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Bank of America says General Motors remains a leader in the auto industry, despite many investors remaining pessimistic on the stock. Meanwhile, Bank of America has a buy rating on the auto giant. General Motors recently unveiled the last new gas-powered Buick car , as the brand prepares to move to an all-electric domestic lineup by 2030. The company is bullish that lower-carbon electric vehicles are the future for the auto industry. GM 1Y mountain General Motors stock —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

☆ Bank of America lists its top stock picks for the second quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

With the start of the second quarter, Bank of America has a new list of short-term ideas for investors seeking clarity amid ongoing market volatility. The bank expects its Medicare Advantage plans to comprise two-thirds of the company's revenue growth for this year. The bank assigned a $650 price target on UnitedHealth, suggesting the stock could gain more than 31% from Tuesday's close. The bank expects even more gains for the stock, with its 12-month price target of $115 per share implying 11% upside from Tuesday's close of $103.58. Analysts at the bank aren't as bullish on CarMax Bank of America expects CarMax shares to shed 37% to its $40 per share price target.

☆ A 40-year stock trader and mathematician who had a 366% return shares her 4 biggest tips, plus the winning strategy she learned from her worst mistake
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Sunny Harris began trading on her own after a fund manager lost a big chunk of her investment. She recommends testing your strategy and rules at least 100 times before using them to make trades. Before Sunny Harris became a stock trader, she was a computer programmer with a master's degree in mathematics. 4 of her biggest takeaway tips to trading the marketHer overarching advice is to develop your own trading strategy. And I lost money three times in a row.

☆ Here's what every major analyst thought of Tesla's investor day
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Analysts aren't budging on Tesla coming off an investor day that they see as offering little detail on the electric vehicle maker's future plans. Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi, a noted bear on the stock, called the meeting "somewhat disjointed and fairly technical." The investor day came as investors grow increasingly cautious following Musk's chaotic purchase of Twitter and recent price cuts to some Tesla models . Wells Fargo Analyst: Colin Langan Price target: $190, a downside of 6.3% from Wednesday's close Rating: Staying equal weight "It's unclear how long the recent Model3/Y price cuts will sustain demand. There was also no comment on a Model 3/Y refresh or any major update on Tesla Bot or FSD.

☆ Continuing Sanctions Against Russia Mark ‘Tectonic’ Shift
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Hundreds of companies, though, decamped, calculating that the looming threat of sanctions ratcheting up and reputational risk warranted an exit. Prof. Sonnenfeld and Mr. Tannebaum both have been personally sanctioned by Russia, which has accused critics of engaging in a “Russophobic” campaign. “Countries continue to rely on those tools for foreign policy. The Russia sanctions have functioned as a “wake-up call” to the C-suite, Mr. Smith said. The use of coordinated sanctions, both in Russia and as a broader foreign policy tool, doesn’t seem to be going away, experts agreed.

☆ A Year After Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, Tough Sanctions Linger
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago prompted a volley of tough sanctions from the U.S. and its allies, a historic use of economic measures that will likely have lasting implications for businesses. Hundreds of companies, though, decamped, calculating that the looming threat of sanctions ratcheting up and reputational risk warranted an exit. “Countries continue to rely on those tools for foreign policy. The Russia sanctions have functioned as a “wake-up call” to the C-suite, Mr. Smith said. The use of coordinated sanctions, both in Russia and as a broader foreign policy tool, doesn’t seem to be going away, experts agreed.

☆ Luxury EV maker Lucid appears to have a demand problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( John Rosevear | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid appears to have a demand problem. But clearly demand for Lucid's vehicles isn't materializing as quickly as the company expected, which raises some tough questions for investors. Running an auto factory well below capacity isn't exactly a route to profitability, as CFO Sherry House conceded during Lucid's earnings call. That leads to a second, related question: How long will Lucid have to run its factory at a loss? As long as it has the Saudi fund's backing, Lucid should be able to keep going.

