Stocks recap
Stocks WEEKLY STOCKS RECAP
WEEKLY STOCKS RECAP
IN TECH
Amazon beats Q2 expectations
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) rose 8% Friday after beating Q2 predictions and beating guiding sales, driven by its cloud division.
Amazon reported a quarterly profit of $0.65, $0.30 higher than the consensus of $0.35, on revenue of $134.4 billion, surpassing the $131.45B average analyst expectation.
Amazon Web Services, which made almost 70% of its Q2 operating profit, grew 12% to $22.1B, beating projections of 10.2%. The company claimed customers “started shifting from cost optimization to new workload deployment.”
The business predicts third-quarter revenue of $138B to $143B, compared to $138.28B.
Weekly gains were 4.8% to $139.57.
iPhone worries sink Apple.
After reporting its third consecutive quarterly sales dip, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares fell 4.8% Friday.
iPhone revenue, which accounts for about half of Apple’s sales, decreased to $39.67 billion from $40.67B a year earlier, missing projections of $39.91B. Revenue was $81.8B, up from $81.73 but down from $83B a year earlier.
Apple’s services division climbed to $21.21B from $19.60B a year earlier, beating predictions of $20.76B.
Earnings per share were $1.26, beating projections of $1.19.
In the results call, CFO Luca Maestri claimed iPhone and services performance will “accelerate from the June quarter” year over year. He projected significant double-digit reductions in Mac and iPad sales, “particularly on the Mac,” due to harsh comparisons to the previous year.
iPad revenue decreased 20% to $5.79B in Q3, missing Wall Street projections of $6.41B.
Shares fell 7.2% to $181.99 this week.
AMD has a wild week after Q2.
After Morgan Stanley suggested the AMD selloff was excessive, the stock rebounded.
AMD’s Q2 EPS was $0.58, a penny above consensus, and Q3 outlook was also above consensus, but Bernstein said it thinks projections “remain too high” despite confidence around AI “and the stock… looks a little stretched to us,” according to Reuters.
Oppenheimer cautioned, “We remain sidelined as AMD’s AI strategy proves out.”
AMD CEO Lisa Su said AI engagements increased by more than seven times “as multiple customers initiated or expanded programs supporting future deployments of Instinct accelerators at scale.” Revenue was $5.4B, beating analyst projections of $5.32B.
After Morgan Stanley called the company a “significant outperformer” at current levels, the stock rose 1.6% to $115.82.
Soft guidance sinks Qualcomm.
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) plummeted over 8% Thursday after reporting weak guidance for the current quarter and mixed fiscal Q3 earnings amid weak smartphone demand.
The chipmaker posted $1.87 adjusted EPS on $8.44 billion revenue. Investing.com analysts predicted $1.81 EPS on $8.51B revenue.
The business forecast fiscal fourth-quarter EPS of $1.80 to $2, behind Wall Street projections of $1.94, on revenue of $8.1B to $8.9B, compared to $8.77B.
Qualcomm shares recovered on Friday but fell 6.4% to $121.50.
Gross profit concerns sink PayPal.
After beating Q2 top- and bottom-line predictions, PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) fell over 12% Thursday on concerns over gross profit growth.
PayPal earned $1.16 per share on $7.29 billion in Q2. InvestingPro analysts predicted $1.15 EPS on $7.27B revenue.
The company’s total payment volume (TPV), or transaction income minus transaction expenses and losses, climbed just 1% from the previous year.
Shares fell 16% to $62.75.
IN EV SPACE
Nikola’s Roller Coaster Week: Market Surges and Management Changes
Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA), a manufacturer of electric trucks, saw a chaotic week of significant share price changes, starting with an 18% increase on Monday when the firm announced it had signed a purchase deal with JB Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT).
The deal, made through Nikola’s EV brand, HYLA, states that JB Hunt would purchase 13 Nikola zero-emission Class 8 vehicles – 10 battery-electric and three hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks – with the first deliveries planned for this month.
Just two days later, Nikola announced with pride that it had exceeded 200 sales orders for its Class 8 Nikola hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, attracting orders from 18 different end customers. Shares continued to soar after that.
According to Nikola CEO Michael Lohscheller, “this extraordinary demand for our hydrogen fuel cell electric truck confirms the industry’s trend toward sustainable transportation solutions.”
The stock, however, lost the majority of its weekly gains on Friday after Nikola announced that Lohscheller would be resigning immediately due to a family health issue.
Given that this was Nikola’s fourth CEO change in as many years, some investors expressed concern about the stability of the company’s management team despite Chairman Steve Girsky’s impressive 30-year experience in the sector.
Before departing for Europe, Lohscheller will continue to serve as an advisor through the end of September. As one of his last acts as CEO, he presided over a vital vote to increase the maximum number of shares the business may issue, allowing Nikola to secure crucial operating cash.
Nikola reported 2Q EPS of ($0.20), $0.02 higher than consensus expectations, in its Friday earnings report. Contrary to the average forecast of $15 million, the quarter’s revenue came in at $15.36 million.
