My top 10 things to watch Tuesday, Oct. 31
1. U.S. stocks edge up in premarket trading Tuesday, with S&P 500 futures rising 0.15%. The move comes after equities rallied Monday, with the S&P rising to its highest level in two months. Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was hovering around 4.8%. Oil prices are up around 0.6%, with West Texas Intermediate crude trading at $82.80 a barrel. Broadly, we’re seeing end-of-the-month shenanigans in a still oversold market.
2. Club holding Caterpillar (CAT) delivers a third-quarter earnings beat Tuesday, even as the stock tumbles roughly 4% on lackluster guidance. Nothing matters except the operating margin going lower in the fourth quarter.
3. Club name GE HealthCare Technologies (GEHC) outpaces earnings estimates Tuesday, bolstered by a recovery in demand for surgical procedures. The company also raises the low end of its full-year guidance. The stock is having a muted reaction, with shares up slightly, at around $63 apiece.
4. A Wall Street Journal analysis Tuesday argues Club holding Apple (AAPL) will face continued headwinds from China, while its “lucrative” relationship with Club name Alphabet (GOOGL) could also be at risk. It’s a classic negative piece on the company that crystalizes the ‘hate Apple trade’ that’s been going on.
5. MoffettNathanson downgrades Lyft (LYFT) to sell from neutral, while lowering its price target on the stock to $7 a share, down from $10. The firm expects margin compression at the rideshare company, and any long-term guidance to “likely disappoint.” Lyft is set to report third-quarter results on Nov. 8.
6. Baird upgrades one of our favorite technology defense players, L3Harris Technologies (LHX), to outperform from neutral, citing increased funding for defense globally. The firm also raises its price target on the stock to $216 a share, up from $198.
7. Oil giant BP PLC (BP) reports a sharp drop in profits year-over-year for the third quarter, sending shares roughly 4% lower in early trading Tuesday. Must they do a deal, too? There are only so many choices.
8. MoffettNathanson upgrades Roku Inc. (ROKU) to neutral from sell, citing the streaming-device maker’s focus on profitability and free cash flow. In short, the company got its act together and is becoming more dominant.
9. Shares of VF Corporation (VFC), the maker of Vans sneakers, are down nearly 9% in premarket trading after the company withdrew its full-year revenue and profit forecasts Monday. There are so many things wrong, but I think that CEO Bracken Darrell can pull it off. He turned around Logitech International (LOGI) and tripled the S&P over the decade in which he was in the top job.
10. DA Davidson adds Ulta Beauty (ULTA) to its “Best-of-Breed Bison” list. The firm reiterates a buy rating on the stock and a $495-a-share price target.
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