Reddit Stocks: What meme stocks are trending today? – August 23, 2023

US futures

• Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.2%
• S&P 500 is up 0.2%
• Nasdaq 100 is up 0.2%

US futures are trading higher today, as the tech industry waits eagerly but nervously for results out from Wall Street’s favourite AI stock NVIDIA later today. NVIDIA is the poster child of AI and its results are likely to weigh heavily on the wider market, especially tech stocks that have seen their valuations increasingly underpinned by new AI catalysts this year.

The economic calendar is headlined by flash PMI numbers for the US today, following weaker-than-expected figures out from the UK and Europe earlier.

Most discussed Reddit stocks

Below is a list of the top 10 most mentioned US stocks on the WallStreetBets thread on Reddit over the last 24 hours, according to data from Quiver Quantitative. Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and other instruments have been excluded:

1. NVIDIA
2. Tesla
3. C3.ai
4. Visa
5. AMC Entertainment
6. Advanced Micro Devices
7. Dick’s Sporting Goods
8. Peloton
9. PayPal
10. Novavax

Most active US stocks before the bell

Below are the most active stocks with a valuation of at least $500 million before the bell, based on trading data taken from Bloomberg:

1. AMC Entertainment
2. Peloton
3. Foot Locker
4. Tesla
5. Grab Holdings
6. Nikola
7. NVIDIA
8. Lucid Group
9. Palantir
10. VinFast

US premarket winners and losers

Here are the stocks worth at least $500 million experiencing the sharpest movements in premarket trade, according to data from Bloomberg:

Top US stocks to watch

Let’s have a look at the top stocks to watch today.

NVIDIA stock: Can it meet the AI hype?

Today is the day! We may be approaching the end of earnings season but the best may have been saved for last as the best performer in the S&P 500 and Wall Street’s favourite stock of 2023, NVIDIA, reports second quarter results after markets close.

The chipmaker is up 0.6% at $459.19 before the opening bell, having briefly hit fresh all-time highs yesterday before pulling back. NVIDIA is forecast to report record revenue and EPS in the second quarter, driven by sales of chips used in datacentres more than doubling as businesses upgrade their systems so they can handle the breakthrough technology. There are no concerns about demand, so the onus is on how quickly NVIDIA can ramp-up supplies and leverage its monopoly over the market. There were reports out form the Financial Times this morning that claim NVIDIA plans to treble output of its AI chips in 2024 to around 1.5 million to 2.0 million units from around 500,000 this year.

Upgraded estimates, plus its huge valuation premium over its rivals, suggests the bar is high ahead of the results but markets are confident it can clear it. It does, however, suggest meeting expectations may not be enough to impress and that it wouldn’t take a lot to disappoint.

You can find out everything you need to know in our NVIDIA Q2 Earnings Preview.

Other semiconductor stocks will be on the move too, with the likes of AMD, Broadcom, Qualcomm and Intel trading lower this morning by up to 0.7%

Microsoft stock: Will Activision deal get green light?

Microsoft shares are up 0.5% while Activision Blizzard is trading broadly flat at $91.60, as the pair gain ground and confidence builds that their $69 billion merger may finally clear what have been some tough regulatory barriers.

Activision shares are still trading below the $95 offer price, although this is still much closer than what we have seen in recent years to reflect confidence the deal will go ahead has risen lately.

The UK Competition & Markets Authority had blocked the deal but has since said it is willing to reconsider after Microsoft offered to sell streaming rights to Ubisoft Entertainment to address competition concerns. Microsoft’s proposal will ensure all Activision Blizzard games that are released over the next 15 years will be made available on other platforms, ensuring none of them become exclusive. Ubisoft, which is down 1.6% today and giving back some of yesterday’s gains, will acquire the cloud streaming rights for Activision’s existing games and new upcoming ones.

Apple stock: Are buyers are gaining traction?

Apple shares are up 0.2% and on course to rise for their fourth consecutive session since bottoming-out at a three-month low last week. Buyers have returned to the market following the sharpest selloff in Apple shares of 2023 and they have been making more ground each day this week to suggest they have the upper hand over sellers, although falling trading volumes suggests this week’s rally could be losing momentum before it has really managed to gain traction.

