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WEEKLY ISSUE: Some Underperformers Set to Come out from the Shadows

WEEKLY ISSUE: Some Underperformers Set to Come out from the Shadows

Monday was one of those sort-of holidays that saw banks, the post office and schools closed, but domestic stock markets and a number of other businesses open. The result was once again a more subdued start to the week that leads into what is poised to be a focal point for the stock market as 3Q 2017 earnings kickoff. Over the last several days, we saw through earnings from restaurant company Darden (DRI) and Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) and this week the negative 2017 reset from coatings company Axalta Coating Systems (AXTA). This tells me that not only has Wall Street underestimated the impact of September’s hurricane trifecta — a fact we saw in last Friday’s September Employment Report — but it has likely overestimated the current speed of the economy as well.

The next few days will give way to several economic reports that will more fully shine a light on the true speed of the economy, and they will help set the table for what is to come over the next few weeks as literally thousands of companies report. As subscribers, you know through our weekly Thematic Signals and our Cocktail Investing Podcast that I co-host with our Chief Macro Strategist Lenore Hawkins, we are constantly scrutinizing data points with our thematic lens and assessing the market.

Now let’s take a look at our overall market view, which is one of the key backdrops when it comes to investing – thematic or otherwise. As we shared on last week’s podcast, the domestic stock market continues to grind its way higher ahead of 3Q 2017 earnings. This march higher is being fueled in part by the return of investor greed as measured by CNNMoney’s Fear & Greed Index. The question we are increasingly pondering is what are those late to the party seeing that allows them to get comfortable with enough upside to now jump into a market that is trading at more than 19x expected 2017 earnings?

With the market priced to perfection and expectations running high, odds are we are bound to see some disappointment. The fact that margin debt is running at record levels is not lost on us here at Tematica, and it has the potential to exacerbate any near-term bump or pullback in the market.

This has us holding steady with the Tematica Select List, but it doesn’t mean we are being idle. Rather, we are scrutinizing contenders and revisiting price points at which we would scale into existing positions. Not quite our 2017 holiday shopping list, but one that as we approach Halloween could be ripe for harvesting.

 

 

Checking in on some of our outperformers

We’ve benefitted from this push higher as the Select List’s positions in LSI Industries (LYTS), Amplify Snacks (BETR), USA Technologies (USAT), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL) and International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) have outperformed the month to date move in the S&P 500. With USAT shares, this has them closing in on our $6.50 price target, while the others have ample upside to our respective price targets.

We continue to rate these stocks as follows:

  • Our price target on LSI Industries (LYTS) remains $10.00
  • Our price target on Amplify Snacks (BETR) remains $10.50
  • Our price target on Amazon (AMZN) remains $1,150
  • Our price target on Alphabet (GOOGL) remains $1,050

With USA Technologies (USAT) shares, we will continue to keep them on the Select List and as we reassess our Thematic Signals and other data points for additional upside to be had relative to our $6.50 price target.

The same is true with International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), given the accelerating shift away from sugar toward food that is good for you vs. the modest upside to our current $150 price target.

 

It’s not all bad news for the underperformers however

While we like to focus on the outperformers, we tend to spend as much, if not more time, on the ones that are underperforming. Currently, that means shares of Costco Wholesale (COST), Nokia (NOK), MGM Resorts (MGM) and recently added United Parcel Service (UPS).

In reverse order, shares of Connected Society derivative company UPS shares came under pressure following comments that Amazon is once again flirting with expanding its own logistics business. While this may happen, it will take years to replicate the hub and spoke to home delivery service currently offered by UPS that is poised to benefit from the accelerating shift to digital commerce this holiday shopping season. We remain bullish on this position and expect the shares to rebound as we move into the 2017 holiday shopping season. We will look to scale into UPS shares closer to $110 should such a pullback in the shares emerges this earnings season.

Shares of Guilty Pleasure company MGM Resorts continue to languish following the recent Las Vegas shooting. In our view, it will take some time for the perception of the business to recover. As that time elapses, we’ll look to improve our cost basis following the better than expected August Nevada gaming data. Below $30 is where we are inclined to make our move, and our price target stands at $37.

We continue to see favorable data on 5G testing and deployments that bode very well for Nokia’s intellectual property business as well as its communications infrastructure business. Much like MGM shares we will be patient and look to opportunistically improve the cost basis on this Disruptive Technologies Select List position.

We have a more detailed look at Cash-Strapped Consumer company Costco down below, but as you’ll soon read we continue to favor the shares despite some concerning developments.

 

So, what’s up with Costco Wholesale?

As we mentioned above Costco is one of the recent underperformers and it comes following last week’s better than expected quarterly earnings results. The issue is that its the earnings call Costco shared that it is seeing a slowdown in membership rates, which Wall Street took to mean “Here comes Amazon!” While we agree that Amazon is set to continue disrupting traditional retail as it leverages Whole Foods into grocery and meal kits, and continues to focus on apparel, Costco’s issue is it opened 16 new warehouses during the first 9 months of its recently completed fiscal year, so odds are it would see some slowing in membership growth.

For those not convinced that Costco’s business is thriving we would point out the following:

  • September 2017: Net sales up 12%
  • August 2017: Net sales up 10.0% year over year with comparable stores sales up 7.3% (up 5.9% excluding gasoline prices and foreign exchange)
  • July 2017: Net sales up 8.8 percent year over year with comparable store sales up 6.2% (up 5.3% excluding gasoline prices and foreign exchange)
  • June 2017: Net sales up 7.0% year over year with comparable store sales up 6.0% (up 6.5% excluding gasoline prices and foreign exchange)

Looking at that data, we see Costco not only as a company that has continued to improve net sales month over month, but one that is hardly suffering the same fate as traditional brick & mortar retailers. Moreover, we would point out the company had 741 warehouses in operation during the August 2017 quarter, up from 715 a year ago. This led to a 13% increase in its high margin Membership Fee revenue, which accounted for nearly all of its net income during the quarter.

