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☆ General Electric's final spinoff is days away. It's not too late to profit from the move
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

GE stock has been on a tear, outperforming the market over the past year, as investors bet that the company's break-up will unlock still more value. Since the health-care spinoff, GE shares have risen above $170 from the $60s. He expects anyone buying GE Vernova shares in April will get "a 50% move over the next fourteen months." GE's aerospace business benefits from a dominant market position where it leads in both widebody and narrowbody jet engines. Still, GE Vernova was a weak spot for the company since 2015, according to analysts.

Persons: haven't, FactSet, Gordon Haskett, Don Bilson, GE's, Andrew Obin, Obin, I've, Tony Bancroft, Scott Deuschle, Deuschle, Bancroft, Larry Culp, Culp, GE Vernova, Michael Bloom Organizations: GE Vernova, New York Stock Exchange, GE, GE Healthcare Technologies, General Electric, GE Healthcare, Bank of America, GE Aerospace, Gabelli, Aerospace & Defense ETF, Deutsche Bank, Bank, America's

☆ MicroStrategy's debt-fueled bitcoin purchases helping drive froth, raising risk of downturn, JPMorgan says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"In our mind, these debt-funded bitcoin purchases add froth to the current crypto rally by raising the risk of severe deleveraging in a potential downturn in the future," he added. MicroStrategy raised $604 million from the sale of converts on March 18, and another $800 million on March 8 . The latest purchases mark an acceleration from the fourth quarter pace, when MicroStrategy bought more than $1 billion of bitcoin. Originally launched as an enterprise business software company, Microstrategy has been buying bitcoin and holding them on its balance sheet since 2020. It largely trades as a proxy for the price of bitcoin, and in February of this year leaned into that, rebranding itself a Bitcoin development company.

Persons: JPMorgan's Marko Kolanovic, MicroStrategy, Microstrategy, Kolanovic, bitcoin, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Momentum Locations: bitcoin, cryptocurrencies

NOORDWIJKERHOUT, Netherlands (AP) — Theo works weekdays, weekends and nights and never complains about a sore spine despite performing hour upon hour of what, for a regular farm hand, would be backbreaking labor checking Dutch tulip fields for sick flowers. Photos You Should See View All 60 Images“You could also buy a very nice sports car," for the price of the robot, Visser said Tuesday — its makers say the robot costs 185,000 euros ($200,000). “But I prefer to have the robot because a sports car doesn’t take out the sick tulips from our field. Yeah, it is expensive, but there are less and less people who can really see the sick tulips,” he added. Theo van der Voort, who gave his name to the robot at WAM Pennings farm, and who retired after 52 years hunting for sick flowers, is impressed.

Persons: — Theo, ”, Allan Visser, Visser, ” Visser, Erik de Jong, Theo van der, “ Organizations: H2L Robotics Locations: Netherlands

☆ Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Tesla, Netflix, PepsiCo, Micron, Meta, Starbucks and more
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Morgan Stanley reiterates Starbucks as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's standing by its overweight rating on Starbucks shares. Morgan Stanley upgrades Pepsi to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said the beverage giant is undervalued. Morgan Stanley initiates Ball Corporation as equal weight Morgan Stanley initiated the beverage can company and says the stock is fairly valued right now. Morgan Stanley names LifeStance a top pick Morgan Stanley named the mental health company a top pick on Monday. Morgan Stanley reiterates Micron as underweight Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock to $78 per share from $74.75 and said it's sticking with its underweight rating heading into earnings later this week.

Persons: KeyBanc, Morgan Stanley, it's, Telsey, ESAB, Mizuho, Goldman Sachs, Tesla, Raymond James downgrades, Raymond James, LifeStance, Wolfe, Bernstein, Truist, Wells, Wells Fargo, F2Q Organizations: Apple, JPMorgan, 1Q, Meta, HSBC, Nvidia, Netflix, RBC, Howmet Aerospace, York Community Bank, Pepsi, Ball, Citi, Micron, IT, Downside, Bank of America, Taiwan Semiconductor, Pinnacle, of America, Pinnacle West Capital Corp, ISI, UBS, CCL Locations: Berlin, underperform, Taiwan, Arizona, Underperform

