Streetbeat News

Equity Actions

PAYX

Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) has seen a 2.10% drop in its current trading session, with a 3.35% fall over the past month and a 4.16% decrease over the past year. The company's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is lower than the aggregate P/E of the Professional Services industry, which could indicate that the stock is undervalued or that shareholders do not expect it to perform better in the future.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Insights

September 15, 2023 | 7:15 pm

GOOGL

A significant number of investors have taken a bearish stance on Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), with 73% of the 75 detected trades being bearish. The total amount for puts is $1,247,673 and for calls is $7,633,395. Whales have been targeting a price range from $40.0 to $180.0 for Alphabet over the last 3 months. The current price of GOOGL is down -0.77% at $137.03. Several experts have maintained or downgraded their ratings on Alphabet, with price targets ranging from $138 to $160.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Insights

September 15, 2023 | 7:04 pm

FDX

A significant amount of unusual options activity has been detected for FedEx (NYSE:FDX), with a bearish stance being taken by a majority of investors. Of the 10 strange trades detected, 60% were bearish and 40% bullish. The total amount for puts was $255,950 and for calls was $149,190. The price range targeted by whales over the last 3 months is from $180.0 to $290.0. The current price of FDX is down -1.05% at $254.33. Analysts from Citigroup, Baird, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo have maintained their ratings on FedEx, with price targets ranging from $200 to $300.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Insights

September 15, 2023 | 7:04 pm

RCL

Stifel analyst Steven M. Wieczynski reiterated a Buy rating on Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL), but lowered the price target to $130 from $135 due to higher fuel headwinds and negative FX moves. Despite lowering the FY24 and FY25 EPS and revenue estimates, Wieczynski believes that RCL's current share price reflects under-appreciation of the company’s liquidity, operational expertise, and customer resilience. He also sees a two-to-three-year pent-up backlog in demand and encourages investors to accumulate shares at current levels.

Portfolio Pulse from Nabaparna Bhattacharya

September 15, 2023 | 6:46 pm

BABA

META

MSFT

Alibaba Holdings Limited (NYSE:BABA) has released two new AI models, Qwen-VL and Qwen-VL-Chat, which are vision language models capable of reading and acting upon images. This comes a day after Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) launched its AI model for writing computer code. Alibaba's new models are seen as a significant step in the AI race, although Meta remains ahead. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is also mentioned in relation to its AI model, GPT-4.

Portfolio Pulse from Upwallstreet

September 15, 2023 | 6:28 pm

AZO

A significant bearish stance has been taken on AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) as indicated by unusual options activity. The sentiment among these big-money traders is 80% bearish. The whales have been targeting a price range from $1840.0 to $2800.0 for AutoZone over the last 3 months. The price of AZO is currently down -1.24% at $2544.09. Evercore ISI Group has maintained their Outperform rating on AutoZone, with a price target of $2670.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Insights

September 15, 2023 | 5:48 pm

WBD

A significant bullish stance has been taken on Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) with unusual options activity. The sentiment among these big-money traders is split between 77% bullish and 22% bearish. The whales have been targeting a price range from $7.5 to $17.5 for Warner Bros. Discovery over the last 3 months. However, Rosenblatt and Truist Securities have downgraded their actions with price targets of $10 and $17 respectively.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Insights

September 15, 2023 | 5:48 pm

ACLS

BofA Securities analyst Duksan Jang has initiated coverage on Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (ACLS) with a Buy rating and a price target of $225. The analyst believes that the market is underappreciating ACLS's exposure to fast-growing semis end markets, share gains in a rising $3 billion TAM, and superior growth prospects over semi cap peers. ACLS is seen as a key beneficiary of emerging trailing-edge auto/industrial applications, with potential to expand its share to 35% by CY25E. However, risks include concentration of 30% - 50% of tool sales in China, deceleration of implant TAM, and consumer weakness.

Portfolio Pulse from Shivani Kumaresan

September 15, 2023 | 5:31 pm

F

GM

STLA

President Joe Biden addressed the ongoing strike by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union against Detroit's three major automakers - Ford Motor Co (F), General Motors Co (GM), and Stellantis NV (STLA). Biden urged both sides to negotiate further for a mutually beneficial agreement and stated that the shift towards clean energy in the automotive industry should benefit both workers and companies. The UAW initiated the strike following contract expirations.

Portfolio Pulse from AJ Fabino

September 15, 2023 | 5:07 pm

TLT

Financial experts Jim Bianco and Mohamed El-Erian have warned of a potential inflationary storm due to the surge in oil prices and the economy's resilience. They predict further interest rate hikes and a multi-year bear market for bonds. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT) has fallen 47% since its July 2020 highs. Bianco forecasts a rate hike in November and another at the start of 2024.

Portfolio Pulse from Piero Cingari

September 15, 2023 | 5:02 pm