MarketBeat Week in Review – 7/22 - 7/26

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Markets finished the week with big gains fueled by in-line news on the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index that offset a robust first read on the second-quarter gross national product (GDP). Even the tech-heavy NASDAQ index was coming back after a July sell-off that was amplified after Alphabet Inc. NASDAQ: GOOG and Tesla Inc. NASDAQ: TSLA reported earnings. Next week, investors will hear from most of the Magnificent 7 stocks as earnings season kicks into high gear. The Federal Reserve will announce its latest decision on interest rates on Wednesday. The expectation is that rates will remain unchanged, but investors will be paying close attention to the Fed’s outlook for rate cuts in September. Get Alphabet alerts: Sign Up And the week will end with the July jobs report being released on Friday. It’s the kind of week that could set the stage for buying or selling the news. The MarketBeat team of analysts will be on top of it to keep you educated and informed. Here are some of our top stories from this week. Articles by Jea Yu Despite the sell-off in technology stocks, Jea Yu was still pointing investors toward some attractive buying opportunities. For example, Ally Financial Inc. NYSE: ALLY is a leading fintech company that operates as an all-digital direct bank that serves over 3 million customers. ALLY stock sold off after a mixed earnings report. However, Yu explains why this appears to be more of a technical move that shouldn’t slow down the stock’s momentum. Yu also looked at Enovix Corporation NASDAQ: ENVX which is a leading manufacturer of next generation lithium-ion batteries that feature silicon anodes as opposed to graphite anodes. Initially, the technology is being used for the Internet of Things (IoT) and smartphone markets. But Yu explains why this may be the time to buy ENVX stock. Many investors are wondering where the opportunity is in chip stocks after the recent sell-off. Yu points investors to ASML Holding N.V. NASDAQ: ASML, which designs the machines needed to print microscopic patterns on silicon wafers. The company affirmed its full-year guidance for its fiscal year 2024, which may remove growing concerns about an A.I. bubble. Articles by Thomas Hughes As it turns out, Tesla Inc. NASDAQ: TSLA is more than just a car company. Still, as Thomas Hughes explains, the growth in its energy storage business wasn’t enough to excite investors waiting for the company’s robotaxis. Tesla continues to be one of the most heavily traded stocks, and Hughes explains what the current movement in the stock means for traders and investors. Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. NYSE: LW is another stock that is moving lower after reporting a double miss in its quarterly earnings. Cautious guidance has probably made the sell-off worse than it needed to be. But Hughes points out that a solid balance sheet and tasty dividend is likely to make LW stock a solid long-term buy. Investors were much more bullish about The Coca-Cola Company NYSE: KO after it scored a double beat. As Hughes notes, K.O. stock had been rallying heading into earnings, and after the solid report, KO stock is at an all-time high with room to move higher. Articles by Sam Quirke Sometimes, broad market trends create exceptional buying opportunities. Sam Quirke found one of those stocks this week by looking at the price action in Netflix Inc. NASDAQ: NFLX. The stock has been one of the best-performing stocks this year, making it a prime target for investors looking to take some profit. However, a technical indicator shows that NFLX may have moved from overbought to oversold, which could be a short-term buying opportunity for shareholders. Chip stock investors recently discovered how a statement or two from a major political candidate can sink an entire sector. But when this happens, buying opportunities are created. This week, Quirke analyzes the outlook for Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) and why it’s one of the best picks in the semiconductor industry. Continuing his theme of buying opportunities, Quirke looked at three technology stocks forming attractive set-ups that traders may want to take advantage of for short-term gains. Articles by Chris Markoch Oil stocks continue to look like a strong buy on an anticipated rise in oil demand. That’s taken longer than many analysts expected. However, as Chris Markoch wrote this week, Exxon Mobil Corp. NYSE: XOM and Chevron Corp. NYSE: CVX continue to be excellent long-term stocks. But which stock is the better buy right now? Markoch analyzes both stocks and gives his recommendation. Articles by Ryan Hasson Ryan Hasson covered one of the interesting stories this week. It came from little-known Serve Robotics Inc. NASDAQ: SERV. The stock is up 60% for the week after news that NVIDIA increased its stake in the company. But if you’re thinking about getting in on this trade, understand that SERV stock is just a trade. It's still a highly speculative stock as an investment. On the other end of the investment spectrum, Hasson was writing about four high-yield dividend stocks and why now may be a good time for more conservative investors to jump in on these names to take advantage of the current market volatility. Hasson also poked around the beaten-down sector and gave investors three tech stocks that have pulled back at least 30% from their 52-week highs. At a time when investors are becoming increasingly conscious about valuation, these three stocks may be offering a rare opportunity to start or add to a position. Articles by Gabriel Osorio-Mazilli One of the surest signs of sector rotation has been the move from large-cap to small-cap stocks. This week, Gabriel Osorio-Mazilli was writing about three small-cap stocks that have been among the biggest beneficiaries of this recent trade. And Osorio-Mazilli explains why strong fundamentals could move these stocks higher. But for investors who want to stay away from small-cap names, Osorio-Mazilli also wrote about how a large-cap name like Lockheed Martin Corp. NYSE: LMT is looking like a big winner after its recent earnings report. Investors are starting to understand the application of AI and which companies will benefit from it. Osorio-Mazilli also looked at another stock that got a bump after a strong earnings report. Spotify Technology S.A. NYSE: SPOT is holding on to double-digit gains for the week after the company reported a strong earnings beat and revenue that came in higher year-over-year. Articles by Leo Miller Tesla wasn’t the only EV maker to report this week. However, Leo Miller explains why the news from Ford Motor Co. NYSE: F wasn’t much better. Earnings missed sharply as the company is still trying to clean up quality control issues. But the bigger news for some investors is that it confirmed a pivot to smaller EVs as sales of its EV trucks have cratered. Miller also wrote about the price action in Cadence Design Systems Inc. NASDAQ: CDNS. The chip maker scored a double beat but lowered guidance due to a large backlog. Miller explains why you shouldn’t take the backlog at face value but understand why it could be a bullish catalyst. Steel stocks have been under pressure as the price of steel has fallen. That was reflected in shares of Nucor Co. NYSE: NUE stock, which are under pressure despite a double beat. The reason, as Miller points out, is that earnings were lower year-over-year to reflect lower steel prices despite the potential benefit from tariffs. Before you consider Alphabet, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Alphabet wasn't on the list. While Alphabet currently has a "Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here