Happy Friday afternoon to everyone on The Street. Here's a snapshot of where markets ended the trading session, plus tomorrow's trade idea delivered to you today.

• 🟨 | US stocks were mixed Friday, yet set for weekly gains with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rising consecutively, supported by positive economic data.

• 📈 | One Notable Gainer: Booz Allen Hamilton's stock rose over 13% after surpassing third-quarter expectations and raising full-year guidance and dividends, driven by strong demand and increased headcount.

• 📉 | One Notable Decliner: Spirit Airlines' stock plummeted 13% following JetBlue's indication that its $3.8 billion merger with the airline might be called off due to unfulfilled conditions.

• 🛒 | Tomorrow's Trade: Don’t Overlook the Little Guy. Scroll down for more.

Plus, trade same-day or long-term index options day and night.

YESTERDAY’S POLL RESULTS

Are you bullish or bearish on Japanese stocks in 2024?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🐂 Bullish

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🐻 Bearish

MARKET MOVERS

Intel, Coinbase & American Express

INTC: Intel's shares fell 11.9% after its first-quarter earnings guidance fell below expectations, with lower projected EPS and sales.

COIN: Coinbase's stock rose over 3%, buoyed by a surge in Bitcoin prices and an upgrade from Oppenheimer to outperform, citing several positive catalysts expected this year.

AXP: American Express' stock surged 7% after releasing full-year earnings guidance exceeding expectations, projecting $12.65 to $13.15 per share against a consensus estimate of $12.38.

KLAC: KLA Corporation's shares fell 6.6% following lower-than-expected fiscal third-quarter guidance, despite recent earnings and revenue beats.

COF: Capital One Financial's stock climbed over 4%, hitting a new 52-week high, after reporting fourth-quarter revenue of $9.51 billion, slightly above the $9.46 billion analysts had anticipated.

TOGETHER WITH CBOE

OVERHEARD ON THE STREET

BI: Wall Street is intensifying efforts to bring workers back to the office, with Bank of America issuing "letters of education" as warnings to employees not regularly showing up at work.

Reuters: Salesforce will be cutting about 700 jobs, approximately 1% of its global workforce, as part of the ongoing wave of layoffs in the tech industry.

CNN: Alaska Airlines announced that the grounding of 737 Max 9 aircraft following a January 5 incident that caused a hole in one of its planes will cost the airline approximately $150 million.

CNBC: Tesla recalled nearly 200,000 cars due to a software glitch affecting rearview camera display in certain Model S, X, and Y vehicles.

Bloomberg: Krutrim, an AI startup founded by Bhavish Aggarwal, became India's first billion-dollar AI unicorn, securing $50 million in funding just a month after launching a large language model.

TOMORROW’S TRADE IDEA, TODAY

Don’t Overlook the Little Guy

David and Goliath

When thinking of e-commerce, Singapore-based Sea Limited (SE) probably isn’t the first name that comes to mind. Massive online marketplaces like Amazon (AMZN), Temu (PDD), and Alibaba (BABA) currently dominate the space — and typically garner more attention from investors.

But according to some on the Street, it’s time to give the little guy his due. Analysts predict that Sea Limited’s stock price will rise 66% in 2024 with an average price target of $64.53 per share.

E-Commerce Push

Sea Limited has three distinct business arms: Shopee, its e-commerce business; SeaMoney, its digital financial services business; and Garena, its gaming business.

Of the three, Shopee is currently driving the company's revenue toward profitability. Despite bringing in $12.4 billion in revenue in 2022, the company did not turn a profit. In the latter part of 2023, Sea Limited began to invest more in its e-commerce efforts. As a result, Shopee saw $2.2 billion in revenue in Q3, good for a 16.2% increase year-over-year.

Just One Piece of the Pie

Just because Shopee is taking off doesn’t mean SeaMoney and Garena are slacking. The financial and gaming segments brought in $446.2 million and $592.2 million in revenue in Q3, respectively.

Sea Limited has shown adaptability in a shifting consumer market, and analysts are taking note. Of the 14 analysts covering the company, half rate it a “strong buy” and half rate it a “hold.” Whether or not the company can continue upward depends largely on how well it can hold up to the competition.

So what will carry the day? The sword or the slingshot?

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ON OUR RADAR

Bloomberg: In 2023, 34% of companies didn't award bonuses, an increase from 27% in the previous year.

Reuters: U.S. pending home sales in December saw the largest increase since June 2020, suggesting that stabilizing mortgage rates might be attracting potential buyers.

CNBC: Buy Now, Pay Later options contributed to a 14% increase in record online holiday spending year over year. Yet with bills now due, consumers face uncertainty about payment.

Bloomberg: Two-thirds of California's solar installers faced sales and cash flow struggles following state incentive cuts, leading to several company closures or exits.

Axios: Real estate research firm Trepp estimated that over $350 billion in apartment building bank loans will mature between 2023 and 2027, with most requiring refinancing.