As we have said before, the power in Costco’s business model is the warehouses and membership fee income, and we see this continuing to be the case. As part of our Connected Society theme, we will continue to monitor consumer acceptance of delivered grocery. This includes Costco’s new two-day delivery services for both dry groceries and fresh foods that will be free for online orders exceeding $75 from 376 U.S. Costco stores. Unlike many brick & mortar retailers, Costco is not standing around and watching its competitors outflank it, rather it is responding. To us, this suggests the recent pullback is overdone.

  • We continue to have a Buy on Costco Wholesale (COST) shares, and our price target remains $190.

 

 

 

 

WEEKLY ISSUE: Watching Thematic Sign Posts Ahead of 3Q 2107 Earnings Deluge

WEEKLY ISSUE: Watching Thematic Sign Posts Ahead of 3Q 2107 Earnings Deluge

As we noted in this week’s Monday Morning Kickoff, we have closed the books on 3Q 2017, which offered positive returns for the market. Before we get down to business as usual, we’d note the Tematica Investing Select List had a number of outperformers over the last three months, including a number of outsized Facebook (FB), Universal Display (OLED), AXT Inc (AXTI), Applied Materials (AMAT) and USA Technologies (USAT). These stocks shined, but we also realize that some of our recent Select List additions have been underperforming. As longtime subscribers are probably thinking, “these folks tend to be ahead of the herd, so let’s be patient and let the thesis play out.” We could not agree more, and that strategy has served us well as evidenced by those enviable 3Q 2017 moves we just mentioned.

That said, we’ve have entered 4Q 2107, and as we all know it starts off slow and then seems like a mad dash at the end of the year both for the market as well as day to day life given the holiday season. Despite the shooting in Las Vegas, which we discussed earlier this week including its likely impact on shares of Guilty Pleasure investment theme company MGM Resorts (MGM), the market has continued to grind its way higher, setting new highs along the way. We believe that while the tragedy is likely to lead to greater security spend in Las Vegas to help ensure an orderly flow of tourists — another positive for our Safety & Security investing theme — the market largely viewed it as causing little disruption to overall corporate earnings.

  • Our price target on MGM Resorts (MGM) is $37

 

Looking for Foods with Integrity Sign Posts

One thing we haven’t seen emerge in the market thus far is sellers, and the continued move lower in the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) probably means we aren’t likely going to see many if any until 3Q 2017 earnings season kicks off into high gear starting Monday, October 16. Between now and then, we’ll get a handful or two of companies reporting, and we’ll be pouring over the results as well as looking for sign posts for our investing themes. This includes sifting through today’s results from PepsiCo (PEP) for an update on how it is shifting its beverage and snacking businesses to be more in-line with our Food with Integrity investing theme, and what it means for our International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Amplify Snacks (BETR) shares.

  • Our price target on International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) shares remains $150
  • Our price target on Amplify Snacks (BETR) shares is $10.50.

 

Alphabet Positioning Itself for the Connected Home

Today Alphabet (GOOGL) is expected to unveil a number of new hardware products including a revamped Pixel smartphone, a new smart speaker and others items as well. Amid the introductions, we’ll be listening to what these means for the Android echo system and how they help position Alphabet for the Connected Home and other aspects of our Connected Society investing theme. Following on Applied Materials’s (AMAT) upbeat 2017 Analyst Day last week that was bullish for both AMAT shares, as well as Universal Display (OLED) shares, we’ll be looking to see if like Apple (AAPL), Alphabet is jumping on the organic light emitting diode wagon with its new products.

  • Our price target on Alphabet (GOOGL) shares is $1,050.
  • Our price target on Applied Materials (AMAT) is $60
  • Our price target on Universal Display (OLED) shares is $175

 

 

Will September Weather Disruptions Impact Overall Retail Sales?

With the calendar turning to the month of October, we are now in the midst of the usual start of the month data. What we’ve received so far once again leads to some head-scratching as the September ISM Manufacturing Report gapped up month over month to one of its strongest levels in several years, but the IHS Markit US Manufacturing PMI data barely budged in September compared to August. When we see conflicting data like this, it tends to put us in a cautionary stance – much like when we look at valuation metrics to assess a stock price, we prefer to see corroborating indicators rather than ones in conflict. One thing to keep in mind, we have to see the impact of the recent hurricanes, and we suspect that will be felt primarily in the September Retail Sales and Personal Income & Spending Reports. As we saw in results from Darden (DRI), it appears the impact has been much worse than Wall Street has baked in the earnings cake. We’ll continue to factor this into our thinking near-term.

Our time-tested strategy heading into earnings season is to be mindful of those companies we’d be inclined to buy at higher prices as well as those that are likely to be the greater sources of volatility for the Tematica Select List. The ones that fit into that second bucket are those that may see some disruption in their businesses during September, and candidates include Amazon (AMZN) as well as United Parcel Service (UPS) and Starbucks (SBUX). Candidly, we see those companies getting a pass by Wall Street as we wade into the seasonally strongest time of the year for all three.

Earlier this week we shared the bullish forecast for digital shopping this holiday season, which led us to boost our price target on UPS shares to $130 from $122. Those same forecasts, which call for digital shopping to once again grow faster than brick & mortar retail and capture a greater piece of consumer wallets this holiday season, bodes extremely well for Amazon as well. With Starbucks, we once again see the combination of cooler weather and seasonal drinks driving traffic, and we’ll be looking to see if the revamped food offering drives higher ticket sales in the domestic business. Internationally, Starbucks likely benefitted from favorable exchange rates as it expands its footprint in both Europe and the emerging markets, especially China.