☆ Analysts ratchet up Nvidia price forecasts ahead of big conference with one seeing 30% upside
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Several major Wall Street shops have already beefed up their price targets on the chipmaker heading into the event, with HSBC and Truist joining the flood on Monday. NVDA 1Y mountain Nvidia share performance over the last year According to FactSet, the current consensus price target on Nvidia implies about 4% upside, with 90% of analysts holding a buy or overweight rating. Stein boosted the firm's price target to $1,177 from $911 a share, reflecting 34% upside from Friday's close. "We are encouraged by Nvidia's AI product roadmap which focuses on moving beyond GPUs and towards owning the entire value chain." Wall Street turns more bullish HSBC and Truist may be the latest Wall Street shops to up estimates heading into the GTC Conference, but they are far from the first.

Persons: FactSet, William Stein, Stein, HSBC's Frank Lee, Blackwell, America's Vivek Arya, Cantor Fitzgerald's C.J, Muse, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Nvidia, Bank of America, Wall Street, HSBC, Truist, GTC, Bank, America's, NVIDIA

☆ The 'next big thing' in tech will come from these areas, UBS says — naming stocks to play the theme
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The "next big thing" in tech will come from sectors such as enabling tech — which includes artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — as well as healthtech, greentech and fintech, UBS said. Here are some names from UBS' list and what it says about each stock. "The medical surgical and neurological business has also returned to strong growth as the pandemic impact fades," the bank said. Broadcom : UBS says that Broadcom boasts a "market-leading" position in semiconductor design. Its greentech picks include French industrial gases and services company Air Liquide , French utility firm Engie , and German chemicals firm Wacker Chemie .

Persons: —, Stryker, ASML, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: UBS, fintech, Baidu, ASML, Broadcom, 5G, Intercontinental Exchange, Mastercard, Air, Wacker Chemie Locations: Wacker

☆ Goldman Sachs now expects the Bank of Japan to hike rates Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Clement Tan | In Clemtan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Goldman Sachs now expects the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates for the first time in 17 years at its March meeting this week, bringing forward its previous forecast for an April decision. Ota said he expects the BOJ to abolish its yield curve control policy, which the central bank employs to target longer-term interest rates, by buying and selling bonds as necessary. Still, he expects the central bank will "not explicitly commit" to the size of its Japanese government bond purchases or the cessation of its ETF purchases. While the central bank has effectively loosened its yield curve control policy over longer term interest rates over the past 16 months, it has kept interest rates at -0.1% and still maintains an upper limit for 10-year Japanese government bond yield at 1% as a reference. While BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda meets with his other eight board members eight times a year, the central bank updates its economic outlook only four times: in January, April, July and October.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Tomohiro Ota, Ota, Kazuo Ueda Organizations: Bank of Japan Locations: Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan

☆ TikTok debate reveals the risks for investing in China during U.S. election year
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The debate over whether Chinese-owned TikTok can operate in the U.S. is back with fervor, revealing more about the risk for Chinese stocks in a U.S. presidential election year. Such considerations motivated Goldman Sachs analysts to update their model for measuring the level of risk from U.S.-China tensions in Chinese stocks. Their barometer, created in 2020, "has correlated well with the U.S.-China events timeline, and China equity performance," the analysts said. Goldman's revised U.S.-China tensions barometer stands at a modest 53 out of 100, indicating a "somewhat benign" outlook for the bilateral relationship. But as the TikTok bill now makes its way to the Senate, many analysts expect its momentum to slow.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman's, It's, Raymond James, That's, Steven Mnuchin, CNBC's, Mnuchin, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Biden, Goldman, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: U.S ., Goldman, U.S, Chinese Communist Party, IMEIK Technology, Postal Savings Bank Locations: U.S, China, Beijing

☆ A California superbloom is springing to life and the best is yet to come
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Mary Gilbert | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —California will soon be decorated with a rainbow of wildflowers after drenching winter rain set the stage for a spectacular spring superbloom. The phenomenon isn’t unique to California; wildflowers can paint parched desert landscapes, mountains and grasslands in Arizona and Nevada, too, but some of the most dense and therefore spectacular displays are found in Southern California. David McNew/Getty Images/FileBut there’s hope for another brilliant superbloom following the wet winter, Meyer said. Desert sand verbena and dune evening primrose wildflowers bloom in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park's Coyote Canyon on Thursday, March 14. “We don’t know as of yet if it’s going to be a good year for the poppies, given the rain,” Turner cautioned.

