Here is what you need to know on Friday, February 3:
Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data day is here and the end of a full week. Wednesday and Thursday saw the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England report, and now the NFP becomes the cherry on top of an eventful week. It is a lot to pack in, but when you add Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META) and Alphabet (GOOGL) earnings, then it was an overload for the mind.
So far we have not found a strong direction. We got close. A dovish Fed, ECB and BoE sent global yields lower and stocks higher, but then Thursday night we had poor earnings from Apple, Amazon and Google parent Alphabet, so now we are set for more chop.
NFPs may not provide any catalysts needed. If it is weak, then recession looms. Yes, lower rates would arrive quicker, but a recession will put the focus back on strong earnings. If the NFP data is strong, then the focus will return to higher yields. We needed the all-clear from Apple at least for this rally to gain legs, but now it likely stumbles.
The US Dollar, meanwhile, looks to be on a sounder footing with all major central banks now dovish. The Dollar Index is back to 101.60, oil is lower to $75.80, and gold is also lower to $1,915.
European markets are mixed: Eurostoxx flat, FTSE +0.5%, CAC -0.2% and DAX -0.5%.
US futures are lower: NASDAQ -1.1%, S&P -0.7% and Dow -0.2%.
Wall Street top news
Apple (AAPL): weak earnings, down 3-4% premarket.
Amazon (AMZN): weak earnings, down 5% premarket.
Alphabet (GOOGL): again weak earnings, down 5% premarket.
Ford (F): weak sales, down 7% premarket.
Starbucks (SBUX): weakness in China, misses EPS and sales, down 2-3% premarket. (Hmmmm, noticing a trend here!)
Tesla (TSLA) sells 66,051 China-made vehicles in January, up 10% yearly, according to China Passenger Car Association. Stock up 1% premarket.
Nordstrom (JWN) up on WSJ report of Ryan Cohen stake.
Regeneron Pharma (REGN) beats on earnings.
Aon (AON) beats on EPS but misses revenue.
Cigna Healthcare (CI) beats on EPS, revenue in line but outlook lower than expected.
Upgrades and downgrades
Upgrades
Friday, February 03, 2023
|
COMPANY |
TICKER |
BROKERAGE FIRM |
RATINGS CHANGE |
PRICE TARGET |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cardinal Health |
CAH |
Robert W. Baird |
Neutral>>Outperform |
$87>>$94 |
|
H.B. Fuller |
FUL |
Citigroup |
Neutral>>Buy |
$72>>$85 |
|
Int’l Paper |
IP |
UBS |
Sell>>Neutral |
$31>>$43 |
|
Nordstrom |
JWN |
Gordon Haskett |
Reduce>>Hold |
$22 |
|
Erasca |
ERAS |
Morgan Stanley |
Equal-Weight>>Overweight |
$15 |
|
Esperion Therapeutics |
ESPR |
Morgan Stanley |
Underweight>>Equal-Weight |
$9 |
Downgrades
Friday, February 03, 2023
|
COMPANY |
TICKER |
BROKERAGE FIRM |
RATINGS CHANGE |
PRICE TARGET |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Aptiv |
APTV |
Wolfe Research |
Outperform>>Peer Perform |
|
|
Boeing |
BA |
RBC Capital Mkts |
Outperform>>Sector Perform |
$225 |
|
C.H. Robinson |
CHRW |
Stifel |
Buy>>Hold |
$107>>$99 |
|
Camden Property |
CPT |
Piper Sandler |
Overweight>>Neutral |
$136 |
|
Cognizant Tech |
CTSH |
Robert W. Baird |
Outperform>>Neutral |
$66>>$68 |
|
Ford Motor |
F |
Deutsche Bank |
Hold>>Sell |
$13>>$11 |
|
First Foundation |
FFWM |
Piper Sandler |
Overweight>>Neutral |
$17.5>>$16 |
|
Focus Financial |
FOCS |
BMO Capital Markets |
Outperform>>Market Perform |
$55>>$53 |
Source: WSJ.com