimesGuild members are walking out for 24 hours on Thursday."
Dozens of bargaining sessions have been held since the March 2021 expiration, but the two sides have failed to come to an agreement on "salaries, health and retirement benefits, and other issues." Compensation is where they may be furthest apart, with the news organization offering union members a 5.5% raise upon ratification of the contract, 3% raises in 2023 and 2024, and a 4% retroactive bonus to compensate for a lack of raises since the contract expired. The union has proposed a 10% raise upon ratification, 5.5% raises in 2023 and 2024, and an 8.5% retroactive bonus.
Response: "It is disappointing that they are taking such an extreme action when we are not at an impasse,” NYT spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha declared. "Strikes typically happen when talks deadlock. That is not where we are today," added Joe Kahn, executive editor of The Times. "While the company and the NewsGuild remain apart on a number of issues, we continue to trade proposals and make progress toward an agreement." (5 comments)
Replacing the JEDI
The Pentagon has finally made a decision about upgrading its cloud infrastructure following years of delays, legal challenges and shifting priorities. Amazon Web Services (AMZN), Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Oracle (ORCL) will each get a piece of the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability contract, which has a shared ceiling of $9B. The competition was intense to scoop up a share of the JWCC deal, which will be awarded in parts and has a total estimated completion date of June 2028.
Backdrop: The Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability succeeds an earlier contract known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure - better known in the industry as JEDI - that sought to build a large common cloud for the entire Defense Department. Amazon Web Services was considered the frontrunner for JEDI before the DoD handed it to Microsoft in October 2018, but AWS didn't back down. The company alleged in a lawsuit that the award was tainted by then President Trump's animus against Jeff Bezos and related litigation threatened to delay the deal for years.
There was also a slew of objections from Oracle and Congress, prompting the Pentagon to acknowledge that advances in cloud computing and the time frame of the contract could render the scheme obsolete. The DoD eventually pulled JEDI in favor of the expanded JWCC, while seeking proposals from additional companies. JWCC is intended to offer access to unclassified, secret and top-secret data to military personnel worldwide, and serve as a backbone for modern war operations.
Outlook: Splitting the contract among several vendors is similar to how things are increasingly being done in the private sector. The multi-cloud strategy won't concentrate the program under one provider, which would have sole responsibility for hosting some of the military's most sensitive data, as well as preventing service disruptions and outages. (21 comments)
Driverless fleet
Locals and visiting tourists to Las Vegas can now order a self-driving Uber (UBER) for rides within the city. While the all-electric IONIQ 5 robotaxis will be dispatched with vehicle operators in the front seats - to monitor the technology and provide support - a fully driverless service is planned for 2023. Uber is partnering with Motional - a joint venture between Hyundai (OTCPK:HYMLF) and Aptiv (APTV) - on the project, which may expand to other destinations like Los Angeles in the near future.
Ahead of the curve? Following a deadly crash in Arizona and dwindling R&D funding, Uber gave up its standalone autonomous ambitions in 2020 by selling its self-driving subsidiary to Aurora Technologies. While Uber still holds a stake in the car tech startup, and CEO Dara Khosrowshahi sits on its board, the company is feeling pressure to invest in an industry which its founder once hailed as critical to the future of the firm. In September, Uber inked a 10-year agreement with Nuro on autonomous food delivery, but it's now looking to get back into the robotaxi game as the technology gradually progresses.
"Autonomous vehicles are still a reality we can expect but it's not going to happen overnight," said Noah Zych, global head of autonomous mobility and delivery at Uber. "The way we look at it at Uber, it's going to be a hybrid network with a mix of driverless cars and human drivers, for a very, very long time."
Go deeper: New labor rules are threatening Uber's current business model, which relies heavily on independent contractors, by classifying its gig drivers as employees. The new partnership with Motional hopes to form one of the largest autonomous vehicle networks, with the potential of reaching millions of riders.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan -0.4%. Hong Kong +3.4%. China -0.1%. India +0.3%.
In Europe, at midday, London -0.1%. Paris +0.1%. Frankfurt -0.1%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow flat. S&P +0.1%. Nasdaq +0.2%. Crude +1.1% to $72.81. Gold -0.2% to $1794.50. Bitcoin +0.1% to $16,806.
Ten-year Treasury Yield +4 bps to 3.45%
Today's Economic Calendar
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
10:00 Quarterly Services Report
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
Companies reporting earnings today »
What else is happening...
Meme no longer? GameStop (GME) logs big loss amid slowing sales.
