Investors who owned stocks in the past five years generally experienced some big gains. In fact, the SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) total return over that stretch is 53.8%. On this day five years ago, Shopify Inc (NYSE: SHOP) held its IPO, and IPO investors have made a killing ever since.Shopify's Big DebutE-commerce solutions giant Shopify was founded in 2004 and made the move to go public 11 years later. It priced its IPO at $17 per share on May 21, 2015. Shopify had initially targeted the $12 to $14 range, but robust demand pushed the price up to $17 and allowed Shopify to raise $131 million by selling 7.7 million shares. At the time of its IPO, the company was valued at $1.27 billion.After selling IPO shares at $17, Shopify shares hit the ground running, soaring up to $42.13 during the frenzy surrounding its IPO. However, the stock soon ran out of steam due in part to concerns over the stock's IPO lockup expiration.Shopify shares dropped to their all-time low of $18.48 in early 2016 before beginning a multi-year ramp on the strength of impressive growth and bullish headlines.Amazon EffectOne of the biggest headlines came in January 2017 when Shopify announced a new integration with Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) that would allow merchants to sell on Amazon's platform via their Shopify stores. Shopify shares initially jumped nearly 10% following the news.Shopify stock hit $100 in 2017, $200 in early 2019, $500 in early 2020 and was one of the few stocks that hasn't been derailed by the COVID-19 outbreak. In fact, Shopify hit its all-time high of $778 on Thursday, the five-year anniversary of its IPO.2020 And BeyondFive years later, Shopify IPO investors that have held onto their stakes undoubtedly see the stock as one of the best investments of their lives.In fact, $1,000 worth of Shopify IPO stock in 2015 would only be worth about $45,764 today.Looking ahead, analysts expect Shopify to finally cool down a bit in 2020. The average price target among the 27 analysts covering the stock is $725 suggesting 6.4% downside from current levels.Related Links:Here's How Much Investing ,000 In The 2014 Alibaba IPO Would Be Worth TodayHere's How Much Investing ,000 In The 2015 Fitbit IPO Would Be Worth TodaySee more from Benzinga * How Large Boeing, Delta Options Traders Are Positioning As Economy Reopens * Bill Ackman Makes Pitch To Elon Musk For New HQ, Channels Howard Hughes * Wall Street Weighs In On Target's Q1 Earnings(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2zX6vPN

Three big earnings announcements from Alibaba, Deere and Foot Locker will be in focus Friday.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/3bTS1xB

