Stocks on Wall Street rose Friday with major averages all closing in sight of their recent records. This, after the latest surge in optimism about the economic recovery in the US.
The blue chip and the benchmark were up about 0.7% and 0.6% respectively in the week for their second consecutive weekly gain. The tech-heavy, meanwhile, rose about 0.5% over the same time frame to register its third winning week in a row.
Dow, SP, NASDAQ Daily Charts
This week is in line for another busy economic week with more high-profile earnings reports from companies like GameStop (NYSE:), Chewy (NYSE:) and Stitch Fix (NASDAQ:), coming out, plus key data, for example, the expected report, also scheduled to be released as well.
Regardless of how the markets react, we've highlighted one stock that is likely to be in high demand and another that could unfortunately decline further south.
Remember, however, that our timetable is for the coming week only.
Stock To Buy: Academy Sports and Outdoors
Academy Sports Outdoors Inc. (NASDAQ:) takes center stage this week as investors wait for the latest news from one of the nation's leading athletic apparel retailers ahead of Tuesday's opening bell.
Consensus estimates call for first quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $0.82 with revenue expected to reach $1.58 billion as Academy turns profit for third time as a publicly traded company . As such, it does not face year-to-year comparisons.
In addition to the top and bottom-line numbers, same-store sales and e-commerce growth will be closely monitored, after declining 16.1% and 60.7% respectively in the previous quarter. have risen.
In addition, investors hope that Academy management will maintain its optimistic view regarding the outlook for the full fiscal year 2021 as the sporting goods retailer continues to benefit from favorable consumer trends and customer demand.
The Katy, Texas-based sporting goods retailer, which currently operates 259 stores in 16 states, primarily in the Southeast and Midwestern United States, has thrived this year on the back of rising demand for sporting goods. and recreational clothing and equipment.
In addition to selling sportswear, footwear and training equipment, the popular Texas chain also offers a wide range of products and equipment for the outdoors, such as hunting, fishing, boating and kayaking.
Year-to-date, Academy — which made its trading debut on NASDAQ in October after it went public for $13.00 a share — saw its shares rise 79%, easily making it one of the biggest winners of retail is from 2021.
ASO shares – which are up 185% since it made its trading debut – ended Friday at $37.12, slightly below its all-time high of $37.90 reached on June 2. At current levels, the sporting goods retailer has a market cap of approximately $3.5 billion.
Stock To Dump: New Oriental Education Group
Stocks of New Oriental Education & Technology (NYSE:), which provides online tutoring for primary and secondary school students in China, seem to lag behind in the coming days.
Despite having lost nearly half of their value so far this year, investors remain concerned about the negative impact of several factors plaguing the Beijing-based for-profit education giant.
Sentiment over the once-high-flying, for-profit China-based online education service has taken a serious beating of late amid a growing crackdown on the sector.
EDU shares closed Friday's session at $9.22, more than 53% below its all-time high of $19.97 on Feb. 16, earning the Chinese education giant a valuation of about $15.8 billion .
The latest negative news came after China's state market regulation administration last week fined 15 private engineering firms totaling 36.5 million ($5.73 million) for false advertising and price fraud.
The companies sanctioned included the aforementioned New Oriental Education, as well as New York-listed peers TAL Education Group (NYSE:), and OneSmart International Education Group Ltd (NYSE:).
Despite the fines, fears persist that the Chinese authorities are trying to further expand the country's booming private tutoring market.
Indeed, previous media reports have stated that the Chinese Ministry of Education is preparing new regulations that could be introduced as early as the end of June.
Ultimately, market players are concerned that the continued measures will lead to an outright ban on kindergarten tutoring, which, if confirmed, would adversely affect New Oriental's business.
To underscore those fears, GSX Techedu (NYSE:) announced late last month that it would close its preschool operations in response to increased regulatory scrutiny, which would send its stock plunge to new lows.
Taking this into consideration, it appears that EDU stocks will remain on the defensive in the coming days as the after-school tutoring provider continues to face tough challenges.
