On February 10, American stock exchanges closed without significant changes. The S&P 500 index fell by a symbolic 0.03%, to 3910 points, the Dow Jones added 0.20%, the NASDAQ lost 0.25%. During the day, losses in the S&P 500 reached 0.6%, but its weakness was temporary. There were no new drivers of movement, but optimism about fiscal stimulus remained heightened. The cyclical consumer goods sector looked noticeably weaker than the market (-0.94%) due to Tesla shares, which fell 5.25%.
Company news
Twitter (TWTR: + 13.2%) beat consensus on revenue and EBITDA, but below-expected audience growth.
Taxi Lyft (LYFT: + 4.8%) posted better-than-expected quarterly revenue. The company said it was able to go into profit in the third quarter.
General Motors (GM: -2.1%) operating income was above market expectations. At the same time, as expected by analysts, the company warned of a shortage of semiconductors.
Dating services developer Match (MTCH: + 7.7%) acquires South Korean company Hyperconnect for $ 1.7 billion.
Today, world stock exchanges are showing mostly positive dynamics. The news background remains calm. Ultra-soft monetary and stimulating fiscal policies remain strong factors supporting optimism. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, during his speech in New York yesterday, reaffirmed his commitment to the course at low rates and also noted that the opening of the economy will lead to a significant increase in consumer spending. However, inflationary pressure, according to Powell, may turn out to be unstable, namely, further parameters of the monetary policy will depend on inflation and unemployment.
Technical picture
Technically, the S&P 500 is still in a medium-term uptrend. The trading session the day before did not change the overall picture. The broad market index is consolidating in a tight range after rising 4% last week. Resistance at the upper border of the uptrend is still a significant obstacle.
Today Top Movers
RCM Technologies Inc (RCMT) stock ascended 126.28% at $8.35 in the pre-market trading today. The company provided an update on its recently obtained projects to assist its clients in producing higher grades of ethanol for use in beverage and hygienic applications such as sanitizer-grade ethanol.
Microvision Inc (MVIS) gained over 38.29% at $19.36 in pre-market trading on Thursday after declaring that it has received necessary components and equipment to meet its April milestone of completing A-Samples of its Long-Range Lidar Sensor.
Sonos Inc (SONO) grew over 15.59% at $36.41 in pre-market trading today. The maker of smart speakers generated revenue of $645.6 million in its fiscal first quarter, up from $562.1 a year earlier and ahead of the $590 million that analysts surveyed by FactSet had been projecting.
Top Upgrades & Downgrades
Wells Fargo turned bullish on The Western Union Company (WU), upgrading the stock to “Equal-Weight” and assigning a $25.0 price target, representing potential upside of 6.43% from Wednesday’s close.
Pacific Biosciences of California Inc. (PACB) has won the favor of Piper Sandler’s equity research team. The firm upgraded the shares from Neutral to Overweight and moved their price target to $52.0, suggesting a 13.29% additional upside for the stock.
AnaptysBio Inc. (ANAB) received an upgrade from analysts at JP Morgan, who also set their one-year price target on the stock to $40.0. They changed their rating on ANAB to Overweight from Underweight in a recently issued research note.
Earlier Thursday Piper Sandler reduced its rating on Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) stock to Neutral from Overweight and assigned the price target to $24.
Vertical Research analysts reduced their investment ratings, saying in research reports covered by the media that it’s rating for Spirit Airlines Inc. (SAVE) has been changed to Hold from Buy.
Analysts at Barclays downgraded Equitrans Midstream Corporation (ETRN)’s stock to Underweight from Equal-Weight Thursday.
Latest Insider Activity
Tesla Inc. (TSLA) Director Musk Kimbal announced the sale of shares taking place on Feb 09 at $852.12 for some 30,000 shares. The total came to more than $25.56 million.
The Walt Disney Company (DIS) Executive Chairman IGER ROBERT A sold on Feb 08 a total of 1,177,989 shares at $190.12 on average. The insider’s sale generated proceeds of almost $41.83 million.
InspireMD Inc. (NSPR) Director Kester Thomas J declared the purchase of shares taking place on Feb 08 at $0.62 for some 120,960 shares. The transaction amount was around $74995.
Penn National Gaming Inc. (PENN) Director SCACCETTI JANE bought on Feb 08 a total 41,978 shares at $120.99 on average. The purchase cost the insider an estimated $99,212.
Important Earnings
Top US earnings releases scheduled for today include Expedia Group Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE). It will announce its Dec 2020 financial results. The company is expected to report earnings of -1.97 per share from revenues of $1.12B in the three-month period.
Analysts expect Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) to report a net income (adjusted) of $0.89 per share when the company releases its quarterly results shortly. Revenue for the fiscal quarter ended Dec 2020 is predicted to come in at $3.5B.
Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN), due to announce earnings after the market closes today, is expected to report earnings of 1.49 per share from revenues of $10.84B recently concluded three-month period.
Analysts have responded favorably to these developments, assigning a Strong Buy rating to ANAB within the healthcare sector on our ST screener. Investors interested in tracking similar stocks can explore analyst ratings through our screener link.