Daily morning chai up to dates

 Overnight, S&P 500 and Dow futures rose 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively, though contracts tied to the Nasdaq powered ahead by 1.1%, led by outsized gains for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). Zoom Video (NASDAQ: ZM) also brought cocktails to the party, jumping 27% AH after quarterly revenue more than quadrupled due to stay-at-home trends, while the video-conferencing company raised its sales outlook. The results cemented the Nasdaq's best monthly performance since 2000, while the S&P recorded one of its best Augusts since the 1980s.

Stocks on the Move

Walmart Inc (WMT), Ball Corporation (BLL) and H & R Block Inc (HRB) are moving higher this morning, while Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (COG), Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) and Carnival Corp (CCL) are headed lower. Zoom Video Communications Inc (ZM), Zendesk Inc (ZEN) and QUALCOMM, Inc. (QCOM) were upgraded by analysts this morning, while Vulcan Materials Company (VMC), FinVolution Group (FINV) and Acasti Pharma Inc (ACST) were downgraded.
__________________________________________________________________________-Zoom Video was far from a household name when it filed to go public on Mar. 22, 2019. When the stock began trading in mid-April last year, it was best known among corporations. The stock had laid a solid foundation prior to its 2020 breakout, with its IPO share price spiking 72% in the first day of trading. The company’s equity had already risen more than 100% since its first close, marking that shares had more than doubled in a year.

But this Software as a Service business could’ve hardly anticipated the momentum it would see in the first half of 2020. The company rapidly gained popularity as being one of the most user-friendly video meeting apps. In addition to corporate America’s quick adaption of Zoom due to the work-from-home push, Zoom Video became the preferred method for virtual learning among teachers, a fix for socially-distant video hangs with friends and family, and even a venue for makeshift graduation ceremonies and other various celebrations. Consequentially, Zoom’s price activity reflects this heightened demand. ZM shares are up over 370% so far this year and jumped more than 9% following their fiscal 2Q earnings release.

The video conferencing company reported it made as much money in one quarter as it did in all of 2019, with revenue more than quadrupling from a year ago. The San Jose-based company lifted its full-year sales outlook to a range of $2.37 billion to $2.39 billion, with an adjusted operating profit of between $730 million and $750 million. This strong earnings report comes after Zoom’s profits expanded by more than 10 times with 169% growth in its fiscal first quarter.

Zoom founder and chief executive Eric Yuan said in Monday’s news released, “Our ability to keep people around the world connected, coupled with our strong execution, led to revenue growth of 355% year-over-year in 2Q.” Shares touched new all-time highs following the blowout quarter.

Covid

Phase 3 trials

AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) is starting Phase 3 trials of its experimental coronavirus vaccine in the U.S., becoming the third company to start late-stage trials to prevent COVID-19. Trial centers across the nation are recruiting up to 30K adults aged 18 years or over. AstraZeneca's vaccine, known as AZD1222, was developed in partnership with Oxford University and has the backing of the U.S. government. Rivals Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)/BioNTec (NASDAQ:BNTX) already have Phase 3 trials under way, also with federal funding.


Increasing chances of a Trump win - JPMorgan

Position your portfolio for the rising odds of President Trump winning re-election, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co., which says the spread between him and challenger Joe Biden is now nearly even. That's largely due to the impact on public opinion of violence around protests, as well as potential bias in polls, said strategist Marko Kolanovic. "Implications could be significant for the performance of factors, sectors, COVID-19 winners/losers, as well as ESG, though certainly a lot can happen in the next ~60 days."


TECH

Pulling the plug on news sharing

Escalating tensions with Canberra, Facebook (NASDAQFB) said it will stop Australians sharing news content on its platforms if a proposal to make it pay local media outlets for their content becomes law. The country would become the first to make the giant social network and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) - which is also opposed to the legislation - pay for news sourced from local providers under a royalty-style system. "We don't respond to coercion or heavy-handed threats wherever they come from," Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said in response, adding that the proposed law was in the national interest and followed 18 months of a public inquiry.

Consumer

Walmart announces membership service

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is finally going head to head with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN via a nationwide membership program, though the retailer says the new service is "really about doubling down with the customers we have and getting more share of wallet and more share of mind." The program, which costs $98 annually, or $12.95 a month, will launch on Sept. 15. Biggest difference: Walmart+ customers will have to spend a minimum of $35 for each online order to avoid fees, while rival Amazon Prime touts free two-day (and some same-day) shipping on every item.


