MarketBeat: Week in Review 9/20 - 9/24

Investors were climbing the wall of worry this week for a number of reasons. On Friday, China announced it is cracking down on cryptocurrency transactions which sent the crypto market plummeting. That’s only the latest bit of intrigue coming from China. The general consensus is that the Chinese firm Evergrande will make its interest payment as scheduled. However as of this writing, there is no indication that has occurred.  In more positive news, investors got a message from the Fed that supports the notion that the end of tapering will certainly not be a surprise to investors. The Fed's statement comes at a time when inflation remains uncomfortably high and semiconductor supply remains uncomfortably low.  And it's that kind of conflicting data that is keeping investors unsettled. Next week will bring more data for the market to absorb. And the MarketBeat team will be eyeing the stocks and stories that are moving the market.

Articles by Sean Sechler                                                                                                                                                                

It’s been a memorable or forgettable September depending on your investment style. However, Sean Sechler reminds investors that September is a historically weak month for the markets. But history also shows that volatility in September frequently leads to an end-of-year rally. And bullish investors may want to look at stocks that are trading near their record high. As Sechler notes, when these stocks begin to rally, there’s not overhead resistance to keep them moving forward. Of course another strategy is to buy stocks that are on sale. And Sechler points out three such candidates that investors can look to buy now and thank themselves later. Turning his attention to a specific sector, Sechler was looking at the biotech market. This area got a significant amount of attention during the pandemic as many companies were involved in the race for a Covid-19 vaccine. The biotech sector remains a place for risk-tolerant investors. If that fits your investing style, Sechler has three biotech stocks that you should be looking at now.

Articles by Jea Yu

Although the EV market faces other headwinds, the effect of the chip shortage can’t be understated. Ford (NYSE: F) has acknowledged some of the current supply issues are specific to the company. However, analysts still conclude that the industry should snap back once the chip shortage ends. In the meantime, investors should look for opportunities to buy Ford shares at a discount.  Markets tend to take on a momentum of their own. That could explain why shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) are continuing to fall despite robust demand for data storage. And as Yu points out, that makes Western Digital an intriguing value play. Another stock Yu was looking at this week is Vizio (NYSE: VZIO). The smart TV manufacturer is looking to adopt a model that is similar to Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU). With other competitors entering the market, your decision to invest in VZIO stock may depend on how much room you feel is left in the streaming market.

Articles by Thomas Hughes

I guess people really do like to eat at Olive Garden. That’s one takeaway investors can glean from the strong earnings report posted by Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) this past week. Not only did the company beat quarterly estimates, its business is posting results that are above pre-pandemic levels.  Investors betting on further stock price growth can look at the company’s announcement of a share buyback program as a bullish signal. Speaking of buybacks, Hughes was reminding investors that share buyback programs and insider buying are two key indicators that a stock is ready to move higher. And he gave investors three small-cap stocks that fit that description. And as the market correction may be unfolding, Hughes reminds investors that opportunities exist even when a sector is down. That’s what we’ve seen in the tech sector and Hughes gives readers three picks for tech stocks that are solid buy-the-dip candidates.

Articles by Chris Markoch

This week, Chris Markoch was showing MarketBeat readers how to take advantage of one of the site’s premium features. In this case, Markoch explained how they could access the stocks that are trending among MarketBeat subscribers, and gave a run-down of the 10 top-rated stocks on the site over the last 30 days. Markoch was also looking at two stocks that present opportunities for risk-tolerant investors. The first stock was AT&T (NYSE: T). The company’s recent struggles are well documented. A dividend cut is coming, and some analysts question how competitive it can be in the 5G race. But with some debt retired, it should have room to make that necessary investment. The stock may not have tremendous upside, but an opportunity may exist for short-term traders. Another stock that has been controversial this year is BlackBerry (NYSE: BB). It’s been propped up as a meme stock but the company does offer investors a potentially compelling investment in the Internet of Things (IoT) space. However, the payoff may still be years away so investors shouldn’t allow the stock to get ahead of itself.

Articles by Kate Stalter

When investors think about diversification they tend to think about asset allocation. However, Kate Stalter reminds investors that they should also think about diversifying the way they invest. Specifically, she notes that there is an increasing body of research that extols the benefits of using both active and passive strategies in your portfolio. Often time, the decision comes down to finding the type of fund that fits your investment objective for that fund. One specific stock that caught Stalter’s attention was Lordstown Motors (NASDAQ: RIDE). As Stalter correctly notes, many of Lordstown’s problems have been self-inflicted. However, sometimes a stock can get so beaten down any good news can give it a lift. That seems to be the case with RIDE stock, but Stalter still advises caution. Stalter was also looking at the recent performance of Decker Outdoor (NYSE: DECK). The stock rallied past a buy point before falling back. DECK stock has been a strong performer throughout the pandemic. The question for investors is whether this Decker Outdoors will keep building on the gains made this year.