Persons: ”, Evan Meyer, Theodore Payne, Meyer, “, ” Meyer, David McNew, Callista Turner, Danny L, ” Turner, Turner, – Organizations: CNN, Theodore Payne Foundation, Natural Reserve, Poppy, California State Parks Locations: California, Southern California, Southern, Meyer, Arizona, Nevada, Carrizo, McKittrick , California, Anza, Desert, Palm Springs, Chino Hills, Anaheim, Elk, Santa Barbara, Antelope, Death, Los Angeles

☆ Cherry blossoms in Washington, DC, have hit ‘peak bloom,’ park service announces
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Aileen Graef | Elisa Raffa | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The cherry blossoms lining the National Mall in Washington, DC, have hit “peak bloom,” bursting open in an early spring display after a warm winter, the National Park Service announced Sunday. “PEAK BLOOM! PEAK BLOOM! PEAK BLOOM! It is the cherry trees’ second-earliest peak bloom on record and follows one of Washington’s warmest recorded winters.

Persons: Yoshino Cherry, Roberto Schmidt Organizations: CNN, National Park Service, NPS, AFP, Getty, Climate Central, Cherry Blossom, West Potomac Locations: Washington ,, Washington , DC, Potomac, West, West Potomac Park

☆ Goldman lays out the next phases of AI trade and stocks to play them
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"In addition to NVDA, investors have been focused on a broadening of the AI trade. We expect there will likely be three broad, subsequent stages of the AI trade," Hammond wrote. Goldman foresees a second phase that focuses on companies that build and maintain the infrastructure around AI. "Based on performance and valuation, investors have already started to price subsequent phases of the AI trade. An equal-weighted basket of Phase 2 stocks is up 14% during the past 6 months, largely driven by valuation expansion.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Ryan Hammond, Hammond, Goldman foresees, Goldman, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Nvidia, Broadcom, Foundry, Keysight Technologies, Palo Alto Networks, Intuit, Adobe, Nvidia —, Pinterest, Tenet Healthcare

☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Rivian, Micron, Microsoft, Eli Lilly, Amazon & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Citi upgrades Thor Industries to buy from neutral Citi said it see a "favorable event path" for the RV company. " Citi initiates Pure Storage as buy Citi said in its initiation of Pure Storage that the data storage company is an AI beneficiary. Citi reiterates Apple as buy Citi said it's standing by its buy rating on shares of Apple. Bank of America reiterates Amazon as buy Bank of America said it's bullish heading into Amazon's Spring Sales event next week. Citi reiterates Micron as buy Citi raised its price target on the stock to $150 per share from $95 and says it's bullish heading into earnings next week. "

Persons: Piper Sandler, Piper, Morgan Stanley, RSG, Cummins, Baird, Nvidia, JPMorgan, Tesla, Telsey, Todd Vasos, it's, Stellantis, Five9, PBF, DINO, Truist, Eli Lilly, LLYs, Dave Ricks, Patrik Jonsson Organizations: EV, Bank of America, Adobe, Citi, Thor Industries, Morgan Stanley downgrades Republic Services, UBS, Cummins, CMI, Microsoft, Nvidia, JPMorgan, Guggenheim, Apple, Worldwide, " Bank of America, Micron, Catalyst Watch, RBC, UFC, WWE, Inc, Valero Energy, Sinclair, of America, Entertainment, Golden Entertainment, Diabetes, Obesity Locations: Snowflake, F4Q24, China, Nevada

