How’s this for bullish? The only day this week that the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:SPY) didn’t make new highs came on Wednesday, when it matched the prior high from Tuesday. It’s worth mentioning that the SPY made new all-time highs last Thursday and Friday too. So to say bulls enjoyed another session in the stock market today is putting it lightly.
So what now?
Bulls have a chance to make new highs “just” six more times this decade. The stock market is open for a regular session on Monday, closes at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday and is closed on Wednesday.
Movers in the Stock Market Today
In what is typically a quiet Friday before kicking off the Christmas weekend, BlackBerry (NYSE:BB) shares were creating some fireworks. Shares erupted more than 12% on the day after a top- and bottom-line earnings beat.
Further, the stock broke out over a nasty downtrend line that sent shares to multi-year lows. Helping fuel the move? Revenue grew 23%, outpaced by the 26% growth in Software and Services sales which hit $275 million. The company reported positive free cash flow and issued full-year earnings guidance that came in slightly ahead of consensus estimates.
U.S. Steel (NYSE:X) had the opposite kind of day, falling over 10%. Management warned that fourth-quarter profits would be worse than expected, estimating that the company would lose $1.15 per share. For perspective, analysts were expecting a loss per share of just 62 cents.
Worse, management said the company will not be buying back any stock and axed the dividend by 80%, down from 5 cents per share to a penny per share.
Is the Brexit drama finally coming to an end? In what has been seemingly dragging out forever, the British Parliament voted in favor of exiting the European Union on Jan. 31. If we really do get this over with, America can go back to just focusing on the royal family instead.
Carnival Cruise (NYSE:CCL) shares jumped 7.6% after better-than-expected earnings on Friday. Further, management guided for fiscal first-quarter earnings of 47 to 50 cents per share, well ahead of analysts’ expectations for 40 cents per share.
At $50, CCL stock is right in the middle of its 52-week range, spanning from $39-and-change to $59-and-change. Let’s see if this report is enough to push it closer to the latter.
General Electric
Where do we even begin with General Electric (NYSE:GE)? Just as shares have started to behave better, investors were hit with cash flow realization. Specifically, the company has already suffered a free cash flow setback when Boeing (NYSE:BA) announced it would reduce production of the 737 MAX jet, which still remains grounded.
Just recently though, Boeing said it would look to halt production of the jet due to ongoing issues. That puts a further crimp in GE’s delicate cash flow situation (even though some analysts are growing more optimistic about the turnaround).
I was wondering when we’d hear from JPMorgan bear Stephen Tusa, who has nailed the move in this stock as he was the first to turn negative on GE. Remember, that was back when GE was a dividend-paying industrial titan that could do no wrong.
In any regard, he reiterated his “sell” rating and $5 price target, implying 54% downside to GE. Tusa argues that the long-term implication of Boeing’s 737 MAX issue could stifle growth and hurt cash flows.
As if that weren’t enough to digest, GE has apparently struck a deal with Safran to produce engines for Airbus (OTCMKTS:EADSY), which is Boeing’s top rival. The duo will produce roughly 58% of the engines for the A320neo aircraft, as United Technologies (NYSE:UTX) cuts its production down to 42%.
Heard on the Street
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) continues to run to new highs, doing so again on Friday. The move comes as Wedbush bumped their price target from $39 to $51, implying about 16% upside. On the flip side, the analyst expects Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) to continue struggling.
Worth mentioning: AMD was named a Top Stock Trade on Friday too.
Sticking with the chips, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) was named a top semiconductor pick at Wells Fargo, who upped their price target from $240 to $270.
Piper Jaffray maintained their “overweight” rating on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), but bumped their price target from $290 to $305. That’s on optimism for the company’s expected 5G iPhone in the second half of 2020.
Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell NVDA and AAPL.