(Bloomberg) -- The world’s biggest maker of mining and construction equipment is predicting that the pain from the coronavirus crisis is far from over.Caterpillar Inc. said the current quarter will be “more significantly impacted” by the pandemic after profits for the first three months of the year trailed analysts estimates. The Deerfield, Illinois-based company also shelved its traditional earnings forecast for 2020 as the fallout from the virus jolts customers in mining, construction and energy.Also read: Caterpillar 1Q Adjusted EPS $1.60 Vs. $2.94 Y/y, Est. $1.69Caterpillar is taking steps to slash costs and pare production in the face of deteriorating commodity markets that stand to crush demand for the company’s signature yellow machines. BofA Securities Inc. analyst Ross Gilardi downgraded the company’s stock this month, and said that weakness in its energy business was “a problem that is not going away.”In a stark departure from his normally staid commentary on earnings...
(Bloomberg) -- Analysts covering Amazon.com Inc. are still bullish on the stock, but technicals just sent a cautious signal.The company is rated “buy” by 51 analysts tracked by Bloomberg, with just four “holds” and one “sell” rating. The stock’s Monday closing price of $2,376 leaves 6% upside to the consensus target price, even with optimism recently growing.That optimism cuts against the “outside down day” the online retail giant just had on Monday. As Miller Tabak + Co. Chief Market Strategist Matt Maley explained in a note, that’s because it traded higher than Friday’s highs and lower than Friday’s lows, and ended up down. It’s a sign of exhaustion, Maley said -- especially when a stock’s had a significant recent rally.“Amazon: ripe for a pull-back?” Maley put it in a research note. “Investors should be careful about chasing it up at these levels. If it sees any more downside follow-through, that would...
(Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists say that in Europe, the companies that can outperform during the next market cycle are firms with strong balance sheets, low volatility growth and good dividend yields. They’re dubbing them GRANOLAS.The breakfasty acronym derives from the companies on Goldman’s list: GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Roche Holding AG, ASML Holding NV, Nestle SA, Novartis AG, Novo Nordisk A/S, L’Oreal SA, LVMH, AstraZeneca Plc, SAP SE and Sanofi.Goldman strategists led by Peter Oppenheimer say that the next phase of the stock market, whether it turns into a new strong bull run or not, is less likely to be driven by an expansion in valuations. Instead, the leaders of the forthcoming market cycle will be companies that are able to generate earnings growth, sustainable dividend payouts and have healthy balance sheets.“In the U.S., tech is still likely to remain the long-term winner,” Goldman strategists said in a note on...
Stocks pointed to a second straight day of gains Tuesday after a rally the prior day sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to their highest levels since early March....
The investment adage that the market hates uncertainty is oft cited and arguably playing out since the coronavirus and a coordinated national effort to stem the spread by keeping as many people quarantined at home as possible. In many respects, earnings and dividend visibility are near historic lows.It’s fortunate then that the stock market is holding up well in the midst of this record uncertainty. The million dollar question is just when business gets back to normal. There are certainly fears that a second wave will spread throughout the U.S. come this fall, but according to one estimate, that too shall pass and the stock market could hit another record high (the last one was just in February) in the first half of 2021.JPMorgan strategist Marko Kolanovic believes that the quick and aggressive actions taken by the Federal Reserve should end up offsetting the hit our economy takes while staying focused...
