Dish Network Corp. On Dec. 24 announced a multi-year carriage agreement with Nexstar Media Group.
The agreement provides Dish (DISH) TV subscribers with a countrywide facility to tune in to Nexstar-owned programming, including news, entertainment and sports. Shares declined 1.4% at after-hours trading on Thursday.
Under the terms of the agreement, local stations and WGN America were immediately reinstated on Dish TV. Additionally, WGN America will be available on SLING TV in early 2021 as part of an extra add-on package.
The agreement was forged after Nexstar Media cut off local programming for nearly 5.4 million Dish subscribers on Dec. 2, rejecting a request to renew the contract between the companies.
Nexstar had allegedly asked Dish to pay high rates and imposed tariff increases onto customers. It allegedly demanded a hefty fee of $1 billion for stations that were available for free. Nexstar also allegedly forced Dish to add WGN America as part of the subscription, which had witnessed declining viewership in recent years.
On Dec. 17, Raymond James analyst Ric Prentiss reiterated a Buy rating on the stock but lowered the price target from $58 to $55 adjusting for the $2 billion convertible note offering announced on Dec. 15 with pricing announced on Dec. 17.
The offering would be utilized towards general corporate purposes including 5G network buildout costs.
The new price target still implies 77% upside potential. (See DISH stock analysis on TipRanks)
Overall, the rest of the Street has a cautiously optimistic outlook on the stock. The Moderate Buy analyst consensus is based on 3 Buys and 2 Holds. With shares, down 12.4% year-to-date, the average price target stands at $49.50 and implies an upside potential of 59.4% to current levels.
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China’s interactive music streaming service provider, NetEase Cloud Music, announced on Dec. 27 that boyband concert TFBOYS has broken the Guinness World Record for the most viewed paid concert.
NetEase (NTES) said that the concert was streamed on NetEase Cloud Music on Aug. 22 and was viewed by over 786,000 fans.
Online music concerts have been gaining popularity in China amid a halt in live events due to the coronavirus pandemic.
NetEase Cloud Music said it continued to develop online live shows, including the "Bedroom Live Music Festival" and other online events, and is exploring further options for other virtual shows in 2020.
On Nov. 11, Tigress Financial analyst Aaron Ju reiterated a Buy rating on the stock citing “sustainable growth of online mobile gaming, as well as the healthy momentum of the innovative business, continues to drive accelerating Business Performance.”
“NetEase will continue to benefit from sustainable growth in online games driven by its strong performance of legacy IPs and a diversified and robust new game portfolio post-COVID-19 outbreak. NetEase’s commitment to overseas gaming expansion strategy will pave the way for its long-term success,” Ju wrote in a note to investors. “Youdao Education will be NetEase’s new revenue growth engine, driven by robust demand in China education market and Youdao’s high retention rate on premium courses. The rapid growth in cloud music and Yanxuan will continue to drive NetEase’s innovative business growth.”
“We believe significant upside from current levels exists for long-term investors and recommend purchase at current levels,” the analyst summed up. (See NTES stock analysis on TipRanks)
From the rest of the Street, the stock scores an analyst consensus of a Strong Buy based on 5 unanimous Buys. The average analyst price target of $108.50 implies upside potential of 17% to current levels. Share prices have gained 51% year-to-date.
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Tronox Holdings announced on Dec. 27, that its Chairman and CEO Jeffry N. Quinn will leave with immediate effect.
The move comes just after Quinn notified the chemical company's board on Dec. 24, that he had been mentioned as an unnamed individual in an SEC civil and criminal complaint accused of alleged insider trading related to activities in the shares of Ferro Corp. during February and March of 2016.
Tronox Holdings (TROX) EVPs, John D. Romano and Jean-François Turgeon were appointed as interim co-CEOs, effective immediately. While serving as interim co-CEOs Romano and Turgeon will maintain their current responsibilities as EVPs.
Lead independent director Ilan Kaufthal was elected as the interim Chairman of the Board, effective immediately.
After speaking with the company, Alembic Global analyst Hassan Ahmed on Dec. 28 reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $15. Ahmed noted “that the timeline of events and the fact that neither Tronox nor Tronox's shares are referenced in the SEC complaints are highly relevant to this announcement.”