Tesla stock: German factory output drops

Tesla shares are down 2.6% in early trade. The stock has gained ground for three consecutive sessions but buyers faced much more resistance yesterday to suggest sellers are still active in the market.

The electric vehicle maker may be feeling the pressure today after reports surfaced suggesting production at its factory in Germany has fallen since the start of the second half of 2023, according to Business Insider. Output is thought to have fallen to around 4,350 cars per week in July and August after it hit 5,000 per week back in March, and the report suggested the target has since been cut further to around 4,000 per week.

That is significant as Tesla has been doing everything it can to drive demand, including a series of price cuts to make its vehicles more affordable. However, signs that production is falling would suggest that demand is still weakening despite these efforts.

VinFast stock: Valuation drives higher

VinFast Auto is down 16% at $32.50 after popping to an all-time high of $47 yesterday, which briefly gave the Vietnamese electric vehicle maker a valuation of $108 billion – making it the third most valuable automaker in the world! It lost some steam by the end of the day but still more than doubled to end the day at $36.72, giving it a lofty valuation of over $88 billion.

That means it is, as of today, the fourth most valuable automaker in the world, trailing only behind Tesla, Toyota and Porsche. It is more valuable than Chinese giant BYD, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen and many more.

VinFast went public last week after merging with special purpose acquisition vehicle (SPAC) Black Spade Acquisition. However, VinFast only has a small number of shares floated, meaning it is more prone to volatile movements. The company is still ultimately controlled by Pham Nhat Vuong, who is the wealthiest man in Vietnam.

Streaming stocks: Hollywood writers still unhappy

Streaming stocks Disney and Netflix are trading marginally higher today despite the Writers’ Guild of America telling members to keep striking following the latest pay offer put forward, according to Reuters.

The Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, which negotiates on the behalf of firms like Disney and Netflix, has proposed a 13% pay increase in a new three-year contract and promised that AI-driven content will not be used for literary material. However, the WGA has urged members to reject the deal. “This was not a meeting to make a deal. This was a meeting to get us to cave,” said WGA after the latest meeting with Hollywood executives.

PayPal stock: Have we reached the ‘ultimate PYPL bottom’?

PayPal shares are up 0.5% today at $61.31. The stock is on course to rise for a fourth consecutive day since rebounding from six-year lows late last week.

The payments giant has started to attract buyers again following a heavy selloff, partly fuelled by the hugely disappointing update from European rival Adyen last week that injected fears about the broader payments space.

It is finding fresh support after Truist Securities said yesterday that PayPal has a “compelling valuation” and that we could be seeing the “ultimate PYPL bottom”. That view was supported by JPMorgan yesterday when it raised its price target to $100, implying there is huge upside potential from current levels.

Notably, rival payments giant Visa is trading slightly higher today at $240.70 after JPMorgan raised its target price to $296 from $265 yesterday.

Abercrombie stock: Outlook lifted

Abercrombie & Fitch is up 17.8% and poised to open at its highest level since November 2021 after raising its outlook for the rest of the year, underpinned by strong demand for the Abercrombie brand that continues to outperform Hollister in the US and overseas.

The clothing retailer said net sales grew 3% from last year in the first quarter to $836 million, coming in shy of the $846.4 million forecast by analysts. Adjusted EPS of $0.39 turned from the $0.27 loss we saw the year before.

The company said it expects sales growth to accelerate to 4% to 6% in the second quarter. Its guidance for the full year was raised, with net sales to grow 2% to 4%, up from its previous goal of 1% to 3%, and upped its operating margin goal to a range of 5% to 6% from its original target of 4% to 5%.

Foot Locker stock: Sinks to 13-year low

Foot Locker is down 31.6% – hitting its lowest level since 2010 - after lowering its outlook for the rest of the year and pausing its dividend so it can ‘have the flexibility to continue to fund our strategic investments appropriately”.

