The Market Marched Higher

Tale of the Tape

Good evening, folks. The market marched higher today.

Early this morning, Moderna announced its vaccine’s 94.5% efficacy rate. $MRNA gapped and closed up 9.5%. See more on Moderna below.

The Russell 2000 led the major indices as the small-caps cruised to another all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 also closed at record levels.

Energy was the strongest sector. $XLE surged 6.67%. Industrials and financials both finished up over 2%. Healthcare was the only sector in the red.

Bitcoin bopped 5%. The cryptocurrency is within only 1% of $17,000. Will $BTC.X break 20K before the end of the year? Time will tell.

Lordstown Motors ripped 24%. $RIDE is on track to begin production next September.

Uber crossed $50 for the first time ever, but the stock couldn’t close above the whole number.

Boeing bounced 8%. $BA closed at its highest price since June 10, 2020. Is Boeing back? Place your bets…

This just in, S&P Global announced Tesla will join the S&P 500 effective December 21, 2020. $TSLA is up 9% after hours. 👀

Here are the closing prints:

S&P 500	3,550	+1.16%
Nasdaq	11,713	+0.80%
Russell 2000	1,705	+2.37%
Dow Jones	29,157	+1.60%

Earnings Round-Up

JD.com reported Q3 earnings before the bell. The company beat earnings estimates and met on sales.

Here are the results:

EPS: $0.50 vs $0.41 est.
Revenue: $25.66B vs $25.66B est.

Richard Liu, CEO of JD.com, said:

Today, as China emerges from the pandemic, we are glad to see that our business partners are recovering rapidly with the support of our online and offline supply chain infrastructure. And our consumer mindshare continues to expand with over 100 million new active users joining our platform compared to a year ago.

$JD fell 7.41%.

Palo Alto Networks broke out to new all-time highs after fiscal Q1 results. The cybersecurity firm beat on top and bottom lines along with raising January-quarter and full-year guidance.

Here are the results:

EPS: $1.62 vs $1.33 est.
Revenue: $946M vs $921.6M est.

$PANW closed up 7.65%.

Here’s the daily chart:

Tyson Foods’ Q4 earnings topped earnings and sales estimates. Revenue grew 5% YoY.

Here are the stats:

EPS: $1.81 vs $1.15 est.
Revenue: $11.46B vs $11.11B est.

Tyson Foods CEO Dean Banks commented:

Our business performed well and delivered strong fourth quarter and full-year results. Our team members, agricultural partners, and customers have shown resilience. This has enabled us to maintain and accelerate our efforts to provide global consumers with a safe and accessible food supply.

$TSN gained 3.83%.

Vaccine Updates

Moderna’s COVID vaccine is 94.5% effective. This morning, the Company released the results of its Phase 3 study.

$MRNA said the vaccine remains stable for 6 months, can be refrigerated for 30 days, and stays at room temperature for 12 hours.

That’s great news for potential global distribution.

Juan Andres, Moderna’s Chief of Technical Operations, said:

We are pleased to submit these extended stability conditions for mRNA-1273 to regulators for approval. The ability to store our vaccine for up to 6 months at -20° C including up to 30 days at normal refrigerator conditions after thawing is an important development and would enable simpler distribution and more flexibility to facilitate wider-scale vaccination in the United States and other parts of the world.

One day at a time, ladies and gentlemen. 😷 Stay safe!

Read the press release here.

The Home Depot® To Acquire HDS

Today, The Home Depot® announced its plan to acquire HD Supply Holdings, Inc.

Already the world’s largest home improvement chain, The Home Depot® will now also be the nation’s main provider of maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) products.

The Home Depot® Chairman and CEO Craig Menear said:

HD Supply complements our existing MRO business with a robust product offering and value-added service capabilities, an experienced salesforce that enhances the strong team we have in place, as well as an extensive, MRO-specific distribution network throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The deal is expected to close by late January, 2021.

$HD + 1% | $HDS + 24.5%

Here’s the press release.