Stocks on Wall Street largely ended flat on Friday, but the, and still scored their best weekly performance since April as traders responded to developments in the US presidential election, indicating Democrat Joe Biden would become the next president with a divided congress.
Biden was named Saturday after the Pennsylvania victory earned him the 270 Electoral College votes it took to win. After winning in Nevada, Biden ended the day with 290 votes from the electoral college. Nonetheless, so far President Donald Trump has refused to give in and continued legal battles against the outcome.
As such, the next week could be filled with further market-changing political headlines.
Against this background, we cover one stock that is on track to move up and one stock that is likely to suffer further losses if they report their earnings results:
Stock to buy: Plug Power
Plug Power (NASDAQ 🙂 has been a prominent player in the booming renewable energy industry, benefiting from the increased demand for its hydrogen fuel cell systems, which replace conventional batteries in electrically powered equipment and vehicles , such as electric forklift trucks used in warehouses.
PLUG currently counts Amazon (NASDAQ :), Walmart (NYSE :), and Home Depot (NYSE 🙂 as some of its most notable customers.
Investor interest and sentiment in Plug Power has also improved in recent months as polls in the presidential race have moved in favor of the green-energy-friendly Biden-Harris ticket.
After languishing in single-digit territory for almost an entire decade, the Latham, New York-based alternative energy company's shares are so far up nearly 500%, easily outperforming the nearly 9% increase in S&P 500 compared to the last century. same timeframe.
The stock ended Friday at $ 18.86, its best since September 2008. It has a market capitalization of approximately $ 7.6 billion.
Plug Power, whose second quarter results – announced early August – are expected to report its following financial results on Monday, November 9, before opening the US market.
The consensus calls for a loss of $ 0.07 per share, which is less than a loss per share of $ 0.09 in the same period a year ago. Sales are expected to increase 75% from the same period a year earlier to $ 106.53 million, reflecting the increasing demand for its fuel cell solutions.
Perhaps more importantly, investors will focus on Plug & # 39; s update on progress toward its goal of achieving $ 1.2 billion in annual sales and $ 200 million in annual operating profit by 2024.
Stock To Dump: Occidental Petroleum
Occidental Petroleum (NYSE 🙂 stocks will be on the heels of most of 2020 as low energy prices and negative impact of the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus together hammered the main activities of the company
Shares of the Houston, Texas-based company – one of the largest oil and gas producers in the Permian basin – outperformed the broader market by far this year, falling as much as 75% since the year.
The stock, which fell to its lowest since 2000 late last month, closed at $ 10.01 on Friday. At its current level, the struggling oil and gas producer has a market capitalization of $ 9.3 billion.
Occidental Petroleum Monthly
Occidental, which reported second-quarter earnings and sales in early August, then publishes financial results after the US market closed on Monday, November 9.
The consensus calls for a loss of $ 0.73 per share in the third quarter, down from $ 0.11 in earnings per share in the same period a year ago. Sales are expected to decline 26% from the same quarter a year earlier to $ 4.2 billion as low oil prices and reduced global energy demand will again take their toll.
In addition to top and bottom line numbers, investors will keep an eye on Oxy's update regarding the outlook for oil and gas production for the remainder of the year and beyond.
In its latest earnings report, Occidental said oil and gas production will fall 5% in the fourth quarter from the same period last year to 1.16 million barrels per day. Even more troubling, it warned that shale production in the main Permian basin, which stretches across western Texas and southeastern New Mexico, is expected to decline by 37% this year
.
Investors will also be pleased to know if the company intends to take further steps to reduce its sky-high debt. Occidental Petroleum, which has borrowed heavily to fund its controversial $ 38 billion acquisition of rival Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE 🙂 in 2019, has already cut its dividends, cut jobs, moderate spending plans and sold assets in an effort to bolster its finances.
From a technical standpoint, Occidental's stocks remain well below their 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day moving averages, usually indicating more losses.
Occidental Petroleum Daily
Despite a sharp drop since the start of the year, OXY stocks will come under increasing pressure over the next week as investors react to another quarter of dismal financial results.
