Nasdaq Stocks

April WTI crude oil (CLJ24 ) on Thursday closed up +1.54 (+1.93%), and Apr RBOB gasoline (RBJ24 ) closed +4.18 (+1.57%). Oil prices rallied on Thursday's IEA's report, which said the oil markets face a supply deficit for the remainder of this year due to OPEC+ production cuts. Oil prices...

Oracle’s stock (NYSE: ORCL) has gained approximately 21% YTD as compared to the 7% rise in the S&P500 index over the same period. Further, the stock rose by 11.7% yesterday vs 1% in the S&P500. It came after the ORCL outperformed the earnings estimates in Q3 2024. T

Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) stock plunged around 15% in Tuesday’s trading, after it announced that it will trim its capacity plans and revisit the financial forecast for 2024. This can be attributed to fewer expected deliveries from Boeing. The Federal Aviation Administr

The iShares Aerospace & Defense ETF ( BATS:ITA ) has been a reliable ETF over time, but it has a 737-sized red flag to deal with.   The $6.0 billion ETF from BlackRock’s ( NYSE:BLK ) iShares has returned a solid 10.1% on an annualized basis over the past decade. While these returns are nothing to sneeze at, I view the fund less favorably for the future because of one significant issue—its outsized exposure to beleaguered Boeing stock ( NYSE:BA ), which has many problems to sort out and can’t seem to get out of its own way.  While ITA has been a solid performer, I’m bearish at this point in time, given the fact that the troubled aircraft manufacturer has a large 14.1% weighting within the fund.  What Is the ITA ETF’s Strategy? According to iShares, ITA gives investors “targeted access to domestic aerospace and defense stocks” by investing in “companies that manufacture commercial and military aircrafts and other defense equipment.”  This is typically a good industry to invest in, given the durable streams of revenue these companies have and their close relationships with large customers like the U.S. Government. This focus on aerospace and defense stocks has served ITA well over the years, and it has delivered double-digit annualized returns over the past decade. However, the fund’s large position in Boeing could be a serious headwind, going forward. Too Much Boeing Exposure ITA owns 36 stocks, and its top 10 holdings make up 74.9% of the fund. Below, you’ll find an overview of ITA’s top 10 holdings using TipRanks’ holdings tool.  As you can see, Boeing accounts for an alarming 14.1% weighting within ITA. Boeing has had many recent issues, and unsurprisingly, the stock is down 30.4% year-to-date in 2024.  As if January’s high-profile incident in which a door plug blew off of a Boeing 737 MAX 9 flown by Alaska Airlines ( NYSE:ALK ) in midair wasn’t enough, the company was again the recipient of negative headlines when roughly 50 passengers on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner flown by Latam Airlines ( OTC:LTMAY ) were injured when the plane reportedly “nosedived.” Thankfully, there were no fatalities, but this is a serious matter, and given that Boeing’s previous mishaps were still very much in focus, it doesn’t inspire much confidence in the company right now.  It’s also concerning that the company reportedly hasn’t yet provided satisfactory answers on the Alaska Airlines incident to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), as Chair Jennifer Homendy stated, “We don’t have the records. It’s absurd that two months later, we don’t have it.”  Now, major customers like United Airlines ( NYSE:UAL ) are asking Boeing to halt production of its 737 Max 10 because, as United CEO Scott Kirby said, “It’s impossible to say when Max 10 is going to get certified.”  The company just has too many problems piling up, and this is not the type of stock I would want to get involved in at this point in time.  Now, I’m all for value investing and looking to pick up bargains among beaten-down stocks. The problem is, despite the steep decline in its share price, Boeing stock still trades at 54.3 times consensus 2024 earnings estimates, so the stock can hardly be described as a “bargain” or a “value stock.” And it could fall further, given this unfavorable combination of bad news and expensive valuation. In fairness, Boeing trades at a much more reasonable 22.9 times consensus 2025 earnings estimates, but this still can’t be described as cheap. TipRanks’ Smart Score System seems to agree that Boeing is likely a stock to avoid, giving it an unenviable 2 out of 10 rating.  The Smart Score is a proprietary quantitative stock scoring system created by TipRanks. It gives stocks a score from 1 to 10 based on eight market key factors. A score of 8 or above is equivalent to an Outperform rating. However, a Smart Score of 3 or lower is considered an Underperform-equivalent rating.  There are some attractive holdings here, like top holdings Raytheon ( NYSE:RTX ) and Textron ( NYSE:TXT ), to which Smart Score gives ‘Perfect 10’ ratings, but unfortunately, the outsized Boeing position muddies the water for them. What Is ITA’s Expense Ratio? ITA features an expense ratio of 0.40%, meaning that an investor will pay $40 in fees on a $10,000 investment annually. While this isn’t cheap, it isn’t overly expensive either, putting ITA in the middle of the road when it comes to cost. For comparison sake, the SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF ( NYSEARCA:XAR ) charges a slightly cheaper fee of 0.35%, while the Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF ( NYSEARCA:PPA ) is more expensive, with an expense ratio of 0.58%. Is ITA Stock a Buy, According to Analysts? Turning to Wall Street, ITA earns a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 25 Buys, 11 Holds, and one Sell rating assigned in the past three months. The average ITA stock price target of $141.80 implies 12.15% upside potential. Alternatives Are Out There ITA has been a solid performer for a long time, delivering annualized returns of 10.1% over the past 10 years (as of February 29). But the fund’s massive Boeing position unfortunately gives investors too much exposure to problems that they probably don’t want any part of. Furthermore, for all of its issues, shares of Boeing are by no means cheap from a valuation perspective, so it’s hard to make a case for it as a contrarian idea or value play. At some point, Boeing may turn things around, but there is no visibility into that right now, so I am bearish on the ITA fund for the time being. The good news for investors is that there are other ways to gain exposure to the aerospace and defense industry as a whole without taking on as much exposure to Boeing.  For example, the aforementioned XAR is a great defense ETF that has returned 11.4% on an annualized basis over the past decade (as of February 29) and has a much smaller 2.8% weighting toward Boeing. Meanwhile, the aforementioned PPA ETF is another option that has returned 12.7% on an annualized basis over the past 10 years and has a 4.1% weighting towards Boeing. Currently, both of these ETFs are probably safer ways to gain exposure to the aerospace and defense sector, given their much more manageable exposure to Boeing stock.    Disclosure