  • Our price target on Amazon (AMZN) remains $1,150
  • Our price target on United Parcel Service (UPS) is $130
  • Our price target on Starbucks (SBUX) is $74

 

 

Additional Confirming Data Point for LSI Industries (LYTS)

Before we go, I also wanted to share a new report from Philips Lighting that confirms one aspect of our thesis on adding LSI Industries (LYTS) to the Tematica Select List. As a reminder, our thesis on the shares centers on the company benefiting from post-hurricane rebuilding efforts in the coming quarters as well as the structural shift that favors the adoption of green-friendly light-emitting diode technology at the expense of other forms of lighting (incandescent, cathode ray tube). Regarding the latter, Philips Lighting has published a study showing businesses around the world could realize savings of up to $1.5 trillion in reduced rental costs alone if their office buildings were refurbished with LED lighting systems and other smart technology. We certainly see this as a positive data point for the LYTS shares on the Tematica Investing Select List.

  • Our price target on LSI Industries (LYTS) remains $10.

 

 

Boosting Price Target on UPS Shares Amid eCommerce Surge

Boosting Price Target on UPS Shares Amid eCommerce Surge

Key Points from this Post:

  • We are boosting our price target on United Parcel Service (UPS) shares to $130 from $122. Our new price target is a tad below the high end of the price target range that clocks in at $132, and offers an additional 7.6% upside from current levels.
  • As additional holiday sales shopping forecasts are published, we’ll be double and triple checking our UPS price target for additional upside.
  • Our price target on Amazon (AMZN) shares remains $1,150.
  • Our price target on Alphabet (GOOGL) shares remains $1,050

 

We have long said that United Parcel Service shares are the second derivative to the accelerating shift toward digital shopping. Whether you order from our own Amazon (AMZN), Nike (NKE), Wal-Mart (WMT), William Sonoma (WSM) or another retailer, odds are UPS will be one of the delivery solutions.

As we enter 4Q 2107 this week, we’re seeing rather upbeat forecasts for the soon to be upon us holiday shopping season. We’d note that most of these forecasts focus on the period between November and December/January, more commonly known as the Christmas shopping and return season that culminates in post-holiday sales that have retailers looking to make room for the eventual spring shopping season. With Halloween sales expected to reach $9.1 billion this year up 8.3% year over year per the National Retail Federation, we suspect there will be plenty of costumes, candy, and other items for this “holiday” that are purchased online.

Now let’s review the 2017 holiday shopping forecasts that have been published thus far:

Deloitte: Deloitte expects retail holiday sales to rise as much as 4.5% between November and January of this year, vs. last year’s rise of 3.6%, to top $1 trillion. In line with our thinking, Deloitte sees e-commerce sales accelerating this year, growing 18%-21% this year compared to 14.3% last year, to account for 11% of 2017 retail holiday sales.

eMarketer is forecasting total 2017 holiday season spending of $923.15 billion, representing 18.4% of U.S. retail sales for the year, 0.1% decline from last year. Parsing the data from a different angle, that amounts to nearly 20% of all 2017 retail sales. Digging into this forecast, we find eMarketer is calling for US retail e-commerce sales to jump 16.6% during the 2017 holiday season, driven by increases in mobile commerce and the intensifying online battle between large retailers and digital marketplaces. By comparison, the firm sees total retail sales growing at a moderate 3.1%, as retailers continue to experience heavy discounting during the core holiday shopping months of November and December.

As we saw above, a differing perspective can lead to greater insight. In this case, eMarketer’s data puts e-commerce’s share of this year’s holiday spending at 11.5% with the two months of November and December accounting for nearly 24% of full-year e-commerce sales.

AlixPartners: Global business-advisory firm, AlixPartners, forecasts 2017 US retail sales during the November-through-January period to grow 3.5%-4.4% vs. 2016 holiday-season sales. Interestingly enough, the firm arrives at its forecast using some mathematical interpolation – over the past seven years, year-to-date sales through the back-to-school season have accounted for 66.1% to 66.4% of retail sales annually, with holiday sales accounting for 16.9% to 17.0%.

NetElixir: Based on nine years of aggregate data from mid-sized and large online retailers, NetElixir forecasts this year’s holiday e-commerce sales will see a 10% year-over-year growth rate. NetElixir also predicts Amazon’s share of holiday e-commerce sales will reach 34%, up from the 30% last year.

These are just some of the holiday shopping forecasts that we expect to get, including the barometer that most tend to focus on – the 2017 holiday shopping forecast from the National Retail Federation. What all of the above forecasts have in common is the acceleration of e-commerce sales and the pronounced impact that will have in the November-December/January period.

In looking at revenue forecasts for UPS’s December quarter, current consensus expectations call for a 5.8% year over year increase vs. $16.9 billion in the September quarter. We suspect this forecast could be conservative, and the same holds true for EPS expectations, which likely means there is upside to be had vs. the $6.01 per share in consensus expectations for 2017. Over the 2014-2016 period, UPS shares peaked during the holiday shopping season between 19.3-23.5x earnings, or an average P/E ratio of 21.3x. Applying that average multiple to potential 2017 EPS between $6.01-$6.15 derives a price target between $127-$131.

As consumers continue to shift disposable spending dollars to online and mobile platforms, we continue to see Amazon, as well as Alphabet (GOOGL), benefiting as consumers embrace this shift and Cash-Strapped Consumers look to stretch the spending dollars they do have this upcoming holiday shopping season.

