The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks January 2020 Report Card

February 18, 2021 by admin

The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks January 2020 Report Card

How did the stock analysts do in their 12 month forecast of January 2020? Here’s the research!

By Larry C. Paxton

Welcome to the 12 Month Report Card for The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks for January 2020.

As investors we count on professional stock analysts to provide comprehensive and diligent research to come up with their best take on how stocks will perform over the next 12 months. We then use that information to help us make stock buy, hold and sell decisions.

The PBR25 Premise

The premise of The PBR25 is there is a high probability of success for stock investing when a large enough number professional stock analysts through their extensive research determine that a stock is a “Buy” and also forecast a significant return over the next 12 months.

Last 12 Months Influences

Since January 2020 a lot has happened that was not predicted and not part of their analysis at that time:

The world and the US was hit with the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to take lives in large numbers, has affected economies worldwide, resulted in millions of lost jobs, and stressed healthcare, education, and businesses beyond imagination, with major uncertainties that remain today for individuals and organizations of all types.
There was a lot of civil unrest in the US from the unfortunate and graphic death of a black man, George Floyd. Other incidents followed that has made the US take more seriously racial injustice issues and accentuated concerns about income and opportunity inequalities.
There was a very contentious US Presidential campaign that exacerbated how fractured the US is politically.

There is a lot more that can be said, but this is not meant to be an opinions post. It is a piece focused on the review of the recommendations stock analysts came up with around late January 2020 and the actual results 12 months later around the end of January 2021.

Creating The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks List for January 2020

The starting point is the prestigious The PBR1000, produced monthly by PBRMarketTools. To be included in The PBR1000 the 1,000 companies must meet the following criteria:

The companies must be publicly traded on the NYSE, NYSE American or NASDAQ stock exchanges, with a very few temporarily trading on the Over-The-Counter market because they are transitioning from bankruptcy.
They must be headquartered in the US, or have primary operations in the US.
They must have generated at least $1 billion in revenues in their most recent full fiscal year.
They must file an annual 10-K form with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in US dollars
Each of the 1,000 companies is given a primary ranking based on revenues, with the company having the highest revenue amount ranked 1(currently Walmart). There are 27 secondary rankings in The PBR1000 based on other criteria as well.

Each month the 12 month estimates and recommendations by stock analysts are updated on The PBR1000. The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks list for January 2020 was then created using the following process:

At any point in time The PBR1000 has around 15,000 stock analyst recommendations.
The PBR1000 was sorted by stock analyst recommendations.
Those stocks rated a “Buy” were then further sorted by the number of “Buy” recommendations.
For January 2020 a cut off of at least 13 “Buy” recommendations was then sorted by each stock’s weighted average, with a Buy being worth 5 points, Overweight 4 points, Hold 3 points, Underweight 2 points and Sell 1 point. The maximum weighted average is 5.00. For a stock to achieve a “Buy” recommendation its weighted average must be greater than 4.50.
The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks list was finalized by doing a descending sort by the weighted averages.

Characteristics of The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks for January 2020

The PBR25 data for January 2020 is actually from February 4, 2020
Revenue rankings were from 5(Amazon) to 920(Parsley Energy, which was acquired during the following 12 months. Diamondback Energy was next, ranked at 868.)
Market capitalization(company stock value) ranged from $5.34 billion to $1,314.17 billion. Total market capitalization for all The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks was $4,908.02 billion
Weighted averages ranged from 4.96 to 4.64, the average was 4.75, on the 5.00 scale.
17 companies traded on the NYSE, 7 companies on NASDAQ, 1 company on the NYSE American
7 companies were energy related companies, 6 companies were technology related companies, 4 were financial services companies, 2 were retailers, 2 were healthcare related services, 2 were construction companies, 1 was a travel services company, 1 was a securities investment company
Per share stock prices on 02/04/20 ranged from $12.59 to $2,008.72. The total for all 24 of the 25 stocks used was $6,583.46
12 month targeted stock prices ranged from $19.81 to $2,403.00. The total for all 24 stocks used was $8,055.55
The total average forecasted 12 month change was +$1,472.09, for a percent change of +16.59%

Actual Results for The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks for January 2021

The data is from January 29, 2021
One energy related company was acquired during the 12 month period. This analysis is based on the 24 remaining companies.
Per share stock prices on 01/29/21 ranged from $6.27 to $3,206.20. The total for all 24 stocks used was $8,816.47
The 12 month actual difference was +$2,233.01, for a +33.92% change
Actual 12 month change ranged from -61.22%(the travel services company) to +116.61%(a financial services company), the median was +3.70%
13 companies exceeded the forecasted 12 month average change, 11 companies did not
6 of the 11 companies that did not meet the forecast were energy related
The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks achieved a +33.92% gain over the 12 months while the 3 major US stock indices had the following results: DJIA +8.32%, NASDAQ +40.84%, S&P500 +16.45%

Conclusions, Observations, Validations and Realities

If you had bought 1 share each of The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks at the closing price on February 4, 2020, you would have achieved a +33.92% gain at the close on January 29, 2021, an excellent return
The stock analysts +3.70% median result was below the forecasted +16.59% 12 month target, but there was a very wide fluctuation on both sides of the median
It is difficult to forecast out 12 months with any great accuracy, there are just too many variables and uncertainties, but it can be useful and helpful in providing some guidance
It does demonstrate that The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks is a valid methodology and process for that particular month.
Our demonstration account, called The Charlie Fund, uses the popular “Buy & Hold with Consistent Monthly Investment Strategy” with the monthly The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks as the primary research tool. It achieved a +46.62% return in 2020, a further validation of the methodology.
There are no guarantees! The reality is that there will always be ups and downs in the stock market and people make stocks buy, hold and sell decisions based on a wide range logical and emotional criteria, input from knowledgeable hard-working experts and well meaning friends, and if the sky is blue today. But the historical data is pretty convincing that stocks will trend up at an above average investment rate over the long haul.

Additional Information

The details of this summary, including company names and the over 200 fields of information for each company, were extracted from the updated The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks MS-Excel worksheet for January 2020, and has been distributed to The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks Subscribers for their personal use and further research
For characteristics of the most recent monthly The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks go to The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks information page.

We are always interested in your feedback, which you can provide on the Contact Us page.

PBRMarketTools.com provides The PBR1000, a compilation of 1,000 of the largest publicly held companies with primary operations in the US. These companies generate $15 trillion in annual revenues, more than all other US companies combined. The PBR1000 Monthly Snapshots provides these 1,000 companies in Excel format, includes 15 worksheets with 28 rankings, over 200 data/information points, hotlinks to key data, and important news items per company. The monthly The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks is a subset of the monthly The PBR1000 and is available as a separate monthly or annual subscription.

Disclaimers: The PBR1000 is compiled from a variety of publicly available resources. As such, PBRMarketTools.com is not responsible for the data itself. Any liability for the representations or decisions based on the data is solely the responsibility of the authorized user, not PBRMarketTools.com, its employees or affiliates. PBRMarketTools.com is an independent business intelligence service providing news, data, and analysis. It is not a financial advisory or stock brokerage firm and has no affiliation with such organizations. Any opinions expressed should not be regarded as advice.

Empowering Shrewd Investors Through The PBR1000 Analytics!

Filed Under: Report Card Tagged With: Analytics, Business Intelligence, Investing, Investors, Market Research, PBRMarketTools, Rankings, Report Card, Snapshots, Stock Market, The PBR1000, The PBR25, Wealth Management

The PBR1000 January 2021 Stocks & Commodities Snapshots

February 3, 2021 by admin

The PBR1000 for January 2021: A Mixed Start

The Stock Market Bull was ahead through Week 3, then The Stock Market Bear came out of hibernation and wiped out almost all the January gains.

By Larry C. Paxton

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 4 and January 2021 ending 01/29/21:

DJIA ends Week 4 and January at 29,982.62, -3.27% from last Friday, -2.04% MTD/QTD/YTD, -3.87% from record 31,188.38 set 01/20/21.

NASDAQ ends Week 4 and January at 13,070.69,-3.49% from last Friday, +1.42% MTD/QTD/YTD, -4.15% from record 13,635.99 set 01/25/21.

SPX ends Week 4 and January at 3,714.24, -3.31% from last Friday, -1.11% MTD/QTD/YTD, -3.66%% from record 3,855.36 set 01/25/21.

US Stock Exchanges Week 4 and January 2021 Summary: The start of Week 4 looked promising as The Stock Market Bull opened Monday by establishing new records on the NASDAQ and S&P500. But The Stock Market Bear had had enough and took over the rest of the final week of the month by spilling a lot of green blood. At the same time there was a war between day trader and hedge fund shorters against users and sympathizers of GameStock and AMC Entertainment, with dramatic wild rides up then down and then way up again. Many say this was instigated through the Reddit social media platform. The popular millennial trading sites like Robinhood became the primary tool used to carry out the war, and the incident is starting to be scrutinized by the federal government. The Week 4 result, however, was clearly in favor of The Stock Market Bear who racks up a 3-0 result. Before the week started it appeared that January would be an easy victory for The Stock Market Bull, but January 2021 ended with a 2-1 mixed result in favor of The Stock Market Bear. There was a lot of volatility in January. Let’s see if there is a more loving Valentine effect in February.

The Week 4 of 2021 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 2 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 2 weeks
Mixed Results: 0 weeks

The Month 1 of 2021 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 0 months
The Stock Market Bear: 0 months
Mixed Results: 1 month

The January 2021 US Major Stock Market Exchanges Summary

Number of Trading Days: 19

Number of Gain(+)/Loss(-) Days: DJIA 8+/11-; NASDAQ 11+/8-; SPX 11+/8-.

Record Days: DJIA 4, NASDAQ 6, SPX 5

Longest Gain Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 4 days(01/05-08/21), NASDAQ 5 days(01/19-25/21), and SPX 4 days(01/05-08/21)

Longest Loss Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 5 days(01/21-27/21), NASDAQ 2 days(01/14-15/21, 01/26-27/21), and SPX 2 days(01/14-15/21, 01/26-27/21)

Big Swing Up Days(>1.00%): 5 days, 01/06/21( D +1.44%), 01/07/21(N +2.56%, S +1.48%), 01/08/21(N +1.03%), 01/19/21(N +1.53%), 01/20/21(N +1.97%, S +1.39%)

Big Swing Down Days(<-1.00%): 4 days, 01/04/21(D -1.25%, N -1.47%, S -1.48%), 01/11/21(N -1.25%), 01/27/21(D -2.05%, N -2.61%, S -2.57%), 01/29/21(D -2.03%, N -2.00%, S -1.93%)

The PBR1000 January 2021 Snapshots

The following are Top 5 partial tables excerpts from The PBR1000 January 2021 Snapshots. The price for stocks is for the close of trading on January 29, 2021, 1 Month % Chg is compared to December 31, 2020, 12 Months % Chg is compared to January 31, 2020, the 24 Months % Chg is compared to January 31, 2019, and 60 Months % Chg is compared to January 29, 2016. The PBR Rank is by annual revenues.

To get the complete The PBR1000 Snapshots just click here to get your 12 month subscription and automatically download the January 2021 edition with the complete 15 Snapshots and 28 rankings with the bonuses The PBRMarketTools US Monthly Indices Snapshots and The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks.

Table 1(S11): The PBR1000 Top 5 Month Stock Price % Gainers

Table 1 Summary: The range was +1,625% to -26%. 484 out of 999 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a loss of 0.09%, the median was a loss of 0.38%. The DJIA was -2.04%, NASDAQ +1.42%, SPX -1.11%.

Company	PBR Rank	Symbol	Price 01/29/21	Mo % Chg	12 Mos % Chg	24 Mos % Chg	60 Mos % Chg
GameStop	448	GME	$ 325.00	+1,625	+8,354	+2,766	+1,140
Express	892	EXPR	$ 6.00	+559	+50	+13	-65
AMC Entertainment	502	AMC	$ 13.26	+525	+103	-9	-39
SunPower	918	SPWR	$ 54.01	+111	+534	+830	+112
Bed Bath & Beyond	276	BBBY	$ 35.33	+99	+148	+134	-18

Table 2(S12): The PBR1000 Top 5 12 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 2 Summary: The range was +8,364% to -99%. 583 out of 990 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of 16.40%, the median was a gain of 7.74%. The DJIA was +6.11%, NASDAQ +42.83%, SPX +15.15%.

Company	PBR Rank	Symbol	Price 01/29/21	Mo % Chg	12 Mos % Chg	24 Mos % Chg	60 Mos % Chg
GameStop	448	GME	$ 325.00	+1,625	+8,364	+2,766	+1,140
SunPower	918	SPWR	$ 54.01	+111	+534	+830	+112
Tesla Motors	118	TSLA	$ 793.53	+12	+510	+1,192	+1,975
Tupperware	928	TUP	$ 30.08	-7	+381	+10	-35
Owens & Minor	331	OMI	$ 29.08	+8	+365	+284	-16

Table 3(S13): The PBR1000 Top 5 24 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 3 Summary: The range was +2,766% to -99%. 623 out of 980 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of 32.49%. The median was a gain of 13.25%. The DJIA was +19.93%, NASDAQ +79.50%, SPX +37.36%.

Company	PBR Rank	Symbol	Price 01/29/21	Mo % Chg	12 Mos % Chg	24 Mos % Chg	60 Mos % Chg
GameStop	448	GME	$ 325.00	+1,625	+8,364	+2,766	+1,140
Tesla Motors	118	TSLA	$ 793.53	+12	+510	+1,192	+1,975
SunPower	918	SPWR	$ 54.01	+111	+534	+830	+112
Roku	992	ROKU	$ 389.03	+17	+222	+765	n/a
Snap	938	SNAP	$ 52.94	+6	+188	+693	n/a

Table 4(R21): The PBR1000 Top 5 60 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 4 Summary: The range was +3,793% to -99%. 682 out of 930 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of 89.88%. The median was a gain of 52.14%. The DJIA was +82.08%, NASDAQ +183.29%, SPX +91.43%.

Company	PBR Rank	Symbol	Price 01/29/21	Mo % Chg	12 Mos % Chg	24 Mos % Chg	60 Mos % Chg
AMD	432	AMD	$ 85.64	-7	+82	+251	+3,793
Square	564	SQ	$ 215.96	-1	+189	+203	+2,362
Tesla Motors	118	TSLA	$ 793.53	+12	+510	+1,192	+1,975
NVIDIA	285	NVDA	$ 579.59	-1	+120	+261	+1,674
GameStop	448	GME	$ 325.00	+1,625	+8,364	+2,766	+1,140

Table 5(S15): The PBR1000 Top 5 Market Capitalization

Table 4 Summary: The range was $2,306 billion to $0.01 billion. The average is $36.703 billion, median is $9.60 billion, out of 1,000 companies.

Company	PBR Rank	Symbol	Market Cap($B) 01/29/21	1 Mo % Chg	12 Mos % Chg	24 Mos % Chg
Apple	3	AAPL	$ 2,306	+1	+63	+194
Microsoft	17	MSFT	$ 1,802	+8	+37	+125
Amazon	2	AMZN	$ 1,624	-2	+75	+93
Alphabet	12	GOOG	$ 1,257	+7	+25	+62
Tesla Motors	118	TSLA	$ 792	+20	+586	+1,402
The PBR1000			$ 36,703	+2	+19	+43

Table 6: The PBR1000 Index & Primary US Stock Exchanges/Commodities

Company	Price 01/29/21	Mo % Chg	12 Mos % Chg	24 Mos % Chg	60 Mos % Chg
The PBR1000	112,105.10	-0.0	+16.4	+32.5	+89.9
DJIA	29,982.62	-2.0	+6.1	+19.9	+82.1
NASDAQ	13,070.69	+1.4	+42.8	+79.5	+183.4
S&P500	3,714.24	-1.1	+15.2	+37.4	+91.4
GOLD	1,850.30	-2.4	+16.1	+39.8	+65.4
SILVER	26.91	+1.9	+49.3	+68.4	+88.7
OIL	52.20	+7.6	-20.7	-3.1	+54.7

If you are not a current The PBR1000 or The PBR25 Subscriber go to the Subscribe page to get our latest research and monthly snapshots.

Please use the Contact Us page if you are a The PBR1000 company and would like to increase your visibility to our worldwide base of shrewd investors.

Empowering Astute Business Leaders and Shrewd Investors Through The PBR1000 Analytics!

Disclaimers: The PBR1000 is compiled from a variety of publicly available resources. As such, PBRMarketTools.com is not responsible for the data itself. Any liability for the representations or decisions based on the data is solely the responsibility of the authorized user, not PBRMarketTools.com, its employees or affiliates. PBRMarketTools.com is an independent business intelligence service providing news, data, and analysis. We provide information only and it should not be regarded as advice. PBRMarketTools.com is not a financial advisory or stock brokerage firm and has no affiliation with such organizations.

This The PBR1000 business intelligence report is provided by:

(Graphic courtesy of Pixabay.com.)

Filed Under: Snapshots Tagged With: Business Intelligence, Commodities, DJIA, Investing, Investors, Money, NASDAQ, NYSE, PBRMarketTools, Rankings, Stock Market, The PBR1000, The PBR25, WallStreet, Wealth Management

The PBR1000 January 2021 Breaking News Recap

January 31, 2021 by admin

The PBR1000 for January: The Beginning of the End?

COVID-19 still consumes most of the news, but with vaccinations now approved and being distributed there is hope that the end of the pandemic is near, but there are issues of new variant strains, and how a new US President plans to proceed.

The January 2021 breaking news items of interest for The PBR1000 follow with the most current date first.

***Friday, January 29

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 4 of 2021 ending 01/29/21:

DJIA ends Week 4 at 29,982.62, -3.27% from last Friday, -2.04% MTD/QTD/YTD, -3.87% from record 31,188.38 set 01/20/21.

NASDAQ ends Week 4 at 13,070.69,-3.49% from last Friday, +1.42% MTD/QTD/YTD, -4.15% from record 13,635.99 set 01/25/21.

SPX ends Week 4 at 3,714.24, -3.31% from last Friday, -1.11% MTD/QTD/YTD, -3.66%% from record 3,855.36 set 01/25/21.

US Stock Exchanges Week 4 and January 2021 Summary: The start of Week 4 looked promising as The Stock Market Bull opened Monday by establishing new records on the NASDAQ and S&P500. But The Stock Market Bear had had enough and took over the rest of the final week of the month by spilling a lot of green blood. At the same time there was a war between day trader and hedge fund shorters against users and sympathizers of GameStock and AMC Entertainment, with dramatic wild rides up then down and then way up again. Many say this was instigated through the Reddit social media platform. The popular millenial trading sites like Robinhood became the primary tool used to carry out the war, and the incident is starting to be scrutinized by the federal government. The Week 4 result, however, was clearly in favor of The Stock Market Bear who racks up a 3-0 result. Before the week started it appeared that January would be an easy victory for The Stock Market Bull, but January 2021 ended with a 2-1 mixed result in favor of The Stock Market Bear. There was a lot of volatility in January. Let’s see if there is a more loving Valentine effect in February.

The Week 4 of 2021 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 2 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 2 weeks
Mixed Results: 0 weeks

The Month 1 of 2021 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 0 months
The Stock Market Bear: 0 months
Mixed Results: 1 month

The Week 4 and Month of January 2021 News Summary:

Coronavirus Pandemic: As of today, Friday, 01/29/21, at 14:21PM Eastern US, the John Hopkins University CSSE unit says there are now 101,879,985 confirmed cases globally with 2,201,401 deaths, an increase from last Friday of 99,507, which is +1,882 from last Friday. For the US it is 25,874,892 confirmed cases and 435,452 deaths, an increase from last Friday of 22,516, which is +678 from last Friday. It appears that 1+ million vaccinations are being injected daily, but logistical and manufacturing issues remain. Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are being used. Johnson & Johnson has published preliminary results of its Phase 3 trial single dose vaccine, effectiveness comes in at a high rate, but not as high as the first two. US FDA Emergency Use Authorization needs to be approved before it can start to be used. President Biden announced that an additional 200 million doses have been ordered for use through the summer. For January the Coronavirus Pandemic seems to have picked up some steam, especially as new variants are being detected, there are a lot of logistical and supply issues for approved vaccines, but there seems to be some longterm optimism that this pandemic will come to an end.

US Presidential Transition: President Biden has signed several executive orders, including rejoining the Paris Climate Change Accord and the World Health Organization. He also has put a halt to the Keystone XL pipeline suspended construction of the wall between the US and Mexico. Other actions include a “Buy American” incentive plan, the reopening of the Obamacare health plans, and much more. The US Senate approved some high level nominations, most notable being Janet Yellen as Secretary of the US Dept of the Treasury and Antony Blinken as Secretary of the US Dept of State. Biden’s proposed Stimulus Bill is being questioned by the Republicans who would like a separate bill for funding stimulus checks while Democrats want a broader bill that includes additional priorities. It is the first big test of a split 50/50 US Senate and sets the tone for future efforts that require cooperation. January was a transition period as the new administration took on the reigns, but it has not been the smoothest, especially in light of the attempted January 6th insurrection at the Capital Building. However, forward movement is being made, but it appears many challenges lie ahead.

US Economy: The 4Q20 Gross Domestic Product Annual Rate came in at a respectable +4%. The mid January 4 Week Average of Total Insured Unemployment fell just below 5 million, about a 450,000 decrease from mid December, but still well above the 1.7+ million in pre-pandemic mid last January. Consumer confidence surveys were up a little bit, home prices continue to rise, mortgage rates remain low, the Federal Open Market Committee met and issued a statement that the US economy has “moderated” and remains at the mercy of the pandemic. January was mostly slightly positive for economic news with a lot of anxiety building up for a post-pandemic boom.

Corporate Business: It was a big week for annual corporate earnings reports. The effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic was pretty clear, but 4Q20 results indicated some optimism for the future as many corporations continue to implement startegies to raise cash to get them through however long the pandemic lasts. There were some bright spots as well, especially in the tech world, some retailers, and financial sector.

International News: . President Biden was a little more open about taking a hard stance against China regarding trade and intellectual property issues. New Secretary of State Blinkman is starting to try to rebuild some relationships that were affected during the Trump administration, working with the Palestinians as one example. Brexit is starting to show its so far mostly negative effects in the UK and Europe. The European economy is in a recession and continues to struggle from the Coronavirus Pandemic caused lockdowns.

Johnson & Johnson(PBR35 $JNJ)’s Janssen unit says results from Phase 3 test indicates that its single shot COVID-19 vaccine candidate was 66% effective overall at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 related hospitalization and death, 28 days after vaccination, to file for US FDA Emergency Use Authorization in early February. PR link.

American Airlines(PBR69 $AAL) enters into an at-the-market(ATM) agreement with some financial institutions to sell up to $1.18 billion in shares of common stock. PR link.

Eli Lilly(PBR137) says in 4Q20 report that the US government has committed to purchase a total of 1,450,000 doses of bamlanivimab, which includes 950,000 doses already delivered and an agreement earlier this week to deliver 500,000 additional doses no later than 03/31/21, for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older with a positive COVID-19 test, who are at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization. PR link.

Eaton Corp(PBR147) to acquire Tripp Lite, a leading supplier of power quality products and connectivity solutions including single-phase uninterruptible power supply systems, rack power distribution units, surge protectors, and enclosures for data centers, industrial, medical, and communications markets in the Americas, for $1.65 billion, to close mid-2021. PR link.

AMC Entertainment(PBR502) major investor Silver Lake sells all its stock for $713 million, capitalizing on a 10-fold rise in the price of the shares as traders organizing on social media platforms such as Reddit snapped them up. Reuters PR link.

The US Dept of the Treasury says that on 01/27/21 the US National Debt-Public is at $21.629 trillion, Intragovernmental $6.131 trillion, Total $27.760 trillion, 12/30/20 was at $27.747 trillion, 11/30/20 $27.406 trillion, 12/31/19 $23.201 trillion. PR link.

The US Dept of the Treasury says at the close on 01/29/21 the US 10 Year Treasury Note Yield is at 1.11%, 12/31/20 was at 0.93%, 11/30/20 0.84%, 12/31/19 1.92%. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/BEA says the Preliminary December 2020 US Personal Income Annual Rate is at $19.569 trillion, November 2020 was at $19.452 trillion, October 2020 $19.708 trillion, December 2019 $18.801 trillion. PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the 4Q20 US Employment Cost Index(12/2005=100) is at 142.4, 3Q20 was at 141.1, 2Q2020 140.7, 4Q19 138.9. PR link.

The U of Michigan Final January 2021 US Consumer Sentiment Index is at 79.0, December 2020 was at 80.7, November 2020 76.9, January 2020 99.8. “Despite continuing job and income disparities, as precautionary motives begin to ease, accumulated savings will spark a significant gain in spending in late 2021.” PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago says the Preliminary December 2020 US 7th District Midwest Economy Index is at +1.26, November 2020 was at +1.83, October 2020 +3.00, December 2019 -0.51. “Index suggests slower, but still above-trend Midwest growth through December.” PR link.

