What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of October 14-18, 2019

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha During this trading week, JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) was a star performer. Specifically, the company delivered on many fronts, in terms of strong underwriting data, an increase in mortgage banking activities, significant bond trading income, substantial wholesale and credit card loans, and positive home lending …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of September 30-October 4, 2019

By Anil K. Ambastha and Kuldip K. Ambastha On September 26, Interactive Brokers (IBKR) announced a new IBKR Lite service effective from October that will feature unlimited, commission-free trades of U.S.-listed stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) along with no account minimum or inactivity fee. This news caused only a mild reaction on September 26 …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of September 23-27, 2019

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha BlackBerry Limited (BB) is a prominent Canadian company, previously known as “Research In Motion.” The general public knows BlackBerry Limited best as the developer of the BlackBerry brand of phones and tablets, but in more recent years the company now provides enterprise software and services. From 2001 …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of September 3-6, 2019

By Anil K. Ambastha and Kuldip K. Ambastha This past week, the e-signature and electronic document company DocuSign (DOCU) impressed the market with its strong fiscal second-quarter results, improved outlook for the rest of the fiscal year, and addition of 29,000 new customers during the quarter. In return, DocuSign’s stock gained 21.7% on Friday, September …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of August 26-30, 2019

By Anil K. Ambastha and Kuldip K. Ambastha As the second-quarter earnings reporting period is coming to a close, in this past week the market was not impressed with cosmetic retailer Ulta Beauty (ULTA). The company’s lowered second-half guidance generated multiple analyst downgrades, and the stock dropped by 29.6% on Friday, August 30th, marking its …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of August 19-23, 2019

By Anil K. Ambastha and Kuldip K. Ambastha Following its stellar second-quarter earnings due to the success of its store investments, online sales, and same-day delivery along with a stable outlook for the remainder of the year 2019, shares of a discount store chain, Target (TGT), had their biggest-ever one-day gain of 20.4% on Wednesday, …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of August 12-16, 2019

By Anil K. Ambastha and Kuldip K. Ambastha Following its disappointing second-quarter earnings due to deep discounting amid rising inventory levels, concern about the potential impact of China tariffs in the future, and slashed earnings guidance for the rest of the year, shares of a retailer, Macy’s (M), dropped by 13.2% on August 14. Macy’s …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of July 29-August 2, 2019

By Anil K. Ambastha and Kuldip K. Ambastha The second-quarter earnings report and guidance process parade is continuing. This week, reports from engineering and construction companies such as McDermott International (MDR) and Fluor Corporation (FLR) reflected large losses, revenue misses, and uncertain futures. Following its earnings report, shares of McDermott International (MDR) dropped 35.3% on …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of July 22-26, 2019

By Anil K. Ambastha and Kuldip K. Ambastha Food industry and restaurant industry stocks generally move in a slow and steady manner. Also, once the initial hype is over shortly after an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of a company’s stock, generally, the IPO shares start to decline and, mostly, an IPO’s shares trade for less …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of July 8-12, 2019

By Anil K. Ambastha and Kuldip K. Ambastha After testimony of the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to the U.S. Congress where he indicated the possibility that the central bank may cut interest rates during its meeting later this month, some of the major stock market indices reached their all-time highs. The S&P 500, …