MarketBeat: Week in Review 12/7 – 12/11

This week was more of the same on Wall Street. The two major stories moving the market were hopes for vaccine approval and even bigger hopes for approval of another stimulus package. By week’s end, it appears the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) was likely to approve the Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)/BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) vaccine. However, on stimulus it seems to be one step up and two steps back.

Congress is getting down to the wire as the holiday recess is set for the end of next week. As these things go, there’s nothing that will facilitate a deal like a deadline so it’s possible that there will be some form of a deal by this time next week.

In the meantime, the market continues to rise. How much? According to Forbes the surging stock market has lifted the net worth of U.S. households to a record $123.5 trillion. Some are saying this is not going to end well. But recent initial public offerings for Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) and DoorDash (NYSE:DASH) say otherwise.  It will be an interesting end of the year for sure and the MarketBeat staff continues to actively track the market and recommend stocks that can help your portfolio prosper in 2021.

Articles by Sean Sechler

Elections come and go, but healthcare remains a major public policy focus. Sean Sechler was taking a look at healthcare stocks that would align investors with the major trends (e.g. companies working on treatments or vaccines for Covid-19) that will lead the market into 2021. Another turbocharged sector in 2020 has been electric vehicles (EVs). That bubble may be deflating, but one segment that should remain strong in 2021 will be the continued development of autonomous vehicles. And Sechler identifies three companies that should be on investors’ radar. Sechler also gave readers a speculative stock to consider in Gogo (NASDAQ:GOGO). The inflight internet provider has had a difficult year, but the recent move to sell off its commercial aviation business may be a catalyst for future growth.

Articles by Jea Yu

Under a Biden administration, the movement towards electric vehicles is projected to accelerate the growth that began in 2020. But from an investment standpoint, the focus is shifting from the vehicles themselves to the way they are powered. That’s why fuel cell developer Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) offers an intriguing opportunity for investors. Looking at the other side of the EV power debate, Yu suggests that QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) may be a smart buy. QuantumScape recently went public through a SPAC and is developing a solid-state lithium cell battery that offers higher efficiency and lower cost than existing lithium-ion technology. Yu was sticking with the technology sector and suggesting investors look for an opportunistic price to buy augmented reality (AR) play Vuzix (NASDAQ:VUZI). The company manufactures smart glasses that are used in AR applications.

Articles by Thomas Hughes

Retail stocks have been surprisingly strong. The good news is that some brick-and-mortar retailers are successfully pivoting to e-commerce. Tilly’s (NYSE:TLYS) has proven its ability to transcend the mall via eCommerce but there are still questions to be answered,” writes Thomas Hughes. And that, along with a nice dividend, makes the stock a speculative buy as we continue through the holiday season. One stock that investors can buy without fear of speculation is digital media giant Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE). As Hughes writes, ADBE stock is down after a stellar earnings report making this a good time for buyers to jump in. Hughes also had his eye on the stocks that were drawing attention from analysts by way of upgrades and gives investors three upgraded stocks to buy now.

Articles by Nick Vasco

Nick Vasco gave investors a reason to like the short- and long-term outlook for the athleisure stock Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) before it reported earnings. Spoiler alert, Vasco was right as LULU stock is surging higher after its earnings report. For investors willing to be patient, Shake Shack (NYSE:SHAK ) should be able to continue its aggressive expansion which means it may be a compelling buy once a vaccine becomes widely available. And speaking of companies that should benefit from a vaccine, Vasco had this to say about Cracker Barrel (NASDAQ:CBRL), “After 12-15 months stuck mostly inside, however, people are going to feel the need to travel…Cracker Barrel will get a lot of business.”

Articles by Sam Quirke

Sam Quirke had technology on his mind and offered three alternatives for investors. By now almost everyone sends and/or receives digital payments and that sets up well for shares of Square (NYSE:SQ). The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way individuals shop and that will be a catalyst for Square in 2021 and beyond. And speaking of a stock that is going to go higher in the future, Quirke was looking at Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). Normally when a company conducts a secondary share offering, its stock drops. But TSLA stock has been immune to conventional wisdom for awhile and is continuing to do so. If you’re looking for a more contrarian play, Quirke suggests you might look at Equifax (NYSE:EFX). The credit reporting agency looks to have the 2017 data breach behind it and looks like an opportunistic buy.

Articles by Steve Anderson

One of the hottest stocks of 2020 has been the data analytics company Palantir (NYSE:PLTR). While some investors are shying away from the red-hot stock, Steve Anderson writes that “a recent deal for the company suggests that there are indeed possibilities afoot and reasons to buy in.” Anderson was also looking at Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS). The company may look like a cyclical holiday stock. However, the company has intellectual property and knows how to use it. Those are two reasons analysts are upgrading the stock. On the other hand, one holiday stock that may be tumbling is Best Buy (NYSE:BBY). An analyst downgrade suggests not that the company has a bad model but that its valuation may be too high.

Additional Editor’s Picks

Here are some of the other companies and sectors that the MarketBeat staff wrote about this week. A company’s debt position is a key indicator of its overall health. While debt is not necessarily bad, a company that carries little to no debt is typically seen as a low risk. With that in mind our writers were looking at three debt-free companies that make good stocks to buy. Our staff was looking at Rocket Companies (NYSE:RKT) which should continue to be a stock to buy based on affordable housing and its millennial-friendly technology. And while the pandemic will likely be with us for most of the winter, the warehouse superstore Costco (NASDAQ:COST) looks to continue its winning streak and is giving investors a nice entry point.