☆ Goldman is making a big call to clients to hedge for a market decline. Here's what it recommends
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Arun Prakash from Goldman's derivatives research team proposed an options trade focused on the Cboe Volatility Index , or "Vix," to hedge against a market selloff. .VIX 5Y mountain The Cboe Volatility Index has been trading at an unusually low level in 2024 so far. Generally speaking, a call option gives the holder the right to buy the underlying asset at the strike price, and serves as a bet that the asset will rise above the strike price. "Over the past 30+ years, VIX has averaged 19 in April, and we see upside risks to the current low VIX levels given current macro environment and upcoming macro/micro catalysts. If the Vix does not rise above the strike price before the options contract expires, the trader loses the premium paid for the contract.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Arun Prakash, Prakash, hasn't, That's, Goldman, VIX, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Reserve

☆ Christchurch mosque shootings: A survivor grapples with trauma five years later
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Alaa Elassar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Christchurch, New Zealand – CNN —Sitting side by side in the mosque’s meeting room, Temel Ataçocuğu and Imam Gamal Fouda hunch over in laughter. But today, the two have agreed to meet at the mosque and catch up on five years’ worth of personal news. But behind his home, a modest townhouse on a quiet street in central Christchurch, he’s found purpose in the flowers, succulents, fruits and vegetables he’s planted. After the shooting, Ataçocuğu was hospitalized for over a month and feared he would never play again. Here, Ataçocuğu is known as a funny, warmhearted and competitive striker, not just a survivor of the Christchurch mosque shootings.

Persons: Temel Ataçocuğu, Gamal Fouda, ”, Fouda, Ataçocuğu, Imam Gamal Fouda, Vincent Thian, “, ” Fouda, ” Ataçocuğu, –, Don’t, he’s, Alaa Elassar, can’t, It’ll, It’s, Ataçocuğu’s, Adem, Sami, fatherless, Melis, Allah, Mucad Ibrahim –, Mark Baker, He’s, ” Sami Organizations: New Zealand, CNN, Linwood Islamic, Halswell, ” Locations: Christchurch, New, Al Noor, Christchurch , New Zealand, Linwood, Linwood Islamic Centre, Alaa

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Netflix, Tesla, Citi, Robinhood, Meta, IBM, Broadcom & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Evercore ISI reiterates Netflix as outperform Evercore raised its price target on Netflix to $640 per share from $600. Citi downgrades Chubb to neutral from buy Citi said it sees a more balanced risk/reward for the insurance company. Goldman Sachs upgrades Citi to buy from neutral Goldman said in its upgrade of Citi that shares are "compelling." Citi reiterates Nvidia as buy Citi said after a series of investor meetings that Nvidia is a "most favored name." Bernstein reiterates Nvidia and Broadcom as outperform Bernstein said Nvidia and Broadcom are still top picks at the firm.

Persons: Deere, Truist, Bernstein, Tesla, Citi downgrades Chubb, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Wells, Berenberg, it's, Caterpillar, Morgan Stanley, Meta, Utz, Armour, Evercore, Kevin Plank, Stephanie Linnartz, Jack, Argus Organizations: Deere, UBS, Netflix, Citi, Logitech, Barclays, Thomson Reuters, Caterpillar, Nvidia, Micron, Facebook, Raytheon, Bank of America, of America, Utz, UAA, JPMorgan, IBM, Broadcom, VMware, Argus, Oracle, Oracle Corp Locations: Williams, Sonoma

☆ Goldman says it's finally time to buy this major bank turnaround story
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Goldman Sachs has a buy rating on Citigroup for the first time since 2022, as the investment bank implements a turnaround strategy that should boost shareholder returns. Goldman has raised its stock price target for Citi to $68, implying nearly 18% upside from Wednesday's close price of $57.76. Goldman expects Citigroup's revenue to grow at an accelerated compound annual rate of 4% to reach $85.7 billion by 2026. Citigroup is also expected to increase share buybacks by $1 billion in 2024 and $4 billion in 2025. The bank may have capacity for even more buybacks if Basel 3 rules are changed, it said.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Richard Ramsden, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Citigroup, Citi Locations: Basel

☆ This Nvidia derivative play can more than double from current prices, Benchmark says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

One derivative play on Nvidia is a buying opportunity that can more than double from current prices, according to Benchmark. Analyst Mark Palmer initiated coverage of Bitdeer Technologies with a buy rating in a report out Thursday. That view is driven in part by a key partnership with Nvidia that will help Bitdeer expand into artificial intelligence. In November, Bitdeer announced it will be a preferred cloud service provider for Nvidia 's partner network. But Benchmark's $13 price target implies the stock could nearly double from Wednesday's closing price of $6.74 per share.

