My top 10 things to watch Friday, April 28
1. Amazon (AMZN) is a complicated beast. Just when many initiatives are starting to pay off (same day, better grocery, ancillary aspects) and the costs are being reined in across the board, web services slows growth to 16% and we learned April slowed to 11%. The company believes it stops here because of use of artificial intelligence and generative AI. Club stock Amazon initially surged following its quarterly earnings release late Thursday. But the cloud concerns turned things. Shares down roughly 3% early Friday.
2. Beleaguered Intel (INTC) telling you that their roadmap is at last intact and the fourth generation Xeon processor is going well. Intel foundry (chip factory) services signs a big deal with Arm. High-speed semiconductors ramping. The Dow stock surges 6%, though first-quarter wider-than-expected loss but a revenue beat.
3. The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are set for a lower open. Wall Street surge Thursday pushed the stock benchmarks just into positive territory for the week ahead of Friday’s session. The Fed’s favorite inflation gauge for March came up 0.3%, as expected. But that means inflation remains sticky. Another quarter-point central bank interest rate hike still seen as a lock at the May meeting. Though market odds at nearly 70% for a June hold. Could be a big weekend for First Republic Bank (FRC) looking for help from the industry as it fights for survival.
4. Multiple price target boosts for industrial gas and engineering giant Linde (LIN) after Thursday’s strong quarter. Barclays and JPMorgan both take their PTs to $400 per share and both keep their overweight (buy) ratings. Best industrial play? The stock is near a record high. The Club raised our PT to $390 and keep our 1 rating.
5. Caterpillar (CAT) is structurally better. Used to go down on quarters like this but the capital return and inventories are fine; government infrastructure spending has not kicked in yet; China not yet, either. The Dow stock and Club name under some pressure early Friday after it only closed modestly lower, coming back from steep earlier losses as the market roared higher Thursday.
6. Club holding Honeywell (HON) gets price target boosts from Citi to $242 per share and Mizuho to $225. Both keep buy ratings. Analysts at both firms liked Honeywell’s quarterly beat and guidance raise.
7. Multiple price target increases and Wall Street firms keeping buying ratings on Club stock Eli Lilly (LLY). Cantor Fitzgerald PT goes to $485 per share from $432. Mixed first quarter out Thursday, but raised outlook for the full year. Positive obesity-trial data for Mounjaro. Looking for U.S. regulator approval for weight loss. Mounjaro already off to a strong start on type-2 diabetes. The stock closed Thursday at a record high $390.35.
8. Big oil: Exxon Mobil (XOM) blowout with EPS of $2.83 versus $2.63 expected and revenue of $86.5 billion versus $84.55 billion expected. Chevron (CVX) also beats on EPS of $3.55 versus $3.40 expected and on revenue of $48.8 billion versus $48.6 billion expected.
9. JPMorgan analyst Matt Boss starts coverage of the cruise line stocks with overnight (buy) ratings on Royal Caribbean (RCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH); neutral (hold) on Carnival (CCL). Record-breaking wave season from January to March. “Broad-based demand across customer segments,” the Boss note says.
10. Boston Beer (SAM) just a terrible number: a much wider-than-expected Q1 loss and revenue that was also shy of estimates. Executing so poorly. In beer, we like and own Corona, Modelo and Pacifico maker Constellation Brands (STZ).
(Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long AMZN, LIN, CAT, HON, LLY, STZ. See here for a full list of the stocks.)
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