Equity investors are likely to look for direction after Friday's disappointment amid rising COVID-19 cases in the US, adding another layer of uncertainty to the economic recovery.
The addition of 235,000 jobs in August – the smallest gain in seven months – suggests US central bankers may delay removing their monetary stimulus as they wait to see the economic impact of the fourth wave of COVID-19 on, among others, the to analyze the hospitality and tourism sectors. of the long Labor Day weekend, with the outperformers, the slightly rising and the flat. The best-performing sectors were defensive, led by , , , and .
With that information as background, here are three technology stocks on our radar during the upcoming holiday-shortened trading week:
1. GameStop
GameStop (NYSE:), the video game retailer preferred by Reddit retail investors, will report its second quarter results after the market closes on Wednesday, September 8. expect a loss of $0.66 per share on sales of $1.12 billion.
The Grapevine, Texas-based company has managed to increase its cash reserves and reduce its debt after a strong rise in its stock over the past year. The specialty retailer is also making rapid strides with its plan to move away from a brick-and-mortar retail chain and instead transform into an e-commerce powerhouse. Ryan Cohen, an activist investor who became GameStop chairman after building a 13% stake, told investors in June that he won't let them down. “We're trying to do something that no one in the retail space has ever done,” Cohen, who is also a co-founder of Chewy (NYSE:), the pet food and supplies e-tailer, said at the company's annual meeting.
"We believe we have the right pieces in place and we have clear goals: to satisfy customers and drive long-term shareholder value."
Shares of GME, which closed Friday at $202.75, are down more than 20% in the past three months. Over the past year, the stock has been highly volatile, rising about 2,500%.
2. Match Group
Dating platform Match Group (NASDAQ:) rose more than 11% after hours on Friday and is likely to see strong gains this week, after a report surfaced that the company would be added to the S&P 500 in an upcoming realignment of the broad index.
As of September 20, the online dating company will replace healthcare company Perrigo (NYSE:), which is expected to join the , S&P Dow Jones Indices announced in a release on Friday.
Dallas Match Group owns several dating companies besides Match, including Hinge, Tinder and OKCupid. Match shares are up more than 50% since the company completed its spin-off from IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:) in July 2020. limited to over $40 billion. The stock closed Friday at $148.19.
3. Kroger
Supermarket giant, Kroger Company (NYSE:) will announce its earnings for the second quarter of 2021 on Friday, September 10, before the market opens. Analysts expect $0.6281 and equity gains on sales of $30.56 billion.
In June, sales of identical Kroger stores, excluding fuel, fell at a slower pace than analysts had predicted, as consumers resumed their daily shopping habits after a year of stocking pantries. Compared to the same quarter in 2019, total sales, including fuel, grew by 10.9%. products, such as meat and produce, which are higher-margin categories. Kroger's stock is up 50% this year thanks to the grocer's soaring sales and its participation in the US COVID-19 vaccination campaign. ]
The company has delivered millions of vaccines to people across the country, driving repeat customers for its pharmacies and supermarket offerings. Kroger generated record revenue of $132.5 billion for the year ended January 30.
