My top 10 things to watch Friday, Dec. 15 1. U.S. stocks are muted in premarket trading Friday, with S & P 500 futures down 0.6%. The index is still on track to deliver its seventh-consecutive week of gains. Bond yields are mixed, with that of the 10-year Treasury hovering just below 4%. And oil prices tick up slightly, while holding on to strong gains this week that brought West Texas Intermediate crude to around $72 a barrel. 2. Club holding Costco Wholesale delivers a great quarter , along with a special dividend. The top-and-bottom-line beats showed how the company shines in a challenging macroeconomic environment, with many other retailers under pressure from a weakening consumer, bloated inventory levels and theft. Costco also has many options for opening new stores without cannibalization. 3. Bernstein raises its price target on Adobe to $667 a share, up from $660, while reiterating an outperform rating on the stock — a call with which I agree. The firm cites Adobe’s solid quarterly results this week, which beat on all major metrics. 4. Mizuho raises its price target on Club name Palo Alto Networks to $325 a share, up from $280, while maintaining a buy rating on the stock, on the back of higher comp multiples. 5. General Motors plans to lay off 1,300 workers in Michigan in the new year, according to state documents the automaker filed. The bulk of the layoffs were expected, including 945 workers at the Orion Assembly plant. 6. Deutsche Bank upgrades L3Harris Technologies to buy from hold, while raising its price target to $240 a share, up from $184. The firm cites a “clear-cut margin upside story and a shrinking relative downside risk” at the aerospace and defense technology company. 7. Citigroup downgrades Nokia to sell from buy, arguing that telecom is the most challenging end market in the European tech hardware space. Are you kidding me? 8. Wells Fargo upgrades General Electric to overweight from equal weight, while raising its price target to $144 a share, up from $115. The firm notes GE’s “attractive business with high aftermarket mix,” along with solid management and a clean balance sheet. What a great story. 9. JPMorgan downgrades BlackRock to neutral from overweight, with an unchanged price target of $708 a share. The the bank says the asset manager’s shares have meaningfully outperformed in the fourth quarter but doesn’t expect further upside. 10. Nike is so back. Bank of America raises its price target on the sneaker maker to $130 a share, up from $110, and keeps a neutral rating on the stock ahead of its quarterly results on Dec. 21. The firm expects Nike to hit or beat earnings estimates, while missing on sales. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free . (See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
My top 10 things to watch Friday, Dec. 15
1. U.S. stocks are muted in premarket trading Friday, with S&P 500 futures down 0.6%. The index is still on track to deliver its seventh-consecutive week of gains. Bond yields are mixed, with that of the 10-year Treasury hovering just below 4%. And oil prices tick up slightly, while holding on to strong gains this week that brought West Texas Intermediate crude to around $72 a barrel.
2. Club holding Costco Wholesale delivers a great quarter, along with a special dividend. The top-and-bottom-line beats showed how the company shines in a challenging macroeconomic environment, with many other retailers under pressure from a weakening consumer, bloated inventory levels and theft. Costco also has many options for opening new stores without cannibalization.
3. Bernstein raises its price target on Adobe to $667 a share, up from $660, while reiterating an outperform rating on the stock — a call with which I agree. The firm cites Adobe’s solid quarterly results this week, which beat on all major metrics.
4. Mizuho raises its price target on Club name Palo Alto Networks to $325 a share, up from $280, while maintaining a buy rating on the stock, on the back of higher comp multiples.
5. General Motors plans to lay off 1,300 workers in Michigan in the new year, according to state documents the automaker filed. The bulk of the layoffs were expected, including 945 workers at the Orion Assembly plant.
6. Deutsche Bank upgrades L3Harris Technologies to buy from hold, while raising its price target to $240 a share, up from $184. The firm cites a “clear-cut margin upside story and a shrinking relative downside risk” at the aerospace and defense technology company.
7. Citigroup downgrades Nokia to sell from buy, arguing that telecom is the most challenging end market in the European tech hardware space. Are you kidding me?
8. Wells Fargo upgrades General Electric to overweight from equal weight, while raising its price target to $144 a share, up from $115. The firm notes GE’s “attractive business with high aftermarket mix,” along with solid management and a clean balance sheet. What a great story.
9. JPMorgan downgrades BlackRock to neutral from overweight, with an unchanged price target of $708 a share. The the bank says the asset manager’s shares have meaningfully outperformed in the fourth quarter but doesn’t expect further upside.
10. Nike is so back. Bank of America raises its price target on the sneaker maker to $130 a share, up from $110, and keeps a neutral rating on the stock ahead of its quarterly results on Dec. 21. The firm expects Nike to hit or beat earnings estimates, while missing on sales.
(See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.)
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As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.
THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER. NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said Friday rate cuts are not a topic of discussion at the moment for the central bank. “We aren’t really talking about rate cuts right now,” he said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “We’re very focused on the question in front of us, which […]
