General Electric (NYSE:GE) fell in late July after the industrial giant reported second quarter numbers which were, quite frankly, pretty ugly and GE stock paid the price.Source: testing / Shutterstock.com Revenues fell 20%. Industrial profit margins fell more than 10 points. Free cash flow came in at negative $2.1 billion.It was an ugly print.InvestorPlace – Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsAnd Wall Street reacted appropriately, selling GE stock back to essentially its lowest levels since the 1990s.I think it's time to buy the dip. Mostly because I believe a Covid-19 vaccine is just around the corner, and that widespread distribution of that vaccine among the general populous will spark a broad rebound in most of GE's industrial end-markets in 2021. * 10 Gaming Stocks That Will Power Through the New Normal This rebound will converge on what is a deeply discounted valuation on GE stock, and ultimately cause shares to nearly double from here.Here's a deeper look. A Covid-19 Vaccine and GE StockWith respect to Covid-19, I believe the base case scenario is that we get at least one vaccine (and maybe multiple) approved by October or November, and broad population distribution of those vaccines by early 2021.My bullishness here comes to down a few things.One, the world has put all of its resources into finding a vaccine. The result is that we now have over 140 pre-clinical Covid-19 vaccines out there, 19 Covid-19 vaccines in Phase I trials, 12 vaccines in Phase II trials and 5 vaccines in Phase III trials.The notable vaccines in the later stages of development – such as those from Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) and AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) – have passed their trials with flying colors.In other words, the world put all of its resources into finding a Covid-19 vaccine. We now have several which look like they are on the cusp of being approved. That's the power of human innovation. And human innovation has a long, several-thousand-year track record of trumping crisis after crisis.Two, health experts are now starting to say that October/November vaccine approval is both plausible and even likely. Most notably, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is widely perceived as the world's foremost authority on Covid-19, recently said that a Covid-19 vaccine is possible in October, and likely in November.Three, mass production of a vaccine has already started. Pretty much everyone, ranging from the companies making the vaccines to the U.S. government, believes that we will have, at least, several hundred million vaccine doses ready to go by early 2021.All in all, I think it's quite likely that we get a Covid-19 vaccine by October or November, and that such a vaccine is easily and broadly accessible to the U.S. public by early 2021. Big Rebound Potential in the Industrial EconomyEasy and broad access to a Covid-19 vaccine will greatly diminish the public threat of coronavirus and spark rapid economic activity normalization.This is especially true in many of General Electric's industrial end-markets.Consumers will start flying again. Airlines will start ordering planes again. And GE's Aviation unit will rebound meaningfully.The healthcare industry will normalize. Covid-19 hyper-focus will give way to a return to normal procedures and surgeries. This return to normal will create elevated demand for many of the services and products which GE Healthcare sells to hospitals across the world.The Power business will rebound, too, as broader industrial economic activity recovers.All in all, GE's 2021 will be a lot different than its 2020. Revenues will rebound sharply. Margins will recover to and above 2019 levels (thanks, in part, to management's commitment to slimming operations and gutting the expense model).Ultimately, profits will rebound in a big way.So will GE stock. General Electric Stock Is Too CheapGE stock is dirt cheap today.The stock trades at 0.6-times trailing sales. That's low. The stock's five-year-average trailing sales multiple is closer to 1.5.Given this depressed valuation base, it's not hard to see GE stock doubling from here over the next 18 months.Here's the math.GE's revenues were $95 billion in 2019. They'll collapse this year. Rebound in 2021. And then likely recover to 95% of 2019 levels by 2022 as GE's industrial end-markets get "back to normal". Assuming so, that puts GE's 2022 revenues at $90 billion.Profit margins were around 10% in 2019. Again, they'll collapse this year. Rebound in 2021. And almost fully recover to 2019 levels by 2022.On those assumptions, I think GE can do about about 80 cents in earnings per share by 2022. Throw a typical industrials sector 15-times forward earnings multiple on that. You get a 2021 price target for GE stock of $12.That's nearly 100% above where shares trade today. Bottom Line on GE StockGE stock is depressed today because the global industrial economy is depressed.But, if a Covid-19 vaccine is broadly distributed to the general public in 2021, then global industrial economic activity will rebound sharply over the next 18 months. As it does, GE's core Aviation, Healthcare and Power businesses will post huge growth over the next two years.Alongside that huge growth, GE stock could fly higher. By as much as 100% given today's depressed valuation.Luke Lango is a Markets Analyst for InvestorPlace. He has been professionally analyzing stocks for several years, previously working at various hedge funds and currently running his own investment fund in San Diego. A Caltech graduate, Luke has consistently been rated one of the world's top stock pickers by various other analysts and platforms, and has developed a reputation for leveraging his technology background to identify growth stocks that deliver outstanding returns. Luke is also the founder of Fantastic, a social discovery company backed by an LA-based internet venture firm. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG * America's 1 Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner * Revolutionary Tech Behind 5G Rollout Is Being Pioneered By This 1 Company * Radical New Battery Could Dismantle Oil Markets The post Herea€™s How GE Stock Could Almost Double in 18 Months appeared first on InvestorPlace.