Sales declined less than expected in the latest quarter but its EPS came in just shy of forecasts. Still that was all overshadowed by the sneaker seller warning it is now expecting annual adjusted EPS of $1.30 to $1.50, marking a big downgrade from its previous goal of $2.00 to $2.25 as it warned comparable sales will be down as much as 10%, having previously warned they could fall by 7.5%.

That is also hurting rivals like Nike today.

Grab stock: Path to breakeven shortens

Grab Holdings is up 6.3% after it said it hopes to breakeven in the third quarter, faster than its previous deadline of the fourth, as it makes faster progress cutting costs.

The South-East Asian firm, which runs ride-hailing and food delivery services, said it is now expecting annual adjusted Ebitda losses of just $30 million to $40 million. It has previously warned losses would be in the range of $195 million to $235 million! The loss in the latest quarter was $20 million, which was better than the $64.6 million loss forecast by Wall Street.

Lockheed stock: Indonesia buys helicopters

Lockheed Martin shares are flat today after Indonesia’s defence ministry said it has agreed to buy 24 transport helicopters from the American defence giant to help bolster its military air force, just days after the country struck a deal to buy 24 fighter jets from Boeing. No value was given for the latest deal.

Novavax stock: Covid jab targets prevalent subvariants

Novavax shares are up 1% today after the pharmaceutical company said yesterday that its latest Covid-19 vaccine candidate neutralised various sub-variants of the virus during non-human trials. It said the subvariants in question are “responsible for the majority of current Covid cases in the US and European Union” and that its vaccine would be the only non-mRNA jab available this fall if it is approved.

Peloton stock: Return to profit taking longer than hoped

Peloton is down over 25% and at all-time lows after vowing to return to growth and generate earnings and cash in the new financial year, although its outlook for the first quarter disappointed the markets.

Revenue was down 5% from last year in the fourth quarter at $642.1 million, which came in just above estimates as a milder fall in sales of its exercise equipment countered weaker-than-expected growth in subscriptions. Its adjusted Ebitda loss came in at $34.7 million, which was wider than the $19.5 million pencilled-in by Wall Street.

Still, Peloton reiterated its ambitions to generate positive Ebitda and cashflow, as well as return to revenue growth, in the new financial year. However, it said it will book an adjusted Ebitda loss of $10 million to $20 million in the first quarter, which was disappointing considering analysts had predicted a profit, and its revenue goal of $580 million to $600 million was considerably below the $647 million expected by analysts.

Manchester Utd stock: Do we finally have a takeover?

Shares in British football club Manchester United are up 6% as speculation over a long-awaited takeover deal continues.

The club was put up for sale last year and it has been a long process so far. The latest reports from British newspaper The Sun claim that Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani has won the bidding war and that a deal could be formally announced next month, although this is not the first time we have seen reports that a deal is imminent.

Media reports have suggested varied price tags for the club but the latest suggest the Qatari could pay around $7.6 billion. That is far above Manchester United’s current market cap, which stands at just $3.6 billion.

AMC stock: Spread narrows on APE conversion

AMC shares are down over 19% at $2.04 and at their lowest level since the start of 2021 today, falling to narrow the spread between its APE preferred shares that are trading down 1.6% at $1.85.

AMC is set to complete a 10-to-1 reverse stock split on Thursday that will also see it convert its APE shares into ordinary AMC stock. That is causing the gap between the two sets of shares to narrow and the conversion will dilute existing AMC shareholders. The conversion will also raise fears that AMC could issue more APE shares to raise cash in the future without needing shareholder approval, which in turn would lead to more dilution if they are also converted into AMC shares.

WeWork stock: Warrants to be delisted

WeWork shares are down 5% and flirting with fresh all-time lows after the New York Stock Exchange said it plans to immediately suspend and eventually delist the company’s warrants because they trade at an “abnormally low” trading price that breaks listing rules.

WeWork recently warned it is struggling to survive, which has led to a selloff in isntruments related to the company. WeWork has also been in trouble after its share price fell below the minimum $1 requirement, which has prompted it to launch a 1-for-40 reverse stock split that will happen at the start of September and is designed to lift its share price above this threshold.

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