☆ Bank of America downgrades EV maker Lucid Group, citing near-term demand concern
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Despite a promising long-term outlook for shares of Lucid Group , weak demand is likely to pressure shares near term, according to Bank of America. Analyst John Murphy downgraded shares of the electric vehicle company to a neutral rating from a buy, citing Lucid's disappointing fourth-quarter results, financial guidance and production forecast. Lucid said it expects to deliver 10,000 to 14,000 vehicles in 2023, whereas Bank of America had expected 27,000. The downgrade from Bank of America comes after Lucid posted fourth-quarter revenue that fell short of estimates, with shares tumbling 10% in premarket trading Thursday. LCID YTD mountain Lucid shares so far this year Along with the downgrade, Murphy slashed Bank of America's price target to $10 from $18, suggesting shares should remain rangebound from Wednesday's close.

☆ CPGs like Coca-Cola, P&G, and Clorox break down their marketing investments as consumers reckon with price hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Ryan Joe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Many CPGs like Coca-Cola, P&G, and Clorox don't intend to increase their current level of marketing. As the economic squeeze continues, CPG brands like Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, and Clorox are being ultra-cautious about their marketing spend. Major CPGs spent hundreds of millions, and at times billions, on ads in 2022. Clorox spent $280 million, Coca-Cola spent $646 million, and Unilever spent $746 million according to data from Vivvix, an ad intel platform owned by Kantar, and social data from Pathmatics. Clorox, Coca-Cola, and Unilever didn't respond to a request for comment.

☆ CPGs like Coca-Cola and P&G don't want to spend more on marketing, but might have to if consumers get fed up with all the price increases
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Ryan Joe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

☆ Tesla just ignited a price war in electric vehicles. Investors should see it as an opportunity
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

The event may have created a compelling entry point for investors who have been on the sidelines of the long-term shift to electric vehicles. Electric vehicles are becoming much more popular in the U.S. but still make up a small portion of automobiles on the roads. Cutting prices certainly caught the eye of consumers and boosted interest in Tesla vehicles, according to data from Edmunds. And, there are still issues with electric vehicles that make them impractical for large groups of consumers, said Mike Ward, an analyst at The Benchmark Company. There’s also a huge potential in firms that make batteries, key parts of electric vehicles that are also seeing surging share prices.

☆ Behind the EV price war is an all-out battle for the future of customer loyalty in the car business — and it could mean more discounts on the horizon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Nora Naughton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ceding profits to market share is an expensive game of chicken, analysts warn. This will be a 'pivotal year' for establishing customer loyalty in the EV market. Chasing market share over profitsBoth companies are opting to cede profits for market share in a pricey game of chicken, analysts said. GM – opting out of the pricing war for now – is going after customer loyalty with an EV helpline open to all electric car owners. But if history is any guide, more companies will join in the price slashing if their market share starts to slip.

☆ Bank of America asked its analysts for their top 2023 picks—Here are the stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Stocks are off to a hot start for the year, and Bank of America analysts think some buy-rated names in their coverage universe can carry that momentum through the rest of 2023. Still, Bank of America asked its analysts to break down their top picks for 2023. "Upside risks are if the commercial aerospace and business aviation jet recoveries are better than expected, earnings could fare better than our projections," Bank of America noted. Bank of America has a price target of $120 per share, implying upside of about 20% from Monday's close. Domino's Pizza The world's largest pizza delivery company was chosen by Bank of America due to its promising growth potential.

☆ Elon Musk says his Twitter misadventure has only helped Tesla. Wall Street isn't buying it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Wall Street analysts feel otherwise: They're bullish on Tesla, but think Musk is too distracted. Musk's tweets have gotten him in trouble with shareholders and the courts. Wall Street thinks Twitter is a costly distractionMusk is not wrong in that he and Tesla are reasonably popular on Twitter. But how many of Musk's and Tesla's followers converted to sales based on the content coming from those accounts? As in most things, there's always more to the story — but you can't deny the impact of Musk's Twitter habits, either.

