U.S. Stock Futures Rise Ahead of Key Labor Data and Earnings Reports
In the backdrop of recent market fluctuations, U.S. stock futures showed signs of recovery on Thursday, poised for a rebound. Investors are closely eyeing labor market data and a flurry of corporate earnings reports.
The spotlight is on the tech sector as the earnings season ramps up. Streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is set to unveil its performance later today. The company witnessed robust growth in the latter half of 2023, with a significant surge in subscribers following global password sharing restrictions. Analysts anticipate a substantial addition of 5 million subscribers in the first quarter of this year, albeit slower than previous quarters.
Attention also turns to Netflix’s ad-supported tier, with reported monthly subscribers of 23 million. Analysts are keen to gauge the potential growth of this plan in the coming months. Moreover, investors will be scrutinizing the company’s spending on content, with Netflix projecting investments of up to $17 billion this year.
In addition to corporate earnings, economic indicators like the weekly initial jobless claims and March’s existing home sales report are awaited.
Meanwhile, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM), the world’s leading contract chipmaker, posted impressive first-quarter results, exceeding market expectations. The company’s success is attributed to the soaring demand in the artificial intelligence industry, offsetting the decline in pandemic-led electronics demand.
However, the chip sector faced a setback after ASML (AS:ASML), a major supplier of chip-making equipment, reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter bookings. Despite this, sales to China remained resilient amid U.S.-led restrictions.
In the automotive realm, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) grappled with challenges, including a workforce reduction and a decline in first-quarter deliveries, particularly in the Chinese market. The company’s stock experienced a significant drop over the past week, prompting mixed sentiments among investors. While Morgan Stanley remains optimistic about Tesla’s future, emphasizing its potential as an AI beneficiary, stabilizing its core EV business remains imperative.
On the commodities front, crude prices softened despite the Biden administration’s decision to reimpose sanctions on Venezuela’s crude exports. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East provided some support, but concerns about record-high U.S. production and a notable increase in inventories tempered optimism.
$AMD- TD Cowen raised the firm’s price target on AMD to $200 from $185 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst expect data center strength and “well-known softness elsewhere” when AMD reports Q1 results. The firm sees AMD as generating upwards of $10.00 in earnings per share by 2027, or a nearly 40% annual growth off of 2023. TD increased its MI300 2024 revenue estimate to $4.5B from $4B, saying ramps at several customers will continue to happen more quickly than typical. AMD remains one of its top picks.
$TSLA- Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner downgraded Tesla to Hold from Buy with a price target of $123, down from $189. The analyst cites the “high likelihood” of Model 2 push-out and the company’s change of strategic priority to Robotaxi for the downgrade. Deutsche’s Buy rating was predicated on Tesla’s next-generation vehicle priced at $25,000 coming late next year, which would allow the company to reaccelerate volume, margins and free cash flow, and potentially come to dominate the Western electric vehicle market, the analyst tells investors in a research note. However, pushing out the Model 2 will create “significant” earnings and free cash flow pressure on 2026 and beyond estimates, and make the future of the company tied to Tesla “cracking the code on full driverless autonomy,” which represents a “significant technological, regulatory and operational challenge,” says Deutsche Bank. The firm views Tesla’s shift to Robotaxi as “thesis-changing,” and worries the stock will need to undergo a “potentially painful transition in ownership base,” with investors previously focused on electric vehicle volumes and cost advantages potentially “throwing in the towel, and eventually replaced by AI/tech investors with considerably longer time horizon.”
Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment bought 66.5K shares of Tesla yesterday.
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