“Based on the facts that we know the investigation seems to be exclusively focused on shares in Ferro and that too during a time period that pre-dates Mr. Quinn being CEO of Tronox - allaying fears, in our view, of any wrongdoing at Tronox,” Ahmed wrote in a note to investors.
“Additionally, the announcement of two Tronox senior executives as Co-CEO’s ensures a seamless continuation of corporate strategy,” the analyst said. "We continue to believe TiO2 fundamentals are revving up with Tronox shares highly undervalued on a normalized valuation basis. We would use any weakness in Tronox share price based on this news as a buying opportunity.” (See TROX stock analysis on TipRanks)
From the rest of the Street, the stock scores a cautiously optimistic analyst consensus of a Moderate Buy based on 2 Buys and 1 Hold. The average analyst price target of $14 implies downside potential of 3.8% to current levels. Shares have already gained 27.4% year-to-date.
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On Dec. 23, Ayr Strategies announced the acquisition of CannTech PA for $57.4 million.
AYR Strategies' (AYRWF) purchase consideration consisted of $27.2 million in cash and $15 million in exchangeable shares.
The acquisition includes a 143,000 sq. ft. cultivation and processing facility on 13 acres. Additionally, the first phase of the planned build-out of the facility is complete and permitted for cultivation.
CannTech’s license allows up to six dispensary locations in Pennsylvania, including the recently announced opening of its first dispensary in New Castle, PA.
The company intends to open two additional stores in Q1, with three other PA dispensary openings scheduled for 2H21.
Four of these additional dispensaries will be clustered in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia metropolitan areas, while one will be in Erie, PA.
“We are thrilled to have completed our second acquisition and solidified our entry into Pennsylvania. It is a rapidly growing, but under-supplied medical market, and we look forward to bringing our cultivation, processing and retail expertise to the Commonwealth to improve patients’ access to quality cannabis," said Ayr Strategies CEO Jonathan Sandelman.
"With adult-use possible in the foreseeable future, we are well positioned with large-scale cultivation and processing capabilities to lead in both the retail and wholesale markets, as we have done in Nevada and Massachusetts. We are looking forward to welcoming the Pennsylvania team to the Ayr family and to the exciting opportunities ahead in 2021 and beyond,” Sandelman added.
The above announcement came just a day after its proposed acquisitions in Florida and New Jersey. Liberty Health Sciences (LHSIF), a vertically integrated operator in Florida, would be acquired in a stock-for-stock transaction for $290 million. The membership interests in GSD NJ, a licensed operator in New Jersey, would be acquired for $101 million.
In reaction to the deals worth $490 million to enter the "attractive" Florida and New Jersey markets and expand its footprint to seven U.S. states, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Pablo Zuanic raised the price target on AYRWF from $24 to $24.50 and reiterated a Hold rating on Dec. 24. The new price target implies a 9% upside potential.
Incumbent U.S. multi-state operators will have a window in which to consolidate the industry, and "certainly some are likely to be bolder than others," said Zuanic, who added that AYR is "an MSO to watch in the year ahead." (See AYRWF stock analysis on TipRanks)
Multi-state operators (MSOs) are cannabis companies that have a reach across multiple legal cannabis states.
Shares of the cannabis operator rose 3.5% at the close on Dec. 24.
From the rest of the Street, the stock scores an analyst consensus of a Strong Buy based on 5 Buys and 1 Hold. The average analyst price target of $30.09 implies upside potential of 34% to current levels.
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Gazprom PJSC Sponsored ADR CEO Alexey Miller announced important business updates at the conference call on Dec. 24, including its production estimates, expected domestic supplies, and export details.
Miller disclosed an expected production of 452 billion cubic meters of gas due to the “challenging” year-end 2020, implying a 10% year-on-year decline versus 500 billion cubic meters of gas in 2019 end.
Gazprom PJSC Sponsored ADR's (OGZPY) production capacities exceeded the annual production volumes by almost 100 billion cubic meters of gas.
Expectations for domestic supplies from Gazprom's gas transmission system stood at 223 billion cubic meters of gas.
The company also projects 2020 exports will land at 179 billion cubic meters of gas, implying a 105 billion cubic meter decline compared to actual exports of 198.8 billion cubic meters of gas in 2019. The gas exports to Europe stood at a record high of 17.4 billion cubic meters in October.
China emerged as another important market by exceeding the contractual amount of Gazprom by 25% on one particular day in 2020.
