The market is holding in well again Thursday following another earnings-fueled gap up. Last night it was Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s turn, with help from some friends, to push the indices higher with a stellar earnings report. The market traded down into the gap early but rebounded, another strong, confident showing from the bulls. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) still has a big resistance level at $134, and that will be the next important battleground if the market continues to be strong.
After opening up more than 4% this morning, AAPL was very weak early, giving back half of its overnight gains before bouncing. There were several price target upgrades, highlighted by Ticonderoga which raised its target from $550 to $612. Apple, despite supply chain problems in Japan and worries over Steve Jobs, certainly appears in the game for higher prices.
From the T3Live.com Morning Call, the fertilizer stocks have performed well, led by CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF). CF is up 4% on the day, and the rest of the group has also started to perk up. PotashCorp./Saskatchewan (POT) got a boost this morning with an upgrade to buy from hold from Mackie Research. POT is still sitting below yesterday’s high and should see much higher prices in the coming weeks. Agrium, Inc. (AGU) has also acted well while The Mosaic Company (MOS) has been a little weaker.
The optical networking stocks have also gotten a nice bounce this morning after Scott mentioned them as a catch-up play on the Morning Call. The focus has been on JDS Uniphase Corporation (JDSU), up more than 5%, and Ciena Corporation (CIEN), up 4%.
The Chinese Internet stocks had been lumped into a group because they had been trading together over the past few weeks, but today the previously strongest one, SINA Corporation (SINA), got slammed overnight due to an interesting upgrade/downgrade from Goldman. Goldman significantly raised their price target from $78 to $105, but switched recommendation to sell from buy. SINA has been able to bounce a bit intraday while the rest, Baidu.com, Inc. (BIDU), Sohu.com, Inc. (SOHU), and Youku.com, Inc. (YOKU) are green.
Finally, Scott’s big cap tech picks Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) and Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) are also nears highs for the day. AMZN continues to climb back toward pivot highs, while NFLX poked its head into all-time high territory before stalling out a bit. There is a heavy net float short in NFLX (~20%) so as long as it holds up there should be more shorts that scramble to cover and push the stock higher.
*DISCLOSURE: Scott Redler is long AAPL, GLD, JDSU, CIEN, POT, AMZN, lVS, MGM, CYD, OIH, REDF, BKS. Short SLV.
This material is being provided to you for educational purposes only. No information presented constitutes a recommendation by T3 LIVE or its affiliates to buy, sell or hold any security, financial product or instrument discussed therein or to engage in any specific investment strategy. The content neither is, nor should be construed as, an offer, or a solicitation of an offer, to buy, sell, or hold any securities. You are fully responsible for any investment decisions you make. Such decisions should be based solely on your evaluation of your financial circumstances, investment objectives, risk tolerance and liquidity needs. Visit the T3Live Homepage, Virtual Trading Floor, and Learn More About Us.