MNI Indicators says the Preliminary December 2020 Chicago Business Barometer(>50 economy is gaining) is at +63.8, November 2020 was at +58.7, October 2020 58.2, December 2019 +48.9. “The index now stands at the highest level since July 2018, boosted by a pick-up in activity at the beginning of 2021.” PR link.

The American Automobile Assn says the 01/29/21 Average Price/Gallon for Gas(Regular) is at $2.422, 12/31/20 was at $2.253, 11/30/20 $2.142, 01/31/20 $2.485. PR link.

***Thursday, January 28

Walmart(PBR1 $WMT) expanding media business, renamed from Walmart Media Group to Walmart Connect, to accelerate the connection between partner brands and its 150 million weekly customers. PR link.

Ford(PBR13 $F) announces that the Mustang Mach-E, its first global pioneering SUV built on an all-new, all-electric platform, will be manufactured in China by Changan Ford for local customers. PR link.

General Motors(PBR19 $GM) plans to be carbon neutral by 2040 in its global products and operations, has worked with the Environmental Defense Fund to develop a shared vision of an all-electric future and an aspiration to eliminate tailpipe emissions from new light-duty vehicles by 2035. PR link.

Lowe’s(PBR44 $LOW) to provide $80 million in additional bonuses on 02/05/21 for frontline workers, $300 for full-time hourly associates, $150 for part-time and seasonal associates, is 7th bonus round, also is hiring more than 50,000 seasonal and full-time retail associates for spring. PR link.

Altria(PBR114 $MO) authorizes a new $2 billion share repurchase program, to complete by 06/30/22. PR link.

VISA(PBR142 $V) authorizes a new $8 billion share repurchase program, total funds available now around $11 billion. PR link.

MGM Resorts(PBR241 $MGM)’s BetMGM to become exclusive sports betting partner in the US for digital sports media company The Athletic, includes the creation of The Athletic Betting Hub, a new content vertical for The Athletic. PR link.

Chipotle(PBR489 $CMG) is testing Chipotle Carside at 29 restaurants in California, mobile Chipotle app orders delivered to parked cars. PR link.

AMC Entertainment(PBR502 $AMC) reports that affiliates of Silver Lake and certain co-investors to convert all $600.0 million of the Company’s 2.95% Convertible Senior Secured Notes due 2026 into shares of the Company’s Class A common stock at $13.51/share, will result in the issuance of 44,422,860 Class A shares. PR link.

Marriott Vacations(PBR598 $VAC) to acquire Welk Resorts, a large independent timeshare company with 8 properties primarily on the West coast, for around $430 million, will rebrand as Hyatt Residence Club resorts, to close in early 2Q21. PR link.

Verso Corp(PBR827 $VRS) appoints Randy J. Nebel as President/CEO, had been interim since 10/20. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/BEA says the Advance 4Q20 Real Gross Domestic Product Annual Rate is +4.0%, $21.480 trillion, 3Q20 was at $21.170 trillion, 2Q20 $19.520 trillion, 4Q19 $21.747 trillion. PR link.

The Conference Board says the Preliminary December 2020 US Leading Economic Index(2016=100) is at 109.5, November 2020 was at 109.2, October 2020 108.5, December 2019 110.7. “While the resurgence of COVID-19 and weak labor markets remain barriers to growth, The Conference Board expects the economy to expand by at least 2.0 percent (annual rate) in Q1 and then gain momentum throughout the year.” PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says that for the Week Ending 01/16/21 the US Total Insured Unemployment is at 4,771,000, 12/19/20 was at 5,219,000, 11/14/20 6,071,000, 01/18/20 1,704,000. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/HUD says the Preliminary December 2020 US New Family Homes Sold Annual Rate is at 842,000, November 2020 was at 829,000, October 2020 949,000, December 2019 731,000; the December 2020 US Median New Family Home Price is at $355,900, November 2020 was at $343,900, October 2020 $345,500, December 2019 $329,500. PR link.

FreddieMac says on 01/28/21 the US Average 30 Year Fixed Mortgage Rate is at 2.73% with 0.7 points/fees, 12/31/20 was at 2.67%, 11/25/20 2.72%, 01/29/20 3.51%. “As the market reacts to a new administration in Washington and COVID-19 driven economic malaise, mortgage rates continued to decrease this week, just slightly. Even as house prices increase at the fastest rate we’ve seen in years, competition to buy is strong given the low inventory that exists across the country. The fact that there are not enough homes to meet demand is going to be an ongoing issue for the foreseeable future.” PR link.

***Wednesday, January 27

Walmart(PBR1 $WMT) to begin administering COVID-19 vaccines in Maryland, Texas, Delaware, Indiana and the District of Columbia to eligible populations as determined by each district and state. PR link.

Walmart(PBR1 $WMT) expanding its network of local automated fulfillment centers, some as add-on facilities to an existing store, others to be utilizing space in existing stores. PR link.

Apple(PBR3 $AAPL) in 1Q21 has record $111.4 billion in revenues, up 21% from 1Q20, 1Q21 diluted earnings/share at $1.68, international sales accounted for 64% of 1Q21 revenues. PR link.

AT&T(10 $T) in 4Q20 report says it has a total of 182.6 million total subscribers and connections, up from 165.9 million at end of 2019, ended 2020 with 17.2 million total video connections, had 20.4 million at end of 2019, total 2020 revenues are at $171.8 billion, 2019 was at $181.2 billion. PR link.

Anthem(PBR20 $ANTM) in 4Q20 report says it now has 42.9 million members, up 4.7% from 2019, repurchased shares for $2.7 billion in 2020, authorizes an increase of $5 billion for share repurchase program, balance available is now around $6.1 billion. PR link.

JPMorgan Chase(PBR24 $JPM) to launch a mobile app based digital retail bank in the UK in the coming months, is headquartered in London, already has 400 employees. Businesswire PR link.

Boeing(PBR40 $BA) issues statement regarding European Union Aviation Safety Agency‘s approval to resume 737 MAX operations in Europe. PR link.

Pfizer(PBR97 $PFE)/BioNTech SE to use Sanofi facilities in Frankfurt, Germany, starting in the summer, to manufacture 125 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for distribution in Europe. Sanofi PR link.

Eli Lilly(PBR137 $LLY), Vir Biotechnology(NASDAQ: VIR) and GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) to collaborate to evaluate a combination of two COVID-19 therapies in low-risk patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. PR link.

Salesforce(184 $CRM) announces Vaccine Cloud, technology to help government agencies, healthcare organizations, businesses, nonprofits and educational institutions worldwide more rapidly, safely and efficiently deploy and manage their vaccine programs. PR link.

MGM Resorts(PBR241 $MGM)’s BetMGM launches its sports betting and iGaming app in Virginia. PR link.

Regeneron(PBR382 $REGN) says tests show REGEN-COVTM (casirivimab and imdevimab antibody cocktail) successfully neutralizes the circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants first identified in the UK (B.1.1.7) and South Africa (B.1.351). PR link.

Navistar(PBR397 $NAV) to collaborate with GM(PBR19 $GM) and Navistar’s OneH2 subsidiary to launch a hydrogen fuel cell truck ecosystem, will be initially piloted by JB Hunt Transport(PBR335 $JBHT), Navistar’s first production model International® RH™ Series hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) to be commercially available in model year 2024. PR link.

AMC Entertainment(PBR502 $AMC) has sold in aggregate 63.3 million additional shares of its Class A common stock since 01/25/21 for additional proceeds of $304.8 million, completes at the market equity program. PR link.

Coty(PBR563 $COTY) is consolidating its global fragrance operations, to close manufacturing site in Cologne, Germany, to be completed by Summer 2022, will affect around 300 employees. PR link.

First Horizon National(PBR860 $FHN) authorizes up to $500 million share repurchase program, expires 01/31/23. PR link.

Brown-Forman(PBR603 $BF.B) Chairman G. Garvin Brown IV to retire in 07/21 after serving 14 years, will be succeeded by Campbell P. Brown, who will assume the Chair role at the company’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders. PR link.

The US Federal Open Market Committee releases a statement from its 01/26-27/21 meeting, says, “The COVID-19 pandemic is causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and around the world. The pace of the recovery in economic activity and employment has moderated in recent months, with weakness concentrated in the sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic… The path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus, including progress on vaccinations. The ongoing public health crisis continues to weigh on economic activity, employment, and inflation, and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook… The Committee decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent… will continue to increase its holdings of Treasury securities by at least $80 billion per month and of agency mortgage‑backed securities by at least $40 billion per month until substantial further progress has been made toward the Committee’s maximum employment and price stability goals.” PR link.

The Quarterly ADP Workforce Vitality Report says the 4Q20 Wage Growth is at +4.4%, 3Q20 was at +5.3%, 2Q20 +6.0%, 4Q19 +3.1%. “… the labor market recovery will continue to plod along in the near-term as the easy part of the recovery is mostly in the rearview and the hard work of new business creation lies ahead.” PR link.

The US Energy Information Administration says that on 01/22/21 the US Crude Oil Stocks(Millions of Barrels) is at 476.7, 12/25/20 was at 493.5, 11/20/20 488.7, 01/24/20 431.7. PR link.

***Tuesday, January 26

Verizon(PBR20 $VZ) ends 2020 with 94.4 million total wireless retail connections, had 94.5 million at end of 2019, total 2020 revenues were at $128.3 billion, had $131.9 billion in 2019. PR link.

Target(PBR36 $TGT) announces a limited-edition collection with Levi Strauss(PBR476 $LEVI), featuring an assortment of home and lifestyle items and marking Levi’s® first Home partnership, to launch on 02/28/21. PR link.

Raytheon Technologies(PBR39 $RTX) in 4Q20 transcript CFO says it has reduced commercial headcount at Collins by another 1,500, bringing the total to 16,500, and contractors by another 500, bringing the total to approximately 4500 contractors, has reducted total commercial aero headcount by around 20%. The Motley Fool The Motley Fool PR link.

Tesla(PBR118 $TSLA) in 4Q20 report says had $10.744 billion in sales for the quarter, +46% from $7.384 billion in 4Q19. PR link.

VISA(PBR142 $V) and TransferWise, which provides multi-currency debit cards services in Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, UK and US, form global partnership for first use of Visa Cloud Connect services. PR link.

Twitter(PBR680 $TWTR) has acquired Revue, a service that makes it free and easy for anyone to start and publish editorial newsletters, terms not disclosed. PR link.

Elanco Animal Health(PBR732 $ELAN) to close some R&D sites in New Zealand and Germany in restructuring post Bayer acquisition, will eliminate around 350 positions worldwide. PR link.

Walgreens Boots Alliance(PBR18 $WBA) appoints Starbucks COO Rosalind (Roz) Brewer as its next CEO, to be effective 03/15/21, will succeed Stefano Pessina who will transition to Executive Chairman. PR link.

Las Vegas Sands(PBR226 $LVS) appoints Acting Chairman/CEO and President/COO Robert Goldstein as Chairman/CEO, succeeds Sheldon Adelson who passed away on 01/12/21, COO and CFO appointments also announced. PR link.

The Conference Board says the Preliminary January 2021 US Consumer Confidence Index(1985=100) is at 89.3, December 2020 was at 87.1, November 2020 92.9, January 2020 130.4. “Consumers’ expectations for the economy and jobs… advanced further, suggesting that consumers foresee conditions improving in the not-too-distant future. In addition, the percent of consumers who said they intend to purchase a home in the next six months improved, suggesting that the pace of home sales should remain robust in early 2021.” PR link.

The S&P/CoreLogic/Case-Shiller November 2020 US National Home Price Index(01/2000=100) is at 232.38, October 2020 was at 229.93, September 2020 226.82, November 2019 212.24. “Recent data are consistent with the view that COVID has encouraged potential buyers to move from urban apartments to suburban homes. This may represent a true secular shift in housing demand, or may simply represent an acceleration of moves that would have taken place over the next several years anyway. Future data will be required to address that question.” PR link.

TrueCar says the Forecasted January 2021 US Total New Car Units Sold will be at 1,048,975, December 2020 was at 1,619,907, January 2020 1,143,027; Forecasted January 2021 Average New Car Price will be at $37,330, December 2020 was at $39,089, January 2020 $35,821. PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia says the January 2021 US 3rd District Non-Manufacturing Current General Activity Index is at -17.5, December 2020 was at -26.6. “The respondents continued to anticipate growth over the next six months.” PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond says the January 2021 US 5th District Manufacturing Index(Annualized) is at +14%, December 2020 was at +19%, November 2020 +15%, January 2020 +20%. “The composite index… remained in expansionary territory… Overall, manufacturers were optimistic that conditions would continue to improve in the coming months.” PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond says the January 2021 US 5th District Service Sector Revenue Index(Annualized) is at -3%, December 2020 was at -9%, November 2020 +13%, January 2020 +10%. “Firms were optimistic that conditions would improve in the next six months.” PR link.

***Monday, January 25

CVS Health(PBR5 $CVS) has administered the first round of COVID-19 vaccine doses, nearly two million shots, to nearly 8,000 skilled nursing facilities across the US, second doses is well underway and expected to be complete within four weeks. PR link.

Verizon(PBR20 $VZ), in an evaluation with AT&T(PBR10 $T) and T-Mobile(PBR71 $TMUS), sweeps the 2H20 US RootScore Awards, bringing home by far the most state and metro area awards, and delivering excellent speeds, outstanding reliability, and an expanded 5G footprint in major cities. IHS Markit RootMetrics PR link.

UPS(PBR43 $UPS) to sell UPS Freight unit to TFI International(NYSE and TSX: TFII) for $800 million, UPS gets agreement for UPS Freight to continue to utilize UPS’ domestic package network to fulfill shipments for a period of five years, to close in 2Q21. PR link.

Merck(PBR68 $MRK) says based on Phase 1 results it is discontinuing development of its SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 vaccine candidates, V590 and V591, and plans to focus its SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 research strategy and production capabilities on advancing two therapeutic candidates, MK-4482 and MK-7110. PR link.

Honeywell(PBR85 $HON) to divest five performance and lifestyle footwear brands it deems non-core to its business: The Original Muck Boot Company, XTRATUF fishing boots and deck shoes, Ranger, NEOS overshoes and Servus protective rubber boots, to Rocky Brands, a leading manufacturer of premium footwear and apparel, for approximately $230 million, to close by end of 1Q21. PR link.

Baker Hughes(PBR123 $BKR) files statement with US SEC noting that GE(PBR33 $GE) sold 38,007,041 shares of Class A Common Stock on 01/22/21, GE has 311+ million shares remaining, represents 30.1% of BKR Class A shares issued. PR link.

Carnival Corp(PBR153 $CCL) releases plans for additional ship deployments from its US West coast ports. PR link.

Edison Intl(PBR250 $EIX)’s Southern California Edison unit settles 2017 and 2018 wildfire and mudslide events with approximately 1000 individual plaintiffs for $2.2 billion. PR link.

Alaska Air(PBR347 $ALK) takes delivery of its first Boeing(PBR40 $BA) 737-9 MAX aircraft, to get 68 over 4 year period, passenger service to start 03/01/21. PR link.

NCR(PBR422 $NCR) to acquire Cardtronics (Nasdaq: CATM), the world’s largest non-bank ATM operator and service provider, for $39.00/share, around $2.5 billion cash, to close mid 2021, Cardtronics has terminated its acquisition agreement with Apollo Global Mgmt(PBR759 $APO), NCR paid the termination fee of $32.6 million. PR link.

AMC Entertainment(PBR502 $AMC) has raised $917 million in fresh investment capital since mid-December, should allow the company to make it through this dark coronavirus-impacted winter, CEO Aron says, “… any talk of an imminent bankruptcy for AMC is completely off the table.” PR link.

IAC(PBR557 $IAC) raised $300 million in primary equity for its Vimeo unit, which now has a valuation of $5+ billion, Vimeo spin-off planned for 2Q21. PR link.

Apollo Global Mgmt(PBR759 $APO) Chairman/CEO Leon Black to retire as CEO on or before 07/31/21, will remain Chairman, Marc Rowan appointed to be successor. PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago says the Preliminary December 2020 US National Activity Index is at +0.52, November 2020 was at +0.31, October 2020 +1.01, December 2019 -0.26. “Index points to an uptick in economic growth in December.” PR link.

Blackstone(PBR402 $BX) Vice Chairman Byron Wien’s Market Insights provides an interesting review of the 2021 Ten Surprises and Three Also Rans in its 36th annual edition. PR link.

***Friday, January 22

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 3 of 2021 ending 01/22/21:

DJIA ends Week 3 at 30,996.98, +0.59% from last Friday, +1.28% MTD/QTD/YTD, -0.61% from record 31,188.38 set 01/20/21.

NASDAQ ends Week 3 at record 13,543.06,+4.19% from last Friday, +5.08 MTD/QTD/YTD, +0.00% from record 13,543.06 set 01/22/21.

SPX ends Week 3 at 3,841.47, +1.94% from last Friday, +2.27% MTD/QTD/YTD, -0.30%% from record 3,841.47 set 01/21/21.

The Week 3 of 2021 News Summary:

Coronavirus Pandemic: As of today, Friday, 01/22/21, at 14:22PM Eastern US, the John Hopkins University CSSE unit says there are now 97,986,357 confirmed cases globally with 2,101,894 deaths, an increase from last Friday of 97,625, which is +6,735 from last Friday. For the US it is 24,771,973 confirmed cases and 412,936 deaths, an increase from last Friday of 21,838, which is -491 from than last Friday. Now President-Elect Joe Biden has pledged that 100 million people will be vaccinated in the first 100 days of his taking office. Logistical and manufacturing issues still seem to be having an effect, 2 more vaccine candidates are expected to be approved by the US FDA and available in a few weeks in addition to the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna that are the only ones available currently.

US Presidential Transition: It was a rather subdued transition compared to recent transfers of power because of restrictions from the Coronavirus Pandemic and the presence of 25,000 National Guard troops for security purposes after the break-in at the Capital Building on January 6th. As scheduled, two weeks later on January 20th, Joe Biden became the 46th President of the US and Kamala Harris the Vice President, to much pomp and circumstance and no public protests. In his acceptance speech President Biden appealed for unity among the American people, and reiterated that his first priority was to conquer the Coronavirus Pandemic. Washington Mall was filled with American flags instead of people. There was a televised remote parade of the states presentation afterwards, and an evening of nice and hopeful messages, presentations, singing, and a spectacular Mall fireworks show. President Biden quickly went into action by signing several executive orders, several of them reversing some of former President Trump directives. VP Harris installed 3 new Democrats into the Senate, two from the runoff elections in Georgia and one from California who has taken the seat she previously held. With a 50-50 Senate split, VP Harris is now the tiebreaker when there is a 50-50 vote on a measure. The Senate committees have started the process of interviewing nominees for cabinet and other high posts. President Biden at age 78 makes history by becoming the oldest President to start serving in that position, and Kamala Harris is the first woman, the first Black, and the first person of Asian American descent to take on the role of Vice President.

US Economy: The number of weekly initial unemployment insurance claims decreased a little. Housing starts had a nice increase, existing home sales had a slight increase, home builders say conditions are still good despite increases in prices for lumber, and the Philly Fed’s manufacturing survey index took had a greater than expected increase.

International News: . Initial indications are that President Biden will also take a hard stance against China regarding trade and intellectual property issues. Brexit is a work in process. Much of the European economy is struggling because of the Coronavirus Pandemic caused lockdowns, and Europe is now viewed as being in a recession.

US Stock Exchanges: The exchanges were closed on Monday in observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr, and his legacy. On Tuesday The Stock Market Bull charged onto the field feeling optimistic about the transition of power and the economy, and continued to do so throughout the week as all 3 major indices hit new records on inauguration day. The Stock Market Bear could only counter by taking the last 2 days of the DJIA and last day of the S&P500. The Stock Market Bull easily takes Week 3 3-0. “Experts” are again divided over those that say the run can continue forever and those who say the markets are way overdue for a major crash. Sounds a little bit like last year when both came true.

The Week 3 of 2021 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 2 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 1 week
Mixed Results: 0 weeks

Kroger(PBR22 $KR) and Ocado(LSE: OCDO) announces Phoenix, AZ, for a Customer Fulfillment Center, will be around 200,000 sf, employ up to 700, to be operational in 24 after breaking of ground, will serve Arizona markets. PR link.

Boeing(PBR40 $BA) is committing that its commercial airplanes are capable and certified to fly on 100% sustainable aviation fuels by 2030. PR link.

Pfizer(PBR63 $PFE) and BioNTech SE get an initial agreement to provide up to 40 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to COVAX, which serves 92 countries, in 2021, first deliveries to occur in 1Q21, will be at a not-for-profit price. PR link.

Bristol-Myers Squibb(PBR109 $BMY) gets US FDA approval for OPDIVO®(nivolumab) 240 mg (injection for intravenous use) every two weeks or 480 mg every four weeks in combination with CABOMETYX® (cabozantinib) 40 mg once daily tablets for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. PR link.

Eli Lilly(PBR137 $LLY) completes $22.50/share, $880 million cash plus a contigent value right worth up to an additional $4.00/share based on milestone achievements, for up to $1.04 billion cash acquisition of developer of potentially disease-modifying AAV9-based gene therapies for patients with neurodegenerative diseases Prevail Therapeutics(NASDAQ: PRVL). PR link.

DuPont(PBR144 $DD), Corteva(PBR225 $CTVA) and Chemours(PBR496 $CC) agree to resolution of legacy PFAS chemicals legacy claims, DuPont & Corteva together, on one hand, and Chemours, on the other hand, agree to a 50-50 split of certain qualified expenses incurred over a term not to exceed twenty years or $4 billion. PR link.

Carnival Corp(PBR153 $CCL) is extending its pause for US departures through 04/30/21, cancelling Australian operations through 05/19/21, and European itineraries for Carnival Legend are being planned to start 05/29/21. PR link.

MGM Resorts(PBR241 $MGM)’s BetMGM launches its sports betting and iGaming app in Michigan. PR link.

Boston Scientific(PBR289 $BSX) gets US FDA approval for its fourth-generation Vercise Genus™ Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) System, used for treating symptoms of Parkinson disease, a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder. PR link.

JetBlue(PBR374 $JBLU) enters into a Payroll Support Program Extension Agreement with the US Dept of the Treasury for $252 million, also issues to Treasury warrants to purchase 316,583 shares of JetBlue’s common stock for $14.43/share. PR link.

The Natl Assn of Realtors says the Preliminary December 2020 US Existing Home Sales Annual Rate is at 6,760,000, November 2020 was at 6,710,000, October 2020 6,860,000, December 2019 5,530,000; December 2020 Median Home Price is at $309,800, November 2020 was at $310,800, October 2020 $313,000, December 2019 $274,500; December 2020 Existing Homes for Sale Inventory is at 1,070,000, about 1.9 months supply; December 2020 Average 30 Year Fixed Mortgage Rate is at 2.68%. “Home sales rose in December, and for 2020 as a whole, we saw sales perform at their highest levels since 2006, despite the pandemic… What’s even better is that this momentum is likely to carry into the new year, with more buyers expected to enter the market.” PR link.

***Thursday, January 21

Alphabet(PBR12 $GOOG)’s Google France unit to provide remuneration to French news publications based on criteria agreed to with the Alliance de la Presse d’Information Générale. PR link.

Alphabet(PBR12 $GOOG)’s Loon unit to shut down after over 7 years, was trying to provide low cost internet connectivity through the use of stratospheric balloons. PR link.

Ford(PBR13 $F) expects to record a pre-tax remeasurement loss in its 4Q20 results of approximately $1.5 billion related to its pension and other postretirement employee benefits. PR link.

Boston Scientific(PBR289 $BSX) to acquire privately held $158 million in sales in 2020 Preventice Solutions, offers a full portfolio of mobile cardiac health solutions and services, ranging from ambulatory cardiac monitors – including short and long-term Holter monitors – to cardiac event monitors and mobile cardiac telemetry, for an upfront cash payment of $925 million, and up to an additional $300 million in a potential commercial milestone payment. PR link.

Alaska Air(PBR347 $ALK) gets $533 million Payroll Support Program loan assistance from the US Dept of the Treasury, to be used exclusively toward continuing to pay employee salaries, wages and benefits, includes granting of 95,532 warrants to purchase Alaska Air Group (ALK) common stock at a strike price of $52.25. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/HUD says the Preliminary December 2020 US New Residential Building Permits Issued Annual Rate-Private Housing is at 1,709,000, November 2020 was at 1,635,000, October 2020 1,544,000, December 2019 1,457,000. PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia says the January 2021 US 3rd District Manufacturing General Business Indicator is at 26.5, December 2020 was at 9.1, November 2020 20.7, January 2020 13.7. “Changes in future indexes were mixed this month, but levels remained positive, suggesting that overall growth is expected to continue over the next six months.” PR link.

