The good news is that the bull market rages on by closing above 4,600 on Friday for the first time, says Steve Reitmeister, editor of Reitmeister Total Return.
The bad news is that we are off to a lumpy start this earnings season. Let’s recap the results so far and how we plot our way forward.
Schneider National Inc. (SNDR) is our clearest winner this earnings season. Yes, it has responded mildly to this news because it rallied non-stop into the report. And thus, would have been susceptible to a “sell the news” reaction. Given that shares are up for two straight days since, it is a sign that no one wants to part with these shares with obvious upside in the forecast.
Boyd Gaming Corporation (BYD) had only a mild beat, but the estimate increases since show that analysts are very pleased with the result. This has also come hand in hand with a stream of raised target prices with a new average of $89.
Yes, the share price reaction has been disappointing... But I sense that will soon turn positive, given the unanimously positive Wall Street analyst report card.
Virtus Investment Partners Inc. (VRTS) is a curious one as the modest beat on top and bottom line certainly didn’t warrant a 7% haircut. Yet since Thursday’s low of $304.34, it has rallied nicely up to the close on Friday around $320. I believe that value seekers were happy to buy the dip on this one, and the pathway from here should be back on the incline.
Eastman Chemical Company (EMN) is the weakest of the group as they talked about inflation and supply chain issues potentially cramping results in Q4. This is very common in far too many industries and wanted more guidance from the analyst community, which we should get today. Quite possibly I rotate out of this one into another pick without the dark cloud hanging overhead.
This week we get more reports such as 11/1 a-CRUS, a-NSP, 11/2 a-ATVI 11/3 a-APA, 11/4 BABA, a-DBX. Indeed, after last week’s lumpy results it’s hard not coming into these announcements with some trepidation.
Gladly my nearly 20 years at Zacks Investment Research, with a focus on earnings and earnings estimate revisions, makes me uniquely prepared to decipher these quarterly reports to know when to stay... And when to go.
Also on the docket is the key monthly employment reports of ISM Manufacturing, ISM Services, ADP Employment and Government Employment Situation. There is little reason to expect weakness in those, given the other reports in the last few weeks, which foreshadow what we should find in these monthly announcements.
It wouldn’t surprise to me to see a touch of consolidation and sector rotation at this stage of hitting 4,600. Yet by year's end I still think we will end somewhere between 4,700 and 4,800. So it's best to just stay properly bullish in our portfolios.
Learn more about Steve Reitmeister at StockNews.com.
