Crypto Whales Are Loading Up — Are You?
New research shows the biggest crypto buyers are back. And this time? They could hold for the possibility that Bitcoin will surpass $100,000 in 2024. You don’t want to miss the next massive crypto bull run like we saw in 2020 and 2021. To know exactly what’s going on and what to buy… Get Access To Benzinga’s Best Crypto Research and Investments For Only $1.
U.S. stocks were mostly unchanged on a catalyst-light day characterized by low volume.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) has a three-month daily average volume of over 101 million only traded hands 47.8 million times on Tuesday.
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With little economic or market moving catalysts due in the near-term, investors could reasonably expect Tuesday's low volume trend to continue in to the summer month.
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- The Dow gained 0.02 percent, closing at 16,945.92.
- The S&P lost 0.02 percent, closing at 1,950.80.
- The Nasdaq gained 0.04 percent, closing at 4,338.00.
- Gold gained 0.60 percent, trading at $1,261.40 an ounce.
- Oil gained 0.11 percent, trading at $104.52 a barrel.
- Silver gained 0.81 percent, trading at $19.22.
News of Note
May NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose to 96.6 from 95.2 in April.
ICSC Retail Store Sales declined 2.8 percent week over week after gaining 2.9 percent last week.
Redbook Chain Store Sales grew 3.3 percent year over year after growing 3.5 percent last week.
April Wholesale Trade Inventories rose 1.1 percent to $530.6 billion, exceeding expectations for a 0.5 percent gain. Sales rose 1.3 percent to $450.2 billion while the Inventory to Sales ratio came in at 1.18.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades of Note
Analysts at Barclays maintained an Equal-weight rating on Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) with a price target lowered to $95 from a previous $93.57. Also, analysts at Citigroup maintained a Neutral rating on Apple with a price target raised to $82 from a previous $81.43. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $95.05 before closing the day at $94.25, up 0.59 percent.
Analysts at Wolfe downgraded Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) with a price target set at $55. Shares lost 1.40 percent, closing at $61.28.
Analysts at JPMorgan maintained a Neutral rating on CBOE Holdings (NYSE: CBOE) with a price target lowered to $49 from a previous $52.50. Shares lost 2.20 percent, closing at $47.60.
Analysts at JPMorgan maintained a Neutral rating on CME Group (NYSE: CME) with a price target lowered to $67.50 from a previous $69.50. Shares lost 0.82 percent, closing at $70.03.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of Chevron (NYSE: CVX) with a Buy rating and $142 price target. Shares gained 0.78 percent, closing at $125.34.
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Analysts at Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) with a Buy rating and $94 price target. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $81.66 before closing the day at $81.63, up 0.96 percent.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank maintained a Buy rating on Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) with a price target raised to $48 from a previous $40. Shares gained 0.10 percent, closing at $41.91.
Analysts at Jefferies initiated coverage of Domino's Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) with a Buy rating and $85 price target. Shares lost 0.50 percent, closing at $73.05.
Analysts at UBS maintained a Buy rating on eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) with a price target lowered to $60 from a previous $64. Shares lost 2.58 percent, closing at $48.30.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) with a Hold rating and $105 price target. Shares lost 0.02 percent, closing at $101.50.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of Hess (NYSE: HES) with a Buy rating and $112 price target. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $94.58 before closing the day at $94.31, up 0.22 percent.
Analysts at JPMorgan maintained an Overweight rating on IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE) with a price target lowered to $224 from a previous $232. Shares gained 0.64 percent, closing at $190.12.
Analysts at UBS downgraded Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) to Neutral from Buy. Shares gained 0.26 percent, closing at $73.03.
Analysts at Credit Suisse initiated coverage of Michael Kors (NYSE: KORS) with an Outperform rating and $107 price target. Shares gained 0.42 percent, closing at $94.32.
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Analysts at Evercore Partners upgraded Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) to Overweight from Equal-weight with a price target raised to $500 from a previous $400. Shares gained 1.23 percent, closing at $428.29.
Analysts at Summit Research downgraded SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Hold from Buy. Shares lost 1.05 percent, closing at $97.14.
Analysts at Macquarie upgraded Sprint (NYSE: S) to Outperform from Neutral. Shares gained 0.86 percent, closing at $8.85.
Analysts at Wells Fargo upgraded Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) to Market Perform from Underperform. Shares gained 2.61 percent, closing at $35.37.
Analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) to Underperform from Neutral. Shares lost 3.81 percent, closing at $36.07.
Equities-Specific News of Note
Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) announced on Monday that it hired David Marcus as head of its messaging products. Marcus will be leaving his post as head of PayPal. Shares gained 4.60 percent, closing at $65.77.
Sony (NYSE: SNE) will sell a PlayStation TV set-box for $99. Users will be able to access TV episodes, movies and other content through the PlayStation store. Shares lost 0.80 percent, closing at $16.17.