  • We are boosting our price target on United Parcel Service (UPS) shares to $130 from $122, an additional 7.6% upside from current levels.
  • Our price target on Amazon (AMZN) shares remains $1,150.
  • Our price target on Alphabet (GOOGL) shares remains $1,050
The Expanding Pain Point Fueling Safety and Security Investment Theme

The Expanding Pain Point Fueling Safety and Security Investment Theme

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been reminded of the dark side of our increasingly Connected Society, given cyber attacks and hacks at Equifax (EFX) and more recently Amazon’s (AMZN) Whole Foods and Sonic Corp. (SONC). Those are but a handful of examples in what is an expanding pain point that is fueling our Safety & Security investing theme and the ETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF (HACK)* shares on the Tematica Investing Select List.

Unsurprisingly to us, there is yet another new report that not only paints a gloomier picture but also forecasts a continued ramp in cyber attacks. We see this as confirming our $35 price target on HACK shares over the coming quarters. New research by Gemalto showed that almost 2 billion data records around the world were lost or stolen by cyber attacks in the first half of 2017. Worse yet, the number of breaches is slated to rise further. Per the latest Gemalto breach level index report, there were 918 breaches during the first six months of 2017, and of those breaches, 500 had an unknown number of compromised records. Meanwhile, the top 22 breaches involved more than one million compromised records.

With new regulations such as the U.K. data protection bill, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and Australia’s Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act set to come into force in the coming months and quarters, odds are we will see another step up in the number of reported security breaches. No wonder in its latest annual results, consulting firm Deloitte described cybersecurity as a “high growth area” for the firm.

A somewhat different view on this was had with FedEx’s (FDX) recent earnings report, in which it copped to the fact that cyberattack Petya cost the company around $300 million dollars. This should serve as a reminder the impact of a cyber attack can cost a company day to day, but it also has implications for its stock price when it misses earnings expectations.

We see all of the above as a reminder of the incremental spending to be had to fend and secure companies from prospective cyberattacks, a good thing for the companies contained inside the HACK ETF.

  • Our price target on Safety & Security investing position in the ETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF (HACK) remains $35.

 

* One quick housekeeping item, there was a recent name change for HACK shares to ETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF from PureFunds. The underlying strategy of the ETF and its focus on cybersecurity stocks remains intact.

Amid a Las Vegas tragedy, remaining patient with MGM shares

Amid a Las Vegas tragedy, remaining patient with MGM shares

This morning shares of Guilty Pleasure company MGM Resorts (MGM) are under some pressure following the Las Vegas shooting that saw a gunman fire on a crowd of people at an outdoor country music festival. Reports are still being filed, but as of now, the current assessment is that at least 50 people were killed. Again, a tragic event outside of the Mandalay Bay Hotel, which is owned by MGM Resorts, but one that is likely not to be repeated.

As we’ve seen in the past these disruptions, while horrific, tend to only have a short-term impact on the stock, as things settling down to “normal” before too long. We see Las Vegas casinos likely amping up their already considerable security procedures in response, and tourist traffic returning to normal before too long.

Including today’s events, the MGM shares on the Tematica Investing Select List are down just under 2% since we added them in early June. We will remain patient with the position as we wait for the next round fundamental data – monthly gaming figures from Macau and Nevada.

  • Our price target on shares of Guilty Pleasure company MGM Resorts (MGM) remains $37
Applied Materials serves up a better than expected 2017 Analyst Day

Applied Materials serves up a better than expected 2017 Analyst Day

Yesterday was a big day, and while you may be thinking about the headlines surrounding the revealed GOP tax plan I’m talking about the very upbeat 2017 Analyst Day held by Disruptive Technology company Applied Materials (AMAT). I expected the company to deliver a bullish take on the health of its end markets, but candidly it was even stronger than expected as the company offered not one, not two, but three-year guidance. That’s right it offered its take on 2020 with earnings of $5.08 per share and announced a new $3 billion share repurchase program.

As we are fond of saying here at Tematica, context is key and that 2020 EPS of $5.08 compares to consensus EPS of $3.20 this year and $3.60 next year. Continuing the context, adding the new $3 billion buyback program to the mix brings the total outstanding buyback to roughly $4 billion. At current share price levels, ls the company could buy up to 81.6 million shares, roughly 7.5% of the total outstanding share count. As one might suspect, the underlying strength of this outlook lies in robust chip demand not only due to smartphones but also ramping Internet of Things applications, big data and artificial intelligence (A.I.) that are part of our Connected Society and Disruptive Technology investing themes.

Inside its multi-year forecast, Applied is calling for a compound annual growth rate of 23% for its Display business. In our view confirms the growing adoption of organic light emitting diode displays (OLEDs) and reinforces our bullish stance on Universal Display (OLED) shares. When we first introduced Universal Display shares, we compared it to the transition to light emitting diodes that took several years and also started in mobile phones but expanded into other applications as industry manufacturing capacity rose and prices declined. We continue to see the same evolution happening with OLEDs, and that should drive demand for Universal’s chemicals as well as expand its high-margin intellectual property business.

In sum, what was expected to be a positive development for both Applied Materials and Universal Display was even stronger than expected. On the back of this more than favorable outlook, we are boosting our price target on AMAT shares to $60 from $55. For now, our price target on OLED shares remains $175.

  • On the back of this more than favorable outlook, we are boosting our price target on Applied Materials (AMAT) shares to $60 from $55.
  • Our price target on Universal Display (OLED) shares was recently raised to $175 from $135, and we remain quite comfortable with that revision.
WEEKLY ISSUE: Nike offers several points of confirmation; Boosting two price targets

WEEKLY ISSUE: Nike offers several points of confirmation; Boosting two price targets

Yesterday, we received the first of what is likely to be quite a bit on potential tax reform. If the efforts we’ve seen pertaining to repeal and replacing Obamacare are any indication, tax reform will take some time and call for reaching across the aisle. We’re cautiously optimistic such reform can take place in a lasting fashion as it would help give a boost to disposable incomes, which would be a boon to the consumer spending led U.S. economy. We’ll have more on this as it develops as well as implications of other happenings inside the Beltway, from more barbs with North Korea to President Trump’s regulatory reform overview to be shared next week.