Shares of NKLA ended the week up just 2.9% to $2.50, down roughly 32% from Thursday’s intraday high of $3.66.
Tesla: Additional price reductions, more India negotiations, and a new lawsuit
The revelation that Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has chosen to introduce price reductions in Hong Kong signalled the start of an eventful week for the electric vehicle manufacturer. According to the Hong Kong Economic Times, price reductions ranging from 6% to 11.9% will be made to a number of their Model 3 and Model Y automobile models.
Since the company released its second-quarter earnings, Tesla shares have decreased by about 15%, reinforcing its plan to prioritise growth over margins and teasing the possibility of further price reductions.
In related Tesla news, it was revealed that company executives met with India’s Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal, last week to go over ideas for setting up a manufacturing facility there.
For a number of years, Tesla and India have been considering a possible economic partnership, but the ideal conditions remained lacking to firmly establish Tesla’s commitment to establishing a factory in the nation.
Since CEO Elon Musk’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June, this meeting with Minister Goyal is the two organisations’ most prominent interaction to date. Additionally, there have been rumours that Tesla has leased 5,850 square feet of office space there.
A class action lawsuit filed in the United States accuses Tesla of misrepresenting the estimated ranges of its electric vehicles.
In the lawsuit, which was submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, it is claimed that Tesla allegedly set up a “Diversion Team” in Nevada to handle a large number of owner complaints about range-related problems with the goal of cancelling as many range-related appointments as possible.
According to the claims, Tesla decided decades ago to create algorithms for its in-dash range metre that would give drivers unrealistic estimates of how far their cars could go on a full battery. An unknown person referenced in the publications claims that Musk made the decision to fudge range estimations. It’s unclear whether the business still employs these algorithms.
The lawsuit asserts that Tesla broke the terms of the vehicle warranties and committed fraud and unfair business practices.
The weekly low for TSLA shares was $253.86/sh, a 4.56% decline.
Outlook for the week on energy and precious metals
WTI Crude Forecast
Technical chartist Sunil Kumar Dixit claimed WTI could exhaust before $86 despite its momentum.
“WTI has the appearance of an overbought market although its 4-Hour Stochastics still have room for upside, with open targets for the 100-day SMA, or Simple Moving Average, of $85.45 and the monthly Middle Bollinger Band of $86.90,” said SKCharting.com chief technical strategist Dixit.
“A settlement below the 5-day EMA, or Exponential Moving Average, of $81.45 will be an initial sign of exhaustion,” Dixit said.
Gold: Forecast
Dixit of SKCharting.com said spot gold’s third week of decrease may have completed a Wave 5, which, if confirmed by higher highs, would resume the yellow metal’s uptrend.
Dixit said spot gold must first trade above the 50-Day EMA, or Exponential Moving Average, of $1,949 and the Daily Middle Bollinger Band of $1,954, followed by purchasing momentum over the 4-Hour 100 SMA, or Simple Moving Average, of $1,958.
Gold’s next test will be the 100-day SMA of $1,969. Bulls and bears will struggle to take control here.”
He noted that bears will win if this point or the preceding $1,954-$1,958 level is rejected.
Gas Price Forecast
Dixit of SKCharting said natural gas futures are neutral, moving sideways with transient bearish consolidation below the 200-day SMA of $2.65 on the 4-hour time frame.
“As long as the 100-day SMA which aligns with Weekly middle Bollinger Band $2.40 remains intact with Daily/Weekly closing basis, resumption of upward rebound will remain valid which initially targets retesting swing high $2.84 followed closely by psychological handle $3.00,” he said.
Dixit said a decisive breakout below $2.40 might lead to a decline to $2.10 and $2.
Weekly Earnings Calendar
Monday, August 7
KKR & Company (KKR), Palantir Technologies (PLTR), BioNTech (BNTX),International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), Coterra Energy (CTRA), Tyson Foods (TSN), Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS), Lucid Group (LCID), Paramount Global (PARA),Viatris Inc. (VTRS)
Tuesday, August 8
Eli Lilly & Company (LLY), United Parcel Service (UPS), Zoetis Inc. (ZTS), Duke Energy Corp. (DUK) , Li Auto (LI), GlobalFoundries Inc. (GFS), Sun Life Financial (SLF), Barrick Gold (GOLD), Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO), Rivian Automotive (RIVN),
Wednesday, August 9
The Walt Disney Company (DIS), Honda Motor Company (HMC), Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC), Illumina (ILMN), Roblox Corporation (RBLX), U-Haul Holding Company (UHAL), Charles River Laboratories International (CRL)
Thursday, August 10
Alibaba Group (BABA), Brookfield Corporation (BN), Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (WPM), News Corporation (NWS), US Foods Holding Corp. (USFD)
Friday, August 11
Spectrum Brands Holding Inc. (SPB), Soho House & Co. (SHCO)
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