The market remains in a runaway rally, with bulls keeping their foot on the gas. Investors saw more record highs in the stock market today, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite all hit new records on Friday.
We wrapped up the start of earnings this week, with most of the large investment banks and a few others reporting their quarterly results. All things considered, the reports were pretty solid. But next week will be busy, with Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) all reporting on Tuesday.
Remember, Monday is closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so it will be a shortened trading week. Still, there should be enough earnings-inspired action to keep us occupied.
Earnings Roundup
Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) shares were mixed Friday, after the company reported its fourth-quarter earnings. Earnings of 39 cents per share beat expectations by 2 cents. But GAAP earnings of just 24 cents per share missed estimates by 12 cents. Revenue of $8.2 billion grew 60 basis points year-over-year and beat estimates by $70 million.
J.B. Hunt (NASDAQ:JBHT) shares fell 4.2% after a top- and bottom-line miss, although sales of $2.5 billion missed estimates by just $10 million.
State Street (NYSE:STT) shares jumped 1.7% and hit new 52-week highs in Friday’s session, although shares closed well off the highs. The move came after earnings of $1.98 coasted past estimates by 29 cents, while revenue of $3.1 billion easily topped expectations by $110 million.
Movers in the Stock Market Today
Boeing (NYSE:BA) shares were fading on Friday, down 2.4%, and are now trading back near the bottom of the range. The decline comes on continuing worries around the company’s 737 Max, particularly on reports of another software issue.
Canaccord said it expects Boeing to take a “substantial” charge related to the 737 Max, which could be up to $5 billion. As a result, they lowered their price target to $350 from $370, and also lowered their price target on Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE:SPR) to $74 from $88.
CenturyLink (NYSE:CTL) stock jumped 3.6% Friday on news it will sell $1.3 billion worth of debt. The move includes 4% senior notes due in 2027 and will be used to pay down debt, as CTL refinances some of its existing liabilities.
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) shares jumped 4.5% and hit a new 52-week high on Friday. Citigroup analysts upgraded the stock to a “buy” rating and raised their price target to $108 from $89. The rally also comes after Mizuho analysts named Qualcomm a top semiconductor pick, alongside Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Micron (NASDAQ:MU) and others.
Like Qualcomm, Snap (NYSE:SNAP) stock is also breaking out to new 52-week highs. Shares finished higher by 4.8% after UBS upgraded the stock to “buy” from “neutral.” The analysts also raised their price target to $24 from $16. Momentum should persist into 2020, they argued.
Streaming Wars Heat Up
On Thursday, readers were on the lookout for details on Comcast’s (NASDAQ:CMCSA) upcoming Peacock service. Later that evening, we got exactly that. The service will launch on April 15 for Comcast customers and fully launch on July 15.
At the lower end, Peacock will be available for free in a limited ad-support version. A premium version with roughly double the content will be available free to current Comcast customers and cost $4.99 for non-customers. Both group will be subject to ads. An ad-free premium version will be available for additional $5 per month.
Remember, Comcast is the parent companies to networks that are responsible for content such as House, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, The Office (one of the top-streaming shows on Netflix), Parks and Recreation, Cheers and more.
Netflix announced it will up its investment in France, which comes as the company opens its new Paris office on Friday. Netflix has almost 7 million customers in the country and now has plans for 20 new French productions and projects.
Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell is long NVDA.