 

Making some adjustments to the Tematica Investing Select LIst as we close the quarter

As the new tax policies are put forth and put under the microscope, we will soon close the books on September and 3Q 2017. With a few days left in the current quarter, the S&P 500 is up 3.3%, and we’ve had a number of positions ranging from AXT Inc. (AXTI), USA Technologies (USAT), International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Facebook (FB) handily beat that index. Some of our more recently added positions, including this week’s Corning (GLW) and last week’s LSI Industries (LSI) have dipped along with the market these last few days, but our outlook for both remains undiminished.

We have seen some former stalwarts, like Amazon (AMZN) and Alphabet (GOOGL) underperform over the last few months, but we’re heading into the seasonally strongest time of the year for these two companies – we’ll continue to keep both on the Tematica Investing Select List. The same goes for Starbucks (SBUX) as it rolls out its pumpkin flavored beverages and its peppermint mocha alongside other seasonal favorites.

Our price targets remain as follows:

  • Alphabet (GOOGL) — $1,050
  • Amazon (AMZN) — $1,150
  • AXT Inc (AXTI) — $11
  • Corning (GLW) — $37
  • Facebook (FB) — $200
  • LSI Industries (LYTS) — $10

 

We are boosting our price targets this morning on International Flavors & Fragrances and USA Technologies as follows:

  • Raising our IFF price target to $150 from $145;
  • Increasing our USAT target to $6.50 from $6.00

 

These increases offer additional upside, but not enough to warrant subscribers committing new capital at this time. Rather subscribers should continue to own these positions to capture incremental upside and in the case of IFF its dividend stream.

 

Now let’s step back and take a wider view

Our position has been and remains that we are likely to see the recent bout of volatility continue as we close the books on the third quarter of 2017 and roll right into earnings season. That reporting activity will come to a head just as we get the bulk of economic data for the month of September, the proverbial icing on the 3Q 2017 GDP cake. Based on the hurricanes, odds are this data will be a bit wobbly, to say the least, and odds are we will see more GDP revisions for the three months ending in just a few days. While some may look through the economic data, the quarterly results from Darden Restaurants (DRI) earlier this week and the subsequent drop in its shares tell us the market has yet to fully price in the impact of the hurricanes.

Here’s the thing – this could lead to the stock market retrenching from current levels, and in our view letting some of the froth out of the market is a good thing. Candidly, with the market trading near 19x expected earnings – head and shoulders above the 5- and 10-year averages – it begs the question as to how much additional upside is to be had?  This is especially true for investors that are only now returning to the market.

Our strategy for the near-term will be to focus on those companies that have strong thematic tailwinds and whose shares have a more than favorable risk-to-reward tradeoff. This could be in new positions like the ones we’ve added over the last 10 days or it could be in existing ones that come under pressure this earnings season. We always like the former, but the latter is also welcome if it allows us to improve our cost basis for the long-term.

Now, let’s dig into what Nike said last night in its quarterly earnings results – the skinny is, it was reinforcing on several levels for our themes as well as our recent comments on the dollar. Here we go…

 

What’s Nike telling us this morning?

Last night athletic footwear and apparel company Nike reported better than expected quarterly results, but the shares are trading off this morning. Sifting through the results, we see the 3% decline in North American sales as offering credence to our Cash-Strapped Consumer theme, while the 9% growth year over year in China, as well as the 5% year on year improvement in Asia-Pac/Latin America for the company, reflects our Rise & Fall of the Middle-Class thematic. That mix brought Nike’s international business to more than 55% of its overall revenue, and yes during the earnings call last night the company conceded that it has indeed benefitted from the weakening dollar during the last several months.

When it offered its outlook, however, Nike quickly called out that its expected margin contraction with “FX continuing to be the single largest driver.” Yesterday we shared our view the rebounding dollar could present a renewed headwind as the investing herd adjusts it view to incorporate the Fed’s interest rate hike forecast and we see that comment by Nike as confirmation. In addition to the near-term post-hurricane economic slump, this is potentially another reason we could see earnings expectations get reset in the back half of 2017 in the coming weeks.

We’ll look for more confirmation today during Applied Material’s (AMAT) 2017 Analyst Day and tomorrow when McCormick & Co. (MKC) and reports its quarterly earnings. As a reminder, we expect Applied to deliver a favorable demand picture for both its semiconductor as well as display capital equipment businesses, with the former benefitting from ramping demand in China. With regard to McCormick, consensus expectations have the company delivering EPS of $1.05 on revenue of $1.18 billion for the August-ending quarter. As we’ve all seen of late, missing expectations by a penny or two these days is likely to lead to a 4%-8% drop in the share price, and should that happen with MKC shares we’re inclined to scale into the position near or below our original cost basis of $91.80 on the Tematica Investing Select List.

  • Our price target on Applied Materials (AMAT) shares remains $55
  • Our price target on McCormick & Co. (MKC) shares remains $110

The Impact of the Nike — Amazon Deal

Turning back to Nike’s earnings conference call, heading into it, one of the things we wanted was more color on was the company’s invigorated relationship with Amazon (AMZN). We were not disappointed. During the call, even we were somewhat surprised by how blunt Nike was about the pressures facing U.S. retail when it said:

“…a developed market like North America must embrace change to its legacy retail infrastructure. As the leader, we’re fully committed to energizing and growing the marketplace through both our own NIKE Direct businesses and with strategic wholesale partners… over the past 90 days, it has become increasingly evident to all that the North America marketplace is undergoing significant transformation. Several quarters ago, we said that the U.S. retail landscape was not in a steady state, but rather would continue to be disrupted by the accelerating consumer shift to digital and more personal brand experiences… those shifts are now profoundly impacting the more undifferentiated dimensions of retail, resulting in store closures, bankruptcies, and a promotional environment… We’ve proven, I think, through our ability to create some real great success with other consumer-oriented digital partners like Tmall and Zalando that there isn’t a real opportunity here, and we’re excited about where that can go with Amazon (AMZN).”

