According to one money manager, recent weakness in Apple’s stock may present a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in the iPhone maker.
“We truly like Apple, and we are increasing to our investment,” Victoria Fernandez, senior markets analyst at Crossmark Global Investments, said, adding that Apple’s fundamentals are “strong.”
On Thursday, traders are betting against that call.
On Thursday, Apple’s stock dropped more than 3% after Bloomberg reported that the tech giant had told component suppliers it might order fewer devices than planned owing to poor consumer demand.
Investors assumed the drop was due to COVID-19 supply chain delays affecting corporate America, not waning consumer demand in the new iPhones. The Bloomberg story, however, casts further doubt on that theory.
Traders saw Apple’s stock as a haven during the most recent bout of COVID-19-driven market volatility, making it one of the hottest names in the market. According to Yahoo Finance Plus statistics, shares increased by 12% from November 11 to November 30.
The Apple bulls are still abundant on Wall Street, despite concerns over iPhone demand.
“Despite the chip shortages, our iPhone 13 checks are still significantly higher than expected, and we believe Apple is on track to sell more than 40 million iPhones this holiday season. The attention on the Street has been on Apple’s (and every other tech and automotive company’s) ongoing chip scarcity. Still, we believe the underlying iPhone 13 demand trend for Cupertino is trending well above Street estimates, both domestically and in China, wrote Dan Ives, a tech analyst at Wedbush Securities, in a research report issued last week.
Ives’ top tech stock pick is Apple, which he feels has the potential to approach $200 per share in the next 12 months.
Bill Ackman, a renowned investor, is auctioning off a charity meal.
With markets once again in turmoil due to COVID-19 worries, it may be well worth it to open your pocketbook to win a dinner with billionaire investor William Ackman.
Giving to a good cause is, of course, an extra advantage.
On Wednesday, the founder of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital used Charitybuzz to announce the fourth annual David Lynch Foundation charity lunch (DLF). DLF is a non-profit organization that teaches and promotes Transcendental Meditation to soldiers who have PTSD, inner-city youth, and victims of domestic violence.
Each charity meal has raised more money for the cause, with the auction selling for $57,700 in 2018, $75,000 in 2019, and $210,000 in 2020. Ackman will match the winning bidder’s donations, and the winner and one guest will be invited to a private lunch with the billionaire. Previous auction winners, according to Ackman, have been intriguing to talk to.
On the New York Stock Exchange floor on November 10, 2015, activist investor Bill Ackman (L), CEO of Pershing Square Capital, speaks with a specialized trader.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Bill Ackman (L), an activist investor, announces the start of his latest charity lunch auction. Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Ackman claimed Andrew Wilkinson, the first year’s winner, is still a friend and has invested in some of his enterprises.
“I’ve had a lot of fun with these lunches,” Ackman continued.
Ackman’s friend Mark Axelowitz, managing director of UBS Private Wealth Management and executive chairman of the David Lynch Foundation, introduced him to Transcendental Meditation and recommended the charity lunch auctions.
Transcendental Meditation founder David Axelowitz told Yahoo Finance, “I think it’s a game-changer,” noting that many Wall Street luminaries, including Bridgewater Associates billionaire founder Ray Dalio, are practitioners.
This year’s lunch with Ackman, according to Axelowitz, will raise the most money yet.
Ackman isn’t alone in his thinking.
Ackman’s charity lunch is identical to that conducted by fellow billionaire investor Warren Buffett for years.
Sun invited four other people to the country club dinner in Buffett’s Omaha backyard, including litecoin developer Charlie Lee.
Sun told The Wall Street Journal at the time, “It was one of the best experiences of my life.”
According to Reuters, Buffett has generated $34.2 million for the GLIDE Foundation through 20 yearly auctions. In the year 2000, the first event was held.
While bitcoin is unlikely to be the most significant (or any) topic during Ackman’s lunch, market volatility will almost certainly be mentioned. Earlier this week, Ackman’s latest Twitter comments on the markets and the implications of the Omicron version sparked a lot of discussion in the finance sector.