AMC Entertainment (AMC) said no risk of imminent restructuring.
Exxon (XOM) boosts U.S. worker pay as profit reaches record high.
Peru removes president from office amid constitutional crisis.
Higher pricing at Campbell Soup (CPB) feeds earnings beat.
Rising bankruptcy risk sends Carvana (CVNA) crashing over 40%.
Theranos (THERA) president gets 13 years in prison for fraud.
Musk's bankers look at Tesla (TSLA) margin loans to cut Twitter debt.
Ernie Garcia III has seen his fortune fall $6.7 billion this year to $119 million, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a percentage decline topped only by Sam Bankman-Fried.
Carvana Pact Offers a Blueprint for Battle-Weary Debt Investors
The Pentagon has split a six-year $9 billion contract for cloud computing services among Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google, Oracle Corp (NYSE: ORCL), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT).
The U.S. Department of Defense's move came a year after scrapping a previous contract marred by accusations of political interference by the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump and bogged down by legal challenges, the Financial Times reports.
The Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability succeeded the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (Jedi), which aimed to build a large common commercial cloud for the entire DoD.
The Trump administration wanted to concentrate the cloud computing program under one provider.
The project is estimated to be completed by June 2028.
The DoD initially awarded Microsoft the contract in October 2018, but legal challenges delayed its implementation.
Last summer, the Pentagon canceled the initial Jedi contract.
Amazon had charged Trump with exploiting his animosity against Jeff Bezos.
Oracle said the single-vendor contract was unfair, while Google had withdrawn its bid in 2018 following a staff outcry for working with the DoD.
Cytokinetics presents data at the Virtual 33rd International Symposium on ALS/MND (37.04)
In a previously presented post-hoc analysis of disease progression in FORTITUDE-ALS, patients were grouped into tertiles according to their pre-study rate of decline in the ALS Functional Rating Scale Revised (ALSFRS-R) total score. The largest treatment effect from reldesemtiv was observed in the intermediate and fast progressing tertiles. Most patients in these two tertiles had experienced symptoms for =24 months and had a baseline ALSFRS-R total score =44 (referred to as the 24/44 criteria).
In this analysis, the ENCALS survival model was used to calculate a predicted survival risk score for all participants in FORTITUDE-ALS. The ENCALS survival model calculates the risk score based on several factors, including age at onset, onset site, cognition, vital capacity, El Escorial classification, diagnostic delay, C9orf72 expansion repeat, and decline in ALSFRS-R total score.
Top decreases in stock option open interest $LAZR $AAPL $WBD $CHPT $FUBO $PPL $HOOD $WMT $CRSP
Top increases in stock option open interest $LAZR $MPW $T $SNAP $AMZN $AAPL $SWN $AMC $CVNA $LUMN
Jacobs (J) was selected to provide the U.K.'s nuclear regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation, with specialist engineering and technical support services. The four-year framework covers the ONR's activities in new build, power generation, decommissioning and defense.
New Zealand received the first of four Boeing (BA) P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft in a ceremony at the Museum of Flight. New Zealand's three remaining P-8 aircraft are all in advanced stages of production and will be delivered in 2023. The aircraft will replace New Zealand's current fleet of six P-3K2 Orions and will be based at Royal New Zealand Air Force Base Ohakea.
bp (BP) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Egypt under which it will explore the potential for establishing a new green hydrogen production facility in the country. Under the MoU, bp will carry out several studies to evaluate the technical and commercial feasibility of developing a multi-phase, large scale green hydrogen export hub in Egypt. It is intended that high potential locations across Egypt will be considered as part of the feasibility study, targeting best-in-class resources. Green hydrogen is produced by the electrolysis of water, powered by renewable energy.
Marks & Spencer and bp (BP) pulse have signed an exclusive agreement to bring high-speed electric vehicle charge points to the M&S store estate across the UK. The agreement will see M&S and bp pulse, bp's electric vehicle charging business, work together to install an initial 900 electric vehicle charge points in around 70 of M&S' national stores in the next two years.
Investors weren't fooling themselves into expecting an upbeat end to 2022 for Coinbase Global , shares of which have been battered this year amid a cryptocurrency market meltdown. Now the company has confirmed Wall Street's bearish outlook.
Brian Armstrong , the co-founder and CEO of Coinbase (ticker: COIN), said in an interview with Bloomberg this week that revenue at the crypto broker and trading platform was set to plunge this year from 2021's buoyant levels.
