My top 10 things to watch Monday, Dec. 2 1. Spending on Black Friday was a little stronger than expected, according to Mastercard data. It was up 3.4% overall while e-commerce was up 14.6%. Brick and mortar was up just 0.7%, which jibes with the performance over the last few weeks of Best Buy , a disappointing Club stock. Mastercard called out online apparel shopping as especially strong. 2. Bernstein named Block its new best idea into 2025, with analysts expecting point-of-sale platform Square to see acceleration of gross payment volume and profitability expansion. It’s the usual story. Almost every time this one disappoints, but the analysts simply can’t stay away from it for the desire to have e-commerce. Elsewhere in fintech, JPMorgan upped its price target on Affirm to $74 a share from $56. The firm also went to $16 a share from $9 on SoFi , which has broken out. 3. Wells Fargo lowered its PT on Coca-Cola to $75 a share from $78, but kept its buy-equivalent overweight rating on the stock. Coke is the favored, cannot-miss name in food and beverage. But it’s much too slow a grower for the growth-focused portfolio that I prefer. 4. Citigroup went totally against the grain on Five Below . Analysts raised their price target to $96 a share from $86, saying they expect an earnings beat driven in part by the discount retailer’s merchandise collection. I fear tariffs with this one. 5. Club name BlackRock is eyeing a move into private credit, which remains among the hottest areas in finance. The asset manager is close to a deal to buy HPS Investments for $12 billion, Bloomberg News reported Sunday , citing sources. Don’t care that HPS is relatively unknown outside certain circles. 6. Jeff Bezos and Samsung teamed up on a $700 million investment round in startup Tenstorrent, which makes artificial intelligence chips. It’s the latest startup touted as a challenger to longtime Club stock Nvidia . It will stay in the news for two days then be forgotten about. This cycle has been around for years. Also: Need more information on the Commerce Department’s latest chip export rules before making a judgement. 7. Morgan Stanley now has a buy rating on Intuitive Surgical , with analysts seeing more opportunity for the medical device maker in areas such as brain tumor removal. Intuitive may be the best medical device company around, rivaling Club holding Abbott Laboratories . Morgan Stanley also put a buy rating on Stryker , which, to me, doesn’t have the same long-term appeal as Intuitive. 8. Disney’s “Moana 2” netted $221 million at the box office in the five-day period around Thanksgiving. Is Disney back? I sure think so. Linear TV is breakeven. Theme parks are doing better. And the box office continues to be strong. This Club name is a great buy. 9. Tesla is offering 0% loans in China as part of its year-end incentive push in the highly competitive country. If Tesla were any old U.S. company, it would be hurt. But because it is run by Elon Musk, it’s viewed positively. Meanwhile, Roth MKM upgraded Tesla to buy from hold. You have to be kidding me. Who else still has a hold on this darned thing? 10. Evercore ISI lifted its price target on Marvell Technology to $122 a share from $98. Ever since CEO Matt Murphy personally bought $1 million worth of stock in mid-October, shares of the data center chipmaker have been strong. It’s a realization that you can still use insider buying as a bullish indicator. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free (See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
People shop at the Macy’s Herald Square flagship store on November 29, 2024 in New York City.
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My top 10 things to watch Monday, Dec. 2
1. Spending on Black Friday was a little stronger than expected, according to Mastercard data. It was up 3.4% overall while e-commerce was up 14.6%. Brick and mortar was up just 0.7%, which jibes with the performance over the last few weeks of Best Buy, a disappointing Club stock. Mastercard called out online apparel shopping as especially strong.
2. Bernstein named Block its new best idea into 2025, with analysts expecting point-of-sale platform Square to see acceleration of gross payment volume and profitability expansion. It’s the usual story. Almost every time this one disappoints, but the analysts simply can’t stay away from it for the desire to have e-commerce. Elsewhere in fintech, JPMorgan upped its price target on Affirm to $74 a share from $56. The firm also went to $16 a share from $9 on SoFi, which has broken out.
3. Wells Fargo lowered its PT on Coca-Cola to $75 a share from $78, but kept its buy-equivalent overweight rating on the stock. Coke is the favored, cannot-miss name in food and beverage. But it’s much too slow a grower for the growth-focused portfolio that I prefer.
