Investors returned to buying US stocks last week out of optimism that accelerating the introduction of vaccines will increase profitability for those companies hardest hit by the pandemic.
President Joseph Biden on Thursday announced a new COVID vaccination target: 200 million injections distributed within his first 100 days in office. On Friday, 100 million vaccinations against the coronavirus have already been administered since Biden's inauguration on January 20.
As the reopening of trading increases demand for cyclical stocks such as banks and energy companies, we shortlisted three stocks. that could gain some momentum after their latest earnings reports, scheduled for this week, amid business-related developments:
1. Walgreens Boots Alliance
Walgreens Boots Alliance ( NASDAQ :), the second largest pharmacy operator in the US, will report second quarter earnings on Wednesday, March 31, before hitting the market. opens. Analysts expect earnings per share of $ 1.13 per share for the quarter on revenue of $ 36.46 billion.
The Deerfield, Illinois-based company benefited from COVID-19-related lockdown measures when US consumers rushed to stock up on drugs, cleaning supplies and toilet paper. But business leaders have expressed their doubts that this trend will continue to benefit the drug chain as the economy reopens.
Before the pandemic, Walgreens struggled to drive sales and had a cost-effective drive for market share. came under pressure from increasing competition from Amazon (NASDAQ 🙂 and other segment competitors.
These efforts include strengthening its digital strategy and making deliveries free through its website, while also expanding a partnership with Postmates delivery service. Walgreens shares vastly outperformed the broader market this year, gaining 30%. The stock closed at $ 52.03 on Friday.
2. Micron Technology
Chipmaker Micron Technology (NASDAQ 🙂 is another stock that will report earnings on Wednesday, March 31, albeit after the close. The storage chip maker has made an estimated $ 0.93 earnings per share on $ 6.16 billion in revenue for the second quarter of FY2021.
The largest US manufacturer of computer memory chips, the Boise, Idaho-based company, has its sales and revenue forecast for the last quarter as sales were boosted by increased demand for memory chips used in phones and computers.
Micron's memory chips are used to help process and store data in everything from smartphones to supercomputers. Scarcity in the supply of dynamic random access memory chips, or DRAM, coupled with strong demand, means the industry is unlikely to be able to fulfill all orders for the remainder of 2021, Chief Financial Officer Dave Zinsner said at a Morgan Stanley conference in March. to Bloomberg.
Micron shares are up 17% this year, closing at $ 87.99 Friday, up about 5% for the day.
3. ViacomCBS
ViacomCBS (NASDAQ 🙂 plummeted 27% Friday after reports that Archegos Capital Management, a family based investment firm based in New York but specializes in investing in stocks traded in NY, China, Japan and South Korea were forced by its banks to sell positions worth more than $ 20 billion worth of stock spanning a variety of companies, from Chinese technology giants to US media conglomerates.
Viacom stock was under additional pressure after Wells Fargo downgraded the stock along with Discovery Inc. (NASDAQ :), who said these media companies are jostling the streaming market where they face fierce competition from established leaders.
"We do see gravity pulling multiples closer to earlier standards," Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall said in a note. Viacom shares fell 27% to $ 48.23 on Friday, cutting gains from last year to 29%.
Some investors could still see value in Viacom stock after such a massive sell-off, although last week's wild moves might. increase the level as the trading week begins.