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* Insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors during periods of uncertainty. * The executive chair of an energy infrastructure firm has returned to the buy window. * None of the featured stocks saw a gain in the past week.Conventional wisdom says that insiders and 10% owners buy shares of a company for one reason — they believe the stock price will rise and they want to profit from it. So insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors, particularly during periods of uncertainty.Insiders continued to add shares despite overall market volatility and economic uncertainty. Here are some of the most noteworthy insider purchases reported in the past week.Kinder Morgan The Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE: KMI) executive chair of the board, Richard Kinder, has resumed his buying. He picked up 300,000 more shares of this Houston-based energy infrastructure giant early last week at $14.10 to $14.15 each. That totaled more than $4.24 million. Kinder was a frequent buyer of shares last year.CNBC's Jim Cramer was negative on Kinder Morgan recently. The stock retreated about 1% last week and was last seen at $14.10 a share. That is within Kinder's latest purchase price range. The share price is up less than 12% since the year-to-date low during the pandemic panic-selling back in March, which is about the time of his last listed share purchase.BlackstoneA 10% owner of Blackstone Group Inc (NYSE: BX) has indirectly acquired 200,000 shares of this asset management firm for $17.00 apiece. That totaled $3.40 million and came in the wake of an in-line earnings report that prompted target price hikes at some analysts.There was also bullish options activity on Blackstone recently. The shares closed down more than 4% for the week to $53.28 a share. The share price is almost 5% lower since the beginning of the year but up more than 44% since the year to date low in March. The stock has a consensus target price of $61.29.AT&TA director purchased 100,000 AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) shares via trust recently. Prices ranged from $29.615 to $29.83 a share, and the total for the transaction came to almost $2.97 million. That director, who is board chair at Seagate Technologies, now has an AT&T stake of 300,000 shares.Jim Cramer also commented on this telecom's cash flow and dividend recently. Its shares ended last week essentially flat at $29.58, which is just below the above purchase price range. The stock is about 4% higher since its year-to-date low in March, and it has a $32.50 consensus price target.See also: Insider Buys And Sells: What To Know And How To Leverage Using Benzinga ProNote that there was some amount of insider buying at eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) and Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) reported last week as well.At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.See more from Benzinga * Barron's Picks And Pans: AutoNation, Overstock.com, SPACs And More * Benzinga's Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Apple, Boeing, Facebook And More * Notable Insider Buys: Guess, FedEx And More(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Eastman Kodak Co on Monday granted its executive chairman options for 1.75 million shares as the result of what a person familiar with the arrangement described as an “understanding” with its board that had previously neither been listed in his employment contract nor made public. One day later, the administration of President Donald Trump announced a $765 million financing deal with Eastman Kodak, and in the days that followed the stock soared, making those additional options now held by executive chairman Jim Continenza worth tens of millions. The decision to grant Continenza options was never formalized or made into a binding agreement, which is why it was not disclosed previously, according to the person familiar with the arrangement.

