Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Global Economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Surging share prices and falling borrowing premiums are making it easier for companies to access fresh cash, as an index of US financial conditions returns to levels last seen before the Federal Reserve started raising…
da-kuk Jumia Technologies (NYSE:JMIA) has historically been a divisive stock due to the “Amazon of Africa narrative” and the extremely poor fundamentals of the business. I long felt that the company had poor prospects due to its limited financial resources and pursuit of growth at all costs. After a change in management, the company is…
Monty Rakusen/DigitalVision via Getty Images In mid-2022, I published a bullish outlook on the oil and gas producer Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) in “Diamondback Energy: Oil Producers To Benefit From Substantial Decline In Crude Reserve.” At that time, I believed that crude oil prices would inevitably rebound due to the significant decline in total US storage…
RapidEye Motorcar Parts of America, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPAA) primarily manufactures and remanufactures aftermarket automotive parts, and sells diagnostic equipment for alternators and starters with applications in ICE and electric vehicles. In the aftermarket car parts segment, Motorcar Parts of America’s (“MPA”) largest product types are rotating electrical parts, which include alternators and starters, brake related products,…
Vertigo3d Getting Back To Normal Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) was a big winner in 2020 and 2021. The store chain did an excellent job adapting to changing customer behavior during the pandemic years, leveraging its stores to fulfill growing online orders by expanding drive-up and same-day delivery options. They also had an advantaged product mix, with…
Eoneren Summary Following my coverage of Samsara (NYSE:IOT), for which I recommended a buy rating as the stock was trading at a premium to its historical average multiple and I was not confident that it was sustainable, this post is to provide an update on my thoughts on the business and stock. I am upgrading…
Ong-ad Nuseewor CEO Optimism Abounds After a volatile 2023, CEO confidence seems to be rebounding in 2024. A number of readings on CEO sentiment, including our own Late Earnings Report Index (LERI), seem to be indicating that executives are feeling more certain about corporate growth prospects. Investor sentiment has also been improving as of late….
Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images Introduction In my previous article, I had a buy rating on Verizon (NYSE:VZ). At the time, I viewed Verizon’s net customer acquisition trend favorably as the company’s multi-quarter losses were improving nearing positive net adds. Further, I also believed that Verizon could expect a meaningful tailwind due to potentially favorable macroeconomic…
WIN-Initiative/Neleman/Stone via Getty Images Investment thesis In June 2021, I wrote an article about Ascent Industries (NASDAQ:ACNT), which was then named Synalloy, as operations were improving significantly after all the disruptions suffered during 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic broke the strong growth trend experienced in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and the share price still traded…
Ralf Hahn By James Smith The fall in UK GDP reflects a lot of volatility beneath the surface The UK economy fared worse than expected in the final quarter of last year, and the 0.3% drop in activity in the three months to December narrowly meets the definition of a technical recession – that is,…
Dilok Klaisataporn Business development companies deliver solid dividend yields to passive income investors. One BDC that I have owned for a while and that provides a high-yield as well as dividend growth is Golub Capital BDC (NASDAQ:GBDC). With the stock now selling for a 2% premium to net asset value, even the company’s robust net…
AdrianHancu Introduction I previously covered Societe Generale’s (OTCPK:SCGLF) Investor Day back in September 2023 where I argued that despite a lower profitability target compared to peers such as BNP Paribas (OTCQX:BNPQF) and Credit Agricole (OTCPK:CRARF), Societe Generale still made sense as an investment due to its lower valuation. Since then both SocGen and BNP have…
Ralf Hahn/iStock via Getty Images Background Several events since 2020 altered Blackbaud’s (NASDAQ:BLKB) future, including a security breach, a significant acquisition of EVERFI in 2021, and a monumental business change in 2023, all discussed in detail below. The security breach’s temporary costs are winding down while the business is inflecting positively due to pricing initiatives….
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Summary Readers may find my previous coverage here. My previous rating was a buy, as I believed Smartsheet (NYSE:SMAR) would see growth revert back to 30%, driven by continuous market share gains from existing Excel users and the conversion of free to paid users. As growth recovers, valuation should revert…
Joe Raedle Investment Thesis I wanted to take a look at J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) as it recently bounced off its 52-week low. I wanted to take a look at its financials for some clues as to why it may have dropped in price so much. I believe the recent decline was due to the…
jetcityimage Investment Thesis Regal Rexnord Corporation’s (NYSE:RRX) organic revenue growth is poised to turn positive in FY24 driven by above-average backlog levels in the Industrial Powertrain Solutions (IPS) and Automation & Motion Control (AMC) segments, channel inventory destocking coming to an end, improving end-market conditions and a potential reversal in the interest rate cycle this…
RgStudio Investing in fuboTV (NYSE:FUBO) has been a tremulous journey for me, marking it as one of my worst investments. While starting a bullish article with such a candid admission might seem strange, I find it essential to establish context for a clearer understanding. Reflecting on my previous analyses, I wrote two bullish articles on…
carterdayne Investment Thesis BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BXC) is a cyclical company. BXC did not achieve any revenue growth over the 2005 to 2023 peak-to-peak Housing Starts cycle. Nevertheless, the company is fundamentally sound with improving margins and returns. I consider it a cash cow. The Housing Starts currently is at the long-term annual average level….