Coinbase stock fell 2.7% on Wednesday but was 1% higher in premarket trading Thursday. The shares have fallen more than 83% this year, compared with a decline of 18% in the S&P 500 index.
"Last year in 2021, we did about $7 billion of revenue and about $4 billion of positive EBITDA, and this year with everything coming down, it's looking, you know, about roughly half that or less," Armstrong said in an interview on the "David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations," recorded Tuesday. The company later confirmed that 2022 revenue was on track to be less than half of 2021 levels, according to Bloomberg, its first public disclosure of full-year sales outlook as the end of the near draws to a close. Barron's has reached out to Coinbase for additional comment.
Coinbase notched revenue of $7.8 billion last year, largely driven by fees collected from retail investors that poured into crypto amid a historic bull market.
The consensus now among analysts surveyed by FactSet is that the company will post yearly revenue of $3.2 billion by the end of December, driven by a dramatic 65% decline in transaction revenue from retail traders who have headed for the hills amid this year's brutal selloff. Coinbase could slide to a loss this year of $11.70 a share, based on analysts' estimates, down from a per-share profit of $14.50 last year.
It has been a terrible year for crypto traders. Bitcoin and other digital assets have crumbled in 2022, with the total market capitalization of crypto tumbling to less than $850 billion from a November 2021 all-time high near $3 trillion . The price of Bitcoin has dropped some 75% over the same period, with risk-sensitive cryptos falling alongside the stock market amid the Federal Reserve's painful pace of interest-rate hikes to combat high inflation.
Cracks across crypto markets and a string of industry failures have only exacerbated the selloff. The collapse of stablecoin ecosystem Terra, failure of hedge fund Three Arrows Capital , and most recently the shock bankruptcy of exchange FTX have rocked the industry and sent prices relentlessly lower.
Wall Street's outlook for Coinbase may be bearish, but it's even worse for Bitcoin itself, with signs that institutional investors are overwhelmingly betting against a recovery in the price of the largest digital asset.
What about next year? Crypto still faces existential questions, and the latest indication from Coinbase -- in its outlook detailed at the end of the third quarter -- is that there remains a rocky road ahead.
Coinbase said at the end of the third quarter it was "preparing with a conservative bias" for 2023 and "assuming that the current macroeconomic headwinds will persist and possibly intensify."
FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Is Said to Face Market Manipulation Inquiry
premarket gappers
Gapping up:
MOMO +21%, RXDX +7.9%, HCP +6.2%, GMS +5%, BZFD +4.8%, OXM +4.2%, NAPA +3.6%, SFM +3.2%, GTHX +3.1%, KMI +2.8%, PBYI +2.4%, MT +2%, PBF +0.9%, GME +0.9%, ORCL +0.8%, GPC +0.8%, AMZN +0.6%, LSTR +0.6%, KRON +0.6%
Gapping down:
RLMD -39.9%, DSGN -27%, CUTR -10%, CHEF -7.4%, SPWH -6%, GEF -5.4%, GTE -4.8%, REPL -3.6%, NEP -3.4%, UNIT -3%, VRNT -2.4%, SNY -2.2%, BVS -1.8%, AI -0.8%, RVMD -0.6%
Insider Trading: notable purchases -- 10% owner adds to GOCO; notable sales -- President/CEO active in CNXN
Buyers:
DDOG Director bought 192154 shares at $67.99 - $70.50 worth ~$13.3 mln.
GOCO 10% owner bought 109,832 shares at $11.07 - $13.99 worth ~$1.4 mln.
HPK President bought 31,825 shares at $21.47 - $22.25 worth ~$699K.
LAZY 10% owner / Director bought 186,822 shares at $13.18 - $13.50 worth ~$2.5 mln.
MMS Director bought 5,730 shares at $69.84 - $69.99 worth ~$401K.
OPBK Director bought 30325 shares at $11.7307 - $11.7971 XX worth ~$357K.
Sellers:
AR Director sold 779,755 shares at $31.00 - $31.67 worth ~$24.4 mln.
CNXN President & CEO sold 9,074 shares at $53.42 - $53.95 worth ~$483K.
HRMY Director sold 77,853 shares at $61.00 - $61.67 worth ~$4.8 mln.
LPG Director sold 100,000 shares at $19.50 - $20.98 worth ~$2.0 mln.
MDRX Director sold 43,134 shares at $18.435 - $18.51 worth ~$797K.
RPRX Director sold 84,302 shares at $43.00 - $43.61 worth ~$3.6 mln.
