Nasdaq Stocks

Cattle futures are down $2.52 to $3 on Tuesday, as expiring April is up 40 cents. Cash trade has yet to develop this week, with last weeks was $182-183 in the South, steady to $1 higher. Northern trade was reported at $184-186, steady to $2 higher on the week, with...

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) recently reported its Q1 results, with revenues missing but earnings comfortably above our estimates. The company reported revenue of $15.8 billion and earnings of $5.60 on a per share and adjusted basis, compared to our estimates of $16.4 billion and

Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) is poised to report its Q3 FY’24 results on May 14, reporting on a quarter that is likely to see the company’s sales contract, as customers focus on deploying hardware inventory purchased in the recent quarters.  We expect revenue

UPS (NYSE: UPS) recently reported its Q1 results, with revenues missing but earnings ahead of our estimates. The company reported revenue of $21.7 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.43 per share, compared to our estimates of $22 billion and $1.38, respectively. In this note

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is scheduled to report its fiscal Q1 2024 results on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 (after market). We expect Amazon to edge past the consensus estimates of earnings and revenues. The company outperformed the street expectations in the last quarter, with net revenu

Boeing (NYSE: BA) recently reported its Q1 results, with top and bottom lines above street estimates. The company reported revenue of $16.6 billion and an adjusted loss of $1.13 per share, compared to the consensus estimates of $16.2 billion in sales and a loss per share of $1.76

Mastercard (NYSE: MA) is scheduled to report its fiscal Q1 2024 results on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. We expect Mastercard to beat the consensus estimates of earnings and revenues. The company outperformed the street expectations in the last quarter, with net revenues (revenues

Buoyed by a strong earnings report and optimistic forecasts earlier in the month, major air carrier Delta Air Lines ( NYSE:DAL ) appears to be poised to continue to benefit from renewed business in the commercial air travel space. The airline’s premium services offer a higher margin than other products, and it also stands to achieve strong loyalty-related sales while working to pay down pandemic debt. All of these factors have prompted many analysts on Wall Street to bump up their price targets for DAL shares and name the stock a Buy. I agree with this bullish assessment and believe that Delta offers investors many reasons to get excited. We’ll take a closer look at several of them below. DAL’s Earnings Momentum and Outlook Early in April, Delta reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.45 on operating revenue of $12.6 billion for the first quarter of the year, a 6% increase over the prior-year quarter. Average analyst predictions for adjusted EPS for the period were $0.35, meaning that Delta significantly outperformed expectations. Perhaps even more importantly, the company said that strong travel demand anticipated for future months could drive total revenue growth for the current quarter to 5-7% over what it was last year. This forecast—as well as the company’s full-year EPS outlook of $6 to $7—was also ahead of many analysts’ expectations. Sunny Skies Ahead What is behind Delta’s lofty forecasts for the coming months? The company pointed in its earnings report to a series of travel demand data points, including a 3% year-over-year improvement in domestic unit revenue and a whopping 14% increase in demand from corporate flyers. International travel has also bounced back from a pandemic-related low, as Delta noted 12% higher revenue in this area compared to last year’s March quarter. Strong travel demand is a major factor in the success of Delta’s business, but it’s not the only one. The company must balance the total revenue it earns per available seat mile (an acronym known as TRASM) against the costs per available seat mile. TRASM for the most recent quarter was only up 1% year-over-year. However, the cost per available seat mile actually declined by 6%, alongside the cost of airplane fuel. In total, these shifts helped increase Delta’s overall profitability. Capturing the Premium Market With a surge in corporate travel demand comes Delta’s plans to increase its premium-tier offerings. These include new technology available in some of its aircraft, luxury lounges in airports, and co-branded credit cards, including benefits. The push toward premium may help Delta further differentiate itself from competitors, particularly at a time in which many consumers view airline “junk fees” (fees for extras such as seat selection) negatively. These services are catered toward business travelers as well as members of Delta’s SkyMiles rewards program and generally have a higher margin than similar services offered at a lower tier. Delta says it will likely spend $5 billion annually to improve the travel experience for SkyMiles customers. This significant upfront investment may pay off, though, as the company continues to address concerns from customers upset by changes to the rewards program announced last September. These changes were subsequently revised following customer backlash. Addressing Delta’s Pandemic-Related Debt Like most airlines, Delta took on significant new debt as it dramatically curtailed operations during the early stages of COVID-19. However, the airline now finds itself in an enviable position relative to rivals. Delta CEO Ed Bastian has said he believes his firm will be the only profitable major airline during the first quarter. With an estimated $3 billion to $4 billion in free cash flow for 2024, Delta could be well-positioned to reduce its debt levels. At a time in which some peers are still struggling to achieve profitability, this could allow Delta to claim an operational advantage lasting well into the future. Is DAL Stock a Buy, According to Analysts? Shares of DAL have climbed by 45% in the last year and have risen steadily since late October. Still, despite these significant gains, analysts believe there is still upside potential. The average DAL stock price target of $58.00 represents 15.8% upside potential. DAL stock is also rated as a Strong Buy across Wall Street based on 16 Buy ratings, zero holds, and zero sells. The Takeaway: Delta Still Has Room to Soar Coming off an earnings report for the first quarter that beat expectations in multiple ways, Delta still has room to grow. The company’s newly-raised outlooks for second-quarter and full-year EPS show that it has the potential to capitalize on surging travel demand. Additionally, its strategy to showcase high-margin premium services while working to ease the minds of its SkyMiles members could help accelerate growth. Disclosure