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* This weekend's Barron's cover story examines special purpose acquisition companies, the new hot thing on Wall Street. * Other featured articles look at how to play rising gold prices or China's comeback, and how not to get burned by thematic ETFs. * Also, the prospects for car dealer stocks, the breakup of big tech, office REITs and more.Cover story "SPACs Are the New Hot Thing on Wall Street. What You Need to Know" by Nicholas Jasinski explains that blank-check companies give investors an opportunity to ride along with dealmakers looking to bring new businesses public, such as Nikola Corporation (NASDAQ: NKLA) and Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (NYSE: SPCE).Andrew Bary's "Gold Prices Are on the Rise. Here Are the Ways to Play It" makes a case that there could be more room for gold and gold-mining stocks to advance. See if Barron's thinks Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE: GOLD) is worth a look.In "Park These 3 Car Dealer Stocks in Your Portfolio," Daren Fonda shows why car-buyers have gravitated toward online platforms, but for investors, the better deals are still at the lot. Why investors should consider AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN) and others.What the United States can learn from China's revival, according to "How to Invest in China's Consumer Comeback" by Reshma Kapadia. Travel is out, but e-commerce, such as JD.Com Inc (NYSE: JD), is among the areas that are thriving.In Bill Alpert's "2 Picks and 4 Pans From a Savvy Pro," the founder of an independent research firm shares his thoughts on what to expect from the likes of Overstock.com Inc (NASDAQ: OSTK) and Zillow Group Inc (NASDAQ: ZG).See also: TikTok Is On The Clock As Trump Threatens Ban, Microsoft Mulls Acquisition"Congress' Grilling of Tech Titans Didn't Rattle Their Shares. Here's Why" by Max A. Cherney takes a look at how likely breakups of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and other tech giants are after last week's testimony by their chiefs.Niche exchange-traded funds, such as First Trust Cloud Computing ETF (NYSE: SKYY), invest in targeted areas. That's a huge benefit–until it's not. So says Evie Liu's "Thematic ETFs Invest In the Hottest Trends. How Not To Get Burned."In "Because Working From Home Is Hot, You'll Need to Do Your Homework on Office REITs," Lawrence C. Strauss suggests that investors can still find potential winners among these real estate investment trusts. Is Cousins Properties Inc (NYSE: CUZ) one of them?Also in this week's Barron's: * Whether investors are too wary as earnings come in strong * How big tech CEOs got the last word * Robo advisors pass their first stress test * What to watch instead of gross domestic product * Why bitcoin is rising againAt the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.See more from Benzinga * Benzinga's Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Apple, Boeing, Facebook And More * Notable Insider Buys: Guess, FedEx And More * Barron's Picks And Pans: Crispr, McDonald's, Nikola And More(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Pinduoduo rallied sharply with other China stocks Friday.

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* Benzinga has examined the prospects for many investor favorite stocks over the past week. * This week's bullish calls included tech giants and a top biotech. * An aerospace giant and the electric vehicle leader were among the week's bearish calls.This past week was a busy one, leaving investors much to ponder as the month of July concluded. After congressional testimony from big tech chiefs, followed by big tech earnings, and after a mixed view from the Federal Reserve, corporate surprises and shakeups and a historically bad gross domestic product report, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 managed to end the week with small gains, while the Dow Jones industrials pulled back fractionally.Benzinga continues to examine the prospects for many of the stocks most popular with investors. Here are some of this past week's most bullish and bearish posts that are worth another look.BullsShanthi Rexaline's "Apple's Path To Trillion Is Set As Wall Street Lauds Resilience, Ecosystem Engagement" reveals which analyst made Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) a top pick and which underestimated the iPhone maker.In "Analysts Bullish On Google Following Mixed Quarter, With Ads Trending In The Right Direction," Wayne Duggan suggests mixed results didn't turn analysts bearish on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL).The second-quarter print pleased Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) analysts and investors, according to Jayson Derrick's "The Street's Reaction To Facebook's Q2: Bulls Turn More Bullish.""Morgan Stanley Double Upgrades Biogen, Says Alzheimer's Opportunity Ahead" by Priya Nigam outlines why Biogen Inc (NASDAQ: BIIB) investors should not focus on the short-term headwinds.For additional bullish calls, also have a look at "The Auto Industry Is Recovering 'Faster Than Expected,' Analyst Says" and "Unusually Large Newmont Option Trades Suggest Gold Prices Could Be Headed Even Higher."BearsWall Street analysts have raised concerns regarding the meteoric valuation at Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA). So says "Why Tesla's 'Mindboggling' Valuation Is Difficult To Sustain Even Under Most Bullish Scenario" by Shanthi Rexaline.In Priya Nigam's "Boeing Analyst: Crisis Of Confidence In Plane Manufacturer 'Justified'," see why Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) analysts are unconvinced about its guidance for the rest of 2020 and beyond."Starbucks Analysts Stick To Sidelines After Q3 Print, Break Down COVID-19 Impact On Coffee Chain" by Jayson Derrick discusses why Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) analysts are taking a wait and see approach.Sanju Swamy's "Expedia Faces Slow Journey Back As COVID-19 Hammers Travel: Needham" points out why it could take three to five years for Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) to recover.Be sure to check out "TikTok Is On The Clock As Trump Threatens Ban, Microsoft Mulls Acquisition" and "What Mark Cuban Says Could Be The Greatest Threat To America's Tech, Military Future" for additional bearish calls.At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.See more from Benzinga * Benzinga's Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Apple, Coca-Cola, Twitter And More * Barron's Picks And Pans: Chipotle, Lululemon, Zoom Video And More * Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Apple, Facebook, Tesla And More(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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(Bloomberg Opinion) — When Nikola Corp. started trading on Nasdaq in June, the Phoenix-based clean transportation company raced quickly to a valuation of almost $30 billion.Its market worth has since fallen to a more reasonable $10.5 billion, but that’s still pretty spicy for a business yet to generate any revenue. Its most promising products are its heavy trucks, powered by electric batteries or hydrogen fuel cells.The rise of Nikola (whose name, cheekily, is another evocation of electrical engineer Nikola Tesla) will have reinforced a view among European auto industry executives that the U.S. stock market operates by different rules. While Tesla Inc. is only modestly profitable, it’s valued at about $275 billion, more than Europe’s five largest carmakers combined.At least Europe has a stake in the latest heavily hyped project. Founded by Trevor Milton, a 38-year-old American college dropout, Nikola is relying heavily on expertise from the old continent. Robert Bosch Gmbh, a German automotive supplier, has helped develop the U.S. company’s electric powertrain, and the first Nikola trucks will be built in a German factory belonging to Italy’s Iveco, a truck maker backed by the billionaire Agnelli family. Bosch and Iveco each own more than 6% of Nikola. CNH Industrial NV, Iveco’s parent, just recorded a $1.5 billion fair value gain on that investment.(1) The biggest question is whether a start-up dependent on so much external help should have a whizzy valuation like Tesla, which builds much of its technology itself. And if Europe has this expertise, why hasn’t it produced its own rival to Elon Musk’s carmaker?Maybe it’s a lack of chutzpah. Nikola’s name isn’t the only reason it’s often compared with Tesla. Milton’s hyperactive Twitter presence makes Musk look tame by comparison. Both men’s ambitions extend beyond selling zero-emission vehicles to producing and storing clean energy. While Nikola is focused on heavy-duty trucks, it has touted a variety of consumer products including a pickup called the Badger. These are catnip for retail investors, as the excitement over Musk’s Cybertruck demonstrates.While Tesla and Nikola are both working on electric heavy trucks, they differ in at least two important respects. The first is hydrogen: Musk is dismissive, while Milton thinks hydrogen is the perfect fuel for long truck journeys. The second is their attitude toward building stuff in-house. True, in its early days Tesla worked with Lotus to help make the Roadster, and Daimler AG helped develop the Model S saloon. Tesla partners with Panasonic to produce battery cells. But Musk is famous for trying to build his own technology, from electric powertrains and automated-driving software to car seats.Nikola developed its own software, infotainment and battery management-system, as well as vehicle aerodynamics, according to Cowen analyst Jeffrey Osborne. It has outsourced or used hired help to do much of the other stuff. More than 200 Bosch employees were involved in building important parts of Nikola’s trucks, including the electric motor for the axle, the vehicle-control unit, the battery and the hydrogen fuel cell. The result is a mix of intellectual property owned either separately or jointly by Nikola and its suppliers. There’s no doubt, however, who has the deeper expertise. So far Nikola has been awarded 11 U.S. patents, about 1% of the total Bosch is awarded in a typical year. “Bosch gets paid to help us get to industry standards on products,” Milton told me.Getting partners to provide the technological building blocks has some advantages. Nikola has only 300 employees and yet its first trucks should start rolling off the production line soon. Working with partners cuts the risk of the manufacturing delays and quality problems that plagued Tesla.It’s an efficient use of capital too. Nikola’s research and development expenses were just $68 million last year. Tesla spent $1.3 billion. After going public, Nikola has about $900 million of cash, although that won’t go far in the automotive business. For the North American market, Nikola plans to handle its own manufacturing, with technical assistance from Iveco. Nikola broke ground this week on a $600 million factory in Arizona.Whether or not you believe the extensive involvement of outside partners should have a bearing on its lofty valuation, there are other things that could upset Nikola’s plans. Building a refueling network is a central part of its business model, but this won’t come cheap at $17 million for each hydrogen station. The company is also entering a competitive field populated by more experienced and better capitalized rivals. Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz failed to follow through on its early experiments with electric cars and let Tesla roar past. It probably won’t make the same mistake with trucks.Daimler is the world’s largest truck maker and it plans to start production of its electric eActros and eCascadia models next year. The German giant has also formed a joint venture with Sweden’s Volvo AB to develop hydrogen fuel cell systems for heavy vehicles. That venture is valued by the companies at just 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion), putting the Nikola valuation into perspective.    