***Wednesday, January 20

***Joseph R. Biden inaugurated as
***46th President of the United States
***Kamala Harris inaugurated as
***Vice President of the United States

Merck(PBR68 $MRK) gets US FDA approval for VERQUVO, a soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator, to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and heart failure hospitalization following a hospitalization for heart failure or need for outpatient intravenous (IV) diuretics in adults with symptomatic chronic heart failure and ejection fraction less than 45%. PR link.

Tyson Foods(PBR76 $TSN) agrees to settle all claims regarding the Broiler Antitrust Civil Litigation, will pay $221.5 million to affected classes. PR link.

CACI(PBR478 $CACI) Chairman of the Board/Executive Chairman and former CEO Dr. J. Philip (Jack) London passes away at age 83, Michael A. Daniels elected Chairman. PR link.

The Natl Assn of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Preliminary January 2021 Housing Market Composite Index is at 83, December 2020 was at 86, November 2020 90, January 2020 75. “Rising material costs led by a huge upsurge in lumber prices along with a resurgence of the coronavirus across much of the nation pushed builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes down three points to 83 in January… Despite the drop, builder sentiment remains at a strong level.” PR link.

***Tuesday, January 19

Walmart(PBR1 $WMT) to provide domestic and international money transfers, bill payments and money orders services at its stores through an agreement with Western Union(PBR518 $WU), to roll out starting in Spring 2021. PR link.

General Motors(PBR19 $GM) and Cruise enter a long-term strategic relationship with Microsoft(PBR17 $MSFT) to accelerate the commercialization of self-driving vehicles, includes General Motors, Honda, Microsoft, and institutional investors in a combined new equity investment of more than $2 billion in Cruise, bringing the post-money valuation of Cruise to $30 billion. PR link.

Bank of America(PBR25 $BAC) authorizes the repurchase of $2.9 billion in common stock through 03/31/21, plus repurchases to offset shares awarded under equity-based compensation plans during the same period, estimated to be approximately $0.3 billion, maximum allowed per US Federal Reserve rules. PR link.

FedEx(PBR49 $FDX) proposes to reduce its European workforce by 5,500-6,300 across operational teams and back-office functions as it nears the completion of the network integration of TNT. PR link.

Cisco(PBR66 $CSCO) gets China’s State Administration for Market Regulation approval for $115/share $4.3 billion cash acquisition of designer and manufacturer of high-speed, optical interconnect technologies Acacia Communications under several conditions aimed to protect supply to the companies’ Chinese customers. MarketWatch PR link.

American Airlines(PBR69 $AAL) gets a Payroll Support Program Extension Agreement with the US Dept of Treasury for $3.1 billion, be used exclusively for the continuation of payment of employee wages, salaries and benefits, the requirement against involuntary furloughs and reductions in employee pay rates and benefits through 03/31/21. PR link.

ViacomCBS(PBR103 $VIAC) to launch its streaming service Paramount+ on 03/04/21 in the US, will also be launching in Latin America, the Nordics, and later in Australia. PR link.

Thermo Fisher Scientific(PBR113 $TMO) to acquire 500 employees $45 million in 2020 revenues Mesa Biotech, a privately held molecular diagnostic company, includes its Accula System which has received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the US FDA for SARS-CoV-2 in vitro diagnostic testing and is now available for use in patient care settings, providing results within 30 minutes, with higher accuracy than other rapid tests on the market, for approximately $450 million in cash plus up to $100 million for milestone achievements, to close in 1Q21. PR link.

Eli Lilly(PBR137 $LLY) and Merus NV (NASDAQ: MRUS), a clinical-stage oncology company developing multi-specific antibodies, agree to a research collaboration and exclusive license agreement, will leverage Merus’ proprietary Biclonics® platform along with the scientific and rational drug design expertise of Loxo Oncology at Lilly to research and develop up to three CD3-engaging T-cell re-directing bispecific antibody therapies, Eli Lilly to make up front payment of $40 million plus an equity investment in Merus of $20 million, plus up to around $1.6 billion for milestone achievements. PR link.

Netflix(PBR158 $NFLX) says in 4Q20 report that it has crossed the 200 million paid memberships mark, 37 million new members in 2020. PR link.

Cognizant(PBR188 $CTSH) to acquire Magenic Technologies, a privately-held custom software development services company headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, with 475 employees in the US and 350+ employees in Manila, Philippines, to close in 1Q21, terms not disclosed. PR link.

MGM Resorts(PBR241 $MGM) says it does not intend to submit a revised proposal and it will not make a firm offer for for gaming partner Entain plc. PR link.

Bed Bath & Beyond(PBR276 $BBY) completes sale of its Cost Plus World Market brand to private equity firm Kingswood Capital Management, includes 243 brick-and-mortar locations, the CPWM digital business, 2 distribution facilities and a corporate office located in Alameda, CA, terms not disclosed. PR link.

Royal Caribbean(PBR284 $RCL) to sell its Azamara brand to private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $201 million cash, to close in 1Q21. PR link.

eBay(PBR288 $EBAY) says it has initiated a process to explore, review and evaluate a range of strategic alternatives for its Korea business. PR link.

Charles Schwab(PBR290 $SCHW) says in 4Q20 report that total client assets reached a record of $6.69 trillion spread across 29.6 million brokerage accounts, up 66% and 140%, respectively, from a year ago. PR link.

Office Depot(PBR292 $ODP) responds to proposal by be acquired by parent of Staples, says it is open to combining its retail and consumer-facing ecommerce operations with Staples under the right set of circumstances and on mutually acceptable terms, offers two options, a joint venture or an acquistion. PR link.

Oshkosh(PBR425 $OSK) completes $115 million acquisition of Pratt Miller which specializes in advanced engineering, technology and innovation across the motorsport and multiple ground vehicle markets. PR link.

Norwegian Cruise Lines(PBR451 $NCLH) extends suspension of all voyages through 04/30/21. PR link.

Harley-Davidson(PBR510 $HOG) releases its 2021 motorcycle lineup. PR link.

Hill-Rom(PBR767 $HRC) to acquire Bardy Diagnostics(BardyDx), an innovator in digital health and a leading provider of ambulatory cardiac monitoring technologies, for $375 million cash and future potential payments based on the achievement of certain commercial milestones, to close by 03/31/21. PR link.

***Monday, January 18

***US Federal Government Holiday.
***Martin Luther King, Jr, Birthday Observed.
***US Stock Exchanges Closed.

***Friday, January 15

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 2 of 2021 ending 01/15/21:

DJIA ends Week 2 at 30,814.26, -0.91% from last Friday, +0.68% MTD/QTD/YTD, -0.91% from record 31,097.97 set 01/08/21.

NASDAQ ends Week 2 at 12,998.50, -1.54% from last Friday, +0.86 MTD/QTD/YTD, -1.54% from record 13,201.98 set 01/08/21.

SPX ends Week 2 at 3,768.25, -1.48% from last Friday, +0.32% MTD/QTD/YTD, -1.48%% from record 3,824.68 set 01/08/21.

The Week 2 of 2021 News Summary:

Coronavirus Pandemic: As of Friday, 01/15/21, at 14:22PM Eastern US, the John Hopkins University CSSE unit says there are now 93,626,393 confirmed cases globally with 2,004,269 deaths, an increase from last Friday of 90,890, which is 6,932 less than last Friday. For the US it is 23,475,380 confirmed cases and 391,098 deaths, an increase from last Friday of 22,329, which is 1,425 less than last Friday. The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccinations continue with mixed success because of logistical issues and states struggling to have a priority plan. President-Elect Joe Biden has pledged that 100 million people will be vaccinated in the first 100 days of his taking office.

US Presidential Transition: President-Elect Joe Biden and his transition team continue to make preparations for the January 20th inaugural, which is becoming a bit toned down because of the insurrection attempt at the Capital Building last week. High level officials continue to be nominated and will be presented to the US Senate when it reconvenes next Tuesday. However, another critical item on the US Senate agenda will be the impeachment trial of President Trump after the vote to impeach in the US House was completed this week, making President Trump the only US president to be impeached twice. The US Senate will be split with 50 Republicans, 48 Democrats, 2 Independents who caucus with the Democrats. With the split, Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris will break tie votes. An impeachment of the US president requires a two-thirds votes to the affirmative.

US Economy: The number of weekly initial unemployment insurance claims increased due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Retail sales were disappointingly down slightly. Average employee earnings are up, the Consumer Price Index was up a little bit, the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book indicated modest growth, Import and Export taxes were up, the Producer Price Index was up slightly. President-Elect Biden is proposing a $1.9 trillion relief and stimulus plan that includes a $1,400 individual benefit payment.

International News: . The Coronavirus Pandemic numbers continue to increase in the Europe amid more lockdowns and restrictions. The UK and European Union are starting to readjust their economies as a result of the year end completion of Brexit. The N Korea leader has indicated his country did not achieve economic goals, is making new plans, and also says they will increase their nuclear arms capabilities.

US Stock Exchanges: After a big first week of records for The Stock Market Bull, The Stock Market Bear wanted to make sure he got some attention as well and has an agenda as well. With the aftermath of the insurrection attempt the previous week, the impeachment vote in the US House, the continued Coronavirus pandemic issues and concerns for jobs and the economy, and some uncertainties of a new US president, he had some news to back him up and easily took Week 2 of 2021. Next week starts with the US stock exchanges closed in remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr, the subdued inauguration of a new US president on Wednesday, and a light week of scheduled economic news. Welcome to a New Year of confusing starts!

The Week 2 of 2021 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 1 week
The Stock Market Bear: 1 week
Mixed Results: 0 weeks

GE(PBR33 $GE) sues Siemens Energy for using stolen trade secrets to rig contract bids in Virginia. Reuters PR link.

Thermo Fisher Scientific(PBR113 $TMO) has completed the acquisition of Henogen S.A., Novasep’s viral vector manufacturing business in Belgium, for approximately $810 million in cash. PR link.

Tesla(PBR118 $TSLA)’s Model Y, its mid-size Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), earns a 5-star safety rating in every category from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). PR link.

US Steel(PBR239 $X) completes the $774 million cash acquisition of the remaining equity of Big River Steel located in northeast Arkansas it did not previously own. PR link.

Frontier Communications(PBR372 $FTRCQ) gets US Federal Communications Commission approval for its Chapter 11 Bankruptcy restructring plan, also has approval of 13 states, plans to emerge from Chapter 11 in early 2021. PR link.

Huntsman(PBR429 $HUN) completes $250 million acquisition of around $106 million of revenues in 2019 Gabriel Performance Products, a N American specialty chemical manufacturer of specialty additives and epoxy curing agents for the coatings, adhesives, sealants and composite end-markets, from Audax Private Equity. PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the Preliminary December 2020 US Totally Monthly Final Demand Producer Price Index is at +0.3%, November 2020 was at +0.1%, October 2020 +0.3%, December 2019 +0.3%. PR link.

The US Federal Reserve says the Preliminary December 2020 US Industrial Production % of Capacity is at 74.5%, November 2020 was at 73.4%, October 2020 73.0%, December 2019 77.2%. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says the Preliminary November 2020 US Sales-Manufacturers is at $492.9 billion, Retailers $491.1 billion, Wholesalers $496.7 billion, making Preliminary November 2020 US Total Sales at $1,480.8 billion, October 2020 was at $1,482.1 billion, September 2020 $1,468.5 billion, November 2019 $1,458.4 billion. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says the Advance December 2020 US Retail Sales-Retailers is at $489.7 billion, Food Services & Drinking Places $51.2 billion, making Advance December 2020 US Total Retail Sales at $540.9 billion, November 2020 was at $544.6 billion, October 2020 $552.2 billion, December 2019 $525.7 billion. PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of New York says the January 2021 Empire State Manufacturing General Business Conditions Index is at 3.5, December 2020 was at 4.9, November 2020 6.3, January 2020 4.8. “… firms remained optimistic that conditions would improve over the next six months.” PR link.

The U of Michigan Preliminary January 2021 Consumer Sentiment Index is at 79.2, December 2020 was at 80.7, November 2020 76.9, January 2020 99.8. “Consumer sentiment posted trivial declines in early January despite the horrendous rise in covid-19 deaths, the insurrection, and the impeachment of Trump.” PR link.

***Thursday, January 14

Alphabet(PBR12 $GOOG)’s Google unit completes $2.1 billion cash acquisition of Fitbit(PBR971 $FIT). PR link.

FannieMae(PBR23) and FreddieMac(PBR41) get US Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Dept of the US Treasury approval to continue to retain earnings, says retained earnings alone are insufficient to adequately capitalize the companies, can raise private capital and exit conservatorship once certain conditions are met. FHFA PR link.

Pfizer(PBR63 $PFE) gets US FDA approval for supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for XALKORI® (crizotinib) for the treatment of pediatric patients 1 year of age and older and young adults with relapsed or refractory, systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) that is anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive. PR link.

Cisco(PBR66 $CSCO) to acquire designer and manufacturer of high-speed, optical interconnect technologies Acacia Communications for $115.00/share(original offer was $70.00/share), around $4.3 billion cash(original was around $2.6 billion), to close in 1Q21. PR link.

Leidos(PBR280 $LDOS) completes $215 million cash acquisition of Reston, VA based 1901 Group, a leading provider for managed IT services and cloud solutions in the private and public market with 26 locations across the US. PR link.

Newmont Goldcorp(PBR318 $NEM) approves up to $1.0 billion share repurchase program to be completed over next 18 months. PR link.

WW(PBR972) and Serta in partnership to offer holistic wellness solutions for the new year, in exclusive through 03/31/21 with Sam’s Club Serta mattress purchasers to receive 3 free months of WW’s Digital subscription service, service to include other mattress retailers later. PR link.

Monster Beverage(PBR611 $MNST) appoints CFO Hilton H. Schlosberg as Co-CEO with Chairman/CEO Rodney C. Sacks, EVP/Finance Thomas J. Kelly becomes CFO. PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the Preliminary December 2020 US Import Price Index is at +0.9%, November 2020 was at +0.2%, October 2020 -0.1%, December 2019 +0.2%; the Preliminary December 2020 US Export Price Index is at +1.1%, November 2020 was at +0.7%, October 2020 +0.2%, December 2019 -0.2%; Year-to-Year Import Price Index is at -0.3%, Export Price Index +0.2%. PR link.

***Wednesday, January 13

T-Mobile US(PBR71) signs five-year, multi-billion-dollar agreements with both Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) to continue advancing and expanding the nation’s largest 5G network. PR link.

Qualcomm(PBR126 $QCOM) to acquire Santa Clara, CA based CPU and technology design team, with industry-leading expertise in high performance processors, Systems on a Chip (SoC) and power management for compute-intensive devices and applications, NUVIA, for $1.4 billion. PR link.

MasterCard(PBR184 $MA) credit cards to be issued by Synchrony Financial(PBR162 $SYF) for co-branded Mastercard credit and prepaid debit cards for Walgreens(PBR18 $WBA), will closely connect with Walgreens new customer loyalty program, myWalgreens, launched in 11/20. PR link.

Molson Coors(PBR294 $TAP) and HEXO Corp joint venture Truss CBD USA launches Veryvell™ Sparkling CBD Water in Colorado. PR link.

Dropbox(PBR943 $DBX) in letter from CEO to employees says it is reducting its global workforce by 315 people, around 11% of the workforce, new strategies being implemented to remain competitive. PR link.

Veeva Systems(PBR996) gets shareholders vote to become the first publicly held company to become a public benefit company, will remain a for-profit corporation but will be legally responsible to balance the interests of multiple stakeholders, including customers, employees, partners, and shareholders, to be effective 02/01/21. PR link.

Intel(PBR45 $INTC) appoints former employee and current VMWare CEO since 2012 Pat Gelsinger as its new CEO and member of the Board, effective 02/15/21, will succeed Bob Swan. PR link.

The US Dept of the Treasury says the December 2020 US Federal Government Receipts is at $346.1 billion, Outlays $489.7 billion, for a December 2020 Deficit of $143.6 billion, November 2020 Deficit was at $145.3 billion, October 2020 $284.1 billion, December 2019 $13.3 billion; December 2020 YTD(3 months) Deficit is $572.9 billion, December 2019 YTD Deficit was at $356.6 billion. PR link.

The US Federal Reserve releases the Beige Book for data through 01/04/21, says, “… economic activity increased modestly… Although the prospect of COVID-19 vaccines has bolstered business optimism for 2021 growth, this has been tempered by concern over the recent virus resurgence and the implications for near-term business conditions.” PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the Preliminary December 2020 US Current Average Earnings/Hour is at $29.81, Average Hours Worked/Week at 34.7, for Current Average Weekly Earnings of $1,034.41, November 2020 was at $1,029.38, October 2020 $1,026.25, December 2019 $973.09. PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the December 2020 US Consumer Price Index-Urban is at +0.4%, November 2020 was at +0.2%, October 2020 +0.0%, December 2019 +0.2%, Last 12 Months(Unadjusted) is at +1.2%. PR link.

***Tuesday, January 12

Walmart(PBR1 $WMT) creating a new fintech service as majority owner in a partnership with global investment firm Ribbit Capital. PR link.

General Motors(PBR19 $GM) launches BrightDrop, will offer an ecosystem of electric first-to-last-mile products, software and services to empower delivery and logistics companies to move goods more efficiently; electric pallet, the EP1, will be available in early 2021, and its electric light commercial vehicle, the EV600, will be on roads in late 2021. PR link.

VISA(PBR142 $V) $5.3 billion acquisition of financial apps developer Plaid terminated by mutual agreement after lawsuit by US Dept of Justice. PR link.

Ally Financial(PBR262 $ALLY) authorizes an up to $1.6 billion share repurchase program for 2021, based on results of stress test by US Federal Reserve in 12/20. PR link.

Royal Caribbean(PBR285 $RCL) is suspending almost all sailings through 04/30/21. PR link.

Pioneer Natural Resources(PBR328 $PXD) completes $7.6 billion acquisition of Parsley Energy(PBR904 $PE). PR link.

Regeneron(PBR383 $REGN) gets US government order of up to 1.25 million doses of all finished doses of the casirivimab and imdevimab COVID-19 antibody cocktail, to be delivered by 06/30/21. PR link.

Steris(PBR739 $STE) to acquire $1 billion in 2020 sales global provider of infection prevention products and services primarily to endoscopy and dental customers Cantel Medical Corp (NYSE:CMD) for $200.46/share stock & cash, equity value of around $3.6 billion, to close by 06/30/21. PR link.

Synhrony Financial(PBR162 $SYF) CEO Margaret Keane to become Executive Chairman, President Brian Doubles to become President/CEO in leadership transition scheduled for 04/01/21. PR link.

Las Vegas Sands(PBR226 $LVS) Founder/Chairman/CEO Sheldon Adelson dies at age 87 of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the Preliminary November 2020 US Job Openings-Private is at 5,858,000, Government 669,000, for November 2020 US Total Job Openings of 6,527,000, October 2020 was at 6,632,000, September 2020 6,494,000, November 2019 6,793,000. PR link.

CoreLogic says the October 2020 US Housing Mortgages 30 Days or More Delinquent are at 6.1%, September 2020 was at 6.3%, August 2020 6.6%, October 2019 3.7%. “After a financially challenging year, the healthy housing market and new stimulus measures are helping borrowers get back on their feet. Given these variables, we should begin to see a reduced flow of homes in delinquency in the coming months.” PR link.

***Monday, January 11

Ford(PBR13 $F) to serve customers in the South America region with a portfolio of connected and increasingly electrified SUVs, pickups and commercial vehicles sourced from Argentina, Uruguay and other markets, as Ford Brazil ceases production operations in 2021. https://bit.ly/3qeSv8PPR link.

Bristol-Myers Squibb(PBR109 $BMY) authorizes an additional $2 billion for share repurchases, program balance is now around $6.4 billion. http://bit.ly/39qQTSOPR link.

Baxter(PBR273 $BAX)’s BioPharma Solutions unit gets an agreement to provide sterile manufacturing services for NVX-CoV2373, Novavax’ COVID-19 recombinant nanoparticle vaccine candidate with Matrix-M™ adjuvant, for production and distribution in the UK and European markets, vaccine currently in Phase 3 study. http://bit.ly/39vbzJ8PR link.

Office Depot(PBR293 $ODP) confirms it has received a proposal to be acquired by parent of Staples and a portfolio company of Sycamore Partners, Board review is underway. http://bit.ly/3qltYzfPR link.

Molson Coors(PBR294 $TAP) signs exclusive distribution deal with a team including Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Dany Garcia, Dave Rienzi and John Shulman, to launch ZOA, a non-alcohol energy drink made with better-for-you, natural ingredients. http://bit.ly/3i8TZyEPR link.

NCR(PBR422 $NCR) confirms it has submitted an offer to acquire Cardtronics (Nasdaq: CATM) for $39.00/share cash. http://bit.ly/3nDLBs4PR link.

GameStop(PBR449 $GME) enters into agreement with one of its largest stockholders, RC Ventures, appoints 3 new directors to the Board, Board now has 13 directors, will be reduced to 9 at next annual meeting in 06/21. http://bit.ly/2Ll9xDIPR link.

Chipotle(PBR489 $CMG) to have its first national hiring event of 2021, called ‘Coast To Coast Career Day’ on Thursday, 01/14/21, has a goal of employing 15,000 new team members for its restaurants across the US. http://chip.tl/35AiTCuPR link.

KKR(PBR610 $KKR) to acquire a majority stake of the music catalog of three-time Grammy winner Ryan Tedder and OneRepublic, includes nearly 500 songs written, recorded or produced by Tedder for OneRepublic. http://bit.ly/3oHkZI1PR link.

Hillenbrand(PBR813 $HI) to sell its Abel Pumps unit to IDEX(PBR817) for $103.5 million cash. http://bit.ly/38BUhuHPR link.

***Friday, January 8

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 1 of 2021 ending 01/08/21:

DJIA ends Week 1 at record 31,097.97, +1.61% from last Friday and MTD/QTD/YTD, +0.00% from record 31,097.97 set 01/08/21.

NASDAQ ends Week 1 at record 13,201.98, +2.43% from last Friday and MTD/QTD/YTD, +0.00% from record 13,201.98 set 01/08/21.

SPX ends Week 1 at record 3,824.68, +1.83% from last Friday and MTD/QTD/YTD, +0.00% from record 3,824.68 set 01/08/21.

The Week 1 of 2021 News Summary:

Coronavirus Pandemic: As of Friday, 01/08/21, at 21:21PM Eastern US, the John Hopkins University CSSE unit says there are now 88,845,495 confirmed cases globally with 1,913,379 deaths, an increase from last Friday of 97,822, which is 33,265 more than last Friday. For the US it is 21,862,771 confirmed cases and 368,769 deaths, an increase from last Friday of 23,754, which is 8,985 more than last Friday. The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccinations are taking place at a slower pace than expected as states grapple with priorities and logistics.

US Presidential Transition: The apparently unexpected attempted insurrection with a violent and destructive attack on the Capital Building on Wednesday, January 6th, was unprecedented and an historic event. After the Capital Building was cleared the Congress resumed its traditional count and certification of the Electoral College. As expected, it was confirmed that Joe Biden is President-Elect and Kamala Harris Vice President-Elect. Additional nominees for high level posts are being named and the transition continues with an additional focus on security issues in Washington DC.

US Economy: Overall economic data was positive, especially for manufacturing and services industries. However, the ADP private sector employee count took a bigger than expected drop, weekly initial job claims increased as well, and the US governments civilian labor force reports showed a decline in employment as well, all the result of an increase in COVID-19 related concerns. The Federal Open Market Committee minutes from its last meeting indicated a concensus that the US economy is growing modestly at best, resulting in ongoing actions and policies being implemented to help mitigate economic fragility concerns.

International News: . The UK and European Union continue to gently walk through the first week of Brexit, which is also more complicated because of a new more contagious variant of COVID-19 virus resulting in more lockdowns and restrictions.

US Stock Exchanges: On Monday The Stock Market Bear viciously clawed and loudly growled to start the new year and week. But The Stock Market Bull responded with courage and with conviction charged focused and determined through the rest of Week 1 with the result of ending at record levels for all 3 major US stock indices, for a 3-0 Week 1 victory, a pretty amazing accomplishment considering the historic midweek attack on the Capital Building. An unpredictable first week for 2021 is in the books. Does it set the tone for the rest of the year as we continue to grapple with a pandemic, the economic fallout, and with a new administration taking over very soon?

