Barrons Summary: Positive on Pharmaceuticals, KO, BLK, X, Cruise lines, Aviva; Cautious on tech unicorns, AXP, TDC
Cover story: Positive on large pharmaceutical companies and biotechs in the immuno-oncology space. Merck and Roche are likely the best bets with dividends and big upside potential to drugs in development
Features: 1) Positive on BLK on valuation relative to the greater market. Shares could see 20% upside over the coming year. 2) Stock market's decline over the past week has made valuations more reasonable and is likely to bring buyers back into the market who were looking for bargains. 3) Positive on X, sees likely 60% appreciation by the end of next year as the company has been beaten down by lower oil industry demand and cheap China imports and the worst could be over.
Tech Trader: Concerns are growing around private tech companies and their valuations, including Airbnb and Uber. Concerns exist yet some of the companies are profitable and could one day reach the size of a company like FB. Issues surround how these startups will be generating revenue and whether its a new source or just poached from other firms.
Trader: Positive on KO given its stability in an otherwise volatile market. Dividend yield standing at 3.3% is attractive given the high share price. Cautious on HMSY and its potential that hinges around the award of a NY medicaid contract.
Small Caps: Follow up: Cautious on AXP, expecting a challenging year for the company given new competition and the end of its Costco agreement. Positive on Cruise ships RCL CCL NCLH on improving demand landscape and low oil prices helping profitability. Expecting a difficult time for TDC as it faces increased competition and continued customer deferrals.
European Trader: Positive on Aviva on valuation and expected benefit from a continued restructuring.
Asian Trader: Positive on the Malaysian Ringgit as it may have been oversold on China concerns.
Commodities: Cautious on Tin as it has bucked the declining trend in other commodities. Expecting it too to decline in time.
Streetwise: Cautious on firms' buyback policies. Highlights new information that shows the policy is not as positive for firms or investors as previously thought. Firms who purchased the most amounts of shares recently only outperformed the market by 0.1%, and if shares dont rise, the policy is effectively wasted capital that could have otherwise been put towards growth programs.