Urupong Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE) released its Q3 2024, beating EPS and revenue expectations and improving its top and bottom line results YoY. In my previous article, my concern was the company’s lack of profitability. It has improved its EPS guidance for FY2024 by roughly $0.10, which is impressive. However, the forecasted loss is still between…
Hiroshi Watanabe Investment action I recommended a buy rating for Luminar Technologies (NASDAQ:LAZR) when I wrote about it the last time, as the company was on track towards meeting its milestone. The path to profitability was reiterated by management, boosting my confidence in the business. Based on my current outlook and analysis of LAZR, I…
monsitj Investment Thesis Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc.’s (NYSE:FBIN) stock is up slightly since my previous buy rating in September. The end-market outlook has meaningfully improved since then and, with lower-than-expected inflation, analysts have started betting on a rate cut as soon as the middle of next year. The improving end-market demand given moderating inflation and…
Tim Boyle Investment Thesis Over the past year, Kimberly-Clark Corporation’s (NYSE:KMB) volume levels were negatively impacted by price increases that led to consumer trade-down to lower price points from competitors and private labels in an inflationary environment. However, volume decline has already bottomed and volume levels have been improving sequentially thanks to narrowing price gaps…
photobyphm Introduction I had a sell rating on Verizon (NYSE:VZ) in my previous article. At the time, my argument was that Verizon was in a precarious position in the competitive telecommunications industry. Unlike the company’s competitors, Verizon was reporting net customer number decline for both post-paid and pre-paid wireless customers for multiple quarters spanning about…
Buterin also touched on the roadmap for Ethereum’s technical upgrades, referring to an imminent transition called ‘Danksharding’ that expands data availability and enables more transactions per block. Speaking recently at the Turkey Blockchain Summit, Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin discussed some of the platform’s plans for enhancing decentralization around staking while providing updates on upcoming network…
hobo_018/E+ via Getty Images Introduction Zoom Video (NASDAQ:ZM) will report Q3 earnings on Monday, Nov. 20 after market close. I will give my thoughts on the company’s potential and how things have changed since I last covered the company in May. The company has reported much better numbers since my last coverage, with greatly improved…
All_About_Najmi Investment Thesis Clover Health Investments, Corp.(NASDAQ:CLOV) has been on a transformative journey characterized by profitability objectives. I am thrilled by the company’s improving fundamentals, leading me to a long-term bullish stance. Its financial performance has been improving on a quarterly basis, which I believe reflects on its commitment to profitability objective. Given the company’s…
One of the fundamental limitations of the Lightning protocol is how payment routing is handled and accomplished. It is entirely source routed, meaning that the sender of a payment is the one who constructs the entire route from themselves to the receiver in order to facilitate the payment. This presents an issue when it comes…
Daenin Arnee Investment Rundown Assurant Inc (NYSE:AIZ) has been very proactive in diversifying its revenue streams and operations over the years. The company serves a global market with customers and clients all over the world. The last report showcased a significant improvement in the top and bottom lines of the business as AIZ was able…
TennesseePhotographer While the restaurant industry group has had a rough few months, few names have suffered as badly as Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL), which is now down 28% year-to-date and over 60% from its highs reached in 2018. This underperformance can be attributed to lackluster sales performance and continued margin compression, with operating…
Justin Sullivan Used-car dealer Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) has seen a sharp upward revaluation of its shares in the last couple of months which has been driven in part by improving operating fundamentals that included a change in the margin trajectory and cost improvements. While the company has been driving a strong restructuring, that has resulted in…
nicolamargaret U.K. retailer Marks and Spencer (OTCQX:MAKSY) has been doing good work in improving its business performance, which has helped boost its share price. I last covered the name in May 2022 with my “sell” piece “Marks And Spencer: Why I Remain Bearish”, since when the shares have moved up by 44%. My thesis then…
anouchka British foodservice venue operator SSP Group (OTCPK:SSPPF) has been getting its business back on its feet. It has done a good job rebuilding revenues following years of travel shutdowns in some markets. I last covered the name in my July 2021 “sell” piece, SSP: Overpriced For The Long Road Ahead. Since then, the shares…
skynesher Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) reported significant book value declines in the last year as the central bank responded to record inflation and raised interest rates aggressively. Though I argued in May that Annaly Capital Management was a risky investment due to the fact that the trust’s book value was declining and that it…
Michael King/iStock via Getty Images Research Summary Today I’ll be rating The Hartford Financial (NYSE:HIG), in the financials sector, insurance subsector. I last rated this stock in June when I rated it a strong buy. Since then, it had its Q2 earnings result on July 27th and I will do a deep dive into some…
Justin Sullivan Investment Thesis Colgate-Palmolive Company’s (NYSE: NYSE:CL) revenue growth should benefit from price increases, and recovering volume growth due to easing comparisons. In addition, increasing advertising spending and promotional offers should also help the company gain market share and deliver sales growth moving forward. This should also help offset near-term headwinds from consumer trade…
Oat_Phawat While the price of gold has demonstrated remarkable resilience to raising interest rates and has even risen itself, not the same could be said about producers of the precious metal. Miners have been hit by considerable cost inflation, which pressured their margins. Q2’23 data indicates that AISC and cash cost metrics are stabilizing and…
A tighter labor market and lower jobs opening shows that inflation pressure continue. Companies are adopting a cautious before the Fed’s September meeting. After a strong rebound this year on Wall Street, the month of August has proved to be the worst so far in 2023. However, on Wednesday, August 30, global equities market edged…
Seth Love/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis Genius Sports Limited (NYSE:GENI) is a London-based provider of technology products and services to the sports, sports betting, and sport media industries globally. In other words, they offer sports leagues (such as the NBA or Premier League) the technology infrastructure for the collection, integration and distribution of live…
imaginima The dividend factor has had a tumultuous last several quarters. It performed well during 2022’s stock market drop, even as interest rates were on the rise. The calendar flipped to 2023, and so too did the script regarding value and growth stocks’ relative performances. High-dividend equities underperformed from January through this past May. Lately,…