Snap Inc.  got a Wall Street-high price target from Goldman Sachs analysts.

Goldman analyst Heath Terry raised his price target on the social media company’s shares to $70 per share (from $47) – the highest target on Wall Street.Terry maintained his buy rating on the stock.

 The analyst mentioned tech innovations and product partnerships that he believes could push Snap's revenue growth beyond the Street expectations.

Terry also said that Snap's Spotlight product, new ad campaign objectives and bid types, and the Unity partnership, particularly Unity Ads' inclusion into the Snap Audience Network (SAN) could potentially propel further momentum in engagement growth as well as provide valuable scale to advertisers.

            First Solar (FSLR)

            JinkoSolar (JKS)

            Sunnova Energy International (NOVA)

            Plug Power (PLUG)

            Sunpower (SPWR)

When I pulled up these five stocks on the Tickeron Technical Analysis Screener, I couldn’t help but notice all five stocks had received bearish signals from the Bollinger Bands indicator within the last three days.

On Monday, electric vehicle-technology company Ideanomics announced that its Mobile Energy Global unit and contractor Qingdao Chengyang Medici have signed a deal with Meihao Chuxing (a joint venture between China's BYD and Didi) to buy an initial 2,000 ride-hailing units of model BYD D1 electric vehicle. 

According to Ideanomics, the vehicles are intended to be deployed in multiple cities within China.It expects deliveries to start in the first half of 2021.

The BYD D1 was launched in November, and has a range of 418 km, or 260 miles, and can reach top speeds of 130 km an hour, or 81 miles an hour.

The agreement is backed by a "viable government subsidy program, Ideanomics stated in a press release.

Nikola  shares got a price target cut from analysts at J.P. Morgan.

J.P.Morgan analysts slashed their price target on the electric carmaker’s shares to $35 from $40 per share. 

The investment bank mentioned that it identified execution risks for Nikola following General Motors’ decision   in November to sign a memorandum of understanding with the company that was smaller in scale than investors had previously anticipated.  General Motors will provide its hydrotec fuel cell system for Nikola's Class 7 and 8 semi-trucks, but not under the exact same terms as announced earlier.

Nevertheless analyst Paul Coster still expects Nikola's news cycle "to be less drama-filled and to turn generally positive," according to TheFly. 

Novavax is also currently conducting a large Phase 3 clinical study in the United Kingdom (U.K.), a Phase 2b safety and efficacy study in South Africa, and an ongoing Phase1/2 trial in the U.S. and Australia.Results from these trials are expected to come in as soon as early first quarter 2021, although timing could depend on transmission rates in the regions.

The packaged software industry has performed extremely well in recent weeks and that has caused a number of the stocks to hit overbought territory on their daily charts.A number of the stocks have gained 15% or more in the past month while the S&P 500 is only up 3.7%.

One software company that has lagged the others and lagged the market is HUYA Inc. (HUYA).

Initial jobless claims in the U.S. came in less than expected last week, based on data from Labor Department.

The number of first-time unemployment benefits claims was 803,000 in the week ended Dec. 19, compared to the  888,000 expected by economists polled by Dow Jones.The upwardly revised initial claims of the preceding week was 892,000 (the highest figure since early September).

Continuing jobless claims (seasonally adjusted)fell to a 5.3 million in the week ended Dec. 12, from 5.5 million a week earlier.

Earlier this week, Congress approved a $900 billion coronavirus economic stimulus package, which includes $300 weekly federal supplemental unemployment benefits, $600 direct payments to most individuals, and around $325 billion for small business aid, among other items.

New home sales dropped -11% month-over-month in November, according to the U.S. Census.

While mortgage rates fell rapidly in November, higher home prices could have weighed on affordability, thereby affecting contract signings.Strong home demand against limited inventory has been a prominent theme in U.S. housing market this year – something that has fueled price gains while apparently starting to challenge affordability.

The median price of a newly built home increased +2.2% year-over-year in November to $335,300.

Videoconferencing platform Zoom Video Communications  is reportedly considering developing its own corporate e-mail and calendar services.

According to a report in The Information, Zoom Video has already started working on the e-mail service and may begin testing it out early next year.But work might not have begun on the calendar service.

