MarketBeat: Week in Review 3/29 – 4/2

A short trading week still provided investors with plenty of newsworthy items to chew on. President Biden announced a $2 trillion infrastructure plan for investors to mull over. But the short-term focus is back on the novel coronavirus. Right now the country is racing between getting vaccinations in arms and fending off variants that are causing positive cases – and in some cases hospitalizations – to rise in several states. For right now, optimism seems to be winning, and we can only hope that continues. After being closed for Good Friday, the markets will resume trading on Monday, April 5 and the MarketBeat staff will continue to be hard at work helping you identify and act on the trends that are moving the market. Here’s just some of what they saw this week.

Articles by Sean Sechler

Growth investors had a terrific year in 2020. This year, there’s a rotation into value and Sean Sechler’s articles this week reflect that shift. The tech sector is one of the more noticeable areas being affected by this shift. Sechler identifies three old school tech stocks that are becoming fashionable once again. The financial sector is another beneficiary of a flight to value. Unlike during the financial crisis, the banks didn’t lead this latest economic slowdown and are coming into the reopening on solid footing. Sechler gave readers three financial stocks that look particularly strong. And with the calendar turning to April, Sechler also gave our readers his picks for the top three stocks to buy in April.

Articles by Jea Yu

It’s always interesting to see how many companies benefit from the major trends in our society. Jea Yu was looking at two such companies this week. The first is MP Materials (NYSE:MP), the largest operating U.S. miner of rare earth oxides (REO) in the western hemisphere. These are used to process the neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) magnets that are prominent in electric vehicles, robotics, and wind turbines. The second is Corning (NYSE:GLW) which is looking like a strong buy because it is making the glass used for the Covid-19 vaccine vials. Yu was also analyzing the post-pandemic fortunes of Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) and explaining to readers why Pinterest may benefit from providing drama-free inspiration that keeps it away from the controversies engulfing other social media sites.

Articles by Thomas Hughes

We’re just closing out the fourth quarter earnings season and that means investors are already awaiting the results of the 2021 first quarter. Thomas Hughes points out that this is a time when many stocks benefit from analyst’s upgrades. Hughes was specifically giving readers four stocks that will continue to grow in a post-pandemic world, already pay nice dividends and have a positive outlook for dividend growth. Continuing his focus on stocks that are drawing positive attention from analysts, Hughes gave readers four big tech stocks that may carry an analyst’s upgrade to reverse their sell-off. For investors with more risk tolerance, Hughes was also giving out four penny stock picks that operate in sectors where there is a secular need for the industry and the business model.

Articles by Nick Vasco

Investors are attempting to determine which stocks and sectors are going to be post-pandemic winners. Nick Vasco suggests that investors shouldn’t sleep on General Mills (NYSE:GIS). The stock benefited from having more people preparing food at home. However, the company should benefit from the shift to value stocks, and the company is home to the Blue Buffalo brand which gives it exposure to the growing pet care sector. Plus, the company pays a safe, secure dividend.  Hughes isn’t as confident about Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS). The stock looks to have some upside but it faces a tough road as e-commerce remains the preferred retail option for many consumers. And Hughes has a similar outlook for Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR). After tanking during the pandemic, shares have now climbed above pre-pandemic levels on the expectation of Americans hitting the road. But Hughes advises pumping the brakes because the stock has all the good news priced in.

Articles by Sam Quirke

Sam Quirke also had the tech sector in focus this week. In Quirke’s case he was looking at the recent rise in the NASDAQ index as an indication that investors may be welcoming tech stocks back into their portfolio. And for investors that want a low-risk way to invest in tech, Quirke gave them two tech-focused ETFs that are worth considering. If investing in individual tech stocks is more your style, Quirke advises you to look at Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) which looks to be breaking out of its sideways trading pattern as analysts are becoming bullish on the company’s first quarter. For investors looking to stay out of the tech sector, but still want to look at a post-pandemic winner, Quirke writes that you could do worse, a lot worse than Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU). The stock looked like it was in need of a catalyst, and investors got one in the form of a strong earnings report that sent shares soaring.

Articles by Chris Markoch

The shift towards value stocks doesn’t have to mean investors compromise growth. That’s the case that Chris Markoch made for investors considering McCormick (NYSE:MKC) stock. With the economy reopening, the company may lose some of the business it received from consumers restocking their pantries, but it stands to gain as the food service business reopens along with bars and restaurants. Turning his attention to speculative growth stocks, Markoch offered a bullish take on Romeo Power (NYSE:RMO) which is attempting to build a better mousetrap when it comes to commercial EV batteries. The stock hasn’t caught the attention of the Reddit crowd, but you may want to jump in before it does. And speaking of the Reddit crowd, BlackBerry (NYSE:BB) – yes that BlackBerry – was briefly a meme stock. But as Markoch points out, the company is pivoting into the cybersecurity sector and is worth some speculative attention.

Articles by Kate Stalter                     

Retail investors have profited from the numerous companies that have gone public in the last 18 months. As Kate Stalter wrote one reason for this is that the institutional investors haven’t jumped in on the stock yet. With that in mind, Stalter gave readers three companies that recently went public and look to provide some share price appreciation. Stalter was also eyeing the furniture industry that can’t seem to catch a break. Just as demand is increasing as consumers are refreshing and redecorating their living spaces, furniture delivery is facing supply chain issues. But Stalter still found three furniture stocks that should benefit in the long run. Another pandemic winner has been online education stocks. Let’s be honest, none of us know what “traditional” education will look like when all this is over, so Stalter gives readers three online education stocks that look like smart bets for whatever is next.