In our view, those comments sum up the impact on brick & mortar retail that is being had by our Connected Society investing theme. Odds are, Nike is only one of the initial branded apparel companies that will look to leverage Amazon’s logistics and related infrastructure, and this keeps up long-term bullish on AMZN shares.

  • Our long-term price target on Amazon (AMZN) shares remains $1,150.

We also clearly heard Nike is embracing several aspects of our Disruptive Technology theme when it said, “…we target doubling our direct connection to consumers, we are ramping up investment in digital capabilities ranging from data science and analytics to machine learning to augmented reality to image recognition and personalization.”

The only thing better than a company riding one of our investment tailwinds is when it is riding two or more. Over the last three months, NKE shares have underperformed the overall market falling nearly 2.5% vs. the S&P’s 3.3% climb. As the investing herd digests Nike’s comments and the shares drift lower, we’ll revisit the potential upside and downside to be had over the coming 12-18 months. If it’s compelling, we’ll be back with more on this Rise & Fall of the Middle-Class company that is looking to leverage our Connected Society and Disruptive Technology themes.

 

Lackluster Demand for the Apple iPhone 8 Puts Pressure on OLED and others

Lackluster Demand for the Apple iPhone 8 Puts Pressure on OLED and others

Yesterday we witnessed a sharp decline in technology stocks as evidenced by the declines in Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), Netflix (NFLX) and Apple (AAPL). Regarding Apple shares, yesterday’s move lower simply adds to the recent pressure on the shares we’ve seen since the company’s lackluster September special event as investors question iPhone 8 model demand ahead of the early November launch of the iPhone X. Of course, snafus with the latest Apple Watch and MacOS High Sierra aren’t helping a company that seems plagued either a lack of vision or remaining trapped in a position until technology forces align for its next new product.

Pressure on Apple shares has overflowed and resulted in the same downward pressure on our Universal Display (OLED) shares, slipping from a high of $142 on September 19, down to a hair below $125 when the market closed last evening. We’ll continue to keep OLED shares on the Tematica Select List however, as Apple adopts its technology across other devices, and as demand from other devices (other smartphones, TVs, wearables, automotive interior lighting) climbs in the coming quarters. As a reminder, tomorrow brings the 2017 Analyst Day from Applied Materials (AMAT) and we expect bullish comments for both its semiconductor capital equipment business as well as its display business.

 

Other Market & FED Notes

We’ve noted that we have seen the Wall Street herd rotate sectors as of late, with water and electric utilities being strong performers of late — both part of our Scarce Resource investment theme. While the S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) may be near record lows, the recent performance of those safe havens signals that investors are in a wearisome mood. Another group that has performed well over the last several weeks is multinational companies, which have benefitted from the dollar’s renewed weakness in July, August and early September. We’ve seen this with our Amazon (AMZN), International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), and Facebook (FB) shares to name a few.

More recently, however, we’ve seen the dollar rebound modestly, and with the Fed talking up several interest rate hikes in as many quarters, we are likely to see the dollar move further off early September lows. This brings Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s speech this afternoon into focus. Will we get much more from Yellen on the pace of balance sheet unwinding vs. what the Fed shared last week? Probably not, but we’ll still be looking to parse her usual clear as mud words.

The expected lack of “new info” from the Fed will likely keep the market mentality fixated on the Fed’s forecasted interest rate hike timetable. We here at Tematica prefer to remain data dependent when it comes to contemplating potential Fed rate hikes. That view led Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari to reiterate his view yesterday that raising rate now is a bad idea:

“When I look at the economy, I don’t see any signs the economy is close to overheating… I see no need to tap the brakes and attempt to moderate the economy with higher short-term rates.”

Realizing Kashkari is a lone voting wolf inside the Fed, odds are the herd view will continue to influence the prevailing narrative in the near-term. We’ll remain patient as that group will once again take some time to come around to how we see things.

In the short-term, a continued rebound in the dollar is likely to pressure multinational companies ranging from General Electric (GE) and Caterpillar (CAT) to the likes of Amazon, Facebook, Applied Materials, and even MGM Resorts (MGM) that are on the Tematica Select List. With this in mind, we’ll be closely dissecting the forward guidance to be had from Nike (NKE) later today and the Select List’s own McCormick & Co. (MKC), which reports this Thursday (Sept. 28).

As the herd continues to feel its way around, we’re inclined to re-test our thematic thesis on the stocks comprising the Select List, but given what we’ve seen in our Thematic Signals we have reason to believe our thematic tailwinds continue to blow.  As we do this, we’ll remember this week unveils President Trump’s tax reform proposal followed by the administration’s regulatory agenda that will be outlined next week (Oct. 2), not to mention all the amped-up geo-political news between the U.S. and North Korea.

Odds are the next few weeks, will be tumultuous, but let’s remember that “fortune favors the prepared” and that’s what w we aim to be. This means looking for thematically well-positioned companies that offer favorable risk-to-reward dynamics, like the recent addition of Corning (GLW) and Nokia (NOK), as well as opportunities to scale into existing positions on the Tematica Select List.

 

 

Adding a Glass Disruptor to the Tematica Investing Select List

Adding a Glass Disruptor to the Tematica Investing Select List

Key Points from this Post:

  • We are adding shares of Disruptive Technologies company Corning (GLW) to the Tematica Investing Select List with a Buy rating and a long-term price target of $37.

