The quarter-ending, holiday-shortened week concluded with the Nasdaq up 2.6% but the Dow Jones industrials only fractionally higher. The first quarter ended with the S&P 500 near record highs, and it was above 4,000 at week's end. The 10-year Treasury yield was up to about 1.7%.
The market seemed unconcerned about the prospects for a corporate tax hike and even appeared to like the White House's huge infrastructure spending plan. However, volatility increased last week, and the Russell 2000 index took a hit.
It seems chip shortages will be a problem for a while. An aerospace giant struggling to get back on its feet announced big orders last week, as did the leading electric vehicle maker. That EV maker also teamed up with the iPhone maker, though they won't be making cars together. There were rumors about new products from the latter though.
Furthermore, there was fresh good news about the COVID-19 vaccines, New York became the 15th state to legalize recreational marijuana, and a social media giant received good news from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Through it all, Benzinga continued to examine the prospects for many of the stocks most popular with investors. Here are a few of this past week's most bullish and bearish posts that are worth another look.
Bulls
In Melanie Schaffer's "Apple Options Traders See Upside Ahead," discover why some options traders are betting a bigger move to the upside is on the horizon for consumer electronics giant Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) as it looks to enter the electric vehicle market.
Jayson Derrick's "Airline Stocks On Rebound? Analyst Says Take A Look At Alaska Air, Delta, Jet Blue, Southwest" discusses what rising travel demand means for JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ: JBLU) and others.
"Why This Nio, Xpeng Analyst Is Bullish After Q1 EV Delivery Updates" by Shanthi Rexaline examines why Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) is poised for market share gains and what makes Xpeng Inc (NYSE: XPEV) competitive.
In "Lululemon's Prospects Remain Fit," Jayson Derrick focuses on four key takeaways after the athletic apparel maker Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ: LULU) posted better than expected quarterly results and offered a "great deal of color" on its outlook.
Johnson Controls International PLC (NYSE: JCI) is poised for an "upgrade supercycle." So says Priya Nigam's "Morgan Stanley Upgrades Johnson Controls On Commercial Buildings Potential."
Bears
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) and other top Nasdaq stocks could suffer due to geopolitical tensions, according to "'Biggest Risk' Facing Apple, Tesla, Other Nasdaq Stocks? US-China 'Cold Tech War,' Says Analyst" by Shivdeep Dhaliwal.
In "Cathie Wood's Ark Space Exploration ETF Has 'No Reason' To Exist, Says Cramer," Madhukumar Warrier looks at why the noted CNBC host is so critical of the new ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKX).
"General Motors Refutes Charge Of Ignoring Black-Owned Media For Advertising" by Phil Hall points out who has accused General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) of practicing racial discrimination and why.
Vandana Singh's "Bristol Myers In Over $1B Tax Brawl After Accidental Disclosure Of Offshore Patents Setup: NYT" shows what the IRS has accused Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE: BMY) of doing wrong.
In Wayne Duggan's "BofA Cuts Credit Suisse Price Target For Second Time In 3 Days" find out what has prompted the lingering uncertainty around Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE: CS). Are big losses coming?
For additional bearish takes, be sure to check out these posts:
** At the time of this writing, the author had Apple Inc, JetBlue Airways Corporation and Lululemon Athletica Inc in the mentioned equities.
Those who classify all stocks that analysts have as BULLS and all shares they don't own as BEARS
Tesla is also classified as BEAR because analysts do not own it, and JETBLUE owned by analysts is classified as BULLS.
