Avis Budget shares rose Thursday, following a rating boost from Bank of America. Bank of America upgraded rating on the car rental company’s shares to buy from neutral. “Many of the macro factors driving ‘over-earning’ by the company in 2021 will likely persist well into 2022,” BofA analysts wrote in a commentary. The factors include limited incoming vehicle supply and tight average fleet,...
Ford Motor Co. announced that it will double the production capacity target for its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck to 80,000 per year, citing strong demand. Previously, the automaker’s production target was more than 40,000 of the vehicles by 2024. "The interest from the public has surpassed our highest expectations," Executive Chairman Bill Ford said in a statement. The vehicle is...
U.S. retail sales climbed higher in August, according to data from the Commerce Department. That indicates that consumer spending is showing strength despite the Delta-variant spread and supply chain issues. Retail sales rose +0.7% from the prior month to $618.7 billion in August, thereby beating the Street consensus forecast of a -0.8% decline. In July, retail sales fell -1.1% vs. a prior...
On Wednesday, Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment sold 81,600 shares of Tesla amounting to $61.7 million at close. ARK Innovation dumped 70,161 shares, and ARK Next Generation sold 11,448. ARK ETFs’ total Tesla sales so far this month is $266 million, according to Bloomberg. After selling some Tesla shares last year, she told CNBC that keeping position sizes in check is “wise portfolio management.”...
Oracle Corp. surpassed earnings expectations for fiscal first quarter. However, the database and cloud behemoth missed analyst estimates for revenue. The company’s non-GAAP earnings came in at $1.03 a share, compared to the 97 cents a share expected by analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue was $9.7 billion, vs. $9.76 billion estimated by FactSet analysts. Oracle CEO Safra Catz in a statement...
JPMorgan predicts that the S&P 500 will reach 4,700 by year-end. That would imply a +5% gain from the recent level of 4,481. “We remain positive on the equity outlook, and expect S&P 500 to reach 4,700 by end of this year and surpass 5,000 next year on better-than-expected earnings,” JPMorgan strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas wrote in a commentary. Despite concerns about the recent slowing in...
Oil prices climbed further Wednesday, extending gains following the damage from Hurricanes Nicholas and Ida. The Energy Department indicated a larger than expected decrease in domestic crude inventories. U.S. crude stocks fell by -6.4 million barrels over the week ending September 10, more than twice the consensus market forecast. Gasoline stockpiles are at their lowest levels since 2017,...
Boeing Co. published its annual industry forecast that suggests that global demand for commercial aircraft hasn't yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. The 2021 Boeing Market Outlook projects overall demand for around 43,610 over the next two decades. This is down from its 2019 forecast of 44,040. Boeing's ten year-horizon forecast indicates global demand for 19,000 commercial airplanes valued...
Apple Inc. unveiled its next generation iPhone 13 at its 'California Streaming' launch event in Cupertino. The new iPads will ship next week. The new iPhones go on sale on Friday, Sept. 17 and ship on Friday, Sept. 24. The Apple Watch Series 7 will ship later this fall. The iPhone 13 will come in five colors. The model will include advanced dual camera system and an OLED screen display. It...
U.S. consumer price inflation slowed modestly in August compared to July, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This potentially suggests the beginning of supply chain constraints easing. Headline CPI in August rose +5.3% from the year-ago period. It was +5.4% year-over-year in July -- the highest since 2008. Core inflation, which strips-out volatile components such as food...
Amazon said it would hire another 125,000 employees in its logistics facilities, in some states in the U.S. The roles offered at warehouses and package sorting centers will have an average pay of $18 an hour and up to $22.50 an hour in some locations. Dave Clark, Amazon's chief executive for the e-commerce company’s worldwide consumer division, said in a statement that the company is offering...
Disney said that it will release its remaining films for 2021 exclusively in theaters for a minimum of 45 days, except for "Encanto" ( Encanto will stream on Disney+ after 30 days). The media/entertainment behemoth said that it would release five films for minimum 45-day exclusive theatrical runs, including filmmaker Ridley Scott's "The Last Duel" to be released on Oct. 15, animated film...
Virgin Galactic has postponed its first commercial research mission in collaboration with the Italian Air Force until at least mid-October, owing to a potential issue. The space travel company is examining a component provided by a third-party vendor for the flight control actuation system in its SpaceShipTwo vehicles. However, it does not know yet if there is a defect or if repairs are...
On Friday, Sunrun shares rose, after analysts at Needham initiated coverage of the solar energy company with a buy rating and a $75 price target. Needham analyst Vikram Bagri cited Sunrun’s position as "the leader in the crowded US residential solar industry with about 15% share, almost 2x that of its closest competitor." "We think the industry, which has expanded rapidly since 2016, can keep...
Shares of Greenlane Holdings was reinstated outperform rating by analysts at Cowen. Cowen analysts now have a price target of $5 a share. The analysts are bullish after Greenlane closed its merger with KushCo. on Sept. 1. "Combined, the company will be a clear leader in the ancillary cannabis space where distinct customer bases should provide a platform for cross-selling opportunities and...
Investment management company Blackstone has agreed to purchase smart access products company Chamberlain Group, for about $5 billion. Blackstone bought the company from private equity firm The Duchossois Group. Under the terms of the deal, The Duchossois Group will continue to have “meaningful” ownership in the company and two seats on its Board of Directors. “Blackstone is expected to...
Disney owned- Marvel's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" generated $90 million at the box office to close the Labor Day weekend. The result exceeded an initial forecast of about $63 million by researcher Boxoffice Pro. “Shang-Chi" had the second-biggest opening weekend of the pandemic, behind only "Black Widow" with $80 million. "Shang Chi's" had a three day total of $75.5 million...
Barclays strategists have boosted their year-end outlook for the S&P 500 to 4,600 from 4,400. The analysts cited strong earnings as a factor that would bolster the market. “Consensus forecasts for future quarters have not been revised up despite the strong earnings surprise for the second quarter, continuing the trend of viewing each beat as a one-off event,” the analysts wrote, according to...
NIO Inc. announced that it will offer $2 billion of its American depositary shares through an at-the-market equity offering. An at-the-market offering allows a company to sell shares as needed at the prevailing market price. The electric vehicle maker said proceeds from the sale will be used to strengthen its balance sheet and for general corporate purposes. NIO delivered 5,880 vehicles in...
MongoDB shares received price-target hikes from several analysts, on the database platform's fiscal-second-quarter results that surpassed expectations. For the quarter ended July 31, MongoDB incurred a loss of -24 cents a share, compared with -39 cents a share loss expected by analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue rose +44% from the year-ago quarter to $198.7 million, beating analysts'...