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ELECTION
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It’s more than the border: A Biden-Trump rematch
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Why investors need to pay attention.
PAGE 16
Jack Almo David Esham Rob Johnston William McCormack Bryan Paul Roland Michael Troncale
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VOL. CIV NO. 8 FEBRUARY 19, 2024 $5.00
The World Economy’s It Isn’t Just Berkshire Bonds Draw Investors on Fox Business
Many Moving Parts ELECTION
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It’s more than the border: A Biden-Trump rematch
puts the focus on high-stakes issues like
soaring federal debt, stiff tariffs, and regulation.
Why investors need to pay attention.
The proliferation of ultrapricey The bet could go sideways if the Watch our TV show Fridays at
Q&A: PGIM’s Daleep Singh, soon stocks can be chalked up to the Federal Reserve stays hawkish. 7:30 p.m. ET, and Saturdays and
PAGE 16
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By DEBBIE CARLSON
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4 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
I N D EX
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A Advanced Micro Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate L L3Harris Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Meta Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,33
Airbnb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Bond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Lockheed Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 MGM Resorts International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Alibaba Group Holding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Lyft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,34 Microsoft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,8
Alphabet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,8,14 Midea Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Alta Equipment Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 J JetBlue Airways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,33,34 M Match Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Amazon.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,8,9,24 JPMorgan Chase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 N New Jersey Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
American Tower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Matthews China Dividend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Nike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Angi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 K KKR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,32 Mercury Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 NiSource . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Apple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,8,9,14
Arm Holdings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,24 Northrop Grumman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Atmos Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Northwest Natural Holding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
AutoZone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Nuveen High Yield Municipal Bond . . . . . . . . 21
Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Nvidia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,8,9,29,33
NVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
B Believe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Berkshire Hathaway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,9 O One97 Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Bio-Rad Laboratories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 ONE Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Blackstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Lachlan Murdoch, Executive Chairman, News Corp
Blink Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Rupert Murdoch, Chairman Emeritus, News Corp
Boeing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Robert Thomson, CEO, News Corp Almar Latour, CEO, Dow Jones P Paramount Global . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Booking Holdings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 PG&E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
BorgWarner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER Dan Shar
Phinia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
BrightView Holdings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 EDITOR IN CHIEF David Cho Pinduoduo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Prologis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Bob Rose SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR Lauren R. Rublin
C Canada Goose Holdings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
CenterPoint Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 DEPUTY EDITORS Alex Eule, Ben Levisohn
R Reaves Utility Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
CF Industries Holdings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, MAGAZINE Phil Roosevelt Robinhood Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Charles Schwab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 EDITOR AT LARGE Andy Serwer Roku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Charter Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 RTX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chipotle Mexican Grill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 MANAGING EDITORS Matt Bemer, Daren Fonda, Amey Stone, Joe Woelfel
Cisco Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Coinbase Global . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITORS Henry Cutter, Mel Gray, Anita Hamilton, Mary Romano,
S Salesforce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Consolidated Edison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Robert Sabat, Rupert Steiner (London bureau chief) Shopify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Costco Wholesale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 SoFi Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
ASSOCIATE EDITORS Andrew Bary, Randall W. Forsyth, Jack Hough, Reshma Kapadia, Eric J. Savitz
CymaBay Therapeutics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 SoftBank Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
SENIOR WRITERS Bill Alpert, Lauren Foster, Nicholas Jasinski, Tae Kim, Megan Leonhardt, Southwest Gas Holdings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Joe Light, Elizabeth O’Brien, Al Root, Avi Salzman Spire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
D Diamondback Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Super Micro Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
DigitalBridge Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 REPORTERS Jacob Adelman, Janet H. Cho, Adam Clark, Emily Dattilo, Jack Denton, Catherine Dunn,
DoorDash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Sabrina Escobar, Callum Keown, Evie Liu, Shaina Mishkin, Josh Nathan-Kazis, Angela Palumbo,
Teresa Rivas, Connor Smith, Jacob Sonenshine, Brian Swint, Karishma Vanjani, Andrew Welsch T Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing . . . . . . . 8
Tencent Holdings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
E Eli Lilly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 STORY EDITORS Ed Lin, Erin McCarthy, Liz Moyer, Patrick O’Donnell, Stacy Ozol, Tesla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,33
Estee Lauder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Texas Pacific Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Ross Snel, Neal Templin, J.J. Thompson
Expedia Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 TPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
COPY DESK Michael J. Burlingham, Robert Teitelman Trade Desk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Tripadvisor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
F FirstCry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 IDEAS EDITOR Matt Peterson Twilio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
FSN E-Commerce Ventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
DEPUTY DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR Zoe Szathmary
SENIOR AUDIO MANAGER Mette Lützhøft DIGITAL PRODUCERS Robert Cushing, Nick Devor, Clare McKeen U Uber Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
G General Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 UnitedHealth Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Gilead Sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 HEAD OF VISUALSChelsea Schiff
GMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 ART DIRECTORS Lynne Carty, Shayanne Gal, Nick Hallam, Sue Ng
Great Wall Motor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Sarina Finkelstein PHOTO EDITORS Alis Atwell, Halie Chavez, Nicole Silver V VanEck Global Fallen Angel Hi Yld Bond . . 21
VanEck Investm Grade Floating Rate . . . . . . 21
RESEARCHER Dan Lam Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corp Bond . . 21
H Herbalife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Vimeo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Hershey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 STATISTICS MANAGER Michael T. Kokoszka STATISTICIAN Darren Chima
Vizio Holding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Home Depot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,9
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Honeywell International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
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GLOBAL HEAD, WEALTH & ASSET MANAGEMENT Jack Otter Walmart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,9
I IAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
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Astronomical. How
Nowadays, though, executives feel no says, with some 73% of them (or 281
such compulsion. It isn’t just Big Tech stocks) selling for more than $100
names trading in the hundreds; Eli and nine trading for more than
Lilly, Hershey, and UnitedHealth $1,000. Compare that with 40 years
C
crosoft, which last split in 2003, the 1983 price of $39.06 is worth $120.30
other five have all split recently, includ- in today’s dollars. That doesn’t fully
ing Google parent Alphabet and explain the increase in stock prices,
an we all ac- while its dividend yield has fallen Amazon.com, which both executed but a precipitous decline in stock splits
knowledge 1) that from 1.63% to 1.44%. According to mammoth 20-for-1s in 2022. probably does. Silverblatt tells me that
interest rates will Josh Staiger of Multpl, the market’s Then there’s the $1,000-plus club, in 1983, 90 S&P 500 companies split
be higher for lon- price-to-book ratio is 4.61, not a re- which besides Chipotle and NVR their stock. Last year, only four did.
ger; 2) that the cord (that was 5.06 in March 2000), includes AutoZone, Texas Pacific “It used to be you always wanted
Federal Reserve but well above the average of 3.01. Land, and Booking Holdings—which your stock to trade where people
shouldn’t, but Note that stock prices aren’t high have all handily outperformed the S&P could invest easily,” he explains.
might, cut interest rates in May; and BY ANDY only on a relative basis; they’re also 500 in recent years. A four-digit han- “That’s because you didn’t buy
3) that, just maybe, Jerome Powell SERWER dear in absolute terms. Examples: dle confers badge value and accentu- $1,000, $10,000, or $100,000 worth
and the Fed have come from behind NVR at $7,535 a share, Chipotle ates the runs these stocks have been of stock. You bought lots of 100
(a la Patrick Mahomes and the Kan- Mexican Grill at $2,618, Nvidia at on. Of course, the original-gangster shares,” he says. Ergo, a high-price
sas City Chiefs) and avoided a hard $727, and so on. high-price stock is Warren Buffett’s stock would be much less affordable.
S
landing for the economy? What’s the story with those nose- Berkshire Hathaway, whose A shares
In fact, it’s probably best to de- bleed prices—and why should we broke the $600,000 barrier this past tock splits were also market-
scribe our current economic circum- even care? The answer to both ques- week and now fetch $607,000. Even moving events—even though,
stances as a “never-landing,” because tions concerns the demise of stock Berkshire’s “low price” B shares are of course, they have no impact
how else to characterize an economy splits, which have gone the way of the now at $403. on a company’s market value.
with the consumer price index for dodo (or more aptly, paper stock cer- High stock prices aren’t just “Remember beepers?” Silverblatt asks
January coming in at an annualized tificates), a trend that has meaningful anecdotal—data bear it out, according me. “We used to have a product where
3.1% (core 3.9%) rate this past Tues- implications for investors. to Howard Silverblatt, senior index we would beep you when a company
day, and a recent gross-domestic- announced they were going to do a
product annualized print of 3.3% stock split so you could buy the stock.”
for 2023’s fourth quarter? Chipotle Mexican Did that trade actually work?
Grill shares trade at
While we may soon be experienc- a spicy $2,618 each. “Oh yeah,” he says enthusiastically.
ing both the positives and negatives “Because when you split a stock, com-
of this never-landing, we would be panies are confident. Say I have a
fortunate to avoid a similar-sounding $100 stock and I’m splitting it to $50.
scenario—a “never-never land” econ- I’m pretty sure that it’s going to have
omy, which, for those of you unfamil- support, because the last thing I want
iar with the works of author J.M. Bar- to do is take that from $100 and get a
rie, is the fantasy island where Peter downdraft and it’s a $40 or $35 stock.”
Pan held court. The sort of place Sadly for Silverblatt and S&P, this
where Nvidia stock goes up 10 business went the way of the stock
every day. (Oh, wait...) split (and the beeper, for that matter).
Notwithstanding hitting an air What happened?
pocket on Tuesday after that over- For one thing, he says, “stock splits
Taylor Glascock/Bloomberg
warmed inflation report, stock prices are expensive because you have to
are toppy. The S&P 500 index, which create new certificates, and companies
just hit another record high, has just didn’t see the advantage of doing
climbed 5.4% year to date (annualize it anymore.” But the bigger driver has
that!) and 21.2% over the past year. been technology. “Now you can buy
The S&P’s trailing price/earnings ratio $100 of any stock on your phone,”
is 22.37, up from 19.97 a year ago, says Silverblatt, speaking of transac-
February 19, 2024 BARRON’S 7
tions that have been facilitated by the ad- Sergey Brin. In his book Super Pumped: The
vent of fractional shares. Battle for Uber, New York Times reporter
Fractional shares grew slowly. An early Mike Isaac wrote that Brin and Page were
practitioner was Buyandhold.com, which reluctant to go public because they feared
allowed investors to buy as little as $20 losing control of their company, but
worth of stock. Buyandhold’s fortunes fell changed their minds after Buffett ex-
with the bursting of the 2000 tech bubble. plained how Berkshire had two classes of
It wasn’t until 20 years later that SoFi stock. Page and Brin even copied Buffett’s
Technologies, Interactive Brokers famous Berkshire Hathaway: An Owner’s
Group, Charles Schwab, Fidelity Invest- Manual with “An Owner’s Manual” for
ments, and others allowed investors to trade Google’s Shareholders for their 2004 initial
fractional shares, a trend boosted during the public offering. “We would like you to
meme stock era, when folks were stuck at invest for the long term, and you should
home with little to do but trade stocks and not expect to sell Google shares for a profit
gamble online—leading retired Princeton
University professor Burton Malkiel, author
shortly after Google’s IPO,” they wrote.
The co-founders also adopted Buffett’s An Exclusive
of A Random Walk Down Wall Street, to call
fractional shares “instruments of the devil.”
disdain for splits. Google didn’t split its
stock for a decade, at which point its Gathering for
Leaders in Health
Now let’s return to Warren Buffett, shares were up tenfold.
who long ago vowed never to split Berk- Stock splits still carry urgency for the
shire stock but faced increased questions Dow Jones Industrial Average. Recall that
about this in the mid-1990s when it hit unlike the S&P 500, which is weighted by
F E B RUA RY 2 1 , 2 024 | B OS TO N
$20,000. Why not split the stock, he was a company’s market capitalization, the Dow
asked at the 1995 annual meeting? “We is price-weighted, meaning the higher the How is the science and business of health changing—and what’s
want to attract shareholders who are as stock price, the greater its weight on the next? Join us in Boston on February 21 for The Wall Street
investment-oriented as we can possibly index—currently UnitedHealth ($521) and Journal’s annual Health Forum.
obtain,” said Buffett, sporting a bright Microsoft ($407) hold the most sway. If a Our editors and reporters will bring together an influential
red blazer. “[W]e are almost certain we Dow company splits its stock, not only does community of business leaders, investors, policymakers and
would get a shareholder base that would its importance decline, but there can be experts from across the industry. Be in the room as we explore
not have the level of sophistication and ripple effects. To wit: Apple split its stock the trends, technologies, ideas and opportunities reshaping the
business and science of health.
the synchronization of objectives with us 4-for-1 in 2020, which reduced that com-
that we have now.” Buffett acknowledged, pany’s weighting from 10% to 2.7% and
though, that Berkshire’s high price made pulled down the overall weighting of tech in R E Q U E S T I N V I TAT I O N
estate planning and gifting “anywhere the Dow, which, some have speculated, led WSJ.com/healthforum
from awkward to disadvantageous.” to the addition of Salesforce to the index.
Soon after, Buffett decided not to split Next on tap for the Dow is Walmart,
his stock, but instead to offer lower-priced which will split its stock 3-for-1 on Feb. 26.
B shares. In his 1996 annual report, he ex- In making the move, CEO Doug McMillon
plained: “We made this sale in response to referenced both fractional shares and the Speakers Include:
the threatened creation of unit trusts that company’s founder (not “everyday low
would have marketed themselves as Berk- prices”). “Sam Walton believed it was im- Xavier Becerra Andrea Joy
shire look-alikes. In the process, they portant to keep our share price in a range Secretary of Health Campbell
and Human Services
would have used our past, and definitely where purchasing whole shares, rather Attorney General of
the Commonwealth
nonrepeatable, record to entice naive small than fractions, was accessible to all of our of Massachusetts
investors and would have charged these associates,” said McMillon. “Given our
innocents high fees and commissions.” growth and our plans for the future, we
Buffett feared the proliferation of such felt it was a good time to split the stock and Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D. Selwyn M. Vickers,
products would also have ultimately dam- encourage our associates to participate in Founder and CEO M.D.
Flagship Pioneering President and CEO
aged the share price. “I think it would have the years to come.” Co-Founder and Chairman Memorial Sloan Kettering
been quite easy for such trusts to have sold As with the Apple split, the Dow may Moderna Cancer Center
many billions of dollars worth of units, use the Walmart split as an opportunity to
and I also believe that early marketing reshape the index, possibly booting Wal-
successes by these trusts would have led to greens Boots Alliance and adding
Presenting Sponsor
the formation of others,” he wrote. “The Costco Wholesale, Alphabet, or Amazon.
trusts would have meanwhile indiscrimi- (Remember: The last two recently split
nately poured the proceeds of their offer- their stocks 20-for-1.)
ings into a supply of Berkshire shares that A final thought about Walmart, harking
is fixed and limited. The likely result: a back to Silverblatt: Can we also acknowl-
speculative bubble in our stock.” edge that McMillon wouldn’t be splitting
For years, Buffett was nearly alone in Walmart stock, talking it up to his employ-
the wilderness when it came to not split- ees, and invoking Sam Walton if he
ting his stock. Gradually, though, his mo- thought the stock was going to tank any-
dus operandi became popular in Silicon time soon? B
© 2024 Dow Jones & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. 6DJ0246
Valley, beginning perhaps with a conversa-
tion he had with Google’s Larry Page and email: andy.serwer@barrons.com
8 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
ST R E E TWIS E
Just this year, Nvidia blew past Amazon.com and
Alphabet to become the third-largest stock in the
S&P 500 index, behind Apple and leader Microsoft.
10 Times Faster
are steadily creeping into software and A third, related parallel is that
services, in part because one of the Nvidia’s software allows it to bring in
things AI can do is chomp through a rising stream of revenue from recur-
vast oceans of data to figure out new ring services, much the way Apple
ways to make itself useful. cashes in on application sales and
N
That raises the question of whether subscriptions. “This whole Apple
all servers, or nearly all of them, will analogy for Nvidia is sort of happen-
need to be accelerated in the future. ing in two years versus what took 20
vidia is the Apple of The bull is Ben Reitzes, head of “An unaccelerated server will be the years for Apple,” says Reitzes.
artificial intelligence, technology coverage at independent flip phone of a data center within 10 Now for the needle-threading. Wall
one bull explained to Melius Research. He keeps a framed years,” says Reitzes. In December, Street’s consensus has Nvidia report-
me this past week. I copy of his report from January 2004, Nvidia rival Advanced Micro De- ing $20.3 billion in fourth-quarter
don’t want to sound when he worked at UBS and up- vices raised its estimate of the total revenue, made up mostly of $16.8 bil-
like the Microsoft graded Apple stock from Neutral to addressable market, or TAM, for AI lion in data-center business and $2.7
of stating the obvi- Buy, where he kept it for many years. accelerators, including memory, to billion from gaming. But Nvidia has
ous, but this seems like a good thing. BY JACK The upgrade, at what Reitzes calcu- $400 billion by 2027—up from $150 topped sales estimates by double-digit
It means Nvidia, whose split-adjusted HOUGH lates was a split-adjusted 17 cents per billion six months prior. The new percentages in each of its past three
stock has multiplied nearly 18 times in share, was years before the iPhone, figure provides more than enough quarters, and firms are now raising
five years, and whose data-center reve- and based on factors like iPod mo- room for both companies to thrive. estimates last-minute. UBS analyst
nue is estimated to have tripled over mentum and retail profitability. A second parallel is CUDA. If you’re Timothy Arcuri this past week went
the past year, might yet find ways to Reitzes’ first task after joining wondering why a chip company is tak- to $23 billion from $20.8 billion. Cus-
beat even euphoric expectations. Melius 10 months ago was to launch ing over the S&P 500, even though tomer discussions, he wrote, led him
Let’s hope so. Just this year, Nvidia coverage of Nvidia at Buy, but the initia- internet pioneer Marc Andreessen told to conclude that lead times on Nvidia
blew past Amazon.com and Alpha- tion report took three months to pre- us in a 2011 essay that “software is eat- chips have “come in substantially.”
bet to become the third-largest com- pare, with the stock rising the whole ing the world,” it’s because Nvidia, like Lead times, or delays in customers
pany in the S&P 500 index, behind time. “Every day, just ta-tick, ta-tick, Apple, is a software company in dis- getting their stuff, are a tricky busi-
Apple and current leader Microsoft. ta-tick,” he says. “But anyway, it still guise. CUDA is a software layer that ness. They can be caused by manufac-
That gives it plenty of pull on index worked.” Today, his price target of $920 optimizes Nvidia’s chips and allows turing delays, or by ravenous demand,
fund returns—Nvidia’s $1.8 trillion implies 24% upside from recent levels, customers to build applications. Its or, in the case of Nvidia, both. There
market value is more than 4% of the with Nvidia entering what he calls its model libraries and network of experts has been a dire shortage at Taiwan
S&P 500. Its rise is a key reason that 30/30 season—marching toward more aren’t easily replicated. I can’t tell you Semiconductor Manufacturing and
the index has returned 22% over the than $30 in earnings per share over the the processor speed or pixel count on other manufacturers of machines for
past year. If there are other companies next few years, more than double its my iPhone, but I can tell you that I get a type of circuit packaging called chip-
in the market’s top 20 with the poten- estimated take last year, and deserving one every three years, and I’m not on-wafer-on-substrate, or CoWoS. I’d
tial to gain 224% in a year, like Nvidia a stock price of 30 times that figure. migrating 23,000 family photos and explain it in detail, but I have a photo
just did, I’m not seeing them. Home The first key parallel with Apple is 4,300 videos to anything new. I’m sure library in dire need of curating.
Depot? That would be a lot of screws. an end market that’s turning out to be I’m understating how data scientists The important thing is that new
JPMorgan Chase? Not even Jamie CoWoS capacity has come on-line,
Dimon could believe that. and lead times are believed to have
The same bull who compares collapsed. But Nvidia must be careful
Nvidia to Apple also tells me that BARRONS.COM/PODCASTS to explain to investors that this is the
Barron’s Streetwise
Nvidia will have to “thread the needle” good kind of collapse, not the bad kind.
when it reports fourth-quarter finan- Blowout revenue and a nod toward
cial results this coming Wednesday more of the same should help—UBS
after the market closes. This is con- predicts guidance of $25 billion to
cerning. From what I vaguely remem- In a weekly podcast by Barron’s, columnist Jack Hough looks $26 billion for the first quarter. For the
ber about needle-threading, the best- at the companies, people, and trends you should be watching. sake of our index funds, here’s hoping
case scenario involves twisting, a bit This is Wall Street like you’ve never heard before. Subscribe that Nvidia talks up its big TAM and
of saliva, and hopefully no blood. to Barron’s Streetwise on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, lucrative services, too. B
Let me start with the Apple thing or your favorite listening app.
and then come to the needle business. email: jack.hough@barrons.com
February 19, 2024 BARRON’S 9
Schooling
seek board representation. An error in tee releases minutes from its late-Janu-
No Match Lyft’s earnings report exaggerated ary monetary-policy meeting. At that
University endowments’ performance 2024 margins. Uber Technologies, meeting, the FOMC left the federal-
lags behind the S&P 500 Lyft, and DoorDash drivers went on funds rate unchanged at a multi-
The Biggies
Endowments S&P 500 strike on Valentine’s Day to protest decade high of 5.25%-5.50%. The cen-
pay. Paramount Global laid off 800 tral bank penciled in three 25-basis-
25%
after a record-setting Super Bowl point interest-rate cuts this year in the
20 broadcast. Berkshire Hathaway said Summary of Economic Projections
it sold shares of Paramount and its released at the meeting. Traders had
David doesn’t often beat Goliath. But for the 12 15 largest holding, Apple. Cisco Sys- priced in six 25-basis-point rate cuts
months through June 30, 2023, university endow- tems said it would cut 5% of its work- before the meeting, and that has now
10
ments with less than $50 million gained 9.8% on force, or 4,000 jobs. been pared down to fewer than four.
average, outperforming endowments with more 5
than $5 billion, which averaged only 2.8% returns. Deals: Diamondback Energy agreed Nvidia reports fourth-quarter fiscal-
The S&P 500 index return for that period: 19.6%. 0 to buy Endeavour Energy Resources 2024 earnings. This is perhaps the
Bringing in the S&P isn’t totally fair. Stocks make 1-Year 5-Year 10-Year for $26 billion in cash and stock. Both most consequential earnings release
up only 12.5% across all endowments, and the larger are oil and gas players in the Permian for the stock market so far this year, as
the fund, the more likely it is to be pouring a larger Going Private Basin…An investor group that includes much of the gains in the S&P 500 over
percentage of assets into more-illiquid alternative Average asset allocations of university private equity’s EQT agreed to buy the past year have been powered by
strategies: private equity, hedge funds, venture capi- endowments favor private investments French-based digital music company artificial-intelligence hype and hope.
tal. Last year, those strategies were flat or saw mod- 0% 10 20
Believe for $1.64 billion…The Wall Shares of Nvidia, the poster child of
erate declines. Smaller funds tend to allocate rela- Street Journal reported that Walmart the AI boom, have already rallied 47%
Private Equity
tively more to stocks. “The more you allocated to was in talks to buy TV maker Vizio for this year after jumping 239% in 2023.
public equities, the better you did,” sums up Mark Marketable some $2 billion…Gilead Sciences said Consensus estimates are for Nvidia to
Alternatives
Anson, CEO of asset manager Commonfund, which it was buying liver specialist CymaBay earn $4.59 a share on $20.4 billion in
conducted the study with the National Association U.S. Equities Therapeutics for $4.3 billion. revenue for the quarter.
of College and University Business Officers. Venture
Harvard University, with $50.7 billion in assets, Capital
gained 2.9% in the period. That’s not an A, but it Real Assets
isn’t failing, either. Alternative assets often catch up THE NUMBERS
All of these funds share a common problem, Non-U.S. How much ESPN The jump in car Amount in taxes Record bet by
Equities
however: rising costs, led by financial aid. Schools may pay in a pend- premiums in Janu- owed by failed hedge funds on
Emerging
withdrew $28.4 billion from endowments in the Markets ing deal to broad- ary from a year Silicon Valley Bank. rising cocoa prices,
period, a year-over-year increase of 8.4%. Mean- cast six years of earlier, five times The IRS is suing the which are already
Note: data as of fiscal year ended June 30, 2023.
while, gift giving was down, to $13.3 billion from Sources: National Association of College and a 12-team college the increase in FDIC, which owns at an all-time high
2022’s $14.9 billion. — Mary Romano University Business Officers, Commonfund football playoff. January 2022. SVB, for payment. of $5,888 a ton.
10 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
February 19, 2024 BARRON’S 11
Military
There are some early signs of im-
provement. L3Harris reported better-
than-expected fourth-quarter earn-
Stocks Are
ings on Jan. 25. Management gave
financial guidance for 2024 that
bracketed Wall Street’s expectations.
Struggling.
Operating profit margins are ex-
pected to come in at about 15%,
up from 2023’s 14.8%.
Vertical Research Partners analyst
Why This
Rob Stallard called the guidance
“conservative,” while noting the “real
work lies ahead.” He rates the stock
One Is a Buy.
Buy and has a $240 price target on it,
up 13%.
RBC’s Herbert is valuing L3Harris
stock at about 17 times his 2025 earn-
ings estimate, but its valuation could
head even higher if the company hits
With an activist investor on board its goal of about 14% earnings growth
and change on the way, L3Harris annually for the next three years.
shares could be set for big gains. That kind of growth would justify a
market multiple of 20 times, a level
that the stock was trading at less
A
BY AL ROOT than two years ago. Trading at 20
times 2025 consensus earnings esti-
scarier world hasn’t made S&P 500 index’s 22% return over the An electronic war- agreement with D.E. Shaw, the com- mates puts L3Harris stock at $280,
fare airplane at
winners out of military same period. That stands in contrast L3Harris’ aircraft pany hosted an analyst day, when it up 32% from recent levels.
D
stocks lately. Shares of to the performance under Kubasik’s modification center laid out financial goals for coming
in Waco, Texas.
L3Harris Technologies, predecessor, Bill Brown, when shares years. Management expects sales to on’t make the mistake of
however, look as if they grew almost fivefold. Sales have con- hit $23 billion in 2026, up from $19.4 assuming that L3Harris is
can buck that trend with tinued to grow, but inflation and billion in 2023, while generating an worth buying just because
a mix of sales growth, fixed-price contracts have squeezed operating profit margin of 16%, up wars have broken out around
margin expansion—and a nudge profit margins for the entire sector. from just under 15%. L3Harris also the globe. Yes, the war in Ukraine
from an outside investor. That’s one reason activist investor highlighted increasing software-based grinds on, along with fighting in the
L3Harris isn’t a household name D.E. Shaw took a position in L3Harris sales and plans to take out $1 billion in Middle East. Tensions between China
like Lockheed Martin or Northrop stock. D.E. Shaw didn’t return a re- costs over the next three years. and the U.S. and Taiwan are also on
Grumman. It is big, though. With a quest for comment about the reasons “You’ve got a much greater sense the rise. Yet shares of the five largest
market value of some $40 billion, it’s for its initial involvement, but the of urgency on [Kubasik] and upper U.S. contractors—excluding Boeing,
the sixth-largest U.S. military con- fund and the company announced an management to deliver margin ex- which has 737 MAX issues to con-
tractor, behind the two giants and agreement on Dec. 11. Shaw got two pansion and get to the financial tar- tend with—are down about 3% on
RTX, Boeing, and General Dynam- board representatives—Kirk Hachi- gets,” says RBC Capital Markets ana- average over the past 12 months.
ics. L3Harris doesn’t assemble gian and Bill Swanson—while the lyst Ken Herbert, who has a $245 None trades for a market multiple.
stealth bombers like Northrop or company undertakes a business re- price target on the Buy-rated stock, “Defense stocks go up when there
make jet fighters like Lockheed. In- view led by former CEO Brown. It’s up about 16% from Friday’s close of is a military event, but further gains
stead, it sells a lot of advanced tech all designed to improve performance $211.98. tend to need a follow-through of U.S.
serving land, sea, and air operations. compared with recent years. involvement and more defense
Its Integrated Missions Systems unit “It’s not often that you see an ex- spending,” says Vertical’s Stallard.
makes radar warning systems for jet CEO agree to consult his former L3Harris Technologies “This is partially why Ukraine and
fighters and avionics for commercial company on a project like this,” says (LHX / NYSE) Gaza are not continuing to help de-
aircraft, among other products. Avi- Gordon Haskett special situations fense sentiment, as the trajectory of
onics are electronics on planes that analyst Don Bilson, who writes about $275 funding both these conflicts appears
govern functions such as navigation. topics including shareholder activ- to be heading down.”