$JPM JPMorgan gets an Overweight rating from Piper Sandler with a $150 price target
Ioneer Ltd (IONR), an emerging lithium-boron supplier, announces the signing of a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with Shell Canada Energy (SHEL) for sale of sulphur to Ioneer for its Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project in Esmeralda County, Nevada. Securing the supply of key reagents for ore processing is an important step along the critical pathway to developing the Rhyolite Ridge Project. Under the MOU, Ioneer will purchase up to 500,000 tonnes of high-quality sulphur annually from Shell, which would fulfil the estimated annual sulphur requirement for the Project.
BlackBerry Limited (BB) announced that Human Horizons, a leading Chinese new mobility and intelligent driving technology company, has selected BlackBerry QNX technology to power the autonomous driving controller and intelligent digital cockpit controller of its second flagship vehicle, the HiPhi Z.
Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap (MMI), announced the sale of Liv Crossroads, a 356-unit multifamily property in Gilbert, Arizona. The $116 million sales price represents $325,843 per unit.
BI-FAST, Indonesia's domestic real-time payments scheme — provided by Bank Indonesia and powered by ACI Worldwide (ACIW) has announced plans to launch a wide range of new real-time payment services as the scheme celebrates its first anniversary.
Paramount+, the global streaming service from Paramount (PARA), launches today in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria with thousands of hours of entertainment, following the launch of the service in France on December 1st, and establishing a year of global expansion as the service is now live in 45 markets.
C3.ai reports Q2 EPS (11c), consensus (16c)
Reports Q2 revenue $62.4M, consensus $60.9M. "It was a solid second quarter, with subscription revenue growing 26% year over year," said CEO Thomas M. Siebel. "We made substantial progress ramping our consumption-based sales motion effort, which has been well received by our customers, partners, and sales organization. We expect consumption-based sales will be a substantial contributor to growth in forthcoming quarters."
Apple introduces three new advanced data security features
Apple introduced three advanced security features focused on protecting against threats to user data in the cloud, representing the next step in its ongoing effort to provide users with even stronger ways to protect their data. With iMessage Contact Key Verification, users can verify they are communicating only with whom they intend. With Security Keys for Apple ID, users have the choice to require a physical security key to sign in to their Apple ID account. And with Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, which uses end-to-end encryption to provide Apple's highest level of cloud data security, users have the choice to further protect important iCloud data, including iCloud Backup, Photos, Notes, and more. "At Apple, we are unwavering in our commitment to provide our users with the best data security in the world. We constantly identify and mitigate emerging threats to their personal data on device and in the cloud," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "Our security teams work tirelessly to keep users' data safe, and with iMessage Contact Key Verification, Security Keys, and Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, users will have three powerful new tools to further protect their most sensitive data and communications.
Earnings Out This Afternoon/Tomorrow Morning
This Afternoon: AI DSGX GME GEF HCP OXM SPWH VRNT
Tomorrow Morning: CIEN GMS MOMO KFY MANU
Ciena: Earnings Preview; demand remains robust, but supply chain problems are creating a bottleneck (43.2 -1.07)
Ciena (CIEN) is set to report Q4 (Oct) results tomorrow before the open with a call to follow at 8:30am ET. Last quarter, Ciena reported results at 7am ET, so it's likely that's when the company will report this quarter. Of note, Ciena typically guides for revenue for the next quarter on the call.
The S&P CapitalIQ consensus for non-GAAP EPS is to fall 92% yr/yr to just $0.07 while revenue is expected to fall 18% yr/yr to $847.8 mln (current guidance: $800-880 mln, which was well below consensus at the time). Ciena has guided to Q4 adjusted gross margin of approx. 40%. Ciena has missed on EPS in each of the past two quarters.
Demand has not been the problem and strong secular demand trends show no signs of abating, driven by 5G, cloud and automation as well as higher infrastructure spending, residential broadband funding, and opportunities to displace Huawei. In fact, Ciena had nearly 60% yr/yr order growth in its last four quarters. In Q3 (Jul) specifically, orders outpaced revenue by more than 30% and its backlog is now well over $4 bln with further growth expected in Q4.
Ciena will eventually convert this large backlog to revenue, but supply chain challenges are the main impediment. Specifically in the second half of Q3, Ciena experienced substantial delays and lower than expected component deliveries from a very small group of suppliers. These were primarily for certain IC components that represent a very small fraction of overall materials. However, these delays and decommits impede Ciena's ability to build finished goods and systems such as modems.
