📊 Stocks Near 52-Week Lows

Happy Sunday!

A warm welcome to the +200 subscribers that have joined us this week!

It has been a crazy last few days and earnings season is starting to heat up, so expect a ton of headlines and visuals over the next few weeks!

Some key data bites from this week that you should know: 

• June CPI increased 3% YoY, below the 3.1% projected.

• Apple $AAPL plans to ship 10% more new iPhones this year.

• AMD $AMD will acquire AI startup Silo AI for $665M.

• Copying Nancy Pelosi’s trades would have returned 700% in the last decade.

• MicroStrategy $MSTR announced a 10-for-1 stock split.

• The IRS collected $1B in unpaid taxes from 1,600 people.

• Lucid’s $LCID deliveries increased 70% in Q2.

• Eli Lilly $LLY to acquire Morphic Holdings $MORF for $3.2B in cash.

• JPMorgan $JPM saw its quarterly profit jump 25% to $18.15B.

• Markets now expect a 90.3% chance of a rate cut in September.

• UiPath $PATH plans to cut 10% of its staff.

• Intuit $INTU also laid off 10% of its staff, comprised of low performers and executives.

• 46% of GenZ relies on their parents for financial assistance.

• Apple $AAPL Vision Pro sales are projected to drop 75% this quarter.

In today’s newsletter:

• ❤️ Hedge Funds Love These Stocks

• 📉 Beaten Up Stocks Near 52-Week Lows

• 👩🏻 Cathie Wood’s Top Holdings

• 🛒 Costco Raises Its Membership Fee

Ever wondered what the big players in finance are investing in?

Hedge funds with over $100M in assets under management must disclose their holdings due to regulatory requirements.

This is great for everyday investors like us, giving us a glimpse into what the big money is doing.

Thanks to 13F data compiled by Whale Wisdom, we are able to see which stocks are the most popular among hedge funds.

Big tech giants dominate the top 10, with Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet leading the pack.

Other names like Visa, JPMorgan, Berkshire Hathaway, and Mastercard also made the cut.

Hedge funds update their holdings quarterly, so be on the look out for the Q2 2024 13F reports when they come out on 08/14!

One of the best places to find investment ideas is by looking at stocks trading near 52-week lows.

These stocks often fall due to short-term issues or overreactions.

While some may continue to struggle, identifying those poised for a turnaround can offer attractive opportunities.

Often times too much pessimism is baked into these names, leaving room for upside on positive earnings surprises or favorable news.

Plus, since the stocks have already dropped, the risk of further decline is often lower, providing a margin of safety.

Retail giants like Lululemon and Nike, along with popular restaurant chains Starbucks and McDonald’s, are among those on trading near 52-week lows.

Can Tesla save Cathie Wood?

The EV giant has surged nearly 75% since its April 2024 low, now making up 15% of the ARK Innovation ETF as of July 11.

Cathie Wood has typically capped the top holding of the fund to 10%, and while she has been trimming the position recent weeks, she is continuing to let it run.

Despite this, ARKK continues to disappoint investors, with a YTD return of -7%, lagging behind the S&P 500’s 18%.

Over the past 5 years, the ETF has returned -3%, a stark contrast to the S&P 500’s 86% gain.

Considered by many at the time to be the next big thing, many investors jumped into Cathie Wood’s fund after its 150% jump in 2020.

The result?

According to Morningstar, the ARK Innovation ETF has wiped out $7.1B in wealth, contributing to Ark Invest's ETFs collectively losing $14B in wealth over the past decade.

For the first time in 7 years, Costco is raising its annual membership fees by $5 for Gold Star card members. 

This decision comes on the heels of Costco's June sales results announcement. 

Starting September 1, 2024, the annual fee will increase to $65, marking an 8% rise. 

This adjustment will affect approximately 52M members across the U.S. and Canada. 

Interestingly, while the fee has grown substantially since Costco's inception in 1983 (when it was $25), it’s still below today's adjusted-for-inflation equivalent of $80. 

Despite the increase, Costco boasts impressive renewal rates of 93% in the U.S. and Canada, highlighting the strong loyalty of its customer base.

📚 Recommended Reading

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Notable Companies Reporting Earnings This Week:

• Monday (7/15):

  • Goldman Sachs $GS, BlackRock $BLK

• Tuesday (7/16):

  • UnitedHealth Group $UNH, Bank of America $BAC, Morgan Stanley $MS

• Wednesday (7/17):

  • ASML $ASML, Johnson & Johnson $JNJ, Prologis $PLD

• Thursday (7/18):

  • Taiwan Semi $TSM, Netflix $NFLX, Novartis $NVS, Abbott $ABT, Intuitive Surgical $ISRG, Blackstone $BX

• Friday (7/19):

  • American Express $AXP, Schlumberger $SLB

All of the companies that are reporting earnings next week can be viewed here.

Buys

• Ro Khanna (D)

  • Company: Chevron ($CVX)

    • Amount Purchased: $65K - $150K

  • Company: Exxon Mobil ($XOM)

    • Amount Purchased: $65K - $150K

Sells

• Mark Green (R)

  • Company: NGL Energy Partners ($NGL)

    • Amount Sold: $50K - $100K

• Rick Allen (R)

  • Company: Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ)

    • Amount Sold: $15K - $50K

Buys

• GameStop ($GME)

  • Insider: Lawrence Cheng (Director)

    • # of Shares Purchased: 4,140

    • $ Amount: $102,879

    • SEC Forms: [1]

Sells

• Amazon ($AMZN)

  • Insider: Jeff Bezos (Executive Chair)

    • # of Shares Sold: 3,491,404

    • $ Amount: $698,963,216

    • SEC Forms: [1], [2]

• Oracle ($ORCL)

  • Insider: Edward Screven (Chief Corporate Architect)

    • # of Shares Sold: 426,861

    • $ Amount: $60,576,954

    • SEC Forms: [1]

• Nvidia ($NVDA)

  • Insider: Mark Stevens (Director)

    • # of Shares Sold: 785,000

    • $ Amount: $103,998,016

    • SEC Forms: [1]

🤝 Review of the Week