U.S. equities are hanging around the unchanged line on Thursday as the bad memories from December’s harrowing decline fade away — replaced by a steady bid under stock priced fueled by a newly dovish Federal Reserve and aggressive policy support out of China.
Major technical support levels are being challenges. The S&P 500 is contending with its 50-day moving average is it tries to stay above the 2,600 level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average faces the same situation, only its support level is the 24,000 threshold.
Many unknowns remain. Will the government ever reopen? Will the shutdown push the economy into recession this quarter? Will corporate profits slow? Is the Fed actually going to pause its rate hikes?
Despite all the crosswinds, a number of large-cap tech stocks and technology-related companies are pushing higher. Here are five to watch:
Tech Stocks: Netflix (NFLX)
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) shares have pushed up and over their 200-day moving average, setting the stage for a run at the highs last set in early October. This makes a whopping 52% rise off of the late December low. Morgan Stanley recently published a bullish note on the company, citing its ability to push through a price increase to subscribers.
The company will next report results tonight after the close. Analysts are looking for earnings of 24 cents per share on revenues of $4.2 billion. When the company last reported on Oct. 16, earnings of 89 cents per share beat estimates by 21 cents on a 34% rise in revenues.
Salesforce (CRM)
Shares of tech stock Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) have broken above its multimonth resistance near $145 to push to levels last seen in October. Watch for a challenge of the previous high near $160, which would be worth a gain of more than 8% from here. Analysts at Atlantic Equities recently initiated coverage with an “overweight” rating.
The company will next report results on Feb. 26 after the close. Analysts are looking for earnings of 56 cents per share on revenues of $3.6 billion. When the company last reported on Nov. 27, earnings of 61 cents beat estimates by 11 cents on a 25.6% rise in revenues.
Microsoft (MSFT)
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares have rising up and over critical resistance from the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Watch for a run at the December highs, which would be worth a gain of nearly 6% from here. The company continues to find success with its gaming and cloud businesses, with new reports its planning a streaming game service for its Xbox console.
The company will next report results on Jan. 30 after the close. Analysts are looking for earnings of $1.09 per share on revenues of $32.5 billion. When the company last reported on Oct. 24, earnings of $1.14 per share beat estimates by 18 cents on an 18.5% rise in revenues.
Square (SQ)
Square (NYSE:SQ) is enjoying a share price move above its 200-day and 50-day moving averages, setting up a run at the early November highs which would be worth a gain of more than 14% from here. Shares were recently upgraded to “outperform” by analysts at Wolfe Research.
The company is set to report results on Feb. 26. Analysts are looking for earnings of 13 cents per share on revenues of $453.8 million. When the company last reported on Nov. 7, earnings of 13 cents per share beat estimates by two cents on a 67.7% rise in revenues.
Fitbit (FIT)
Fitbit (NYSE:FIT) shares are challenging the highs from a long consolidation range going back to July. As the company focuses on entry level wearables, it’s set to benefit from ongoing strength in the market: IDC says global shipments of wearable devices are set to reach 125.3 million for 2018, up 8.5% from the previous year.
The tech stock will next report results on Feb. 25 after the close. Analysts are looking for earnings of 7 cents per share on revenues of $568.8 million. When the company last reported on Oct. 31, earnings of 4 cents per share beat estimates by 5 cents on a 0.3% rise in revenues.
As of this writing, William Roth did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
