Barron's Latest Picks And Pans: Las Vegas, AMC, Brinker, PNC Financial, Zoom Video And More

• The cover story in this weekend's Barron's offers a look at how Las Vegas is faring in the post-pandemic era.


• Other featured articles discuss how to play the Las Vegas reopening and what to make of the meme stocks.


• Also see the prospects for a restaurant operator, small bank stocks, a teleconference platform provider, energy stocks with variable dividends and more.





"Las Vegas Presses Its Luck in the Postpandemic Era" by Lawrence C. Strauss points out that weekday tourism is picking up, pandemic precautions are fading away and hopes are high for a return to normal over the next year or two. See how Barron's thinks MGM Resorts International MGM, Uber Technologies Inc UBER and others may fare as Las Vegas finds its new normal.

Lawrence C. Strauss's "How to Bet on the Next Leg of Las Vegas' Rally" makes a case that there are three ways that investors can play the market as Las Vegas evolves. Find out what anticipation of a strong economic recovery, helped by pent-up demand, could mean for the likes of Las Vegas Sands Corp. LVS and VICI Properties Inc VICI.

In "This Stock Is Up 3,100%. Should You Buy or Sell?" Al Root, Connor Smith and Avi Salzman discuss why trying to identify a fundamental narrative to justify the ascent of meme stocks like AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc AMC is difficult. Still, Barron's believes, the exercise can yield some insights for investors. Check out this article to see why.

The sequels to the meme trades can be just as explosive as the original, as AMC Entertainment, BlackBerry Ltd BB and GameStop Corp. GME have shown recently, according to "AMC and Other Meme Stocks Boom Again. What Will Erupt Next?" by Jack Hough. Check out what Barron's suggests may blow up next.

In Reshma Kapadia's "Alibaba, Alphabet, and Amazon Stock Are Bargains, This Value Manager Says," discover the bullish case for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd - ADR BABA and many other stocks according to the founder of Patient Capital Management and protégé of a legendary value investor. See how Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN is a bargain.

"Brinker Stock Looks Set to Soar on Chili's Comeback" by Teresa Rivas suggests that it may be time to gobble up cheap Brinker International, Inc. EAT shares, as the Dallas-based parent of Chili's Grill & Bar has used the past year's crisis as an opportunity to improve its casual-dining brands. Find out what else makes this reopening stock a top Barron's small-cap stock pick.

See also: Benzinga's Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Apple, AMC, Disney, GM, Tesla And More

Lending has been generally tepid, with households and businesses flush with cash, but loan growth could be the catalyst for a move higher. So says Carleton English's "Four Bank Stocks to Play for a Lending Revival." Discover why Barron's believes that PNC Financial Services Group Inc PNC and three other banks may be ahead of the curve.

In "Zoom Video Enters a New Uncertain World," Eric J. Savitz discusses why quarterly revenue at Zoom Video Communications Inc ZM has soared six times since its pre-pandemic peak, but the coming year brings all-new challenges. See why the article suggests that this cloud-based videotelephony platform provider needs a second act.

Lawrence C. Strauss's "Variable Dividends Emerge in the Highly Cyclical Oil Patch" explores why Devon Energy Corp DVN, Pioneer Natural Resources Co PXD and other energy companies are now offering variable payouts after being helped by a slew of dividend cuts and suspensions across the oil patch and other sectors due to the onset of the pandemic last year,

Also in this week's Barron's:

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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