The S&P 500 rose 1.14% to 3,925 points yesterday while the Nasdaq 100 was up only 0.81%. Over the years, the Nasdaq 100 has actually become more volatile than the S&P 500. This higher beta now appears to have temporarily disappeared. In the article about sector rotation , you can read how you can apply the sector rotation to your portfolio yourself. The Dow Jones also rose noticeably more than the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 yesterday. The Dow closed at a new all-time high of 31,961 points, which was a daily result of plus 1.35%. The strong rise of heavyweights Boeing and Chevron was the basis here.
In short, some of the money that is used to help people and companies in difficulty ends up on the stock exchange. Higher liquidity usually means higher stock market prices. Central bank policies have an inflationary effect on stocks and other assets such as real estate. The survey also shows that investors are extremely positive about the stock market. At the same time, we hear Charlie Munger, the strong man next to Warren Buffett, warn of a new bubble. This brings us straight to GameStop. The share of the American computer game retailer exploded again yesterday.
The roll-out of the vaccination program appears to be gaining momentum. An interesting study has taken place in Israel on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Of course we already know the results of the clinical studies, but it is always a question of how well the vaccines hold up in real situations. The Israeli study followed 1.2 million people of which nearly 600,000 received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Two shots were administered. The scientists were surprised that the symptomatic effectiveness was 94%. Hospitalization fell by 87%.Moreover, a quarter of the people who were followed were over 60 years old. Experts expect that with such results, we can achieve global immunity when 60 to 70% of the population is vaccinated. Pfizer stock did not respond to the news.
Today Top Movers
Cross Country Healthcare Inc. (NASDAQ: CCRN) shares are trading up 27.04% at $12.78 at the time of writing after releasing fourth quarter and full year 2020 financial results.
Sundial Growers Inc. (SNDL) stock soared 11.72% to $1.62 in the pre-market trading. SNDL and Indiva Limited announce the closing of the previously announced $22,000,000 strategic investment (the “Investment”) into Indiva by Sundial.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC) grew over 17.49% at $10.68 in pre-market trading today as the social media hype was created recently to influence investors sentiment.
GameStop Corp. (GME), a Specialty Retail company, rose about 57.56% at $144.5 in pre-market trading Thursday as on social media, a hype has been playing key role to affect investors with the intent of swaying their decision.
Top Upgrades & Downgrades
UBS turned bullish on AstraZeneca PLC (AZN), upgrading the stock to “Buy”.
Sunrun Inc. (RUN) has won the favor of Credit Suisse’s equity research team. The firm upgraded the shares from Neutral to Outperform and moved their price target to $79.0, suggesting 26.28% additional upside for the stock.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA) received an upgrade from analysts at Jefferies. They changed their rating on BBVA to Buy from Hold in a recently issued research note.
Earlier Thursday Credit Suisse reduced its rating on Lennox International Inc. (LII) stock to Underperform from Neutral and assigned the price target to $285.
Morgan Stanley analysts reduced their investment ratings, saying in research reports covered by the media that its rating for NeoGenomics Inc. (NEO) has been changed to Equal Weight from Overweight and the new price target is set at $14.
Analysts at BMO Capital downgraded Chuy’s Holdings Inc. (CHUY)’s stock to Market Perform from Outperform Thursday.
Latest Insider Activity
Hess Corporation (HES) Chief Executive Officer HESS JOHN B announced the sale of shares taking place on Feb 23 at $66.73 for some 200,000 shares. The total came to more than $13.35 million.
Fortive Corporation (FTV) SVP – Human Resources Walker Stacey A. sold on Feb 23 a total 24,259 shares at $67.23 on average. The insider’s sale generated proceeds of almost $0.12 million.
Chevron Corporation (CVX) Director HEWSON MARILLYN A declared the purchase of shares taking place on Feb 18 at $95.21 for some 3,200 shares. The transaction amount was around $0.3 million.
AIM ImmunoTech Inc. (AIM) CEO & President EQUELS THOMAS K. bought on Feb 24 a total 209,630 shares at $2.26 on average. The purchase cost the insider an estimated $25,000.
Important Earnings
Top US earnings releases scheduled for today include Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA). It will announce its Dec 2020 financial results. The company is expected to report earnings of -$0.35 per share from revenues of $279.41M in the three-month period.
Analysts expect Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG) to report a net income (adjusted) of -$0.1 per share, when the company releases its quarterly results shortly. Revenue for the fiscal quarter ended Dec 2020 is predicted to come in at $87.32M.
Southwestern Energy Company (SWN), due to announce earnings after the market closes today, is expected to report earnings of $0.14 per share from revenues of $701.09M recently concluded three-month period.