Basically, this relatively small number of low cost, low value components is holding up a disproportionate amount of revenue, primarily for optical modems. As a result, that hurt Q3 revenue and adjusted gross margin to a significant degree. If not for this specific challenge, Ciena says it would have been at the high end of revenue guidance in Q3. This dynamic is expected to impact Q4 as well.
In sum, we suspect investors are bracing for a difficult Q4 report tomorrow morning. We think most eyes will be on the Q1 (Jan) guidance as investors will really want to hear there is some improvement on the supply chain front. Any positive comments about the supply chain, even if guidance is bad, would likely be a catalyst for the stock.
Volume is average for this time of day. Breadth is mixed with issues bullish while volume and new highs to new lows are bearish
Wynn Resorts price target raised to $109 from $85 at Stifel
Stifel analyst Steven Wieczynski raised the firm's price target on Wynn Resorts (WYNN) to $109 from $85 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares, citing his continued belief that Wynn "represents one of the most compelling ideas under our coverage given the massive underperformance over the last 24 months coupled with benign investor expectations." He believes Macau-centric stocks such as Wynn and Las Vegas Sands (LVS) could present investors with "an interesting way to play the China reopening story" moving into 2023, Wieczynski said
Does such a good job with these reports -> https://hindenburgresearch.com/welltower/
SolarEdge upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA
BofA analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith upgraded SolarEdge to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $367, up from $269, telling investors that the company provided a line of sight at the firm's Renewables Conference to a better outlook than he believes is appreciated by the Street. The company has returned to having pricing power and "operating leverage is here," contends Dumoulin-Smith
UPB IN da HIZZLE
$MDB MongoDB upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities -- $215 price target
lower
World markets in a slump
The global equity markets are unanimously trading lower. Tuesday's rout has spilled over into the US futures and the major markets abroad. S&P Futures are down about 10 points to trade around the 3934 area. The market got a modest bump early but could only muster a high of 3954.00. Sellers took command about midway through the Asian session and have pushed spoos to trade just off the low of 3832.50.
In Asia, China fell 0.4%, while Japan closed down 0.7%. Weaker-than-expected Chinese trade data hindered the Shanghai Composite. Exports in November fell 8.7%, well below the forecast of -3.6%. Imports also declined by 10.6%. In Japan, the Nikkei was led lower by market heavyweights such as Sony, SoftBank and Fast Retailing, which all declined 1-2%.
In Europe, the major bourses are underwater. As its largest trading partner, European indices are feeling a pinch this morning in reaction to the soft data from China. Commodity stocks are under pressure. The Chinese data has mining stocks reeling, with Antofagasta, Glencore and Anglo American trading about 2% lower. Crude oil's march back to the $73 zone has energy producers BP and Shell shedding over 1%.
Market Updates
S&P Futures vs Fair Value: -10.0
10 yr Note: 3.529%
USD/JPY: 137.44 +0.39
EUR/USD: 1.0496 +0.0030
Europe: FTSE: -0.2% DAX: -0.3% CAC: -0.3%
Asia: Hang Seng: -3.2% Shanghai: -0.4% Nikkei: -0.7%
Gold (1785.90 +3.60) Silver (22.49 +0.16) Crude (73.13 -1.12)
Insider Trading: notable purchases -- CEO adds to FSR; notable sales -- Execs active in VTYX
Buyers:
CRL Director bought 1,500 shares at $218.90 worth ~$328K.
FSR President / CEO bought 33,700 shares at $7.385 - $7.42 worth ~$250K.
GNTY Director bought 21,536 shares at ~34.41 worth ~$741K.
Sellers:
AR Director sold 220,245 shares at $31.00 - $31.50 worth ~$6.86 mln.
CMG Chief Restaurant Officer sold 433 shares at $1,617.66 worth ~$700K.
FIVE President & CEO, CFO & Treasurer, CMO, and two (2) Directors sold a total of 74,075 shares at ~$180.00 - $187.10 worth ~$13.5 mln.
HALO Director sold 30,000 shares at $55.70 - $58.83 worth ~$1.7 mln.
IMXI Director sold 46,945 shares at $21.095 - $22.11 worth ~$1.0 mln.
PRM Vice Chairman sold 188,474 shares at $10.26 - $11.02 worth ~$2.0 mln.
SQSP 10% owner sold 102,639 shares at $21.30 - $21.48 worth ~$2.19 mln.
VTYX CEO, Chief Scientific Officer, and Chief Business Officer sold a total of 400,000 shares at $28.08 - $29.89 worth ~$11.55 mln.
