The 10 things to watch Wednesday, Dec. 6
1. U.S. stocks are higher in premarket trading Wednesday, with S&P 500 futures up 0.45% after back-to-back days of losses. The move comes amid increasing signs the labor market is loosening, suggesting the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate hikes are succeeding in cooling the economy. U.S. private payrolls rose by 103,000 last month, according to the ADP National Employment Report, well below forecasts for a 130,000 increase.
2. Home builder Toll Brothers (TOL) delivers better-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue of $3.02 billion and earnings-per-share of $4.11 on stronger margins. The company also provides upbeat commentary around 2024, with mortgage rates expected to come down.
3. Bank of America downgrades PayPal (PYPL) to neutral from buy, while lowering its price target to $66 a share, down from $77. The firm doesn’t think PayPal is “broken” but needs time to fix things, calling 2024 a transition year.
4. JPMorgan shuffles around its oil ratings, upgrading Devon Energy (DVN) to overweight from neutral, while downgrading EOG Resources (EOG) to neutral from overweight. The firm also lowers its price target slightly on Club name Coterra Energy (CTRA) to $29 a share, from $30, while reiterating an overweight rating and keeping the stock as a “top pick.”
5. Morgan Stanley downgrades Plug Power (PLUG) to underweight from equal weight, while lowering its price target to $3 a share, down from $3.50. If you want a hydrogen play with less of the risk, stick with Club holding Linde (LIN). It’s the largest supplier of liquid hydrogen in the U.S. and doing a lot for clean hydrogen, too.
6. Morgan Stanley resumes coverage on JM Smucker (SJM) with an equal-weight rating and $122-per-share price target. The firm liked Smucker’s quarterly results but cites “several concerns,” including the company’s acquisition of Hostess Brands and the risk posed by GLP-1 drugs.
7. Bank of America calls semiconductor company Qualcomm (QCOM) a “top pick” amid the end of the global smartphone downturn. The firm expects global smartphone shipments to rise by 5% in 2024.
8. Citi upgrades Signet Jewelers to buy from neutral, while raising its price target to $119 a share, up from $93. You can hear the full story from CEO Gina Drosos on Tuesday’s “Mad Money”.
9. Can Club holding Starbucks (SBUX) break a 12-day losing streak now that the bad news is out? CEO Laxman Narasimhan said Tuesday at a Morgan Stanley conference that the recovery in China is “perhaps half the rate of what you would expect it to be given what you saw in the fourth quarter last year.” Shares of the coffeemaker were up 0.5% in early trading, at $96 apiece.
10. Exxon Mobil (XOM) says it plans to repurchase $20 billion worth of stock annually through 2025 after its acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) closes. The oil major is buying back $17.5 billion of stock this year.
(See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.)
As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.
THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER. NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.