The Week 1 of 2021 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 1 week
The Stock Market Bear: 0 weeks
Mixed Results: 0 weeks

Domtar(PBR521 $UFS) to sell its Personal Care business to American Industrial Partners for $920 million, is reinforcing its focus on building an industry-leading Paper, Pulp and Packaging company, to close by end of 1Q21. PR link.

Roku(PBR992 $ROKU) says its Roku TV™ is the number one selling smart TV operating system in 2020 with 38% of market share in the US and 31% in Canada. PR link.

Roku(PBR992 $ROKU) has acquired the exclusive global distribution rights to Quibi‘s shows, The Roku Channel will become the exclusive place to stream more than 75 premium shows and documentaries that Quibi created in conjunction with Hollywood’s leading studios and production companies, will make the content available for free on an ad-supported basis in 2021 to all Roku users. PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the December 2020 US Civilians Employed is at 149,830,000, Unemployed is 10,737,000, for an Unemployment Rate of 6.7%, November 2020 was at 6.7%, October 2020 6.9%, December 2019 3.6%. PR link.

The US Federal Reserve says the Preliminary November 2020 US Consumer Credit Outstanding-Revolving is at $978.8 billion, Non-Revolving $3,198.0 billion, for November 2020 Total US Consumer Credit Outstanding of $4,176.8 billion, October 2020 was at $4,161.5 billion, September 2020 $4,157.0 billion, November 2019 $4,170.5 billion. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says Preliminary November 2020 US Wholesale Sales-Durables is at $243.1 billion, Non-Durables $253.6 billion, for November 2020 US Total Wholesale Sales of $496.7 billion, October 2020 was at $496.0 billion, September 2020 $487.7 billion, November 2019 $497.9 billion. PR link.

FannieMae says the December 2020 Home Purchase Sentiment Index is at 74.0, November 2020 was at 80.0, October 2020 81.7, December 2019 91.7. “Both the ‘Good Time to Sell’ and ‘Good Time to Buy’ components fell significantly, with respondents overwhelmingly noting the unfavourability of economic conditions.” PR link.

***Thursday, January 7

Boeing(PBR40 $BA) reaches agreement with the US Dept of Justice, resolves investigation relating to the evaluation of the Boeing 737 MAX airplane by the US Federal Aviation Administration, provides for $2.5 billion in payments for fines, compensation to affected families of 2 crashes, and customer financial losses. PR link.

Albertsons(PBR55 $ACI) says it is the first American grocer to pilot an automated and contactless grocery PickUp kiosk, located at one of its Jewel-Osco stores in Chicago, features an automated, temperature-controlled kiosk, provides a contactless pickup experience, for customers who select the “Kiosk PickUp” option who will then have 2-hr time slots during which to pick up their groceries. PR link.

DXC Technology(PBR161 $DXC) confirms it has received an unsolicited, preliminary and non-binding proposal from France based public company Atos SE to acquire all DXC Technology shares, Board is evaluating proposal. PR link.

Wayfair(PBR336 $W) says that all US employees will now make at least $15/hour, took effect 01/03/21, applies to full-time, part-time and seasonal employees, will result in an increase for 40% of its employees. PR link.

Constellation Brands(PBR337 $STZ) in 3Q21 report says it has authorized a new $2 billion share repurchase program, has $1.9 billion available from previous authorization. PR link.

Devon Energy(PBR458 $DVN) completes all stock merger of equals with WPX Energy(NYSE: WPX), creates a $12 billion enterprise value company, builds a dominant Delaware Basin acreage position totaling 400,000 net acres. PR link.

Tiffany(PBR592 $TIF) $135/share $16.2 billion acquisition by LVMH is completed. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says the Preliminary November 2020 US Exports-Goods is at $127.7 billion, Services $56.4 billion, for November 2020 Total US Exports of $184.1 billion; Preliminary November 2020 US Imports-Goods is at $214.1 billion, Services $38.2 billion, for November 2020 Total US Imports of $252.3 billion; November 2020 Total US Deficit is at $68.2 billion, November 2020 Total US Deficit YTD(11 months) is at $604.9 billion, November 2019 Total US Deficit YTD was at $530.7 billion. PR link.

The Institute for Supply Management December 2020 US Services PMI Index(>50 economy is growing) is at 57.2%, November 2020 was at 55.9%, October 2020 56.6%, December 2019 55.0%. “Most respondents are cautiously optimistic about business conditions with the recent approval and impending distribution of vaccines…” PR link.

***Wednesday, January 6

Amazon(PBR2 $AMZN) announces the Housing Equity Fund, a more than $2 billion commitment to preserve and create over 20,000 affordable housing units in Washington State’s Puget Sound region; Arlington, VA; and Nashville, TN. PR link.

CVS Health(PBR5 $CVS) provides update on on COVID-19 vaccinations in long-term care facilities per partnership with the US federal and state governments, will be providing services to nearly 31,000 assisted living facilites. PR link.

UnitedHealth(PBR7 $UNH)’s OptumInsight unit to acquire Change Healthcare (NASDAQ: CHNG) for $25.75/share cash, will create a health care technology leader to provide software and data analytics, technology-enabled services and research, advisory and revenue cycle management offerings. PR link.

AmerisourceBergen(PBR9 $ABC) to acquire the majority of Walgreens Boots Alliance(PBR18 $WBA)’s Alliance Healthcare businesses for approximately $6.5 billion, to close by 09/30/21. PR link.

Walgreens Boots Alliance(PBR18 $WBA) has accelerated its investment in VillageMD to support the opening of 600 to 700 Village Medical at Walgreens primary care clinics in more than 30 US markets within the next four years, with the intent to build hundreds more thereafter. PR link.

T-Mobile(PBR71 $TMUS) in preliminary 4Q20 report says it had 5.5 million postpaid net new adds in 2020, 5G network now reaching 280 million people and covering 106 million people with Ultra Capacity 5G’s super-fast speeds. PR link.

Carnival Corp(PBR153 $CCL)’s Princess Cruises extends pause on all cruises through at least through 05/14/21. PR link.

Carnival Corp(PBR153 $CCL)’s Holland America extends pause on all cruises through at least 04/30/21. PR link.

Truist Financial(PBR211 $TFC) sold its $10 billion in plan assets institutional 401(k) investment advisory services business to OneDigital Investment Advisors on 12/31/20, will sell its institutional 401(k) recordkeeping businesses to Ascensus and Empower Retirement in 1Q21, each with $5 billion in plan assets, terms not disclosed. PR link.

Vistra Energy(PBR258 $VST)’s Moss Landing Power Plant in Monterey County, CA, 300 megawatts/1,200 megawatt-hours, lithium-ion battery storage system came online 12/11/20, largest such facility in the world, to add 100 MW/ 09/200 MWh in August, 2021. PR link.

NVIDIA(PBR285 $NVDA)‘s $40 billion cash and stock acquisition of AI development Cambridge, UK based company Arm Limited from SoftBank to be investigated by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority starting later this year, says it will work closely with other competition authorities around the world to carefully consider the impact of the deal and ensure that it doesn’t ultimately result in consumers facing more expensive or lower quality products. PR link.

Wyndham Destinations(PBR615 $WYND) has acquired the Travel + Leisure brand and all related assets from Meredith Corp(PBR773 $MDP), will change its name to Travel + Leisure Co in early 2021, start trading as NYSE: TNL in mid February 2021, Meredith will continue to operate and monetize Travel + Leisure’s media across multiple channels, including its advertising and marketing activities, under a 30-year royalty-free, renewable licensing relationship. PR link.

Roku(PBR992 $ROKU) says its Roku TV™ is the number one selling smart TV operating system in 2020 with 38% of market share in the US and 31% in Canada. PR link.

New York Community Bank(PBR912 $NYCB) appoints Michael J. Levine as Non-Executive Chairman, succeeds Dominick Ciampa who remains on the Board. PR link.

The Federal Open Marked Committee releases the minutes from its December 15-16, 2020 meeting. “… Overall financial conditions remained accommodative, in part reflecting policy measures to support the economy and the flow of credit to U.S. households and businesses. Members agreed that the Federal Reserve was committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals. Members also stated that the path of the economy would depend significantly on the course of the virus. In addition, members agreed that the ongoing public health crisis would continue to weigh on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term and was posing considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term.” PR link.

ADP says the Preliminary December 2020 US Change in Non-Farm Private Employment is -123,000, -13,000 from Small Businesses(1-49 employees), +37,000 from Mid-Size Businesses(50-499 employees), and -147,000 from Large Businesses(500 or more employees); there were -18,000 jobs from the Goods Producing Sector, -105,000 from the Service Providing Sector. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says the Preliminary November 2020 US Manufacturers New Orders-Durables is at $244.4 billion, Non-Durables $242.8 billion, Total $487.2 billion, October 2020 was at $482.2 billion, September 2020 $475.9 billion, November 2019 $490.7 billion. PR link.

IHS Markit says the December 2020 US Composite PMI Output Index is at 55.3, November 2020 was at 58.6, October 2020 56.3, December 2019 52.7. “… businesses remain much more confident about the outlook in a year’s time than before the successful vaccine developments, reflecting greater optimism for prospects of life returning to normal in the second half of 2021.” PR link.

***Tuesday, January 5

Amazon(PBR2 $AMZN) is making its first-ever purchase of eleven Boeing 767-300 aircraft, includes seven aircraft from Delta and four aircraft from WestJet, which will join the network by 2022. PR link.

Mondelez(PBR111 $MDLZ) has acquired Hu (as in “Human”) Master Holdings, the parent company of Hu Products, a fast-growing US-based snacking company offering high-quality snacks made from simple ingredients, terms not disclosed. PR link.

Constellation Brands(PBR337 $STZ) completes divestiture of a portion of Constellation’s wine and spirits portfolio to E. & J. Gallo Winery for around $810 million, in a separate transaction divests the Nobilo wine brand to E. & J. Gallo for around $130 million. PR link.

Coty(PBR563 $COTY) completes $200 million acquisition for 20% ownership in Kardashian West’s business to further develop it globally, skincare line remains on track for an expected launch in fiscal year 2022. PR link.

Hologic(PBR648 $HOLX) to acquire Biotheranostics, a privately held, commercial-stage company that provides molecular diagnostic tests for breast and metastatic cancers, for approximately $230 million, to close in 02/21. PR link.

Illumina(PBR666 $ILMN) and Helix partner and with support from the CDC to augment national surveillance infrastructure in the US to track the emergence and prevalence of novel strains of SARS-CoV-2 . PR link.

WW(PBR972 $WW) gets partnership with The Vitamin Shoppe, launches co-branded nutritional supplements, introduces select member-favorite WW snacks and protein boosters to The Vitamin Shoppe, as well as the opportunity to purchase WW memberships through The Vitamin Shoppe’s 715+ retail locations and online. PR link.

Qualcomm(PBR126 $QCOM) elects President Cristiano Amon to become CEO, to succeed to succeed Steve Mollenkopf who is retiring after 26 years with the company, to be effective 06/30/21. PR link.

Public Storage(PBR774 $PSA) reaches agreement with major stockholder Elliott Management, adds two new independent directors to the Board. PR link.

The Institute for Supply Management December 2020 US Manufacturing PMI Index(>50 is economy expanding) is at 60.7%, November 2020 was at 57.5%, October 2020 59.3%, December 2019 47.8%. “Manufacturing performed well for the seventh straight month, with demand, consumption and inputs registering strong growth compared to November. Labor market difficulties at panelists’ companies and their suppliers will continue to restrict the manufacturing economy expansion until the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis ends…” PR link.

The PurdueU/CME Group December 2020 US Ag Economy Barometer Composite Index is at 174, November 2020 was at 167, October 2020 183, December 2019 150. “Farmer sentiment rises as income prospects improve, concerns about key policy issues remain.” PR link.

***Monday, January 4

Amazon(PBR2 $AMZN), Berkshire Hathaway(PBR6 $BRK.B) and JPMorgan Chase(PBR24 $JPM) healthcare joint venture to make healthcare more efficient and cost effective, Haven Healthcare, is disbanding after 3 years. CNBC PR link.

Alphabet(PBR12 $GOOG)’s Google unit has 400 workers signing on to form the Alphabet Workers Union, is supported by the Communications Workers of America, and is open to full-time and contract employees. CNET PR link.

Centene(PBR42 $CNC) to acquire Magellan Health(PBR411 $MGLN) for $95/share, enterprise value of around $2.2 billion, brings together the companies’ complementary capabilities in behavioral health, specialty healthcare and pharmacy management, will establish one of the nation’s largest behavioral health platforms across 41 million unique members, to close in 2H21. PR link.

Albertsons(PBR55 $ACI) grocery store units in S California turning to a third-party delivery service using independent contractors by the end of 02/21. KNOCK PR link.

ViacomCBS(PBR103 $VIAC) gets new multi-year distribution agreement that adds more content from ViacomCBS’ leading portfolio of news, entertainment and sports networks to Hulu’s live TV subscription streaming service, Hulu + Live TV, terms not disclosed. PR link.

Tesla(PBR118 $TSLA) reports it delivered 180,570 vehicles in 4Q20, 499,550 vehicles for all of 2020, Model Y production in Shanghai has begun, with deliveries expected to begin shortly. PR link.

MGM Resorts(PBR241 $MGM) confirms it has made an offer to buy Entain plc, its partner in the US sports betting and iGaming market, Entain has said offer undervalues it, asks for more details. PR link.

MGM Resorts(PBR241 $MGM) launches its BetMGM sports betting mobile app in Iowa. PR link.

AES Corp(PBR302 $AES) to sell its entire 51% equity interest in the 1,242 MW Mong Duong 2 coal-fired power plant in Vietnam to a consortium led by a US-based investor, to close late 2021/early 2022. PR link.

Apache Corp(PBR450 $APA) to create a holding company structure, to be called APA Corporation, will replace Apache Corporation as the public company trading name, will continue to use ticker NASDAQ: APA, to be completed in 1H21. PR link.

Herbalife(PBR544 $HLF) repurchases $600 million in shares at $48.05/share from Icahn Enterprises(PBR319 $IEP), Icahn will then own around 8 million shares, represents around 6% of all common shares. PR link.

Dentsply Sirona(PBR627 $XRAY) has acquired Byte, a rapidly growing direct-to-consumer, doctor-directed clear aligner company with expected revenues of $200 million in 2021, for $1.04 billion cash, closed on 12/31/20. PR link.

Teledyne(PBR719 $TDY) to acquire Oregon based FLIR Systems(NASDAQ:FLIR), a global industrial technology company focused on intelligent sensing solutions for defense and industrial applications with nearly $2 billion in annual revenues, for $56/share, around $8.0 billion cash and stock, to close in mid 2021. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says the Preliminary November 2020 US Construction Spending Annual Rate-Residential is at $667.0 billion, Non-Residential $792.5 billion, for November 2020 US Total Construction Spending Annual Rate of $1,459.4 billion, October 2020 was at $1,446.9 billion, September 2020 $1,424.0 billion, November 2019 $1,342.5 billion. PR link.

IHS Markit says the December 2020 US Manufacturing PMI Index is at 57.1, November 2020 was at 56.7, October 2020 53.4, December 2019 52.4. “Firms … remain highly positive about the outlook for the year ahead, anticipating that vaccine roll-outs will help drive a further recovery in 2021, although some of November’s post-election exuberance has been tamed by the recent rise in virus case numbers, suggesting the near-term outlook will remain challenging.” PR link.

***Thursday, December 31

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 53 of 2020 and year ending 12/31/20:

DJIA ends Week 53 and 2020 at record 30,606.48, +1.35% from last Friday, +3.27% MTD, +10.17% QTD, +7.25% YTD, +0.00% from record 30,606.48 set 12/31/20.

NASDAQ ends Week 53 and 2020 at 12,888.28, +0.65% from last Friday, +5.65% MTD, +15.41% QTD, +43.64% YTD, -0.09% from record 12,899.42 set 12/28/20.

SPX ends Week 53 and 2020 at record 3,756.07, +1.43% from last Friday, +3.71% MTD, +11.69% QTD, +16.26% YTD, +0.00% from record 3,756.07 set 12/31/20.

The Week 53 of 2020 News Summary:

Coronavirus Pandemic: The year 2020 has ended and the final tallies are in. As of Thursday, 12/31/20, at 15:23PM Eastern US, the John Hopkins University CSSE unit says there are now 83,316,999 confirmed cases globally with 1,815,557 deaths, an increase from last Friday of 64,557, which is -14,671 from last Friday. For the US it is 19,923,169 confirmed cases and 345,015 deaths, an increase from last Friday of 14,769, which is -2,442 from last Friday. The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccinations started a week ago to mixed success because of logistical issues.

US Presidential Transition: President-Elect Joe Biden continues to nominate high level officials. The Republicans are running out of time to contest allegations of voter fraud as courts continue to rule lawsuits as not valid. President Trump has still not conceded the race. The US House will continue to have a Democrat majority. The control of the US Senate will be decided by two US Senate runoff elections to be held on January 5 in Georgia.

US Economy: The number of weekly initial unemployment insurance claims fell again. Other indicators show a modestly growing economy. While the US House passed a bill authorizing a $2,000 benefit per qualified person, it appears the US Senate will not be approving the measure. The $600 benefit is already being sent out.

International News: The UK approves the Brexit deal. The Coronavirus Pandemic worsens in the European Union, more lockdowns and restrictions are being put in place.

US Stock Exchanges: It was a shortened trading week of 4 days, trading volumes were low, and it was a non-volatile week, with The Stock Market Bull having a nice day on Monday. The Stock Market Bear made a half-hearted appearance on Tuesday, and then The Stock Market Bull closed out Week 53 and 2020 with records for all 3 major US stock exchanges during the week, including 2 of them on the last day. It was a strange and dramatic year that started strong, then took a huge dip because of the Coronavirus Pandemic, and then had a strong recovery, The Stock Market Bull came out a clear and convincing victor in 2020. Now 2021 awaits, expert prognosticators are all over the place from doomsday to bright clear shiny days forecasts. Enjoy the long weekend to start the New Year, get a good rest, and then get ready to ride the 2021 rollercoaster!

The Week 53 of 2020 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 26 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 19 weeks
Mixed Results: 8 weeks

The December of 2020 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 7 months
The Stock Market Bear: 4 months
Mixed Results: 1 month

Check out the BLOG page for the previous RECAPS and SNAPSHOTS posts.

Click here to follow The PBR1000 on Twitter!

PBRMarketTools.com provides news, data, and analysis on 1,000 of the largest publicly held companies with primary operations in the US. The data and analysis is included in The PBR1000 Monthly Snapshots, an MS-Excel workbook with 15 snapshot worksheets, 28 rankings, and over 200 fields of data and information on each company. Click here to find out more!

PBRMarketTools.com is an independent business intelligence and analytics service. It is not, nor is it affiliated with, any financial advisory, stock brokerage or related firm.

(Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Filed Under: Recaps Tagged With: acquisitions, Analytics, Business Intelligence, business news, Coronavirus, COVID19, Economy, Institutional Investor, Investing, Investors, Leadership, Market Research, mergers, PBRMarketTools, Rankings, Recap, Stock Market, Stocks, The PBR1000, WallStreet, Wealth Management

The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks December 2019 12 Month Report Card

January 20, 2021 by admin

The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks December 2019 Report Card

How did the stock analysts do in their 12 month forecast of December 31, 2019? You might be surprised!

By Larry C. Paxton

Welcome to a review of the The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks for December 2019.

Of course, since December 2019 a lot has happened that was not predicted and not part of their analysis at that time:

The world and the US was hit with the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to take lives in large numbers, has affected economies worldwide, resulted in millions of lost jobs, and stressed healthcare, education, and businesses beyond imagination, with major uncertainties that remain today for individuals and organizations of all types.
There was a lot of civil unrest in the US from the unfortunate and graphic death of a black man, George Floyd, by a police officer who forcefully put his knee down on his neck for several minutes. Other incidents followed that has made the US take more seriously racial injustice issues and accentuated concerns about income and opportunity inequalities.
There was a very contentious US Presidential campaign that exacerbated how fractured the US is politically, has resulted in concerns about how social and news media can be used to manipulate information and ideas, and brought up questions about elections policies, how elections are conducted and the accuracy of results.

There is a lot more that can be said, but this is not meant to be an opinions post. It is a piece focused on the review of the recommendations stock analysts came up with in December 2019, and the actual results 12 months later in December 2020.

Creating The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks List for December 2019

The starting point is the prestigious The PBR1000, produced monthly by PBRMarketTools. To be included in The PBR1000 the 1,000 companies must meet the following criteria:

The companies must be publicly traded on the NYSE, NYSE American or NASDAQ stock exchanges, with a very few temporarily trading on the Over-The-Counter market because they are transitioning from bankruptcy.
They must be headquartered in the US, or have primary operations in the US.
They must have generated at least $1 billion in revenues in their most recent full fiscal year.
They must file an annual 10-K form with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in US dollars
Each of the 1,000 companies is given a primary ranking based on revenues, with the company having the highest revenue amount ranked 1(currently Walmart). There are 27 secondary rankings in The PBR1000 based on other criteria as well.

Each month the 12 month estimates and recommendations by stock analysts are updated on The PBR1000. The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks list for December 2019 was then created using the following process:

The PBR1000 was sorted by stock analyst recommendations.
Those stocks rated a “Buy” were then further sorted by the number of “Buy” recommendations.
A cut off of at least 15 “Buy” recommendations was then sorted by each stock’s weighted average, with a Buy being worth 5 points, Overweight 4 points, Hold 3 points, Underweight 2 points and Sell 1 point. The maximum weighted average is 5.00. For a stock to achieve a “Buy” recommendation its weighted average must be greater than 4.50.
The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks list was finalized by doing a descending sort of the weighted averages.

Characteristics of The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks on December 31, 2019

Revenue rankings were from 5(Amazon) to 926(Splunk)
Market capitalization(company stock value) ranged from $5.77 billion to $1,202.22 billion, total market capitalization for all The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks was $5,082.91 billion
Weighted averages ranged from 4.96 to 4.60 on the 5.00 scale
14 companies traded on the NYSE, 10 companies on NASDAQ, 1 company on the NYSE American
10 companies were energy related companies, 9 companies were technology related companies, 3 were financial services companies, 2 were semiconductor chip manufacturers, 1 was a travel services company
Per share stock prices on 12/31/19 ranged from $12.83 to $1,847.84, the total for all 25 stocks was $6,007.60
12 month targeted stock prices ranged from $19.95 to $2,178.00, the total for all 25 stocks was $6,823.77
The total average forecasted 12 month change was +$816.17, for a percent change of +13.59%

Actual Results for The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks on December 31, 2020

One energy related company was acquired during the 12 month period. This analysis is based on the 24 remaining companies.
One company did a stock split during the 12 month period, which is taken into account in this analysis.
Per share stock prices on 12/31/20 ranged from $6.18 to $3,256.93, the total for all 25 stocks was $8,091.99
The 12 month actual difference was +$2,084.39, for a +34.70% change
Actual 12 month change ranged from -51.3%(the travel services company) to +78.99%(a semiconductor chip manufacturer), the median was +13.85%
12 companies exceeded the forecasted 12 month average change, 12 companies did not
The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks achieved a +34.70% gain over the 12 months while the 3 major US stock indices had the following results: DJIA +7.25%, NASDAQ +43.64%, S&P500 +16.26%

Conclusions, Observations, Validations and Realities

If you had bought 1 share of each of The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks at the closing price on December 31, 2019, you would have achieved a +34.70% gain at the close on December 31, 2020, an excellent return
The stock analysts +13.85% median result was in line with the forecasted +13.59% 12 month target, but there was a wide fluctuation on both sides of the median
It is difficult to forecast out 12 months with any great accuracy, there are just too many variables and uncertainties, but it can be useful and helpful in providing some guidance
It does demonstrate that The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks is a valid methodology and process for that particular month. We look forward to further demonstrating this for additional months in future blog posts.
Our demonstration account, called The Charlie Fund, uses the popular “Buy & Hold with Consistent Monthly Investment Strategy” with the monthly The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks as the primary research tool. It achieved a +46.62% return in 2020, a further validation of the methodology.
There are no guarantees! The reality is that there will always be ups and downs in the stock market and people make stocks buy, hold and sell decisions based on a wide range logical and emotional criteria, input from knowledgeable hard-working experts and well meaning friends, and if the sky is blue today. But the historical data is pretty convincing that stocks will trend up at an above average investment rate over the long haul.

Additional Information

The details of this summary, including company names and the over 200 fields of information for each company, were extracted from the updated The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks MS-Excel worksheet for December 31, 2019, and has been distributed to The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks Subscribers for their personal use and further research
For characteristics of the most recent monthly The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks go to The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks subscribe page.

We are always interested in your feedback, which you can provide on the Contact Us page.

Empowering Shrewd Investors Through The PBR1000 Analytics!