  • Paired with the current dividend yield, the shares offer 25% upside to that target.

 

Recently, Apple (AAPL) unveiled its new iPhone models, both the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X each are designed to have a glass backing. If history holds, odds are this additional glass backing will lead to more iPhone repairs as users drop their iPhones (and yes, we noticed Apple bumped up its Apple Care prices for screen replacement with the new all glass models). Aside from that potential nuisance, others attending the Apple event had this to say:

“The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus look pretty much the same as their predecessors, but they have a new back cover that’s coated in glass and gives them a somewhat fresher look. The glass blends into the sides of the phone incredibly well, better than we’ve seen on other phones. There’s a subtle density to the glass, too, and overall it looks a lot better than the back of the 7. That glass back allows for wireless charging, which is one of the big new features here.”

As one might expect, Apple was on record saying the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus have “the most durable glass ever in a smartphone, front and back.” While we have yet to feel the device ourselves, the specs suggest the added heft could be due to a denser glass. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are slightly heavier at 5.22 ounces and 7.13 ounces respectively, compared to 4.87 ounces and 6.63 ounces for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus respectively.

The key here is Apple’s shift to glass will likely drive incremental glass demand, much the way its shift to organic light emitting diode displays with the iPhone X is spurring demand for those products, and in turn driving up the share prices of Tematica Select List stocks Universal Display (OLED) and Applied Materials (AMAT). If Apple sticks to its knitting it means deploying wireless charging across other iPhone models and perhaps iPads in the coming quarters. If we’re right that would lead to even more glass demand as the glass is required for such charging, rather than a metal or plastic form factor.

Outside of Apple, we’re also seeing larger and larger format TVs come to market that are also driving demand for glass, while fiber to the home is driving glass demand as well. Let’s remember that wireless backhaul is also a big consumer of glass and 5G has the potential to up the ante for glass fiber. We also suspect there will be a fair amount of smartphone copycats that offer front and back glass on new smartphone models as well in the coming months. Again, more demand for glass, specialty materials and coatings.

All of this bodes very well in our view for specialty glass and ceramics company, Corning (GLW), which derives 80% of its revenues and profits from the display, optical communication and specialty materials markets. In our view, these material science capabilities at Corning’s are one of the keys to enabling both new form factors as well as connectivity solutions, including wireless charging. As such we see the company primarily riding tailwinds associated with our Disruptive Technology investing theme, even though evidence of man-made glass dates back to 4000 BC and Corning as a company was launched in 1851.

We see Corning’s position in our Disruptive Technologies theme cemented by comments from Apple, a customer of the company’s glass products, when it said, “Corning is a great example of a supplier that has continued to innovate and they are one of Apple’s long-standing suppliers… This partnership started 10 years ago with the very first iPhone.” While “talk may be cheap,” in May Apple announced Corning would be the recipient of $200 million from Apple’s new Advanced Manufacturing Fund to support Corning’s R&D, capital equipment needs and state-of-the-art glass processing. Our thinking is if Apple calls you a disruptor, you pretty much are one. As far as the other 20% of Corning’s revenue, it is derived from businesses that serve environmental and life science markets.
 

Why Now is the Time for Corning Shares

Current estimates have Corning delivering EPS of $1.70 this year, up from $1.55 in 2016, with consensus prospects calling for EPS of $1.84 next year and $2.00 in 2019. What those figures don’t show is that for the last year plus, Corning has been consistently beating expectations. Paired with the demand drivers we noted above as well as its pledge to return significant cash to shareholders through 2019 in a combination of share repurchases and dividend increases, we are more than just warming up to GLW shares.

While we like the company’s position and prospects, the shares are currently trading at 17.3x and 16.3x expected 2017 and 2018 earnings vs. the average peak P/E multiple of 17.2x over the last few years. This would suggest our upside near-term is limited, but we’ve also learned long ago not to examine just one valuation tool when looking to value a stock. Turning to a dividend yield analysis, the shares have peaked in recent years at an average dividend yield of 1.95%. Applied to the slated 2017 dividend per share of 0.64, this offers us upside to $33 vs. downside near $23 using the average trough dividend yield of 2.8%.

Now here’s the thing — on Corning’s recent 2Q 2107 earnings call, management committed to increasing its annual dividend by at least 10% in both 2018 and 2019. Some quick math shows an annual dividend of at least $0.70 per share next year and $0.77 per share in 2019. Given Corning’s net cash balance sheet — $4.2 billion in cash and equivalents vs. total debt of $3.9 billion) and strong cash generation, the company has ample breathing room for these targeted dividend increases.

Applying those peak and trough average dividend yields kicks out a price target range of $36-$39 and potential downside of $25-$27. That’s a far more palatable upside to downside tradeoff for longer-term investors as glass demand ramps in the coming quarters due to rising demand from a variety of markets and applications. As we see it today, those factors should lead to continued EPS growth in 2018 and 2019, helping support those respective price ranges.

  • We are adding shares of Corning (GLW) to the Tematica Investing Select List with a Buy rating and a long-term price target of $37.
  • Paired with the current dividend yield, the shares offer 25% upside to that target.
WEEKLY ISSUE: Business as usual ahead of the Fed’s September policy meeting

WEEKLY ISSUE: Business as usual ahead of the Fed’s September policy meeting

Stocks continued to inch higher over the last several days ahead of today’s next Fed policy meeting. Over the last few days, we’ve seen GDP expectations for the current quarter revised lower from economists, regional Fed banks and even companies like FedEx (FDX), which sees GDP hitting all of 2.2% this year. I continue to see the Fed taking yet another pass on boosting interest rates later today, and given the impact from the recent hurricanes, the team Tematica view is that while next potential interest rate hike could come late this year, it’s more likely going to be in 1Q 2018.

