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DPZ

MCD

PZZA

QSR

YUM

Oppenheimer analyst Brian Bittner has provided his top picks for 2024 in the quick service restaurant sector, upgrading Yum! Brands (YUM) to Outperform with a $154 price target (PT) and highlighting its digital sales growth and diversified business model. McDonald's (MCD) was downgraded to Perform due to a lack of identifiable catalysts for 2024. Papa John's (PZZA) was also downgraded to Perform, with the analyst expecting lower FY24 EPS than consensus. Domino's Pizza (DPZ) is a top pick with an Outperform rating and a $470 PT, expected to outperform due to a revival story and new partnerships. Restaurant Brands International (QSR) maintains an Outperform rating and an $89 PT, with anticipated EPS growth. Sweetgreen (SG) is rated Outperform with a $15 PT, as the analyst sees a transition to sustainable EBITDA profitability starting in 2024.

Portfolio Pulse from Shivani Kumaresan

January 05, 2024 | 6:25 pm

AAPL

ADBE

AMZN

GOOGL

INTC

MDB

MNDY

MSFT

NVDA

Ivan Feinseth of Tigress Financial predicts AI will be the next goldrush, with every company needing to deploy AI for various business efficiencies. He quotes Tom Siebel of C3.ai, a company Feinseth invests in. Feinseth holds stocks in 'hyperscalers' like Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft, as well as smaller companies like MongoDB, Monday.Com, and C3.ai. He doesn't see AI as a job threat but as a tool for increased efficiency and creativity. Feinseth also sees growth potential in Intel due to its investment in new foundries and interest from companies like Apple and Nvidia.

Portfolio Pulse from Neil Dennis

January 05, 2024 | 6:14 pm

MRK

MRNA

WBA

Healthcare stocks Moderna Inc (MRNA) and Merck & CO Inc (MRK) have seen positive movements with MRNA upgraded by Oppenheimer and MRK announcing phase 3 trials for its candidates. Moderna, after a tough 2023, is expected to launch new products in the next 12-18 months, including a cancer vaccine in partnership with Merck. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) reported improved Q1 results but cut its dividend, causing its stock to drop.

Portfolio Pulse from Upwallstreet

January 05, 2024 | 6:06 pm

STNE

StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) shares rose after announcing it received a Financeira License from the Brazilian Central Bank, allowing it to offer new products like time deposits. The license will help diversify funding sources. StoneCo also secured a $467.5 million revolving securitization facility from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation last month. The company aims to more than double its profitability in four years, targeting an adjusted net income of R$4.3 billion. StoneCo's stock increased by 3.01% to $17.12.

Portfolio Pulse from Nabaparna Bhattacharya

January 05, 2024 | 6:04 pm

ETHUSD

On Thursday, 4,758.45 Ether (ETH) valued at approximately $10.6 million was burned, permanently removing it from circulation. This is a result of the EIP-1159 upgrade implemented on August 5th, 2021, which introduced a variable base fee for transactions that is burned. The current issuance rate of new Ether is 4% annually, expected to drop to 0.5-1% with the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, potentially making ETH a deflationary currency. The net annualized issuance rate for Ether was -3.76% yesterday, according to Glassnode.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Insights

January 05, 2024 | 6:00 pm

NVDA

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) is highlighted as a top sector pick by BofA Securities analyst Vivek Arya, who maintains a Buy rating with a $700 price target. Arya forecasts $100 billion in FCF over CY24/CY25E, which Nvidia plans to use for growth initiatives, particularly in AI. Nvidia's shift towards recurring revenue and strategic investments, like the Mellanox acquisition, are key to its growth. Upcoming tradeshows could be catalysts for the stock, which is currently trading at a discount compared to peers.

Portfolio Pulse from Surbhi Jain

January 05, 2024 | 5:49 pm

SHIBUSD

Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) has seen a 373% surge in its burn rate and a 41% increase in daily transactions, with 5.7 million SHIB tokens burned in the last 24 hours. The community is looking forward to the launch of an automated burn mechanism in January 2024, which is expected to significantly reduce the total circulating supply. A Twitter account named Shib Bezos suggested SHIB could reach $0.01, potentially surprising many. Despite these developments, SHIB's price is down 4% in the past 24 hours and 7.8% over the past week.

Portfolio Pulse from Khyathi Dalal

January 05, 2024 | 5:45 pm

RIVN

Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) shares fell by 1.3% to $19.24 on Friday after reporting Q4 deliveries of 13,972 vehicles, slightly below the expected 14,114. The stock has seen an 18% decline since the beginning of 2024. Fund manager Gary Black commented that the market's reaction might be overblown, despite a 10% drop in deliveries from the previous quarter. Rising Treasury yields are also affecting growth stocks like Rivian, as higher interest rates increase the discount rate, reducing the present value of future cash flows and affecting stock valuations. RIVN's 52-week range is between $11.68 and $28.06.

Portfolio Pulse from Henry Khederian

January 05, 2024 | 5:40 pm

BUD

STZ

Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) reported Q3 earnings with a rise in net income to $509.1 million but cut its full-year EPS guidance due to a sales forecast miss and challenges in the wine market. Modelo Especial's growth was a highlight, while the wine and spirits segment saw a decline in sales and shipments. STZ shares rose 2.79% to $249.08 at the time of reporting.

Portfolio Pulse from Patricio Liddle

January 05, 2024 | 5:39 pm

AMD

NVDA

AMD is reportedly postponing the launch of its Radeon RX 7600 XT GPU in China to avoid competition with its Radeon RX 6750 GRE, which is exclusive to the Chinese market. The RX 6750 GRE is favored for its cost-effectiveness and performance, and AMD aims to maintain its popularity against Nvidia's RTX 4060 series and AMD's own RX 7600. The delay is seen as a strategic move to prevent consumer confusion and internal competition. AMD's stock traded higher by 2.42% at $139.28 recently.

Portfolio Pulse from Anusuya Lahiri

January 05, 2024 | 5:34 pm