Ambastha Financial LLC

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 revenues due to increased mortgage origination volume. For 3Q2019, the company delivered $2.68 in earnings per share, which exceeded expectations. On October 15, 2019, the stock price increased by 3% compared with the prior day.

Keywords – JPM, JP Morgan Chase & Co., JP Morgan, Chase, retail banking, investment banking, private banking, mortgage banking, trading, underwriting, loans, lending, financial services, finance, investments, investing, investment management, asset management, Jamie Dimon, James Dimon, multinational corporation, MNC, Big Four American bank.

Disclosure – The principals of Ambastha Financial LLC have no position in JPM. A client of Ambastha Financial LLC has long equity and short option positions in JPM.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2019 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PCG), aka: PG&E Corp., announced it would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 29, 2019 due to massive claims caused by deadly wildfires. Since then, its stock has still been trading actively on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as legal proceedings go on. On October 10, 2019, bondholders were given a victory in bankruptcy court proceedings – a victory which could potentially wipe out stockholders. Bondholders such as Elliott Management Corp. and Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) were given the right to pitch a restructuring plan for the corporation. Such consent is usually not granted to bondholders by a bankruptcy judge. In other news during the week, PG&E Corp. rolled out blackouts in advance within California to avoid damage from any new wildfires. On October 8, 2019, the stock fell by 5.2% due to the announcement of blackouts. Thereafter on October 10, 2019, the stock fell 29.1% due to the bankruptcy court proceedings.

Keywords – Pacific Gas & Electric, PG&E Corp., PCG, Chapter 11, Bankruptcy, Elliott Management Corp., Pacific Investment Management Company, PIMCO, New York Stock Exchange, NYSE, Utilities, California, Wildfires, Blackouts, Restructuring.

Disclosure – The principals and clients of Ambastha Financial LLC have no position in PCG.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2019 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

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 when the stock prices of major discount brokerage firms such as Interactive Brokers (IBKR), Charles Schwab (SCHW), E-Trade Financial (ETFC), and TD Ameritrade (AMTD) dropped by 0.4%, 2.2%, 4.8%, and 6.5%, respectively. But on October 1, it was a completely different story when the stock prices of Interactive Brokers (IBKR), Charles Schwab (SCHW), E-Trade Financial (ETFC), and TD Ameritrade (AMTD) dropped by 9.4%, 9.7%, 16.4%, and 25.8%, respectively. All of these major discount brokerage firms announced their own commission-free trade programs this week following the lead of Interactive Brokers’ announcement of September 26. What a week it was for the investing public – absolutely amazing!

Keywords – Interactive Brokers, IBKR, Charles Schwab, SCHW, E-Trade Financial, ETFC, TD Ameritrade, AMTD, commission-free trade, discount brokerage firm, IBKR Lite, exchange traded fund, ETF, account minimum, inactivity fee.

Disclosure – The principals of Ambastha Financial LLC have no positions in IBKR, ETFC, and AMTD, and no equity position in SCHW. They do have a short option position in SCHW. The clients of Ambastha Financial LLC have no positions in IBKR, SCHW, ETFC, and AMTD.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2019 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

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 through 2011 and starting with the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 phone which famously had multimedia capabilities, the company was able to gain rapid market share among enterprises and consumers. Due to slowing growth and fierce competition, the company had to change and restructure from 2011 through 2015 to provide enterprise software and services. On September 24, 2019, the stock had a 22.6% daily decline. This is the sixth largest daily decline in the stock price. The prior five largest daily declines occurred within 2000 – 2013. On September 24, BlackBerry Limited reported its second quarter fiscal 2020 (ending August 31, 2019) financial results. The company’s Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)-basis net loss for the year-over-year was higher due to higher operating expenses. For fiscal 2020, BlackBerry Limited cut its revenue forecast, since the company sees weaker demand going forward for software among corporate and government clients due to increasing competition.

Keywords – BlackBerry, BB, Research In Motion, RIM, Canada, technology, smartphone, tablet, enterprise software, revenue forecast, second quarter.

Disclosure – The principals of Ambastha Financial LLC have no position in BB.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2019 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha

After reporting earnings results for the first quarter of its 2020 fiscal year ended August 31, 2019, the shares of FedEx (FDX), a package-delivery company, dropped by 12.9% on September 18. This drop is its biggest one-day percentage drop since the global financial crisis of 2008 and the fourth-largest one-day percentage decline in the company’s history. FedEx primarily dropped due to the effects of the ongoing U.S.A.-China trade war on its business, a weak 2020 fiscal year outlook, and the loss of Amazon (AMZN) as a customer. Also, Amazon may become a significant rival to FedEx in the future, through its Amazon Air entity.

Keywords – FedEx, Amazon, FDX, AMZN, package delivery, outlook, earnings, trade war, China, U.S.A., global financial crisis, GFC.

Disclosure – The principals of Ambastha Financial LLC have long equity and short option positions in FDX and no position in AMZN.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2019 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha

Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ACAD) is a biopharmaceutical company which has Nuplazid (aka: pimavanserin) in its product pipeline. Nuplazid has been used by individuals suffering from Parkinson’s disease-linked psychosis. Acadia has now analyzed Nuplazid in relation to individuals suffering from dementia-related psychosis. Currently, no approved drugs exist in the marketplace for dementia-related psychosis, a huge market segment. Acadia’s Phase 3 HARMONY study has been been stopped early since strongly positive results have been seen for using Nuplazid in relation to dementia-related psychosis. Acadia’s stock rose by 63% on Monday, September 9, plus another 6% on Tuesday, September 10. Intraday on Monday, Acadia’s stock reached its 52-week high of $43.98 per share and is trading at close to its 4-year high. Eventually, Acadia will seek FDA approval to allow people to buy Nuplazid for dementia-related psychosis.

Keywords – Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc., ACAD, Nuplazid, pimavanserin, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, psychosis, FDA, health, wellness, pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, healthcare.

Disclosure – The principals of Ambastha Financial LLC have no position in ACAD.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2019 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

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 6, nearing its 52-week high price on a volume that was 10-times larger than its typical daily average volume.

Keywords – Second-quarter, Outlook, Customers, Volume, E-Signature, Electronic document, 52-week high.

Disclosure – The principals of Ambastha Financial LLC have no position in DOCU.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2019 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

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 largest-ever single-day percentage decline. The stock is now at about an 8-month low price.

Keywords – Second-quarter, Earnings, Cosmetics, Retailer, Guidance.

Disclosure – The principals of Ambastha Financial LLC have no position in ULTA.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2019 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

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, August 21, since Target went public 52 years ago. Target’s stock price has now gained about 60.9% year-to-date compared to the average return of about 19.4% for companies belonging to the Retail-Wholesale category.

Keywords – Second-quarter, Earnings, Discount store, Same-day delivery, Online sales, Retail-Wholesale.

Disclosure – The principals of Ambastha Financial LLC have no position in TGT.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2019 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

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 stock price has now dropped by 41.6% year-to-date as of the market close on Wednesday, August 14. Many other retailers’ stock prices also dropped on August 14 along with Macy’s.

Keywords – Second-quarter, Earnings, Discounting, Inventory, Retailer, China tariffs, Guidance.

Disclosure – The principals of Ambastha Financial LLC have a short option position in M.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2019 – Ambastha Financial LLC.