With the markets closed on Wednesday and only open until 1 p.m ET on Tuesday, one can imagine that it was a relatively calm Monday. However, that didn’t stop bulls from pushing stocks to another record high in the stock market today.
As far as the broader market goes, it was a quiet pre-holiday session. For individual names though, it was anything but.
Movers in the Stock Market Today
Perhaps the most noteworthy news came just before the open, as shares of Boeing (NYSE:BA) were halted with news pending. The company announced it fired CEO Dennis Muilenburg, who had sat at the helm since 2015.
CFO Greg Smith will fill in as interim CEO, then Chairman David Calhoun will take over as CEO Jan. 13.
Muilenburg oversaw the 737 MAX mishaps over the past year, and the board felt that it was time for a change. Perhaps not exactly the straw that broke the camel’s back, but it certainly didn’t help that Boeing’s Starliner failed to hit the correct orbit on Friday morning. While it was bound for the International Space Station, it had to abort plans and land in New Mexico.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock ripped to more new highs on Monday, finally eclipsing the $420 level at one point in the day. In June, who would have believed that Tesla shares would hit this point by year end? Here we are, 137% later.
The move comes on news that the automaker has agreed to a new five-year loan facility for $1.4 billion with a group of Chinese banks. It will help Tesla roll some of its existing debt with the bank and help improve its liquidity situation. Other news from the weekend? Tesla is working out a new Gigafactory location in Germany, too.
In another sign that Uber (NYSE:UBER) may be bottoming, the stock shook off more bad news on Monday. Co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick is cashing out of Uber quickly. He nearly unloaded his entire stake since the lockup period ended in November.
He’s sold more than $2.5 billion worth of stock so far, now holding less than 10% of his stake. While Kalanick is on the board and his sales may have some investors thinking it’s a negative reflection on Uber’s business, there could be some other motives at play. Like the fact that things didn’t go so well when he was at the helm.
Heard on the Street
Another analyst is bullish on Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) 5G iPhone prospects. Only this time, it comes with a new Street-high price target. Wedbush analysts slapped a $350 target on Apple stock, saying that the iPhone 11 is the “front end of this current ‘supercycle,’” with a more potent upgrade cycle waiting just around the corner.
Apple hit a new all-time high Monday.
While JPMorgan analyst Stephen Tusa was out with negative commentary on General Electric (NYSE:GE) last week, his more optimistic outlook on 3M (NYSE:MMM) gave the latter a boost on Monday.
3M climbed about 2% on the day after Tusa raised his rating to “neutral” from “underweight.” He also bumped his price target from $143 to $150. Ironically, the price target still implies about 16% downside, so he’s clearly not bullish. But that’s not stopping investors from feeling better.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has been underperforming its mega-capitalization tech peers all year as it continues to invest heavily in one-day shipping. Is it finally paying off?
A recent survey by Piper Jaffray reveals that there’s a “strong interest” in one-day shipping and the “potential for a material increase in usage,” particularly if more items are included in that expedited shipping option.
The analyst maintains a $2,150 price target and “overweight” rating. However, he does acknowledge that one-day shipping efforts — although good for revenue — will continue weighing on earnings.
Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell is long AAPL.