Its Space & Airborne Systems group ism. “When [Brown] left the com- 250 There is also the health of the sec-
can build satellites. A communica- pany in 2021, L3Harris traded with tor’s best customer, the U.S. govern-
tions business sells products such as a higher forward EPS multiple than 225 ment. Since the end of 2018, the cu-
radios for the army. Its acquisition of Northrop and Lockheed. It now mulative federal budget deficit has
Aerojet Rocketdyne in July 2023 gave trades at a discount.” 200 totaled roughly $10 trillion, and the
L3Harris a fourth business, making He has a point. L3Harris trades for math makes investors believe that—
rocket engines. about 16 times estimated 2024 earn- 175 eventually—it will put pressure on
Courtesy L3Harris
The stock has fallen on hard times ings, not only below the S&P 500’s 20 the U.S. military budget.
of late. Since CEO Chris Kubasik times but also lower than Northrop’s 150
Thankfully, L3Harris has plenty of
took over in 2021, L3Harris shares 18.1 times and Lockheed’s 16.4 times. idiosyncratic drivers to boost its stock.
have returned just 2%, including L3Harris could be worth much 2022 ’23 In its case, fixing what’s broken could
reinvested dividends, trailing the more. One day after announcing its Source: F be the best defense. B
12 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
A
BY RESHMA KAPADIA private sector, targeting some of the from Estée Lauder and Canada The reversal has decimated prop-
country’s biggest success stories, like Goose Holdings the month before. erty developers, leaving a trail of un-
s China ushers in the Alibaba Group Holding and Ten- To be sure, China’s economy isn’t finished properties and 60 developers,
Year of the Wood Dragon, cent Holdings, left behind scarred imploding—and the world isn’t ditch- representing a fifth of the group’s lia-
one of the most propi- business owners skittish about invest- ing China. That would be hard to do, bilities, in default. A Hong Kong court
tious zodiac signs, a new ing or hiring. considering that China is the world’s recently forced China Evergrande
reality is setting in: No And the Chinese property market, largest auto exporter, mines 90% of Group—one of the most indebted
amount of good fortune which accounts for a fifth of economic
will return its economy activity and is the biggest store of
to prepandemic shape. household wealth, is entering its fourth Faltering Giant
The country is struggling to emerge year of a painful contraction that has Growth in the Chinese economy has slowed dramatically.
from its worst economic period in 40 left households in some cities with as Annual % Change in Real GDP MSCI China Index
years. Consumer confidence has much as 30% declines in their property Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300
14%
plummeted, Beijing is focused not just prices. On top of that, millions of Chi- 400%
12
on growth but also on security and nese consumers are paying mortgages
10 300
stability, and global companies and on prepaid homes yet to be completed,
8 200
investors are bracing for slower gains. according to Autonomous Research
6
The diminished expectations come senior analyst Charlene Chu. 4
100
after a year of disappointment. The “A malaise has set in,” says Rick 2 0
sharp economic rebound predicted Waters, a former U.S. State Depart- 0 −100
after Beijing lifted pandemic restric- ment veteran who now heads the
Motorcycle riders 2004 ’08 ’12 ’16 ’20 ’24 2004 ’08 ’12 ’16 ’20 ’24
tions in late 2022 has underwhelmed. near a construction China practice at risk consultancy
China’s multiyear crackdown on the site in Hangzhou. Eurasia Group. “There is a fundamen- Source: Bloomberg
February 19, 2024 BARRON’S 13
T
employment that leaves many others The business community is also ing to strong solar panel growth. But
he ramifications of this property underemployed. skittish about spending, and has prices for solar inputs and panels have
revamp will reverberate for “Although this position isn’t even been rattled by the crackdown on the tumbled. Eurasia Group estimates
years. New housing starts have enough to support me to move out private sector under Xi. The start-up that 60% to 70% of solar firms could
fallen back to levels last seen in from my parents’ home, finding an- fervor that energized entrepreneurs face bankruptcy or acquisitions in the
2009, with the value of total new starts other job seems impossible,” says Re- just a couple of years ago has faded, next couple of years.
down 60% from the peak in March becca Zeng, 26 years old, who lives in says Sean Taylor, chief investment As China tries to export some of
2021. That in itself creates a three- the suburbs of Chengdu and has been officer of Matthews Asia. that overcapacity in batteries, renew-
trillion-yuan ($417.3 billion) hole in working for four years at a state-owned And businesses that were optimis- ables, chips, and autos, other coun-
annual fixed-asset investments, accord- company that makes parts for trains. tic coming out of the pandemic are tries are fighting back to keep cheap
ing to Chu. And the hit to local govern- Even those with overseas degrees readjusting their expectations. “We goods from flooding their markets
ments as land sales dried up constrains that formerly paved a way to a lucra- had a short good time right after and eroding the competitiveness of
their spending—another CNY3 trillion tive job are struggling to find suitable the pandemic, so we opened a new their own companies. The European
to CNY4 trillion hit to investment work. Caroline Gou, a 26-year-old in branch and hired another assistant Union, for example, launched a probe
spending, Chu says. Sichuan province, couldn’t find a job in our shop,” says Luna Lee, an assis- into whether state subsidies have
Authorities are trying to fill the in her field after returning with a mas- tant at a bakery in Shanghai. Now it’s given Chinese electric-vehicle makers
gap, with the “Three Major Projects” ter’s degree from Manchester Univer- considering closing the other branch. an unfair advantage, setting the stage
initiative focused on building afford- sity, and used family connections to Comments from officials to reas- for a much wider global trade war
Photographs by Raul Ariano
able housing and renovating urban find an office job as a stopgap. sure the private sector, which creates that could impinge on global growth.
villages. China has also been pumping The challenges have scuttled her 90% of new jobs in the country, Global companies, meanwhile, are
money into the economy, extending plans of purchasing property to se- would go a long way toward improv- paring their investments in China,
new credit to the tune of almost a cure her financial future. “It is impos- ing confidence, says Taylor. “China increasingly repatriating profits
third of gross domestic product— sible to afford a home almost any- still wants to be self-reliant and have rather than reinvesting them there.
much of it to state-owned enterprises. where in China without a company a competitive edge in innovation and They began looking for alternatives
That’s helping the economy stay afloat that gives really good benefits or lots technology. It can’t achieve those tar- to China years ago, initially because
14 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
C
“For markets to work, you don’t
hina’s own push to become need things to get better, just less
more self-reliant, plus an am- bad,” says Phillpotts of Ariel, who has
biguous and amended counter- been increasing weightings in China.
espionage law—along with the She sees pockets of stabilization in the
detention of employees of U.S. due- property market as households use
diligence firm Mintz Group last year— Beijing’s incentives to upgrade their
have only added to the anxiety among homes. “But the playbook is different
foreign companies and investors. now,” she adds.
Generation of
rivals as Beijing encourages local or returning capital to shareholders
buying. About a quarter of businesses through buybacks and dividends.
surveyed are relocating or consider- For Phillpotts, that includes home-
ing relocating manufacturing or appliance maker Midea Group and
Business Leaders
sourcing operations, an uptick from auto maker Great Wall Motor—
past years. The impetus is highest both of which are looking for growth
in industries that are at the center abroad, including in many of the other
of the U.S.-China strategic rivalry— emerging markets whose growth
industrials, technology, and research- prospects are improving.
and-development-oriented compa- Matthews’ Taylor also favors com-
nies, according to the survey. panies returning cash to shareholders
Investing in Education, a program from Barron’s Group, The majority of companies are stay- through dividends or buybacks, a
provides students with complimentary access to Barron’s ing put, but consultants say new in- trend that is showing up in earnings
vestment is going elsewhere. Apple reports this year, with both Yum
and MarketWatch digital content and experiential is assembling more of its iPhones in China and Alibaba bolstering their
learning resources thanks to our donors’ involvement India, Alphabet’s Google is making repurchases. The Matthews China
some of its Pixel phones in Vietnam, Dividend fund is one way to access
at more than 100 colleges, universities, and high and Honeywell International and these types of companies. Investors
schools nationwide. Tesla are expanding their presence need to be more nimble when it comes
in Mexico. Indeed, the U.S. imported to China. Not only are Chinese compa-
more from Mexico than China last nies facing increasing competition,
If you would like to promote financial proficiency and year, a first in two decades. but Beijing also has less tolerance for
philanthropically support a school of your choice, Meanwhile, investor sentiment a handful of giants dominating an
toward China has soured. Some inves- industry—like Alibaba did before the
please get in touch with BarronsEDU@barrons.com tors have decided that China is unin- crackdown.
to learn more on how to get involved. vestible, shunning it in the way some “This isn’t the place for a buy-and-
have fossil-fuel companies. The rea- hold approach on the view you can
sons vary from Xi’s more-aggressive hang on to a company over five
geopolitical stance, allegations of years—like the Magnificent Seven—
human-rights abuses, increasing lack and ride its market-share gains,”
of transparency, and worries about says Taylor, who is finding opportu-
increased scrutiny by Congress and nities among the entertainment and
others of China investments. consumer-oriented companies target-
The angst has spread to Chinese ing the middle class in smaller cities.
investors. Money managers returning The once-hot growth market, he
from meetings with clients in China says, is now one for value investors.
note a newfound pessimism that’s Add that to the list of ways China isn’t
almost worse than the soured senti- what it was. B
ment among foreign investors. Even —Tanner Brown contributed to this
© 2023 Barron’s Group & Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 2EIIE6120 Chinese investors are looking to allo- article.
February 19, 2024 BARRON’S 15
S I Z I N G U P S M A LL- CA P S
To Private Equity
equity venture Digital Bridge Holdings. And DigitalBridge could grow faster
They sold it in 2019 to Colony Capital, than those larger firms. Fee-earning
a REIT. The next year, Ganzi took over assets at September’s end were up 46%
as Colony‘s CEO. year over year. The company’s private-
Under Ganzi, the REIT changed its equity funds own pieces of more than
name to DigitalBridge and sold off $80 30 businesses around the world that
billion worth of hotels, medical offices, provide underpinnings for artificial
DigitalBridge used to run data centers. Now the company is going and warehouses, replacing them with intelligence, cloud computing, and 5G
all-in on alternative-asset management. It’s time to buy the stock. interests in fiber networks, cell towers, wireless. There are data centers, fiber,
and data centers. Shares of Digital- cell towers, and small wireless cells.
Bridge soared from about $7 when A new fund will also make loans to
D
BY BILL ALPERT control of its last data-center operation. Ganzi took charge in 2020 to more digital infrastructure companies.
The move clears its balance sheet of than $33 by year-end 2021. Yet DigitalBridge’s investment-
igitalBridge Group has billions of dollars in real estate and DigitalBridge also began expanding management growth has been hard for
been a hard company to associated debt, and its income state- its asset-management business. From stockholders to see—and judge. The
categorize. That starts to ment of $1 billion in operating ex- about $7 billion in fee-earning equity company owned stakes worth a little
change next week. penses. The changes may not all show under management when Ganzi took more than 10% of data-center opera-
On Feb. 20, the Boca in the December results that Digital- the helm, the company’s funds neared tors DataBank and Vantage SDC. But
Raton, Fla.–based firm Bridge reports next week, but the com- $30 billion in September 2023. While because its investments gave Digital-
presents results to inves- pany can start to highlight its money- Bridge effective control of the data-
tors for the first time since it ceded management earnings, which grew center operators, accounting rules
control of some two dozen data centers 36% year over year in the September DigitalBridge Group obliged it to include all of their debt
to concentrate on its fast-growing quarter. Alternative-Asset Manager (formerly a REIT) and expenses in its financial reports.
private-equity business. Valued as an With digital infrastructure in de- (DBRG / NYSE) Headquarters: Boca Raton, Fla. The result was that DigitalBridge
alternative-asset manager—instead mand among private-fund investors, $40 appeared to have more debt and less
Recent Price: $20.55
of a real estate investment trust— DigitalBridge thinks it can keep grow- cash flow than “asset light” private-
DigitalBridge hopes to reach the lofty ing its funds at a steep rate. Those 30 52-Week Change: 36% equity firms. So, in 2022, the company
stock prices enjoyed by other alt man- ambitions make it a bit of a “show me” stopped being a REIT and began the
agers like Blackstone and TPG. stock, says Prentiss, who rates it a Market Value (billion): $3.4 process of getting the data-center
20
Investors are high on alternative- Strong Buy. 2024E Fee-Related operations off its financial statements.
asset managers these days; a firm such The 52-year-old Ganzi is well known 10 Earnings (million): $176 When DigitalBridge announces
as Blackstone trades at more than 25 in digital infrastructure but less famil- December results on Feb. 20, the data-
2024E Distributable EPS: $0.47
times its annual fees. Valued as an alt iar to financial industry investors. 0
center debt and expenses may still ap-
manager, DigitalBridge stock might Twenty years ago, Ganzi began 2024E P/E: 43.7 pear, under “discontinued operations.”
trade for 20% more than its recent building Global Tower Partners into 2021 ’22 ’23 ’24 But the March quarter should finally
price of $20. the country’s largest privately held E=estimate Sources: FactSet, Raymond James show off the new DigitalBridge.
DigitalBridge CEO Marc Ganzi Increasingly, investors favor firms
and investment chief Ben Jenkins have with recurring fees, and the likes of
yearned to be appreciated for their Blackstone have seen multiples rise as
investment acumen. But the company’s high as 28 times yearly expected fees.
REIT history has muddied its appeal. Private-equity firms also get perfor-
Its collection of data centers, fiber lines, mance fees when portfolio companies
and cell towers beckoned investors are sold at a gain. Performance fees are
wanting to own the infrastructure of hard to predict, but they contribute to
our ever more digitized lives. But they the levels at which these stocks trade.
had a tough time evaluating Ganzi’s Raymond James analysts have
private-equity and credit-fund manage- taken a stab at valuing DigitalBridge
ment business. Meanwhile, other in- as an alt manager. Assuming it
vestors keen on DigitalBridge’s private- reaches its goal of $205 million in fee-
equity business didn’t quite know what earning assets in 2025, a 16-times
to make of its real estate holdings. multiple would value those at $3.3
“Their numbers looked really odd,” billion. Performance fees could be
says Raymond James analyst Ric worth another $560 million. The com-
Prentiss. “Going forward, it’s going to pany’s stakes in portfolio companies
screen better and be more a function of such as Vantage would add another
George Frey/AFP
how much funds have they raised and $2 billion. Subtract corporate over-
what are the fees on their assets under head, debt, and preferred shares, and
management.” Raymond James sees the stock worth
On Jan. 10, DigitalBridge gave up its DigitalBridge’s private-equity funds own stakes in businesses that underpin AI, cloud computing, and 5G wireless. $4.4 billion, or $24 a share. B
16 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
O
track to add about $4 trillion, accord-
ing to estimates by the Committee for
a Responsible Federal Budget.
The ratings firm S&P Global
What’s at Stake
n Nov. 5, stripped the U.S. of its vaunted triple-A
U.S. voters credit rating in 2011 over concerns
will almost about policymakers’ long-term inabil-
certainly ity to get ahead of the mounting debt.
face the Fitch did the same last year, citing the
same choice “erosion of governance.”
In a Biden vs.
for president Moody’s, the lone holdout among
as they did the large debt-rating firms, recently
in 2020: Joe warned that it, too, might join the
Biden or Donald Trump. Never mind downgrade brigade, citing political
the worries about their age and health, polarization and the rising debt.
or suitability for office, or both men’s Neither Democrats nor Republi-
TrumpRematch
enduring unpopularity. Chances are, cans have made a serious effort to
we’re doing it again. And just like four close the spending gap with sufficient
years ago, the electoral outcome will revenue, says Rob Fauber, Moody’s
probably remain a close call until the CEO. To the contrary, he says, “that
final ballots are counted. gap will continue to grow and put
Yet there are some important differ- more and more strain on the balance
ences this time around, for better and sheet of the United States.”
borrowing might cause the buyers of More Debt, More Worries? economists recently looked at the net effort to strengthen U.S. manufactur-
U.S. debt to demand a higher yield—a Under the next president, the U.S. debt is projected to exceed effects of the trade war on U.S. manu- ing, which has added more jobs under
risk premium on what is otherwise 100% of gross domestic product, a symbolically important level. facturing jobs in the heartland and Biden’s labor-friendly policies. “Man-
thought to be the world’s premier risk- Federal debt held by public, as a percentage of GDP dubbed them “at best a wash” and ufacturing is about more than eco-
free asset. potentially “mildly negative.” nomics,” Lighthizer wrote in a recent
There are already signs under Biden 120% The Biden administration has sur- article in Foreign Affairs.
that markets may be entering a new 100
prised its critics and kept the China The factors that economists care
era. The combination of higher interest tariffs in place. “Reducing U.S. trade about “are not as important as issues
rates, persistent inflation, and political 80 policy down to a conversation about of family stability, strong communities,
chaos has highlighted the problem, 60 tariffs is unfair,” said Katherine Tai, income equity, and worker pride and
says Nathan Sheets, chief global econo- Biden’s top trade negotiator, when satisfaction,” he wrote. In other words,
mist at Citigroup. “This reality has 40 asked by a former trade official about Trump and his allies see tariffs not just
captured the attention of markets at 20 the Autor study. as a tool to manage trade flows, but
times, at least over the past six to 12 Biden’s vision for dealing with China also as a means to rebalance the econ-
months,” says Sheets. “We saw mean- 0 amounts to managed competition. He omy in favor of domestic industries.
ingful manifestations of this through 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 has sought to keep U.S. technology out Coupled with potentially tighter
[last] summer with the run-up in Note: Data for 2024 and beyond are estimates. of Chinese hands through the use of immigration policies under Trump
rates.” Sources: St. Louis Fed (2000-22), Congressional Budget Office (2023 and estimates) sanctions and export controls, and has that could restrict the labor supply,
The 10-year Treasury yield peaked taken steps to limit some U.S. invest- some economists see a recipe for stag-
in October at just under 5%, but has ment into China. That strategy proba- flation, or sluggish growth and persis-
since fallen to 4.3%. proposal seeks to extend tax reduc- bly would continue into a second term. tently higher inflation.
Investors will see Biden’s and tions for households making under Trump, meanwhile, has said he
Trump’s fiscal plans through the lens $400,000 a year. He would pay for would increase tariffs on China to Federal Reserve
of this debt burden. Both will be con- them through new taxes on the 60%, to finish the job he started. Tar- While the central bank arguably was
strained by Congress, but there is a wealthy and the highest earners, an iffs of that magnitude almost certainly late to recognize resurgent inflation in
sharp divergence in what the two men increase in the corporate rate, and a wouldn’t be a wash, although they 2021, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and
want, and how it might affect the mar- higher tax on stock buybacks, among might divert so much trade from his team so far have managed to cool
ket’s treatment of U.S. debt. Just look other things. He has also shown a China that the revenue effects would price growth with higher interest rates
at taxes. willingness to compromise on spend- be relatively small. without tipping the economy into a
ing: A deal to avoid breaching the debt Trump also plans a 10% tariff on recession. The battle hasn’t been won
Taxes ceiling last year will reduce deficits by U.S. imports from every country in the yet, however, as the Feb. 13 release of
Lowering taxes on individuals and 7%, the CBO says. world. Erika York of the Tax Founda- the January consumer price index con-
corporations was one of the hallmarks tion projects that these levies would firmed. Core inflation, excluding food
of the Trump administration—and to Tariffs be equivalent to a $300 billion tax and energy, rose 3.9% over the past 12
many Republicans, its crowning Tariffs are another area of difference increase on Americans. months, and remains stuck well above
achievement, outside of winning con- between Biden and Trump—and not Yet thinking about these policies in the Fed’s 2% annual target.
firmation of more conservative jus- incidentally, a source of revenue, says purely economic terms misses some of Complicating the fight will be the
tices to the Supreme Court. Stephen Miran, a former senior adviser the point. Robert Lighthizer, the for- next president’s decision about the
But Congress used a budget gim- at the Treasury Department in the mer U.S. trade representative who led Fed chair. Powell’s term as chairman
mick to pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Trump administration. the trade war in Trump’s presidency, ends in May 2026. Trump nominated
Act in 2017: It made corporate tax cuts Given the high debt and worries sees Trump’s policies as part of an Powell for the job in 2017, but later
permanent, while setting other major about Treasury yields, the next presi-
elements of the act to expire starting dent needs to be creative in raising
in 2025. On the long list of expiring revenue, says Miran. Tariffs, like other Bull Runs
provisions are reductions to the highly taxes, might have negative economic The stock market has performed well under Presidents Trump and Biden.
visible marginal tax rates for individu- consequences, but “it’s the cost of hav- The market probably would rally on a Trump win in November, and wouldn't sell off
als, which will reset to higher levels. ing a government,” he says. “Those on a Biden victory.
The exemption for the estate tax will negative consequences can be less if S&P 500 performance during trading days in office
be roughly halved, to $5 million, plus they correct pre-existing distortions.”
an inflation adjustment. Limits on the Both U.S. political parties agree Under Trump Under Biden
amount that individuals can deduct that China’s economic predation has 70%
for state and local taxes will reset. had negative consequences for the
A second Trump administration is U.S. economy, and both candidates 60
likely to push to make all of those ex- are China hawks, albeit to differing 50
piring provisions permanent. A full degrees. 40
renewal would cost $3.5 trillion, ac- The centerpiece of Trump’s China
cording to the Congressional Budget strategy as president was a sharp in- 30
Office and the Joint Committee on crease in tariffs on U.S. imports. In 20
Taxation. Trump has also floated the addition to raising tens of billions in
10
idea of additional cuts to the corporate revenue, these tariffs were aimed at
tax rate. He will need to cut spending protecting U.S. jobs. The conse- 0
to do either, but the details are fuzzy. quences were mixed, in part because −10
Congress gets a big say, too. China retaliated with its own tariffs.
Biden, in contrast, would allow Massachusetts Institute of Technology 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1,000
some of the cuts to expire. His budget economist David Autor and other Note: Biden term through Feb. 14, 2024. Source: Bloomberg
18 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
appeared to regret his decision. As Biden and other Democrats. The U.S.
president, Trump called Powell and is already breaking oil-and-gas pro-
other Fed officials “boneheads” and duction records under Biden, but
publicly exhorted the Fed to lower Trump would take things much fur-
interest rates below zero. ther, Myers predicts.
Biden offered Powell a second term “At the end of his four years, the
in 2021 when his first was set to expire. biggest transformation in the country
Biden’s team declined to discuss [would be] that the U.S. will be a much
whether it would consider reappoint- larger producer and exporter of oil and
ing Powell. “The president has made natural gas,” he says, adding that
clear that we will respect the Fed’s in- Trump will attempt “everything from
dependence,” Michael Kikukawa, a rolling back environmental protections
White House spokesman, told Barron’s. to accelerating permitting, opening
The Trump campaign didn’t re- more federal lands to drilling, more
spond to requests for comment on this subsidies for fracking, all of that.”
and other topics, although the candi- Trump probably would reverse or
date has made clear that he won’t re- limit many of Biden’s other regulatory
appoint the Fed chief. He told Fox efforts as well, including the current
Business in February that he thinks administration’s high-profile crack-
Powell is trying to cut interest rates to down on corporate mergers and acqui-
help the Democrats. sitions, with the aim of producing a
The Fed has projected three rate more dynamic business environment.
cuts this year in anticipation of reduced That would play well on Wall Street.
inflation and a softening economy, al-
though the timing of any cuts is uncer- Stock Market
tain and, in view of recently strong Although stocks sold off in overnight
economic data, likely to be delayed. trading in 2016 when Trump was
Powell has said repeatedly that he elected president, the market quickly
doesn’t think about politics. “We think rebounded and did well during his
about what’s the right thing to do for term. Even accounting for a 34% pan-
the economy,” he said at a news con- demic-related selloff in early 2020, the
ference in December. In response to a S&P 500 index returned 83% during
question at his most recent news con- Trump’s term in office.
ference, in January, he said he isn’t The stock market probably would
focused on the matter of a third term. rally on another Trump victory, as
Although inflation soared under investors would expect him to deliver
Biden for multiple reasons, the mar- tax cuts and other business-friendly
kets might rebel against Powell’s re- Republican policies.
moval in a second Trump term, as the The market also has rallied under
next Fed’s presumably dovish stance Biden: The S&P 500 has returned
on monetary policy would do little to 35% since the start of his term, and hit
offset the inflationary impact of con- successive records this year. A Biden
tinued fiscal spending. Should Trump victory probably wouldn’t rock the
Voters in 75
win, says Marko Papic, chief strategist market much, as a second Biden ad-
at the Clocktower Group, an alterna- ministration would be expected to
tive-asset manager, “I think the bond continue a set of policies—higher taxes
market will just start rioting.” for higher earners and corporations,
Countries Could
In other words, nervous investors support for labor, and a generally
would send bond yields sharply more heavy-handed state—that are
higher. That’s a scary thought, even fairly well priced into stocks.
though a spike in bond yields—which Biden’s team professes not to be
Change Markets
would push up borrowing costs— focused on the market. “President
could be just the thing that forces a Biden and Vice President [Kamala]
1990s-style reckoning on the budget. Harris are fighting for the middle
“This could be the best thing that ever class and Main Street—not special
happened to America,” Papic says. interests and Wall Street,” says Kiku-
kawa, the White House spokesman.
Regulation
to safeguard the country’s indepen- tries abroad to rethink their own pol- ing that he would encourage Russia,
dence from China, as president. And icies,” says Owen Tedford, analyst at for example, to invade U.S. allies that
the U.S. general election in November Beacon Policy Advisors. “That could don’t pay enough for military de-
probably will be the most consequen- mean more retaliatory tariffs and fense. The remarks drew swift back-
tial anywhere, given sharp policy dif- trade wars that become faster and lash from European allies. Trump’s
ferences between the probable candi- more the norm.” campaign site lists “reject globalism
dates, current President Joe Biden and It could also mean more spats be- and embrace patriotism” as one of his
his predecessor, Donald Trump. tween traditional allies. Trump’s recent key issues.
India heads to the polls in late comments continue to raise questions A potential souring in U.S.-Europe
spring, South Africa in May, and Mex- about his commitment to participation relations and a more isolationist pol-
ico on June 2. European parliamentary in the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza- icy under Trump could impinge on
elections will be in June, and a United tion, or NATO. At a recent South global growth and add to inflationary
Kingdom election is likely to be called Carolina rally, Trump built upon his pressures. The International Mone-
by year end. comments that Europe isn’t paying tary Fund has estimated that interna-
The outcomes will signal to inves- its share for military protection, add- tional trade restrictions could shave as
tors whether polarization, populism,
democratic deterioration, and geoeco-
nomic fragmentation continue. J.P.
Morgan’s head of global research,
Joyce Chang, describes these as the
“four horsemen” that threaten long-
term growth prospects, make econo-
mies less efficient, feed market volatil- Lai Ching-te, right,
was elected presi-
ity, and dent market multiples. dent of Taiwan in
Investors often dismiss elections January after vow-
because any one administration’s im- ing to safeguard the
country’s indepen-
pact tends to play out over decades, dence from China.
not quarters. Neil Shearing, chief Indian Prime Minis-
economist at Capital Economics, says ter Narendra Modi,
below, is widely
this year could prove to be an excep- expected to win
tion, with the possibility of radical re-election this
spring. Modi has
shifts in policy, notably in the U.S. combined Hindu
“There are enormous geopolitical nationalistic policies
implications. That’s the fault line with sensible man-
agement of the
around which election this year mat- economy.
ters,” Shearing says.
I
The populist wave of election out-
comes in 2016 sent ripples throughout
the global economy, especially with
the trade war started under newly
elected President Trump. But this year
is more consequential, not just in the
nvestors typically ignore elec- number of elections but also against a
Photographs from top: by Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images; Annabelle Chih/Getty Images
tions, but this isn’t a normal backdrop of higher rates, steeper defi-
year. Nearly 60% of the cits, and more fragmentation and geo-
world’s population heads to political flux.
the polls as two wars rage, If Biden is re-elected, he is expected
populist candidates are on to continue a tough stance on China
the march, and higher inter- that limits its access to critical technol-
est rates make running hefty ogy, while pushing manufacturers to
budget deficits more prob- bring production back to the U.S. or
lematic for countries near closer to home.
and far. Tariffs are likely to stay in place
The electoral outcomes this year under Biden, but trade restrictions
will shape the global economy in ways are expected to be far more promi-
that matter to markets, particularly if nent in a second Trump administra-
protectionism stifles global trade and tion. Trump recently said that he
countries have to pick sides as the would consider a 60% tariff on all
U.S.-China rivalry intensifies. Chinese imports and a 10% tariff on
More than 75 countries will hold other imports.
elections. The year is bookended by “A Trump Round Two would add
two key ones. Taiwan kicked off 2024 to a sense around the world that the
by delivering an unprecedented third policies of his first term weren’t a blip
term for the incumbent party and and there’s a bigger political shift in
electing Lai Ching-te, who has vowed the U.S. that will force other coun-
20 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
much as $7 trillion off global economic A World in Flux anto, who ran with Gibran Rakabum-
output over the long term. More than 75 countries hold elections this year. ing Raka, Jokowi’s eldest son. Capital
“The biggest question is which Economics analysts caution that Sub-
countries are going to align more ianto could hurt future foreign in-
with the China-Russia axis versus vestments by introducing populist or
the U.S. and the West. Some, like 3
nationalist policies, derailing the
India, are playing both sides. It’s one country’s efforts to attract foreign
of the reasons these elections matter 5 investment into its metals industry.
more,” says Sarah Ketterer, a value Subianto’s win poses a risk to what
investor and head of Causeway Capi- 4
1
are “some of the best long-term
tal Management. growth prospects of any economy,”
While the U.S. elections may pro- Five key contests to writes Gareth Leather, Capital Eco-
duce the biggest ripples, there are a watch that will help nomics’ senior Asia economist, in a
handful of other big elections that shape events globally: note to clients on Wednesday.
investors are keeping tabs on. That 1 India: April The messiest election among bigger
includes three countries that are get- 2 South Africa: May
2 emerging markets may be in South
ting a lot of attention as beneficiaries Africa. The ruling African National
3 EU Parliament: June
of the move to reduce reliance on Congress, or ANC, party risks seeing
China—Mexico, India, and Indonesia. 4 Mexico: June support slip below the 50% mark for
India and Mexico have improved 5 United States: Nov. 5 the first time in three decades, mean-
their fiscal health over the past five to ing that it may need to build a coali-
10 years, but challenges persist. In Sources: National Democratic Institute, International Foundation for Electoral Systems, J.P. Morgan Strategic Research tion with opposition parties. That
Mexico, for example, left-leaning could create more uncertainty for an
President Andrés Manuel López Ob- already beleaguered economy.
rador surprised investors by being quickly spoil the positive economic creased consolidation of power. “It’s In the developed world, Europe
more fiscally conservative than antic- outlook that has been lifting the coun- an echo of what Xi has done in will hold parliamentary elections this
ipated, managing to keep a balanced try’s stock market and the Mexican China,” says Ketterer. “The parliamen- summer. The debate will probably
budget as the world was reeling from peso. tary system is set up to have power center around the Stability and
Covid in 2020. He can’t run for re- India is another China alternative sharing. When it’s out of balance in an Growth Pact, an agreement among
election under Mexican law, but he’s but it’s more insulated from the U.S. emerging market country, it can be European Union members to limit
breaking from tradition by campaign- election. The world’s most populous destabilizing.” deficits and spending, Chang says.
ing against the leading opposition country is home to some of the stron- When asked what steps Modi was Analysts at Eurasia Group don’t
candidate in the race to succeed him. gest economic growth anywhere, after willing to take to improve the rights of anticipate a populist sweep in EU elec-
“He gave markets and Mexican a series of reforms from Prime Minis- Muslims and other minorities during tions but instead expect incumbent
society each what they wanted. Mar- ter Narendra Modi drew foreign in- his U.S. visit last year, he suggested governments to emerge weaker, espe-
kets needed austerity and a reduction vestment to the country. they didn’t need to be improved. In cially in Germany and France. These
M
of deficits, which he did. But now he is Parliament this week, Modi said the governments will probably have to
going out with the biggest expendi- odi is widely expected to government’s policies were aimed at focus on domestic issues, undermin-
tures and transfers of his term,” says win a third term this raising the standard of living for all by ing their ability to deal with chal-
Joan Domene, chief economist for spring. Part of that strong ensuring the basics—including access lenges like anemic economic growth
Latin America for Oxford Economics. support from voters, as to cheaper medicine, connections to and trade frictions.
