Coronavirus seems to be the main focus of markets, probably overshadowing everything else when trading starts on Monday. This overarching concern follows new reports that show that Covid-19 continues to spread outside of China, the epicenter of the disease.
The virus has so far infected more than 78,000 people, mainly in China, and killed more than 2,400 people. South Korea, Iran and Italy have reported fatalities of the disease. In Iran, 18 cases have been diagnosed and four killed in the last two days.
They dropped more than 227 points on Friday, or 0.78%, under pressure from concerns that the outbreak could have a more serious effect on the US and global economy than previously expected.
Apart from this imminent risk, there are still some large profit announcements planned for the coming week, especially from a number of large retailers. We closely monitor the following three stocks:
1. Home Depot
The hardware and home improvement chain, Home Depot (NYSE :), reports fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday, February 25 before the open day. The retailer is expected to report around $ 25.7 billion in revenue and $ 2.11 earnings per share.
HD Weekly TTM
& # 39; The world's largest home improvement chain has followed several successful strategies in recent years to drive growth and benefit from strong consumer spending.
In the Home Depot, however, it yielded a big negative surprise when revenues fell short of analysts' and the company's expectations for the second time in three months to make up its annual growth prospects.
Home Depot shares, closed on Friday at $ 245.34, won more than 12% this year. The share has so far participated in the strong equity market rally in 2020, suggesting that investors expect a comeback in revenue growth this year.
2. Salesforce.com
Salesforce.com (NYSE :), which sells business software and cloud-based services to business customers, also reports on Tuesday, albeit after the market is closed.
The software provider is expected to report more than $ 4.7 billion in revenue and $ 0.56 in revenue per share. The stock has risen more than 17% since the company started in December. It closed on Friday at $ 189.50.
CRM Weekly TTM
The increase in the share was stimulated by the market's optimistic view of the company's prospects in the coming years. RBC Capital Markets upgraded Salesforce.com shares to top pick status in January, saying it has "significant upside potential in 2020". Analyst Alex Zukin noted that the company's forecast for revenue growth of more than 20% was in fiscal year 2024, calling the share "an important strategic asset."
One of the biggest drivers of future growth is last year's acquisition of software maker Tableau Software for $ 15.3 billion. The deal for all shares was the largest transaction ever from Salesforce, part of its expansion to the business intelligence arena.
According to the company, the Tableau deal will boost sales and bring the software maker more in competition with segment giants Microsoft (NASDAQ 🙂 and Oracle (NYSE :), both of which offer business intelligence tools.
3. Beyond Meat
El Segundo, CA maker of vegetable burgers, Beyond Meat (NASDAQ 🙂 reports after the closure on Friday, February 28.
The company develops new promotions and products aimed at prolonging the rapid growth that has been experienced in restaurants and supermarkets over the past year. Beyond Meat currently has partnerships with Carl & # 39; s Jr., Hardee & # 39; s and Dunkin & # 39; s Donuts in the US, and recently announced an expansion of its partnership with Subway in Canada, where the chain operates throughout land "meatball" will serve.
BYND Weekly TTM
Nonetheless, players from major food companies including Tyson (NYSE :), Smithfield Foods (OTC :), Nestle (OTC 🙂 and Kellogg (NYSE :)) are all planning to enter the fast-growing market for fake meat and a cloud above Beyond Meat's future prospects.
BYND shares shot up after the stock market flotation on May 1 when the stock debuted for $ 25 per share. It peaked at the end of July at $ 239.71. Although the share has fallen considerably since then, it closed at $ 117.45 on Friday, an increase of 55% this year.