Filed Under: Report Card Tagged With: Analytics, Business Intelligence, DJIA, Economy, Institutional Investor, Investing, Investors, Market Research, Money, NASDAQ, NYSE, PBRMarketTools, Personal Finance, Portfolio Management, Rankings, Recap, S&P 500, Stock Market, Stocks, Summary, The PBR1000, The PBR25, Trading, WallStreet, Wealth Management

The PBR1000 December 2020 Stocks & Commodities Snapshots

January 3, 2021 by admin

The PBR1000 for December 2020: The Stock Market Bull Wins 2020

2020 was quite a year for The Stock Market Bull, started with a big jump, took a big pandemic dive, worked his way out during economic uncertainties and a contentious US presidential election cycle, and ended up the year in record breaking style.

By Larry C. Paxton

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 53 of 2020 and year ending 12/31/20:

DJIA ends Week 53 and 2020 at record 30,606.48, +1.35% from last Friday, +3.27% MTD, +10.17% QTD, +7.25% YTD, +0.00% from record 30,606.48 set 12/31/20.

NASDAQ ends Week 53 and 2020 at 12,888.28, +0.65% from last Friday, +5.65% MTD, +15.41% QTD, +43.64% YTD, -0.09% from record 12,899.42 set 12/28/20.

SPX ends Week 53 and 2020 at record 3,756.07, +1.43% from last Friday, +3.71% MTD, +11.69% QTD, +16.26% YTD, +0.00% from record 3,756.07 set 12/31/20.

The Week 53 of 2020 News Summary:

International News: The UK approves the Brexit deal. The Coronavirus Pandemic worsens in the European Union, more lockdowns and restrictions are being put in place.

The Week 53 of 2020 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 26 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 19 weeks
Mixed Results: 8 weeks

The December of 2020 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 7 months
The Stock Market Bear: 4 months
Mixed Results: 1 month

The December 2020 US Major Stock Market Exchanges Summary

Number of Trading Days: 22

Number of Gain(+)/Loss(-) Days: DJIA 14+/8-; NASDAQ 15+/7-; SPX 12+/10-.

Record Days: DJIA 5, NASDAQ 10, SPX 7

Longest Gain Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 4 days(12/01-04/20), NASDAQ 4 days(12/03-08/20, 12/14-17/20), and /SPX 3 days(12/15-17/20, 12/23-28/20)

Longest Loss Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 2 days(12/09-10/20), NASDAQ 2 days(12/18-21/20), and SPX 4 days(12/09-14/20)

Big Swing Up Days(>1.00%): 2 days, 12/01/20( N +1.28%, S +1.13%), 12/15/20(D +1.13%, N +1.25%, S +1.29%)

Big Swing Down Days(<-1.00%): 1 day, 12/09/20(N -1.94%)

The PBR1000 December 2020 Snapshots

The following are Top 5 partial tables excerpts from The PBR1000 December 2020 Snapshots. The price for stocks is for the close of trading on December 31, 2020, 1 Month % Chg is compared to November 30, 2020, 12 Months % Chg is compared to December 31, 2019, the 24 Months % Chg is compared to December 31, 2018, and 60 Months % Chg is compared to December 31, 2015. The PBR Rank is by annual revenues.

To get the complete The PBR1000 Snapshots just click here to get your 12 month subscription and automatically download the December 2020 edition with the complete 15 Snapshots and 28 rankings with the bonuses The PBRMarketTools US Monthly Indices Snapshots and The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks.

Table 1(S11): The PBR1000 Top 5 Month Stock Price % Gainers

Table 1 Summary: The range was +79% to -85%. 738 out of 1,000 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of 3.85%, the median was a gain of 4.20%. The DJIA was +3.27%, NASDAQ +5.65%, SPX +3.71%.

Company	PBR Rank	Symbol	Price 12/31/20	Mo % Chg	12 Mos % Chg	24 Mos % Chg	60 Mos % Chg
Peabody Energy	568	BTU	$ 2.41	+79	-74	-92	n/a
RR Donnelly	457	RRD	$ 2.26	+61	-43	-43	-85
Waddell & Reed	998	WDR	$ 25.47	+55	+52	+41	-11
QEP Resources	988	QEP	$ 2.39	+48	-47	-58	-82
SM Energy	948	SM	$ 6.12	+45	-46	-60	-69

Table 2(S12): The PBR1000 Top 5 12 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 2 Summary: The range was +743% to -99%. 553 out of 992 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of 14.00%, the median was a gain of 4.13%. The DJIA was +7.25%, NASDAQ +403.64%, SPX +16.26%.

Company	PBR Rank	Symbol	Price 12/31/20	Mo % Chg	12 Mos % Chg	24 Mos % Chg	60 Mos % Chg
Tesla	118	TSLA	$ 705.67	+24	+743	+960	+1,370
Owens & Minor	332	OMI	$ 27.05	+5	+423	+327	-25
Tupperware	927	TUP	$ 32.39	-4	+278	+3	-42
Square	563	SQ	$ 217.64	+3	+248	+288	+1,563
Twilio	991	TWLO	$ 338.50	+6	+244	+279	n/a

Table 3(S13): The PBR1000 Top 5 24 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 3 Summary: The range was +710% to -99%. 557 out of 983 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of 25.97%. The median was a gain of 7.22%. The DJIA was +16.05%, NASDAQ +66.41%, SPX +31.21%.

Company	PBR Rank	Symbol	Price 12/31/20	Mo % Chg	12 Mos % Chg	24 Mos % Chg	60 Mos % Chg
Roku	992	ROKU	$ 332.02	+13	+148	+984	n/a
Tesla	118	TSLA	$ 705.67	+24	+743	+960	+1,370
Snap	936	SNAP	$ 50.07	+13	+207	+809	n/a
SunPower	917	SPWR	$ 25.64	+16	+229	+416	-15
AMD	932	AMD	$ 91.71	-1	+100	+397	+3,096

Table 4(R21): The PBR1000 Top 5 60 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 4 Summary: The range was +3,095% to -99%. 655 out of 953 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of 73.66%. The median was a gain of 42.27%. The DJIA was +75.65%, NASDAQ +157.38%, SPX +83.77%.

Company	PBR Rank	Symbol	Price 12/31/20	Mo % Chg	12 Mos % Chg	24 Mos % Chg	60 Mos % Chg
AMD	432	AMD	$ 91.71	-1	+100	+397	+3,095
Square	563	SQ	$ 217.64	+3	+248	+288	+1,563
NVIDIA	286	NVDA	$ 522.20	-3	+122	+291	+1,484
Tesla	118	TSLA	$ 705.67	+24	+743	+960	+1,370
Veeva Sys	996	VEEV	$ 272.25	-2	+94	+205	+844

Table 5(S15): The PBR1000 Top 5 Market Capitalization

Table 4 Summary: The range was $2,273 billion to $0.01 billion. The average is $35.975 billion, median is $8.88 billion, out of 1,000 companies.

Company	PBR Rank	Symbol	Market Cap($B) 12/31/20	Mo % Chg	12/19 % Chg	12/17 % Chg
Apple	3	AAPL	$ 2,273	+15	+77	+160
Microsoft	17	MSFT	$ 1,676	+3	+39	+154
Amazon	2	AMZN	$ 1,649	+3	+80	+196
Alphabet	12	GOOG	$ 1,176	-3	+27	+61
Facebook	47	FB	$ 774	-2	+33	+51
The PBR1000			$ 35,975	+3	+19	+39

Table 6: The PBR1000 Index & Primary US Stock Exchanges/Commodities

Company	Price 12/31/20	Mo % Chg	12 Mos % Chg	24 Mos % Chg	60 Mos % Chg
The PBR1000	111,968.91	+3.9	+14.0	+44.9	+73.7
DJIA	30,606.48	+3.3	+7.3	+31.2	+75.7
NASDAQ	12,888.28	+5.7	+43.6	+94.2	+157.4
S&P500	3,756.07	+3.7	+16.3	+49.8	+83.8
GOLD	1,895.10	+6.4	+24.7	+47.5	+78.8
SILVER	26.41	+16.9	+47.6	+69.7	+91.4
OIL	48.52	+7.0	-20.7	+5.9	+31.0

To order a 12 month subscription of The PBR1000 Snapshots go to the Subscribe page.

Please use the Contact Us page if you are a The PBR1000 company and would like to increase your visibility to our worldwide base of shrewd investors.

PBRMarketTools.com provides The PBR1000, a compilation of 1,000 of the largest publicly held companies with primary operations in the US. These companies generate $15 trillion in annual revenues, more than all other US companies combined. The PBR1000 Monthly Snapshots provides these 1,000 companies in Excel format, includes 15 worksheets with 28 rankings, over 200 data/information points, hotlinks to key data, and important news items per company. This service is used by astute business professionals and shrewd investors worldwide.

Disclaimers: The PBR1000 is compiled from a variety of publicly available resources. As such, PBRMarketTools.com is not responsible for the data itself. Any liability for the representations or decisions based on the data is solely the responsibility of the authorized user, not PBRMarketTools.com, its employees or affiliates. PBRMarketTools.com is an independent provider of news, data, and analysis. It is not a financial advisor firm or stock brokerage service, and is not affiliated with any such organization.

(Graphic courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net, ddpavumba.)

Filed Under: Snapshots Tagged With: Analytics, Business Intelligence, Commodities, Coronavirus, COVID19, DJIA, Economy, Institutional Investor, Investing, Investors, Market Research, Money, NASDAQ, NYSE, PBRMarketTools, Personal Finance, Portfolio Management, Rankings, S&P 500, Snapshots, Stock Market, Stocks, The PBR1000, Trading, WallStreet, Wealth Management

The PBR1000 Summary: JPMorgan Chase(NYSE: JPM)

December 31, 2020 by admin

The PBR1000 Summary: JPMorgan Chase(NYSE: JPM)

Empowering Astute Business Leaders and Shrewd Investors Through The PBR1000 Analytics!

Business Description: “JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America with operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally.”

Business Name: JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Ticker: NYSE: JPM
Fiscal Year Ending Month: December

Stock Price and Analyst Estimates for JPM on 08/20/21:

Stock Price: $154.72
Average 12 Month Stock Price Target: $168.42
Estimated 12 Month Change: +8.85%
Analysts Recommendation: Overweight, 3.96/5.00, based on 27 estimates

Some of the 28 Current The PBR1000 Rankings for JPM on 08/20/21:

23 By Revenues: $119.543 billion(12/31/20)
10 By Market Capitalization: $459.46 billion(07/30/21)
2 By Assets: $3.386 trillion(12/31/20)
26 By Employees: 255,351(12/31/20)

To get the complete profile for JPM and for all 1,000 of The PBR1000 click here!

On July 30, 2021, JPM was not on The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks. To find out who is click here!

Empowering Astute Business Leaders and Shrewd Investors Worldwide

Through The PBR1000 US Public Companies Analytics!

Disclaimers: The PBR1000 is compiled from a variety of publicly available resources. As such, PBRMarketTools.com is not responsible for the data itself. Any liability for the representations or decisions based on the data is solely the responsibility of the authorized user, not PBRMarketTools.com, its employees or affiliates. PBRMarketTools.com is an independent business intelligence service providing news, data, and analysis. PBRMarketTools.com research should not be regarded as recommendations or advice. PBRMarketTools.com is not a financial advisory or stock brokerage firm and has no affiliation with such organizations.

This The PBR1000 Spotlight is provided by:

UH20-LP

Filed Under: Summary Tagged With: Analytics, Banking, Business Intelligence, Finance, Investing, Investor, JPM, JPMorgan Chase, Money, PBRMarketTools, Personal Finance, Rankings, Stock Market, Stocks, The PBR1000, The PBR25, WallStreet, Wealth

The PBR1000 Summary: Skechers USA(NYSE: SKX)

December 31, 2020 by admin

The PBR1000 Summary: Skechers USA(NYSE: SKX)

SKX Skechers USA PBR1000 Investing Stocks

Empowering Astute Business Leaders and Shrewd Investors Through The PBR1000 Analytics!

Business Description: “Skechers has spent nearly 30 years helping men, women and kids everywhere look and feel good. Developing comfort technologies is at the foundation of all that we do—delivering stylish, innovative, and quality products at a reasonable price. From our diverse footwear offering to a growing range of apparel and accessories, Skechers is a complete lifestyle brand.”

Business Name: Skechers USA, Inc
Ticker: NYSE: SKX(Class A)
Fiscal Year Ending Month: December

Stock Price and Analyst Estimates for SKX on 10/22/21:

Stock Price: $45.78
Average 12 Month Stock Price Target: $60.73
Estimated 12 Month Change: +32.66%
Analysts Recommendation: Buy, 4.60/5.00, based on 15 estimates

Some of the 28 Current The PBR1000 Rankings for SKX on 10/22/21:

545 By Annual Revenues: $4.597 billion(12/31/20)
636 By Market Capitalization: $6.56 billion(09/30/21)
662 By Assets: $5.182 billion(12/31/20)
531 By Employees: 11,700(12/31/20)

To get the complete profile for SKX and for all 1,000 of The PBR1000 click here!

On September 30, 2021, SKX was on The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks. To find out who else is click here!

Disclaimers: The PBR1000 is compiled from a variety of publicly available resources. As such, PBRMarketTools.com is not responsible for the data itself. Any liability for the representations or decisions based on the data is solely the responsibility of the authorized user, not PBRMarketTools.com, its employees or affiliates. PBRMarketTools.com is an independent business intelligence service providing news, data, and analysis. PBRMarketTools.com research should not be regarded as recommendations or advice. PBRMarketTools.com is not a financial advisory or stock brokerage firm and has no affiliation with such organizations.

This The PBR1000 Spotlight is provided by:

Empowering Astute Business Leaders and Shrewd Investors

Through The PBR1000 US Public Companies Analytics!

UJ22-LP

Filed Under: Summary Tagged With: Analytics, Business Intelligence, Fashion, Finance, Footwear, Investing, Investor, Money, PBRMarketTools, Personal Finance, Rankings, Skechers, SKX, Stock Market, Stocks, The PBR1000, The PBR25, WallStreet, Wealth

The PBR1000 December 2020 Breaking News Recap

December 31, 2020 by admin

The PBR1000 for December: Will Congress Be A Generous Giver?

In December Congress has to make some decisions on a fiscal stimulus plan, ongoing government funding and defense bills. What kind of holiday spirit will they be in?

The December 2020 breaking news items of interest for The PBR1000 follow with the most current date first.

***Thursday, December 31

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 53 of 2020 and year ending 12/31/20:

DJIA ends Week 53 and 2020 at record 30,606.48, +1.35% from last Friday, +3.27% MTD, +10.17% QTD, +7.25% YTD, +0.00% from record 30,606.48 set 12/31/20.

NASDAQ ends Week 53 and 2020 at 12,888.28, +0.65% from last Friday, +5.65% MTD, +15.41% QTD, +43.64% YTD, -0.09% from record 12,899.42 set 12/28/20.

SPX ends Week 53 and 2020 at record 3,756.07, +1.43% from last Friday, +3.71% MTD, +11.69% QTD, +16.26% YTD, +0.00% from record 3,756.07 set 12/31/20.

The Week 53 of 2020 News Summary:

International News: The UK approves the Brexit deal. The Coronavirus Pandemic worsens in the European Union, more lockdowns and restrictions are being put in place.

The Week 53 of 2020 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 26 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 19 weeks
Mixed Results: 8 weeks

The December of 2020 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 7 months
The Stock Market Bear: 4 months
Mixed Results: 1 month

ExxonMobil(PBR4 $XOM) estimates possible 4Q20 non-cash impairments of $20 billion from its upstream business. PR link.

Ford(PBR13 $F) and India based Mahindra & Mahindra decide not complete the automotive joint venture proposed in 10/19 between their respective companies due to fundamental changes in global economic and business conditions – caused, in part, by the global pandemic. PR link.

Cigna(PBR14 $CI) completes the $6.3 billion cash sale of its group life and disability insurance business to New York Life. PR link.

JCPenney(PBR292 $JCPNQ) CEO Jill Soltau exiting effective 12/31/20, Simon Property(PBR481 $SPG) Chief Investment Officer Stanley Shashoua appointed Interim CEO effective 01/01/21, new CEO search starts. PR link.

The US Dept of the Treasury says the 12/29/20 US National Debt-Public is at $21.468 trillion, Intragovernmental $6.092 trillion, for 12/29/20 Total US Debt of $27.560 trillion. 12/31/19 was at $23.201 trillion. PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the Week Ending 12/26/20 US Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims is at 787.000, 11/21/20 was at 778,000, 10/24/20 751,000, 12/21/19 222,000; the Week Ending 12/19/20 Total Insured Unemployment is at 5,219,000, 11/14/20 was at 6,071,000, 10/17/20 7,756,000, 12/14/19 1,719,000; the Week Ending 12/19/20 Insured Unemployment Rate is at 3.6%, 11/14/20 was at 4.1%, 10/17/20 5.3%, 12/14/19 1.2%. PR link.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago says the Preliminary November 2020 7th District Midwest Economy Index is at +1.79, October 2020 was at +3.00, September 2020 +4.34, November 2019 -0.61. “Index suggests slower, but still above-trend Midwest growth through November.” PR link.

FreddieMac says the 12/31/20 Average 30 Year Fixed Mortgage Rate is at 2.67% with 0.7 fees/points, 11/25/20 was at 2.72%, 10/29/20 2.81%, 12/26/19 3.74%. “Heading into 2021 we expect rates to remain flat, potentially rising modestly off their record low, but solid purchase demand and tight inventory will continue to put pressure on housing markets as well as house price growth.” PR link.

The American Automobile Assn says the 12/31/20 US Average Price for a Gallon of Regular Gas is at $2.253, 11/30/20 was at $2.127, 10/20/20 $2.142, 12/31/19 $2.583. PR link.

***Wednesday, December 30

Live Nation(PBR264 $LYV)’s Ticketmaster unit will pay a $10 million criminal fine to avoid prosecution on US Dept of Justice charges it repeatedly accessed the computer systems of rival Songkick whose assets its parent Live Nation Entertainment later purchased. Financial Post PR link.

UGI Corp(PBR440 $UGI) to acquire Mountaintop Energy Holdings, owner of Mountaineer Gas Company, the largest gas local distribution company in W Virginia for an enterprise value of $540 million, which includes the assumption of approximately $140 million of debt, to close in 2H21. PR link.

Devon Energy(PBR459 $DVN) and WPX Energy(NYSE: WPX) shareholders agree to all stock merger of equals, will result in an enterprise value for the combined entity of approximately $12 billion, will be called Devon Energy, builds a dominant Delaware Basin acreage position totaling 400,000 net acres, to close on 01/07/21. PR link.

McCormick(PBR513 $MKC) has purchased 100% of the shares of privately held FONA International, a leading manufacturer of clean and natural flavors for the food, beverage and nutritional markets, for $710 million in cash. PR link.

Acadia Healthcare(PBR723 $ACHC) to sell its its behavioral health UK operations, The Priory Group, to Waterlands Private Equity for around $1.47 billion, to close by 01/31/21. PR link.

The US Energy Information Administration says the 12/25/20 US Crude Oil Stocks(Millions of Barrels) is at 493.5, 11/20/20 was at 488.7, 10/23/20 492.4, 12/20/20 441.4. PR link.

The MNI Indicators December 2020 Chicago Business Barometer(>50 is gaining) is at 59.5, November 2020 was at 58.2, October 2020 61.1, December 2019 48.9. PR link.

***Tuesday, December 29

Boeing(PBR40)’s 737 MAX passenger flights resume in US after nearly two-year ban. CNBC PR link.

Pfizer(PBR63 $PFE) and BioNTech(NASDAQ: BNTX) gets additional order for 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for the 27 states of the European Union, brings total order to 300 million doses, to be delivered in 2020 and 2021. PR link.

Simon Property(PBR479 $SPG) completes $43.00/share cash, around $3.4 billion, 80% ownership interest in Taubman Centers(NYSE: TCO), includes 26 super-regional shopping centers in the US and Asia. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/BEA says the Preliminary 3Q20 US Assets is at $29.408 trillion, Liabilities $43.359 trillion, for a 3Q20 Deficit of $13.950 trillion, 2Q20 Deficit was $13.085 trillion, 1Q20 $12.163 trillion, 3Q19 $10.935 trillion. PR link.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Preliminary October 2020 US National Home Price Index(01/2000=100) is at 229.93, September 2020 was at 226.82, August 2020 224.16, October 2019 212.10. PR link.

***Monday, December 28

Pfizer(PBR63 $PFE) and Myovant Sciences (NYSE: MYOV) to collaborate to develop and commercialize relugolix – a once-daily, oral gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor antagonist – in oncology and women’s health in the US and Canada, Pfizer will also receive an exclusive option to commercialize relugolix in oncology outside the US and Canada, excluding certain Asian countries, Pfizer to pay upfront fee of $650 million, up to $4.2 billion to Myovant based on achievement of milestones. PR link.

VF Corp(PBR295) has completed the acquisition of around $500 million in annual revenues Supreme®, a privately-owned global streetwear brand, for $2.1 billion, is now a wholly owned subsidiary. PR link.

New York Community Bank(PBR912 $NYCB) President/CEO/Director Joseph R. Ficalora to retire from all roles after 55 years with the bank, effective 12/31/20, SEVP/CFO Thomas R. Cangemi is appointed successor. PR link.

MasterCard(PBR184)’s Spending Pulse preliminary reports show that holiday retail sales excluding automotive and gasoline increased 3.0% this expanded holiday season, running 75 days from October 11 through December 24, with online sales growing 49.0% compared to 2019, and accounting for 19.7% of all retail sales. PR link.

TrueCar says the Forecasted December 2020 US New Vehicle Unit Sales-Retail is at 1,428,094, Fleet 177,008, for Total New Vehicle Unit Sales of 1,605,102, November 2020 was at 1,214,891, December 2019 1,533,555; December 2020 Average Transaction Price is at $38,797, November 2020 was at $37,991, December 2019 $37,029. PR link.

***Saturday, December 26

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 52 of 2020 ending 12/25/20:

DJIA ends Week 52 at 30,199.87, +0.447% from last Friday, +1.89% MTD, +8.70% QTD, +5.82% YTD, -0.34% from record 30,303.37 set 12/17/20.

NASDAQ ends Week 52 at 12,804.73, +0.38% from last Friday, +4.97% MTD, +14.66% QTD, +42.71% YTD, -0.02% from record 12,807.92 set 12/22/20.

SPX ends Week 52 at 3,703.06, -0.17% from last Friday, +2.25% MTD, +10.11% QTD, +14.62% YTD, -0.52% from record 3,722.48 set 12/17/20.

The Week 52 of 2020 News Summary:

Coronavirus Pandemic: It was another week of much higher numbers of people affected by the virus. As of Friday, 12/25/20, at 23:59PM Eastern US, the John Hopkins University CSSE unit says there are now 79,840,000 confirmed cases globally with 1,751,000 deaths, a weekly increase of 79,228, which is -2,580 from last Friday. For the US it is 18,756,000 confirmed cases and 330,246 deaths, a weekly increase of 17,211, which is -2,039 from last Friday. The US FDA has two Emergency Use Authorization approvals for COVID-19 vaccitions, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, initial distribution and vaccinations are now occurring. The US federal government has negotiated an additional 100 million doses to by delivered by the end of July, 2021. More COVID-19 candidate vaccines are expected to be approved in January, 2021.

US Presidential Transition: President-Elect Joe Biden has nominated more high cabinet positions nominees, with a very diverse set of individuals. The Republicans continue to lose cases to overturn election results because of lack of evidence for voter fraud. While there are a few holdouts, and President Trump has still not conceded the race, Biden is clearly the winner of the election by most Americans. The US House will continue to have a Democrat majority. The control of the US Senate will be decided by two US Senate runoff elections to be held on January 5 in Georgia, polls continue to show a close race, but Democrats are narrowly leading going into the final full week of campaigning.

US Economy: After a few weeks of upticks the number of people applying for unemployment benefits took a dip, as did the number of people who continue to receive those benefits. Both existing home sales and new home sales took a dip on their annual rates. The 3Q20 Gross Domestic Product estimate was increased from 33.1% to 33.4%. Congress approved a new stimulus bill tied to a new spending bill by large margins. However, President Trump has indicated he might possibly veto the bill because he feels the $600 benefit per qualified person should be $2,000. Votes are expected on Monday. Other economic indices show the economy growing, but at a slower pace.

International News: The UK and the European Union made a Brexit deal. Details are being released. Travel between Britain and the European continent has been disrupted because of the significant increase in COVID-19 cases, resulting in some food shortages and many drivers of transport vehicles have been stranded.