For example, López Obrador has in- well as some investors, stems from his tap water, and building more toilets. One plus: In many countries head-
creased spending on pensions for se- government’s strategy of combining India is still a favored destination ing to the polls, economies have stabi-
niors and scholarship aid, and up- Hindu nationalistic policies with sen- for investors, including Ketterer, who lized. The Federal Reserve’s decision
graded an intercity railway that goes sible management of the economy. “As leans toward cheaper, smaller-cap to pause its interest-rate hikes—and
across the Yucatán Peninsula “to sup- long as Modi continues to pursue companies. probably start cutting later in the
port the people.” gradual reforms with prudent macro- In Indonesia this past week, Min- year—offers both emerging and devel-
Reining in some of this government economic management, investors will ister of Defense Prabowo Subianto oped markets a supportive backdrop.
largess will fall on either Claudia look at India favorably,” says TS Lom- had a decisive lead in unofficial tallies That could trump the impact on
Sheinbaum, the front-runner and bard chief India economist Shumita and appeared on track to be the next markets from domestic elections in
member of López Obrador’s Morena Deveshwar. president. The victory for the former the near term, though it might not
party, or opposition presidential can- The one potential hiccup for mar- military general and son-in-law of trump the effect of Trump himself if
didate Xóchitl Gálvez. Such cuts could kets would be if Modi’s Bharatiya Ja- former dictator Suharto will keep he is elected and carries through with
slow growth, but Mexico remains a nata Party is unable to secure a major- investors on watch for governance plans to impose steep trade barriers or
favored market for money managers ity in Parliament, Deveshwar says. concerns and potential backsliding alter the U.S.-Europe alliance.
because it is well positioned as Ameri- While it’s unlikely to derail the strong on business-friendly reforms imple- Even under another Biden adminis-
can companies look to bring produc- growth outlook for India’s economy, mented over the two terms of Presi- tration, efforts will continue to limit
tion closer to home. Deveshwar says there is a risk that dent Joko Widodo, popularly known China’s access to markets, which
The bigger wild card for Mexican limited political or economic pressure as Jokowi. The current president could have the effect of increasing
stocks may be the U.S. election—and slows the impetus for more reforms came to power as a reform-oriented trade barriers around the world. “The
whether the outcome creates friction and constrains India’s prospects. leader who wasn’t part of the coun- free-trade movement is in full pause,”
between the neighboring countries. Longer term, some investors are try’s political and economic elite. Tedford says. “When you put your
The biggest concern: additional trade concerned about the populist and Instead of backing the candidate China competition helmet on, there
restrictions. If Mexico is pulled into a Hindu nationalist undercurrents in from his own party, Jokowi sup- are a lot of measures that may not be
trade war with the U.S., that would the country, as well as Modi’s in- ported former political rival Subi- supportive for the global economy.” B
February 19, 2024 BARRON’S 21
F UN DS
Scoreboard: Rate Review
Investors Are Plowing The U.S. stock rally moderated as investors rethought rate cuts. The S&P 500 was up 0.64%, and
small-cap funds surged 3.3%. Robust economic signs hit precious metals such as gold.
I
Vest Bitcoin SMV Inv / BTCLX Flexible Portfolio 13.04% 17.2%
worth the higher risk, he’d like to see Needham Growth Retail / NEEGX Mid-Cap Core 11.12 26.4
nvestors are snapping up corporate spreads widen to 1.4 percentage points. IDX R-M Bitcoin Str Inst / BTIDX Alt Currency Strat 9.15 5.1
Needham Sm Cap Gro Instl / NESIX Small-Cap Core 8.92 3.3
bonds, enticed by higher yields and “That would get me excited to buy,” he says. Needham Aggr Growth Inst / NEAIX Small-Cap Growth 8.67 17.3
the hope that a soft economic landing The BlackRock fund has a 30-day SEC Hennessy Crnst Gro Inv / HFCGX Small-Cap Core 7.60 17.1
Leg&Gen LD US Cred W / LLDWX Corp Debt BBB Rtd 7.19 – 1.3
means the Federal Reserve will cut yield of 5%, while the $46 billion Vanguard Kinetics Internet NL / WWWFX Science & Tech 6.39 13.3
Am Beacon ARK TI Y / ADNYX GL Science/Tech 6.36 – 1.8
interest rates. Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond RBC Enterprise I / TETIX Small-Cap Core 6.19 5.7
Those hopes may well be dashed. ETF (VCIT), another popular fund, yields FullerThaler BSCG Inst / FTXSX Small-Cap Growth 6.04 16.9
Emerald Growth Inst / FGROX Small-Cap Growth 5.89 4.8
Beginning late last year, investors started 5.2%. The $4.7 billion iShares Core 1-5 ERShares USSC Inst / IMPAX Small-Cap Growth 5.69 1.6
to step further out on the yield curve and Year USD Bond ETF (ISTB) yields 4.7%. AlphaCentric Rob&Auto I / GNXIX GL Sm/Mid-Cap 5.68 1.7
RBC Sm Cap Core I / RCSIX Small-Cap Core 5.66 7.2
became more willing to take on credit risk, Phil Kosmala, managing partner at Saratoga Small Cap I / SSCPX Small-Cap Growth 5.52 6.6
says Jack Fischer, senior research analyst at investment consultant Taiber Kosmala, is Wasatch Sm Cap Val Inst / WICVX Small-Cap Core 5.48 4.1
Jacob Small Cap Gro Inst / JSIGX Small-Cap Growth 5.44 1.8
LSEG Lipper. As of Feb. 12, net flows into overweight corporate bonds, but he is FullerThaler BMCE Inst / FTMSX Small-Cap Core 5.42 – 1.5
Oberweis Micro-Cap Inv / OBMCX Small-Cap Core 5.31 4.0
short-intermediate investment-grade debt also concerned that investors are too opti- MoA Small Cap Growth / MAGKX Small-Cap Growth 5.19 5.2
mutual funds and exchange-traded funds mistic. He expects rates to be higher for Kinetics Global NL / WWWEX GL Sm/Mid-Cap 5.18 8.1
Morg Stan I Advtg I / MPAIX Multi-Cap Growth 5.17 11.5
this year were about $20 billion, compared longer and thinks there could be a reces- Cullen Sm Cap Val I / CUSIX Small-Cap Value 5.17 0
with $50 billion in all of 2023. sion later this year.
“They see the longer-duration aspect of it “Rates are going to stay higher for longer, The Week's Bottom 10
as being safer now than it was last year,” which means you could clip a really nice Fund Investment Objective One Week Year-to-Date
Midas Fund / MIDSX Precious Metals Eq – 6.38 – 20.0
when investors favored Treasury bond coupon without taking a lot of risk staying US Glbl World PM / UNWPX Precious Metals Eq – 3.88% – 14.5%
OCM Gold Atl / OCMAX Precious Metals Eq – 3.29 – 11.8
funds, he says. Duration is a measure of on the short end of the curve,” he says. Franklin Gld&Pr Mt A / FKRCX Precious Metals Eq – 3.28 – 13.3
interest-rate risk tied to a bond’s or bond For now, he’s sticking with a fund he Allspring Prec Met A / EKWAX Precious Metals Eq – 2.65 – 12.4
Gabelli Gold I / GLDIX Precious Metals Eq – 2.56 – 12.9
fund’s maturity, yield, and other factors. has used for a while, the $1.3 billion Van- Fidelity Sel Gold / FSAGX Precious Metals Eq – 2.55 – 12.1
Steve Laipply, global co-head of fixed- Eck IG Floating Rate ETF (FLTR), focus- Rydex Precious Metls Inv / RYPMX Precious Metals Eq – 2.41 – 14.5
Victory Prc Met&Min Fund / USAGX Precious Metals Eq – 2.27 – 13.9
income ETFs at BlackRock, also sees in- ing on the 6.2% yield. Amer Cent Gl Gold Inv / BGEIX Precious Metals Eq – 2.22 – 13.3
vestors gravitating to corporate bonds. The The market watchers aren’t completely
company’s $33.8 billion iShares iBoxx $ shunning investment-grade corporate bond The Largest 25
Assets 3-Year* 1-Week YTD
Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF funds, they’re just wary, especially since Fund Investment (billions) Objective Return Return Return
(ticker: LQD), its biggest corporate bond bond funds are currently richly valued. American Funds Gro A / AGTHX $126.0 Large-Cap Growth 4.8% 1.21% 7.6%
Fidelity Contrafund / FCNTX $111.7 Large-Cap Core 10.1% 1.17% 12.8%
fund, saw $2.3 billion in net flows through Yields will eventually fall, but they proba- American Funds Bal A / ABALX Mix Tgt All Gro 5.1 0.34 2.5
99.3
Feb. 12, about half as much as it received bly won’t decline smoothly, so nimble inves- Fidelity SA US Tot Stk / FCTDX 96.9 Multi-Cap Core 9.2 1.10 6.3
all last year. The buying suggests investors tors could watch for better prices and more Vanguard Wellington Adm / VWENX 94.2 Mix Tgt All Gro 5.4 0.33 2.3
Vanguard Tgt Ret2035 Inv / VTTHX 90.7 Mixed-Asset Target 2035 2.6 0.58 1.8
may feel more comfortable with the eco- Fed certainty.
Vanguard Tgt Ret2030 Inv / VTHRX 88.5 Mix-Asst Targ 2030 2.0 0.53 1.4
nomic outlook. “Perhaps the hard landing High-yield bonds may be worth a look PIMCO Income Inst / PIMIX 83.5 Multi-Sector Inc 0.8 – 0.06 – 0.1
may not come to pass, or if you do see a when the outlook for rates is clearer and Vanguard Tgt Ret2040 Inv / VFORX 79.8 Mixed-Asset Target 2040 3.2 0.68 2.1
downturn, it won’t be as severe as once market sentiment is stable, says John Jones, American Funds ICA A / AIVSX 79.7 Large-Cap Core 11.0 0.76 5.0
American Funds Wash A / AWSHX 78.7 Large-Cap Value 11.4 0.73 4.0
thought,” he says. investment advisor representative at Heri- Vanguard Tgt Ret2045 Inv / VTIVX 76.7 Mixed-Asset Target 2045 3.8 0.77 2.4
The buying spree has lifted prices and tage Financial. He will use a small allocation Vanguard Tgt Ret2025 Inv / VTTVX 75.7 Mixed-Asset Target 2025 1.4 0.38 1.0
lowered yields, bringing them closer to U.S. of high-yield bond funds to boost income American Funds Inc A / AMECX 74.2 Mix Tgt All Mod 4.5 0.52 – 0.2
Fidelity SA Core Inc / FIWGX 67.7 General Bond – 2.9 – 0.26 – 1.4
Treasury yields, but with added credit and and complement Treasury holdings. His American Funds FInv A / ANCFX 65.8 Large-Cap Core 9.0 0.99 5.4
duration risk. If the Fed leaves rates higher preferred funds are the $3.1 billion VanEck Vanguard PRIMECAP Adm / VPMAX 65.6 Large-Cap Core 8.3 0.65 3.7
for longer, or corporate defaults pick up Fallen Angel High Yield Bond ETF American Funds EuPc R6 / RERGX 64.2 Intl Large-Cap Growth – 3.5 1.65 2.7
Vanguard Tgt Ret2050 Inv / VFIFX 63.8 Mix-Asst Targ 2050 4.1 0.84 2.7
because of a downturn, bond fund holders (ANGL), or the $16 billion Nuveen High
Dodge & Cox Stck I / DODGX 63.1 Multi-Cap Value 10.8 1.27 1.9
could see losses. Yield Municipal Bond fund (NHMAX) for Dodge & Cox Income I / DODIX 62.0 Core Bond – 2.0 – 0.16 – 1.4
The historical spread between corporate tax-sensitive clients. American Funds CIB A / CAIBX 60.4 Global Equity Income 4.3 0.53 – 0.2
bonds and Treasuries is about 1.15 percent- He’s in the higher-for-longer camp and Fidelity Str Adv LgCp / FALCX 56.9 Large-Cap Core 10.6 0.81 6.3
American Funds NPer A / ANWPX 55.8 Global Large-Cap Growth 2.5 1.27 4.5
age points, and currently that spread is sees no reason to rush in. “When interest American Funds CWGI A / CWGIX Global Large-Cap Core 4.1 1.16 3.2
53.9
around 0.98 percentage points, says Guy rates get cut, the price of bonds go up, so
*Annualized 02/10/2021 to 02/15/2024. Through Thursday. Source: Lipper
LeBas, chief fixed-income strategist at Jan- all those bond funds will appreciate. B
22 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
I N C O M E I N V E ST I N G
There has been strong pushback against bans
on gas stoves, with about two dozen states
prohibiting any bans on gas appliances.
Natural-Gas Utilities
company’s fiscal year ending in Sep- notes Citi’s Levine. Even in California,
tember, a premium to most of its peers, some of the bans are facing roadblocks
which fetch about 15 times projected in the courts and with regulators.
Growth Prospects
ates a gas pipeline network in Texas. including this year, have dampened gas
It aims to generate 6% to 8% annual demand. If warmer winters become the
earnings growth, with a similar in- norm, it’s a negative for gas utilities,
crease in dividends. which typically earn most of their prof-
Atmos’ valuation—along with the its in the winter quarter.
entire gas and electric utility sector— Southwest Gas is planning to take
N
has contracted in the past two years. public its utility infrastructure con-
Investors can buy its shares at about struction unit, Centuri, later this year.
the same price as four years ago. That could prove to be a catalyst for the
A
atural-gas utilities lower prices for gas. stock, which has attracted activist in-
are a small part of “They have relatively good long- decade ago, gas utilities vestor Carl Icahn.
the business. They term growth profiles, but they don’t traded at a premium to The stock trades around $58 and
deserve a closer have flashy stories like electric utilities electrics because of big pro- could be worth $80 or more on a sum-
look from investors. with wind and solar generation,” says grams endorsed by regulators of-the parts basis, according to Siebert
Companies like Jay Rhame, CEO of Reaves Asset Man- to replace pre-1970 vintage pipes— Williams Shank analyst Chris Elling-
Atmos Energy, agement. “It’s mostly about replacing some cast iron—with new, safer pipes, haus. NiSource aims to generate 6%
Southwest Gas Holdings, and New BY ANDREW old gas pipes with new pipes.” mostly made of a high-density plastic. to 8% annual growth in earnings per
Jersey Resources provide gas to resi- BARY His firm runs the Reaves Utility That premium has vanished as inves- share through 2028. The shares, at
dential and commercial customers Income closed-end fund. It holds At- tors worry about long-term gas demand about $25, trade for 15 times projected
and earn regulated returns like elec- mos and NiSource, an Indiana-based during an energy transition. “There is 2024 earnings.
tric utilities, giving some predictability utility whose business is roughly two- the risk of electrification and reduced New Jersey Resources has one of the
and resilience to their earnings. thirds gas and one-third electric. use of gas over time,” Rhame says. higher targeted annual growth rates
Gas utilities’ valuations and growth Atmos, a Texas-oriented gas utility, This could occur if Americans swap of 7% to 9% in earnings per share from
prospects are comparable to those of is the largest pure play and commands gas stoves and heating systems for its regulated gas business and energy
electric utilities. Dividend yields are a premium valuation. those powered by electricity—in part services operations. The stock, at $41,
now in the 3% to 5% area—about the That’s because Texas offers better due to government mandates or subsi- yields 4.1% and trades for 14 times
same as electric utilities. Several have growth prospects than most states due dies. Dozens of cities—mostly in blue projected 2024 earnings.
long records of dividend growth, with to a growing population—and it has states like California—have passed Spire has 1.7 million customers and
Northwest Natural Holding boasting generally utility-friendly regulations. bans on gas stoves in new construction, operations in Missouri, Mississippi,
nearly 70 years of annual increases. “Atmos has a high-quality business and with most taking effect starting in a and Alabama. The stock trades around
And there could be bargains in the management team,” says Ryan Levine, few years. $58, or about 13 times projected 2024
group, with most trading near 52-week a Citigroup utility analyst. But there has been strong pushback, earnings. It yields 5.2%. The gas utility
lows amid lackluster investor enthusi- Atmos shares, at about $112, trade with about two dozen states passing aims to generate 5% to 7% annual
asm for utilities and smaller stocks. for 17 times projected earnings in the bans on any bans on gas appliances, growth in earnings per share.
There are relatively few gas utilities ONE Gas is the leading gas distrib-
because many large utilities like Con- utor in Kansas and Oklahoma. Its
solidated Edison and PG&E provide Gas-Powered Dividends shares, at $59, trade for 15 times pro-
both gas and electricity to customers. These seven natural-gas utilities offer tempting yields. jected 2024 earnings and yield 4.5%.
CenterPoint Energy, the big Texas Recent 52-Week Market 2023E 2024E 2024E Dividend
It targets 4% to 6% growth in annual
utility, has a 60/40 revenue split be- Company / Ticker Price Change Value (billion) EPS EPS P/E Yield earnings per share.
tween electricity and gas. Northwest Natural has been supply-
Atmos Energy / ATO* 111.75 -4.3 16.9 6.10 6.60 16.9 2.9
Gas utilities generally don’t take ing natural gas to the Pacific Northwest
commodity risk. When natural-gas NiSource / NI 25.28 -6.8 10.5 1.59 1.71 14.8 4.2 since the 19th century. The Portland,
prices rise, they can pass along higher Southwest Gas Holdings / SWX 58.36 -12.6 4.2 3.28 3.09 18.9 4.3 Ore.–based company has lifted its divi-
costs to customers. And when gas dend for 68 years. The shares, at $35,
New Jersey Resources / NJR* 40.66 -21.3 4.0 2.71 2.87 14.2 4.1
prices fall, as they have done in the past yield over 5% and trade for 13 times
year, customers benefit. A lower gas ONE Gas / OGS 59.16 -28.0 3.3 4.14 3.88 15.3 4.5 projected 2024 earnings. It sees annual
price environment, however, tends to Spire / SR* 57.74 -21.0 3.1 4.05 4.34 13.3 5.2
earnings growth at 4% to 6% in the
be better for the utilities since regula- coming years. B
tors are more inclined to allow higher Northwest Natural Holding / NWN 35.14 -28.2 1.3 2.67 2.76 12.8 5.5
returns when customers are paying Note: Data as of Feb. 13. E=estimate. *Fiscal year ends in September and 2023 EPS are reported actuals, not estimates. Source: Bloomberg email: andrew.bary@barrons.com
February 19, 2024 BARRON’S 23
THE EC ONOMY
it wouldn’t be unprecedented for the market
to be premature in its expectations for a pivot
in Federal Reserve policy.
Possibility of a Delay.
tional investors, in an interview this million “missing workers” over age 16
past week. As it turned out, the initial relative to the prepandemic peak of
hike didn’t come until December 2015. February 2020.
So, it wouldn’t be unprecedented for While many folks find they have
the market to be premature again in its to retire sooner than planned and feel
B
expectations for a pivot in Fed policy. a financial pinch, Faria-e-Castro and
H
Jordan-Wood find that “booming
ow much does the histori- asset returns in 2020-21 help ex-
onds and stocks cuts this year, starting in June. cally low unemployment plain” a significant number of drop-
suffered a temporary The Deutsche Bank economists rate owe to the record-high outs from the workforce, especially
conniption on Tues- considered two “hawkish” alternatives stock market? That would for those near retirement. The S&P
day over a consumer to the FOMC’s median scenarios, with seem to put the economic horse before 500 index returned over 35% from
price report that sig- a slightly lower December 2024 unem- the cart. A fully employed labor mar- December 2019 to December 2021 in
nificantly exceeded ployment rate, 4% versus 4.1%, ket typically is the result of a robust real terms (adjusted for inflation)
market expectations. and less progress in the slowing of economy, which in turn is reflected while housing’s real return was
That resulted in the federal-funds BY RANDALL inflation, with the “core” personal in the equity market, according to all close to 20% in the period.
futures market substantially reeling W. FORSYTH consumption-expenditures index run- of our college textbooks. To be sure, factors other than the
back its pricing of Federal Reserve ning at a 2.7% annual rate, rather than But it seems that strong gains in wealth effect probably spurred retire-
interest-rate cuts this year, to roughly the FOMC’s projection of 2.4%. The asset prices have lifted the wealth of ments, including health concerns, the
three moves of 25 basis points each, first hawkish alternative scenario as- many older workers sufficiently to need to care for loved ones, or the
from the current target range of 5.25% sumes the FOMC maintains its esti- allow them to attain their goal of re- inability to shift to remote work. But
to 5.5%. (A basis point equals a hun- mate of R-star (the neutral fed-funds tirement. With the value of their secu- the increased wealth of those 65 and
dredth of a percentage point.) rate, adjusted for inflation, which nei- rities portfolios and homes having older compounded the impact of
The market’s repricing thus puts ther boosts nor slows the economy) at been levitated by the effects of those nonfinancial factors, they said.
it roughly in line with the most recent 0.5%; another, more hawkish scenario strongly stimulative monetary and By contrast, other older age cohorts—
Summary of Economic Projections assumes R-star of 1.5%. fiscal policies to fight the effects of the those 55-to-64 years old—are work-
from the December meeting of the The first hawkish scenario would Covid-19 pandemic, the labor-force ing at greater rates than before the
Federal Open Market Committee, imply 65 basis points of fed-funds rate participation rate of those over 65 has pandemic, suggesting they have had
which had a median fed-funds rate cuts this year, or 20 basis points less fallen, and doesn’t look likely to get up to delay retirement because of not
expectation of 4.6% for the end of than the FOMC median projection. again. Meanwhile, labor-force partici- benefiting as much from the asset
2024. As recently as late January, The second hawkish scenario would pation among those in the so-called inflation of the period.
however, the futures market was call for less than 20 basis points of “prime” working years has recovered Looking at the January 2024 em-
discounting at least six 25-basis- cuts, or essentially no reductions this and exceeded prepandemic rates. ployment report, Jefferies economist
point cuts by December. Thomas Simons observes that there
Even more shocking would be no are 828,000 fewer workers over 65
Fed rate cuts in 2024. But that non- Under Federal than in February 2020. “We doubt
Reserve Chairman
consensus outlook shouldn’t be ruled Jerome Powell, left, that any significant portion of these
out, given how past forecasts have central-bank folks are going to return from the
officials indicated
gone awry, including the 100% prob- they expect to cut
sidelines, so their absence represents
ability of a 2023 recession seen by interest rates by a permanent loss of experience and
Bloomberg Economics in October three-quarters of skill that has likely contributed to the
JULIA NIKHINSON/AFP via Getty Images
a percentage point
2022. this year. That might very weak productivity growth that
Deutsche Bank’s U.S. economics prove too optimistic. the economy has experienced since
team led by Matthew Luzzetti posits 2021,” he wrote in a research note.
two alternative scenarios for the Fed It’s OK, boomer, for you to retire on
remaining on hold for all of 2024, the wealth generated by the stock and
writing in a research note this past housing markets. But your absence is
week that “the probability of this making for a less productive U.S.
outcome may not be trivial.” economy. B
That isn’t the bank’s base case,
which calls for four 25-basis-point email: randall.forsyth@barrons.com
24 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
T E C H T R ADER
IAC assets like Turo, MGM, and Care.com could
easily add up to a value of $5.9 billion, well above
the company’s current market capitalization.
Waiting to Be Found.
became USA Interactive, then Inter- ation, and amortization, or Ebitda.
ActiveCorp., and later IAC/Interactive. Piper Sandler analyst Thomas Cham-
Today it goes by just IAC. pion conservatively values Dotdash
IAC is an unusual amalgam of Meredith for between three to five
Bring a Calculator.
private-equity shop, venture firm, and times estimated 2025 Ebitda, which
mutual fund. The roster of former IAC produces a value as high as $1.9 billion.
properties includes Expedia, Tripad- IAC has also invested more than
visor, Match Group, Ticketmaster, $350 million in Turo, the car-sharing
and Vimeo. service, for about a 30% stake. Turo
T
CEO Joey Levin, who has been run- for many months has been updating
ning IAC since June 2015, writes a re- an initial-public-offering filing with
freshingly frank letter to shareholders the Securities and Exchange Commis-
he latest batch of weighed on the stock. It now sits 16% every quarter. It’s worth reading. His sion. What’s it worth? Champion uses
tech earnings re- below where it was when the story ran. latest letter makes a compelling case $465 million.
ports brought to Today, the biggest asset at SoftBank for why IAC’s stock price is too low. But Champion told me that Turo is
light at least one is its 90% stake in Arm Holdings, the “Our market capitalization is still basically Airbnb for cars—and Airbnb
example of Wall chip design firm, which came public roughly equal to the sum of the cash trades for about seven times revenue.
Street messing up last September at $51 a share and and publicly traded securities we hold, With even modest growth, Turo’s reve-
its math, in which briefly traded above $160 this past effectively implying no value for all the nue should top $1 billion this year. That
a company’s pieces are clearly worth BY ERIC J. week. SoftBank’s Arm stake is now other assets in IAC,” Levin wrote. would suggest IAC’s Turo stake could
more than a business’ current value. SAVITZ worth $116 billion. This year’s Arm IAC’s single biggest asset is a 20% be worth $2 billion or more. He in-
I’m going to leave you in suspense rally has spurred a 25% gain in Soft- stake in MGM Resorts Interna- cludes a modest valuation for IAC’s
for a moment, so we can first address Bank’s stock, but the value of the Arm tional. That position is worth $2.8 “emerging and other” category, mostly
the idea of using a sum-of-the-parts stake alone is still well above Soft- billion, based on MGM’s current stock the home service worker site Care.com,
strategy to value public companies. Bank’s $85 billion market cap. The price. It comes to about 54% of IAC’s bringing its value to as much as $693
Because, just to be clear, it doesn’t sum-of-the-parts math remains com- market value of $4.8 billion. million. There’s another $300 million
always work. pelling, but proceed with caution. IAC also owns an 84% stake in the in Champion’s model for real estate,
I used the approach in a July 2022 And that brings me to the big reveal. home services company Angi, a posi- mostly IAC’s New York headquarters.
cover story about Amazon.com, argu- My clearly undervalued stock is IAC, tion worth $1.25 billion. That leaves Add everything up—using the mid-
ing that the stock could double or triple the internet and media holding com- about $800 million worth of market range of estimates—and you get a sum-
based on a sum-of-the-parts analysis. pany. To be clear, IAC is almost always value, which is just about the size of of-the-parts value of $5.9 billion for
While Amazon has since rallied 40%, it a sum-of-the-parts story. I made a simi- IAC’s cash position. So, as Levin IAC, a substantial premium to the
has had more to do with the emergence lar case for IAC in a 2019 Barron’s fea- suggests, you get the rest free. company’s $4.8 billion market cap.
of artificial intelligence, cost-cutting in ture. But I’m back again—the math IAC’s largest wholly owned busi- Champion puts the total value at
logistics, a fast-growing ad business, seems too compelling. ness is Dotdash Meredith, a collection $68 a share, 20% above the stock’s
and a rebound in e-commerce than any Built by movie mogul Barry Diller, of print and digital publishing titles like current level. He says he’s being as
clever part-summing. Amazon was IAC has been wheeling and dealing for People, Better Homes & Gardens, and conservative as possible. And here’s
never going to spin out the cloud busi- nearly four decades. Founded in 1986 Investopedia. Things are looking up at the thing about IAC—this is no Ama-
ness, or carve itself into a series of Am- as Silver King Broadcasting, the com- Dotdash. The unit’s digital arm grew zon. In the long run, it sells everything.
azon Minis. Amazon is a coherent pany originally owned TV stations that revenue 9% in the fourth quarter, and And then the company goes shopping
whole. I’m still a bull, but the sum-of- broadcast Home Shopping Network. IAC sees the total up 10% in 2024. IAC for more bargains. B
the-parts story was more a theoretical
exercise than a suggestion to break up
the business.
Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
headquarters. There’s a clear value to it all,
to 50% based on the value of its under-
lying assets. Whew, what a bargain!
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BY MATT PETERSON has a background in private markets. higher volatility, higher risk premi- for policy?
Singh recently spoke to Barron’s ums, and higher interest rates. A nontrivial share of fossil energy is at
he Biden administration has in his capacity as a PGIM economist In some ways, the new era is simi- risk of getting weaponized. Russia in
called one of the architects about the intersection of geopolitics lar to what we experienced during the 2022 and beyond has been an example
of its global economic strat- and markets, although he declined our long sweep of history before the Cold of it, but it isn’t going to be the only one.
egy back into service from request for a follow-up interview. The War ended in 1990. The concentration of market power at
the private market. Daleep edited conversation offers insights key stages of production is even greater
Singh was the deputy na- into how he sees the world. How do you view Treasuries in a for clean energy than fossil fuels.
tional security adviser for world of constrained spending? The price cap is an example of an
international economics from February Barron’s: What has your experi- The biggest challenges in our world effort by consuming countries to try to
2021 until April 2022, and later global ence taught you? are going to require a greater role for regain some of their bargaining power.
chief economist of PGIM Fixed In- Daleep Singh: I entered the work- government and probably more fiscal You’re right that Russia has found
come. Now he’s returning to his former force during the late 1990s. What I spending. The question the market is ways to evade the price cap. The G-7
government job. PGIM confirmed his saw playing out was the post–Cold grappling with is, does this make our is going to have to continue to find
pending departure on Thursday. War, unipolar geopolitical order that debt less sustainable, or, at the least, ways to play the cat-and-mouse game.
Photograph by Greg Kahn
At the White House, Singh was paved the way for the so-called Great does it increase the risk premium on That’s the only way for these types of
closely involved in the response to Rus- Moderation in the global economy. government debt? mechanisms to work. But I don’t think
sia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He Then I watched it fall apart. Right now, the math of debt sus- they’re going away. I think we’ll see
helped design the price cap for Russian Takeaway one is, I’ve come to un- tainability is favorable. But we know more of these efforts in the future.
oil put into place by the Group of Seven derstand that the unipolar moment of at current yields, interest costs for the
countries, including the U.S. He also Great Moderation was the outlier. The federal government are going to rise. Thanks, Daleep. B
February 19, 2024 BARRON’S 27
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28 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
MARKET WEEK
February 12 through February 16, 2024
Dow Jones Industrials S&P 500 Nasdaq Composite Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF
38,627.99
52-wk: +14.19% YTD: +2.49% Wkly: -0.11%
5005.57
52-wk: +22.71% YTD: +4.94% Wkly: -0.42%
15,775.65
52-wk: +33.84% YTD: +5.09% Wkly: -1.34%
$202.57
52-wk: +44.88% YTD: +5.24% Wkly: -2.54%
2%
Rebound Backing Up
Stocks rallied on Wednesday, led by technology January retail sales and the latest weekly jobless claims
shares, regaining most of the ground lost on figures came in soft on Thursday. Stocks opened in the 1
Tuesday. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.3%. red, then rallied. The S&P 500 hit a record high.
-1
-2
-5
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Close
N
Source: Barron’s Statistics
o cut, no problem— Average dipped 0.1%, and the Nasdaq now assigning slim chances of rate
Stocks Slide
market, one that had January, a tenth of a point more than wrote BofA Securities economists on
risen for 14 of the previous 15 weeks. A BY expected and up 3.1% from a year ear- Friday. “Services inflation remains
pair of stronger-than-expected January NICHOLAS lier. The core CPI, which excludes vola- sticky, and the Fed would like to see
Data Dash
eral Reserve won’t be cutting interest gain to 3.9%—matching the December target on a persistent basis.”
rates as often or as soon as they’d ex- change and arresting a trend of declin- A June start might also prove opti-
Rate-Cut
pected, while a pair of shaky retail ing inflation in place for most of the mistic, even if January’s inflation jump
sales reports suggested that the econ- past year. Producer inflation data on was just a blip—something that inves-
Hopes
omy wasn’t as strong as thought. Friday similarly topped expectations. tors will find out over the next four
None of it amounted to much. The Those inflation readings suggest months, Despite last month’s disap-
S&P 500 index lost 0.4% this past there’s still too much uncertainty over pointing retail reading, gross domestic
week, while setting a record high on the direction of prices for the Fed to be product is on track for a 3% annual
Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial loosening monetary policy. Markets are growth rate in the first quarter, the
February 19, 2024 BARRON’S 29
labor market continues to add jobs, and rising fear, in this case the fear of renewed
unemployment is below 4%. inflation, then we would not have seen the TA P I N T O
“Investors are beginning to realize that recovery,” wrote Tim Hayes, chief global
macro conditions don’t warrant rate cuts investment officer at Ned Davis Research.
soon, and if recent job-creation trends con- “Doubts about the timing of something bull-
tinue, there might only be two or three cuts ish should be distinguished from fears about
in total this year,” wrote David Bianco, chief something bearish, such as resurgent infla-
investment officer, Americas, at DWS Group. tion or collapsing economic growth.”