The company will invest RUB 526.1 billion in gas supply programs, linear gas pipelines, and natural gas over the next five years.
J.P. Morgan analyst Alex Comer upgraded the rating to Buy from Hold with a $6.50 price target on Dec. 23. The price target implies an upside potential of 18%.
The medium-term gas dynamics outweighed longer-term concerns, noted Comer. (See OGZPY stock analysis on TipRanks)
From the rest of the Street, the stock scores a cautiously optimistic analyst consensus of a Moderate Buy based on 3 Buys and 2 Holds. The average analyst price target of $5.16 implies a downside potential of 6.4% to current levels. The share price of the energy corporation has already lost 33% year-to-date.
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On Dec. 23, Rio Tinto and the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) peoples confirmed that they had taken preliminary steps in rebuilding their relationship following the Juukan Gorge destruction in May 2020.
It was disclosed that PKKP in co-operation with Rio Tinto (RIO) have been involved in corrective works at Juukan Gorge.
A joint session of the PKKP and Rio Tinto boards had been held in an attempt to renew their relationship.
PKKP stated that Rio Tinto had taken steps to address the offense and damage caused by the actions which led to the destruction in May 2020 and acknowledged their encouragement by the steps taken by Rio Tinto to date. However, they believe that these are the first of many that will be needed to ensure the non-repetition of the unnecessary destruction of cultural heritage sites, like Juukan Gorge.
Meanwhile, PKKP noted the appointment of former CFO Jakob Stausholm as the new CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2021, and are optimistic that discussions between PKKP and Rio Tinto will continue in a positive direction.
“We know we have a lot of work to do in order to rebuild trust and confidence in our business. I look forward to continuing the work with PKKP Traditional Owners to re-chart our partnership and build a shared future.” said acting chief executive of Rio Tinto Iron Ore, Ivan Vella.
Argus analyst David Coleman raised the price target on RIO from $70 to $82 and reiterated a Buy rating on Dec. 18. The new price target implies an upside of 8%.
The rating was prompted by the strengthening of its operating performance and balance sheet by reducing its costs and selling its non-core assets while also returning cash to shareholders through dividend increases.
Coleman further stated that Rio Tinto had traditionally performed well during difficult economic times and also has strong long-term growth opportunities. (See RIO stock analysis on TipRanks)
From the rest of the Street, the stock scores a cautiously optimistic analyst consensus of a Moderate Buy based on 1 Buy and 1 Hold. The average analyst price target of $77.06 implies an upside potential of 1.5% to current levels. The share price of the metals and mining company has already gained 28% year-to-date.
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Mastercard’s expanded holiday retail sales excluding automotive and gasoline grew 3%, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, the market intelligence platform that provides national retail sales data across all payment types.
Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard (MA), said, “American consumers turned the holiday season on its head, redefining ‘home for the holidays’ in a uniquely 2020 way. They shopped from home for the home, leading to record e-commerce growth.”
U.S. consumers shopped much earlier than in previous years, as retailers offered special promotions early and often.
Mastercard’s expanded holiday season, from October 11 to December 24, saw online sales grow 49% compared to the same period last year. E-commerce for the year accounted for almost 20% of total retail sales, compared to around 13% in 2019, highlighting the shift in consumer behavior.
The strongest growth sector compared to 2019 was ‘Home Furniture and Furnishings’, which grew 16%, with online sales growing 31%. As consumers are spending more time at home, the ‘Home Improvement’ sector grew 14%, with e-commerce sales up 80% year-on-year.
The ‘Apparel’, ‘Department Stores’ and ‘Jewelry’ sectors all experienced negative growth year-over-year. However, online sales in these sectors still increased as consumers were forced to change their shopping habits due to the coronavirus pandemic. (See MA stock analysis on TipRanks)
Seaport Global analyst Chris Brendler initiated a Buy rating on the stock three weeks ago, setting a price target of $370 (10% upside potential). Brendler named Mastercard one of his “favorite payments stocks,” and a major beneficiary of consumers’ cashless preferences. He sees "material earnings upside" for Mastercard once travel returns.
Consensus among analysts is a Strong Buy based on 14 Buys and 2 Holds. The average price target of $353.69 implies upside potential of around 5% over the next 12 months.
Mastercard shares are up around 13% year-to-date.