Persons: Mark Palmer, Palmer, Bitdeer, BTIG's Gregory Lewis, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Nvidia, Bitdeer Technologies Locations: Singapore, U.S, Norway, Bhutan

☆ Half of Americans would take a pay cut to work remotely — and many are willing to give up vacation days, survey finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Many workers are willing to take pay cuts, increase working hours, or give up benefits for remote work. AdvertisementIt turns out that remote work is still valuable — at least for prospective employees. And they're willing to pay for that ability: Half of workers surveyed said they would take a pay cut for the policy. AdvertisementA majority of workers also reported being willing to move elsewhere for work if given the chance to work remotely. AdvertisementJay, an elder millennial, previously told Business Insider that he took a $35,000 pay cut so he wouldn't have to live near his office.

Persons: —, they'd, Millennials, that's, Nick Bloom, Jay, Insider's Aki Ito Organizations: Service, Stanford, WFH Research, Workers, Harvard Locations: Washington

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Tesla, Super Micro, Coinbase, Apple, Microsoft, Rivian & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

"We are initiating coverage of Legend Biotech (LEGN) with an Outperform rating and a price target of $86." Bank of America reiterates Super Micro as buy Bank of America raised its price target on Super Micro to $1,280 per share from $1,040. The firm has an outperform rating on shares of Boeing. We Initiate with a Buy rating and $15 PT." "We initiate coverage of IMVT with a Buy rating and 12-month price target of $50 (60% upside potential)."

Persons: Raymond James, it's, Wells, Tesla, Davidson, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Baird, Bernstein, TXRH, EBITDA, Jefferies, underperform Jefferies, Baird downgrades Fiserv, Stephanie Ferris, Charles Drucker, helms, Cooper, William Blair, BTIG, Bitdeer, JMP, Morgan Stanley, Idacorp, Rivian Organizations: Biotech, Legend Biotech, Citi, Constellation Brands Citi, Constellation, Watch, Nielsen, DA, " Bank of America, Bank of America, Nvidia, GPU Tech Conference, TAM, Royal Caribbean, Boeing, Apple, Moelis, Company, RBC, Pointe, GM, Microsoft, ROIC, Jefferies, FIS, JPMorgan, Cooper Companies, Bitdeer Technologies, Technology, ICE, of America, Argus Locations: Nice, Texas, Cleveland, Southwest, Kansas, Missouri

☆ Goldman Sachs just added — and removed — stocks on its 'conviction list' of top Asian picks
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Amala Balakrishner | In Amala-Balakrishner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Goldman Sachs has refreshed its "conviction list" of top picks in Asia Pacific for March, adding some key stocks and removing others. Here are two of the latest additions to Goldman Sachs' conviction list: Xero Goldman analyst Kane Hannan said he was positive on the outlook for New Zealand-headquartered accounting software company Xero . Goldman Sachs has a price target of $152 on the stock, giving it potential upside of around 12%. Hyundai Motor Another addition to Goldman's conviction list is South Korean automobile manufacturer Hyundai Motor . Meanwhile, the Wall Street bank removed Singapore-headquartered bank OCBC and Japanese conglomerate Sony from its conviction list as it no longer deems them "a top investment idea."

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Xero Goldman, Kane Hannan, Hannan, Intuit's Quickbooks, Sage, Kota Yuzawa, Yuzawa, Goldman, Michael Bloom Organizations: Asia, Hyundai, South, Hyundai Motor, Won, Sony Locations: Asia Pacific, U.S, Mar, New Zealand, Australia, South Korean, Singapore

☆ What investors need to know about ‘Dencun,’ Ethereum’s next big tech upgrade
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Relative to bitcoin , the initial price action following the upgrade is even weaker historically, with ether underperforming 80% of the time in the first 20 days, Saunders added. Saunders warned, however, that the trading environment for crypto is different today than it was during previous Ethereum network upgrades. The scalability problem Dencun follows the "Shapella" upgrade from almost a year ago, which allowed investors to withdraw their staked ether from the network for the first time. This upgrade is focused on the longer-term goal of enhancing Ethereum's ability to handle more activity and transactions as the network grows. "The Dencun upgrade serves as an important step in addressing this congestion, which hurts users and developers alike."