Investors might even want to consider the Are investors getting complacent? Per-
possibility that there will be no cuts in 2024, haps. Last week’s Investors Intelligence sen-
according to Matthew Luzzetti, Deutsche
Bank’s chief U.S. economist, offering three
conditions for that to happen. First, the Fed’s
timent survey showed the highest percent-
age of self-described bulls since the summer
of 2021. Market strategists have been raising
years of experience
estimate of the so-called neutral rate needs year-end price targets for the S&P 500. The
to be adjusted higher, to about 3.5%. Second, Cboe equity put/call ratio is about as low as
unemployment needs to remain below 4% it gets historically, meaning more bets on
while other economic data remain solid. rising stock prices than falling. Fund flows ANSWER
Finally, inflation must remain sticky, with have been strong, even with the S&P 500
core personal-consumption expenditures, trading at a demanding 20.5 times 12-month
the Fed’s favored measure, finishing the year forward earnings.
at 2.7% or higher. What’s more, BofA Securities’ February
The second and third of those conditions Global Fund Manager Survey included the
merely require January trends to continue, greatest global growth expectations in two
with the first a matter of debate. Three Fed years, falling cash levels, and the highest
officials already saw a long-term neutral allocation to U.S. stocks since late 2021. A
rate—with which monetary policy neither
accelerates nor restricts economic growth—
soft landing is the consensus call—for the
first time in nearly two years, a majority of simple questions
of at least 3.5% in the central bank’s latest respondents see no global recession in the
economic projections in December. More hot next 12 months. But, according to respon-
inflation and labor-market strength in 2024 dents to the survey, higher inflation is the
could move others to this view, Luzzetti ar- most significant tail risk.
gues. “While this condition for inflation is The melt-up in stock prices and possibly ACHIEVE
far from our baseline…recent data suggest overextended bullish sentiment suggest that
the probability of this outcome may not be a shallow correction, a decline of 10% or so
trivial,” he wrote. from recent highs, may be in store in the
The market, though, might be able to coming weeks. How earnings are received
withstand a handful of fewer rate cuts, if for this coming week—particularly Nvidia’s
no other reason than a strong economy and quarterly results on Wednesday—will have
robust labor market tend to be good for cor- a big impact on sentiment and could easily
porate revenue and earnings. The fact that be the catalyst for a correction.
the S&P 500 made back its post-CPI losses
and that the Cboe Volatility index, or VIX,
But just a correction. The lack of impend-
ing interest-rate cuts may not justify the S&P simple goal
Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” ended the week 500’s valuation, but above-average earnings-
roughly where it started—at a relatively calm growth prospects might. S&P 500 earnings
level below 14 points—also suggest that this per share are forecast to rise more than 9%
isn’t a rate-cuts-or-bust market. this year, then another 13% in 2025, per ana-
“If equities had been driven lower by lyst consensus figures from Refinitiv.
Helping you find the right financial advisor.
DJ Industrials
Close
38627.99
Change
-43.70
% Chg.
-0.11 Barron’s Future Focus
Close
1048.29
Change
+6.58
% Chg.
+0.63 for free at
DJ Transportation 15629.19 -586.31 -3.62 Barron’s Next 50 3171.56 +32.34 +1.03
DJ Utilities 844.40 +9.97 +1.19 Barron’s 400 1096.82 +10.51 +0.97 Barrons.com/advisorfinder
DJ 65 Stocks 12320.41 -117.93 -0.95 Last Week Week Earlier
DJ US Market 1223.42 -3.97 -0.32 NYSE Advances 1,629 1,634
NYSE Comp. 17409.30 +133.43 +0.77 Declines 1,287 1,290
NYSE Amer Comp. 4514.63 +63.53 +1.43 Unchanged 50 51
S&P 500 5005.57 -21.04 -0.42 New Highs 458 360
S&P MidCap 2828.30 +19.83 +0.71 New Lows 81 126
S&P SmallCap 1304.98 +16.64 +1.29 Av Daily Vol (mil) 3,985.0 4,323.0
Nasdaq 15775.65 -215.01 -1.34 Dollar (Finex spot index) 104.28 104.11
Value Line (arith.) 10050.50 +67.30 +0.67 T-Bond (CBT nearby futures) 118-07 119-20
Russell 2000 2032.74 +22.75 +1.13 Crude Oil (NYM light sweet crude) 79.19 76.84
DJ US TSM Float 49952.81 -129.11 -0.26 Inflation KR-CRB (Futures Price Index) 272.59 274.34
Gold (CMX nearby futures) 2011.50 2023.30
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30 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
FIND OUT
Basic Materials 2.43%
Oil & Gas 2.32
Utilities 1.43
WITH OUR
Financials 1.30
Health Care 1.06
Telecommunications 0.85
SECTOR
Industrials 0.47
Consumer Goods 0.36
–0.04 Consumer Services
TRACKER
–2.58 Technology
“Risk appetite and valuations rise when at the top of the index. The Nikkei has 28%
an improving, solid economic outlook en- of its market value in tech, which has out-
Visit www.sectorspdrs.com or call 1-866-SECTOR-ETF hances investors’ confidence that corpora- performed of late, resulting in higher valua-
tions will be able to deliver consistent profit tions. The top sector in the Stoxx 600, how-
An investor should consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. To obtain a growth,” wrote Evan Brown, head of multi- ever, is financials, at 19%, followed by
prospectus, which contains this and other information, call 1-866-SECTOR-ETF or visit www.sectorspdrs.com. Read the asset strategy at UBS Wealth Management. healthcare at 14% and industrials at 13%.
prospectus carefully before investing. “That is the environment we find ourselves The FTSE 100 is similar, with a 17% weight
All ETFs are subject to risk, including possible loss of principal. Sector ETF products are also subject to sector risks and non-diversification risks, which generally in today.” in financials and just 6% in tech. That’s a lot
results in greater price fluctuations than the overall stock market. Ordinary brokerage commissions apply. It’s an environment that should have more value and economically sensitive expo-
The S&P 500 is an index of 500 common stocks that is generally considered representative of the U.S. stock market. You cannot invest directly in an index. stocks moving up and to the right. sure than in the U.S., and it goes a long way
ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor, Inc., a registered broker-dealer, is distributor for the Select Sector SPDR Trust. to explaining the valuation differential.
The World’s Best Stock Market It’s a setup that argues for continued
There’s no place like home, and that’s true supremacy by U.S. stocks over developed-
whether you’re Dorothy Gale or a U.S. market peers. For starters, the S&P 500 has
investor. the in-vogue growth emphasis that others
At this point, no one needs a reminder of don’t, and will continue to outperform as
how well U.S. stocks have performed. The long as that doesn’t change. “As long as the
S&P 500 index has returned 28% over the market stays narrow, heavily concentrated,
past year, versus the pan-European Stoxx and tech driven, the U.S. is likely to have the
600’s 8% gain and the Canadian S&P/TSX upper hand versus [the] euro zone,” wrote
Composite’s 6% return. The United King- Marko Kolanovic, J.P. Morgan’s chief market
dom’s FTSE 100 is down 1%, and China’s strategist. “We keep our preference for Qual-
Shanghai Composite has lost 10%. ity Growth over Cyclical Value, which trans-
Only Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 has topped the lates into a continued preference for the U.S.
S&P 500 over the past year, as the Bank of over [the] euro zone.”
Japan held its target interest rate below zero But the U.S. should continue to outper-
and the yen lost ground against the U.S. dol- form even if investor preference changes.
lar. But the index is still some 2% below its That’s because financials, industrials, and
high set a whopping 34 years ago—while the like need a strong economy to succeed,
U.S. stocks have hit record after record. and the U.S.—where gross domestic product
That outperformance has many experts grew at a 2.5% clip in 2023—also has the
arguing that the end of American exception- healthiest growth. Japan and the U.K. both
alism is near. The S&P 500, after all, cur- met the definition of recession during the
rently trades for 21 times expected earnings second half of 2023, while the euro zone
in 2024, versus 20 times for the Nikkei, 13 managed growth of just 0.1% last year.
for the Stoxx 600, and 11 for the FTSE 100. In contrast to the U.S., stumbling econo-
But on closer inspection, international mies and lower inflation in Europe and the
stocks aren’t as cheap as they look. U.K. should keep central banks on track for
The gap in valuations—and recent more near-term rate cuts. That conclusion
returns—has a lot to do with what kind of is keeping overseas indexes near 52-week
companies trade on each exchange and the highs, but is clearly a mixed bag. The diver-
composition of the indexes. The S&P 500 is gent economic fundamentals are an argu-
growth-stock heavy, with some 37% of its ment for continued outperformance by U.S.
market capitalization in the tech sector and a companies, supporting higher valuations.
handful of richly valued megacap companies Sometimes it’s smart to be a homebody. B
February 19, 2024 BARRON’S 31
LEGAL NOTICES
Of Tech IPOs—Again
If a Shareholder would like the Company to repurchase all or some of their Shares (in each case, within the limits of the Offer), they should contact their financial
advisor or the Bernstein Global Wealth Management unit of AllianceBernstein L.P. (“Bernstein”) at (212) 486-5800 to request that written materials relating to the
Offer be provided to them. These written materials, which will be sent at no expense to the Shareholder, include the Offer to Repurchase and a Notice of Intent to
Tender. A tendering Shareholder must complete, sign, and mail (certified mail return receipt requested is recommended), fax or hand deliver the Notice of Intent to
Tender to the Company’s agent specified therein, so that it is received before the Repurchase Deadline stated below.
Shareholders who desire to tender Shares for repurchase must do so by 5:00 p.m., New York time on March 22, 2024, unless the Offer is extended (such date and time,
as it may be extended, the “Repurchase Deadline”). All determinations as to the receipt of notices from Shareholders relating to the tender of Shares, including,
without limitation, determinations whether to excuse or waive certain variations from relevant procedural requirements, will be in the sole discretion of the Company
or its designated agents, and any such determination will be final.
The purpose of the Offer is to provide liquidity to Shareholders because the Shares are not listed on any securities exchange. The Offer is not conditioned upon the
tender of any minimum number of Shares or any financing condition.
If more than 10% of its Shares are duly tendered to the Company (and not withdrawn) prior to the Repurchase Deadline, the Company will in its sole discretion either:
(A) accept a portion of the Shares tendered by each Shareholder on a pro rata basis; (B) accept additional Shares as may be permitted by applicable law; or (C) increase
the percentage of Shares to be repurchased and extend the Offer.
BY CRAIG MELLOW Providers of online financial services
I
Shareholders may tender all of their Shares or any portion thereof up to an amount such that they maintain the minimum required balance of $20,000 after the
also face rigorous post-IPO regulation, as repurchase of the Shares by the Company. The Company reserves the right to repurchase a Shareholder’s entire interest in the Company if the requested repurchase
would otherwise result in a shareholder having an account balance below the minimum required balance.
ndia is hot. Equity valuations are at Paytm discovered the hard way. The Re- It is anticipated that the purchase of Shares tendered by a Shareholder will be a taxable transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Participating Shareholders
should consult their tax advisor regarding specific tax implications, including potential federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences.
their highest level since 2007, says serve Bank of India halted new deposits If a Shareholder tenders Shares and the Company accepts those Shares for repurchase, the Company will issue the Shareholder a non-interest bearing, non-transferable
promissory note (the “Note”) entitling the Shareholder to receive an amount equal to the value of the Shareholder’s Shares accepted for repurchase by the Company
Rajat Agarwal, Asia equity strategist into the fintech earlier this month, and the determined as of the Valuation Date. The Note will be held for the Shareholder in an account with AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc., the Company’s transfer
agent and agent designated for this purpose, and will entitle the Shareholder to receive a payment in cash equal to the value of the Shareholder’s Shares repurchased
at Société Générale. Tech stocks are antifraud agency is reportedly digging into by the Company. The Note will be paid approximately 45 days after the Valuation Date. However, if 95% or more of a Shareholder’s Shares are being repurchased,
the Shareholder will receive an initial payment equal to 95% of the value of the Shares repurchased and the balance due will be paid promptly after completion of the
hot everywhere. That’s an ideal recipe for its foreign-exchange operations. Company’s next annual audit following the Valuation Date. Such audit is expected to be completed in late May, 2025.
initial public offerings from Indian tech Paytm’s shares have lost 75% since com- Until the Repurchase Deadline, Shareholders have the right to withdraw any tenders of their Shares by giving proper notice to the Company. Shares withdrawn may be
re-tendered before the Repurchase Deadline by following the tender procedures. If the Company has not yet accepted a Shareholder’s tender of Shares on or prior to
companies. ing to market—not a good look for fintechs April 15, 2024 (i.e., 40 business days from the commencement of the Offer), a Shareholder will also have the right to withdraw their tender of Shares after such date.
The value of the Shares may change between the commencement of the Offer and the Valuation Date (currently expected to be June 28, 2024). Shareholders
The last batch didn’t come out so well. in the pipeline like PhonePE or MobiKwik. desiring to obtain the most recent net asset value for their Shares may contact the Company at (877) 354-6789, Monday through Friday, except holidays, during
normal business hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., New York time. Any estimated net asset value provided by the Company or its authorized agents will be provided
Indian unicorns led by food deliverer Zomato’s story is happier. Shares have to Shareholders for convenience only. Neither the Company nor its agents can give any assurances as to the accuracy of such information; nor can either give any
assurance that the final regularly computed, unaudited monthly net asset value will not differ (perhaps significantly) from an estimated net asset value for that
Zomato and online financier Paytm came tripled over the past year, regaining their month. The Company’s net asset value per Share as of December 29, 2023 was $10.95.
Please note that just as each Shareholder has the right to withdraw their tender, the Company has the right to cancel, amend or postpone this Offer at any time
to market at exuberant 2021 prices, then late-2021 peak. One driver is Zomato before the Repurchase Deadline. Also realize that although the Offer expires on the Repurchase Deadline, a Shareholder who tenders all of their Shares will remain
nosedived in the tech wreck of 2022. Everyday, a new service offering “home subject to the risks associated with the fluctuations in the net asset value of the Shares until the Valuation Date, notwithstanding the Company’s acceptance of the
Shareholder’s Shares for repurchase.
The reported class of 2024 leaders cooked” meals. The stock can run further, The information required to be disclosed by paragraph (d)(1) of Rule 13e-4 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is contained in the Offer to
Repurchase dated February 16, 2024 and is incorporated herein by reference. The information provided herein is qualified entirely by the more detailed information
include Swiggy, Zomato’s top competitor, Jefferies’ Agarwal predicts. “We have very contained in the Offer to Repurchase. The Offer to Repurchase contains important information that should be read carefully before any decision is made with respect
to the Offer. This announcement is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell Shares. The Offer is made only by the Offer to Repurchase and the
and FirstCry, a retailer that combines high conviction on this company,” he adds. related Letter of Transmittal. The Offer is not being made to, nor will tenders be accepted from or on behalf of, holders of Shares in any jurisdiction in which making
or accepting the Offer would violate that jurisdiction’s laws.
e-commerce with physical stores. Could SocGen’s Agarwal detects a pattern Questions and requests for assistance may be directed to the Shareholder’s financial advisor or to Bernstein at (212) 486-5800.
this time be different? here. “Consumer tech companies are find-
Maybe. India should, in theory, be a ing a path to profitability relatively quicker
promised land for digital disrupters. Most than fintech companies,” he says.
of its 1.4 billion consumers never shopped Nykaa, a digital beauty-oriented retailer
at a big-box store or set foot in a bank that went public in 2021, is executing well
branch. Online providers have the perfect despite its stock being down 60%, Janus
opportunity to “leapfrog.” Incomes and Henderson’s Culley says. “Nykaa has been
internet connectivity are both growing highly successful in building out a beauty
fast. business without an incumbent Sephora to
There’s plenty of blank space in inves- compete with,” he says.
tors’ portfolios, too, argues Aashish Agar- Dalton’s Pasupuleti is sticking with
wal, India country head for Jefferies. “The established names in finance, such as
Indian internet space accounts for 1% or ICICI Bank and Axis Bank. These are
less of market cap,” he says. “That’s far largely owned by foreign investors, whose
from overcrowded.”
Matthew Culley, an emerging markets
enthusiasm is more cautious than domes-
tic savers first discovering stocks. He also SMALL SPACES.
BIG OPPORTUNITIES.
portfolio manager at Janus Henderson, is likes India’s stalwart software outsourcers.
excited about the IPO pipeline. “We are Orders from their best customers, U.S.
very interested in a lot of these compa- banks, should increase as the Federal
nies,” he says. “They can bring supply Reserve cuts interest rates, he predicts.
to parts of the country that never had Virtually all investors agree on India’s Barron’s Classifieds is where our readers
supply.” rosy macroeconomic outlook, which discover opportunities in real estate, business
None of this year’s IPO prospects has should be bolstered by Prime Minister investments, corporate aircraft, yachts, fine
named a price yet, however. Experience Narendra Modi’s election to a third term
indicates they will shoot too high, says this spring. The question is what multiple
cars and so much more.
Venkat Pasupuleti, portfolio co-manager that outlook deserves, particularly for
For information on advertising, call 1.800.366.3975
for India at Dalton Investments. market newbies.
or email advertising@barrons.com
“Indian IPOs have never worked out “Companies that IPO today have more
for a long-term investor like us,” he says. balanced expectations,” Culley says. “But
“They usually pad their financials with all that discipline may slip as the excitement
sorts of financial engineering beforehand.” builds.” B
32 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
T H E ST RIKING PRIC E
Few investors have the relentless drive to
approach financial markets as if they are
solving puzzles that are constantly changing.
I
a marker of investor sentiment, but it is 167
t isn’t that hard to make money, a very better to ignore the noise and focus on 17 139
wealthy investor once said. You just taking advantage of market conditions to 111
have to set your mind to it. better position your portfolio. 83
His advice will at first seem rather It’s hard to know what the economy and 12 55
common, but anyone who reflects on it financial markets will do on any given day, M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F
will realize its simple profundity. of course. But KKR will probably find a Daily Values Source: CBOE Source: McMillan Analysis Corp.
Everyone likes to imagine themselves to way to make money, just as surely as any
be a legendary investor, enjoying the trap- market volatility will prompt Interactive
pings of great wealth, but most people lack Brokers’ clients to trade, generating signifi- SPX Skew NDX Skew
the intellectual and emotional commitment. cant transaction fees. Implied volatility % Implied volatility %
Few investors have the relentless drive Both stocks—which we have highlighted 13% 11%
to approach financial markets as if they are many times in the past at often sharply
solving puzzles that are constantly chang- lower levels—are trading near record lev- 12 10
ing. Even fewer have the stamina for a sus- els. There is ample reason to believe that 11 9
tained discipline for managing risks and both are headed higher, reflecting their
potential rewards. earnings power amid favorable market 10 8
Those facts are one reason we have ad- conditions for their respective expertise.
9 7
vised investors to focus on companies that But rather than betting on upward mo-
are managed by experienced, sophisticated mentum by using call options to capture 8 6
management teams who are leaders in gains when stock prices rise, long-term
their industries. When those best-of-breed investors could consider the humble cash- 7 5
managers are married to a strong invest- secured put strategy to monetize investor M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F
ment theme—the rise of private equity, say, fear unleashed by hotter inflation data, Source: Credit Suisse Equity Derivatives Strategy Source: Credit Suisse Equity Derivatives Strategy
or the increased dependence of most peo- and buy stocks at lower levels. Skew indicates whether the options market expects a stock-market advance or decline. It measures the difference between the implied
volatility of puts and calls that are 10% out of the money and expire in three months. Higher readings are bearish.
ple on the stock and options markets—in- The strategy, which is a favorite of this
teresting outcomes can occur. column, entails selling bearish puts in antic-
The integration of investment themes ipation that the associated stock price could Week’s Most Active
with an investor mind-set brings us to KKR, well fall. It requires that investors have the Company Symbol Tot Vol Calls Puts Avg Tot Vol IV %ile Ratio
Renalytix RNLX 2691 2543 148 24 20 112.1
the private-equity firm, and Interactive money to buy shares at the strike price.
Larimar Therapeutics LRMR 28050 22818 5232 652 83 43.0
Brokers, the online discount brokerage. We suggest it in anticipation that recent Nano-X Imaging NNOX 78512 68706 9806 2916 100 26.9
The executives who manage both compa- stock levels will prompt investors who Great Lakes Dredge & Dock GLDD 5891 5697 194 272 56 21.7
nies are sophisticated and disciplined oper- own the stocks to hedge. They will want Alkermes ALKS 20875 4728 16147 976 14 21.4
BioXcel Therapeutics BTAI 61901 49601 12300 2924 50 21.2
ators. The stocks of their companies are to secure some of the gains without trig- Aspen Aerogels ASPN 39388 34732 4656 1864 18 21.1
vulnerable to the usual pitfalls that come gering taxes that come with a stock sale. Hippo HIPO 3610 3502 108 192 59 18.8
with listed equities—economic challenges, Investors who agree with our thesis about Vizio VZIO 19358 13031 6327 1048 46 18.5
Udemy UDMY 8108 4660 3448 444 14 18.3
fluctuations in interest rates, and so on—but investing with skilled management teams
ContextLogic WISH 60839 27741 33098 3340 0 18.2
good management teams tend to adapt and whose companies have compelling invest- SoundHound AI SOUN 261093 212336 48757 15900 98 16.4
overcome. They don’t meekly accept what ment themes can then get paid by the Trimble TRMB 18218 10284 7934 1228 18 14.8
happens to them. They seek to change it. options market for buying a stock. Enhabit EHAB 17829 2033 15796 1232 96 14.5
D-Wave Quantum QBTS 15716 12886 2830 1136 69 13.8
We raise this investment theme once Consider KKR. With the stock at $95.66, Upwork UPWK 72539 54647 17892 5484 15 13.2
more as the market is increasingly realiz- investors can sell the March $90 put for SSR Mining SSRM 64681 31561 33120 5044 100 12.8
ing that the Federal Reserve may not lower about $1.20. If the stock remains above the Cummins CMI 69823 62150 7673 5568 23 12.5
YETI YETI 93727 63520 30207 7944 28 11.8
interest rates as quickly as hoped for. put strike price, investors get to keep the
Jfrog FROG 63746 55316 8430 5696 37 11.2
Tuesday’s consumer price index report put premium. Should the stock weaken and
was hotter than anticipated, unleashing fall below the put strike at expiration, inves- This table of the most active options this week, as compared to average weekly activity – not just raw volume. The idea is that the unusually heavy trading in these options might be a predictor of
corporate activity – takeovers, earnings surprises, earnings pre-announcements, biotech FDA hearings or drug trial result announcements, and so forth. Dividend arbitrage has been eliminated. In
another round of hand-wringing about tors can buy the stock and let time, and short, this list attempts to identify where heavy speculation is taking place. These options are likely to be expensive in comparison to their usual pricing levels. Furthermore, many of these
situations may be rumor-driven. Most rumors do not prove to be true, so one should be aware of these increased risks if trading in these names
when the Fed may start to lower rates. It’s strong management, take over from there. B
February 19, 2024 BARRON’S 33
I N S I DE SC OOP
Charter CEO Buys Shares Activist Holdings January, Alta Equipment appointed
Jeff Hoover as chief legal officer and
general counsel.
JetBlue Airways
C
BY ED LIN age price of $295.29 each. According Blue shares from Jan. 19 through on Feb. 9 at prices ranging from
to a filing with the Securities and Feb. 1 at prices ranging from $4.79 $26.67 to $28.85 apiece, bringing its
harter Communications Exchange Commission, Winfrey to $5.49 each. Combined with the stake in the company up to 11%.
shares tumbled after the now owns 57,700 Charter shares in forwards, Icahn Capital owns a Through a voting agreement, Jana
broadband and cable com- a personal account, and 148,000 9.9% interest in the airline. Icahn Managing Partner Scott Ostfeld
pany disclosed an unex- shares through trusts and a limited Capital invested in JetBlue as it was appointed to Mercury Systems’
pected drop in fourth-quar- liability company. believed the company to be an “at- board in mid-2023. Mercury Sys-
ter internet subscribers on Winfrey declined to comment on tractive investment opportunity.” tems stock has lost roughly 16%
Feb 2. President and CEO his purchase. Icahn Capital has discussed and of its value so far this year, and has
Chris Winfrey then scooped up a block The transaction was his first open- intends to further discuss potential plunged more than 40% in the past
of shares in his first purchase in years. market purchase of Charter stock in board representation with JetBlue. 12 months.
Charter’s stock price has dropped two years. He last made such a buy in Icahn Capital hasn’t formed any
more than 20% this year, wiping out February 2022, when he paid $1.6 proposal or plan regarding the
last year’s 15% gain. The drop in
broadband subscribers surprised in-
million for 2,750 shares, an average
price of $591.96 each.
airline. JetBlue’s shares surged on
the Feb. 12 disclosure of Icahn Cap- Decreases in
vestors, whose race for the exits made
the stock that day’s worst performer in
the S&P 500 index.
J.P. Morgan downgraded Charter
stock to Neutral from Overweight
and cut its price target to $370 from
ital’s stake, boosting the airline
stock’s year-to-date return to al-
most 30%. In mid-January, a judge
Holdings
The subscriber shortfall came de- $445 after the company’s fourth- blocked JetBlue’s proposed acquisi- GMS
spite Charter receiving $3 billion in quarter report. Analyst Sebastino tion of Spirit Airlines. The two Coliseum Capital reduced its
broadband subsidies—more than any Petti wrote, “CEO Winfrey expects airlines subsequently jointly filed a position in the specialty distribu-
other single company—over the past Charter to ‘return to a more normal- notice of appeal. tor of building products to
three years. ized internet growth over time,’ but 2,647,095 shares. Coliseum Capital
On Feb. 6, Winfrey paid $1.5 mil- we expect [broadband] losses to sold 352,924 GMS shares from
lion for 5,050 Charter shares, an aver- continue in 2025.” B
Increases in Feb. 7 through Feb. 9 at prices
ranging from $87 to $88.33 each.
Calpers Grows Intel end the year with 16.1 million shares.
Intel stock fell in late January after
Holdings At the end of the first quarter of
2023, Coliseum Capital owned
almost 15% of GMS’ outstanding
And Nvidia Stakes the company issued disappointing Alta Equipment Group stock. Following the latest sales,
T
guidance that overshadowed a strong Mill Road Capital lifted its inter- Coliseum Capital now holds a
he largest public pension in the fourth-quarter report. CEO Pat Gel- est in the operator of construction- 6.6% stake. GMS stock has gained
U.S. by assets loaded up on its singer then bought shares on the dip. equipment dealerships to 3,051,865 about 8% year to date, and nearly
semiconductor investments. Intel recently named a new head of shares. Mill Road acquired 18,000 48% in the past 12 months. The
The California Public Em- artificial intelligence to take on high- Alta Equipment shares on Feb. 1 company will report earnings on
ployees’ Retirement System, or Calp- flying Nvidia, whose stock has soared through the assignment of put Feb. 29 for the fiscal third quarter,
ers, doubled down on Intel stock and 46% so far this year. options exercised at $15 per share. which ended in January.
materially raised its existing invest- Enthusiasm for AI has fueled Mill Road purchased another
ment in Nvidia. Calpers disclosed the Nvidia shares, and CEO Jensen Huang 300,000 Alta Equipment shares
trades in a filing with the Securities has said 2024 is going to be a “huge Charter Communi- on Feb. 8 at $11 apiece. Following These disclosures are from 13Ds filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
and Exchange Commission. year” for the technology. Meta Plat- cations stock has those two transactions, Mill Road 13Ds are filed within 10 days of an entity’s
In response to a request for com- forms said it plans to buy billions of slumped this year. owns 9.4% of the equipment pro- attaining more than 5% in any class of a
company’s securities. Subsequent changes in
ment, the pension wrote in an email dollars of Nvidia chips by year end, President and CEO vider. Shares of Alta Equipment holdings or intentions must be reported in
that it doesn’t comment on individual and Tesla will spend more than $500 Chris Winfrey just have dropped about 3% this year amended filings. This material is from Feb. 8
holdings. Calpers manages more than million for Nvidia hardware in 2024. bought $1.5 million and have lost about a third of their through Feb. 14, 2024. Source: VerityData
(verityplatform.com)
$480 billion in assets. Calpers bought 1.8 million more of shares in his value in the past 12 months. In
Calpers bought 8.1 million more Nvidia shares to end the fourth quar- first open-market
shares of Intel in the fourth quarter to ter with 7.5 million shares. B stock buy in years.
34 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
The charts record the net change in share price, the high, low and closing trades, and share volume for companies with noteworthy stock activity last week. In addition, the graphs depict last week’s daily price activity in detail. The dotted line on some graphs denotes the stock’s 200-day moving average; lack of a moving average means the shares have traded for less than
that time period. If the close from the current week is lower than a year ago the graph will be presented in red. If the close from the current week is higher than a year ago then the graph will be presented in green.
