Editorial Staff1. — Stock Futures Rise After Pfizer COVID Vaccine Gets Full FDA Approval
Stock futures rose Tuesday with investors in a buying mood after the Food and Drug Administration gave full approval for Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 52 points, S&P 500 futures rose 8 points and Nasdaq futures gained 45 points.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury rose Tuesday to 1.265% as traders looked to the Jackson Hole symposium later in the week for hints on future Federal Reserve policy.
Stocks finished higher Monday, with the Nasdaq closing at a record high, after the FDA issued full approval for the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner.
Equities rose with investors believing the FDA approval could lead to more formal vaccine mandates from companies and organizations around the country as delta-variant infections accelerate.
The Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole symposium will take place virtually beginning Thursday, with a keynote address from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell scheduled for Friday.
“I don’t expect a lot of fireworks (at the meeting),” Jefferies managing director David Zervos told Yahoo Finance. “I think this is not the time nor the place to bring up a ‘we’re about to start tapering.’”
The Fed has been buying about $120 billion a month of Treasury securities and mortgage bonds to help prop up the economy during the pandemic.
2. — Cramer: More to Monday’s Rally Than Just Vaccine Clearance
TheStreet’s Jim Cramer told his “Mad Money” viewers that Monday’s stock market rally was fueled by the full approval of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine, even though that approval was expected by pretty much everyone.
The market has been so hungry for good news, Cramer said, that even the most obvious of news can send stocks higher.
But there was a lot more to Monday’s rally than just a 2.4% gain in shares of Pfizer. More vaccines means less COVID, and less COVID means more travel and leisure, which is great news for a host of sectors. As people go out more, they’ll want more products from Estee Lauder , for example, and they’ll be eating out more at Chipotle Mexican Grill, Cramer noted.
As travel picks up, that’s good news for the airlines and cruise lines. Cramer recommended keeping it simple with Southwest Airlines. He also was bullish on both Mastercard and Visa.
3. — Tuesday’s Calendar: Best Buy Earnings, New Home Sales
Earnings reports are expected Tuesday from Best Buy, Medtronic, Intuit, Toll Brothers, Nordstrom, Advance Auto Parts and Urban Outfitters.
Earnings to Watch: Nordstrom, Best Buy and Marvell
4. — FAA to Review Boeing Employee Reports of Pressure on Safety Issues
The Federal Aviation Administration will launch a review of how Boeing employees handle safety matters on the agency’s behalf after some company engineers said they face undue pressure, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an agency letter and people familiar with the matter.
A survey conducted by the FAA earlier this year found 35% of a small sample of certain Boeing employees reported problems including pressure and hurdles to transparency, according to an Aug. 19 agency letter to Boeing, the Journal reported.
The FAA action is just the latest to take a look at the aerospace giant following two crashes of the company’s 737 MAX in late 2018 and early 2019.
U.S. aviation regulators have long relied on aerospace-company employees to act on their behalf for performing certain tasks, the Journal noted. The problems cited by Boeing employees in the survey “indicate the environment does not support independence” of those who are empowered to act on the agency’s behalf, according to the letter, which was signed by Ian Won, acting manager of the FAA’s Boeing oversight office in the Seattle area.
A Boeing spokeswoman told the Journal the company takes “these matters with the utmost seriousness” and was working to bolster the independence of its employees who work on the FAA’s behalf.
5. — Palo Alto Surges on Revenue Forecast
Shares of Palo Alto Networks rallied early Tuesday after the cybersecurity company reported fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings and sales that topped analysts’ estimates and issued a revenue outlook higher than forecasts.
The company said it expects first-quarter revenue of $1.19 billion to $1.21 billion and billings of $1.29 billion to $1.31 billion. Palo Alto forecast adjusted earnings in the period of $1.55 to $1.58 a share.
Analysts expect revenue of $1.15 billion and earnings of $1.59 a share.
The stock rose 11.65% in premarket trading Tuesday to $415.97. Shares have risen 4.83% so far in 2021 and almost 43% over the past year.
TheStreet’s Jim Cramer spoke with Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks, on his “Mad Money” program on Monday evening.
Arora said Palo Alto has spent three years preparing for what it felt would be the future. That future included the cloud, artificial intelligence and a more security-aware corporate environment.
Source: The Street
