Tesla’s Bitcoin Oddity
Ground control to Elon Musk. Ground control to Elon Musk.
Invest in crypto coins and charge your Model S…
This is ground control to Elon Musk. Tesla’s (Nasdaq: TSLA) really made the grade. And the financial papers want to know which crypto coin you bear. Now it’s time to invest in bitcoin if you dare.
Can you hear me, Great Ones?
Now is not the time to be floating in a tin can. We’ve already commenced with the countdown, and the engines are on for both bitcoin and Tesla.
I appreciate the David Bowie, Mr. Great Stuff. But what’re you talking about? Don’t leave us floating in a most peculiar way.
Yeah, lyrics can be an oddity some times. So, Tesla announced today that it purchased $1.5 billion in bitcoin! Eat your heart out, MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR).
Furthermore, Tesla said it also plans to accept the cryptocurrency at some point in the future.
What does this mean for you?
Two things:
First, TSLA shares are about to trade more in lockstep with bitcoin prices. You can’t own that much bitcoin and not see some correlation between your company’s stock and crypto prices. Just ask MicroStrategy.
Second, bitcoin prices are about to get a bit more stable. The idea here is that as more retailers accept bitcoin as payment, the more mainstream the cryptocurrency becomes. The more mainstream bitcoin becomes, the more price stability the digital currency should see.
Remember, bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have value because the market decided they have value … more or less. Along these lines, if a major company like Tesla backs bitcoin, it gives the cryptocurrency more “street cred” … more “decided value,” if you will.
Backing from Tesla and CEO Elon Musk carries significant weight, after all.
In other words, if you don’t want to be a Major Tom floating ‘round in your tin can in the crypto market, it’s time to leave your capsule.
But, Mr. Great Stuff … bitcoin trades at more than $40k for one coin! I can’t afford that!
Aaaah, you don’t have to buy a whole bitcoin! They trade fractionally. But I get why bitcoin and cryptos can be scary. If you need help stepping through that door, wait no more!
Bitcoin’s moonshot is anything but a space oddity. And those virtual golden coins are far, far far from the only way in on the crypto market.
That’s why I think it’s so important for you to see my colleague Ian King’s Next Wave Crypto Fortunes. Ian’s sharing exactly how this new crypto boom could multiply your money 12 times … in just the next 12 months!
You’ve really got to see this to believe it. (Click here!)
Good: Never a Has-Been
Today’s dose of market goodness is actually a double feature — two scoops of double-beat earnings. (So much positivity, I know … what kinda Monday is this?)
First up, Hasbro (Nasdaq: HAS) nailed the holiday sales quarter — everyone was pulling out the Jenga and Monopoly boxes this season. Just maybe not the Twister mats … cough, cough.
The toy and board game maker’s revenue topped $1.72 billion, which beat expectations for $1.69 billion. Per-share earnings also outmatched estimates: $1.27, versus the consensus for $1.14. Hasbro’s secret, yet again, lies with Star Wars.
CEO Brian Goldner told CNBC: “What’s been great for our business is that streaming content is now being enjoyed by so many people, it has really hit a tipping point.”
To translate, even merchandise makers don’t care much about Hollywood tie-ins anymore. Walt Disney’s (NYSE: DIS) Disney+ and its bastion of made-for-merch content made up the difference: Hasbro’s Star Wars toy sales shot up 70% in 2020 alone.
And what do those toys need? Batteries — and not those Dollar Store cheap-o’s, either.
Energizer (NYSE: ENR) also released Street-beating earnings today. Sales totaled $848.6 million to top estimates for $790 million, while per-share earnings of $1.17 beat the $0.89 consensus. Tight-lipped CEO Mark LaVigne simply pointed to “elevated demand” … as if the great rush for AA and D cells was top of everyone’s mind but mine.
ENR shot up 10% today, while HAS rose 3%. Both rallies were subdued during the day’s trading, however.
Better: Palantir’s Nuts
I have to admit, Great Ones, I’m not that big a fan of Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR). At least, not at current valuations.
The company must have something special, however, as it’s locked in several U.S. government contracts with the intelligence community’s counterterrorism fight. But Palantir announced a different deal today that could be a game-changer.
The company is partnering with IBM (NYSE: IBM) to develop and deploy artificial intelligence (AI) infused applications. IBM has been very successful in the AI market, but it could reach more customers … if those customers understood exactly what IBM’s Watson AI software actually does.
That’s where Palantir comes in … hopefully. The joint project will leverage Palantir’s Foundry interface with IBM’s Cloud Pak for Data — aka, Watson — to make the combined product both user-friendly and an AI powerhouse.
PLTR rallied more than 7% on the IBM alliance, and the stock now trades at nearly double the consensus price target of $17.83. Is PLTR expensive right now? Probably. But if this IBM deal pans out, it could push Palantir a lot closer to that valuation down the road.
I’ve switched from writing off PLTR completely to keeping a close eye on the company.
