After a bumpy start, the market saw another record high, and this all happened on a rather down day for Apple.
However, behind these record highs, economic reports were mixed. A New York organization released a consumer confidence report that showed the index was down 36% from where it was in February. Any economist will tell you that consumer confidence is one of the most important factors of economic activity— around 70% by most accounts — which means that present conditions do not mirror the stock market (in case you didn’t know that).
Furthermore, American Airlines announced it would be forced to cut 19,000 workers without additional government aid.
But, as per usual in 2020, there was a sign that seemed to undercut this bad news…The housing market crushed expectations. New home sales in July increased 13.9% and new home prices rose 4.3%.
Welcome to the half-full economy and your half-full life. Sure, you can get that juicy porterhouse from your favorite steakhouse, just have to eat it in the car with a plastic fork and knife…But, I digress.
Now, let’s talk about a company that we don’t mention much: Best Buy. Yes, the blue and yellow electronic retailer booked $9.9 billion in revenue, seeing increasing sales in every category (profits also jumped to $432M). Since April 1st, BBY is up 108% and the company is sitting in a position of strength as more students need laptops for school and more people work from home.
The company is capitalizing on the moment by turning low volume stores into shipping hubs to boost delivery speeds along with adding third-party locations for customer pick-ups (it already has 16,000). Our two cents: if we see another stimulus check, BBY is might go much higher as consumers load up on electronics ahead of the holiday season and maybe even replace that crappy laptop for an upgrade.
The small business shredder is just getting warmed up…
In other news, Palantir, the secret government contractor, is going public with a direct listing. The company lost $580 million last year. Gah. No surprise that the company’s lack of profitability appeared at the top of the Risk Factor section in their prospectus. The prospectus also gave us a description of their AI-powered software programs including Gotham: AVA, which analyzes federated data points…
At the moment, global shares are trending lower as the world awaits Jerome Powell. The CAC was down by 0.1% along with the FTSE 100, which slipped 0.2%, but the DAX added 0.2%.
Below you can find some of the most notable stocks to watch today.
Cresco Labs Inc. (CRLBF) – Last Close: $6.93
We know, we know. We swore off cannabis stocks for quite a while – after getting super, duper high on them – but Cresco is a multi-state operator and just saw Q2 revenues rise 42% sequentially. And the company’s same store sales grew sequentially 31%.
Sea Limited (SE) – Last Close: $154.13
Yes, quite the pricetag. But, we would be remissed if we did not recommend the hottest stock in the market. SE is a video game monster in South Asia and has a digital empire of e-commerce solutions in growing markets like Vietnam and Taiwan. Plus, the company’s Sea Money, a local payment system, is easy to use and shop with in an area of the world with millions of unbanked and underbanked.
Envela Corporation (ELA) – Last Close: $4.09
ELA is a gold play without the volatility. If you do believe a market drop is on the horizon, Envela is an interesting buy because they trade in luxury goods like jewelry and even bullion, but usually dealing with individual customers. There are some strong catalysts ahead for ELA – an election, market uncertainty, a Congress that can’t get along, a sleeping virus…People might start to sell their goods. It is one to watch…
Fastly, Inc. (FSLY) – Last Close: $90.38
This stock was under $20 on April 1st, and it has just skyrocketed as cloud content delivery, which is what FSLY does, has been in hot demand. Of course, let’s be real, FSLY is over-priced and only has around a 3% market share (its rival Akamai holds closer to 24% between all its products), but Fastly has gained prominence among customers with its quick speeds (revenue growth is up 60% YoY). Its a very expensive multiple, but there is a bull thesis for FSLY that the company could go much higher as it outpaces the legacy company, Akamai.