Even if its share price looks overblown, Nikola’s improbable rise shows there’s investor demand for clean transportation companies that don’t still have one foot planted in the combustion-engine past. European manufacturers have the technical chops but they must find better ways to capitalize on investor excitement through new business models or spinoffs. Otherwise someone else will.(1) This was measured on June 30 when Nikola's stock was much higherThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Chris Bryant is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies. He previously worked for the Financial Times.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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(Bloomberg) — Undocumented workers in the U.S. are running out of options to help them survive the coronavirus pandemic.Largely left out of federal relief programs, undocumented families have relied on money from philanthropic organizations and local governments to help buy food and to pay their bills. But now some of those funds are drying up, exacerbating the public health crisis and further threatening an economic recovery that’s become shakier with the recent surge in virus infections and a renewed wave of layoffs.Programs backed by municipalities with support from community-based organizations in Minneapolis; Austin, Texas; Chicago; and Montgomery County, Maryland, are being halted or almost out of money. The programs, which have provided funds to help immigrants pay rent and other expenses, have not been able to keep up with such high demand.In California, a statewide effort to give $1,000 per family stopped taking applications in June. Nonprofits face funding challenges themselves, with some donors potentially becoming more tightfisted as the pandemic lasts longer than many expected.Undocumented immigrants in the U.S. often pay taxes but don’t have access to unemployment insurance or benefits like the stimulus checks the government has provided to many Americans. The $2 trillion stimulus that Congress passed earlier this year denied aid to 15.4 million people in mixed-status families, including 9.9 million unauthorized immigrants, 3.7 million children and 1.7 million spouses who are U.S. citizens or green card holders, according to the Migration Policy Institute.As Congress debates another round of financial support for Americans, House Democrats have proposed legislation that would give immigrants stimulus checks, but Senate Republicans — who have offered a $1 trillion virus relief package — oppose such aid.Margarita, an immigrant from Mexico and single mother of three, was laid off in March from her job working at a warehouse in New Jersey that ships Italian products. She said she struggled to pay rent and feed her children, ages 20, 15 and 4. She returned to her job in June but has continued to work with advocacy groups calling on lawmakers to extend relief to undocumented immigrants. She declined to provide her full name due to her citizenship status.“I’ve been out to marches and rallies, and banged pots and pans when we couldn’t go outside,” said Margarita, 39, who is a member of Make the Road New Jersey, a community group for immigrants. “No one should be left behind.”The mounting financial pressure on this group can impede efforts to contain the virus because they feel compelled to go to work when they are sick, according to Jill Campbell, director of the immigration and citizenship program at BakerRipley, a community development organization in Houston.“We have clients that call us and say, ‘I am terrified, terrified to go into work because I know that my coworkers have Covid right now but I have no other options,’” said Campbell, adding that because many immigrants live in multigenerational households they have a higher risk of spreading the virus to elderly family members.“They’re really choosing between their own health and their family’s health — and being able to pay the rent,” she said.Aiding immigrants throughout the pandemic is critical for the U.S. economic recovery because it means more people are working and spending money, said Cris Ramón, senior policy analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington. About 4.6% of U.S. workers are undocumented immigrants, according to Pew Research Center.Running out of fundsAustin’s program to help these immigrants has run out of funding and no longer accepting applications after previously providing $1.4 million in financial assistance. St. Paul, Minnesota, and Chicago have also stopped taking applications to their programs.Houston’s $15 million rental assistance program ran out of money within two hours of starting to take applications in early May. Harris County, which includes the city, passed additional funding for its program this week as demand for relief persists.Some organizations, including one in South Dakota and another in New Jersey, are still taking applications and raising money to support undocumented workers. But for those immigrants who do receive funds, it’s likely a one-time payment that doesn’t compare to unemployment benefits most Americans receive, said Muzaffar Chishti, senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute.Putting food on the table has been especially difficult during the pandemic, even for undocumented immigrants who are employed. Demand has increased 40% since March at Manna Food Center, a food bank in Montgomery County that serves immigrants, according to Chief Executive Officer Jackie DeCarlo. The area’s emergency assistance program, which provided one-time payments of up to $1,450 to residents ineligible for federal aid, exhausted its funds in June.Rocio, an immigrant from Jalisco, Mexico, was laid off from her job at a Sacramento, California, buffet restaurant in March. She and her husband support three children, as well as her 80-year-old father in Mexico. Rocio has turned to a community center for help with food and has delayed paying rent. She also declined to provide her full name because she fears legal repercussions.“In three months our life changed,” said Rocio, 50. “Covid has brought an end to many years and many dreams.”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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