US Stock Exchanges: It was a shortened 3 1/2 days trading week. It was a non-volatile week, with The Stock Market Bear having a big day on the DJIA on Tuesday, but The Stock Market Bull countered with a record close on the NASDAQ the same day. At the end of the week The Stock Market Bull pulled out a narrow 2-1 mixed result in Week 52 which could have gone either way. Going into the last week of the year The Stock Market Bull seems to have an insurmountable lead for 2020, no major meltdown is expected. Have a great last week of the year. It is a good time to be positive as we look forward to the start a much needed New Year.

The Week 52 of 2020 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 25 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 19 weeks
Mixed Results: 8 weeks

***Friday, December 25

***Christmas Day.
***US Stock Exchanges Closed.
***Giving Thanks for the little ones
***in our lives who will change the world.

***Thursday, December 24

Home Depot(PBR27 $HD) completes $56/share, total enterprise value of around $8 billion, acquisition of HD Supply Holdings(PBR464 $HDS), a leading national distributor of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products in the multifamily and hospitality end markets. PR link.

***Wednesday, December 23

Kroger(PBR22 $KR) Health division will provide the COVID-19 vaccine nationwide across its 2,200 pharmacies and 220 clinics, partnering with the federal government and state health departments to administer the vaccine in accordance with the rollout plan, is hiring nearly 1,000 health care personnel in support of the effort, has facilitated 250,000+ COVID-19 tests since 04/20. PR link.

Albertsons(PBR55 $ACI) Pharmacy & Health team has administered its first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and is preparing for high consumer demand for immunizations across its 1,700 pharmacies, is hiring 800+ additional pharmacy staff, has launched a new website for FAQs and additional information. PR link.

Pfizer(PBR63 $PFE) and BioNTech SE(NASDAQ: BNTX) get a second agreement with the US government to supply an additional 100 million doses of the companies’ COVID-19 Vaccine from production facilities in the US by 07/31/21 for $1.95 billion, initial order was also for 100 million doses. PR link.

Merck(PBR68 $MRK) to receive up to around $356 million for manufacturing and supply of approximately 60,000-100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine MK-7110 to the US Government through 06/30/21, conditioned upon approval or Emergency Use Authorization of MK-7110 by the US FDA. PR link.

Huntsman(PBR429 $HUN) completes sale of around 42.5 million of the shares it holds in Venator Materials PLC to SK Capital Partners for approximately $100 million cash, includes a 30-month option for the sale of the remaining approximate 9.5 million shares it holds at $2.15/share. PR link.

Ascena Retail(PBR500 $ASNAQ) completes $540 million asset sale of its Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lane Bryant and Lou & Grey brands assets to an affiliate of Sycamore Partners. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/BEA says the Preliminary November 2020 US Total Personal Income Annual Rate is at $19.493 trillion, October 2020 was at $19.715, September 2020 $19.843 trillion, November 2019 $18.788 trillion. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/HUD says the Preliminary November 2020 US New Family Homes Sold Annual Rate is at 841,000, October 2020 was at 945,000, September 2020 965,000, November 2019 696,000; November 2020 Median Price is at $335,300, October 2020 $337,500, September 2020 $340,500, November 2019 $328,000. PR link.

The U of Michigan Final December 2020 Consumer Sentiment Index is at 80.7, November 2020 was at 76.9, October 2020 81.8, December 2019 99.3. “While the rollout of the vaccine has been greeted as the beginning of the end, the end of the pandemic is still on the distant horizon in terms of a return to normalcy for consumer behavior, even among the most favored households.” PR link.

***Tuesday, December 22

Walmart(PBR1 $WMT) is being sued by the US Dept of Justice for Controlled Substances Act violations, says Walmart unlawfully dispensed controlled substances from pharmacies it operated across the country and unlawfully distributed controlled substances to those pharmacies throughout the height of the prescription opioid crisis. – USDOJ PR link.

Walmart(PBR1 $WMT) responds to the US Dept of Justice lawsuit accusing Walmart of Controlled Substance Act violations, says lawsuit is misguided and misleading, puts pharmacists between patients and their doctors. PR link.

Amazon(PBR2 $AMZN)’s Whole Foods grocery store unit gets a US FDA warning letter for engaging in a pattern of receiving and offering for sale misbranded food products under their own brand name, finished product labels failed to declare all major food allergens present in the products. US FDA PR link.

Alphabet(PBR12 $GOOG)’s Google unit says antitrust lawsuits, one for advertising technology, another for search and search advertising, are without merit and that it plans to defend itself vigorously. PR link.

Honeywell(PBR86 $HON) to acquire privately held Hamilton, NJ based 250 employees globally enterprise quality management software provider Sparta Systems for $1.3 billion in an all-cash transaction from New Mountain Capital, to close by end of 1Q21. PR link.

MGM Resorts(PBR241 $MGM)‘s sports betting and digital gaming company BetMGM is now an Official Sports Betting Partner of the Philadelphia 76ers professional basketball team. PR link.

DaVita Healthcare(PBR270 $DVA)’s Kidney Care unit says more than 100,000 DaVita patients have received a kidney transplant since 2000. PR link.

Alaska Air(PBR348 $ALK) restructures agreement with Boeing(PBR40 $BA), to receive a total of 68 Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft with deliveries each year through 2024, also has options for an additional 52 planes, will largely replace Alaska’s Airbus fleet. PR link.

IAC(PBR557 $IAC) to spin-off its 200+ million users video software Vimeo unit to IAC shareholders as an independent separately traded public company, to close in 2Q21 if approved by shareholders during 1Q21 meeting. PR link.

Polaris Industries(PBR430 $PII) appoints EVP/CFO Michael Speetzen to Interim CEO, Lead Independent Director John Wiehoff appointed to become Chairman, both effective 01/01/21, they succeed Chairman/CEO Scott Wine who is departing the company. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/BEA says the 3rd Estimate 3Q20 US Real Gross Domestic Product Annual Rate is at +33.4%, $21.170 trillion, 2Q20 was at $19.520 trillion, 1Q20 $21.561 trillion, 3Q19 $21.540 trillion. PR link.

The Natl Assn of Realtors says the Preliminary November 2020 US Existing Home Sales Annual Rate is at 6,690,000, October 2020 was at 6,860,000, September 2020 6,570,000, November 2019 5,320,000; November 2020 Median Price is at $310,800, October 2020 was at $313,000, September 2020 $311,800, November 2019 $271,300. “Circumstances are far from being back to the pre-pandemic normal… However, the latest stimulus package and with the vaccine distribution underway, and a very strong demand for homeownership still prevalent, robust growth is forthcoming for 2021.” PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia says the December 2020 US 3rd District Nonmanufacturing General Activity Index is at -26.8, November 2020 was at -15.9, October 2020 +16.0, December 2019 +13.2. “The future activity indexes suggest that respondents expect improvement at their firms and in the region over the next six months.” PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond says the December 2020 US 5th District Manufacturing Index(Annualized) is at +19%, November 2020 +15%, October 2020 +29%, December 2019 -5%. “… manufacturers were optimistic that conditions would improve in the coming months.” PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond says the December 2020 US 5th District Service Sector Revenue Index(Annualized) is at -9%, November 2020 +13%, October 2020 +19%, December 2019 +17%. “Survey respondents were optimistic that conditions would improve in the next six months.” PR link.

The Conference Board says the Preliminary December 2020 US Consumer Confidence Index(1985=100) is at 88.6, November 2020 was at 92.9, October 2020 101.4, December 2019 128.2. “Overall, it appears that growth has weakened further in Q4, and consumers do not foresee the economy gaining any significant momentum in early 2021.” PR link.

***Monday, December 21

Apple(PBR3 $AAPL) has closed around 80 of its 508 retail stores worldwide because of a resurgence of COVID-19, 54 closed in California. Barron’s PR link.

CVS Health(PBR5 $CVS) Pharmacy teams will administer the first dose of the Pfizer(PBR63) vaccine in facilities across 12 states this week, expects to vaccinate up to 4 million residents and staff at over 40,000 long-term care facilities, expects to complete its long-term care facility vaccination effort in approximately 12 weeks, will have the capacity to administer 20 to 25 million shots per month at its retail pharmacy locations subject to product availability and prioritization of populations. PR link.

LabCorp(PBR28 $LH) making available its Pixel by Labcorp™ At-Home COVID-19 Collection Kit available through Walgreens(PBR18 $WBA)‘s online Find Care digital health platform on smartphones and computers. PR link.

Lockheed Martin(PBR56 $LMT) to acquire $2 billion in 2019 revenues, 5,000 employees aerospace and defense rocket engine manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne(PBR896 $AJRD) for $56.00/share cash before $5.00/share dividend, $4.4 billion total transaction value, to close in 2H21. PR link.

Pfizer(PBR63 $PFE) and BioNTech SE(NASDAQ: BNTX) get conditional marketing authorization from the European Commission for its COVID-19 vaccine, has an agreement to supply 200 million vaccine doses to EU member states with option to purchase 100 million additional doses in 2021, now has conditional marketing authorization in 40 countries including the 27 EU states. PR link.

Thor Industries(PBR371 $THO) has acquired manufacturer of both gas and diesel luxurious Class A motorhomes $800 million in FY 2020 revenues Tiffin Motor Homes for $300 million. PR link.

Beacon Roofing(PBR420 $BECN) to sell its interior products business, consisting of 81 branch locations where it distributes construction products including wallboard, acoustical ceilings, steel framing and insulation to both residential and commercial contractors, to private equity firm American Securities, for $850 million cash, to close by 03/31/21. PR link.

Diamondback Energy(PBR632 $FANG) to acquire QEP Resources(PBR988 $QEP) for $2.29/share, around $2.2 billion all stock deal, includes $1.6 billion in debt, includes around 49,000 net acres in the Midland Basin primarily held by production, to close by early 2Q21. PR link.

Equity Residential(PBR792 $EQR) sells its San Diego, CA located Vantage Pointe, a 679-unit apartment property located in downtown San Diego, for around $312.5 million. PR link.

Rent-A-Center(PBR797 $RCII) to acquire fintech company with $1.25 billion in revenues in 2020 Acima Holdings, a leading provider of virtual lease-to-own solutions, for $1.273 billion in cash and around 10.8 million shares of Rent-A-Center common stock currently valued at $377 million, for total transaction of $1.65 billion, to close in 1H21. PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago says the Preliminary November 2020 US National Activity Index is at +0.27, October 2020 was at +1.01, September 2020 +0..40, November 2019 +0.29. “Index suggests slower, but still slightly above-average growth in November.” PR link.

***Friday, December 18

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 51 of 2020 ending 12/18/20:

DJIA ends Week 51 at 30,179.05, +0.44% from last Friday, +1.82% MTD, +8.63% QTD, +5.75% YTD, -0.41% from record 30,303.37 set 12/17/20.

NASDAQ ends Week 51 at 12,755.64, +3.05% from last Friday, +4.57% MTD, +14.22% QTD, +42.16% YTD, -0.07% from record 12,764.75 set 12/17/20.

SPX ends Week 51 at 3,709.41, +1.25% from last Friday, +2.42% MTD, +10.30% QTD, +14.81% YTD, -0.35% from record 3,722.48 set 12/17/20.

The Week 51 of 2020 News Summary:

Coronavirus Pandemic: It was another week of much higher numbers of people affected by the virus. As of today, Friday, 12/18/20, at 5:27PM Eastern US, the John Hopkins University CSSE unit says there are now 75,508,468 confirmed cases globally with 1,671,772 deaths, a weekly increase of 81,808, which is +6,393 from last Friday. For the US it is 17,416,108 confirmed cases and 313,035 deaths, a weekly increase of 19,250, which is +3,548 from last Friday. With the US FDA Emergency Use Authorization approval the initial distribution of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine began with several million doses being deployed to the states based on their population. Initial vaccinations are being done, primarily to frontline healthcare workers. An independent advisory panel has recommended that the Moderna vaccine also be approved and the US FDA has made an indication that it will do so shortly.

US Presidential Transition: President-Elect Joe Biden continues his line up of high cabinet positions nominees, with a very diverse set of individuals. The Republicans lawsuits have been pretty much dismissed, The Electoral College has voted and confirmed Joe Biden as President-Elect with 306 votes, above the 270 needed. President-Elect Biden made a speech to the American people about the voting process working, and gave a short preview of his agenda, with a special emphasis on controlling the Coronavirus Pandemic. Most prominent Republicans have conceded that Biden has won the White House, but President Trump still has not. While control of the US House will continue to be by a slimmer Democrat majority the US Senate control will be decided by two US Senate runoff elections to be held on January 5 in Georgia. Early voting has already begun there. If the Republicans get one of the seats they will have the at least 51 votes needed to control that chamber.

US Economy: It is no surprise that the increase in weekly numbers from the Coronavirus Pandemic upped the number of people filing for unemployment benefits. Housing construction numbers continue to remain high, manufacturing continues to grow but at a slower pace, and surveys of businesses continue to reflect guarded optimism for the next 6 months. The Federal Open Market Committee had its final meeting of the year, maintained the federal funds rate at 0.00-0.25%, indicated that it expects to remain at that level for a long time, said that the economy was growing modestly, but is fragile, and expressed concern that the US Congress had not already passed a stimulus bill. By the end of the week the US Congress was still negotiating a new stimulus bill, and signaled that a deal was very close.

International News: The most headlines continue to be regarding the hammering out of the details of the UK Brexit from the European Union including the many trade issues that need to be ironed out. Messages are mixed about if that can be achieved by the end of the year.

US Stock Exchanges: The Stock Market Bear had a good Monday taking the DJIA and S&P500. The Stock Market Bull then took over with some very nice days Tuesday through Thursday, ending Thursday with new record highs on all three major indices. He then decided to take Friday off rolling around on his back on the nice pasture grasses and The Stock Market Bear had a nice, but not really very volatile Friday. The Stock Market Bull wins Week 51 with a solid 3-0 result, leads the year, and it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which he loses the year. The last two weeks of 2020 will be shortened trading weeks because of the Christmas and New Year holidays. Celebrate responsibly, be thankful for all you have and are, be willing to share as you are able.

The Week 51 of 2020 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 25 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 19 weeks
Mixed Results: 7 weeks

CVS Health(PBR5 $CVS) and Walgreens Boots Alliance(PBR18 $WBA) start providing the Pfizer(PBR62 $PFE)/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccinations for residents and staff at US nursing homes and assisted living facilities per an agreement with the US government. CNBC PR link.

Wells Fargo(PBR26 $WFC) to sell its $10.0 billion private student loan portfolio to investors, with Firstmark, a division of Nelnet(PBR930 $NNI), assuming responsibility for servicing the portfolio upon the sale. PR link.

DuPont(PBR144 $DD) to spin-off its Nutrition & Biosciences unit, which will then merge with International Flavors(PBR531 $IFF) as planned, transaction planned for 02/01/21. PR link.

Tenet Healthcare(PBR166 $THC) selling its 87 locations urgent care platform, operating under the CareSpot and MedPost brands and managed by Tenet’s United Surgical Partners International (USPI) subsidiary, to FastMed, to close in 1Q21, terms not disclosed. PR link.

Blackstone(PBR402 $BX) completes $1.2 billion acquisition of Simply Self Storage, one of the top five private owners of self-storage and operator of a high-quality portfolio totaling 8 million sf across the US, from a Brookfield Asset Management real estate fund. PR link.

Blackstone(PBR402 $BX) proposes $5.17/share, around $4 billion cash, acquisition of UK based private jet services company Signature Aviation, which has rejected a similar lower price proposal from Global Infrastructure Partners. Signature Aviation PR link.

Darden Restaurants(PBR385 $DRI) CEO Gene Lee elected to also serve as Chairman, succeeds Chuck Sonsteby who becomes Lead Independent Director, effective 01/04/21. PR link.

The US Federal Reserve releases the results of its most recent stress tests of 33 of the largest US financial institutions, says “The results of the December 2020 stress test show that firms maintain strong capital levels under two hypothetical severe scenarios.” PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/BEA says the Preliminary 3Q20 US Total Exports of Goods, Services, and Income Receipts is at $796.1 billion; Total Imports of Goods, Services, and Income Payments is at $974.5 billion, for a 3Q20 Deficit of $178.5 billion, 2Q20 Deficit was at $161.4 billion, 1Q20 Deficit $111.5 billion, 3Q19 $121.6 billion. PR link.

The Conference Board says the Preliminary November 2020 US Leading Economic Index(2016=100) is at 109.1, October 2020 was at 108.5, September 2020 107.7, November 2019 111.6. “The US LEI continued rising in November, but its pace of improvement has been decelerating in recent months, suggesting a significant moderation in growth as the US economy heads into 2021…” PR link.

The US Federal Food & Drug Administration agrees to an Emergency Use Authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna, the FDA’s second such authorization, the first was last week for Pfizer(PBR62)/BioNTech‘s vaccine. PR link.

***Thursday, December 17

Alphabet(PBR12)’s subsidiary Google hit with a second antitrust lawsuit in two days with the most recent claiming the company altered the designs of its search engine to undercut competitors, filed by group of 38 states. MarketWatch PR link.

Alphabet(PBR12)’s subsidiary Google responds to today’s antitrust lawsuit, says redesigning Search would harm American consumers and businesses. PR link.

Alphabet(PBR12)’s subsidiary Google gets European Commission approval for $2.1 billion cash acquisition of health wearables company Fitbit(PBR971) subject to certain conditions. European Commission PR link.

Coca-Cola(PBR83) is cutting 2,200 jobs globally, including 1,200 in the US, as the coronavirus pandemic accelerates the soda giant’s restructuring efforts. Wall Street Journal PR link.

Otis(PBR236) issues recall for around 5,000 private residence elevators sold before 2013 due to entrapment hazard, risk of serious injury or death to young children. PR link.

Raymond James(PBR378) to acquire consumer-focused boutique investment bank Financo, has offices in New York and London, terms not disclosed. PR link.

KKR(PBR611) has sold two major student housing developments totaling 1,380 units in the Netherlands for around $213 million. PR link.

Twitter(PBR677) was fined €450,000 ($548,000) by an Irish regulator on Tuesday, after a bug in its Android app caused some users’ protected tweets to be made public, other EU regulators had pushed for a much higher fine. PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the 3Q20 US Employer Costs for Employee Compensation-Wages & Salaries Per Hour is at $26.25, Benefits $12.01, 3Q20 Total $38.26, 2Q20 was at $38.21, 1Q20 $37.73, 3Q19 $37.03. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/HUD says the Preliminary November 2020 US New Residential Construction Building Permits Issued Annual Rate-Private Housing is at 1,639,000 units, October 2020 was at 1,544,000, September 2020 1,545,000, November 2019 1,510,000. PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia says the December 2020 US 3rd District Manufacturing General Activity Indicator is at 11.1, November 2020 was at 26.3, October 2020 32.3, December 2019 2.4. “Changes in future indexes were mixed this month but suggest that overall growth is expected to continue over the next six months.” PR link.

***Wednesday, December 16

Alphabet(PBR12 $GOOG)’s subsidiary Google is being sued by State of Texas Attorney General and a multistate coalition for multiple violations of federal and state antitrust and consumer protection laws, including anticompetitive conduct, exclusionary practices and deceptive misrepresentations in connection with its role in the multi-trillion-dollar online display advertising industry. TX Attorney General PR link.

Facebook(PBR47 $FB) issues a statement critical of Apple(PBR3 $AAPL)‘s new iOS 14 opt in for ads policy which could impact advertising effectiveness for small businesses. PR link.

Abbott Labs(PBR99 $ABT) gets US FDA Emergency Use Authorization for its virtually guided at-home use of its BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card rapid test for detection of COVID-19 infection, result is delivered in around 20 minutes without the need to send it out for processing, priced at $25, partnering with eMed to deliver and administer 30 million BinaxNOW at-home tests in 1Q21, with an additional 90 million in 2Q21. PR link.

The US Federal Open Meeting Committee issues a statement from its December 15-16 meeting, saying “The path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus. The ongoing public health crisis will continue to weigh on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term, and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term.” The FOMC keeps the federal funds rate at 0.00-0.25%, expects to maintain that level for some time. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says the Preliminary October 2020 US Sales-Manufacturers is at $488.6 billion, Retailers $497.1 billion, Wholesalers $496.6 billion, October 2020 Total Sales is at $1,482.3 billion, September 2020 was at $1,468.5 billion, August 2020 $1,456.0 billion, October 2019 $1,450.1 billion. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says the Advance November 2020 US Retail Sales-Retailers is at $493.3 billion, Food Services & Drinking Places $53.2 billion, for Advance November 2020 Total Retail Sales at $546.5 billion, October 2020 was at $552.5 billion, September 2020 $552.8 billion, November 2019 $525.0 billion. PR link.

The Natl Assn of Home Builders Preliminary December 2020 Housing Market Composite Index is at 86, November 2020 was at 90, October 2020 85, December 2019 76. “Despite the decline, December is still the second-highest reading in the history of the series after last month’s 90. Housing demand is strong entering 2021, however the coming year will see housing affordability challenges as inventory remains low and construction costs are rising.” PR link.

***Tuesday, December 15

Walmart(PBR1) to expand its futuristic delivery capabilities with a new driverless truck trial in its home state of Arkansas, also in Louisiana, in expanded pilot with autonomous vehicle startup Gatik. BusinessInsider PR link.

Eli Lilly(PBR137) to acquire developer of potentially disease-modifying AAV9-based gene therapies for patients with neurodegenerative diseases Prevail Therapeutics(NASDAQ: PRVL) for at least $22.50/share, $880 million cash plus a contigent value right worth up to an additional $4.00/share based on milestone achievements, for up to $1.04 billion cash, to close in 1Q21. PR link.

Uber(PBR222) and Lyft(PBR660) roll out new benefits for California drivers under Prop 22, will provide guaranteed minimum wages and health care subsidies. TheVerge PR link.

Oshkosh(PBR425) to acquire Pratt Miller, which specializes in advanced engineering, technology and innovation across the motorsport and multiple ground vehicle markets, for a cash-free, debt-free purchase price of $115 million, to close in 1Q21. PR link.

Palo Alto Networks(PBR681) completes around $670 million cash and stock plus around $130 million in replacement equity awards acquisition of Expanse, a cybersecurity leader in attack surface management. PR link.

Apollo Global Mgmt(PBR758) and Hudson Executive Capital to acquire world’s largest ATM owner/operator Cardtronics(Nasdaq: CATM) for $35.00/share, around $2.3 billion in cash, includes net debt, to close in 1H21. Cardtronics PR link.

Frontier Communications(PBR373) President/CEO Bernie Han to step down effective 03/01/21, will remain on Board until emergence from Chapter 11, Nick Jeffery hired to be successor on 03/01/21. PR link.

The US Federal Reserve says the Preliminary November 2020 US Factory % of Capacity is at 73.3%, October 2020 was at 73.0%, September 2020 72.3%, November 2019 77.6%, Capacity Growth Over Previous Year is at +0.0%. PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the Preliminary November 2020 US Change in Import Prices is +0.1%, October 2020 was at -0.1%, September 2020 +0.2%, November 2019 +0.2%, Year-to-Year -1.0%; Preliminary November 2020 US Change in Export Prices is +0.6%, October 2020 +0.2%, September 2020 +0.6%, November 2019 +0.1%, Year-to-Year -1.1%. PR link.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York says the December 2020 US Empire State Manufacturing General Business Conditions Index is at +4.9, November 2020 was at +6.3, October 2020 +10.5, December 2019 +3.3. “… firms remained optimistic that conditions would improve over the next six months.” PR link.

***Monday, December 14

Amazon(PBR2 $AMZN) to get an order from Sacramento County Superior Court based on a request from the California Attorney General’s Office to comply with outstanding investigative subpoenas, state’s petition alleges that Amazon has failed to adequately comply with lawful requests for information as part of an ongoing investigation into the company’s coronavirus protocols and the status of COVID-19 cases at Amazon facilities across the state. PR link.

Freeport-McMoRan(PBR215 $FCX) completes sale of its non-core interests in the Kisanfu undeveloped cobalt and copper project in Congo to a wholly owned subsidiary of China Molybdenum Co., Ltd. (CMOC) for $550 million. PR link.

Uber(PBR222 $UBER) gets fined $59 million by the California Public Utilities Commission and threatens to suspend Uber’s license to operate in the state over Uber’s refusal to hand over data on sexual assaults. Washington Post PR link.

Bed Bath & Beyond(PBR277 $BBBY) increases share repurchases program from $675 million to $825 million, includes accelerated share repurchase program which has been increased from $225 million to $375 million; to sell its Cost Plus World Market brand to private equity firm Kingswood Capital Management, includes 243 brick-and-mortar locations, the CPWM digital business, 2 distribution facilities and a corporate office located in Alameda, CA, to close by 02/28/21, terms not disclosed. PR link.