The more closely watched item in the Fed’s comments will be timing for its balance sheet unwinding, and that means parsing the Fed-speak out this afternoon. Much like interest rates, I suspect the Fed will take a pass this month on kicking that initiative off and revisit the strength of the economy at its October/November meeting, but again, more on that once we have parsed the Fed’s words. We’ll have the Tematica take and what it means for the markets as well as the Tematica Investing Select List tomorrow morning.

Keeping the market somewhat in check yesterday was President Trump’s address to the United Nations General Assembly at which he shared he will take a hard line, vowing to “totally destroy” North Korea if it threatened the United States or its allies. Nothing keeps uncertainty alive lately quite like political drama in DC. Such drams also now includes questions over the potential benefits to the domestic economy with corporate tax reform at a time when the federal budget deficit continues to climb. Let’s also remember we are on the cusp of the 2017 election season, and even as President Trump reaches across the aisle, odds are it won’t be an all “cookies and warm milk” as politicians are vying for their own jobs.  For this reason, I see tax reform more likely toward the end of 2017, which happens to be when the debt ceiling conversation will be resumed.

 

Earnings this week, set the stage for coming 3Q 2107 season

Over the next week and a half we will close the books on 3Q 2017 and face quarterly earnings. Before too long the year-end holidays will be upon us. Last night we had a few earnings reports from FedEx, Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) and Adobe Systems (ADBE), and today all three stocks are trending lower. Part of the reason for FedEx missing expectations last night was the disruption it faced due to its recent cyber attack. Such attacks are yet another reminder that the cybersecurity aspect of our Safety & Security theme is a form of insurance in our Connected Society. This keeps us long-term bullish on PureFunds ISE Cyber Security ETF (HACK) shares.

Despite a beat at Adobe, the company signaled softer than expected growth for its cloud business. When paired with revenue guidance that was in line with expectations and the stocks sky-high valuation near 40x 2017 earnings per share, it’s not surprising to see ADBE shares trading off today. I point this out because it is another example of good news being ill-received on Wall Street — another reason to think the next few weeks will continue to be volatile.

  • Our price target on PureFunds ISE Cyber Security ETF (HACK) shares remains $35.

 

 

Another brick & mortar retailer looks to leverage Amazon

While earnings reports from FDX, BBBY and ADBE will factor into our larger thinking, what I found far more interesting was the new partnership announced between thematic investing poster child Amazon (AMZN) and retailer Kohl’s (KSS), which includes Kohl’s offering to accept returns for Amazon customers at 82 stores in Los Angeles and Chicago. This is yet another example of a retail-facing company looking to partner with Amazon, and to me, it speaks to the logistics power that is one of Amazon’s core strengths.

Perhaps the management team at Kohl’s saw what I did in the last week’s August Retail Sales Report –  continued pain at department stores as shoppers continue to shift spending to digital platforms. As much pain as we here at Tematica see for brick & mortar retailers in the upcoming year-end holiday shopping season, we see a similar amount of opportunity for Amazon given its footprint expansion over the last year.

  • Our price target on Amazon (AMZN) shares remains $1,150, which keeps the shares a Buy on the Tematica Investing Select List.

 

 

Results at United Natural Foods offer comfort for Amplify Snacks

One of the positions that has been lagging this market move higher is Food with Integrity company Amplify Snacks (BETR), and we used August pullback to improve our cost basis. Since that scaling, BETR shares have once again languished, but commentary last week from United Natural Foods (UNFI) offered a confirming perspective. In United Natural’s earnings report it shared its supernatural net sales were up approximately 6.8% year over year and its supermarket channel net sales increased 8.3% year over year in the quarter. To me, that points to consumers continuing to embrace food that is good for you and bodes rather well for healthy snacking options offered by Amplify. Anecdotally, after visiting several Whole Foods locations over the weekend we can attest to a rebound in traffic and shopping bags.

We will continue to be patient with Amplify Snacks (BETR) shares as the company expands its product offering as well as its reach beyond the U.S. As we have said, we see Amplify as a potential acquisition candidate for PepsiCo (PEP), Snyder’s-Lance (LNCE), Post Holdings (POST), General Mills (GIS) or another snack-food company as they look to expand their presence in the “better for you food” snacking category.

  • Our price target on Amplify Snacks (BETR) shares remains $11

 

 

Recapping moves made earlier this week

As we get ready for what lies ahead over the coming weeks, we made some maneuverings with the Tematica Select List earlier this week. Those moves included adding two new Buy rated positions – LSI Industries (LYTS) and Nokia Corp. (NOK) – and we exited shares of CalAmp Corp. (CAMP). I’d note that one day after we added NOK shares to the Select List, UBS unveiled a “buy” rating on the shares.

Also, this week, our shares of Applied Materials (AMAT) were upgraded to “outperform” at RBC Capital Markets with a new $55 price target; if you’re thinking “that $55 price target sounds familiar” it’s because it has been our AMAT price target for months. As a reminder, Applied will host its 2017 Analyst Day on Sept. 27, and I see that offering an upbeat dialog for both its display  semiconductor capital equipment businesses

  • Our price target on LSI Industries (LYTS) remains $10
    Our price target on Nokia Corp. (NOK) remains $8.50
    Our price target on Applied Materials (AMAT) remains $55

 

Speaking of displays and price targets, yesterday we increased our price target on Universal Display (OLED) shares to $175 from $135, and we are evaluating potential stop loss levels for this position.

As we close this week’s issue, we’d suggest subscribers that missed yesterday’s comments on the current corn harvest as well as a potential longer-term disruptor to corn supply-demand dynamics and what it means for the Teucrium Corn Fund (CORN) shares on the Select List give them a whirl.

  • Our long-term price target on Teucrium Corn Fund (CORN) shares remains $25.