Drone deliveries

Amazon (AMZN) has received approval from the FAA to operate its fleet of Prime Air delivery drones, allowing the e-commerce giant to expand autonomous packaged delivery. It's not alone. UPS (NYSE:UPS) and Wing, a unit of Alphabet (GOOG, ) have already gained clearance to operate unmanned air fleets in the U.S. While routine drone deliveries to American consumers are still years away, Amazon is targeting package delivery to customers in 30 minutes or less (it began testing in 2018).


 Gapping.

Gapping up
In reaction to earnings/guidance:

  • ZM +30%, GRAF +5.2%, RXT +3.7%, COHU +2.2%

Other news:

  • KODK +46.1% (D.E. Shaw discloses 5.2% passive stake)
  • PRTH +35.9% (to acquire Priority's RentPayment business; expected to close in the third quarter of 2020)
  • GOGO +24.1% (Intelsat to acquire Gogo's Commercial Aviation Business for $400 mln in cash )
  • ATNX +23.2% (FDA has accepted for filing the Company's NDA for oral paclitaxel and encequidar for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer and has granted the application Priority Review)
  • TTOO +14.1% (receives FDA Emergency Use Authorization for T2SARS-CoV-2 Panel)
  • WPRT +11.8% (awarded electronics supply contract from "tier one" automotive supplier)
  • MNOV +8.8% (provides update on development progress on intranasal formulation of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for COVID-19)
  • FLR +3.3% (highlights US Nuclear Regulatory Commission design certification)
  • SVM +2.9% (reports 18% increase in silver resources at Ying property)
  • NVS +2.9% (reports it completed enrollment in the CAN-COVID Phase III clinical trial with expected readout in Q4)
  • WMT +2.7% (officially rolls out Walmart+)
  • LBRT +2.2% (Liberty Oilfield Services and Schlumberger (SLB) announce agreement for the contribution of Schlumberger's onshore hydraulic fracturing business in US/Canada)
  • UBX +1.9% (new CFO)
  • GME +1.9% (RC Ventures increased active stake to 9.6%)
  • OESX +1.9% (provided additional detail regarding a turnkey LED lighting retrofit project for a new customer, a large specialty retailer)
  • CPG +1.7% (raises FY20 production guidance)

Analyst comments:

  • NPTN +8.9% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at B. Riley FBR)
  • BLMN +6.7% (upgraded to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James)
  • GLOG +5.4% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at DNB Markets)
  • CMPI +3.9% (initiated with a Neutral at BofA Securities)
  • ZEN +3.8% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler)
  • QCOM +2.4% (upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Wells Fargo)
  • FRLN +2.4% (initiated with an Overweight at Morgan Stanley)
  • TGTX +2.4% (initiated with an Overweight at JP Morgan)

Gapping down

  • SCSC -9.4%

Other news:

  • ZSAN -14.1% (stock offering)
  • PRPL -3.6% (stock offering)
  • LINC -3.4% (files for $75 mln mixed securities shelf offering)
  • VNDA -2.9% (provides update on tradipitant development program)
  • VOD -1.7% (provides update on merger of Bharti Airtel)
  • CCL -1.5% (Seabourn unit announces additional voyage cancellations)
  • AFG -1.3% (new CFO)

Analyst comments:

  • EAT -2.8% (downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Raymond James)
  • DRI -1.9% (downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James)


International Markets

Stocks in Asia are mixed. The Mumbai Sensex is up 0.71%, the Shanghai SE Composite Index is up 0.44%, the Hang Seng is up 0.21% the Nikkei 225 is down -0.01% and the Australia ASX All Ordinaries is down -1.64%. In Europe stocks are mixed. The DAX is up 0.48%, the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.43%, the CAC 40 is up 0.14% and the FTSE 100 is down -1.31%.

Futures and Currencies

Energy futures are mixed today. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil is up 0.5 at 43.11 per barrel. Brent crude is up 0.56 at 45.84 per barrel. Natural Gas is down -0.03 at 2.6. Precious metals are up this morning. Gold is up 22.71 at 1990.51 per ounce. Platinum is up 26.38 at 958.11 while silver is up 0.54 at 29.13. The dollar is down compared to the major currencies today. The greenback is down against the euro, down against the Yen and down against the Pound.

Put/Call Ratio

Yesterday, 1,621,990 call contracts traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) compared to 675,474 put contracts. The single-session put/call ratio was 0.42.

Economic Calendar

What's HappeningPeriodRelease Time
ISM Manufacturing IndexAug10:00
Construction SpendingJul10:00



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