Markets are on their way to an unprecedented, historic rise for eight consecutive weeks. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq (QQQ) are adding around 0.5% steadily. Rate cut hopes result in stock traders responding positively to Wall Street analyst ratings. Despite companies facing headwinds, analyst opinions influence their stock prices.
Citi Research opened a 90-day catalyst watch on Pfizer (PFE) yesterday. The team cut its price target to $28 from $35 and set a neutral rating. This still lifted the share price after Citi said that its 2024E EPS of $2.49 is higher than Pfizer’s $2.05 - $2.15 guidance range. The research analysts believe that Seagen’s research and development leadership benefits Pfizer’s drug pipeline.
Consumer goods firm Kenvue (KVUE) continued its uptrend from its $17.82 low in October. The court ruled in favor of Kenvue. The lawsuit alleged prenatal exposure to Tylenol might contribute to autism or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. This ruling weakens the plaintiff’s case.
In the tech sector, Edgewater Research warned that pricing for Nvidia’s AI GPUs, the H200 and L20 chips, may hurt customer demand. The firm added that it expects AMD to post at least $1 billion in revenue in 2024 related to AI deployments.
AMD shares gained nearly 120% YTD. To rise again in 2024, AMD must post strong MI300 sales.
Your Takeaway
Markets continue to overcome doubt with optimism. Companies have little news to share that justifies stock prices rising. Be wary of the growing speculation. Sentiment might quickly reverse, causing the market to fall on aggressive profit-taking.
