MarketBeat: Week in Review 12/28 – 12/31

As this article is being written, $600 in stimulus is on its way (or been received) by millions of Americans. Will more be on the way? That’s anyone’s guess. And there’s a lot of debate about the wisdom or folly of this pork-laden effort.

However, one thing we can all agree on is that it’s time to say goodbye to 2020. And as we do, there is reason for hope that an end to the pandemic is in sight. But how soon will we back to normal? That remains unclear which is why many of the stocks that surged in 2020 will continue to look like solid stocks in the first few months of the new year.

Next week the institutional investors will be getting back into the swing of things and there will be a trickle of earnings reports to digest. However, most of the smart money will have Georgia on its mind as the two run-off elections on January 5 will set the table for what a Biden-Harris administration will be able to accomplish. 

The MarketBeat staff wishes you a prosperous new year and will continue to follow the trends and stories that will move the market and your portfolio.

Articles by Sean Sechler

For some companies, the strong just get stronger. That’s the case that Sean Sechler is making for Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). The e-commerce and cloud computing giant should not be overlooked simply because of its size and stock price of over $3,200 per share. The company benefited from the explosion of online shopping in 2020 and many of those same catalysts are in place in 2021. Plus, Sechler writes that Amazon Pharmacy and investment in fulfillment centers will spark further growth in the stock. And in addition to being a year for e-commerce stocks, 2020 will also be remembered as the year of the initial public offering (IPO). And Sechler has his eye on three IPOs for investors to watch in 2021.

Articles by Jea Yu

Part of the hope for 2021 is in the deployment of Covid-19 vaccines. That hope saw shares of biotech companies like Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) to surge in 2020. But now that the vaccines are out, there is a sell-the-news reactionunderway. And Jea Yu advises MRNA stock investors to consider finding an appropriate exit point. If you’re looking for a different way to play the electric vehicle sector, Yu advises you to look at LIDAR. If you’re not familiar with LIDAR technology yet, you will be. And Velodyne Lidar (NASDAQ:VLDR) is one to watch.  For investors looking to take a walk on the speculative side, Yu wrote about Star Peak Energy Transition Corp (NYSE:STPK). Star Peak is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) will complete a reverse merger with Stem, Inc. in the first quarter. The new company will be engaged in many of the core themes that will dominate 2021 such as artificial intelligence (AI) and clean energy storage.

Articles by Thomas Hughes

A popular investing strategy is to follow analysts’ recommendations. For those that follow that strategy, Thomas Hughes recommended three stocks that should have robust growth on the strength of analyst upgrades. For investors looking for a rock-solid investment in the aerospace and defense industry, Hughes recommends you look no further than Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT). The company was not a pandemic winner, but its business is largely considered essential no matter which party holds the White House. That alone is a sound reason to add the stock to your portfolio. But Hughes points out other reasons that include new contracts and a robust dividend that makes the stock even more appealing. Speaking of dividends, Hughes had his eye on three dividend growth stocks that are delivering a high yield and some capital growth to go with it. And with another round of stimulus on the way, these companies are likely to increase their dividends.

Articles by Nick Vasco

One of the stocks that Nick Vasco was looking at was Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR). But while some investors expect the stock to do better in 2021, Vasco advises investors to ask how the stock will perform relative to 2019? And on that front, it looks like the bulls may have to look for some opportunistic pullbacks.  Vasco saw a better outlook for Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ:PENN). Despite 2020 being a rough year for casino stocks, Penn’s business model makes their properties more accessible with restricted consumer movement. And with the company’s purchase of a stake in Barstool Sports, the company has a long runway with access to Barstool’s customer list and exclusive advertising rights on the platform. Vasco also had his eye on the homebuilding sector and was recommending that investors look at Trex (NYSE:TREX) a company that manufactures wood-alternative decking products, a market that is showing a long runway for growth.

Articles by Sam Quirke

At the beginning of 2020, there was some thought that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) was a stock to sell. However the pandemic through any existing narrative out the window. As Sam Quirke writes, the stock bounced off a 30% loss in the first quarter and will be up close to 40% for the year. That’s quite a turnaround, but Quirke points to several catalysts that support the stock in 2021. Quirke also notes that one company that is benefiting from the strength of one of Microsoft’s businesses is GameStop (NYSE:GME). The video game retailer is showing surprising strength that should carry over in 2021. Quirke was also writing about another company that is showing surprising strength. In this case it’s Macy’s (NYSE:M). This is definitely more of a speculative play, but a recent analyst upgrade gives the stock a nice tailwind for investors to consider.

Articles by Steve Anderson

Steve Anderson dove head first into the intrigue surrounding the immediate future of Alibaba (NYSE:BABA). Although there’s a lot of noise right now, Anderson advises current shareholders to hold on … for now. The news could get worse, but for right now patience is the name of the game. Anderson was also writing about a stock that was proving the quality of a company’s underlying business is more important than the quantity of shares outstanding. Lemonade (NYSE:LMND) has been one of the stocks that went public in 2020. Many investors were expecting a stock price plunge on the expiration of the company’s lock-up period. However, the stock has instead surged higher. And we can’t close out the year without talking about Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). The stock that short sellers love to hatehas continued to confound the bears. And as Anderson writes, the stock looks to have several catalysts that will build on the stock’s strength into 2021.