Markets finished off the week on a positive note with the Nasdaq closing at a record high. For the week, the Nasdaq was able to rally 4.2%. A key driver was Netflix (NFLX) which saw its shares rally to all-time highs after an impressive earnings report. Big Tech will remain in focus as we await earnings from giants like Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT) Tesla (TSLA) and Facebook (FB). The Aerospace & Defense, Materials, Steel and Industrial sectors will also be well represented on the earnings front. In addition to earnings, the Fed will meet Wednesday for the first time in 2021. Most market participants expect the meeting to bring few changes to the current monetary policy narrative.
- Trivia Question- 5 of the Top 10 largest components of the S&P report this week. Can you name them?
The retail crowd is watching the big tech names ahead of earnings. According to the latest search data, AAPL, TSLA, and Amazon (AMZN) were among the most researched companies. Retail investors were also captivated by the massive squeeze in Gamestop (GME) as that came in at #2 in Top Stocks by total traffic. We thought we would take a look at some of the upcoming earnings and expectations for some of the names your clients are watching.
TrackStarIQ Data
Here are some highlights from Retail searches this week –
| Rank | TOP STOCKS – BY Retail (Total Traffic) This Past Week | Ticker | TOP STOCKS- BY RETAIL (Surge Traffic) This Past Week | Ticker | TOP ETFs By RETAIL (Total Traffic) This Past Week | Ticker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Churchill Capital Corp IV Cl A | CCIV | Cim Commercial TR Cp | CMCT | SPDR S&P 500 ETF | SPY |
| 2 | Gamestop Corp | GME | Proqr Therapeutics | PRQR | Invesco QQQ | QQQ |
| 3 | Apple Inc | AAPL | Qutoutiao Inc ADR | QTT | ARK Innovation ETF | ARKK |
| 4 | Tesla Inc | TSLA | Allied Security Innovations, Inc. | ADSV | ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures | UVXY |
| 5 | Gevo Inc | GEVO | Scynexis Inc | SCYX | ARK Genomic Revolution ETF | ARKG |
| 6 | Nio Inc | NIO | 111 Inc ADR | YI | Invesco Solar ETF | TAN |
| 7 | Bionano Genomics Inc | BNGO | Addex Therapeutics Ltd ADR | ADXN | VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF | SMH |
| 8 | Blackberry Ltd | BB | Realnetworks Inc | RNWK | ProShares UltraPro QQQ | TQQQ |
| 9 | Zomedica Pharmaceuticals Corp | ZOM | Aditx Therapeutics Inc | ADTX | iShares Russell 2000 ETF | IWM |
| 10 | Visa Inc | V | Greene Concepts, Inc. | INKW | iShares Global Clean Energy ETF | ICLN |
| 11 | Aurinia Pharm Ord | AUPH | GenTech Holdings Inc. | GTEH | Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund | XLK |
| 12 | Eversource Energy | ES | Azurrx Biopharma Inc | AZRX | SPDR Gold Trust | GLD |
| 13 | Intel Corp | INTC | Brazil Minerals, Inc. | BMIX | iShares Silver Trust | SLV |
| 14 | Adv Micro Devices | AMD | Singlepoint, Inc. | SING | Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund | XLE |
| 15 | Sundial Growers Inc | SNDL | Servicesrce Intl Inc | SREV | ARK Web x.0 ETF | ARKW |
| 16 | Nano Dimension Ads | NNDM | Nanovibronix Inc | NAOV | ARK Fintech Innovation ETF | ARKF |
| 17 | Amc Entertainment Holdings Inc | AMC | Paccar Inc | PCAR | Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund | XLY |
| 18 | Tesoro Enterprises, Inc. | TSNP | Clps Incorp | CLPS | Global X Lithium ETF | LIT |
| 19 | Alibaba Group Holding | BABA | Electro Sensors IN | ELSE | Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3x Shares | SOXL |
| 20 | Amazon.com Inc | AMZN | Asia Pacific Wire & Cable | APWC | VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF | GDX |
- Apple (AAPL) #3 on Top Stocks by total traffic- Reports Wednesday after the close. Expectations will be high for AAPL as channel checks suggest strength across the company’s entire Product and Services portfolio. Analysts are upbeat about potential results but there are some worries around supply constraints that could cause it to miss lofty whisper numbers. AAPL has not provided guidance the past three quarters. Analysts would like to see a return of this practice which would signal confidence that consumer demand has returned. Shares of AAPL are pressing to post-split all-time highs in anticipation of a NFLX-type earnings blow out. A failure to hit these expectations could send APPL shares lower but, we would remind you that the company still has a $50 bln share repurchase that can help provide support.
- Tesla (TSLA) #4 on Top Stocks by total traffic- Reports Wednesday after the close. TSLA was the top performing S&P stock in 2020, gaining an incredible 743% as the electric vehicles segment was front and center for investors. TSLA provides its monthly delivery metrics, so the key item for investors will be how well the company controlled costs and it’s free cash flow. Another key driver for shares will be TSLA’s outlook for deliveries in 2021 which is expected to be in the range of 825K-875K. The company’s report and, perhaps more importantly, its stock reaction, will provide some insight into risk appetite.
- Visa (V) #10 on Top Stocks by total traffic- Reports Thursday after the close. Visa is the second largest financial company by market cap and it provides valuable insight into consumer behavior. V and Mastercard (MA) have been notable underperformers this year, despite the shift toward digital payments in 2020. Over the past three months, the S&P is up 8% versus 1% for V and 3% for MA. Over the past 12 months, the S&P is up 16% versus 8% for V and 10% for MA. A good report could help drive interest back into the credit card names. One of the concerns for investors has been headwinds in the high-yielding cross-border volume due to less international travel. Color around recent trends and expectations for a recovery will be key drivers for investors. Shares of V have been trading in a sideways range the past three months. Investors will be watching to see if the earnings report breaks it out of this range.
- Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) #14 on Top Stocks by total traffic- Reports Tuesday after the close. AMD had a big run in 2021 as it continued to take market share from Intel (INTC). Intel has had issues launching its next generation 7 nanometer chips. INTC did catch the market’s attention last week when it posted a blowout quarter on the heels of announcing a new CEO the prior week. Market participants still remain upbeat about the AMD earnings report and its prospects for 2021. The company remains well-positioned to continue to make in-roads in the client and server markets in 2021 Investors will be watching the closing of the Xilinx (XLNX) acquisition to provide a tailwind and help improve cross-selling opportunities across data centers and wireless infrastructure. Shares of AMD have been trading sideways in the $90s the past seven weeks. Similar to Visa, this earnings report can help break the stock out of its range.
Trivia Answer- #1 Apple (AAPL) 6.7%, #2 Microsoft (MSFT) 5.3%, #4 Facebook (FB) 2.1%, #5 Tesla (TSLA) 1.7%, #9 Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 1.3% all report this week, representing 17% of the index. Alphabet )GOOG, GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN) report next week.