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Luke Kawa

JPMorgan recommends bullish options bets on Amazon and Meta ahead of earnings this week

JPMorgan analysts who cover Amazon and Meta are optimistic on the results these two hyperscalers will report this week, and Bram Kaplan, head of America equity derivatives strategy, has mapped out a similar approach to position for upside in both stocks.

Amazon is JPMorgan’s top pick among internet stocks for this earnings season, and both the Jassy-led and Zuckerberg-led companies are rated as “overweight” by the bank, in part because of tax benefits thanks to the OBBBA. The former reports on Thursday after the close, while the latter is slated to deliver results on Wednesday postmarket.

Kaplan’s tactic is to position for strength — but not too much strength — from both stocks as investors react to the quarterly figures. His recommendations:

  • Buy the Amazon $235 strike call that expires this Friday while selling the $245 strike;

  • But the Meta $780 strike call that expires this Friday while selling the $805 strike.

Both are call spread trades, but there’s a bit of a different rationale for why in each company.

Skew on Amazon is fairly flat, per Kaplan. That is, there’s not too big of a difference between the implied volatility of close-to-the-money call options and those that are further out of the money, making call spreads relatively cost-efficient. In the case of Meta, Kaplan says that earnings volatility is “cheap,” with the options market implying a move of plus or minus 6.1% coming into this week, versus an average one-day reaction of plus or minus 7.5% going back to Q3 2014. However, it’s a very well owned stock, he noted, which could cause a more muted reaction even in the event of strong results.

JPM Meta AMZN

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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