Blackstone(PBR402 $BX) to acquire a best‐in‐class, 2.3 million square foot portfolio of lab office buildings, with 90% of the portfolio concentrated in Cambridge, MA, from Brookfield Asset Management for $3.45 billion, to close in 1Q21. PR link.

Electronic Arts(PBR495 $EA) to acquire UK based game developer and publisher CodeMasters for $7.98/share, around $1.2 billion cash, to close by end of 1Q21. PR link.

Alexion Pharmaceutical(PBR538 $ALXN), a global biopharma company with a focus on rare diseases, to be acquired by AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN), a global biopharmaceutical company, for $175/share, around $39 billion in cash and stock, to close in 3Q21. PR link.

Domino’s Pizza(PBR659 $PZZA) says more than 11,500 company-owned store and supply chain hourly team members and drivers will receive a special bonus in December, an investment totaling more than $9.6 million, with eligible team members earning up to $1,200 in bonus compensation. PR link.

Take-Two Interactive(PBR727 $TTWO) says it is considering its options upon learning that its plan to acquire UK based game developer CodeMasters Group for $6.82/share cash & stock, for an implied equity value of around $994 million is now being acquired by Electronic Arts(PBR495 $EA) for $7.98/share, around $1.2 billion cash. PR link.

Public Storage(PBR774 $PSA) receives letter from hedge fund investor Elliott Management saying PSA is underachieving, makes some suggestions including board refreshment, nominates 6 for the Board. PR link.

Public Storage(PBR774 $PSA) responds to hedge fund investor Elliott Management countering its claims, outlines achievements and plans. PR link.

La-Z-Boy(PBR941 $LZB) to resume its share repurchases program, has 4.5 million shares available, was suspended on 03/29/20 as part of COVID-19 Action Plan. PR link.

The US Federal Trade Commission is issuing orders to nine social media and video streaming companies, including Amazon.com(PBR2 $AMZN), ByteDance, which operates the short video service TikTok, Discord, Facebook(PBR47 $FB), Reddit, Snap(PBR937 $SNAP), Twitter(PBR677 $TWTR), Facebook’s WhatsApp, and Alphabet(PBR12 $GOOG)’s YouTube, requiring them to provide data on how they collect, use, and present personal information, their advertising and user engagement practices, and how their practices affect children and teens, will have 45 days from the date they received the order to respond. PR link.

***Friday, December 11

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 50 of 2020 ending 12/11/20:

DJIA ends Week 50 at 30,046.37, -0.57% from last Friday, +1.38% MTD, +8.15% QTD, +5.28% YTD, -0.57% from record 30,218.26 set 12/04/20.

NASDAQ ends Week 50 at 12,377.87, -0.69% from last Friday, +1.47% MTD, +10.84% QTD, +37.95% YTD, -1.63% from record 12,582.77 set 12/08/20.

SPX ends Week 50 at 3,663.46, -0.96% from last Friday, +1.16% MTD, +8.93% QTD, +13.39% YTD, -1.05% from record 3,702.25 set 12/08/20.

The Week 50 of 2020 News Summary:

Coronavirus Pandemic: Cases and deaths surged in the US. As of today, Friday, 12/11/20, at 1:26PM Eastern US, the John Hopkins University CSSE unit says there are now 70,000,538 confirmed cases globally with 1,589,964 deaths, a weekly increase of 75,415, which is -626 from last Friday. For the US it is 15,746,026 confirmed cases and 293,785 deaths, a weekly increase of 15,702, which is +1,656 from last Friday. Hospitals are saying they are nearly maxed out for space because of the pandemic increase, and medical frontline workers are stressed. Various states and local governmental agencies are putting more strict guidelines in place for businesses and mask using in public. An Advisory Panel voted 17-4 with 1 abstention to encourage the US FDA to approve Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The US FDA most likely will approve the vaccine, and it is expected that initial doses will be provided early next week. It is also expected that the Moderna vaccine will have the same result next week.

US Presidential Transition: President-Elect Joe Biden has made more selections for high cabinet positions. Republicans continue to push lawsuits to overturn voting results based on procedures used in some key states. Most say there is a very low probability of success. The US House will remain under Democrat majority. In the US Senate the balance remains 50 Republicans, 46 Democrats, 2 Independents that caucus with the Democrats. The open seats will be determined by two runoff elections in Georgia on January 5, both races are too close to call at this time. President Trump has still not officially conceded the race.

US Economy: Most indices released continue to show a modest growing economy. However, with the rise of cases from the pandemic there was a substantial increase in weekly initial unemployment claims. Job openings were up a little bit, hiring was down a little bit, and separations were up a little bit. The Consumer Price Index was +0.2%, the Producer Price Index +0.1%. The U of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index was up to 81.4, reflecting optimism over the US elections. The federal government receipts and outlays reflected a significant increase in the monthly deficit. The US Congress continues to struggle with coming up with a new stimulus package. Several economists have expressed concern that the longer it takes for a new package the higher probability that the economy will decline and take longer to recover. Of special concern is the unemployment benefits that expire the day after Christmas that will affect millions of workers. The US Congress kicked the can down the road by passing a one week spending bill and will have to wrestle over a new one next week. They did pass a defense spending bill. Both items need to be signed by the President.

International News: The UK and European Union continue to work on a Brexit deal, but it appears that there is a low probability of a successful outcome by year end, which is likely to have an economic impact all over Europe with lots of trade issues left in limbo. With US encouragement Morocco becomes the fourth Islamic nation to agree to normalize relations with Israel. US tech giants continue to be targets for antitrust and privacy issues in Europe and the US.

US Stock Exchanges: There was a lot of IPO action this week as DoorDash and Airbnb became public companies to much fanfare, and some others as well. However, overall it was a pretty non-volatile week, with The Stock Market Bull and The Stock Market Bear staring at each other in the ring and occasionally throwing a jab here and there that had little effect and there were no knockdowns. Even though The Stock Market Bull established new record highs for the NASDAQ and SPX on Tuesday, The Stock Market Bear outpointed the Bull to win the Week 50 bout. The Stock Market Bull will win the weekly and monthly tallies, and it appears he will also take a tumultuous 2020 because a complete collapse in the stock market before year end is not very likely. Hanukkah has started, Christmas is in two weeks, and the end of 2020 the following week. Stay safe, have some fun preparing for the holidays, spend some time thinking about the meaning of this time of year, and enjoy time with those close to you.

The Week 50 of 2020 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 24 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 19 weeks
Mixed Results: 7 weeks

MetLife(PBR48 $MET) to sell Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company and certain wholly owned subsidiaries to Farmers Group, Inc. (FGI), a subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group, for $3.94 billion in cash, includes 10-year strategic partnership through which Farmers Insurance® will offer products on MetLife’s leading US Group Benefits platform, to close in 1Q21. PR link.

MetLife(PBR48 $MET) authorizes a new $3 billion share repurchase program, previous authorization has been used. PR link.

Pfizer(PBR62 $PFE) and BioNTech SE(NASDAQ: BNTX) gets US FDA Emergency Use Authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine, taken in 2 doses 3 weeks apart. PR link.

Oracle(PBR80 $ORCL) announces in its 10-Q report, pg 44, that it has moved its corporate headquarters from Redwood City, CA, to Austin, TX. PR link.

Viatris(PBR271 $VTRS) to close, downsize or divest up to 15 manufacturing facilities globally, up to 20% of its global workforce of approximately 45,000 may be impacted. PR link.

AMC Entertainment(PBR503 $AMC) expects to receive $100 million of cash from Mudrick Capital Management on 01/15/21 in a financing of First Lien Notes due April 2026, Mudrick will also convert $100 million of existing AMC debt into AMC common stock. PR link.

TreeHouse Foods(PBR606 $THS) has completed the acquisition of the majority of Ebro’s Riviana Foods US branded pasta business for $242.5 million cash, expected to generate $170-180 million in annual revenues. PR link.

KKR(PBR611 $ELAN) acquires a portfolio of approximately 9.7 million sf of industrial real estate properties located in seven major markets across the US from High Street Logistics Properties for around $835 million, now has around 30 million sf of industrial properties. PR link.

Elanco Animal Health(PBR733 $ELAN) to acquire exclusive global rights to Kindred Biosciences (NASDAQ: KIN)‘s KIND-030, a first-of-its-kind monoclonal antibody being developed for the treatment and prevention of canine parvovirus (CPV), includes an upfront payment of $500,000 and additional milestone payments based on successful completion of development targets, including efficacy, formulation and manufacturing, and sales. PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the Preliminary November 2020 US Total Final Monthly Demand Producer Price Index is at +0.1%, October 2020 was at +0.3%, September 2020 +0.4%, November 2019 -0.1%, Last 12 Months(Unadjusted) is at +0.8%. PR link.

The U of Michigan Preliminary December 2020 US Consumer Sentiment Index is at 81.4, November 2020 was at 76.9, October 2020 81.8, December 2019 99.3. “Most of the early December gain was due to a more favorable long-term outlook for the economy, while year-ahead prospects for the economy as well as personal finances remained unchanged.” PR link.

***Thursday, December 10

Amazon(PBR2 $AMZN) fined around $42 million by France’s CNIL regulatory agency for for having placed advertising cookies on users’ computers, from the page amazon.fr, without obtaining prior consent and without providing adequate information. PR link.

Alphabet(PBR12 $GOOG)’s Google unit fined around $121 million by France’s CNIL regulatory unit for for having placed advertising cookies on the computers of users of the search engine google.fr, without obtaining prior consent and without providing adequate information. PR link.

Gilead Sciences(PBR134 $GILD) to acquire MYR GmbH, a German biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for the treatment of chronic hepatitis delta virus (HDV), for around $1.29 billion cash, plus up to around $335 million for milestone achievements. PR link.

Tenet Healthcare(PBR166 $THC) to acquire a portfolio of up to 45 ambulatory surgery centers from SurgCenter Development for around $1.1 billion, to close by 12/31/20. PR link.

Leidos(PBR279 $LDOS) to acquire Reston, VA based 1901 Group, a leading provider for managed IT services and cloud solutions in the private and public market with 26 locations across the US, for $215 million cash, to close in 1Q21. PR link.

Raymond James(PBR390 $RJF) to acquire Seattle, WA based NWPS/Northwest Plan Services, an independent provider of retirement plan administration with around 160 employees, 400,000+ participants, and $35+ billion in plan assets, to close by 12/31/20, terms not disclosed. PR link.

AvalonBay Communities(PBR849 $AVB) hires Benjamin Schall as President, to be effective by 02/01/21, Chairman/President/CEO Timothy Naughton to retire as CEO at end of 2021, will become Executive Chairman, Schall to then become CEO. PR link.

The US Dept of the Treasury says the November 2020 US Federal Government Receipts are at $220.0 billion, Outlays $364.8 billion, for a Deficit of $145.3 billion, October 2020 Deficit was at $284.1 billion, September 2020 $124.6 billion, November 2019 $208.8 billion; November 2020 YTD Deficit(2 months) is at $429.3 billion, November 2019 was at $343.3 billion. PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the Preliminary November 2020 US Current Average Earnings/Hour is at $29.58, Average Hours Worked/Week is at 34.8, for Current Average Earnings/Week of $1,029.38, October 2020 was at $1,026.25, September 2019 $1,025.56, November 2019 $972.06. PR link.

The US Federal Reserve says the Preliminary 3Q20 US Networth of Households & Non-Profits is at $123.520 trillion, 2Q20 was at $119.702 trillion, 1Q20 $111.409, 3Q19 $114.752. PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the November 2020 US Consumer Price Index is at +0.2%, October 2020 was at +0.0%, September 2020 +0.2%, November 2019 +0.2%, Last 12 Months +1.2%. PR link.

***Wednesday, December 9

AT&T(PBR9 $T)’s Warner Media unit to sell its Crunchyroll anime direct-to-consumer service to Funimation Global Group, a joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment (Japan)’s subsidiary, Aniplex Inc, for $1.175 billion cash. PR link.

GE(PBR33 $GE) has agreed to pay a $200 million penalty to the US Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges for disclosure failures in its GE Power and GE Capital insurance businesses. SEC PR link.

Lowe’s(PBR44 $LOW) authorizes an additional $15 billion share repurchase program, no time limit, balance available is now $19.7 billion. PR link.

Facebook(PBR47 $FB) being sued by the US Federal Trade Commission, 46 states, Washington, DC and Guam for illegal monopolization from its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. FTC PR link.

LabCorp(PBR262 $LH) gets US FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Pixel by LabCorp™ COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit to become the first to be available over the counter without requiring a prescription, may be covered by medical insurance, out of pocket is $119. PR link.

Amphenol(PBR368 $APH) to acquire global supplier of advanced test systems, motion simulators and precision sensors MTS Systems(Nasdaq: MTSC) for $1.7 billion, includes debt, to close by mid 2021. PR link.

Encompass Health(PBR571 $EHC) is exploring strategic alternatives for its home health and hospice business with a range of options being consideration, including the full or partial separation of the home health and hospice business from Encompass Health through an initial public offering, spin-off, merger, sale or other transaction. PR link.

Cinemark(PBR699 $CNK) has sold more than 100,000 of its Private Watch Parties for 1.3 million moviegoers, pricing starts at $99. PR link.

Apollo Global Mgmt(PBR758 $APO) and and Hudson Executive Capital make a proposal to Cardtronics(NASDAQ: CATM) for $31.00/share, around $1.38 billion, Board will review and assess the terms of the proposal. Cardtronics PR link.

Public Storage(PBR777 $PSA) completes first phase acquisition of 24 units of Beyond Self Storage, to acquire the remaining 12 units upon their completion in 2021, total investment is $528 million. PR link.

Cleveland-Cliffs(PBR897 $CLF) completes $1.4 billion acquisition of ArcelorMittal USA, makes Cleveland-Cliffs the largest flat-rolled steel producer in N America, with combined shipments of approximately 17 million net tons in 2019, will also be the largest iron ore pellet producer in N America, with 28 million long tons of annual capacity. PR link.

Starbucks(PBR109 $SBUX) appoints Vice-Chair Mellody Hobson as Non-Executive Chair, will succeed current chair, Myron E. Ullman, III upon his retirement in 03/21. PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the Preliminary October 2020 US Job Openings-Private is at 5,950,000, Government 702,000, for an October 2020 Total Job Openings of 6,652,000, September 2020 was at 6,494,000, August 2020 6,352,000, October 2019 7,309,000. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says the Preliminary October 2020 US Wholesale Sales-Durables is at $244.5 billion, Non-Durables $252.1, October 2020 Total Wholesale Sales is at $496.6 billion, September 2020 was at $487.7 billion, August 2020 $485.7 billion, October 2019 $492.1 billion. PR link.

***Tuesday, December 8

GE(PBR33 $GE) voluntarily pre-funds $2.5 billion of estimated minimum ERISA GE Pension Plan funding requirements for 2021, 2022, and into 2023, repays $1.5 billion of its intercompany loan to GE Capital, actions to further solidify its financial position. PR link.

Apple(PBR4 $AAPL) to launch on 12/14/20 its Fitness+ app, the first fitness experience built around Apple Watch, $9.99/mo or $79.99/year; introduces its AirPods Max headset, over-ear design, features high-fidelity audio, Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, and spatial audio, available starting 12/15/20, priced at $549. PR link.

Pfizer(PBR62 $PFE) and BioNTech SE(NASDAQ: BNTX)‘s investigational COVID-19 vaccine (BNT162b2) 38,000 participants phase 3 study suggests a favorable safety profile, with no specific safety concerns identified that would preclude issuance of a US FDA Emergency Use Authorization, FDA committee meets 12/10/20. PR link.

Goldman Sachs(PBR87 $GS) to acquire 100% of its mainland Chinese joint venture from partner Beijing Gao Hua Securities, the latest global bank to seek full control of its business as Beijing further opens up the financial sector. South China Morning Post PR link.

Tesla(PBR119 $TSLA) to sell up to $5 billion of its common stock from time to time, through an “at-the-market” offering program. PR link.

Uber(PBR224 $UBER) to invest a further $75 million in Joby Aviation, a transportation company developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing passenger aircraft, which it intends to operate as early as 2023, after initial investment of $50 million in 01/20, deal includes Joby’s acquisition of software tool Uber Elevate for the aerial ridesharing market. PR link.

US Steel(PBR239 $X) has exercised its call option to acquire the remaining equity of Big River Steel for approximately $774 million cash, acquired 49.9% equity stake in 10/19, to close in 1Q21. PR link.

Foot Locker(PBR379 $FL) adopts a short-term shareholder rights plan in response to a recent significant accumulation of the Company’s stock by Vesa Equity Investment, the Company’s largest shareholder, which currently has a 12.2% stake. PR link.

Sirius XM Radio(PBR388 $SIRI) popular radio talk show host Howard Stern extends exclusive agreement for 5 more years, audio/video archives to continue for an additional 7 years. PR link.

Activision Blizzard(PBR449 $ATVI)’s World of Warcraft® Shadowlands sells more than 3.7 million units on first day of release, a new pc gaming record, versions from $39.99 to $79.99. PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the 3Q20-1st Revision US Labor Business Productivity Output/Hour is at +6.0%, 2Q20 was at +9.6%, 1Q20 +0.0%, 3Q19 +0.2%. PR link.

CoreLogic says the September 2020 US Housing Loans 30 or More Days Delinquent is at 6.3%, August 2020 was at 6.6%, July 2020 6.6%, September 2019 3.8%. “Although delinquencies remain high, it’s clear the economy has passed an initial stress test. High home equity balances and structural protections put in place as a result of the Great Recession contributed to surviving this test. Housing demand remains strong, and rates low, which provides optimism that the housing market will continue to be a bright spot in this COVID-ravaged economy.” PR link.

***Monday, December 7

Raytheon Technologies(PBR39 $RTX) authorizes up to $5 billion share repurchase program, replaces previous authorization approved on 10/14/15. PR link.

Northrop Grumman(PBR91 $NOC) to sell its federal IT and mission support business, expected to generate around $2.3 billion in revenues in 2020, to Veritas Capital, for $3.4 billion, to close in 1H21. PR link.

Altria(PBR115 $MO) gets US FDA authorization for the commercialization of its next generation of the IQOS tobacco heating system device, IQOS 3. PR link.

Carrier(PBR165 $CARR) to sell its remaining interest in Swedish based commercial and industrial refrigeration as well as heating and air conditioning products provider Beijer Ref AB, consisting of A and B shares, to global investment firm EQT, for around $1.1 billion, to close by 12/31/20. PR link.

Uber(PBR224 $UBER) autonomous vehicle technologies unit Apparate USA to be acquired by Aurora Innovation, Uber to also make a $400 million equity investment in Aurora, combined transaction will result in Uber having a 26% stake in Aurora, to close in 1Q21. PR link.

DISH(PBR243 $DISH) agrees to pay $210 million settlement with the US Dept of Justice and several states for committing certain telemarketing violations. PR link.

Adobe Systems(PBR275 $ADBE) completes $1.5 billion acquisition of work management platform for marketers provider with 3,000 customers with 1 million users Workfront. PR link.

Huntsman(PBR430 $HUN) to acquire around $106 million of revenues in 2019 Gabriel Performance Products, a N American specialty chemical manufacturer of specialty additives and epoxy curing agents for the coatings, adhesives, sealants and composite end-markets, from Audax Private Equity, for $250 million, to close in 1Q21. PR link.

Post Holdings(PBR483 $POST) to acquire the iconic nationally recognized Peter Pan peanut butter brand, which is currently co-manufactured by 8th Avenue Food & Provisions, an affiliate of Post, from Conagra Brands(PBR281 $CAG), to close in 1Q21, terms not disclosed. PR link.

Apollo Global Mgmt(PBR758 $APO) to acquire the Italian B2C gaming machine, sports betting, and digital gaming businesses of International Gaming Technology(NYSE: IGT)‘s Italian affiliate for around $1.1 billion cash, to close in 1H21. IGT PR link.

NortonLifeLock(PBR821 $NLOK) to acquire consumer-focused portfolio of cybersecurity and privacy solutions to a strong base in Europe and key emerging markets provider Avira, from Investcorp Technology Partners, for around $360 million cash, to close by 02/28/21. PR link.

Ingersoll-Rand(PBR828 $IR) to acquire Springfield, MO based 160 employees with around $60 million in annual revenues Tuthill Vacuum and Blower Systems for $184 million cash, to close in 1Q21. PR link.

SL Green Realty(PBR986 $SLG) increases share repurchase program by $500 million, total authorizes is now $3.5 billion. PR link.

The US Federal Reserve says the Preliminary October 2020 US Consumer Credit Outstanding-Revolving is at $979.6 billion, Non-Revolving $3,184.6 billion, October 2020 Total Consumer Credit Outstanding is $4,164.2 billion, September 2020 was at $4,157.0 billion, August 2020 $4,142.0 billion, October 2019 4,163.3 billion. PR link.

The FannieMae November 2020 US Home Purchase Sentiment Index is at 80.0, October 2020 was at 81.7, September 2020 81.0, November 2019 91.5. “The HPSI appears to have peaked for now as consumers continue to consider how COVID-19 impacts their ability to buy or sell a home… This follows the HPSI’s recovery of slightly more than half of the loss experienced during the first few months of the pandemic.” PR link.

***Friday, December 4

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 49 of 2020 ending 12/04/20:

DJIA ends Week 49 at record 30,218.26, +1.03% from last Friday, +1.96% MTD, +8.77% QTD, +5.89% YTD, +0.00% from record 30,218.26 set 12/04/20.

NASDAQ ends Week 49 at record 12,464.23, +2.12% from last Friday, +2.18% MTD, +11.61% QTD, +38.91% YTD, +0.00% from record 12,464.23 set 12/04/20.

SPX ends Week 49 at record 3,699.12, +1..67% from last Friday, +2.14% MTD, +9.99% QTD, +114.50% YTD, +0.00% from record 3,699.12 set 12/04/20.

The Week 49 of 2020 News Summary:
A top story continues to be the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic, as it hits new weekly highs for infections and deaths. As of today, Friday, 12/04/20, at 2:28PM Eastern US, the John Hopkins University CSSE unit says there are now 65,686,172 confirmed cases globally with 1,514,549 deaths, a weekly increase of 76,041, which is +6,279 from last Friday. For the US it is 14,297,251 confirmed cases and 278,083 deaths, a weekly increase of 14,046, which is +3,891 from last Friday. Health experts are expecting an even greater increase soon from the lack of social distancing and use of masks during the US Thanksgiving week as families and friends gathered, with millions traveling many miles. Cooler temperatures are also contributing. But there continues to be optimism as vaccines are approved for emergency use authorization, manufacturing is ramped up, and distribution plans made. Initial inoculations should start in late December/early January. In US politics the President-Elect Joe Biden has introduced some cabinet and high level appointments, and starting to say which policies he plans start working on when inaugurated, like rejoining the Paris Climate Change and the World Health Organization. President Trump has been somewhat silent, still has not personally conceded the election, and has already raised over $200 million for another run in 2024. US economic news generally continued to support a modest increase. This was reiterated in the Federal Reserve Beige Book. Weekly initial unemployment claims are not falling as fast as most people would like, the jobs reports show modest growth at best, but manufacturing orders continue to increase, and business and consumer surveys indicate near term optimism. A cause for concern is that trade imbalances continue to increase. Retail sales overall, especially from online purchases, reached record levels during the Black Friday through Cyber Monday annual holiday shopping frenzy. There is still a chance Congress will pass another stimulus bill before year end, and it must also resolve government funding and military spending issues. The Stock Market Bull feasted too much over the Thanksgiving Weekend and slept in on Monday. The Stock Market Bear took advantage and had a big day. But The Stock Market Bull returned on Tuesday, dominated the week, and all 3 major US stock indices ended Week 49 at record highs. The Stock Market Bull has now clinched victories for most months and weeks won, and there does not appear to be any chance The Stock Market Bear can cause a complete collapse of the markets over the 4 weeks remaining. Stay safe, healthy and warm!

The Week 49 of 2020 tally YTD is:
The Stock Market Bull: 24 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 18 weeks
Mixed Results: 7 weeks

Eli Lilly(PBR139 $LLY) and United Health(PBR7 $UNH) to partner in a pragmatic study of bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) in high-risk, COVID-19 infected individuals; bamlanivimab recently received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 patients who are at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization. PR link.

MGM Resorts(PBR241 $MGM) launches digital gaming service BetMGM Casino in Pennsylvania, includes 140+ games accessible on Android, IOS, and desktops. PR link.

PSEG(PBR308 $PEG) to acquire 25% ownership interest from Orsted N America in 1,100 megawatt Ocean Wind project, New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm,could provide power by end of 2024. PR link.