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Holiday sales growth brought some relief to retail investors following the 1.1% decline in November sales reported by the US Department of Commerce recently.
As per Mastercard SpendingPulse, retail sales in the Nov. 1-Dec. 24 holiday period (excluding automotive and gasoline sales) grew 2.4%. Preliminary data reflects a 47.2% rise in online sales during the holiday period, reflecting the shift in consumer shopping preference from physical stores to digital channels.
While the home improvement, as well as home furniture and furnishings categories, posted double digit-growth, sales of apparel and department stores were weak in the crucial shopping season for the retail sector.
Amid an uncertain business environment, there are some companies which are recovering well and are expected to emerge stronger on the other side of the pandemic. We will use TipRanks' Stock Comparison tool to stack up Nike against Under Armour and select the retail stock offering the better investment opportunity in the current climate.
Nike (NKE)
Footwear and apparel giant Nike has recovered rapidly after experiencing a significant sales slump due to the temporary closure of stores. Recently, the company reported better-than-anticipated 2Q FY21 (ended Nov. 30) results and returned to revenue growth after reporting a decline in the top line for two straight quarters. Notably, revenue rose 9% year-over-year to $11.2 billion and EPS grew 11% to $0.78 in 2Q.
Key growth drivers for 2Q performance included an 84% spike in digital sales and a 24% rise in revenue from Greater China. Also, robust digital sales helped the company’s North America segment recover with a 1% revenue growth. (See NKE stock analysis on TipRanks)
Nike has been focusing on its direct-to-consumer business, including digital channels, even before the pandemic. The current health crisis has fueled Nike’s e-commerce growth and has helped the company exceed its digital penetration goal of 30% (across owned and partnered channels) almost three years earlier than planned.
The company is also enhancing its offerings and driving innovation based on consumer needs. For instance, it is now offering over 100 styles of extended sized apparel across Nike and Jordan brands for women and aims to further expand its merchandise in this category.
Looking ahead, Nike expects low teens revenue growth in FY21, driven by continued focus on digital channels even as its wholesale business and company-owned stores remain under pressure due to the pandemic. The growing interest in fitness is expected to boost the company’s athletic apparel and footwear sales supported by continued innovation.
Covering Nike for Guggenheim, analyst Robert Drbul stated in a research note to investors, “Under the leadership of CEO John Donahoe, Nike is rapidly embarking on the next era of its company history; this will be digitally-led and likely defined by even greater separation vs. industry peers as well as from Nike's own historical rates of productivity, consumer engagement, and financial performance.”
In reaction to the recent results, Drbul said that Nike remains his “Best Idea” and reiterated a Buy rating with a price target of $165. He believes that the Nike brand commands a dominant market share, which he expects will grow significantly as “digital scales further, new product innovation remains robust, and heavy investment behind key growth drivers continues, while some global peers operate more cost-consciously in an uncertain environment.”
The rest of the Street also has a bullish outlook on Nike. Overall, 26 Buys versus 2 Holds and 1 Sell add up to a Strong Buy analyst consensus. The average price target of $162.96 indicates upside potential of 15.2% over the coming year. Nike shares have advanced 39.7% year-to-date.
Under Armour (UAA)
Under Armour has been trying to turnaround its business amid several challenges, including heightened competition from rivals like Nike and Adidas due to a lack of innovation and the SEC’s investigation into the company’s accounting practices.
The company is now trying to regain its premium brand positioning, which got diluted due to heavy exposure to wholesale channels like off-price retailers, department stores and independent retailers. Under Armour is reducing its exposure to the off-price channel and other undifferentiated distribution points. It is also cutting down promotions and discounts in its direct-to-consumer business.
Under Armour’s 3Q revenue grew marginally to $1.43 billion in 3Q while adjusted EPS increased 13% to $0.26. However, due to the impact of the pandemic, the company expects full-year revenue to fall at a high-teen percentage rate. (See UAA stock analysis on TipRanks)
Even after Under Armour’s better-than-feared 3Q performance, Needham analyst Rick Patel maintained his Hold rating on the stock due to “low visibility on the company's turnaround while Covid-19 creates another layer of uncertainty.”