Australia's central bank will hold its key interest rate at 4.35% for a third straight meeting on Tuesday and at least until end-September, according to a Reuters poll of economists who see at least two rate cuts in the final quarter of 2024.

Strong sell pressure on Thursday pushed the corn market 5 to 8 cents weaker and held futures near the lows through the afternoon. Prices ultimately ended the day fractionally off their lows with 5 ¼ to 7 ½ cent losses. USDA’s mandatory reporting system announced a 100k MT old crop...

U.S. wheat futures firmed up in the afternoon portion of Thursday to close off the daily lows, but prices were still down by double digits on the day. SRW futures ended the day with 1.8% to 2.4% losses across the front months, as May fell by 12 cents/bu. That led...

Cattle futures flipped back to red on the weekly charts on Thursday with $1.85 to $2.97 losses on the day. April futures still hold a premium out to Dec. Feeders led the way lower on the day with losses of as much as 1.8% as April closed $4.67 in the...

The cotton market pushed lower on Thursday with triple digit losses for the old crop contracts. May futures saw a 234 point range on the day from -170 to +64 so far. New crop cotton was also weaker though losses were limited to 53 points. OI in Dec is still...

Lean hog futures printed a triple digit range on the session from -80c to +23c (June), and closed mostly lower. April hogs tightened the discount with a 15c gain for the day, but is still $16.40 under the June contract. USDA’s National Average Base Hog price was $1.27 stronger on...

Front month soybean futures were mixed within 1 ½ cents at the close. The old crop contracts went home red with new crop in the black. Nov futures saw a 16 ¾ cent range on the day. Nearby Soymeal futures closed with $1 to $1.20/ton gains. Soy Oil futures were...

The S&P 500 Index ($SPX ) (SPY ) on Thursday closed down -0.29%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index ($DOWI ) (DIA ) closed down -0.35%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX ) (QQQ ) closed down -0.30%. Stocks on Thursday closed mildly lower on the bearish PPI and retail sales...

Legendary investor Warren Buffett advises to be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. One way we can try to measure the level of fear in a given stock is through a technical analysis indicator called the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which me

Legendary investor Warren Buffett advises to be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. One way we can try to measure the level of fear in a given stock is through a technical analysis indicator called the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which me

In trading on Thursday, shares of Huntsman Corp (Symbol: HUN) crossed below their 200 day moving average of $25.43, changing hands as low as $25.04 per share. Huntsman Corp shares are currently trading off about 1.7% on the day. The chart below shows the one year performance o

Legendary investor Warren Buffett advises to be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. One way we can try to measure the level of fear in a given stock is through a technical analysis indicator called the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which me

Legendary investor Warren Buffett advises to be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. One way we can try to measure the level of fear in a given stock is through a technical analysis indicator called the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which me

Legendary investor Warren Buffett advises to be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. One way we can try to measure the level of fear in a given stock is through a technical analysis indicator called the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which me

In trading on Thursday, shares of Globus Medical Inc (Symbol: GMED) crossed below their 200 day moving average of $53.31, changing hands as low as $51.21 per share. Globus Medical Inc shares are currently trading down about 6.4% on the day. The chart below shows the one year p

The S&P 500 Index ($SPX ) (SPY ) is down -0.25%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index ($DOWI ) (DIA ) is down -0.15%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX ) (QQQ ) is down -0.13%. Stocks faded from early gains and are currently trading mildly lower on today's bearish PPI...