Quest Diagnostics(PBR392 #DGX) gets US FDA authorization for first diagnostic test for at home collection of patient samples to detect both COVID-19 and influenza A and B (flu), the Quest Diagnostics RC COVID-19 +Flu RT-PCR Test for prescription use with the Quest Diagnostics Self-Collection Kit for COVID-19 +Flu by individuals who are suspected of respiratory viral infection consistent with COVID-19 when home collection is determined to be appropriate by an individual’s healthcare provider. PR link.

Blackstone(PBR404 $BX) completes $4.7 billion acquisition of online family history provider with 3 million subscribers and $1+ billion in annual revenues Ancestry® from Silver Lake, GIC, Spectrum Equity, Permira, and other equity holders. PR link.

Alliance Data(PBR492 $ADS) completes around $450 million cash and stock acquisition of Bread, a tech-driven digital payments company with an omnichannel solution for retailers and platform capabilities to banks. PR link.

Elanco Animal Health(PBR733 $ELAN) is making Indiana its base for future global consolidated operations, anchored by a new streamlined fit-for-purpose global headquarters in downtown Indianapolis, will take 2-3 years for the construction project. PR link.

Interactive Brokers(PBR814 $IBKR) to acquire the self-directed retail brokerage segment with its 70,000 customers of Folio Investments, which was acquired by Goldman Sachs(PBR87) on 09/18/20, to close in 01/21, terms not disclosed. PR link.

The Cheesecake Factory(PBR823 $CAKE) agrees to pay $125,000 in settlement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for making misleading disclosures about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business operations and financial condition; is first public company to be charged. PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the November 2020 Civilian Labor Force Employed is at 149,723,000, October 2020 was at 149,806,000, September 2020 147,536,000, November 2019 158,536,000; November 2020 Unemployment Rate is at 6.7%, October 2020 was at 6.9%, September 2020 7.9%, November 2019 3.5%. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says the Preliminary October 2020 US Manufacturers New Orders-Durables is at $241.0 billion, Non-Durables $239.8 billion, Total New Orders $480.8 billion, September 2020 was at $475.9 billion, August 2020 $469.8 billion, October 2019 $496.6 billion. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says the Preliminary October 2020 US Exports-Goods is at $126.3 billion, Services $55.7 billion, Total Exports $182.0 billion; October 2020 US Imports-Goods is at $207.8 billion, Services $37.4 billion, Total Imports $245.2 billion; October 2020 Trade Deficit is at $63.2 billion, September 2020 was at $62.0 billion, August 2020 $64.9 billion, October 2019 $42.9 billion; October 2020 Total Deficit YTD(10 months) is at $536.7 billion, October 2019 was at $489.7 billion. PR link.

***Thursday, December 3

Walmart(PBR1 $WMT) to pay out over $700 million in additional associate bonuses for the holiday season, will have paid over $2.8 billion total cash bonuses to associates in 2020. PR link.

Chevron(PBR16 $CVX) announces $14 billion capital and exploratory budget for 2021. PR link.

Boeing(PBR40 $BA) gets order from Ryanair for 75 additional 737 MAX jets, grows its firm 737 order book to 210 airplanes. PR link.

Facebook(PBR47 $FB) being sued by the US Dept of Justice, alleges Facebook favors H-1B visa workers and other temporary visa holders over US workers. US DOJ PR link.

Pfizer(PBR62 $PFE) now plans to have 50 million of its COVID-19 vaccine produced by end of 2020, had previously said 100 million, says scaling up the raw material supply chain took longer than expected, still plans to produce over $1 billion doses in 2021. Wall Street Journal PR link.

3M(PBR98 $MMM) restructuring in response to COVID-19 pandemic, expects to impact around 2,900 positions globally. PR link.

Southwest Airlines(PBR135 $LUV) sends notice of potential furloughs to nearly 7,000 employees, will take place March 15 or April 1 or within 14 days after those dates. bizjournals PR link.

International Paper(PBR138 $IP) to pursue a spin-off of its Printing Papers segment into a standalone, publicly traded company by end of 3Q21, new company will have around $4 billion in annual sales, 8 mills with 2.9 million metric tons of annual capacity and 0.4 million metric tons of coated paperboard capacity, IP to focus on corrugated packaging and absorbent cellulose fibers. PR link.

Intuit(PBR394 $INTU) completes $8.1 billion cash and stock acquisition of $1 billion in revenues Credit Karma, a consumer technology platform with more than 110 million members in the US, Canada and UK. PR link.

AMC Entertainment(PBR503 $AMC) to offer up to 200 million shares of its Class A stock, stock price at NYSE close on 12/02/20 was at $4.32/share. PR link.

Michael’s Cos(PBR535 $MIK) in 3Q20 report announces special bonus to be paid in the 4Q for team members totaling approximately $10 million in one-time holiday bonuses to both full-time and part-time team members. PR link.

Express(PBR892 $EXPR) says in 3Q20 report that it has completed a 10% workforce reduction at its Columbus, OH corporate office, expected to result in $13 million in benefits in 2021. PR link.

Parsley Energy(PBR903 $PE) sets 01/12/21 as date for special shareholders meeting to vote on $7.6 billion acquisition by Pioneer Natural Resources(PBR479 $PXD). PR link.

Curtiss-Wright(PBR822 $CW) Chairman/CEO David Adams to retire CEO role effective 01/01/21, to be Executive Chairman through 05/22 annual meeting, President/Defense and Power Segments Lynn Bamford to become President/CEO on 01/01/21, add Chairman role in 05/22. PR link.

IHS Markit says the November 2020 US Composite PMI Output Index is at 58.6, October 2020 was at 56.3, September 2020 54.3, November 2019 52.0. “… manufacturing and service sector firms both recorded faster expansions in output. The rate of growth was the sharpest since March 2015… business expectations strengthened to the highest since May 2014 amid vaccine hopes and signs of pent-up demand being released.” PR link.

The Institute for Supply Management(ISM) says the November 2020 US Services PMI Index(>50% economy is growing) is at 55.9%, October 2020 was at 56.6%, September 2020 57.8%, November 2019 53.9%. “In November, there continued to be a slight pullback in the rate of growth in the services sector. Respondents’ comments are mixed about business conditions and the economy. Restaurants continue to struggle with capacity constraints and logistics. Most companies are cautious as they navigate operations amid the pandemic and the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election…” PR link.

***Wednesday, December 2

Walmart(PBR1 $WMT) is removing the $35 shipping minimum for Walmart.com orders for its Walmart+ members beginning 12/04/20, delivery from Walmart stores on items like groceries will still carry a $35 minimum. PR link.

Pfizer(PBR62 $PFE) and BioNTech SE(NASDAQ: BNTX) COVID-19 mRNA vaccine gets Emergency Use Authorization in the UK, first authorization in the world, already has an agreement to supply a total of 40 million doses to the UK with delivery in 2020 and 2021, US FDA and EU EMA decisions expected in December. PR link.

AbbVie(PBR94 $ABBV) to pay Frontier Medicines an up front fee of $55 million plus additional milestone payments in multi-year global strategic collaboration to discover, develop and commercialize a pipeline of innovative small molecule therapeutics against high-interest, difficult-to-drug protein targets. PR link.

Mondelez(PBR112 $MDLZ) extends share repurchase program for an additional three years to 12/31/23, replaces existing authorization set to expire 12/31/20, also approves a $4 billion increase to the share repurchase program authorization, brings balance to approximately $6 billion. PR link.

Eli Lilly(PBR139 $LLY) gets $812.5 million purchase order from the US government for an additional 650,000 doses of its neutralizing antibody bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) 700 mg, doses will be delivered through 01/21/21, with at least 350,000 of the additional doses delivered in 12/20. PR link.

Becton Dickinson(PBR182 $BDX) to invest around $1.2 billion over a 4-year period to expand and upgrade manufacturing capacity and technology for pre-fillable syringes (PFS) and advanced drug delivery systems (ADDS) across its six global manufacturing locations and add a new manufacturing facility in Europe. PR link.

XPO Logistics(PBR192 $XPO) to pursue a spin-off of 100% of its logistics segment as a separate publicly traded company, shareholders to own stock in both companies. PR link.

Discovery(PBR277 $DISCA) announces global launch of discovery+, the definitive non-fiction, real life subscription streaming service, debuting in the US on 01/04/21, includes partnership with Verizon(PBR20 $VZ) that gives its customers with select plans 12 months of discovery+ on Verizon, already rolled out in the UK, Ireland and India, initial 25 countries planned. PR link.

Norwegian Cruise Lines(PBR451 $NCLH) extends suspension on voyages through 02/28/21 and select voyages in March. PR link.

LPL Financial(PBR487 $LPLA) to acquire Waddell & Reed(PBR998 $WDR)’s Wealth Management business for $300 million from Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG) when it acquires Waddell & Reed, Macquarie to enter into a long-term partnership with LPL, will become one of LPL’s top tier strategic asset management partners, to close in mid 2021. PR link.

Abercrombie & Fitch(PBR658 $ANF) in its 3Q report says it will have closed 7 of its 15 flagship stores by 01/31/21, repositioning from larger format, tourist-dependent flagship locations to smaller, omni-enabled stores that cater to local customers. PR link.

Waddell & Reed(PBR998 $WDR) to be acquired by division of Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG) for $25.00/share, $1.7 billion, to close in mid 2021. PR link.

The US Federal Reserve releases the Beige Book, for data through 11/20/20. “Most Federal Reserve Districts have characterized economic expansion as modest or moderate since the prior Beige Book period. However, four Districts described little or no growth, and five narratives noted that activity remained below pre-pandemic levels for at least some sectors.” PR link.

ADP says the Preliminary November 2020 US National Change In Employment-Small Businesses is at +110,000, Mid-Sized +139,000, Large-Sized +58,000, Total +307,000, October 2020 was at +404,000, September 2020 +754,000, November 2019 +161,000; November 2020 Goods Producing Jobs are at +31,000, Services Sector +276,000. PR link.

***Tuesday, December 1

Wells Fargo(PBR26 $WFC) to sell its Des Moines, IA-based Centurion Life Insurance, licensed in 47 states and the District of Columbia, to Dallas, TX-bases insurtech startup Bestow, to close in 01/21, terms not disclosed. Barron’s PR link.

Hewlett Packard Enterprises(PBR101 $HPE) in its fiscal year 4Q20 report announces it is moving its corporate headquarters from San Jose, CA, to Houston, TX, its largest employment hub; San Jose to remain an innovation center, no layoffs are planned. PR link.

SYNNEX(PBR126 $SNX) completes spin-off of global CX solutions company Concentrix Corporation(NASDAQ: CNXC) to SYNNEX shareholders. PR link.

Kohl’s(PBR159 $KISS) and largest specialty beauty retailer in the world Sephora enter into a long-term strategic partnership, “Sephora at Kohl’s” to be in 200 Kohl’s stores in Fall 2021, will have 2,500 sf near front of the store, to expand to at least 800 stores by 2023. PR link.

Salesforce(PBR185 $CRM) to acquire channel-based messaging platform Slack(NYSE: WORK) for $26.79 in cash and 0.0776 shares of Salesforce common stock for each Slack share, for an enterprise value of around $27.7 billion, to close by 07/31/21. PR link.

Uber(PBR224 $UBER) completes the $2.65 billion acquisition of Postmates delivery service. PR link.

Lithia Motors(PBR245 $LAD) has acquired Ramsey Subaru and Mazda, the highest-volume Subaru and Mazda dealers in Iowa, expected to add $100 million in annual revenues. PR link.

Boston Scientific(PBR289 $BSX) to sell its developer, manufacturer and commercializer of life-saving antidotes used in hospitals and emergency care settings BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals to affiliates of SERB, a European specialty pharmaceutical group, for $800 million cash, to close in 1H21. PR link.

Altice USA(PBR316 $ATUS) completes $3.2 billion sale of 49.99% of its Lightpath fiber enterprise business, serving the New York City metro area, to Morgan Stanley, ATUS will maintain control of Lightpath. PR link.

JM Smucker(PBR387 $SJM) completes around $550 million cash sale of its 160 employees $270 million in revenues for year ending 04/30/20 Crisco® oils and shortening business to B&G Foods. PR link.

Coty(PBR563 $COTY) completes $3.5 billion sale of its 60% ownership in Coty’s Professional and Retail Hair business, including the Wella, Clairol, OPI and ghd brands, to KKR(PBR609). PR link.

Hologic(PBR683 $HOLX) gets US FDA clearance and commercial availability of its Genius AI™ Detection technology, a new deep learning-based software designed to help radiologists detect subtle potential cancers in breast tomosynthesis images. PR link.

Elanco Animal Health(PBR733 $ELAN) shareholder Bayer AG affiliate to sell 54.5 million Elanco common shares at $30.25/share in a public offering, scheduled to close 12/03/20. PR link.

Tailored Brands(PBR771 $TLRDQ) emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, emerges with a significantly bolstered financial position, $686 million of debt eliminated from its balance sheet and the full support of its new owners. PR link.

Vornado Realty Trust(PBR907 $VNO) to reduce overhead costs by over $35 million annually, which involves compensation reductions and a 70 person reduction in force. PR link.

Wendy’s(PBR939 $WEN), Rebel Foods and Sierra Nevada Restaurants agree to a strategic partnership to expand Wendy’s® presence in India over the next decade, Rebel Foods will partner with Sierra Nevada Restaurants to develop and operate approximately 250 Wendy’s cloud kitchens across India, and Sierra Nevada will develop 150 traditional Wendy’s restaurants. PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says the Preliminary October 2020 US Construction Spending Annual Rate-Residential is at $646.1 billion, Non-Residential $792.4, Total $1,438.5 billion, September 2020 was at $1,420.4 billion, August 2020 $1,426.9 billion, October 2019 $1,386.8 billion. PR link.

The Institute for Supply Management says the November 2020 US Manufacturing PMI Index(>50% economy expanding) is at 57.5%, October 2020 was at 59.3%, September 2020 55.4%, November 2019 48.1%. “Manufacturing performed well for the sixth straight month, with demand, consumption and inputs registering growth, but at slower rates compared to October. Labor market difficulties, both current and anticipated, at panelists’ companies and their suppliers will continue to dampen the manufacturing economy until the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis ends…” PR link.

IHS Markit says the November 2020 US Manufacturing PMI Index is at 56.7, October 2020 was at 53.4, September 2020 53.2, November 2019 52.6. “… expectations regarding output over the coming year improved to the strongest since February 2015. Hopes of a vaccine and sustained increases in client demand reportedly drove optimism.” PR link.

The Purdue U/CME Group November 2020 US Ag Economy Barometer Composite Index is at 167, October 2020 was at 183, September 2020 156, November 2019 153. “Farmer sentiment pulls back post-election: regulation, trade, and taxes rated as top concerns.” PR link.

Adobe Systems(PBR275) says a record $10.8 billion was spent online by the end of Cyber Monday, an increase of 15.1 percent YoY, making it the largest online shopping day in US history and beating last year’s $9.4 billion record. Total season-to-date spending (November through Cyber Monday) was $106.5 billion (27.7 percent YoY growth), surpassing the $100 billion milestone nine days faster than last year. Smartphones accounted for 41.1 percent of revenue during the five-day period. PR link.

***Monday, November 30

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for November ending 11/30/20: DJIA ends November at 29,638.64, -0.91% from last Friday, +11.84% MTD, +6.68% QTD, +3.86% YTD, -1.36% from record 30,046.24 set 11/24/20. NASDAQ ends November at 12,198.74, -0.06% from last Friday, +11.80% MTD, +9.23% QTD, +35.46% YTD, -0.06% from record 12,205.85 set 11/27/20. SPX ends November at 3,621.63, -0.46% from last Friday, +10.75% MTD, +7.69% QTD, +12.10% YTD, -0.46% from record 3,638.35 set 11/27/20.

The YTD tally through November 2020 is:
The Stock Market Bull: 6 months
The Stock Market Bear: 4 months
Mixed Results: 1 month

Check out the BLOG page for the previous RECAPS and SNAPSHOTS posts.

Click here to follow The PBR1000 on Twitter!

PBRMarketTools.com is an independent business intelligence and analytics service. It is not, nor is it affiliated with, any financial advisory, stock brokerage or related firm.

(Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Filed Under: Recaps Tagged With: acquisitions, Business Intelligence, business news, Coronavirus, COVID19, DJIA, Economy, Institutional Investor, Investing, Investors, Leadership, Market Research, mergers, Money, NASDAQ, NYSE, PBRMarketTools, Rankings, Recap, S&P 500, Stock Market, Stocks, The PBR1000, WallStreet, Wealth Management

The PBR1000 Summary: Equitable Holdings(NYSE: EQH)

December 31, 2020 by admin

The PBR1000 Summary: Equitable Holdings(NYSE: EQH)

Empowering Astute Business Leaders and Shrewd Investors Through The PBR1000 Analytics!

The PBR1000 Summary: Equitable Holdings(NYSE: EQH)

Business Description: “Equitable Holdings (NYSE: EQH) is one of America’s leading financial services companies, preparing clients for their financial future since 1859 through two principal franchises, Equitable Life and AllianceBernstein. Our competitive products, premier distribution platform and investment expertise position us as a leading provider of financial advice, asset management and protection solutions to Americans. We aim to be the most trusted partner to our clients with advice and products that are designed to protect their families and prepare for their financial future with confidence.”

Business Name: Equitable Holdings, Inc.
Ticker: NYSE: EQH
Fiscal Year Ending Month: December
Stock Price(07/06/21): $29.60
Analyst Estimates(07/06/21): $42.36 12 Month Target Average, +43.11% Estimated 12 Month Change, Buy Recommendation, 4.75/5.00, based on 12 Estimates.

Some of the 28 Current The PBR1000 Rankings for EQH as of 07/06/21:

#237 By Annual Revenues: $12.415 billion(12/31/20)
#470 By Market Capitalization: $13.04 billion(06/30/21)
#29 By Assets: $275.397 billion(12/31/20)
#668 By Employees: 7,900(12/31/20)

To get the complete profile for EQH and for all 1,000 of The PBR1000 click here!

On July 2, 2021, EQH was on The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks. To find out who else is click here!

Empowering Astute Business Leaders and Shrewd Investors
Through The PBR1000 Analytics!

Disclaimers: The PBR1000 is compiled from a variety of publicly available resources. As such, PBRMarketTools.com is not responsible for the data itself. Any liability for the representations or decisions based on the data is solely the responsibility of the authorized user, not PBRMarketTools.com, its employees or affiliates. PBRMarketTools.com is an independent business intelligence service providing news, data, and analysis. Our research should not be regarded as a recommendation for a stock. PBRMarketTools is not a financial advisory or stock brokerage firm and has no affiliation with such organizations.

This The PBR1000 Spotlight is provided by:

UG06-LP

Filed Under: Summary Tagged With: Analytics, Business Intelligence, Investing, Investments, Investors, Market Research, PBRMarketTools, Personal Finance, Profile, Rankings, Stock Market, Stocks, Summary, The PBR1000, The PBR25, WallStreet, Wealth

The PBR1000 Summary: Zynga(NASDAQ: ZNGA)

December 31, 2020 by admin

The PBR1000 Summary: Zynga(NASDAQ: ZNGA)

Empowering Astute Business Leaders and Shrewd Investors Through The PBR1000 Analytics!

Business Description: “Zynga is a global leader in interactive entertainment with a mission to connect the world through games. With massive global reach in more than 175 countries and regions, Zynga has a diverse portfolio of popular game franchises that have been downloaded more than four billion times on mobile, including CSR Racing™, Empires & Puzzles™, Hair Challenge™, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells™, High Heels!™, Merge Dragons!™, Merge Magic!™, Queen Bee™, Toon Blast™, Toy Blast™, Words With Friends™ and Zynga Poker™. With Chartboost, a leading mobile advertising and monetization platform, Zynga is an industry-leading next-generation platform with the ability to optimize programmatic advertising and yields at scale.”

Business Name: Zynga Inc.
Ticker: NASDAQ: ZNGA(Class A)
Fiscal Year Ending Month: December

Stock Price and Analyst Estimates for ZNGA on 10/19/21:

Stock Price: $7.61
Average 12 Month Stock Price Target: $11.80
Estimated 12 Month Change: +55.06%
Analysts Recommendation: Buy, 4.70/5.00, based on 20 estimates

Some of the 28 Current The PBR1000 Rankings for ZNGA on 10/19/21:

864 By Annual Revenues: $1.975 billion(12/31/20)
575 By Market Capitalization: $8.24 billion(09/30/21)
639 By Assets: $6.207 billion(12/31/20)
909 By Employees: 2,245(12/31/20)

To get the complete profile for ZNGA and for all 1,000 of The PBR1000 click here!

On September 30, 2021, ZNGA was on The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks. To find out who else is click here!

Disclaimers: The PBR1000 is compiled from a variety of publicly available resources. As such, PBRMarketTools.com is not responsible for the data itself. Any liability for the representations or decisions based on the data is solely the responsibility of the authorized user, not PBRMarketTools.com, its employees or affiliates. PBRMarketTools.com is an independent business intelligence service providing news, data, and analysis. PBRMarketTools.com research should not be regarded as recommendations or advice. PBRMarketTools.com is not a financial advisory or stock brokerage firm and has no affiliation with such organizations.

This The PBR1000 Spotlight is provided by:

Empowering Astute Business Leaders and Shrewd Investors

Through The PBR1000 US Public Companies Analytics!

UJ19-LP

Filed Under: Summary Tagged With: Analytics, Business Intelligence, Finance, Investing, Investor, Money, PBRMarketTools, Rankings, Stock Market, Stocks, Technology, The PBR1000, The PBR25, WallStreet, Wealth, ZNGA, Zynga

The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks January 2020 Report Card

The PBR25 Premise

Last 12 Months Influences

Creating The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks List for January 2020

Characteristics of The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks for January 2020

Actual Results for The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks for January 2021

Conclusions, Observations, Validations and Realities

Additional Information

Empowering Shrewd Investors Through The PBR1000 Analytics!

The PBR1000 for January 2021: A Mixed Start

The January 2021 US Major Stock Market Exchanges Summary

The PBR1000 January 2021 Snapshots

Table 1(S11): The PBR1000 Top 5 Month Stock Price % Gainers

Table 2(S12): The PBR1000 Top 5 12 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 3(S13): The PBR1000 Top 5 24 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 4(R21): The PBR1000 Top 5 60 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 5(S15): The PBR1000 Top 5 Market Capitalization

Table 6: The PBR1000 Index & Primary US Stock Exchanges/Commodities

The PBR1000 for January: The Beginning of the End?

The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks December 2019 Report Card

Creating The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks List for December 2019

Characteristics of The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks on December 31, 2019

Actual Results for The PBR25 Top Buy Stocks on December 31, 2020

Conclusions, Observations, Validations and Realities

Additional Information

Empowering Shrewd Investors Through The PBR1000 Analytics!

The PBR1000 for December 2020: The Stock Market Bull Wins 2020

The December 2020 US Major Stock Market Exchanges Summary

The PBR1000 December 2020 Snapshots

Table 1(S11): The PBR1000 Top 5 Month Stock Price % Gainers

Table 2(S12): The PBR1000 Top 5 12 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 3(S13): The PBR1000 Top 5 24 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 4(R21): The PBR1000 Top 5 60 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 5(S15): The PBR1000 Top 5 Market Capitalization

Table 6: The PBR1000 Index & Primary US Stock Exchanges/Commodities

The PBR1000 Summary: JPMorgan Chase(NYSE: JPM)

Stock Price and Analyst Estimates for JPM on 08/20/21:

Some of the 28 Current The PBR1000 Rankings for JPM on 08/20/21:

Empowering Astute Business Leaders and Shrewd Investors Worldwide

Through The PBR1000 US Public Companies Analytics!

The PBR1000 Summary: Skechers USA(NYSE: SKX)

Stock Price and Analyst Estimates for SKX on 10/22/21:

Some of the 28 Current The PBR1000 Rankings for SKX on 10/22/21:

Empowering Astute Business Leaders and Shrewd Investors

Through The PBR1000 US Public Companies Analytics!

The PBR1000 for December: Will Congress Be A Generous Giver?

The PBR1000 Summary: Equitable Holdings(NYSE: EQH)

The PBR1000 Summary: Equitable Holdings(NYSE: EQH)

Some of the 28 Current The PBR1000 Rankings for EQH as of 07/06/21:

Empowering Astute Business Leaders and Shrewd Investors Through The PBR1000 Analytics!

The PBR1000 Summary: Zynga(NASDAQ: ZNGA)

Stock Price and Analyst Estimates for ZNGA on 10/19/21:

Some of the 28 Current The PBR1000 Rankings for ZNGA on 10/19/21:

Empowering Astute Business Leaders and Shrewd Investors

Through The PBR1000 US Public Companies Analytics!

Testimonials

Stocks Investment Tool

Using The PBR1000 Doubled My Business

Follow Us

Sharing

Empowering Astute Business Leaders and Shrewd Investors
Through The PBR1000 Analytics!