🙅 Don’t Buy Just Because it's Cheap

Plus, these three Wall Street banks agree on the trajectory of the S&P 500

Pencils down, it’s time for lunch. Here’s what you missed this morning:

  • 🟨 | Market Snapshot: Stocks were mostly unchanged this morning as investors grappled with a disappointing May retail sales report.

  • 🛍️ | In focus: May retail sales came in softer than expected, increasing by 0.1%, while economists expected a 0.3% bump. This shows that high interest rates and inflation are still weighing down consumers.

  • 🤖 | Noteworthy: Analysts from Goldman Sachs, Evercore, and Citi have upgraded their forecasts for the S&P 500. These analysts believe that the index has more room to run as signs emerge that generative AI is driving earnings growth at large-cap tech companies.

  • 🙅 | The Midday Trade: Don’t Buy Just Because it's Cheap. Scroll down for more.

TOGETHER WITH PROSPERITYPUB

You’ve probably heard from a number of “crypto gurus” about how we’re at the cusp of what could be the greatest crypto bull run in history.

With quotes like that flying around, we’re not surprised that’s the case. But you see… You might not actually want to buy Bitcoin this time around.

That’s because there’s a better way to take advantage of this new bull market… One market expert calls it Crypto’s Hidden Gem

And it’s a new way that has given folks the chance to see bigger and faster moves than the traditional way of buying Bitcoin…

STREET STATS

MORNING MOVERS

LZB: American furniture company La-Z-Boy saw its stock pop after reporting a fiscal fourth-quarter earnings beat with an upbeat sales forecast for Q1 2025 (YF)

FSRN: Shares of EV maker Fisker plummeted on news that the company has filed for bankruptcy amid macroeconomic headwinds for EV manufacturers (CNN)

NEE: Utility stock NextEra fell after announcing plans to sell $2 billion in equity units priced at $50 apiece (CNBC)

KR: Kroger’s stock rose after BMO Capital turned bullish on the supermarket chain before it reports earnings in two days (MW)

LEN: Construction company Lennar saw its shares slide as its third-quarter home deliveries fell blow analysts’ estimates (Reuters)

TOP CALLS

Steel Dynamics: BMO Capital Maintains Market Perform on Steel Dynamics, Lowers Price Target to $135 (Trade It)

Nvidia: Wells Fargo Maintains Overweight on NVIDIA, Raises Price Target to $155 (Trade It)

Netflix: Loop Capital Maintains Buy on Netflix, Raises Price Target to $750 (Trade It)

KalVista: Needham Reiterates Buy on KalVista Pharma, Maintains $35 Price Target (Trade It)

Ovid Therapeutics: Citigroup Maintains Neutral on Ovid Therapeutics, Lowers Price Target to $1.2 (Trade It)

Aerovate: Wells Fargo Downgrades Aerovate Therapeutics to Equal-Weight, Lowers Price Target to $2 (Trade It)

THE MIDDAY TRADE

A Doomed Deal

The media world was changed drastically when CBS and Viacom merged in late 2019 in a deal that created Paramount (PARA) as it is today.

Streaming has taken a huge chunk out of traditional cable and movie theaters, and companies like Disney (DIS) and Comcast (CMCSA) have all seen negative returns over the past five years.

But Paramount has them beat, falling 71% since the deal went through, equal to $17.7 billion in market cap gone. Its market cap is now the sixth smallest in the S&P 500.

Running Out of Options

Some investors think the stock could be a buying opportunity, holding the belief that it has nowhere else to go but up at this point. However, the company recently missed out on another merger opportunity, and now experts believe there are no suitors left.

These days, the company is run by a group of three CEOs who are determined to slash costs by $500 million. Analysts do not expect this arrangement to work out well, and some expect a new CEO to be named in the near future.

However, the consensus is that the company’s future truly rests with its biggest shareholder, Shari Redstone.

Not Confident in Leadership

Analysts are not confident in Redstone’s direction and see her being in control as a possible liability. According to Steven Cahall of Wells Fargo (WFC), she has “created a legacy of equity value destruction” since becoming the company’s largest shareholder.

Cahall has downgraded the stock to underweight as of this week. And 38% of analysts covering the stock have it as a “sell.”

Like many other traditional media companies, Paramount has been on a downward trajectory since streaming gained popularity. Although its low valuation may seem tempting, experts are more than a little concerned about the stock’s future.

TOGETHER WITH PROSPERITYPUB

You’ve probably heard from a number of “crypto gurus” about how we’re at the cusp of what could be the greatest crypto bull run in history.

With quotes like that flying around, we’re not surprised that’s the case. But you see… You might not actually want to buy Bitcoin this time around.

That’s because there’s a better way to take advantage of this new bull market… One market expert calls it Crypto’s Hidden Gem

And it’s a new way that has given folks the chance to see bigger and faster moves than the traditional way of buying Bitcoin…

SURVEY THE STREET

It’s as though every month brings a new package of problematic news surrounding Boeing.

Here’s a recap of Boeing headlines from this month alone:

  • The FAA is investigating how fake Chinese titanium got into Boeing airplanes

  • A whistleblower alleged that Boeing hid questionable parts for 737 Max planes from regulators

  • A Boeing 737 suffered damage after the plane went into a “Dutch Roll”

  • A fifth helium leak was detected on the Boeing Starliner

That’s plenty of bad news within just a few weeks…

Will Boeing's Bad News Spree End by 2025

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Plus, Yesterday’s Poll + Results:

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Nvidia

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Microsoft

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Apple

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