Bigger tech companies Microsoft   and Alphabet already incorporate  e-mail and calendar services into their respective videoconferencing platforms.

Human resource and payroll benefits manager Paychex  posted fiscal-second-quarter earnings that surpassed analysts’ expectations, thanks to  client retention and strengthening client base.

For the quarter ended Nov. 30, the company’s earnings came in at 75 cents a share, compared to  66 cents expected by analysts polled by FactSet.The figure is also higher than the year-ago quarter’s 72 cents a share.

Revenue fell 0.7% year-over-year to $983.7 million, exceeding analysts’ forecast of $954 million.

While the covid-19 pandemic affected the results, strong client retention and our sales performance has resulted in year-over-year growth in the number of clients sold and serviced, as suggested in a statement from President and Chief Executive Martin Mucci.

General Motors  is recalling almost 840,000 vehicles in the U.S., due to suspension issues or problems with front seat belts.

According to the automaker, the seat-belt brackets may not have been secured to the frame, so the belts might fail to hold people in a crash.Owners will be notified starting February 1.

The suspension recall covers the 2012 and 2013 Buick Regal, the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, and the 2010 through 2013 Buick Lacrosse midsize cars that were sold or registered in salt-belt states.

The latest recall report follows last month’s announcement from GM that it would recall 6 million pickup trucks and SUVs after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said they had potentially faulty airbags. 

Digital payments company Square Inc., has reportedly held talks to acquire the music-streaming platform Tidal, as it tries to diversify its business.

Citing an source familiar with the matter (and not willing to be named) , Bloomberg reported that Jack Dorsey, who runs Square, has discussed a potential deal with rapper Jay-Z who bought Tidal for $56 million in early 2015. Talks are still private and do not necessarily imply a deal, according to the report.

Tidal has had a challenge keeping up with peers  including Spotify Technology SA and Apple Music.

Shooting sports and outdoor products maker Vista Outdoor  shares got rating boost to outperform from market perform by Cowen analyst Gautam Khanna.The analyst also hiked his share-price target on Vista shares to $33 from $29. 

According to Khanna, President-elect Joe Biden's gun-control plans will likely increase demand for guns and ammunition.

Express   reportedly hired services of investment bank Lazard Frères for raising financing to get through the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Chief Executive Timothy Baxter’s comments to the Wall Street Journal , Express is not considering a bankruptcy filing; Baxter said the retailer  continues to take “decisive and appropriate action” for liquidity management throughout the pandemic."

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Journal indicated that Express is looking to boost its cash reserves until enough of the U.S. population is vaccinated against COVID-19 so as to allow more shopping at physical stores and to resume office work.

Tesla founder Elon Musk indicated that Apple Inc.  was offered an opportunity to buy the electric carmaker in 2018.

Referring to a Twitter discussion on a Reuters report that Apple is considering launching a self-driving electric car with 'next level' battery technology, Musk said he reached out to Apple during the "darkest days" of development of Model 3 to talk about a potential deal.).

Musk called the Apple electric car report as "strange, if true”.

December Outlook for Technology Sector

Congress approved a coronavirus economic relief package and government spending bill Monday night.

Both chambers agreed to the more than $2 trillion legislation in votes, including $900 billion in pandemic aid and a $1.4 trillion measure to fund the government through Sept. 30.

The coronavirus stimulus package includes $300 weekly supplemental federal benefits to the jobless, more small business loans, $600 direct payments to individuals and funds for distribution of Covid-19 vaccine, among other items.

A leading gauge of U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly dropped in December to a four-month low, amid surging coronavirus cases that have recently propelled tighter restrictions in many states.

The Conference Board index fell to 88.6 in December, from a downwardly revised 92.9 in November.However, the expectations sub-index rose from a four-year low.

The Conference Board latest survey results differ from the University of Michigan’s measure of U.S. consumer sentiment that increased in early December to the second-highest level since March.

Streaming television company fuboTV  got an extremely optimistic outlook from analysts at Needham. 

While analysts at Needham maintained their  buy rating, they doubled their price target on fuboTV shares to $60 per share. 

Analyst Laura Martin noted that they view FUBO as an “inexpensive” option for public investors to participate in the US consumer shift toward OTT and Streaming TV.