• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

    stock market

    On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a poor day of trade and ended its winning streak. The benchmark index fell 0.4% to 5,550.4 points.

    Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Friday? Here are five things to watch:

    ASX 200 expected to edge lower.

    The ASX 200 index looks set to edge lower on Friday. According to the latest SPI futures, the benchmark index is expected to open the day 1 point lower. This follows a weak night on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones drop 0.4%, the S&P 500 fall 0.8%, and the Nasdaq tumble 1% lower.

    Sydney Airport AGM.

    The Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) share price will be on watch today when it holds its (virtual) annual general meeting. The airport operator may provide investors with an idea of when it expects travel markets to recover. Investors will also no doubt be seeking clarity on its dividend plans for the near term.

    Oil prices rise again.

    Energy producers including Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could be on the rise after another positive night of trade for oil prices. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 1.4% to US$33.97 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 0.95% to US$36.09 a barrel. Oil prices hit their highest levels since March thanks to recovering demand and lower U.S. inventories.

    Gold price sinks lowers.

    Gold miners Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could end the week with a day in the red after the gold price sank lower. According to CNBC, the spot gold price fell 1.45% to US$1,726.80 an ounce. This was driven by traders taking profit and switching to cash.

    Goldman Sachs keeps Telstra on its conviction buy list.

    The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price could be heading higher according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. This morning the broker has retained its conviction buy rating and trimmed the price target on its shares slightly to $4.05. Goldman has been looking into the sustainability of its 16 cents per share dividend and concluded that it sees little risk of a cut in the next three years.

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    Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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  • Nvidia tops Q1 estimates, forecasts Q2 revenue to be above expectations

    Nvidia tops Q1 estimates, forecasts Q2 revenue to be above expectationsNvidia released its first-quarter earnings report after hours on Thursday, beating on both top and bottom lines. The company said that coronavirus did impact both supply and demand but expects Q2 revenue to come in above estimates due to the demand for its computing chips. Yahoo Finance’s Myles Udland breaks down the company’s earnings report on The Final Round.

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  • Analysts Pitch Up to 1,000% Returns in Biotech Beyond Covid-19

    Analysts Pitch Up to 1,000% Returns in Biotech Beyond Covid-19(Bloomberg) — Even a global pandemic hasn’t shaken optimism in one of the most volatile industries.As Covid-19 dominates headlines and sparks billion-dollar share moves, biotech analysts are still pitching massive returns in companies that have nothing to do with developing a drug or vaccine for the disease.Wall Street analysts expect 105 of the 209 members of the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index to double over the next 12 months, data compiled by Bloomberg show. With the index trading just off a record high, many of the Street’s biggest bulls favor companies in areas like women’s health and cancer.Macrogenics Inc., Cytokinetics Inc. and Akebia Therapeutics Inc. are among drugmakers that have doubled so far this year. But the boom-or-bust nature of drug development has burned investors in other stocks, even after analysts piled on praise. Sage Therapeutics Inc.’s failed depression drug study, AnaptysBio Inc.’s eczema flop and Genfit’s NASH woes in recent months have wiped out millions in market value.Here are some of Wall Street’s biggest biotech calls right now:TherapeuticsMD Inc.Cantor Fitzgerald’s Louise Chen has a $13 target on TherapeuticsMD, or more than 10 times where the stock has been trading lately. The women’s health company has struggled to balance spending with the need to promote products such as its Annovera birth-control ring. Seven of nine analysts that follow the stock recommend buying shares and their average target implies a 574% surge in the next year. At the same time, money managers like Deerfield Management Co. and Frontier Capital Management Co. have thrown in the towel on their bets this year. And JPMorgan this week cut its rating on TherapeuticsMD to a hold equivalent, citing Covid-19 disruptions.Evolus Inc.Chen also carries the price target with the second-highest implied return in the Nasdaq Biotech Index. Her call that Evolus will reach $35 in a year suggests a gain of 770%. She has maintained that target since June 2018 despite the stock’s 85% drop since then, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The “performance beauty company” has struggled to meet early expectations for sales of its wrinkle treatment — and Botox rival — Jeuveau, after the pandemic closed practices.Chen didn’t respond to requests for comment about her targets.Precigen Inc.JMP’s Jason Butler likes Precigen’s emerging cancer-therapy pipeline ahead of key data readouts later this year. JMP has served as a lead manager for each of the company’s last two share offerings. Precigen’s value has been cut in half over the past year. The stock has two buy ratings and two holds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Sage Therapeutics Inc.Goldman Sachs analyst Salveen Richter expects Sage to regain levels last seen before a December trial flop in major depressive disorder. Her price target on the stock is $190, more than double the Street average of $73 and about five times the current price. It is worth noting that Goldman has acted on each of the company’s offerings since going public in 2014 and Richter has recommended shares since picking up coverage four years ago. She is focused on new data for the depression drug that are expected later this year and in 2021.Atara Biotherapeutics Inc.The $70 target that Canaccord Genuity analyst John Newman has for Atara implies almost 400% upside and is nearly double the expectations for his nearest peer, Mizuho’s Salim Syed. The stock’s peak was $65.56, in mid-2015. Newman’s model focuses on the company’s lead program for post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease. Data for Atara’s earlier-stage multiple sclerosis drug will be posted Friday afternoon ahead of the European Academy of Neurology’s congress, which is virtual this year. Newman says promising results there could also spark a gain in the shares.Unity Biotechnology Inc.Syed’s call for Unity to be worth $33 — compared to about $7 currently — stands out on Wall Street. Syed has kept that same target since starting coverage in September 2018 despite the stock’s 61% slide. This long-term bet hasn’t helped Syed’s overall track record — his calls have lost 16% of their value in the past two years compared to a 3.1% drop for peers, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Syed says the second half of the year is “catalyst-heavy” for Unity and he expects investor interest to pick up in the coming months.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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