IBM has a dividend yield of nearly 4%, and has been aggressively working on expanding its AI offerings. However, the stock does not look like a compelling buy, despite having corrected from its 2024 highs.

The dollar index (DXY00 ) on Friday rose by +0.37%. The dollar on Friday recovered from a 2-week low and rose moderately. The dollar strengthened Friday as stronger-than-expected US economic reports on Mar personal spending and Mar core PCE deflator were hawkish for Fed policy and may further delay rate...

June WTI crude oil (CLM24 ) on Friday closed up +0.28 (+0.34%), and May RBOB gasoline (RBK24 ) closed up +1.07 (+0.39%). Crude and gasoline prices posted moderate gains on Friday. Middle East tensions are underpinning crude prices on concerns about an escalation of the Israel-Hamas war. Israel has launched...

May Nymex natural gas (NGK24 ) on Friday closed down by -0.024 (-1.47%). May nat gas prices Friday tumbled to a 3-3/4 year nearest-futures low and closed moderately lower. Ample US nat-gas supplies and mild spring temperatures are weighing on gas prices. As of April 19, nat-gas inventories were +37.0%...

In trading on Friday, shares of Noah Holdings Ltd (Symbol: NOAH) crossed above their 200 day moving average of $12.60, changing hands as high as $12.78 per share. Noah Holdings Ltd shares are currently trading up about 6.5% on the day. The chart below shows the one year perfor

In trading on Friday, shares of the SPDR Nuveen Bloomberg Short Term Municipal Bond ETF (Symbol: SHM) entered into oversold territory, changing hands as low as $47.08 per share. We define oversold territory using the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which is a technical analysi

In trading on Friday, shares of Centene Corp (Symbol: CNC) crossed below their 200 day moving average of $72.20, changing hands as low as $71.25 per share. Centene Corp shares are currently trading down about 1.7% on the day. The chart below shows the one year performance of C

In trading on Friday, shares of Tenaris SA (Symbol: TS) crossed below their 200 day moving average of $34.09, changing hands as low as $34.02 per share. Tenaris SA shares are currently trading down about 6.9% on the day. The chart below shows the one year performance of TS sha

In trading on Friday, shares of Penske Automotive Group Inc (Symbol: PAG) crossed above their 200 day moving average of $156.81, changing hands as high as $157.72 per share. Penske Automotive Group Inc shares are currently trading up about 1.8% on the day. The chart below show

In trading on Friday, shares of Adtalem Global Education Inc (Symbol: ATGE) crossed above their 200 day moving average of $49.55, changing hands as high as $49.62 per share. Adtalem Global Education Inc shares are currently trading up about 3.7% on the day. The chart below sho

May NY world sugar #11 (SBK24 ) on Friday closed down -0.08 (-0.51%), and Aug London ICE white sugar #5 (SWQ24 ) closed up +0.10 (+0.02%). Sugar prices on Friday settled mixed. Sugar futures came under pressure Friday after Unica reported that 2024/25 Brazil sugar production in the first half...

July ICE NY cocoa (CCN24 ) on Friday closed down -210 (-1.94%), and May ICE London cocoa #7 (CAK24 ) closed down -173 (-1.80%). Cocoa prices settled moderately lower on Friday as a stronger dollar (DXY00 ) fueled long liquidation pressures in cocoa futures. Cocoa also has a negative carryover...