TD Ameritrade Holding (NASDAQ: AMTD) reported that the average number of trades per day initiated by clients totaled 383,000, representing a decline of 15 percent from April and down eight percent from a year ago. Shares lost 1.22 percent, closing at $30.72.
MetLife (NYSE: MET) announced that it will resume a $1 billion stock repurchase plan which was put on hold in 2008. Shares gained 0.73 percent, closing at $55.06.
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Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) announced during the E3 conference that Grand Theft Auto V will launch on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PCs this fall. Shares gained 2.27 percent, closing at $20.24.
Analysts at Topeka Capital Markets speculated that AMC Networks (NASDAQ: AMCX) is an attractive takeover candidate by a larger media company. Shares lost 0.15 percent, closing at $60.65.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) will launch a local services review and connection site later on in the year. Shares gained 1.50 percent, closing at $332.41.
PPL (NYSE: PPL) plans to spin off part of its domestic power generation business with private equity firm Riverstone Holdings. The newly formed company will be named Talen Energy Corp and will be the third largest publicly traded independent electricity provider in the U.S. Shares gained 1.37 percent, closing at $34.69.
Allergan's (NYSE: AGN) board of directors rejected Valeant Pharmaceuticals' (NYSE: VRX) $72 cash offer and 0.83 shares of Valeant acquisition offer. The board stated that the deal undervalues the company. Meanwhile, Bill Ackman's Pershing Square believes that it has enough support to override the board's decision. Shares of Allergan lost 0.63 percent, closing at $163.12 while shares of Valeant lost 0.85 percent, closing at $125.55.
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) purchased an analytic and imagery provider, Skybox Imaging for $500 million. Shares lost 0.28 percent, closing at $560.55.
3D Systems (NYSE: DDD) raised its 2014 revenue guidance by $15 million to $695 million to $735 million versus a consensus estimate of $706.1 million during its analyst day. The company also reiterated its EPS guidance of $0.73 to $0.85 versus a consensus estimate of $0.81. Shares lost 1.75 percent, closing at $49.28.
B/E Aerospace (NASDAQ: BEAV) announced it will split itself in to two independent companies. One of the companies will sell aircraft interiors, while the other company will offer technical and logistical services. Shares lost 4.78 percent, closing at $94.15.
Winners of Note
Analysts at UBS commented on Zynga's (NASDAQ: ZNGA) mid and long-term outlook. The analysts noted “We believe our core investment case (improved bookings growth, margin leverage from growth/cost cuts, & greater mobile focus) remains intact, and we expect Zynga to remain a beat/raise story going forward.” Shares gained 6.67 percent, closing at $3.20.
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According to analysts at Societe Generale, and quoted in Bloomberg, Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP) should consider purchasing its partner MillerCoors if AB-InBev proceeds with a takeover bid for SABMiller. Shares of Molson Coors Brewing hit new 52-week highs of $71.39 before closing the day at $70.71, up 5.36 percent.
Receptos (NASDAQ: RCPT) announced on Monday night that its multiple sclerosis drug, RPC1063, met its primary endpoint of reducing MRI brain lesion activity in a Phase 2 trial. The company announced it a Phase 3 trial is underway with patient recruitment to confirm and extend the Phase 2 results. Shares surged 36.78 percent, closing at $39.94.
Decliners of Note
This morning, RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) reported its first quarter results after changing its financial reporting calendar. The company announced an EPS of -$0.97, missing the consensus estimate of -$0.51. Revenue of $736.7 million missed the consensus estimate of $764.31 million. Net loss for the quarter worsened to $98.3 million from $28.0 million in the same quarter a year ago as comparable-store sales fell 14 percent in what the company described as “an industry-wide decline in consumer electronics and a soft mobility market.” The company's cash and cash equivalents fell to $61.8 million from $109.6 million last quarter and $179.8 million in the same quarter a year ago. The troubled retailer's gross margin rate dropped 370 bps to 36.5 percent. The company guided towards closing 200 stores in the coming year. Shares lost 10.39 percent, closing at $1.38.
Quote of the Day
“We believe returns in everything from gold, commodities and other relatively esoteric asset classes will be doomed by the lack of follow up to the once-in-a lifetime move into them from 1999 to 2012 by US investors both large and small. Interest rates rising over ten years will make LBOs much less economic and private equity returns will sour if that is true. Both private equity firms and hedge funds seem to have picked over US small cap companies looking for opportunities, making it appear to us a “crowded” trade. We contend that poor performance by hedge funds will make the mystic come off, leaving good old bread-and-butter common stock ownership to regain favor based on results and transparency.” – SMEAD Capital Management
Crypto Whales Are Loading Up — Are You?
New research shows the biggest crypto buyers are back. And this time? They could hold for the possibility that Bitcoin will surpass $100,000 in 2024. You don’t want to miss the next massive crypto bull run like we saw in 2020 and 2021. To know exactly what’s going on and what to buy… Get Access To Benzinga’s Best Crypto Research and Investments For Only $1.