Best: Clean Energy Is the $#!%
On Friday, I gave you probably the biggest investing tip in the hydrogen/clean energy market I’ve ever come across. (If you missed it, click here.) But today’s news has the potential to be just as big…
Clean Energy Fuels (Nasdaq: CLNE) announced a deal to provide 47.5 million gallons of renewable natural gas (RNG) to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. For the record, LA County operates the U.S.’s largest bus fleet.
This is a big deal, not only due to the size of the bus fleet, but also due to the adoption of RNG.
For those who don’t know, RNG is a clean, low-carbon natural gas alternative. It’s made from organic waste, such as food scraps, animal manure and sewage … you know, all the reasons why landfills and sewage-treatment plants stink to high heaven.
What’s more, RNG can directly replace fossil-fuel-derived natural gas with little to no processing. So, let’s break this down (pun intended).
Clean Energy Fuels makes alternative natural gas directly from all the shi— erm, stuff we throw away or flush down the toilet, and the company just signed a major supply deal for RNG with the country’s largest operator of natural-gas-driven buses.
That sounds like a no-brainer to me. It gets even better when you realize that you can take RNG and use it to make hydrogen if need be. (Y’all know how hyped up I am on the hydrogen fuel market right now.)
Now, I know many of you might want to run right out and jump on the CLNE bandwagon. If you have the stomach for risk, sure … go for it.
However, CLNE is up a whopping 33% today on the LA County news. So, if you have a bit of patience, you could probably get better pricing on your investment if you wait for CLNE to digest today’s gains.
This is yet another stock I’m adding to my watch list, so don’t be surprised if you get an official Great Stuff Picks recommendation down the road a bit.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for ways to play new energy — that doesn’t involve a trip to the sewers, mind you — all you have to do is click here!
Today’s bout of earnings excellence is brought to you by small industry leaders and pandemic-proof picks!
Our last Chart of the Week was a flood of Big Tech and social media names, and this week is no less packed … just for the small fry, this time. Take a look at this week’s stacked billing in the earnings confessional, from Earnings Whispers on Twitter:
What catches your eye first?
In no time flat, General Motors (NYSE: GM) has gone from earnings week snoozer to an eventual bruiser — at least once GM’s electric plans get off the ground. Until then, we’re still looking for GM to keep Ford Motor (NYSE: F) at bay … which keeps getting easier and easier.
Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) and Lyft (Nasdaq: LYFT) both stand to see ridership increase as more states vax up and get cases down. How much, though, is the golden question. So far, every pandemic earnings report from the duo has been a horror show worth tuning in for and methinks this week won’t be much different…
On the other side of the pandemic-resistant street come those precious purveyors of packaged foods. Frozen foods. Half-frozen foods! In other words, the potentially more pandemic-proof food picks, like PepsiCo (Nasdaq: PEP), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), Kellogg’s (NYSE: K) and Tyson (NYSE: TSN).
Each of those four horsemen of the snack food apocalypse have weathered the pandemic unevenly, subject to changing consumer tastes with packaged food and the always-available delivery options. We know all y’all overnight chefs cancelled those Blue Apron trials back last May, don’t lie…
Want other pandemic picks? Chegg (NYSE: CHGG) is one we don’t touch on often, but it’ll report earnings by the time you read this. Chegg stayed mainly in the textbook-selling game before branching out into homework help and virtual learning tools, making it the ideal company for digital classrooms.
CHGG shares have more than tripled since the pandemic started, and this week’s report will tell us if Chegg’s run in the sun has the legs to continue rallying.
Likewise, Zillow’s (Nasdaq: ZG) long ago preempted real estate’s digital jump. We’ll watch how the company’s cashed in on the hordes of pandemic-propelled movers looking for new digs on the platform.
And the pandemic pick hits keep coming too: Don’t forget about LabCorp (NYSE: LH) and its nationwide network for lab work and diagnostic tests, both crucial right now.
Then come three Great Stuff Picks, lickety-split: I can’t claim that iRobot’s (Nasdaq: IRBT) robot vacuums are as vital as LabCorp’s COVID-19 testing … but clean carpets, Great Ones. Clean. Carpets. I can’t stress it enough. Neither can IRBT’s management on earnings calls, apparently.
Don’t tell iRobot, though, that Disney is actually my No. 1 report to watch this week. Maybe I watched and re-watched The Mandalorian too much last year, but my money’s on Disney to absolutely cream Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) this quarter, if not analyst expectations at least.
Finally, there’s Amkor Technology (Nasdaq: AMKR), set to report this afternoon. For a stock that’s more than doubled the money of a few Great Ones out there, we don’t cover the stock all too often. Yet, this report should be one to watch if you’re into all the semiconductor supply chain hoopla.
Hey, you didn’t mention [insert favorite stock] in your list!
I know. Did you see how packed this schedule is? We’ll keep you updated on all the need-to-know reports. But why don’t you let me know what you’re watching this week!
GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com. Drop us a line anywhere, anytime with your thoughts, trades, memes, rants, raves and everything in between.
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Until next time, stay Great!
Joseph Hargett
Editor, Great Stuff