Persons: Alex Saunders, Saunders, Philipp Zentner, bitcoin –, Duncan Ash, Michael Bloom Organizations: BTC, Citi, ETH, Metrics, Securities and Exchange Commission Locations: U.S

☆ Here are Tuesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Coinbase, Sony, Oracle, FedEx, Nike, Carvana & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"We initiate coverage on Regeneron with an Outperform rating and $1,125 price target." Canaccord reiterates MicroStrategy as buy Canaccord raised its price target on the crypto company to $1,810 per share from $975. "We are initiating coverage of The New York Times with a Buy rating and a $52 target price. "DG – Upgrading to Neutral Raising Price Target to $158." "We are initiating coverage of Central Garden & Pet ( CENT) with a BUY rating and $52 price target."

Persons: Bernstein, Morgan Stanley, Tesla, it's, optionality, Canaccord, Goldman Sachs, PDD, Goldman, Jefferies, underperform Jefferies, Raymond James, underperform Raymond James, Argus, Evercore, William Blair, Goldman Sacks Organizations: Citi, New York Times, Nike, JPMorgan, RBC, Bank of America, Apple, Oracle, Central, FedEx, Macquarie, Sony Locations: China

☆ Dollar General's brand is showing some cracks and may be a warning sign ahead of earnings
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In collecting this data, the firm saw a deterioration in the Dollar General brand last year. As of Monday's close, Dollar General's stock is up more than 57% from a 52-week low of $101.09 reached in mid-October. Their research found that consumers felt the cleanliness of Dollar General's stores, a top five driver of satisfaction, lagged key peers Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, and fell 2% further in February. Until November, shoppers rated Family Dollar and Dollar General's product offerings more or less on a par with each other. In addition to Dollar General's own challenges, all dollar stores are likely being hurt by weaker spending among low income consumers.

Persons: Vasos, what's, Todd Vasos, Jeff Owen, Gordon Haskett, Chuck Grom, Grom, bode, Piper Sandler, Peter Keith, Keith, Morgan Stanley, Simeon Gutman, Gutman, Michael Lasser, Lasser, Matthew Boss, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Dollar, DG, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, SNAP, UBS, JPMorgan

☆ These cheap stocks will outperform in a pullback or a continued rally, says Evercore ISI
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Laggard stocks that have underperformed the broader market could offer investors a good portfolio hedge, according to Evercore ISI. "We believe these stocks will outperform should the market continue higher as investors realize their unique earnings trajectory and valuation appeal," he said. "We also believe that these names will outperform in a correction given they have not participated fully in 2024's momentum." Evercore ISI has assigned the stock an outperform rating, although most analysts covering the stocks rate it as a hold. Most analysts covering the name have assigned it a buy rating — in line with Evercore ISI's outperform rating — with analyst consensus seeing a 5% rally ahead.

Persons: Julian Emanuel, Emanuel, Wells, Gamble, Truist, Mondelez, Hershey, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: ISI, Starbucks, Consumer, Procter, Gamble's Locations: Gamble's China

☆ ETFs have brought big price swings back to bitcoin but could still help dampen volatility in the long term
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A big selling point of bitcoin exchange-traded funds was their potential to reduce bitcoin's notorious volatility over time. He pointed to funding rates for bitcoin futures contracts, which have soared recently to levels not seen since early 2021. Additionally, open interest, or the number of open positions for a bitcoin futures contract, is at all-time highs. "Realized crypto [volatility] will likely ease as funding rates normalize," Glass said. "Those recurring inflows could dampen volatility of large moves from momentum strategies which basically chase price up and down and amplify swings."

Persons: Bitcoin, —, David Glass, Glass, bitcoin, David Wells, Wells, Michael Bloom Organizations: Citi, Investors

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