Stocks on Wall Street rose on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closing at new records after shockingly bad U.S. jobs data subdued concerns the Federal Reserve would taper its stimulus program anytime soon.
However, the major averages ended mixed for the week, with the Dow and S&P 500 climbing 2.7% and 1.2% respectively, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite fell 1.5%.
This week we'll see another batch of high-profile earnings reports from companies like Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS), Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR), Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN), and Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB), plus additional important economic data, including the latest U.S. inflation numbers, making this week an eventful one.
Regardless of which direction the market goes, below we highlight one stock likely to be in demand and another which could see further downside.
Remember though, our timeframe is just for the upcoming week.
Stock To Buy: Deere
Deere & Company (NYSE:DE), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of agricultural, mining, and construction equipment, saw its stock surge to new peaks last week amid the ongoing rally in commodity prices.
DE shares—which have soared 46.5% so far this year—closed at a fresh record of $394.22 on Friday, earning the company a valuation of $122.2 billion.
We expect the march higher in grains and metals futures to continue to fuel gains in shares of the Moline, Illinois-based company in the coming days.
In addition, chart technicals also look promising after DE stock managed to bounce off its 50-day moving average (DMA) and clear the $392-level, which acted as recent resistance.
Mounting optimism about the global economy has fueled a remarkable rally in a wide range of raw materials this year, boosting sentiment on the agriculture-and-heavy machinery equipment maker.
Copper prices jumped to record highs for the first time in more than a decade on Friday, while corn, soybeans, and wheat traded near their highest in nearly nine years.
Deere, which crushed expectations for earnings and revenue in the last quarter, next reports financial results ahead of the U.S. market open on Friday, May 21.
Consensus expectations call for the agriculture giant to post earnings per share of $4.47 for its second quarter, improving a whopping 111% from EPS of $2.11 per share in the year-ago period.
Revenue is expected to jump 28% year-over-year to $10.5 billion, benefitting from the ongoing recovery in the farming and mining industries.
Beyond the top- and bottom-line figures, investors are hoping Deere will update its full-year profit and revenue forecast to reflect the positive impact of skyrocketing commodity prices on its business.
Stock To Dump: DoorDash
DoorDash (NYSE:DASH) shares, which started trading on the New York Stock Exchange in December of last year, look set to remain under pressure in the week ahead as investors brace for disappointing financial results.
DASH, which sank to a record low of $120.23 towards the end of last week, ended Friday’s session at $124.89, slumping more than 51% below its all-time high of $256.09, touched on Jan. 27.
At current levels, the Palo Alto, California-based company has a market cap of roughly $40 billion.
The food delivery company is scheduled to report earnings for the second time as a public company after the closing bell on Thursday, May 13. As such, it faces no year-over-year comparisons.
Consensus estimates call for a loss of $0.08 per share for the first quarter, while revenue is forecast to clock in at $994.3 million.
DASH stock tumbled following its last earnings report—released in late February—after net losses more than doubled from the same period a year earlier. It also provided a gloomy full-year outlook, warning that some of the tailwinds it enjoyed from in-person dining restrictions will fade and turn into headwinds as lockdowns ease across the country.
Therefore, investors will keep an eye on DoorDash’s consumer engagement and average order values, which surged in the last quarter due to booming demand during the COVID pandemic. We expect these metrics to slow substantially in Q1 as the economic reopening gathers pace and more people seek to dine out amid the vaccine-led return to normalcy.
In addition, market players will focus on DoorDash’s outlook for the rest of the year and beyond. The food delivery service previously projected marketplace gross order value (GOV) growth—a key sales metric—at 27.7%. That represents a sharp slowdown from growth of 227% in marketplace GOV during Q4.