February 19, 2024 BARRON’S 35
W I N N E R S & LO S E R S
Saturday Inbox: Sign up for the
Market Lab Newsletter every Saturday
at Barrons.com/newsletters
NYSE Biggest % Movers NYSE Most Active NYSE American Most Active Nasdaq Most Active
Winners Volume Percentage Leaders Volume Percentage Leaders Volume Percentage Leaders
Name (Sym) Volume Close Change %Chg. Name (Sym) Volume %Chg. Close Change Name (Sym) Volume %Chg. Close Change Name (Sym) Volume %Chg. Close Change
AspenAerogels(ASPN) 14427 17.56 +5.56 +46.3 RossAcqnIIA(ROSS) 774 2418.3 11.00 +0.01 BiteAcqn(BITE) 601 747.2 10.76 +0.03 NanoXImaging(NNOX) 100323 2754.9 12.95 +7.09
JumiaTech(JMIA) 27984 4.75 +1.49 +45.7 HireRight(HRT) 13636 823.0 14.13 +1.41 DeltaApparel(DLA) 992 719.9 2.75 –4.61 AN2 Therap(ANTX) 9949 1975.9 3.64 –16.36
NouveauMonde(NMG) 7334 2.91 +0.88 +43.3 AtmusFiltration(ATMU) 14701 733.5 22.95 +1.03 Electromed(ELMD) 321 349.7 13.74 +3.36 LarimarTherap(LRMR) 13924 1579.8 12.78 +5.02
VirnetX(VHC) 129 9.20 +2.19 +31.2 FlutterEnt(FLUT) 1078 636.3 213.39 –3.46 GencorInds(GENC) 383 286.4 16.53 –0.06 CymaBayTherap(CBAY) 119060 1293.5 32.18 +6.49
ResideoTech(REZI) 8185 22.24 +4.66 +26.5 REV(REVG) 10606 576.0 19.34 +2.01 EVeMobilityA(EVE) 309 114.5 10.86 +0.01 MerrimackPharm(MACK) 2563 1002.3 14.70 +0.90
Vizio(VZIO) 14204 9.53 +1.97 +26.1 WescoIntl(WCC) 10572 527.1 145.68 –48.15 AdamsRscs(AE) 82 94.3 23.78 –0.37 TLGY Acqn A(TLGY) 387 991.5 11.23 +0.03
DNOW(DNOW) 7795 12.14 +2.44 +25.2 Herbalife(HLF) 34062 410.0 8.07 –4.00 Espey(ESP) 116 92.0 25.25 +2.05 CERoTherapeutics(CERO) 347 901.1 4.78 –1.55
MercuryGeneral(MCY) 2147 50.67 +10.12 +25.0 Similarweb(SMWB) 2734 371.2 8.37 +1.36 FriedmanInds(FRD) 188 81.7 17.10 +0.13 SSR Mining(SSRM) 113567 887.4 4.91 –4.64
Vizio(VZIO) 14204 371.1 9.53 +1.97 RadiantLogistics(RLGT) 905 62.4 5.89 –0.45 Children'sPlace(PLCE) 39696 884.5 29.12 +16.61
Losers Fastly(FSLY) 53301 299.9 15.80 –8.46 IdahoStratRscs(IDR) 180 60.6 6.94 +0.04 Tech&TelecomA(TETE) 270 801.0 11.56 +0.06
Name (Sym) Volume Close Change %Chg.
Informatica(INFA) 15595 272.9 34.09 +2.97 Intellinetics(INLX) 75 46.6 6.86 +0.02 AuraFatProjectsA(AFAR) 280 677.4 11.02 +0.04
Fastly(FSLY) 53301 15.80 –8.46 –34.9 Teradata(TDC) 15738 271.7 37.39 –11.60 CentrusEnergy(LEU) 1202 45.8 44.02 –1.67 KalVistaPharm(KALV) 15065 642.7 14.86 –1.14
Express(EXPR) 5618 2.83 –1.45 –33.9 MasoniteIntl(DOOR) 6992 248.3 129.72 –0.79 IssuerDirect(ISDR) 67 29.0 15.18 –0.00 QuidelOrtho(QDEL) 17741 610.3 41.76 –26.39
Herbalife(HLF) 34062 8.07 –4.00 –33.1 BigLots(BIG) 24333 246.8 4.62 –0.74 IvanhoeElectric(IE) 2798 25.2 7.78 –0.78 Arm(ARM) 282962 520.2 128.34 +13.13
WescoIntl(WCC) 10572 145.68 –48.15 –24.8 AspenAerogels(ASPN) 14427 239.8 17.56 +5.56 BarHarborBkshs(BHB) 232 24.0 25.39 –0.18 RothCHAcqnA(USCT) 445 518.0 11.00 +0.02
Telephone&Data(TDS) 8728 14.04 –4.51 –24.3 CAE(CAE) 5988 238.7 19.01 –2.07 InfuSystems(INFU) 248 18.6 9.50 –0.10 Maplebear(CART) 58079 495.7 26.77 +0.17
Teradata(TDC) 15738 37.39 –11.60 –23.7 DiversifiedEnergy(DEC) 1008 225.1 11.89 +0.13 AcmeUnited(ACU) 102 13.3 49.60 –0.24 Immersion(IMMR) 8735 452.4 6.97 –0.08
NuSkinEnts(NUS) 7545 13.69 –3.91 –22.2 MRC Global(MRC) 7577 214.0 11.96 +1.27 EVI Industries(EVI) 113 12.3 21.12 –1.18 ATN Intl(ATNI) 1608 421.4 38.07 +3.70
Manitowoc(MTW) 2984 13.23 –3.63 –21.5 MirionTech(MIR) 14352 213.8 10.01 +0.08 TompkinsFin(TMP) 353 3.5 51.24 +1.45 InnovSolSuprt(ISSC) 568 413.5 8.14 –0.05
CenterraGold(CGAU) 3789 213.2 5.10 +0.05 ActiniumPharm(ATNM) 1047 3.3 6.37 +0.91 JFrog(FROG) 20979 390.6 44.83 +5.61
NYSE American Biggest % Movers By Share Volume By Share Volume By Share Volume
Winners Name (Sym) Volume Close Change %Chg. Name (Sym) Volume Close Change %Chg. Name (Sym) Volume Close Change %Chg.
Name (Sym) Volume Close Change %Chg. PalantirTech(PLTR) 443219 24.44 +0.06 +0.2 Tellurian(TELL) 214080 0.89 +0.24 +37.6 Tesla(TSLA) 494992 199.95 +6.38 +3.3
Neuraxis(NRXS) 119 3.70 +1.20 +48.0 FordMotor(F) 275847 12.30 –0.38 –3.0 AultAlliance(AULT) 91324 0.45 +0.05 +12.8 SoundHoundAI(SOUN) 492660 3.82 +1.56 +69.0
Volato(SOAR) 130 3.50 +0.88 +33.6 NIO(NIO) 232239 6.14 +0.21 +3.5 AmbowEduc(AMBO) 83380 0.30 +0.17 +130.8 Nikola(NKLA) 355675 0.74 +0.02 +2.8
Electromed(ELMD) 321 13.74 +3.36 +32.4 NuHoldings(NU) 225017 10.36 +0.47 +4.8 DunxinFinl(DXF) 58804 0.39 +0.07 +21.9 Lyft(LYFT) 323391 17.91 +4.88 +37.5
RegionalHealth(RHE) 43 2.74 +0.65 +31.1 Snap(SNAP) 198060 11.17 +0.06 +0.5 B2Gold(BTG) 53786 2.52 –0.11 –4.2 AdvMicroDevices(AMD) 283499 173.87 +1.39 +0.8
flyExclusive(FLYX) 21 8.29 +1.57 +23.4 NY CmntyBcp(NYCB) 185411 4.90 0.00 0.0 DenisonMines(DNN) 49790 1.93 –0.08 –4.0 Arm(ARM) 282962 128.34 +13.13 +11.4
M-tronInds(MPTI) 389 43.44 +7.70 +21.5 BankofAmerica(BAC) 180695 34.09 +1.02 +3.1 UraniumEner(UEC) 34948 7.39 –0.32 –4.2 Apple(AAPL) 266996 182.31 –6.54 –3.5
MegaMatrix(MPU) 2938 3.08 +0.50 +19.4 Uber(UBER) 176548 78.41 +7.50 +10.6 CamberEnergy(CEI) 31117 0.20 +0.04 +26.9 NVIDIA(NVDA) 263165 726.13 +4.80 +0.7
ActiniumPharm(ATNM) 1047 6.37 +0.91 +16.7 Pfizer(PFE) 165102 27.62 +0.06 +0.2 NewGold(NGD) 28105 1.17 –0.02 –1.7 Amazon.com(AMZN) 247939 169.51 –4.94 –2.8
Fisker(FSR) 164631 0.73 –0.05 –6.7 Zomedica(ZOM) 27955 0.12 –0.01 –5.7 SoFiTech(SOFI) 242805 8.36 +0.23 +2.8
Losers AT&T(T) 142083 16.97 +0.13 +0.8 ChinaPharma(CPHI) 22042 0.10 +0.01 +9.1 Intel(INTC) 196708 43.51 +0.20 +0.5
Name (Sym) Volume Close Change %Chg.
Carnival(CCL) 131518 14.80 –0.51 –3.3 Senseonics(SENS) 21896 0.72 +0.18 +33.0 Robinhood(HOOD) 194223 14.00 +2.45 +21.2
DeltaApparel(DLA) 992 2.75 –4.61 –62.6 BarrickGold(GOLD) 131297 14.65 –0.02 –0.1 BoqiiHolding(BQ) 20038 0.32 +0.02 +7.7 Canaan(CAN) 176650 2.30 +0.70 +43.8
AtlasClear(ATCH) 101 4.41 –5.85 –57.0 GinkgoBioworks(DNA) 126374 1.47 +0.06 +4.3 Globalstar(GSAT) 18669 1.69 –0.02 –1.2 Bitfarms(BITF) 168752 3.61 +0.89 +32.7
Polished.com(POL) 1501 1.96 –2.48 –55.9 WellsFargo(WFC) 111117 51.91 +3.85 +8.0 AirspanNetworks(MIMO) 17507 0.14 –0.00 –1.2 Grab(GRAB) 167831 3.53 +0.10 +2.9
PalatinTech(PTN) 3544 3.02 –1.23 –28.9 Vale(VALE) 105003 13.63 +0.37 +2.8 Ur-Energy(URG) 16681 1.70 –0.10 –5.6 Rivian(RIVN) 159913 16.30 –0.38 –2.3
ArmataPharm(ARMP) 89 2.94 –0.89 –23.2 Shopify(SHOP) 104472 81.29 –9.43 –10.4 Azitra(AZTR) 14238 0.25 –0.89 –78.0 CiscoSystems(CSCO) 141442 48.44 –1.69 –3.4
Myomo(MYO) 1444 3.26 –0.42 –11.4 Transocean(RIG) 97651 4.89 –0.26 –5.0 EnergyFuels(UUUU) 13643 6.48 –0.37 –5.4 Alphabet A(GOOGL) 140804 140.52 –8.48 –5.7
Ashford(AINC) 24 2.30 –0.25 –9.8 ExxonMobil(XOM) 97224 103.73 +1.96 +1.9 Cybin(CYBN) 13103 0.34 +0.01 +4.6 JetBlue(JBLU) 139000 6.96 +1.02 +17.2
Zedge(ZDGE) 1101 4.28 –0.46 –9.7 ItauUnibanco(ITUB) 88955 6.95 +0.04 +0.6 NovaGoldRscs(NG) 12656 2.37 –0.08 –3.3 Lucid(LCID) 138044 3.71 +0.19 +5.4
Includes Common shares only. All figures reflect activity for the most-recent five-day trading week. Share volume figures are expressed in thousands. Volume percentage leaders exclude stocks with average daily volume of fewer than 5,000 shares or priced under $5.
Average volume is based on 65 trading days. Volume figures do not reflect extended trading hours. a-Stock has not been in existence or not been traded for 65 consecutive sessions. S-Stock split or stock dividend amounting to 10% or more. X-Ex-dividend
36 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
MA RKE T VIEW
This commentary was issued recently by
money managers, research firms, and market
newsletter writers. Edited by Barron’s staff.
Meaty Producer Prices trading near a two-year high. Industrials are “The [PPI] report revealed a 0.8% rise in services
excluding trade and transportation, the second-
Talking Points up almost 23%, trading at an all-time high.
BMO Capital Markets Small-caps returned 23.3%, and mid-
economics.bmo.com caps are up 22.4%, slightly outpacing the
22% gain of the S&P 500 index. Mid-caps
largest monthly rise in over 14 years of records.
Feb. 16: The surprisingly meaty PPI are now trading at a more than a two year While never a big fan of the PPI, I think it isn’t
[producer price index] revived lingering
concerns that the CPI [consumer price
high.
The S&P 500 Equal Weight Index has a good look for an economy already grappling
index] upturn was more than a seasonal
spike. The report revealed a 0.8% rise in
trailed slightly but still is up almost 20%
since the October low, and now trading
with sticky services inflation.”
Douglas Porter, BMO
services excluding trade and transporta- near a two-year high.
tion, the second largest monthly rise in —Keith Lerner
over 14 years of records. While never a
big fan of the PPI—what does it really most investors will have taxes due on Gold Demand
add to the CPI result?—I think it isn’t Hot Cocoa their 2023 capital gains, and that is going Articles
a good look for an economy already Article to mean higher quarterly estimated pay- Ahead of the Herd
grappling with sticky services inflation. ING ments throughout 2023. This is because aheadoftheherd.com
The sting of the CPI had been partially think.ing.com the calculation of those quarterly esti-
dulled by the fact that the Fed targets the mated tax payments varies based on how Feb. 10: Gold demand reached an all-time
PCE [personal-consumption expendi- Feb. 15: The cocoa market was the much a taxpayer under-withheld for the high in 2023, according to the most recent
tures] deflator, and that measure has been strongest-performing commodity market prior year. So, a taxpayer who had capital data from the World Gold Council....
much milder of late. But the hefty PPI of 2023, with London cocoa finishing losses during the bear market of 2022 Gold continues to maintain strength,
raised the risk that even the January PCE 2023 up 70%, while U.S. cocoa futures might have had very low quarterly esti- staying above $2,000 in January and into
will come in hot (due on Feb. 29). If that’s rallied a little more than 61% last year. mated payments to make during 2023. February, despite interest rates and the
so, the real test will be whether the hearty The relentless move higher has continued And now that taxpayer is likely going to dollar remaining high. In fact, if we look
inflation results spill over into February— into 2024, with U.S. cocoa futures up a be reporting a gain for 2023, which will at real interest rates (the 10-year Treasury
then, we have a problem. Our assumption further 39% so far this year, while Lon- drive up the quarterly estimated payments yield minus inflation), we are well into
is that many firms are seizing on the cal- don cocoa has rallied by an additional in 2024. positive territory, which should be gold-
endar turn to hike prices, and January 37%. Both contracts have hit record highs Paying more in taxes means that the bearish. Gold investors typically like gold
likely represents an outlier, not the start this year. extra money people have had isn’t going to when real rates turn negative. Yet, here we
of a trend. Concerns over West African supply, be around anymore to help lift the stock are. Gold is rising in tandem with interest
—Douglas Porter specifically in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, market, and instead Uncle Sam (and Janet rates and the dollar instead of falling,
have driven the market higher. The bull- Yellen) will have it. which is counter to the normal trend.
ish narrative has attracted participants That’s good for the nation’s accumulat- The report from the World Gold Council
The Magnificent 493 into the market, with aggregate open in- ing debt, but not for the path of the stock indicates that gold prices continue to be held
Market Perspective terest in London cocoa surging above market. Total federal tax collections still up by central bank buying and haven
Truist Advisory Services 400,000 lots in December, although, remain very low at just 16.1% of gross do- demand. If consumer gold demand in the
truist.com admittedly, it has fallen back toward mestic product, and that is stimulative. form of ETF purchases gets added to these
350,000 lots more recently. However, But when those additional taxes get col- demand drivers, when the Federal Reserve
Feb. 15: The Magnificent Seven, the term this is still above the 2018-22 average lected starting in April, this is likely to go starts cutting interest rates, likely midyear,
used for several dominant growth names, of around 270,000 lots.... up and be less of a stimulative force. it will be even better news for gold prices.
have been getting most of the attention The key question, and the toughest, is —Tom McClellan —Richard (Rick) Mills
over recent months. While this area has how much higher cocoa prices can go.
outperformed and provided market lead- They need to go to levels where we start to Market Sentiment
ership, this isn’t the only part of the mar- see significant demand destruction. We Citigroup Panic/Euphoria Model Last +0.34 Euphoria Neutral Panic
ket that is up. Indeed, since the Oct. 27, are already seeing some of that, but not 0.6
2023, market low, we have seen a broad- enough to bring the market back into bal-
based rally, with market returns ranging ance and ease tightness concerns. 0.4
Barron's 50-Stock Average 53 Dow Jones Averages 49 Money Rates, U.S. & Foreign 51 Vital Signs 29
DATA
Cash Track 47 Dow Jones Per Share Values 50 Mutual Funds 47 Week In Stocks 50
Charting the Market 34 Exchange Traded Portfolios 46 N.Y. Stock Exchange 37 Weekly Bond Statistics 52
Coming Earnings 51 Federal Reserve Data Bank 52 Nasdaq National Market 41 Winners & Losers Stocks 35
Conference Call Calendar 53 Foreign Exchange 51 New Corporate Listings 50
Consensus Estimate 51 Gold & Silver Prices 52 New Highs & Lows 53
Delta Tactical Sentiment 51 Gold Mining Index 52 NYSE Half-Hourly Volume 50
Distributions & Offerings 53 Indexes P/Es & Yields 50 Other Market Indexes 49
Dividend Boosts - Reductions 52 Initial Public Offerings 50 Pulse of the Economy 51
Dividend Ex-Payment Dates 52 Investor Sentiment Readings 50 Stock Splits - Special Dividends 52
DJ Averages 49 Key Foreign Market Indexes 45 Stock Volume 50
Contact Us
DJ U.S. Total Market Industry Groups 51 Market Lab 49 Trading Diary 49 For queries, email us at
Statistics from February 12-16, 2024 memberservices@dowjones.com
NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE COMPOSITE LIST - NEW HIGHS - NEW LOWS
–52-Week– Tick Div –52-Week– Tick Div –52-Week– Tick Div –52-Week– Tick Div –52-Week– Tick Div
High Low Name Sym Yld P/E Last Chg. Amt. High Low Name Sym Yld P/E Last Chg. Amt. High Low Name Sym Yld P/E Last Chg. Amt. High Low Name Sym Yld P/E Last Chg. Amt. High Low Name Sym Yld P/E Last Chg. Amt.
70.31 27.92 Alteryx AYX ... dd 47.86 +0.13 ... 17.90 13.66 AppleHospREIT APLE 6.0 23 15.93 –0.19 .08 41.68 27.46 Avangrid AGR 5.6 23 31.63 +1.25 .44 52.12 35.83 Birkenstock BIRK ... cc 49.25 +1.39 ...
A
4.70 1.75 AlticeUSA ATUS ... 17 2.00 –0.04 ... 190.62 122.24 AppliedIndlTechs AIT .8 20 189.04 +1.11 .37 31.99 17.24 AvanosMedical AVNS ... dd 19.19 +0.18 ... 66.85 46.43 BlackHills BKH 5.0 13 52.08 +0.46 .65
73.95 49.06 AAR AIR ... 35 68.26 +5.01 ... 24.00 13.38 AltoNeurosci ANRO ... ... 15.86 –0.69 ... 140.47 109.95 Aptargroup ATR 1.2 32 137.50 –1.46 .41 25.25 16.63 Avantor AVTR ... 50 23.76 +0.55 ... 5.75 2.59 BlackBerry BB ... dd 2.79 –0.01 ...
53.05 37.61 ABMIndustries ABM 2.2 11 40.58 +0.37 .225 48.11 39.07 Altria MO 9.8 9 40.18 +0.07 .98 120.65 71.01 Aptiv APTV ... 8 78.96 –3.06 ... 211.71 158.93 AveryDennison AVY 1.6 34 208.83 +4.06 .81 819.00 596.18 BlackRock BLK 2.6 22 794.00 –3.21 5.10
7.42 4.08 AltusPower AMPS ... 13 7.17 +0.75 ... 31.94 23.55 Aramark ARMK 1.2 13 30.87 +0.36 .11 44.74 27.73 Avient AVNT 2.6 47 38.90 +1.98.2575 2.37 1.04 BlackSkyTech BKSY ... dd 1.59 +0.08 ...
6.62 4.30 ACCO Brands ACCO 4.6 11 6.50 +0.14 .075
17.75 11.26 AmbacFin AMBC ... 4 15.65 –0.09 ... 17.74 10.10 ArborRealty ABR 12.0 8 13.99 +1.66 .43 45.13 30.53 Avista AVA 5.7 15 33.57 +0.41 .475 133.53 76.19 Blackstone BX 2.6 70 127.89 +0.21 .94
10.25 6.62 AcresCmclRlty ACR ... dd 10.07 +0.24 ...
3.23 2.42 Ambev ABEV 5.0 14 2.55 –0.03.1443 7.27 4.15 ArcadiumLithium ALTM ... ... 4.94 +0.33 ... 34.45 25.03 AxaltaCoating AXTA ... 26 31.31 –0.02 ... 23.82 16.61 BlackstoneMtg BXMT12.5 14 19.85 +1.09 .62
5.46 0.36 ADC Therap ADCT ... dd 5.29 +0.93 ...
11.51 8.45 Amcor AMCR 5.5 21 9.04 –0.06 .125 32.49 21.30 ArcelorMittal MT ... 25 27.40 –1.50 ... 60.00 32.05 AxosFinancial AX ... 8 54.03 +2.74 ... 3.37 0.53 BlendLabs BLND ... dd 3.10 +0.33 ...
8.43 4.89 ADT ADT 3.2 cc 6.83 +0.05 .055
16.35 13.10 AmerSports AS ... ... 15.97 +1.03 ... 187.45 102.42 ArchResources ARCH .6 7 159.99 –8.69 1.40 13.87 3.82 Azul AZUL ... dd 7.38 +0.02 ... 49.14 28.83 BlockHR HRB 2.7 13 46.86 –0.07 .32
94.01 74.40 AECOM ACM .9 cc 89.19 –0.35 .22
29.25 15.79 AmerantBncpA AMTB 1.6 23 22.49 –0.20 .09 7.49 1.77 ArcherAviation ACHR ... dd 5.24 –0.16 ... 83.08 38.85 Block SQ ... dd 65.64 –1.24 ...
26.41 11.43 AES AES 4.1 dd 16.77 +0.31.1725 B
91.18 67.03 Ameren AEE 3.9 16 69.51 +0.81 .67 87.30 50.72 ADM ADM 3.7 7 53.65 +0.60 .50 23.52 8.98 BloomEnergy BE ... dd 9.88 –1.65 ...
86.20 60.20 Aflac AFL 2.5 10 79.38 +1.15 .42
63.19 18.40 Ameresco AMRC ... 26 22.99 +0.14 ... 17.49 8.78 Archrock AROC 3.8 33 17.35 +1.04 .165 15.27 11.68 BlueOwlCapital OBDC 9.4 7 14.97 +0.23 .35
145.53 109.00 AGCO AGCO 1.1 7 109.32 –5.72 .29 1.64 0.70 Bark BARK ... dd 1.12 +0.05 ...
23.07 16.00 AmericaMovil AMX 1.9 14 18.24 +1.06.1967 13.20 7.02 ArcosDorados ARCO 1.6 14 11.77 –0.26 .04 18.33 9.70 BlueOwlCapital OWL 3.1 cc 17.78 +0.31 .14
6.89 4.82 AG Mortgage MITT11.9 11 6.05 –0.07 .05 16.68 7.20 B&G Foods BGS 7.7 dd 9.85 +0.14 .19
26.49 16.04 AmericanAssets AAT 6.2 26 21.78 –0.48 .335 84.90 55.47 Arcosa ACA .2 14 82.91 –0.61 .05 124.32 61.80 BlueLinx BXC ... 11 118.87 –1.97 ...
22.08 3.60 a.k.a.Brands AKA ... dd 10.52 +0.88 ... 21.88 18.71 BBB Foods TBBB ... ... 20.21 +1.16 ...
9.68 6.29 AmericanAxle AXL ... dd 8.28 +0.08 ... 25.47 12.95 ArcusBiosci RCUS ... dd 16.80 +0.99 ... 267.54 176.25 Boeing BA ... dd 203.89 –5.31 ...
75.26 3.59 AMC Ent AMC ... dd 4.83 +0.45 ... 48.38 36.15 BCE BCE 7.5 22 37.68 +0.15.7406
23.03 9.95 AmerEagle AEO 2.2 20 22.23 –0.25 .125 5.61 2.57 ArdaghMetalPkg AMBP10.5 cc 3.81 +0.17 .10 143.56 59.32 BoiseCascade BCC .6 11 139.98 –0.59 .20
112.44 57.80 AMN Healthcare AMN ... 12 61.69 –14.04 ... 56.09 31.57 AmerEquity AEL ... 26 55.25 –0.27 ... 19.41 11.59 ArdmoreShipping ASC 5.6 6 16.35 +0.35 .21 3.40 1.68 BEST BEST ... dd 2.22 +0.01 ...
104.91 64.33 BootBarn BOOT ... 17 90.66 +2.93 ...
9.20 3.67 AMTD Digital HKD ... 17 3.90 –0.36 ... 214.29 140.91 AmerExpress AXP 1.1 19 212.56 +0.09 .60 10.76 10.10 AresAcqnII A AACT ... 66 10.52 +0.01 ... 15.49 8.85 BGSF BGSF 5.9 17 10.11 –0.33 .15
148.07 87.99 BoozAllen BAH 1.4 47 145.59 –1.10 .51
5.49 1.65 AMTD IDEA AMTD ... 1 1.79 +0.04 ... 136.61 105.22 AmericanFin AFG 2.3 12 123.44 +0.68 2.50 11.79 7.52 AresCommRealEst ACRE15.6 cc 8.46 –0.25 .33 69.11 54.28 BHP Group BHP 5.6 12 60.34 +0.16 1.60
47.05 30.53 BorgWarner BWA 1.4 11 30.61 –1.19 .17
11.29 10.46 AP Acqn A APCA ... 64 11.20 ... ... 14.56 12.63 AmerHlthcrREIT AHR ... ... 13.87 +0.75 ... 139.48 71.36 AresMgmt ARES 2.8 56 134.97 –1.74 .93 139.50 51.94 BILL BILL ... dd 63.49 –1.97 ...
9.01 5.70 BorrDrilling BORR .0 dd 6.51 +0.19 .05
3.69 2.62 ARC Document ARC 7.4 10 2.71 –0.14 .05 37.97 28.79 AmHomes4Rent AMH 2.6 33 34.43 –0.80 .22 48.51 37.37 Argan AGX 2.6 19 47.01 +0.51 .30 6.95 2.00 BitMining BTCM ... dd 4.19 +0.05 ...
395.52 296.27 BostonBeer SAM ... 52 351.92 +1.65 ...
9.78 6.70 ASE Tech ASX 4.4 21 9.61 –0.01.5714 73.28 45.66 AIG AIG 2.1 14 70.04 +0.92 .36 14.64 6.69 ArisWater ARIS 3.8 20 9.44 +0.75 .09 78.88 60.33 BJ'sWholesale BJ ... 18 68.73 +1.59 ... 25.48 13.55 BostonOmaha BOC ... cc 15.76 +0.89 ...
98.26 63.27 ASGN ASGN ... 22 96.82 +2.41 ... 31.59 11.69 AmRltyInv ARL ... 7 20.03 –2.61 ... 292.66 131.68 AristaNetworks ANET ... 40 261.75 –20.70 ... 40.84 33.52 BP BP 4.9 7 35.45 –0.91.4362 73.97 46.18 BostonProps BXP 5.8 56 67.36 +3.18 .98
19.99 13.43 AT&T T 6.5 9 16.97 +0.13.2775 95.08 73.83 AmerStWater AWR 2.3 23 76.37 +0.86 .43 11.54 3.37 ArloTech ARLO ... dd 8.86 –0.06 ... 10.90 2.39 BP Prudhoe BPT ... 2 2.48 +0.03 ... 66.86 45.93 BostonSci BSX ... 61 65.82 +0.32 ...
47.92 34.10 ATI ATI ... 18 45.69 +3.44 ... 14.75 6.15 AmerStratInvt NYC ... dd 6.99 –0.21 ... 13.49 9.81 ArmadaHoffler AHH 6.8 43 11.41 –0.50 .195 7.72 2.51 BRC BRCC ... dd 4.25 +0.09 ... 1.99 0.34 BowFlex BFX ... dd .35 –0.17 ...
21.00 5.78 ATI PhysTherapy ATIP ... dd 7.00 +0.39 ... 219.10 154.58 AmerTowerREIT AMT 3.4 cc 187.13 –7.31 1.70 29.40 13.32 ArmourResREIT ARR 15.1 dd 19.12 +0.27 .24 3.09 1.06 BRF BRFS ... dd 2.86 –0.02 ... 17.45 8.85 Bowlero BOWL 1.7 68 12.92 –2.07 .055
48.89 33.02 ATS ATS ... 29 39.27 –0.93 ... 22.58 8.41 AmerVanguard AVD 1.1 75 11.17 +0.65 .03 106.77 62.03 ArmstrongWorld AWI 1.1 21 105.09 +0.24 .28 22.35 15.62 BRT Apartments BRT 6.1 cc 16.43 +0.15 .25 34.16 23.29 Box BOX ... cc 26.03 –1.33 ...
15.99 10.04 A10Networks ATEN 1.8 24 12.99 –0.25 .06 153.43 114.25 AmerWaterWorks AWK 2.3 25 122.82 +0.62.7075 147.42 108.51 ArrowElec ARW ... 7 113.80 +2.49 ... 88.16 59.06 BWX Tech BWXT 1.0 36 87.71 +2.52 .23 73.00 52.42 BoydGaming BYD 1.0 10 63.37 –3.38 .16
62.84 51.25 AXIS Capital AXS 2.8 15 61.95 +1.79 .44 3.88 0.93 AmericanWell AMWL ... dd 1.28 +0.18 ... 45.92 28.98 ArtisanPtrsAsset APAM 5.8 13 42.13 –0.73 .34 6.74 0.96 Babcock&Wilcox BW ... dd 1.21 –0.09 ... 62.97 46.77 Brady BRC 1.5 17 61.98 ... .235
46.42 21.34 AZEK AZEK ... 57 44.99 –0.26 ... 33.90 24.31 AmericoldRealty COLD 3.2 dd 27.18 –0.79 .22 19.61 11.44 Artivion AORT ... dd 18.81 +1.65 ... 170.86 112.46 BadgerMeter BMI .7 50 157.41 +7.53 .27 5.12 1.91 BraemarHtls BHR 8.3 dd 2.41 +0.23 .05
73.18 34.59 AZZ AZZ .9 25 72.36 +2.82 .17 402.65 275.09 Ameriprise AMP 1.4 17 397.80 +0.86 1.35 26.27 14.32 Asana ASAN ... dd 18.93 –0.90 ... 2.75 0.64 Bakkt BKKT ... dd .98 –0.08 ... 6.59 3.42 BrandywineRealty BDN 14.2 dd 4.23 +0.11 .15
16.16 6.72 Aaron's AAN 4.8 36 10.51 +0.10 .125 175.00 131.52 Ametek AME .6 31 173.89 +5.39 .28 256.39 178.40 AsburyAutomotive ABG ... 8 216.89 +0.97 ... 62.68 42.81 Ball BALL 1.3 28 62.09 +2.92 .20 6.00 4.49 BrasilAgro LND 13.2 9 4.81 –0.05 .621
115.83 89.67 AbbottLabs ABT 1.9 35 114.01 +2.20 .55 4.00 2.15 Ampco-Pitt AP ... 34 2.49 +0.06 ... 6.12 1.24 AshfordHosp AHT ... dd 1.62 +0.10 ... 21.00 7.28 Bally's BALY ... dd 11.01 –0.29 ... 12.67 6.26 Braskem BAK ... dd 7.82 +0.80 ...