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/36rMtcn

Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) shares traded higher by 4.26% on Thursday and Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE: DAL) shares gained 1.94% as the stock market experienced yet another volatile trading session.A flurry of large Boeing and Delta option trades on Thursday morning were mixed in nature, with one deep-pocketed Boeing bull making a massive bet on a sharp recovery for the stock.The Boeing, Delta Trades Benzinga Pro subscribers received 35 option alerts related to unusually large trades of Boeing and Delta options. Here are a handful of the largest: * At 9:30 a.m., a trader bought 1,000 Boeing call options with a $130 strike price expiring on May 29 at the ask price of $9.60. The trade represented a $960,000 bullish bet. * At 9:50 a.m., a trader bought 1,370 Delta put options with a $45 strike price expiring on Jan. 15, 2021 at the ask price of $23. The trade represented a bearish bet worth $3.15 million. * At 10:10 a.m., a trader bought 542 Boeing call options with a $145 strike price expiring on May 29 near the ask price at $4.558. The trade represented a $247,043 bullish bet. * At 10:48 a.m., a trader bought 462 Boeing call options with a $150 strike price expiring on Jan. 15, 2021 near the ask price at $27. The trade represented a bullish bet worth $1.24 million.Of the 35 total large Boeing and Delta option trades on Tuesday morning, 20 were calls that were purchased at or near the ask or puts sold at or near the bid, trades typically seen as bullish. The remaining 13 trades were calls sold at or the near the bid or puts purchases at or near the ask, trades typically seen as bearish.Why It's Important Even traders who stick exclusively to stocks often monitor option market activity closely for unusually large trades. Given the relative complexity of the options market, large options traders are typically considered to be more sophisticated than the average stock trader.Many of these large options traders are wealthy individuals or institutions who may have unique information or theses related to the underlying stock.Unfortunately, stock traders often use the options market to hedge against their larger stock positions, and there's no surefire way to determine if an options trade is a standalone position or a hedge. In this case, given the relatively large sizes of the largest Boeing and Delta trades, they could potentially represent institutional hedges.Travel Stocks In Limbo Boeing and Delta shares are each down more than 55% year-to-date, as the COVID-19 outbreak has decimated the travel industry. Back in March, both companies announced they were suspending their buybacks and dividends.But while the outbreak rages on, travel stocks have gotten a boost in recent days thanks to cautiously optimistic signs the economy is opening back up and potential progress on developing a COVID-19 vaccine.On Thursday, Credit Suisse initiated coverage of battered travel stocks Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE: RCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE: NCLH). In addition, RBC initiated coverage of Boeing with an Outperform rating.Although the near-term outlook for travel stocks will continue to be difficult, analysts seem to see the downturn as fully priced into the stocks. Instead, they are focusing more on a potential bullish long-term risk-reward skew.Bullish sentiment among StockTwits messages mentioning Boeing was at 80.9% on Thursday, its highest level of 2020. BA Chart by TradingView new TradingView.widget( { "width": 680, "height": 423, "symbol": "NYSE:BA", "interval": "D", "timezone": "Etc/UTC", "theme": "light", "style": "1", "locale": "en", "toolbar_bg": "f1f3f6", "enable_publishing": false, "allow_symbol_change": true, "container_id": "tradingview_a50c0" } ); Benzinga's Take While the majority of the large option trades in Boeing and Delta on Thursday morning were bullish, the largest trade was the $3.1 million bearish Delta put purchase. The break-even price for those puts is $22, suggesting at least 5.1% downside for Delta shares over the next eight months.Do you agree with this take? Email feedback@benzinga.com with your thoughts.Related Links:JPMorgan Option Trader Bets M On Downside Ahead How To Read And Trade An Option AlertSee more from Benzinga * Q1 13F Roundup: How Buffett, Einhorn, Ackman And Others Adjusted Their Portfolios * Bartstool's Dave Portnoy Breaks Down About The Importance Of Diversification * Here's How Large Boeing Option Traders Are Reacting To Abysmal Monthly Orders(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/3e9ruO2

Facebook’s (FB) universe is getting even bigger. On Tuesday, the social media colossus unveiled Facebook Shops, elbowing its way to the front of the e-commerce queue. The platform will act as a digital shopfront where businesses of all sizes will be able to sell their products. Customers will be able to make purchases directly through either Facebook or Instagram. “We think Facebook Shop in a simplistic bull case could drive up to as much as a $30 billion revenue opportunity, across a combination of take-rate driven transactional and advertising revenue,” said Deutsche Bank analyst Lloyd Walmsley. Facebook hopes the move will help alleviate some of the pressure on small businesses as a result of COVID-19. The new platform significantly expands on last year’s rollout of Instagram Checkout. Looking specifically at Checkout, Walmsley originally estimated the 130 million users of Instagram shopping tags would increase to just under 400 million by 2021. The analyst believes the new endeavor will “drive this activity across 2.6 billion core Facebook MAUs and 3.0 billion MAU across the Family of apps,” translating to roughly three times the addressable audience initially estimated. Adding to the good news, the new service will include numerous features like Instagram Shop, where users will be able to find and purchase products in Instagram Explore, as well as live shopping features (taking a page out of Alibaba’s playbook) and the ability to connect loyalty programs (currently in test mode). Facebook will also work with other brands such as Shopify, BigCommerce and WooCommerce to help businesses operate online. Walmsley expects Facebook shares to pop over the coming weeks, reminding investors that following the launch of Instagram Checkout, the stock surged by 17% over a one-month period. “FB shares could similarly outperform over the next month as investors anticipate a nice contribution from eCommerce more broadly across the platform,” he concluded. Unsurprisingly, Facebook has widespread Street support. 3 Hold ratings are crushed by 33 Buys, presenting the social media king with a Strong Buy consensus rating. (See Facebook stock analysis on TipRanks) Read more: * Top Analyst Sees Over 35% Upside in These 3 Tech Stocks * 3 Big Dividend Stocks Yielding Over 7%; BMO Says ‘Buy’

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2ZnT1r3

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2WQeNSD

Chief Executive Officer Antonio Neri flagged concerns about cautious consumers and supply constraints during a post-earnings call. Beginning July 1, through the remainder of fiscal year 2020, the base salaries of the CEO and officers at the executive vice president level will be reduced by 25%, HPE said. HPE will now focus on investments and realign its workforce to evolve with its supply chain and real estate strategies, as well as right-size the business.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/3e8YeqI