“UAA has made progress in right-sizing its inventory and improving product, but it’s not yet clear if UAA can deliver higher sales in N. America after Covid-19 headwinds ease. We anticipate stronger growth abroad, in line with the company’s plan, as UAA benefits from new distribution,” added Patel
Over the long-term, Patel expects Under Armour’s gross margin to expand, partly led by favorable sales mix changes due to direct-to-consumer and international outperformance and also anticipates continued focus on expense control. He sees progress being made, but “not enough to see significant upside to estimates,” thus keeping him on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Wells Fargo analyst Tom Nikic upgraded Under Armour to Buy from Hold last month and increased the price target to $23 from $15. In a research note to investors, Nikic stated, “In recent years, we’ve seen several big turnarounds by athletic brands (LULU, Adidas, etc.), and we think UAA is poised to be the next. After years of struggles, we believe that the brand is finally starting to turn (as evidenced by the first positive DTC comp in over 3 years in 3Q), and we believe investors will look toward this stock given its lagged athletic peers significantly YTD.”
Overall, the Street is sidelined on Under Armour, with a Hold analyst consensus based on 6 Buys, 14 Holds and 1 Sell. Shares have already declined 19.4% year-to-date and the average price target of $15.95 reflects further downside potential of 8.4% from current levels.
Conclusion
Nike’s brand, strong operational performance, innovation and extensive market reach give it an edge over Under Armour. Aside from the competitive advantage, the upside potential in the stock makes Nike a better pick than Under Armour.
To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment
Autohome on Dec. 24 announced that it will hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders in Beijing, China on Feb. 2, 2021. ATHM shares were down 3% at the close on Thursday.
Autohome (ATHM) ordinary shareholders of record at the close of business on Dec. 28, 2020 are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the extraordinary general meeting or any adjournment or postponement.
The holders of the American depositary shares (ADSs) who wish to exercise their voting rights for the underlying ordinary shares need to act through the depositary of the company's ADS program, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas.
On Nov. 30, ATHM reported that its Q3 net revenue rose by 12% to $341.0 million, beating the Street’s estimates by $7.28 million. The company posted EPS of $1.04, surpassing analyst estimates by $0.13. (See ATHM stock analysis on TipRanks)
In reaction to the company's better-than-expected Q3 results, Macquarie analyst Frank Chen raised the price target from $90 to $95 and reiterated a Hold rating.
The online destination for auto consumers in China expects to generate net revenues of between $364.5 million and $365.9 million in Q4.
The Q4 guidance came in below expectations and less than the underlying auto industry growth, noted Chen. The analyst consensus stood at $374.81 million.
The revised price target reflected currency, said Chen, as he saw limited upside from Autohome's new floating pricing models.
From the rest of the Street, the stock scores a cautiously optimistic analyst consensus of a Moderate Buy based on 5 Buys and 3 Holds. The average analyst price target of $102.23 implies an upside potential of almost 7.5% to current levels. The share price has already gained 19% year-to-date.
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Investors of Citigroup Inc. who purchased company shares between January 15, 2016 and October 12, 2020, and lost more than $100,000 have been encouraged by Rosen Law Firm to join a class action lawsuit before the lead plaintiff deadline expires on December 29, 2020. The class action has already been filed and the lead plaintiffs will be representing and acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.
Citigroup (C) has been accused of a host of indiscretions that allegedly caused investors to suffer damages once details of these transgressions were made public.
The charges relate to Citigroup’s lack of corporate governance, risk management, compliance and internal control systems, in addition to making false or misleading statements. Furthermore, Citigroup has been accused of having outdated processes and under-qualified personnel that exposed the company to regulatory, legal, business and reputational risks.
The lawsuit hopes to compensate Citigroup investors for damages under the federal securities laws.
Rosen Law Firm represents investors around the world, focusing on securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. The firm has been ranked in the top three for the number of securities class action settlements by ISS Securities Class Action Services every year since 2013 and has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. (See C stock analysis on TipRanks)
Piper Sandler analyst Jeff Harte reiterated his Buy rating recently, raising his price target on the stock from $56 to $68 (12% upside potential). Harte believes that Citigroup remains undervalued and attractive heading into 2021 despite strong recent outperformance.
Consensus among analysts is a Strong Buy based on 13 Buys and 3 Holds. The average price target of $66.83 implies upside potential of around 10% over the next 12 months.
Citigroup shares have lost around 24% in value since the beginning of this year.
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