178.92 130.96 AbbVie ABBV 3.5 65 177.49 +3.41 1.55 106.51 72.00 Amphenol APH .8 34 105.52 +0.23 .22 105.15 70.82 Ashland ASH 1.7 30 92.16 +1.33 .385 18.10 9.72 BancCalifornia BANC 2.8 dd 14.48 +1.24 .10 41.89 23.19 BreadFinancial BFH 2.3 3 37.20 +1.74 .21
122.25 21.74 Abercrombie&Fitch ANF ... 30 120.90 +10.79 ... 10.23 5.47 AmplifyEnergy AMPY ... 1 6.19 +0.13 ... 18.12 5.33 AspenAerogels ASPN ... dd 17.56 +5.56 ... 6.60 3.73 BancoBBVA BBAR .0 3 5.75 +0.36.064 14.98 6.87 BridgeInvt BRDG 7.7 dd 8.84 –0.35 .17
17.73 12.37 AcadiaRealty AKR 4.3 85 16.85 –0.06 .18 10.63 2.60 AmpriusTech AMPX ... dd 3.99 –0.15 ... 33.00 22.92 AssetMarkFin AMK ... 21 32.21 +0.44 ... 10.01 6.24 BBVA BBVA 4.3 7 9.67 –0.25.1685 111.92 71.65 BrightHorizons BFAM ... 87 110.87 +10.00 ...
12.05 8.28 AccelEnt ACEL ... 21 10.41 +0.07 ... 22.58 11.78 Amrep AXR ... 6 20.71 +0.31 ... 23.95 14.47 AssociatedBanc ASB 4.2 19 20.84 +0.59 .22 3.21 2.12 BancoBradesco BBDO 6.2 9 2.49 –0.06.0035 3.08 0.81 BrightScholar BEDU ... ... 1.69 +0.06 ...
375.73 242.80 Accenture ACN 1.4 34 369.48 –2.19 1.29 11.70 9.02 AndrettiAcqnA WNNR ... cc 9.54 –1.93 ... 40.55 31.01 AssocCapital AC .6 19 33.07 –0.10 .10 23.80 17.96 BancodeChile BCH 4.6 8 23.60 +1.221.6924 26.20 15.23 BrightSphere BSIG .2 13 21.62 +0.23 .01
244.16 149.30 AcuityBrands AYI .2 21 240.17 –0.13 .15 11.20 6.00 AngelOakMtgREIT AOMR11.6 dd 11.07 +0.54 .32 179.41 104.49 Assurant AIZ 1.7 15 173.72 –0.77 .72 27.06 16.26 Bladex BLX 4.2 6 23.55 –0.27 .25 8.01 5.20 BrightSpire BRSP11.8 cc 6.80 +0.11 .20
69.34 43.62 Acushnet GOLF 1.2 20 66.98 +0.27 .195 30.27 14.91 AngloGoldAsh AU 1.2 cc 17.33 –0.05.0337 85.38 45.21 AssuredGuaranty AGO 1.3 11 83.62 +1.39 .28 34.99 16.31 BancoMacro BMA .0 5 31.61 +1.33.4262 9.16 5.16 BrightView BV ... dd 8.63 +0.23 ...
12.51 7.34 Adecoagro AGRO 3.3 7 9.92 +0.09.1649 67.09 51.66 AB InBev BUD 1.0 20 62.24 –2.27.8245 165.69 116.14 Atkore ATKR .9 9 144.58 –3.73 .32 6.66 4.76 BancSanBrasil BSBR 4.2 ... 5.83 +0.09.0831 90.13 59.46 Brink's BCO 1.1 28 80.96 –1.59 .22
46.51 30.11 Adient ADNT ... 15 34.50 +0.37 ... 21.73 14.52 AnnalyCap NLY 13.9 dd 18.66 –0.26 .65 41.04 23.32 AtlUnionBkshs AUB 3.8 13 33.92 +0.32 .32 21.81 16.24 BcoSantChile BSAC 4.7 20 20.18 +1.871.2511 46.12 28.23 BrinkerIntl EAT ... 13 44.88 +0.58 ...
62.99 33.59 AdtalemGlbEduc ATGE ... 17 47.14 –3.28 ... 23.89 5.42 AnnovisBio ANVS ... dd 10.43 –0.52 ... 24.69 15.06 AtlasEnergy AESI 3.7 11 17.97 +0.35 .21 4.29 3.20 BancoSantander SAN 2.7 5 3.92 –0.04.0631 71.98 47.58 BristolMyers BMY 4.8 13 49.86 +0.05 .60
151.30 47.73 AdvanceAuto AAP 1.6 21 64.49 +1.19 .25 13.46 9.56 AnteroMidstream AM 7.3 16 12.41 +0.56 .225 125.28 101.00 AtmosEnergy ATO 2.8 18 113.95 +0.84 .805 34.43 21.55 BanColombia CIB 3.5 10 31.75 +0.17 .758 0.15 0.02 BristolMyersRt CELG.RT ... ... .06 –0.02 ...
165.86 75.02 AdvDrainageSys WMS .3 26 163.01 +0.97 .14 30.90 19.91 AnteroResources AR ... 31 23.97 +2.83 ... 25.39 18.21 AtmusFiltration ATMU ... 11 22.95 +1.03 ... 35.39 24.96 BankofAmerica BAC 2.8 11 34.09 +1.02 .24 31.89 20.08 Bristow VTOL ... dd 27.26 +0.45 ...
43.99 23.93 AdvanSix ASIX 2.2 15 28.98 +2.98 .16 9.43 4.09 AnywhereRealEst HOUS ... dd 7.08 –0.34 ... 3.30 1.01 ATRenew RERE ... dd 1.10 +0.01 ... 37.50 22.93 BankofButterfield NTB 5.8 7 30.37 +1.01 .44 38.90 28.35 BritishAmTob BTI 9.6 dd 30.50 –0.25.7431
6.12 4.02 Aegon AEG 4.2 dd 5.70 –0.09.1528 347.37 280.89 Aon AON .8 25 311.24 –1.32 .615 35.29 23.81 Autohome ATHM 6.2 13 27.17 +1.54 1.15 76.01 30.83 BankofHawaii BOH 4.5 15 62.48 +0.76 .70 24.47 19.40 BrixmorProp BRX 4.7 23 23.13 +0.37.2725
79.01 49.58 AerCap AER ... 7 77.64 +0.37 ... 39.48 28.22 AptIncmREIT AIRC 5.7 7 31.68 +0.30 .45 113.18 79.66 Autoliv ALV 2.4 23 111.48 +1.48 .68 100.54 73.98 BankMontreal BMO 3.6 23 94.19 +1.551.1285 210.24 133.97 BroadridgeFinl BR 1.6 34 197.92 –1.06 .80
2.00 0.47 AevaTech AEVA ... dd 1.06 –0.01 ... 8.93 5.63 ApartmtInv AIV ... dd 7.66 +0.15 ... 182.08 120.26 AutoNation AN ... 6 142.75 –9.42 ... 56.43 39.65 BankNY Mellon BK 3.0 14 55.15 –0.07 .42 18.46 13.68 Broadstone BNL 7.3 16 15.63 –0.35 .285
167.12 120.22 AffiliatedMgrs AMG .0 9 156.72 +0.83 .01 35.58 20.05 APi Group APG ... 89 34.92 –0.27 ... 2855.21 2277.88 AutoZone AZO ... 20 2727.83 +47.83 ... 54.46 39.80 BankNovaScotia BNS 6.7 11 47.36 +0.36.7946 6.31 2.27 BrookdaleSrLiving BKD ... dd 6.17 +0.66 ...
148.94 96.80 AgilentTechs A .7 32 134.84 +1.50 .236 12.74 8.58 ApolloComRlEst ARI 12.8 37 10.92 +0.18 .35 198.66 153.07 Avalonbay AVB 3.8 27 177.12 +2.49 1.70 37.94 15.83 BankUnited BKU 4.0 11 27.27 +0.48 .27 41.23 28.35 BrookfieldAsset BAM 3.3 11 40.83 +0.46 .38
19.68 5.07 Agiliti AGTI ... dd 7.93 +0.74 ... 8.63 6.23 Barclays BCS 5.0 ... 7.47 +0.15.1398 25.58 14.00 BrookfieldBus BBUC 1.0 9 24.57 ....0625
29.44 5.63 agilon health AGL ... dd 7.11 +0.29 ... 9.47 6.96 BaringsBDC BBDC11.3 10 9.00 +0.17 .26 41.60 28.25 Brookfield BN .8 66 40.35 –0.49 .08
61.15 43.22 AgnicoEagleMines AEM 3.3 12 47.80 +1.18 .40 2.50 0.75 Barnes&NobleEduc BNED ... dd .85 +0.03 ... 48.23 25.48 BrookfieldInfr BIPC 4.4 6 36.52 +0.23.3825
Cash Track
open-end funds by assets. These IntBdA 12.37 -0.07 -1.0 -4.9 Calvert Investments: US Small 44.39 0.37 0.1 16.0
funds value their portfolios daily IntlGrIncA 36.21 0.44 0.9 1.0 US SmCpVal 44.56 0.38 -0.8 35.3
and report net asset values (the Eq A 78.52 -0.47 2.5 26.0
dollar amount of their holdings LtdTEBdA 15.27 -0.02 -0.2 -1.7 Carillon Reams: US TgdVal 31.54 0.32 -1.1 34.0
divided by the number of shares N PerA 58.26 0.20 4.2 6.0 CorePlBd I 29.36 -0.18 -1.9 -8.4 USLCpGr 33.39 -0.20 6.7 40.3
outstanding) to the National NEcoA 57.11 -0.45 5.8 0.0 USLgVa 45.69 0.52 2.6 28.0 Purchase Orders: Recent cash receipts at equity funds narrowed the past month’s average weekly out-
Association of Securities Dealers. UnconstrndBd I 12.10 -0.05 -0.4 2.1
Total returns reflect both price NwWrldA 76.48 0.50 1.9 -12.2 Carillon Scout: USLgVaIII 29.34 0.33 2.6 28.3 flows to $1.9 billion. Money-market funds also saw cash inflows rise, to a $3.9 billion weekly average. But
changes and dividends; these SmCpA 66.72 0.49 0.7 -16.1 USSoCoreEq2 24.70 -0.03 3.9 27.5 lower receipts at taxable-bond funds trimmed their weekly receipts to $5.3 billion. Municipal-bond fund
figures assume that all distribu-
MidCap I 23.04 0.19 5.7 3.0 USSustCoreI 39.28 0.00 5.0 29.8
STBFA 9.47 -0.03 0.0 -0.8
tions are reinvested in the fund. TECAA 16.66 -0.02 -0.2 -2.8
CausewayInst : USVectorEq 24.73 0.25 2.1 25.5 inflows fell to $380 million.
Because Lipper is constantly up- CausewayInst 19.14 0.13 -2.1 21.5 Dodge & Cox:
dating its database, these returns TxExA 12.38 -0.01 -0.4 -2.9
WshA 59.35 0.08 3.8 37.0 CIBC Atlas:
may differ from those previously Balanced n 101.29 0.47 0.1 19.2 Equity Funds Municipal Bond Funds
published or calculated by others. AMG Managers Funds: DispEq Inst 28.75 -0.21 3.6 24.1 Dodge & Cox n 10.75 -0.03 -1.7 0.6
3 year returns are cumulative. The ClearBridge: GblStock n 14.79 0.14 -0.9 24.2
4800 700
NAV is the last reported closing YachtmanFocFd I20.43 0.19 1.6 20.0
price for the week. Footnotes: NA: YacktFocFd N n 20.51 0.18 1.6 19.3 AggressGrowthA107.72 -1.42 3.1 -5.3 Income n 12.41 -0.06 -1.7 -5.7
not available. NE: performance AllCapValueA 13.35 0.13 0.8 24.2 Intl Stk n 47.85 0.63 -2.7 8.7
1900 440
YacktmanFd I 23.70 0.21 1.5 22.4
excluded by Lipper editor. NN: fund Angel Oak Funds Trst: AppreciationA 32.76 -0.08 6.3 33.5 Stock n 247.14 1.35 1.5 33.8
not tracked. NS: fund not in
DividendStrat1 n 28.52 0.11 2.3 34.3 DoubleLine Funds:
-1000 180
existence for whole period. e: ex AglOkMtiStFdClIn 8.43 -0.03 0.2 -4.7
capital gains distributions. f: AQR Funds: DividendStratA 28.49 0.11 2.3 33.2 CoreFxdIncmI 9.17 -0.05 -1.3 -8.2
previous day’s quote. n: no front- LargeCapGrowthA 56.27 -0.45 9.5 25.6 -3900 -80
LgCapDefStyle I 22.95 0.04 4.4 19.1 LowDurBdI 9.57 -0.01 0.4 4.6
or back-end sales charge. p: fund LargeCapGrowthI 66.93 -0.53 9.6 26.7
Artisan Funds: ShillerEnhCAPEI 14.34 0.01 0.9 18.1
assets are used to pay marketing
SmallCapGrowthIS 41.65 0.23 2.7 -21.4 TotRetBdI 8.66 -0.05 -1.7 -8.9
-6800 -340
and distribution costs (12b-1 fees). GblOppInst 33.41 -0.16 5.1 -2.6
r: fund levies redemption fee or Cohen & Steers: TotRetBdN n 8.66 -0.05 -1.6 -9.5 Dec Jan Feb Dec Jan Feb
back-end load. s: stock dividend or Intl Inv n 27.62 0.19 3.0 -2.2
GlbRltyI 49.89 0.03 -4.1 -2.7
split of 25% or more. t: fund charges IntlInst 27.75 0.19 3.0 -1.5 E
12b-1 fees (for marketing and InstlRlty 44.55 -0.24 -4.0 11.7 Money Market Funds Taxable Bond Funds
IntlVal Inst 46.46 0.37 1.1 26.3
distribution) and a back-end load. PrefSecIncnI 11.90 0.01 1.5 -2.5
v: capital-gains distribution may be
IntlVal Inv n 46.32 0.37 1.0 25.4
RltyIncI 16.00 -0.07 -3.7 10.1
Eaton Vance Class A: 40600 13900
a return of capital. x: ex cash MidCapInst 44.01 -0.36 5.8 -15.1 TMG1.0 n 2246.29-14.26 6.3 29.2
RltyShs n 60.90 -0.30 -4.0 11.4
dividend. MidCapInv n 36.80 -0.31 5.8 -15.7
Colorado BondShares: TMG1.1 100.87 -0.65 6.2 28.1 30700 9300
Net YTD 3-Yr. Eaton Vance Class I:
B ColoradoBdShs 8.80 0.03 1.0 7.1 20800 4700
NAV Chg. % Ret. % Ret. AtlCpSMID 39.50 0.25 4.3 26.2
Columbia Class A:
Baird Funds: FltgRt 8.41 -0.01 1.0 13.6
A BalancedA 49.74 -0.11 3.0 14.8 10900 100
AggBdInst 9.66 -0.05 -1.8 -9.5 GblMacAbR 8.31 0.03 1.6 9.3
ContCoreA 32.92 -0.01 6.0 32.6
AAM: CorBdInst 9.98 -0.05 -1.6 -8.2 IncBos 5.11 -0.02 0.2 7.7
DisplCoreA 13.74 -0.10 5.3 32.0 1000 -4500
IntBdInst 10.21 -0.04 -0.8 -5.0 NatlMuniInc 9.31 -0.02 -0.2 -2.3
B&GIncGroClI 23.67 0.12 3.6 23.7 DivIncA 31.36 0.17 3.2 30.8
ShtTBdInst 9.39 -0.01 0.1 1.4 Edgewood Growth Instituti: Dec Jan Feb Dec Jan Feb
AB Funds: LgCpGrowA 61.31 -1.01 7.6 26.0
Baron Funds: LgCpVl A 15.85 0.08 3.3 26.4 EdgewoodGrInst 47.98 -0.32 9.7 4.3
CapFdInc.LCapGow100.49 -1.39 8.4 30.3 A red chart indicates a lower value than the starting period. Green means it's higher than the starting period.
MuniIncmShares 11.05 -0.02 -0.1 -2.5 Asset n 99.43 -0.63 1.4 -6.3 LiGoBalA 11.25 -0.03 2.1 5.8
F The charts above show four-week moving averages of net cash flow in millions of dollars. BARRON'S • Lipper FMI
AB Funds - A: Growth n 97.44 -0.68 1.9 0.9 SelgComuInfoA 115.05 -3.09 2.9 23.3
LgCpGrA 89.10 -1.23 8.4 29.0 Partners n 145.95 1.04 -8.6 -12.9 TaxEA 11.81 -0.02 -0.2 -5.1 Fairholme:
RelatValA 6.32 0.05 3.6 33.0 SmallCap n 32.19 0.74 6.4 -0.9 Columbia Class Adv:
Fairholme n 33.32 -0.40 -7.9 1.2 Net YTD 3-Yr. Net YTD 3-Yr. Net YTD 3-Yr. Net YTD 3-Yr.
AB Funds - ADV: Baron Instl Shares: DivIncom 32.02 0.16 3.3 31.7 FAM Value: NAV Chg. % Ret. % Ret. NAV Chg. % Ret. % Ret. NAV Chg. % Ret. % Ret. NAV Chg. % Ret. % Ret.
GlbBd 6.82 -0.02 -1.3 -6.9 AssetInst 105.51 -0.66 1.5 -5.6 Columbia Class C: Fidelity Advisor: Freedom2030K6 16.69 0.03 1.2 3.5 GrowIncK 56.16 0.46 3.7 38.7 Fidelity SAI:
FAMValue n 95.43 0.74 4.6 25.0
HiIncmAdv 6.87 -0.01 0.1 5.1 EmergingMktsInst 13.89 0.14 -0.9 -33.9 DivInc 30.21 0.15 3.1 27.9 Federated Hermes A: SrsAdvIntlCapApp 31.00 0.21 4.3 3.0 Freedom2035 K 14.78 0.04 1.9 6.3 GrStrt n 59.65 0.18 5.7 7.2 FidSAIEmgMktIndx 12.90 0.16 -0.6 -24.8
IntlStraEquPtADV 12.31 0.20 6.7 1.5 GrowthInst 102.99 -0.71 1.9 1.7 Columbia Class I: StragInc n 11.30 -0.04 -0.3 -0.1 Freedom2035K6 14.74 0.04 1.9 6.8 GwthDiscovery n 59.77 -0.09 11.0 28.9 FidSAIIntlIndxFd 13.73 0.15 1.0 8.6
StrValDivA p 5.33 0.07 -1.7 22.2
LgCpGrAdv 100.59 -1.40 8.4 30.0 PartnersInst 152.02 1.10 -8.5 -12.2 Acorn I 11.42 0.10 4.5 -17.8 TotBdFdClZ 9.38 -0.05 -1.6 -6.9 Freedom2040 K 10.77 0.04 2.7 9.5 HighInc n 7.62 -0.03 0.4 1.7 IntlValIdx 9.25 0.10 -0.9 17.9
Federated Hermes Int:
NationalPtf 9.67 -0.01 -0.2 -2.7 RealEstateInst 35.90 -0.06 0.4 0.4 Balanced I 49.62 -0.10 3.0 15.6 Fidelity Advisor A: Freedom2040K6 10.72 0.04 2.8 10.1 IntBd n 9.98 -0.04 -0.8 -5.2 LowDurationInc 10.07 -0.01 0.6 7.1
SmallCapInst 34.79 0.80 6.4 -0.1 InsHiYld 8.72 -0.05 -0.6 3.1 Freedom2045 K 12.42 0.05 3.0 10.3 IntlCapiApp K6 15.96 0.11 4.3 3.6
SmMidCpValAdv 22.32 0.25 0.5 19.1 ContCore I 33.31 -0.02 6.0 33.5 BalancA 27.19 -0.11 3.1 15.0 Muni Inc 9.91 -0.01 -0.4 -2.6
Bernstein Fds: TtlRtnBdI 9.36 -0.06 -1.8 -8.8 Freedom2045K6 12.37 0.05 3.0 10.9 IntlDisc n 46.27 0.46 4.3 -7.2
Advisers Inv Trst: DivIncom I 31.39 0.16 3.2 31.7 EqGrA p/r 18.93 -0.03 10.8 27.6 SAIEmgMktLoVolIx 11.04 0.09 0.9 6.4
Federated Hermes IS: Freedom2050 K 12.58 0.06 3.0 10.3 IntlGrRet n 19.90 0.08 3.9 6.9
Balanced n 86.64 0.06 3.0 20.0 DivrMuni n 13.89 -0.01 -0.1 -0.7 LgCpIdx I 54.18 -0.19 5.1 32.8 GrOppA 139.87 -1.09 9.0 -3.1 SAIInflaFocFd 86.27 -0.16 2.3 19.7
IntmDur n 11.14 -0.07 -2.0 -10.6 SelComunInfo 134.39 -3.60 2.9 24.2 KaufmnSCI 49.77 0.11 4.6 -26.1 Freedom2050K6 12.55 0.05 3.0 10.8 IntlSmCap n 31.18 0.27 -0.6 5.7 ShortTermBd 9.60 -0.03 0.0 0.9
Growth n 111.03 0.29 4.5 34.7 NwInsghtA 35.74 -0.05 10.6 27.1
BlackRock Funds: SelLCVal 31.97 0.24 0.5 22.1 StraValDivIS 5.37 0.07 -1.6 23.1 Freedom2055 K 14.56 0.06 3.0 10.3 IntMu n 10.13 -0.01 -0.3 -1.1 TotalBd 8.89 -0.05 -1.5 -6.7
Akre Funds: StrInA 11.14 -0.04 -0.4 -1.0
StratInc I 21.12 -0.08 -0.8 -2.4 UltraShortI 9.18 0.00 0.7 5.7 Freedom2055K6 14.54 0.06 3.0 10.9 InvGB n 7.09 -0.04 -1.7 -9.0 TxFreeBd 10.07 -0.01 -0.4 -1.9
AkreFocusInst 62.16 -0.55 4.0 27.3 CoreBd Inst 8.18 -0.05 -1.8 -10.4 Fidelity Advisor Fun:
TotReBd I 29.82 -0.22 -2.0 -12.6 Federated Hermes R: Idx2020InsPre 15.56 -0.02 0.3 0.4 InvGrBd 9.87 -0.06 -1.8 -7.7 U.S.TreBdIdx 8.63 -0.05 -1.9 -11.0
AkreFocusRtl 59.66 -0.53 4.0 26.3 HiYBlk 7.00 -0.03 0.3 6.7 EqGrClZ 22.29 -0.03 10.8 29.0
Columbia Class I2: KaufmnR 5.52 -0.01 4.9 -21.3 Idx2025InsPre 17.80 -0.01 0.6 1.6 LargeCap n 47.12 0.32 4.5 39.3 USValueIndex 10.98 0.10 1.8 32.9
AmanaGrowth n: HiYldBd Inst 7.00 -0.02 0.3 6.4 InterDiscZ 46.03 0.47 4.3 -6.9
Federated Hermes R6: Idx2030InsPre 19.08 0.00 0.9 3.4 LevCoSt n 37.30 0.08 7.0 19.4 Fidelity Selects:
LowDurI Inst 8.97 -0.02 0.1 0.3 DivIncom 31.99 0.17 3.3 32.0 IntlGrwZ 19.88 0.08 4.0 7.3
AmanaGrowth n 76.40 -0.89 7.0 34.6 FedInstHYBondL 8.72 -0.06 -0.6 3.0 Idx2035InsPre 21.81 0.02 1.4 6.4 LmtTrmMuniIncm n 10.33 0.00 -0.1 -1.0 Biotech n 18.95 0.25 6.3 -18.1
BlackRock Funds A: Columbia Class I3: fedadvcons 10.06 0.00 0.7 NS
Amer Beacon Insti: StrValL 5.37 0.07 -1.6 23.2 Idx2040InsPre 22.67 0.05 2.1 9.4 LowP n 44.63 0.65 1.3 25.9 DfAero n 16.62 0.17 -1.9 26.0
AdvLgCapCore 19.82 -0.20 4.8 27.2 ContCore I3 34.22 -0.02 6.0 34.0 Fidelity Advisor I:
SmCpInst 24.71 0.37 -0.9 20.6 TtlRtnBdL 9.35 -0.06 -1.9 -8.9 Idx2045InsPre 23.71 0.06 2.4 10.1 LowPriStkK 44.55 0.65 1.3 26.2 Energy n 56.70 1.89 2.1 117.3
CapAppr 34.87 -0.52 9.3 16.1 DivIncom 32.04 0.16 3.3 32.2 BalancI 27.92 -0.10 3.2 15.9 Idx2050InsPre 23.75 0.06 2.4 10.2 LowPriStkK6 15.25 0.22 1.3 27.5
American Century G: Fidelity: Health n 30.71 0.42 6.8 2.2
EqtyDivd 19.50 0.23 2.2 25.6 ConsvIncmMuni I n 10.03 0.00 0.3 4.3 Idx2055InsPre 19.54 0.04 2.4 10.1 Magin n 13.49 -0.08 9.6 29.0
GlBond 8.60 -0.02 -1.6 -7.1 GlblAlloc 18.55 0.00 1.5 -1.9 D 500IdxInstPrem n 174.01 -0.61 5.1 33.4 EqGrI 21.96 -0.03 10.9 28.7 HlthCareSrvPt r n 136.07 1.46 2.1 25.5
Idx2020 Premier 15.56 -0.01 0.4 0.6 MAMun n 11.41 -0.01 -0.4 -3.7 ITSvs n 65.96 -0.12 5.8 -9.1
Sustain Equity 49.99 -0.23 5.6 32.6 HlthScOp 70.18 0.63 7.3 14.2 BalancedK6 14.59 -0.05 3.2 17.2 FAEmgMktI 28.08 0.32 -1.6 -26.1 Idx2025 Premier 17.79 -0.01 0.6 1.6 Manager40 n 12.48 -0.02 0.7 2.2 MdTchDevis n 66.11 0.67 6.7 -8.6
American Century I: MdCpGrA 34.28 -0.29 5.0 -9.8 Davis Funds A: Contrafund K6 25.73 -0.05 11.7 32.1 FAInvGrdI 7.10 -0.04 -1.7 -9.1 Idx2030 Premier 19.07 0.00 0.9 3.4 Manager60 n 14.83 0.00 1.5 5.0 Retail n 20.10 -0.08 7.1 5.4
EqInc 8.51 0.04 0.8 17.6 MultiAstIncome 9.90 -0.01 -0.1 2.3 NYVen A 28.27 0.46 6.5 14.7 EmgMktIdxInstPre n 9.99 0.12 -0.6 -24.7 FltRatel 9.28 0.01 1.0 17.1 Idx2035 Premier 21.81 0.02 1.4 6.4 MegaCpStk n 21.97 0.08 4.9 41.0 Semiconductors r n 27.78 -0.41 14.6 82.6
Growth 54.32 -0.69 8.2 27.2 NatlMuni 10.15 NA -0.3 -4.7 Davis Funds C & Y: ExtMktIdxInstPre n 79.74 0.63 2.2 -6.7 GrOppI 155.21 -1.21 9.0 -2.3 Idx2040 Premier 22.66 0.05 2.1 9.5 MidCap n 41.56 0.56 2.6 25.7 Softwr n 29.05 -0.83 5.0 25.3
IntTF 10.81 -0.01 -0.2 -1.8 ScTechOppA 56.45 -0.79 10.8 -11.0 NYVenY 29.43 0.48 6.5 15.5 FidAdAsset 13.28 -0.02 0.1 0.0 HthCarI 71.17 0.97 6.6 2.1 Idx2045 Premier 23.70 0.05 2.3 10.2 MuniInc n 12.26 -0.01 -0.4 -2.9 Tech n 30.79 -0.60 8.0 20.8
MdCapVal 15.52 0.17 -0.3 23.1 TotRet 9.81 -0.07 -1.8 -11.4 Del Invest Instl: FidAdEm 36.31 0.22 1.7 NS IntlGr 19.85 0.08 3.9 6.9 Idx2050 Premier 23.74 0.05 2.3 10.2 NASDAQ n 200.00 -2.67 5.2 15.7 Fidelity Series:
SmCapVal 10.30 0.03 -1.9 13.7 BlackRock Funds III: FidSAI 8.86 -0.03 0.5 NS MuniIncI 10.14 -0.01 -0.4 -1.3 Idx 2055 Premier 19.54 0.05 2.4 10.2
Value 17.09 0.13 1.9 19.4 NewInsights Z 37.57 -0.06 10.6 28.5
American Century Inv: FidSAIEmerg 12.29 0.17 1.3 -4.9 NwInsghtI 37.41 -0.05 10.6 28.1 Idx 2060 Premier 16.56 0.04 2.4 10.2 Canada 14.82 0.13 0.9 33.3
iShS&P500IdxK587.59 -2.04 5.1 33.3 Deutsche DWS: NewMill n 51.28 0.02 7.4 51.7
DiscCoreVal n 33.85 0.29 3.5 14.5 FidSer5 7.49 -0.03 -2.2 NS StrInI 11.31 -0.03 -0.3 -0.2 Income n 10.38 -0.01 -0.5 -2.9 IntMuni Z 10.15 -0.01 -0.3 -1.0
iShUSAggBdIdxK 8.90 -0.05 -1.8 -9.9 CoreEq n 32.69 -0.04 5.4 33.8 NewMkt n 12.18 -0.02 -1.3 -5.1
EqGro n 28.71 -0.07 5.9 21.3 FidSer0-5 9.47 0.00 0.0 NS Total Bd 9.38 -0.05 -1.6 -7.3 Fidelity Invest: FidelityAdviAsset:
BlackRock Funds Inst: Diamond Hill Funds: OTC n 19.63 -0.37 7.3 18.7
EqInc n 8.50 0.04 1.0 17.0 FIDSerEmgMkt 8.54 0.08 0.9 -28.6 Fidelity Advisor M: OTC K 20.08 -0.38 7.3 19.0 ADVAssetMan60 14.81 -0.01 1.4 5.2
AdvLgCapCore 20.98 -0.20 4.8 28.2 LgCapI 32.60 0.25 2.5 21.7 AggrInt n 27.67 0.20 4.3 3.1
Grwth n 52.55 -0.67 8.2 26.4 FidSerInt 8.61 0.01 -1.5 NS Balanced 27.63 -0.11 3.1 14.2 Ovrse n 62.19 0.69 3.1 7.5 First Eagle Funds:
CAInsMun 11.98 NA 0.3 -0.9 LgCapY 32.63 0.25 2.5 22.1 AilSectEq 11.46 -0.03 6.4 34.6
Heritage n 23.44 0.08 7.1 -6.8 FidSerToMarket 16.43 -0.03 4.7 25.5 EqGr 18.21 -0.03 10.8 26.7 PuritanK 24.34 -0.10 4.6 17.9 GlbA 63.91 0.03 1.3 16.4
EmgMkts 23.71 0.10 -2.2 -31.0 LongShortI 28.14 0.21 4.5 24.8 AMgr20% n 13.29 -0.02 0.1 -0.1
MdCapVal n 15.49 0.16 -0.4 22.3 FIDSerTresIndxFd 9.93 -0.01 0.6 7.2 GrOppM 137.32 -1.09 9.0 -3.8 Puritn n 24.37 -0.09 4.6 17.6 OverseasA 24.24 0.12 0.0 4.3
EqtyDivd 19.60 0.23 2.2 26.5 Dimensional Fds: AMgr50% n 19.80 -0.01 1.1 3.5
OneChMod n 14.43 0.01 1.5 3.1 FIDZroExtMktIx n 12.40 0.13 1.2 5.1 NwInsghtM 33.23 -0.05 10.5 26.2 RealE n 36.82 -0.07 -4.4 10.8 FPA Funds:
FloRateIncPorIns 9.69 0.00 0.9 16.2 AMgr70% n 26.29 0.02 2.0 7.4
Select n 106.21 -1.50 6.1 25.3 2TGlFxd 9.74 0.01 0.7 2.5 FIDZroLgCpIx n 17.73 -0.07 5.2 30.5 Fidelity Advisor Z: RealEstInc n 11.55 -0.01 -0.3 7.4
GlblAlloc 18.72 0.00 1.5 -1.2 AMgr85% n 24.92 0.04 2.7 10.1 FPANwInc n 9.72 -0.03 -0.1 4.4
Ultra n 79.56 -0.87 6.8 20.3 5GlbFxdInc 10.03 0.01 0.7 -2.4 Flex 500 Index 21.38 -0.07 5.2 33.4 AdvIntlSmCpZ 31.36 0.28 -0.5 6.2 SAIIntlMinVolInd 10.93 0.08 0.0 5.5
HiEqInc 28.03 0.30 1.3 27.8 AstMgr30R n 11.50 -0.02 0.4 0.7 FPA Funds Trust:
American Century R6: DFARlEst 37.56 -0.05 -4.3 9.1 FlexIntIdx 12.68 0.15 0.6 -1.6 AssetManager50% 19.73 -0.01 1.1 3.7 SAILTTreBdIdx 7.08 -0.09 -5.8 -31.3
HlthScOp 75.09 0.67 7.3 15.0 Balanc n 27.79 -0.10 3.2 16.1 FPACres Inst n 39.35 0.01 1.9 18.2
EmgMkt 27.50 0.27 -0.1 -13.1 FlexUSBdIdx 8.97 -0.06 -1.9 -10.1 AssetMngr85 24.77 0.04 2.7 10.3 SAISm-MidCap500I 6.22 0.05 1.6 9.4
AmCentUltraFdR6 85.36 -0.92 6.8 21.5 MdCpGrEq 40.43 -0.33 5.0 -9.1 BalancedK 27.79 -0.10 3.2 16.4 FPACresentFnd 39.38 0.02 1.9 18.4
EmgMktSoCoEq 13.95 0.13 -0.2 -12.0 Freedom2060K 13.38 0.06 3.0 10.3 AsstMngr70 26.24 0.01 2.0 7.7 SAIUSMinVolIndFd 19.47 -0.01 4.3 29.6
MdCapVal 15.52 0.17 -0.3 23.7 MultiAstIncome 9.91 -0.01 -0.1 3.1 BluCh n 189.45 -0.93 9.3 15.6 Franklin A1:
EmgMktVa 29.51 0.29 0.3 8.0 GlexUSIdxInstPre n 14.15 0.16 0.5 -1.7 EmMkt Z 28.02 0.32 -1.5 -25.8 SAIUSQtyIdx 20.82 -0.23 7.5 41.5
SmCpVal 10.31 0.03 -1.9 14.3 NatlMuni 10.14 NA -0.4 -4.0 BluChpGr K6 29.23 -0.09 8.9 16.7 CA TF A1 6.86 -0.01 -0.4 -4.3
EmMktCorEq 22.41 0.20 0.0 -7.2 GrowthCompanyK624.65 -0.28 9.8 18.8 FloatRateHighInc 9.29 0.01 1.1 17.6 SmCapDisc n 27.38 0.16 2.9 27.4
American Century Y: ScTechOppInst 62.25 -0.87 10.8 -10.3 BluChpGrK 190.51 -0.93 9.4 16.0 Fed TF A1 10.81 -0.01 -0.1 -4.4
EmMktSmCp 22.53 0.24 -1.3 4.2 InflPrBdIndInsPr n 8.94 -0.01 -1.1 -4.0 GovtIncome 9.07 -0.05 -1.9 -11.1 CAMun n 12.17 -0.02 -0.5 -2.7 SmlCapO n 14.39 0.15 3.5 13.0
IntTF 10.81 0.00 -0.1 -1.6 StratIncOpptyIns 9.34 -0.02 -0.4 0.8 Fixd 10.26 0.01 0.8 4.4 IntlIdxInstPrem n 47.82 0.53 1.0 8.7 HiInc A1 1.71 0.00 0.0 6.8
GrOpp 157.44 -1.22 9.1 -2.0 CapAp n 43.16 0.09 8.7 26.2 SmlCpGrth n 30.09 0.29 6.9 -6.8
American Funds Cl A: StratMuniOppI 10.56 NA 0.3 -4.2 GblAll60 40Inst20.46 0.04 1.6 11.3 IntlIndex n 11.12 0.12 0.5 -0.9 HY TF A1 8.79 0.00 0.6 -5.5
IntCpAp 31.10 0.22 4.3 3.5 CapDevO n 21.49 0.14 4.6 40.0 SmlCpGrth K6 16.12 0.15 7.0 -5.8
2020TarRetA 13.01 -0.02 0.3 5.7 TotRet 9.81 -0.06 -1.7 -10.5 GlEqInst 31.25 0.10 2.6 20.8 IntrTresBdIxPrem n 9.52 -0.07 -2.0 -12.2 IncomeA1 2.29 0.00 -0.8 15.9
InvestGradeBd 7.11 -0.04 -1.7 -8.7 CnvSc n 32.70 -0.05 0.8 -5.9 SmlCpGrth Z 30.43 0.30 6.9 -6.5
2025TarRetA 14.66 -0.02 0.6 5.6 BNY Mellon Funds: GlRESec 9.80 -0.01 -4.6 1.0 LgCpGwId InstPre n 31.70 -0.39 7.5 31.8 NY TF A1 10.01 0.00 -0.2 -5.0
NewMktsIncFdZ 12.18 -0.02 -1.3 -4.8 Contra n 18.03 -0.04 12.1 31.6 SmlCpVal n 19.81 0.30 0.2 23.5
2030TarRetA 16.35 -0.01 1.3 7.4 Aprec n 42.43 -0.31 4.1 27.4 InfProtSec 10.71 -0.03 -1.1 -4.8 LgCpVlIdxIstPrem n 16.50 0.15 2.0 24.1 US Gov A1 5.02 -0.03 -2.1 -9.8
RE Income 11.49 -0.01 -0.3 7.8 ContraK 18.09 -0.05 12.2 31.9 Srs1000ValIndRet 15.02 0.14 2.0 24.3
2035TarRetA 17.91 0.00 2.1 9.2 Dr500In n 53.64 -0.19 5.1 31.4 IntGvFxdInc 10.84 -0.08 -1.9 -12.0 LTTrsBdIdxInstPr n 9.55 -0.12 -5.3 -29.0 Utils A1 18.66 0.35 -3.2 12.7
StkSelAllCap 71.68 -0.26 4.3 23.7 CpInc n 9.73 -0.03 1.5 10.4 SrsBlChGroRetail n 17.05 -0.09 9.2 19.5
2040TarRetA 18.98 0.02 2.8 11.1 Dreyf n 17.60 -0.10 8.0 41.0 IntlCoreEq 15.24 0.15 -0.5 8.9 MidCpInxInstPrem n 30.53 0.20 1.9 12.0 Franklin Templeton:
Fidelity Freedom: DisEq n 62.93 -0.61 7.6 26.3 SrsCommStrt 90.97 -0.57 -1.8 20.9
2045TarRetA 19.50 0.02 3.0 11.3 DreyMid r Inv n 28.67 0.21 1.8 15.0 IntlREst 3.53 0.00 -5.4 -12.8 OTCK6Port 21.63 -0.41 7.5 20.0 DivGth n 34.69 0.12 5.1 31.7 SrsEmrgMkt 17.39 0.22 0.3 -27.0 TgtModA 14.78 NA NA NA
2060 K6 13.38 0.06 3.1 10.9
2050TarRetA 19.20 0.02 3.1 11.1 GlFxIncI 19.77 -0.03 -0.5 -3.2 IntlSustCore1 12.30 0.12 0.5 4.6 PuritanK6 14.78 -0.06 4.6 18.3 DivIntl n 42.20 0.41 2.8 -1.1 SrsGlobal 13.92 0.16 0.5 -1.7 FrankTemp/Frank Adv:
FF2010 n 13.60 -0.01 -0.2 -2.0
AmcpA 40.37 -0.20 5.9 15.1 InstS&PStkIdx I 54.89 -0.19 5.1 32.6 IntlVal 19.90 0.28 -0.5 25.0 RealEstIdxInst n 15.09 -0.01 -4.4 6.0 FF2015 n 11.19 0.00 0.1 -1.1 DivIntl K6 13.94 0.13 2.7 -0.2 SrsIntlGrw 17.85 0.08 4.2 9.3 CA TF Adv 6.85 -0.01 -0.3 -3.9
AMutlA 52.16 0.30 2.3 29.6 IntlStkI 24.53 0.11 3.2 2.5 IntlVectorEq 13.20 0.13 -1.2 9.5 SAIUSLgCpIndxFd20.74 -0.08 5.1 33.3 FF2020 n 14.10 0.01 0.5 -0.3 DivStkO n 34.55 -0.11 8.3 32.9 SrsGroCoRetail 21.27 -0.29 9.2 20.7 CvtScAdv 20.88 0.08 0.8 -7.8
BondA 11.20 -0.08 -2.0 -10.1 IntlStkY 24.22 0.11 3.2 2.6 IntSmCo 18.96 0.10 -1.8 0.4 SeriesBondFd 8.86 -0.06 -1.9 -10.1 FF2025 n 13.21 0.02 0.8 1.0 EmrgMktK 36.35 0.22 1.6 -23.3 SrsIntlSmCp 16.86 0.19 -0.6 -0.8 Dynat Adv 154.61 -2.66 10.6 -3.6
BalA 32.67 -0.09 2.1 15.3 SmMidCpGrI 26.17 -0.13 -0.5 -34.0 IntSmVa 20.87 0.10 -1.7 13.8 SeriesOverseas 13.41 0.16 3.4 11.1 FF2030 n 16.77 0.02 1.2 2.8 EmrgMktsDebt 7.63 -0.01 -0.8 -4.2 SrsIntlVal 11.73 0.16 0.5 23.3 Growth Adv 131.53 -1.00 6.3 18.1
CapIBA 66.04 0.22 -0.3 12.5 StrgVal I 42.29 0.34 2.3 45.4 IntTermMuni 10.09 0.00 -0.3 -0.5 SerLTTreBdIdx 5.53 -0.06 -5.2 -28.9 FF2035 n 14.80 0.03 1.9 6.0 EmrMkt n 36.35 0.22 1.6 -23.6 SrsSmCapDiscRet 12.05 0.08 3.2 29.3 IncomeAdv 2.27 0.00 -0.8 16.5
CapWA 16.10 -0.05 -3.2 -18.6 BNY Mellon Funds Tru: IntVaIII 17.13 0.24 -0.6 25.1 SmCpIdxInstPrem n 25.15 0.29 0.4 -6.6 FF2040 n 10.77 0.04 2.7 9.2 Eq Inc n 68.85 0.70 2.1 26.6 STBF n 8.36 -0.01 0.1 0.8 RisDv Adv 90.71 -0.20 2.7 29.3
CapWGrA 62.02 0.36 3.2 11.6 MCMultiStrM 16.39 0.08 2.0 8.3 ITExQual 9.47 -0.05 -1.6 -9.7 STBdIdx InstPrem n 9.70 -0.03 -0.4 -2.2 FF2045 n 12.44 0.06 3.0 10.1 EqDivIncm n 27.76 0.39 2.4 33.6 StkSelSmCp n 34.50 0.32 3.3 11.2 SmCpValAdv 57.68 0.50 -0.1 15.3
EupacA 56.27 0.57 2.9 -13.1 NtlIntmMuni 13.02 -0.01 -0.3 -2.1 LgCo 33.24 -0.12 5.1 33.1 STTreIdx InstPre n 10.03 -0.04 -0.7 -3.0 FF2050 n 12.59 0.06 3.0 10.0 Fidel n 80.17 -0.92 7.6 32.5 StkSlcACap n 72.19 -0.26 4.3 23.4 FrankTemp/Franklin A:
FdInvA 75.08 0.01 5.0 27.5 Brown Advisory Funds: LgCpIntl 26.49 0.28 0.5 10.6 TMktIdxInstPrem n 137.98 -0.26 4.7 25.5 Free2055 n 14.57 0.06 3.0 10.1 FltRateHi n 9.29 0.01 1.0 17.3 StratDivInc n 16.09 0.06 1.3 14.3 BAL A 12.25 -0.01 -1.1 11.1
GBalA 36.26 0.01 -0.1 2.8 GrwthEquityInst 28.51 -0.42 4.9 6.0 SclCrEqInst 14.07 0.14 -0.8 4.9 TotalMarketIndex n 17.41 -0.04 4.8 26.8 Free2060InstPrem 16.55 0.04 2.4 10.1 FocsdStk n 34.07 -0.07 12.5 25.2 TaxFrB n 11.00 -0.01 -0.3 -2.6 DynaTech A 147.92 -2.55 10.6 -4.3
GovtA 11.86 -0.09 -2.0 -9.9 STExQual 10.35 0.01 0.7 0.0 TtlIntIdxInstPr n 13.18 0.15 0.2 -2.0 Freedom2015 K 11.17 0.00 0.1 -0.9 FournOne n 55.53 0.12 2.1 11.2 TotalBond n 9.39 -0.06 -1.6 -7.3 EqIn A 30.01 0.17 2.3 26.7
GwthA 67.45 -0.19 6.8 13.5 C STGov 9.97 0.01 0.7 -0.1 USBdIdxInstPrem n 10.19 -0.06 -1.9 -10.1 Freedom2020 K 14.09 0.01 0.5 0.0 GNMA n 9.99 -0.06 -2.2 -9.3 TotalBond K6 8.71 -0.05 -1.7 -7.1 FoundFAlA 14.42 -0.03 2.9 12.1
HI TrA 9.45 -0.03 0.3 7.6 STMuniBd 10.16 0.01 0.2 2.6 USSusIdx n 22.49 -0.13 5.8 35.9 Freedom2020K6 14.02 0.00 0.5 0.3 GovtInc n 9.05 -0.06 -2.0 -11.4 Trend n 164.18 -2.08 10.5 23.2 GrOp A 46.74 -0.55 9.2 7.1
HiInMuniA 14.97 0.02 0.5 -1.5 Calamos Funds: US CoreEq1 37.64 0.01 4.4 30.1 Fidelity Adv Focus A: Freedom2025 K 13.18 0.01 0.8 1.2 GroCo n 34.79 -0.48 9.0 17.4 Value n 14.52 0.24 1.1 34.4 Growth A 130.35 -1.00 6.3 17.2
ICAA 52.67 -0.06 4.5 35.1 Gr&IncA 44.04 -0.27 4.2 17.3 US CoreEq2 33.72 0.04 3.8 29.4 HthCarA 63.95 0.87 6.6 1.3 Freedom2025K6 13.14 0.02 0.8 1.6 GroInc n 56.22 0.45 3.7 38.3 ValueDisc n 35.36 0.35 0.7 21.6 LwDuToRt A 8.87 -0.02 0.0 1.3
IncoA 23.37 0.06 -0.3 13.6 MktNeutI 14.33 0.02 1.1 9.7 US Micro 26.36 0.32 0.3 18.1 TechA 102.66 -2.00 7.9 30.2 Freedom2030 K 16.75 0.02 1.2 3.1 GrowCoK 34.99 -0.48 9.0 17.7 Wrldw n 33.94 0.08 9.1 11.6 RisDv A 90.81 -0.20 2.7 28.3
48 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
Industrials 11:00
11:30
38724.35
38830.75
38312.27
38379.91
38283.16
38321.45
38591.85
38565.22
38695.55
38732.18
NYSE Amer Off
NASD Up
3,989 8,685 5,417 2,978 6,354
3,865,760 1,059,726 4,099,478 4,237,393 2,066,211
39100 12:00 38882.68 38355.96 38256.65 38607.09 38765.19 NASD Off 1,559,867 4,516,486 966,358 1,722,737 3,085,740
12:30 38860.76 38301.40 38284.22 38635.55 38777.25 NYSE Arca UP 193,775 95,495 269,737 235,561 165,303
Week's NYSE Arca Off 88,437 377,393 91,239 63,752 161,089
Components Change 1:00 38886.38 38296.61 38298.41 38603.97 38757.84
1:30 38884.03 38252.78 38280.36 38695.96 38750.59 % (QCHA) +1.09 –2.32 +1.39 +1.52 –.52
3M -1.65 % (QACH) +.93 –2.04 +1.35 +2.34 +.11
2:00 38863.62 38201.21 38312.96 38689.72 38792.40
38100 % (QCHAQ) +1.69 –2.20 +2.30 +1.94 +.80
American Express 0.09 2:30 38793.30 38092.17 38320.66 38710.21 38804.18
Amgen -7.42 3:00 38767.70 38065.21 38322.16 38752.64 38667.54 Market Advance/Decline Totals
Apple -6.54 3:30 38774.63 38086.20 38401.83 38752.86 38689.03 NYSE NYSE
Boeing -5.31 Weekly Comp. NYSE Amer Nasdaq Arca
Close 38797.38 38272.75 38424.27 38773.12 38627.99
Caterpillar 4.75 Total Issues 2,966 333 4,745 2,120
37100 High (t) 39026.47 38726.92 38564.76 38891.16 38945.34 Advances 1,629 167 2,609 1,255
Chevron 3.59 Low (t) 38444.80 37932.35 38103.40 38295.89 38429.12 Declines 1,287 154 2,016 848
Cisco Systems -1.69 High (a) 38927.08 38699.17 38442.56 38781.89 38825.03 Unchanged 50 12 120 17
Coca-Cola -0.17 Low (a) 38628.92 38039.86 38194.62 38397.94 38583.24 New Highs 458 19 582 757
Disney 3.21 Change +125.69 –524.63 +151.52 +348.85 –145.13 New Lows 81 30 250 87
Dow 1.49 36100 Week ended last Friday compared to previous Friday
Goldman Sachs 0.18 Theoretical (t): High 39026.47 Low 37932.35
Home Depot -0.80 Actual (a): High 38927.08 Low 38039.86 NYSE Composite Daily Breadth
Honeywell International 2.33 Daily Feb 12 13 14 15 16
IBM 1.30 35100 Issues Traded 2,922 2,906 2,909 2,907 2,906
Intel 0.20 Dow Jones 20 Transport (divisor: 0.16279857124321) Advances 2,204 234 2,298 2,359 934
Johnson & Johnson -0.21 Declines 633 2,625 542 497 1,875
Open (t) 16202.11 15948.54 15855.97 15898.24 15825.26 Unchanged 85 47 69 51 97
JPMorgan Chase 4.02 Open (a) 16223.82 16048.39 15836.07 15897.73 15857.98 New Highs 263 39 104 217 198
McDonald's 2.55 10:00 16196.69 15822.59 15751.93 15934.95 15769.53
34100 New Lows 12 48 35 14 15
Merck 2.34 10:30 16199.59 15726.46 15808.86 15908.89 15830.74 Blocks - primary 4,025 4,675 4,027 4,273 4,806
Microsoft -16.49 Total (000) - primary 887,686 981,771 915,631 969,704 971,467
11:00 16206.02 15787.68 15789.30 15835.59 15819.75
Nike Cl B -0.99 Total (000) 3,805,746 4,302,197 3,845,600 4,137,973 3,833,270
11:30 16220.50 15837.32 15811.35 15811.12 15782.20
Procter & Gamble 0.09
12:00 16235.32 15828.21 15829.58 15847.10 15840.83 NYSE American Composite
Salesforce -1.58 33100 12:30 16245.20 15814.27 15789.29 15892.30 15796.98 Daily Feb 12 13 14 15 16
Travelers 3.03
1:00 16212.27 15819.40 15812.49 15869.12 15821.55 Issues Traded 307 310 309 309 312
UnitedHealth Group 3.33
1:30 16257.30 15807.12 15809.00 15907.36 15796.79 Advances 165 83 204 196 115
Verizon Communications 0.77
2:00 16258.05 15787.22 15834.78 15871.01 15783.86 Declines 124 214 86 102 171
Visa Cl A 2.13
Walgreens Boots Alliance -0.26 32100 2:30 16247.99 15733.41 15801.94 15883.64 15775.88 Unchanged 18 13 19 11 26
3:00 16219.24 15714.11 15822.76 15900.62 15717.19 New Highs 6 3 4 3 4
Walmart 1.08 August September October November December January February New Lows 5 13 10 7 6
3:30 16211.26 15696.58 15820.32 15883.07 15684.98
Blocks - primary 130 132 163 150 178
Close 16210.46 15785.77 15824.28 15906.53 15629.19
Total (000) - primary 11,649 14,272 14,111 14,324 16,841
High (t) 16336.63 16091.60 16022.65 16024.50 15929.10 Total (000) 141,865 233,792 203,594 246,874 282,804
Transportation Low (t)
High (a)
16102.23 15600.01 15627.99 15727.26
16273.00 16048.39 15890.38 15944.96
15561.01
15857.98 Nasdaq
16855 Low (a) 16173.78 15670.34 15734.20 15789.11 15618.64 Daily Feb 12 13 14 15 16
Week's Change –5.04 –424.69 +38.51 +82.25 –277.34 Issues Traded 4,458 4,436 4,407 4,420 4,419
Components Change Advances 2,834 735 3,325 3,019 1,631
16460 Theoretical (t): High 16336.63 Low 15561.01 Declines 1,455 3,576 951 1,244 2,595
Alaska Air Group 0.33 Actual (a): High 16273.00 Low 15618.64 Unchanged 169 125 131 157 193
American Airlines Group -0.24 New Highs 344 43 107 249 224
Avis Budget Group -56.63
16065 New Lows 55 122 77 66 64
CH Robinson Worldwide -2.42 Dow Jones 15 Utilities (divisor: 1.19780346554510) Blocks - primary 32,601 29,472 28,876 40,200 30,651
CSX -0.17 15670 Total (000) 5,458,497 5,599,866 5,092,660 6,049,100 5,223,801
Open (t) 834.63 841.17 830.10 836.37 841.13
Delta Air Lines -0.39 NYSE Arca Composite
Open (a) 834.47 842.45 829.99 835.66 843.03
Expeditors Intl of Wash -3.20 Daily Feb 12 13 14 15 16
15275 10:00 834.39 833.00 831.30 844.25 837.63
FedEx -5.03 Issues Traded 1,933 1,942 1,920 1,892 1,911
10:30 835.16 830.10 828.77 842.51 842.20
JB Hunt Transport -3.88 Advances 1,353 149 1,699 1,707 612
11:00 834.32 820.32 831.45 843.23 842.07
JetBlue Airways 1.02 14880 Declines 544 1,786 208 176 1,265
Kirby Corp 0.53 11:30 837.03 821.18 832.40 841.73 843.40
Unchanged 36 7 13 9 34
Landstar System 1.28 12:00 841.16 825.70 832.39 841.49 845.94 New Highs 543 18 44 359 329
Matson -2.56 14485 12:30 841.62 826.78 830.47 843.05 845.17 New Lows 34 33 22 26 15
Norfolk Southern -2.79 1:00 842.06 827.53 832.14 842.44 844.61 Blocks - primary 1,569 2,575 2,061 1,545 1,734
Old Dominion Freight Line -11.88 1:30 842.62 827.47 832.73 844.90 845.99 Total (000) - primary 283,414 473,344 361,149 316,494 327,181
14090 2:00 844.02 825.41 833.84 844.21 846.24 Total (000) 1,508,460 2,428,175 1,743,195 1,637,119 1,670,115
Ryder System -9.81
Southwest Airlines 1.44 2:30 843.38 825.90 831.83 845.06 845.82
New Listings
DXY (104.28)
s 5
Earns
Book
Divs. Value Earns
Book
Divs. Value Investor Sentiment Readings NYSE
Am Exp 11.21 2.40 33.26 Johnson&John 6.16 4.76 29.39 High bullish readings in the Consensus stock index or in the Market
0 Vane stock index usually are signs of Market tops; low ones, market None
Amgen 12.49 8.64 6.86 JPMorgChase 16.22 4.10 90.29 bottoms.
s Apple 6.42 0.96 3.18 McDonalds 11.57 6.23 (8.06) Last Week 2 Weeks Ago 3 Weeks Ago NYSE American
Boeing (3.68) Nil (26.58) Merck Co 0.14 2.96 18.12
EURO in $ Caterpillar 20.14 5.10 30.73 Microsoft 11.06 2.86 27.75 AtlasClear (ATCH)
-5 Consensus Index
Chevron Corp 11.36 6.16 83.17 Nike Inc 3.42 1.39 9.14 AXIL Brands (AXIL)
Cisco Sys 3.29 1.55 9.68 Proc Gam 5.97 3.7628 19.46 Consensus Bullish Sentiment 78% 77% 77% Chromocell Therapeu (CHRO)
Coca Cola 2.48 1.84 5.57 3M Co (12.63) 6.01 26.80 Unusual Machines (UMAC)
-10 Disney Walt 1.62 Nil 52.09 Salesforce.com 2.63 0.00 57.84 AAII Index
s Dow 0.82 2.80 29.39 Travelers Cos 12.79 3.93 92.89 Nasdaq
YEN in $ Goldman Sachs 22.82 10.50 317.90 UnitedHealthGrp 23.84 7.29 83.27 Bullish 42.2% 49.0% 49.1%
Semilux International (SELX)
-15 Home Depot 15.58 8.36 1.54 Verizon 2.76 2.635 21.70
Bearish 26.8 22.6 24.5
Honeywell 8.47 4.17 24.99 Visa 8.75 1.94 16.08
M A M J J A S O N D J F IBM
Intel
8.15
0.63
6.64 24.22
0.50 24.52
Walgreens 0.66
Wal-mart
1.69 29.23
6.03 2.28 28.48
Neutral 31.1 28.4 26.4
Trading
Source: Tullett Prebon
Transportation Stocks
Market Vane
Dow Jones U.S. Total Market Industry Groups CBOE Put / Call Ratio Foreign Exchange
Foreign Foreign U.S. $ in U.S. $ in
Coming Earnings
Software DJUSSW 6619.11 – 263.39 410.56 –3.83 [136] +52.10 [7] +6.61 [25] +11.15 6,882.49 4,113.37 Saudi Arabia (Riyal) .2666 .2666 3.7503 3.7503
Technology Hardware & Equip DJUSTQ 5614.22 – 87.47 437.16 –1.53 [125] +50.23 [8] +8.44 [16] +17.35 5,701.69 3,586.27 Singapore (Dollar) .7424 .7429 1.3470 1.3461
General Retailers DJUSGT 2590.67 – 19.24 206.39 –.74 [117] +37.08 [9] +8.66 [15] +3.58 2,609.91 1,734.09 South Africa (Rand) .0530 .0525 18.8808 19.0413
Consensus Estimate Year ago South Korea (Won) .0007504 .0007510 1332.58 1331.52
Retail DJUSRT 2329.88 – 14.69 181.41 –.63 [115] +35.07 [10] +8.44 [17] +4.82 2,344.56 1,589.05
Sri Lanka (Rupee) .0032 .0032 312.6000 312.9800
Industrial Suppliers DJUSDS 771.87 – 13.58 45.32 –1.73 [131] +33.58 [11] +6.24 [27] +21.90 786.15 534.31 Sweden (Krona) .0957 .0954 10.4444 10.4805
Bldg Materials & Fixtures DJUSBD 1962.46 – 3.03 74.68 –.15 [103] +32.23 [12] +3.96 [45] +12.57 1,974.53 1,340.93 T Switzerland (Franc) 1.1360 1.1422 .8803 .8755
Construction & Materials DJUSCN 1541.34 – 1.72 54.11 –.11 [99] +29.08 [13] +3.64 [49] +13.87 1,551.77 1,085.19 Taiwan (Dollar) .03188 .03186 31.365 31.383
Publishing DJUSPB 693.68 + 2.99 –.24 +.43 [79] +28.82 [14] –.04 [82] +7.55 706.10 465.35 BlueLinx (Q4) $1.67 $3.50 Thailand (Baht) .02777 .02784 36.010 35.920
Computer Services DJUSDV 232.85 + 1.30 19.73 +.56 [74] +28.11 [15] +9.26 [12] +9.35 235.41 163.63 Boise Cascade (Q4) $2.58 2.95 Turkey (New Lira)-d .0324 .0326 30.8424 30.6918
Business Support Svcs DJUSIV 1265.60 + 3.67 63.66 +.29 [86] +27.51 [16] +5.30 [37] +11.26 1,272.24 911.78 Ukraine (Hryvnia) .0262 .0265 38.1500 37.7500
Waste & Disposal Svcs DJUSPC 571.32 + 27.66 50.38 +5.09 [2] +27.45 [17] +9.67 [11] +18.82 571.32 433.40 Celanese (Q4) 2.31 1.44 U.K. (Pound) 1.2601 1.2629 .7936 .7918
Reinsurance DJUSIU 495.88 + 9.85 29.67 +2.03 [25] +26.94 [18] +6.37 [26] +17.07 509.12 370.05 Uruguay (Peso) …… .. …… .. …… .. …… ..
CenterPoint Energy (Q4) 0.32 0.28 Financial .02557 .02549 39.115 39.235
Trucking DJUSTK 1914.62 – 48.27 173.23 –2.46 [132] +26.44 [19] +9.95 [10] +18.42 1,962.89 1,343.11
Euro 1.0778 1.0783 .9278 .9273
Hotels DJUSLG 3539.47 – .28 221.15 –.01 [94] +26.16 [20] +6.66 [24] +16.41 3,573.03 2,474.40 Chesapeake Energy (Q4) 0.72 4.22
Special Drawing Rights (SDR) are based on exchange rates for the U.S.,
British, and Japanese currencies. Source: International Monetary Fund.
Groups are weighted by capitalization. 52-week highs and lows are based on daily closes. Dec. 31, 1991=100. In the U.S. listings, % vol chg column shows the change from previous 65-day moving Diamondback Energy (Q4) 4.69 5.29 a-Russian Central Bank rate. b-government rate. d-rebased as of Jan. 1,
average. Volume figures do not reflect extended trading hours. 2005. y-floating rate.