☆ Tesla's strong orders and weak margins in its latest earnings have analysts conflicted on the stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The company posted adjusted earnings of $1.19 per share, compared to expectations of $1.13 per share, according to Refinitiv estimates. We're currently seeing orders of almost twice the rate of production," Musk said during a call with analysts. While the strong orders are promising, the analyst said the auto gross margins were too weak to overlook. Still, he maintained a neutral rating on the firm following earnings, saying the outlook is balanced from here. Meanwhile, Bank of America's John Murphy reiterated a neutral rating, saying the operational and financial outlook for Tesla shares remains unchanged after earnings, and that the stock is "fairly valued."

☆ Winners and losers in electric vehicles as Tesla possibly ignites a price war
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Yet Tesla has the upper hand when it comes to being able to afford those price cuts, suggested Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois. Both Murphy and Wells Fargo's Langan see a more challenging time ahead for Ford and General Motors as a result of Tesla's price cuts. However, Societe Generale believes Tesla price cuts remove some of the mystery that has surrounded it, and could refocus attention on positive moves by legacy automakers. One clear winner from stronger EV demand is auto suppliers, Bank of America's Murphy wrote. 'Torn' on TSLA Analysts were also quick to point out that Tesla's price cuts will no doubt affect its own bottom line.

☆ Bank of America says buy these stocks that generate lots of cash
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Higher free cash flow yields imply a company is in a stronger position to meet its debt or other obligations. Fertilizer and nitrates products maker CF Industries topped the list with a 22% free cash flow yield. Expedia also made Bank of America's list, with a free cash flow yield of 21%. General Motors also turned up on Bank of America's screen, with a free cash flow yield of 16%. Steel producer Nucor and car-and-truck dealer AutoNation also made the cut, with free cash flow yields of 21% and 13%, respectively.

☆ CFOs Boost Currency Protections, Extend Hedge Contracts as Strong Dollar Takes Toll
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Nina Trentmann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Changes to companies’ hedge contracts include covering larger amounts of earnings as well as longer durations beyond the usual 18 to 24 months. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CFO Journal The Morning Ledger provides daily news and insights on corporate finance from the CFO Journal team. There are growing indicators of the impact of the strengthening dollar on companies’ results and stocks, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Many companies have hedges in place to protect cash flows, earnings and balance sheets from currency fluctuations, said Mr. Neu. Prologis Inc., a San Francisco-based operator of warehouses, is working to extend its hedges, CFO Tim Arndt said.

☆ Coca-Cola Raises Outlook as Sales Jump 10%
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Jennifer Maloney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Coca-Cola raised its outlook for sales and profit for 2022, but said it was introducing packages at lower price points as it prepares for a global recession. The beverage company’s revenue increased 10% for the quarter ended Sept. 30, as consumers continued to absorb higher prices. Coca-Cola’s prices were 7% higher, on average, than in the same period last year, said the company’s finance chief, John Murphy .

☆ Analysts are split over where Tesla goes from here after its latest quarterly results
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Analysts are divided over the near-term and future trajectory of Tesla shares after the electric vehicle company posted mixed third-quarter results. Piper Sandler's Alexander Potter attributed much of the move to the company's gross margins — which came in at 27.9%, slightly below some analysts' expectations. To be sure, not all analysts are convinced of Tesla's near-term investment thesis. Tesla's stock is down about 37% this year and sits more than 46% off its 52-week high. "TSLA posted strong Q3 results amidst continuing materials shortages and logistics volatility.

☆ New cars are finally back in stock — but Americans might not be able to afford them
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Mario Tama | Getty ImagesDETROIT — New cars are slowly becoming more widely available, as supply chain bottlenecks finally start to ease. But now, an increasing number of Americans might not want them or be able to afford them. With the Federal Reserve aggressively hiking interest rates to fight inflation, consumers are finding that the cost of financing a new car is suddenly a lot higher than it was even earlier this year. That means many Americans may no longer to be able to afford the new cars that are starting to arrive on dealer lots. That, combined with rising interest rates, is pushing more car shoppers to look at used vehicles.

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