Tale of the Tape
Good evening, everyone. Happy hump day. šŖ The market was mixed, but we did see some major moves.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closed in the green while the Russell 2000 and Dow Jones settled in the red.
Utilities nearly gained 2% while real estate caught a bid and bounced 1.37%. Basic materials, energy, and industrials all lost more than 0.50%.
The cryptos were calm. Bitcoin bopped 6.5% while Ethereum emerged back above 1100. Is this the calm before the storm? š©ļø šŖļø Time will tell.
Gamestop gained 57% a few days after adding Chewy Co-Founder Ryan Cohen to its board. $GME is up over 1000% since its low close on April 3, 2020.
Intel announced a new hire for its highest position. The stock popped and filled the gap from last summer. See more below.
$PTON popped 7.29%. Airbnb and DoorDash both dashed to a new all-time high.
Shake Shack surged another 7% after yesterday’s Q4 status update. $SHAK broke out to blue skies. Hereās its monstrous monthly chart:
Pot stocks were hot. The US Cannabis ETF $MSOS marched 4.78%.
After the close, the house voted to impeach President Trump for the second time. Mitch McConnell said a Senate vote wonāt take place prior to Bidenās inauguration on January 20. Hereās the Wall Street Journal with more.
Here are the closing prints:
S&P 500 | 3,809 | +0.23% |
Nasdaq | 13,129 | +0.43% |
Russell 2000 | 2,111 | -0.75% |
Dow Jones | 31,060 | -0.10% |
GameStop Had A Great Day
Game Stop has been hot. As of todayās close, $GME has already gained 63% in 2021. š® šŖ
On Monday, the company announced an agreement with RC Ventures to refresh the company’s board of directors. Three new directors were appointed ā Alan Attal, Ryan Cohen and Jim Grube.
GameStop also reported its holiday sales results. Holiday sales rose 4.8% YoY, and e-commerce sales jumped 308%. Full quarter guidance was not provided, but the company expects comparable store sales and profits to rise in 2020ās fiscal Q4.
George Sherman, GameStopās CEO, said:
GameStop maintained its status as the omni-channel destination for gaming and entertainment with unprecedented demand for the new gaming consoles and a significant increase in E-Commerce sales. Demand for the new generation of consoles remains very strong, and as a result, we anticipate the consumerās excitement for the new console technology will benefit us going forward well through 2021.
Today, $GME gained 57.4% on insane volume. 144M shares were tradedā more than 8x its 20-day average. š¤Æ
Will this short squeeze turn into a turnaround success story? Place your betsā¦
Swanās Swan Song
Intel announced today that CEO Bob Swan is out, and VMWare CEO Pat Gelsinger is in.
Swan had a remarkably difficult tenure while at Intel, including Appleās removal of Intel chips, a massive loss of market share, and a couple of failed acquisitions. Oof.
The leadership change will happen February 15th, and so far, investors are loving it. Intelās stock was up 6.97% on the day, while VMWareās was down 6.79%.
$INTC filled last yearās gap down following the news. Hereās the daily chart:
That stock price swing reminds us of when Steve Ballmerās net worth jumped $786M after he announced his retirement. š
A-Firm Start to an IPO
āTis the season for IPOs!
The financing company Affirm began trading today under the ticker $AFRM, kicking off what many expect to be a record year for public offerings.
The stock priced above its expected range yesterday, coming in at $49. It still popped to $90.90 before it started trading, though. Someone needs to help these underwriters out, lol.
Other than the Affirm team, the company most excited about today was Shopifyā it gained an 8% stake in the company thatās now worth more than $2B. Not too shabby.
With the stockās progress today, maybe people should use Affirm to purchase shares…
As if today wasnāt enough, weāll see another major IPO tomorrow. Poshmark will begin trading under ticker $POSH.
Target Holiday Sales š
Target provided an update on holiday sales, and it didnāt disappoint.
The retail chain saw comparable sales in the combined November/December period grow 17.2%, while comparable digital sales grew 102%.
Sales growth was strongest in Home and Hardlines. Brian Cornell, Targetās CEO, said:
The momentum in our business continued in the holiday season with notable market share gains across our entire product portfolio. We’re very pleased with our results, and the strength of our performance is a reflection of the tireless work of our team to support our guests through a safe, convenient and inspirational experience. Throughout the holidays, we delivered joy for holiday shoppers while focusing on safetyā adjusting promotions to reduce crowding while delivering easy, contactless fulfillment options through Drive Up and Shipt.
US Bans Chinese Tomatoes, Cotton
The US just declared a ban on all cotton products and tomatoes from Xinjiuan, China in response to Beijingās oppression of the Muslim Uighur population.
Forced labor in Chinese tomato and cotton plants is the official reason for the ban. The US also cites the forced internment of Uighur Muslims in Chinese re-education camps as motivation for prohibiting Chinese imports.
Last year, the US imported $19B worth of cotton and tomatoes from China. Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kenneth Cuccinelli commented:
Forced labor is a form of modern slavery. āMade in Chinaā doesnāt just indicate country of originā itās a warning label.
Hereās Bloomberg with the details.
Earnings This Week
Be sure to know when your stocks report earnings. Hereās the earnings calendar.
Links That Donāt Suck
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