Ackman told Yahoo Finance that he is an “optimist” on the markets, repeating views he expressed on Twitter.
“The concern for the market,” Ackman warned, “is how the market reacts to the Federal Reserve tightening financial conditions.” “I believe that is the market’s threat.”
The founder of Manscaped discusses how his brand established “the de-facto standard for male groin care.”
According to Manscaped CEO Paul Tran, it’s time for consumer goods businesses to consider products below the male waistline and for investors to get in on the trend.
“We took advantage of a market void.” Under the circumstances, there had never been a brand before. But fast forward three years, and we’ve established ourselves as the de-facto standard for male groin care, “On Yahoo Finance Live, Tran stated.
Tran and his crew, who created Manscaped in 2016, are about to put the interest of investors in male groin care to the test.
The grooming hardware company has announced plans to go public by combining with Bright Lights Acquisition Corp., which sells goods including the “Lawn Mower” and the “Weed Whacker.”
According to Manscaped, the purchase will be completed in the first quarter of 2022.
Manscaped has a $1 billion valuation, earning it a unicorn status. The company expects to receive $305 million in gross proceeds from the transaction and will be debt-free when it closes.
According to the company’s investor presentation, Manscaped has expanded into other sectors, such as ball spray toner, ball wipes, lip balm, and anti-chafing ball deodorant. The company has a strong product pipeline, which will most likely include other personal care items that target various male body regions and their demands.
Manscaped estimates that annual sales might reach $508 million by 2023, up from a $290 million forecast for 2021. By 2023, adjusted operating earnings are expected to reach $59 million, up from $3 million this year.
According to Tran, who created Manscaped as a personal project, “I’ve always been a business owner. I came to this magnificent country [from Vietnam] when I was five years old. In this great country, I adore being an entrepreneur. I’ve always started companies. Manscaped was examining the male body from head to toe, and it was revealed that there was a brand and a product for every need, but there was a major gap in the groin. So the theory was the theory that either male weren’t exercising this hygiene habit, or there wasn’t a market for it. You rapidly see there is a great demand for it once you start making things for it.”
According to a strategist, the Omicron variation and an unfriendly Fed are a “double punch” for the stock market.
According to Liz Ann Sonders, Chief Investment Officer at Charles Schwab, the stock market has been slammed by a double dose of bad news.
“The change from very loose to tighter policy has been a part in the volatility [we’re seeing] at this juncture in the economic and market cycles, in my opinion. When you combine that with an environment where we’ve seen a lot of speculative froth and Omicron [concerns], you get the double whammy catalysts that may sometimes lead to a spike in volatility, “Sonders said
The increased volatility is due to a one-two punch of Omicron variant fears and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s surprisingly hawkish testimony to Congress this week.
As a result, the markets have been in a volatile phase, beginning with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling almost 1,000 points the day after Thanksgiving.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 652 points on Tuesday, while the Nasdaq Composite and S& P 500 also fell sharply. Except for Apple and Merck, all 30 Dow components were red for the session.
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 652 points, while the Nasdaq Composite and S& P 500 also dropped significantly. All 30 Dow components were red for the session, except for Apple and Merck.
After a 520-point intraday surge, the Dow Jones Industrial Average concluded the day down 461 points. By early afternoon trading on Thursday, markets were green, but traders remained on high alert.
With her viewpoint on the Fed putting uncertainty into the markets, Sonders is in good company.
In terms of what moves one should make in this riskier market environment, Wall Street’s bull camp continues to believe that purchasing dips is appropriate.
Crossmark Multinational Investments is a global investment firm. “I think you may utilize weakness to your advantage if there are specific names you’ve been wanting to add to your portfolio,” Victoria Fernandez said. According to Fernandez, the market’s reaction to this week’s news was “overdone.” For example, Fernandez claimed she is purchasing Apple stock on the cheap.
Also Read: Markets Wrap: Futures Pare Gains as Stocks Fall; Treasuries Fall
