Monday was a wild ride. Equities gapped higher in the stock market today, with the S&P 500 running higher by about 1% before giving up its gains and turning slightly lower. By lunchtime, the index was up 2.5%, as names like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) led the way higher.
Apple shares were upgraded from Oppenheimer analysts. They assigned a $320 price target and raised their rating to “outperform,” arguing that investors should buy the dip.
Why’s that significant? Well, despite Apple’s recent stumble, we’re still talking about one of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States, alongside Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). Shares of Apple started off higher on the day, but didn’t blink when the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average turned flat.
Instead, Apple gained momentum, as it buoyed all three major U.S. indices and marched higher by more than 9%. For its part, Microsoft added about 6.7%. As these two names count for more than $2.5 trillion worth of equity, their rallies were significant both from a weighting perspective and a psychological standpoint.
Ultimately, the S&P 500 rallied 4.6%, closing near the high of day, while the Dow added almost 1,300 points.
With a recent low now in place for Apple, Microsoft, the S&P 500 and a number of other securities, traders finally have a point of reference to use on the downside. The question now becomes, how sustainable is a rally at this point?
Movers in the Stock Market Today
JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) was on our list of Top Stock Trades from Monday. That’s as shares hit new 52-week highs and rallied more than 12% on Monday. Who would have thought a Chinese e-commerce play would do so well right now?
Earnings of 8 cents per share beat estimates by 2 cents. Revenue grew 26.6% year-over-year to $24.5 billion, easily topping expectations by $700 million. Management expects current-quarter sales to rise “at least” 10%, which is giving investors some confidence.
Remember, this was one of MKM Partners’ stay-at-home coronavirus plays.
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) jumped higher Monday, up more than 8%. Investors were behind the company’s $4.9 billion acquisition of Forty Seven (NASDAQ:FTSV). The $95.50 per share all-cash offer sent shares of the latter up more than 60% on the day. That’s despite rumors circulating late last week about a potential tie-up between the two.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) ad revenue will surpass global TV ad revenue in 2020 for the first time. That’s according to TechRadar, that adds the U.S. election later this year will play a notable role in the ad market.
Despite performing so well lately, Square (NYSE:SQ) stock struggled on Monday, falling 3.2%. The company announced that it will price $1 billion worth of convertible notes due in 2025. There’s an option for an additional $150 million offering, but the entirety of the deal will be done in a private placement for institutional investors.
Tusa Waves a White Flag?
General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares rose over 3% on the day. That’s despite long-time bear Stephen Tusa of JPMorgan somewhat waving a white flag. Tusa was the first bear on GE and had been maintaining a “sell”-equivalent rating and $5 price target on the stock.
On Monday, he raised his rating to neutral and bumped his price target from $5 to up to $8. It’s clear that sentiment has shifted in the name, Tusa wrote. For investors, it’s one more headwind that’s out of that way, as Tusa did have an influence on the stock for quite some time.
Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell is long AAPL and GOOGL.
