S&P/TSX Composite Index (STAR)
TXCX
Canada is on fire! I mean the stock market, not the forests. Since bottoming roughly a month ago, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index has surged almost 6 per cent, driven by signs that inflation is easing and interest rates may be nearing a peak. This week, the index got another boost as energy producers rose amid tighter crude supplies and hopes for economic stimulus from China. Based on some back-of-the-envelope math, if the recent pace of gains continues for the next 12 months, the S&P/TSX will more than double by this time next year. Back up the truck!
Netflix (DOG)
NFLX - Nasdaq
Now that the days of using your best friend’s cousin’s dog walker’s account to watch Netflix are over, the streaming giant is adding more paid subscribers. Unfortunately for Netflix investors, the crackdown on password sharing isn’t yielding much in the way of revenue growth. Even as Netflix added 5.9 million customers during the second quarter, revenue grew just 3 per cent to US$8.19-billion, less than the US$8.3-billion analysts had expected. With subscribers switching to Netflix’s cheaper ad-supported plan amid rising household costs, and Netflix feeling the pinch from streaming competition and the strike by actors and writers in Hollywood, investors are pulling the plug on the stock.
Tesla (DOG)
TSLA - Nasdaq
Please send your thoughts and prayers to Elon Musk. Advertisers have been abandoning Twitter, which has become a cesspool of hate since America’s least favourite billionaire acquired the social media platform and gutted its staff. Now, he is facing a sharp drop in Tesla’s stock price. Even as the electric vehicle maker beat analysts’ estimates on the top and bottom lines for the second quarter, the shares posted their biggest loss in three months after Mr. Musk signalled that Tesla – which has already slashed prices several times – would consider further price cuts given the “turbulent” economy. With Tesla’s overall gross margin clocking in at 18.2 per cent – the lowest in 16 quarters – it’s no wonder the stock is hitting the brakes.
Carvana (STAR)
CVNA - NYSE
Business quiz! Shares of Carvana soared after the online retailer of used vehicles a) announced that it will expand into used bicycles, skateboards and kick scooters, citing “the rising cost of vehicle ownership that is pricing many buyers out of the used car market”; b) said it recovered tens of million of dollars of cash wedged between the seat cushions of vehicles traded in by suspected members of a Mexican drug cartel; c) narrowed its second-quarter net loss to US$105-million from a loss of US$439-million a year earlier and announced a debt-restructuring agreement that will lower the company’s interest costs by more than US$430-million annually for the next two years. Answer: c.
Masimo (DOG)
MASI - Nasdaq
Masimo makes a wide range of hospital bedside monitors and portable devices to track a patient’s pulse, blood pressure, oxygen levels and other vital signs. But this week the stock had to be rushed to the emergency room. Hurt by delayed customer orders, lower hospital admissions and an unusually early end to the flu season, the company preannounced second-quarter sales of US$453-million to US$457-million, well below analysts’ forecasts for US$503-million, according to FactSet. The company – which also makes baby monitors and audio equipment under brand names such as Denon and Marantz – cut its sales outlook for the year as well. It “may take months to regain footing,” BTIG analyst Marie Thibault said in a note to clients. Judging by the steep drop in the share price, some investors aren’t waiting around.