Vietnam-based EV maker VinFast plans for U.S. IPO
VinFast Trading & Investment announced that it has publicly filed a registration statement on Form F-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC, relating to the proposed initial public offering of its ordinary shares. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. VinFast intends to list its ordinary shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "VFS". Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Morgan Stanley , Credit Suisse and J.P. Morgan Securities will act as lead book-running managers and as representatives of the underwriters for the proposed offering. BofA Securities, Inc., BNP Paribas Securities, HSBC Securities Nomura Securities International, Inc., WR Securities and RBC Capital Markets, will also be book-running managers. Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated will act as co-manager for the proposed offering. Publicly listed companies in the EV space include: Tesla (TSLA), Nio (NIO), Li Auto (LI), XPeng (XPEV), ChargePoint (CHPT) , Rivian Automotive (RIVN) and Alphabet (GOOG).
CRUDE OIL new 2022 lowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
All 11 S&P 500 sectors trade down with losses ranging from 0.1% (utilities) to 2.2% (energy). The latter is pressured by declining oil prices. WTI crude oil futures are down 3.6% to $74.16/bbl, reflecting the market's angst about the potential for waning demand in a slower growth environment/recession.
Today's economic data was limited to the October Trade Balance, which showed that the deficit widened in October to $78.2 billion (Briefing.com consensus -$77.2 billion) from a downwardly revised $74.1 billion (from -$73.3 billion) in September. That was the result of exports being $1.9 billion less than September exports and imports being $2.2 billion more than September imports.
The key takeaway from the report is that the pickup in imports speaks to a relatively strong U.S. economy in October versus other economies.
The post-Powell speech rally has been wiped out (395.34 -4.25)
A week ago, the S&P 500 closed at 3,957.63. It is currently trading at 3,954.90.
In the wake of Fed Chair Powell's speech last Wednesday, the S&P 500 shot higher and closed at 4,080.11 that day (November 30).
The entire move has been retraced, demonstrating a recognition that the market overreacted to the speech and the notion that the terminal rate might not go as high as previously expected. Yesterday's article in The Wall Street Journal by Nick Timraos, which suggested wage inflation could compel the Fed to take its benchmark rate above 5.00% in 2023, has been a catalyst for reining in the market's enthusiasm.
META CANNOT RUN ADVERTISING BASED ON PERSONAL DATA, WILL NEED USERS' CONSENT, ACCORDING TO EU PRIVACY WATCHDOG DECISION - SOURCE
While the crypto community was left rattled by the FTX (CRYPTO: FTT) debacle throughout November, crypto mining firms relentlessly pursued all available avenues to shore up revenues and maintain margins.
In what is possibly one of the harshest crypto winters ever seen, these digital asset mining companies are adopting innovative solutions to overcome the many challenges dotting their path.
Take for example Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ:RIOT) which achieved a record hashrate of 7.7 EH/s in November, despite falling short of production expectations due to variances in the payout method of the mining pool it uses.
While the company decided to switch its mining pool to one that offers a more stable reward mechanism, it plans to enhance its current fleet of 72,428 miners and achieve a hash rate capacity of 12.5 EH/s by Q4 FY2022-23.
SPY. Lowsss
Walmart CEO says rising thefts may lead to price jumps, CNBC reports
Walmart locations across the U.S. are struggling with a rise in shoplifting, which may cause increased prices and shuttered stores if the issue persists, CNBC's Gabrielle Fonrouge reports, citing comments made by CEO Doug McMillon on 'Squawk Box'. "Theft is an issue. It's higher than what it has historically been," he said. "We've got safety measures, security measures that we've put in place by store location. I think local law enforcement being staffed and being a good partner is part of that equation, and that's normally how we approach it," McMillon said. "If that's not corrected over time, prices will be higher, and or stores will close.
BOFA CEO SAYS WILL BUY BACK SOME SHARES THIS QUARTER- CONFERENCE
$BAC
BOFA CEO SAYS RESEARCH PREDICTS 3 QUARTERS OF NEGATIVE GROWTH NEXT YEAR, BUT “MILD”- CONFERENCE
Joint Corp signs a multi-unit franchise agreement in the state of Alaska for three clinics (15.06)
The first of the three recently opened in Wasilla, Alaska, with a second clinic planned for Anchorage in the first quarter of next year.
The franchisees are targeting fall 2023 for the third location.
Alaska extends The Joint's footprint to 40 states.
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FOSL | jimmybob | 02/14/2012 09:54:12 AM |
FOSL and SODA ~ WATCH!!! | jimmybob | 02/14/2012 09:50:52 AM |
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