Expeditors Int’l of Washington (Q4) 1.22 1.38
Money Rates
Matson (Q4) 1.51 2.10
Palo Alto Networks (Q2) 1.30 1.05
Delta Market Pulse of the Economy Public Storage (Q4) 4.14 4.16 Latest Week Prev. Week Yr Ago
Sentiment Only includes new reports. Latest Latest Preceding Year YroYr Latest Latest Preceding Year YroYr
The Home Depot (Q4)
Walmart (Q4)
2.77
1.64
3.30
1.71
Discount Rate (NY)
Prime Rate (base)
5.50
8.50
5.50
8.50
4.75
7.75
Indicator
Economic Growth and Investment Date Data Period Ago % Chg Date Data Period Ago % Chg
Inventory–to–sales ratio (Business) Dec 1.37 1.37 1.40 –2.14 Fed Funds Rate
Durable manufacturing (NAICS) a, Jan 101.1 r101.0 101.7 –0.59
W
Capacity utilization % Jan 78.5 r78.7 78.0 0.64 Orders
The Delta MSI measures the Avg effective offer 5.33 5.33 4.59
position of a representative set Industrial output a, Jan 102.6 r102.7 102.6 0.00 No Activity for this Week Analog Devices (Q1) 1.71 2.75 Avg weekly auction-c 5.33 5.33 4.58
of stocks relative to an Manufacturing (NAICS) a, Jan 99.2 r99.7 100.7 –1.49
intermediate-term moving Trade Etsy (Q4) 0.77 0.77
Nondurable manufacturing (NAICS) a Jan 97.3 r98.4 99.7 –2.41 T-Bills Rate
average crossover (MAC) point. No Activity for this Week
When greater than 50% of the NiSource (Q4) 0.55 0.50
Production 13 weeks, Coupon Yield 5.388 5.394 4.802
stocks followed are above this Inflation NVIDIA (Q4) 4.56 0.88 13 weeks, Auction Rate 5.230 5.235 4.680
MAC point, the market is Electric power, (mil. kw hrs) (EEI) Feb 10 75,587 77,013 75,319 0.36
bullish. When the indicator is ECRI Industrial Price Index f Feb 16 113.87 113.19 119.10 –4.39 26 weeks, Coupon Yield 5.285 5.263 5.030
below 50%, risk is elevated and Mining (NAICS) a, Jan 117.3 r120.1 117.0 0.26
Consumer price index b (unadjusted) Jan 308.4 306.7 299.2 3.07 TH 26 weeks, Auction Rate 5.065 5.045 4.840
stock exposures should be Petroleum, related capacity, % Feb 9 80.6 82.4 86.5 –6.82 Avg weekly auction-c 5.23 5.22 4.61
reduced. Manager uses Producer price index (finished goods) c Jan 254.3 r254.6 257.6 –1.28 Booking (Q4) 29.70 24.70
Rotary rigs running, U.S. & Can., (Hughes) Feb 16 855 855 1,008 –15.18 Broker Call Rate 7.25 7.25 6.50
discretion on asset allocation Rate of inflation, % (annual, unadjusted) Jan 3.1 3.4 6.4 –51.56
when MSI is at 50% +/- 3%. Steel, (thous. tons) Feb 10 1,710 1,702 1,664 2.76 Dominion Energy (Q4) 0.38 1.06
Steel, rated capacity, % (AISI) Feb 10 77.0 76.6 74.4 3.49 Employment Bankers Acceptances
Edison International (Q4) 1.16 1.15
Bullish
Utilities a Jan 110.5 r104.3 98.8 11.84
Initial jobless claims (thous.) Feb 10 212 r220 216 –1.85 1 month 5.35 5.34 4.60
Continuing claims (mil.) Feb 3 1.895 r1.865 1.723 9.98 EOG Resources (Q4) 3.08 3.30 2 months 5.36 5.36 4.70
Consumption and Distribution
Help Wanted Online –Ads (thous,) Jan 6,468.4 6,188.7 6,113.8 5.80 Intuit (Q2) 2.30 2.20 3 months 5.37 5.38 4.83
Business sales, (mil. $) Dec 1,863.61 r1,855.93 1,823.58 2.20
Current Sentiment Small Business Optimism Index Jan 89.9 91.9 90.3 –0.44 6 months 5.34 5.30 5.08
Instinet Research Redbook Avg. (monthly %) Feb 10 1.26 r4.07 1.63 …. Moderna (Q4) -0.99 3.61
Baltic Dry Index Feb 16 1,610 1,545 538 199.26 Construction Foreign Prime Rates
73.4%
PG&E (Q4) 0.46 0.26
Retail store sales, (bil. $) Jan 700.3 r706.2 695.8 0.65 New housing permits, (thous. units) Jan 1,470 r1,493 1,354 8.57 Canada 7.20 7.20 6.70
Inventories New housing starts, (thous. units) Jan 1,331 r1,562 1,340 –0.67 F Germany 4.50 4.50 3.00
Last Week Japan 1.475 1.475 1.475
Business inventories, (bil. $) Dec 2,556.04 r2,546.85 2,544.86 0.44 Other Indicators Bloomin’ Brands (Q4) 0.69 0.68 Switzerland 2.25 2.25 1.50
Domestic crude oil, (thous. bbls) Comm. (Excl. Lease Stck) Feb 9 439,450 427,432 471,394 –6.78 Citi Research Panic–Euphoria Reading Feb 16 0.34 0.30 –0.06 …. Britain 5.25 5.25 4.00
78.9%
Gasoline, (thous. bbls) Feb 9 247,330 250,988 241,922 2.24 a-1997 equals 100. b-1982-84 equals 100. c-1982 equals 100. f-1996 equals 100. h-
benchmark revision, 2016 equals 100. r-Revised. Other Money Rates
Consensus Estimate
Fannie Mae Home Loan:
2 Weeks ago 30-Year Fixed Conv 6.47 6.23 6.13
Bank money market-z 0.60 0.60 0.26
American Debt and Deficits Adjustable Mortgage Rates Day Consensus Est Last Period Interest Checking-z 0.09 0.09 0.06
84.3%
3 Weeks ago
Latest
Report
Preceding
Report
Year Ago Yr over Yr
Report % Chg
1 Year Treas Bills
Feb 16
4.84
Feb 9
4.76
Yr. Ago
4.87
YOY % Chg
-0.62
T
TH
January Leading Indicators
3,970,000
-0.10%
3,780,000
6-Month Certif-z
12-Month Certif-z
30 Month Accounts-z
5-Year Certificates-z
1.74
1.91
1.47
1.38
1.75
1.91
1.47
1.38
1.01
1.50
1.17
1.17
Federal Budget Deficit (bil. $)-a 1,521FY'26 1,671FY'25 1,846FY'24 …. Unless otherwise indicated, times are Eastern. a-Advanced;
Budget Surplus/Deficit (bil. $)-b, January –21.93 r-129.35 –38.78 -43.45 2 Year Treas Notes 4.44 4.30 4.47 -0.67
Current Market Exposure: Trade Deficit (bil. $, sa)-c, December –62.20 r-61.88 –71.39 -12.87 3 Year Treas Notes 4.21 4.08 4.13 1.94 f-Final; p-Preliminary; r-Revised Source: FactSet U.S. Savings EE Bonds:
100% Equities, 0% Bonds, 0% Treasury Gross Public Debt. (bil. $)-d 34,245.3 34,197.6 31,454.9 8.87 5 Year Treas Notes 4.10 3.93 3.86 6.22
Cash Treasury Statutory Debt Limit (bil. $)-d * 31,381.5 …. …. For more information about coming economic reports Long-Term (5yrs+) 2.70 2.70 2.10
Consumer Installment Debt (bil. $)-e, December 5,010.3 r5,008.7 4,780.8 4.80 10 Year Treas Notes 4.13 4.01 3.67 12.53 - and what they mean - go to Barron’s free Economic
Source: Delta Investment 20 Year Treas Bds 4.44 4.34 3.88 14.43 Calendar at www.barrons.com c-Annualized yields, adjusted for constant maturity, reported by the Federal
Management Sources: a-Office of Management and Budget, b-Monthly Treasury Statement, c-Monthly Commerce Dept. FHFA PMMS+ Jan 7.49 7.49 7.07 5.94 Reserve on a weekly average basis. Sources: Tullett Prebon information, Ltd.
www.deltaim.com, (415) Report, d-Daily Treasury Statement, e-Monthly Federal Reserve Release. *Statutory debt limit temporarily Factset. z-Bankrate.com.
249-6337 suspended through January 1, 2025. Fed annualized yields adjusted for constant maturity.
52 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
Barron’s Gold Mining Index Weekly Bond Statistics Dividend Payment Boosts Top 5 Insider Purchases by
Company in 2024
12-Month Year Week %
High Low 2/15 2/8 Ago Chg. New Offerings, (mil $) (v) Last Week Prev. Week Yr Ago Adjusted % Record Ex-Div Payment
Company Name-Ticker Symbol (Exchange) Yield Period To From Increase Date Date Date
974.71 744.74 Gold mining 766.48 801.73 890.58 –4.40
Corporate (z) 30,240 r64,299 52,037 Ameren Corp-AEE (NYSE) 3.8 Q .67 .63 6.3 3-13 3-12 3-29 Number of Number of Avg.
Municipal (z) 5,732 r11,549 7,633 Ametek-AME (NYSE) 0.6 Q .28 .25 12.0 3-08 3-07 3-28 Company Sym Insiders Shares $ Value Price
Ardmore Shipping-ASC (NYSE) 5.6 Q .21 .16 31.2 2-29 2-28 3-15 Townebank TOWN 28 6,687 191,442 $28.63
Gold & Silver Prices
Best Grade Bonds-y AstraZeneca ADR-AZN (Nasdaq) 2.2 S .985 .465 111.8 2-23 2-22 3-25
Columbia Banking System COLB 13 52,666 1,083,289 $20.57
Atlas Energy Solutions-AESI (NYSE) 3.7 Q .21 .20 5.0 2-22 2-21 2-29
(Barron's index of 10 high-grade corporate bonds.) Community Trust Bancorp CTBI 12 10,421 435,510 $41.79
3.94 3.79 4.51
British Amer Tobacco ADR-BTI (NYSE) 9.6 Q .743059 .731803 1.5 3-22 3-21 5-07
Handy & Harman 2/16 2/9 Year Ago Brunswick-BC (NYSE) 1.9 Q .42 .40 5.0 2-26 2-23 3-15 Compass Diversified CODI 11 152,162 3,387,437 $22.26
Gold, troy ounce 1997.90 2023.50 1833.95 Interm-Grade Bonds-y CBL & Assocs Properties-CBL (NYSE) 6.8 Q .40 .375 6.7 3-15 3-14 3-29 New York Community Bancorp NYCB 8 209,610 873,614 $4.17
Silver, troy ounce 23.32 22.45 21.70 Cisco Systems-CSCO (Nasdaq) 3.3 Q .40 .39 2.6 4-04 4-03 4-24
(Barron's index of 10 medium-grade corporate bonds.) Clearway Energy Cl A-CWEN.A (NYSE) 5.7 Q .4033 .3964 1.7 3-01 2-29 3-15 Top 5 Insider Sales by Company in 2024
Base for pricing gold and silver contents of shipments and for making 4.92 4.76 5.06 Clearway Energy Cl C-CWEN (NYSE) 6.2 Q .4033 .3964 1.7 3-01 2-29 3-15
refining settlement. CLSeligmn Prem Tech Gr-STK (NYSE) 5.6 Q .4625 .2669 73.3 2-20 2-16 2-27 Ionis Pharmaceuticals IONS 17 399,454 20,107,445 $50.34
Confidence Index Coca-Cola-KO (NYSE) 3.3 Q .485 .46 5.4 3-15 3-14 4-01 Celsius CELH 16 4,091,573215,684,333 $52.71
Coins Price Premium $ Premium % Community Healthcare Tr-CHCT (NYSE) 6.6 Q .4575 .455 0.5 2-20 2-16 3-01 Doordash DASH 15 923,250 97,587,602 $105.70
(High-grade index divided by intermediate-grade index; decline in Crane NXT-CXT (NYSE) 1.1 Q .16 .14 14.3 2-29 2-28 3-13
Krugerrand 2092.48 80.48 4.00 latter vs. former generally indicates rising confidence, pointing to Airbnb ABNB 14 729,780101,571,463 $139.18
Maple Leaf 2112.60 100.60 5.00 CSP-CSPI (Nasdaq) 0.6 Q .05 .04 25.0 2-26 2-23 3-08
higher stocks.) Salesforce CRM 11 274,200 75,098,473 $273.88
Mexican Peso 2433.87 8.00 0.33 80.0 79.6 89.2
CSX-CSX (Nasdaq) 1.3 Q .12 .11 9.1 2-29 2-28 3-15
Austria Crown 1975.16 3.00 0.15 Enpro-NPO (NYSE) 0.7 Q .30 .29 3.4 3-06 3-05 3-20
Austria Phil 2112.60 100.60 5.00 Essent Group-ESNT (NYSE) 2.1 Q .28 .25 12.0 3-13 3-12 3-22
U.S. Eagles 2112.60 100.60 5.00 Other Confidence Indicators:
First BnCp Puerto Rico-FBP (NYSE) 3.8 Q .16 .14 14.3 2-23 2-22 3-08
Premium is the amount over the value of the gold content in the coin.
Source Manfra, Tordella & Brookes, Inc. Bullion spot gold price 2012 Bloomberg Barclays US Long Treasury*
Fortis-FTS (NYSE)
Genpact-G (NYSE)
4.4
1.7
Q
Q
.4382 .416605
.1525 .1375
5.2
10.9
5-17
3-11
5-16
3-08
6-01
3-26
Week’s Ex- Week’s Ex-
(This index measures the performance of fixed-rate, nominal US
Treasuries with at least 10 years to maturity. Jan. 1, 1973=100.)
Genuine Parts-GPC (NYSE)
Group 1 Automotive-GPI (NYSE)
2.8
0.7
Q
Q
1.00
.47
.95
.45
5.3
4.4
3-01
3-01
2-29
2-29
4-01
3-15 Dividend Dividend
Gold Performance 3063.71 3100.30 3224.87 HF Sinclair-DINO (NYSE)
India Fund-IFN (NYSE)
3.3
8.0
Q
Q
.50
.43
.45
.41
11.1
4.9
2-26
2-22
2-23
2-21
3-05
3-28 Dates Dates
Bloomberg Barclays US Credit Jack Henry & Associates-JKHY (Nasdaq) 1.3 Q .55 .52 5.8 3-08 3-07 3-26
Rust: Inflation and dollar strength knocked Kinsale Capital Group-KNSL (NYSE) 0.1 Q .15 .14 7.1 2-27 2-26 3-13 This list includes payouts on This list includes payouts on
(This index includes all publicly issued, fixed-rate, non-convertible, Koppers Holdings-KOP (NYSE) 0.5 Q .07 .06 16.7 3-08 3-07 3-25 common stocks. common stocks.
gold 1.3% on the week, to $1,998 an ounce. investment-grade, dollar-denominated, SEC-registered corporate
debt.) Louisiana-Pacific-LPX (NYSE) 1.5 Q .26 .24 8.3 2-23 2-22 3-08 NYSE NASDAQ
15 3011.24 3021.30 2859.67 Magna International-MGA (NYSE) 3.4 Q .475 .46 3.3 2-23 2-22 3-08
Merchants Bancorp-MBIN (NCM ) 0.8 Q .09 .08 12.5 3-15 3-14 4-01 Tuesday (February 20) Tuesday (February 20)
Handy & Harman Gold Price
Ryan Labs Treasury Index Molson Coors A-TAP.A (NYSE) 2.8 Q .44 .41 7.3 3-01 2-29 3-15 DHT Holdings .22
Molson Coors B-TAP (NYSE) 2.8 Q .44 .41 7.3 3-01 2-29 3-15 Energizer Holdings .30 Karat Packaging .30
10 (Index of total return from active Treasury notes and bonds. Dec. Moody's-MCO (NYSE) 0.9 Q .85 .77 10.4 2-23 2-22 3-15 Herc Holdings .665 Wednesday (February 21)
31, 1996=100.) Murphy USA-MUSA (NYSE) 0.4 Q .42 .41 2.4 2-26 2-23 3-07 Loews Corp .062
270.63 271.72 264.76 NorthWestern Energy Group-NWE (Nasdaq) 5.3 Q .65 .64 1.6 3-15 3-14 3-29 Marathon Oil .11 Applied Materials .32
5 Patria Investments-PAX (Nasdaq) 6.9 Q .399 .199 100.5 2-22 2-21 3-08 Marathon Petroleum .825 Littelfuse .65
Bond Buyer 20 Bond Index PC Connection-CNXN (Nasdaq) 0.5 Q .10 .08 25.0 2-27 2-26 3-15 Primerica .75
Marriott International .52
Primerica-PRI (NYSE) 1.2 Q .75 .65 15.4 2-21 2-20 3-12 Rollins Inc .15
(Index of yields of 20 general obligation municipal bonds.) Meta Platforms .50
0 Principal Financial Group-PFG (Nasdaq) 3.4 Q .69 .67 3.0 3-12 3-11 3-28 Target 1.10
3.54 3.49 3.65 Thomson Reuters .54
Public Svc Enterprise-PEG (NYSE) 4.0 Q .60 .57 5.3 3-08 3-07 3-29 Red Rock Resorts Cl A 1.00
Radian Group-RDN (NYSE) 3.5 Q .245 .225 8.9 2-26 2-23 3-12 Xylem .36
Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index Vinci Partners Invt .20
Reliance Steel-RS (NYSE) 1.3 Q 1.10 1.00 10.0 3-08 3-07 3-22 Yum! Brands .67
-5 Warner Music Group .17
(Index of 40 actively-traded tax-exempt bonds; component issues Restaurant Brands Intl-QSR (NYSE) 3.0 Q .58 .55 5.5 3-21 3-20 4-04 Wednesday (February 21)
are changed regularly to keep the index a current picture of the Robert Half-RHI (NYSE) 2.6 Q .53 .48 10.4 2-23 2-22 3-15 Thursday (February 22)
Angel Oak Mortgage REIT .32
market. Source: The Bond Buyer Saratoga Investment-SAR (NYSE) 12.1 Q .73 .72 1.4 3-13 3-12 3-28
-10 4.77 4.75 4.46 Scorpio Tankers-STNG (NYSE) 2.3 Q .40 .35 14.3 3-08 3-07 3-27 Atlas Energy Solutions .21 AstraZeneca ADR .985
Barnes Group .16
Service Corp Intl-SCI (NYSE) 1.7 Q .30 .29 3.4 3-15 3-14 3-28 Discover Finl Svcs .70 Carlyle Group .35
Stock/Bond Yield Gap-s SFL-SFL (NYSE) 8.1 Q .26 .25 4.0 3-15 3-14 3-28 Global Ship Lease Cl A .375 Columbia Banking System .36
-15 Sherwin-Williams-SHW (NYSE) 0.9 Q .715 .605 18.2 2-26 2-23 3-08 Himalaya Shipping .01
(Difference between yield on highest-grade corporate bonds and H & E Equipment Services .275
yield on stocks on the DJIA.) Star Bulk Carriers-SBLK (Nasdaq) 6.4 Q .45 .22 104.5 3-12 3-11 3-28 International Paper .463
Barron's Gold Mining Index (766.48) TELUS Corp.-TU (NYSE) 6.1 Q .2793 .27688 0.9 3-11 3-08 4-01 Microchip Technology .45
-2.04 -1.89 -2.46 Kinetik Holdings .75
-20 Unilever ADR-UL (NYSE) 3.6 Q .4582 .4539 0.9 2-23 2-22 3-22 Masco Corp .29 Superior Group of Cos. .14
Yield on DJ Equal Weight US Corp Bond Idx: Urban Edge Properties-UE (NYSE) 3.9 Q .17 .16 6.3 3-15 3-14 3-29 Materion .13 TPG .44
M A M J J A S O N D J F Victory Capital Cl A-VCTR (Nasdaq) 3.5 Q .335 .32 4.7 3-11 3-08 3-25 Peabody Energy .075 U.S. Lime & Minerals .25
Corp Bonds, (y) 5.45 5.38 5.46 Vulcan Materials-VMC (NYSE) 0.7 Q .46 .43 7.0 3-04 3-01 3-18 Regional Management .30
Wabtec-WAB (NYSE) 0.6 Q .20 .17 17.6 2-23 2-22 3-08 Tempur Sealy .13 Friday (February 23)
v-Week ended Thursday. y-Yield to maturity, week ended Thursday. z- WaFd-WAFD (Nasdaq) 3.6 Q .26 .25 4.0 2-23 2-22 3-08
Source: LSEG.*Barclays T-Bond Index discontinued by firm. Thursday (February 22)
Walker & Dunlop-WD (NYSE) 2.7 Q .65 .63 3.2 3-01 2-29 3-15 CDW Corp. .62
Warrior Met Coal-HCC (NYSE) 0.6 Q .08 .07 14.3 2-20 2-16 2-26 Avista .475 MKS Instruments .22
Weyerhaeuser-WY (NYSE) 2.4 Q .20 .19 5.3 3-08 3-07 3-22 Badger Meter .27
Tractor Supply 1.10
Federal Reserve Data Bank Dividend Payment Reductions
PennyMac Finl Svcs .20 Bath & Body Works .20
Week’s Provident Finl Svcs
Signet Jewelers
Williams-Sonoma
.24
.23
.90
Blue Owl Capital
Boise Cascade
.14
.20
Saturday (February 24)
Dividend
One week ended Feb 14: Bowlero .055 NONE
Adjusted % Record Ex-Div Payment Cabot Corp .40
Sat. (Feb. 24)-Sun. (Feb. 25) Company Name-Ticker Symbol (Exchange) Yield Period To From Decrease Date Date Date
Prev. Year Equifax .39 Sunday (February 25)
Payment
Member Bank Week Ago NONE
JBG SMITH Properties-JBGS (NYSE) 4.2 Q .175 .225 -22.2 % 3-01 2-29 3-15 Evercore Cl A .76
NONE
Reserve Chgs. (Mil. $) Change Change Nu Skin Enterprises Cl A-NUS (NYSE) 1.7 Q .06 .39 -84.6 % 2-26 2-23 3-06 First BnCp Puerto Rico .16
U.S. Gov't securities: This list includes payouts on
common stocks.
Week’s Stock Splits/Dividends Special Dividends
Flex LNG
Fortive
.75
.08
Monday (February 26)
NONE
Bought outright 7,112,060 -93 -907,081 Fortune Brands Innovation .24
Week’s
CoinbaseGlbl IovanceBiotherap Robinhood AuriniaPharm MiddlesexWater AmerSports Enpro KinsaleCapital RelianceSteel WattsWater Curo IDACORP
ColliersIntl IronwoodPharm RxSight AuroraCannabis MobileGlbEsports AmerEagle Equifax KnifeRiver RepublicSvcs WellsFargo CableOne IndependenceContr
ColumbusMcKinn J-Long SafetyInsurance AutonomixMed Mobileye AmerExpress Equitable KodiakGasSvcs ResideoTech Welltower CAE KKR RealEstFin
New Highs
Costco JackHenry Saia AvisBudget MoolecScience AmerHlthcrREIT EvercoreA KontoorBrands RushStreetInt WescoIntl CenterraGold Leggett&Platt
Couchbase JBHunt ScanSource BanzaiIntl Movano AIG Evertec KornFerry RymanHospitality Westlake ChimeraInvt LifezoneMetals
CoyaTherap JFrog SEI Investments Beneficient Movella Ametek Fastly Kyndryl SFL WestRock ClarosMtg Luxfer
and Lows
CredoTech KaratPkg SemlerScientific Biogen MyMD Pharm Amphenol FederalSignal La-Z-Boy SPX Tech WhiteMtnIns COPEL Medifast
Crexendo KarunaTherap SeraPrognostics Biolase NauticusRobot AndrettiAcqnA Ferguson Leidos SafeBulkers Williams-Sonoma ComstockRscs MethodeElec
CrineticsPharm KellyServices A SkyWest Biophytis NeptuneWellness APi Group FidNatlFinl Lennar A ScienceApplicat Wipro CoreLabs Mosaic
CrisprTherap KellyServicesB SolidBiosci BiosigTech NexalinTechnology AppliedIndlTechs Fiserv Lennar B SentinelOne WooriFinl CoreCard NetPower
NYSE
CrowdStrike Kernel SparkIAcqnA BorealisFoods Next.e.GO Aptargroup Flowserve EliLilly ServiceIntl Xylem DRDGOLD Newmont
458 81
CrownCrafts KernelA Splunk BrenmillerEner NioCorpDevts Archrock Fluor Loews ShakeShack YirenDigital DesktopMetal NuSkinEnts
CSP KerosTherap SpringValleyII A BriaCellTherap NKGenBiotech Arcosa FlutterEnt MRC Global SharkNinja ZKH EndeavourSilver Nutrien
CSW Industrials Kingstone SpringWorks Brightcove NovoIntSci AristaNetworks FomentoEconMex Macerich SherwinWilliams Enviva OneConnectFin
New Highs New Lows Shift4Paymts NEW LOWS Equinor OsiskoDevelopment
CSX KiniksaPharm SproutsFarmers BrightGreen NutexHealth ArmstrongWorld Fortive ManulifeFinl
CullinanOncology KLA SproutSocial BruushOralCare Artivion FortuneBrands MartinMarietta Shopify AGCO EquityCommnwlth PanAmerSilver
NY Mortgage
Nasdaq Similarweb Allego ExcelerateEner Pinstripes
CyberArkSoftware Kopin SpruceBio Canoo OMNIQ AspenAerogels Frontline MasoniteIntl
582 250
CymaBayTherap KratosDefense SS&C Tech CanopyGrowth AssuredGuaranty GEO Group Mastercard SimonProperty AlmacenesExito Express RegionalMgmt
OriginMaterials
Datadog KymeraTherap StrategicEd CareMax Autoliv GMS Materion SkylineChamp AltoNeurosci FirstMajSilver SandstormGold
PacBiosciCA
Dave LamResearch SummitTherap Cemtrex AveryDennison GSK Matson SmithDouglas Ameren ForumEnergyTech SeabridgeGold
PalisadeBio
New Highs New Lows Dave&Buster's LarimarTherap SuperMicroComp CenturyCasinos BBB Foods GeneralElec MauiLand Snowflake AndrettiAcqnA FourSeasonsEduc Transalta
PennsWoodsBncp
DiamondbkEner LegacyHousing SurgePays CERoTherapeutics BWX Tech Glaukos Merck SpectrumBrands ArrowElec Gerdau Transocean
Peraso
NYSE American Digimarc Lensar Cheche Ball GlobalIndl MercuryGeneral SpireGlobal BBB Foods Greif B TreeHouseFoods
Synchronoss PerionNetwork
DIH US CleanEnergyTechs SpreeAcqn1 A BRT Apartments HDFC Bank Trinseo
19 30
LeonardoDRS TarsusPharm PetMedExpress BBVA GlobalPtrs MillerIndustries
DirectDigital LianBio CN Energy BerkHathwy A MineralsTechs Sprott BarrickGold Haemonetics TripleFlagPrecMtl
TatTechnologies PixieDustTech GlobalPayments
DistributionSoln LifetimeBrands CoeptisTherap BerkHathwy B Stantec BloomEnergy HeclaMining ViaOptronics
TaylorDevices PortageBiotech GlobeLife MistrasGroup
DLH Holdings Light&Wonder CosmosHealth Biohaven Stellantis BorgWarner Herbalife WEC Energy
New Highs New Lows TelomirPharm PsyenceBiomed GoldmanSachs MiX Telematics
DoorDash LincolnEduc CreativeMedia BlendLabs StifelFinancial BowFlex HormelFoods YatsenHolding
TetraTech QuidelOrtho Gorman-Rupp ModineMfg
Only includes COMMON and REIT stocks Stryker
DoubleDown LincolnElectric TevogenBio Cricut QuoinPharm BlueLinx Graco MohawkInds
SumitomoMits
NYSE American Alarm.com
DraftKings
ElectronicArts
Linde
Liquidia
TexasRoadhouse
TGVentureAcqn
CrownElectrokin
Cyanotech
RebornCoffee
ReShapeLife
BoiseCascade
BoozAllen
Graham
GrahamHoldings
MolinaHealthcare
Moody's
SummitMaterials
SunLifeFinancial
Conference Call Calendar
AlarumTech Eltek LPL Financial TLGY Acqn A DatChat RichardsonElec BostonSci Guess Moog A Earnings-
NEW HIGHS Sylvamo
AlkamiTech EncoreWire Lyft TourmalineBio DenaliCapAcqnA Sabre Brady Guidewire MuellerIndustries Related
AmbowEduc SynchronyFinl Company Date Time Period
Alkermes EnergemA MakeMyTrip TPG DigitalTurbine SaveFoods BrightHorizons GuildHldgs MuellerWater
ChromocellTherap TAL Education
AlpineImmune EnergySvsofAmerica McGrathRent TradeDesk DolphinEnt ScinaiImmun BrinkerIntl HCI Group NVR
Electromed TFI Intl Allegion PLC February 20 8:00AM Q4
Alvotech EnsignGroup Medpace Tradeweb E-HomeHousehold SemiluxIntl BrookdaleSrLiving HNI NewOrientalEduc
EllomayCapital Tanger Ameren February 23 10:00AM Q4
AlxOncology Entegris MercurityFintech Trimble ECDAutoDesign SharpLink BrookfieldAsset HartfordFinl NewMarket
Espey Tapestry Analog Devices February 21 10:00AM Q1
Amazon.com Equillium MerrimackPharm Tripadvisor Edgio BrookfieldBus HaymakerAcqnCorp.4 NorfolkSouthern
ShiftPixy TargaResources APA February 22 11:00AM Q4
GencorInds AmerCoastalIns Equinix Merus TriumphFinl eGain Brookfield Heico NovoNordisk
ShuttlePharm TaylorMorrison Booking February 22 4:30PM Q4
JawsMustangA AmericanWoodmark ErieIndemnity Metagenomi TrueCar EigerBioPharma Brown&Brown Heico A NuHoldings
Sientra TencentMusic Builders FirstSource February 22 9:00AM Q4
M-tronInds Anterix EsgenAcqn MetaPlatforms TTM Tech ElevaiLabs BuildersFirst HimalayaShipping NuSTAREnergy
SingularityFut Tennant Celanese February 21 10:00AM Q4
PerfectMoment ApogeeEnt EuroDry MicroStrategy TwistBiosci Emcore CACI Intl HireRight OntoInnovation
SizzleAcqn TevaPharm CenterPoint Energy February 20 8:00AM Q4
Stereotaxis AppliedOptoelec Evolus MillenniumGrpIntl TyraBiosciences EsportsEnt CBIZ HomeDepot OrionGroup
SocialLvgI A Textainer Coterra Energy February 23 10:00AM Q4
10XCapIII A AppliedTherap Ezcorp MKS Instrum UltraClean ExactSciences CBRE Group HoraceMann Orix
SolidionTech ThomsonReuters Diamondback Energy February 21 9:00AM Q4
UnusualMachines ApplMaterials FateTherap MongoDB UnivLogistics ExtremeNetworks CGI A HoulihanLokey OscarHealth
SpartanNash TopBuild Dominion Energy February 22 10:00AM Q4
WilliamsRowland AppLovin Fenbo MoonLakeImm UnvlStainless EzFill CNA Fin HowmetAerospace OtisWorldwide
SRM Ent ToyotaMotor Entergy February 22 11:00AM Q4
Zedge APxAcqnI A FirstAdvantage MountainI A UrbanOutfitters FaradayFuture CRH Hubbell OverseasShip
SSR Mining TransDigm EOG Resources February 23 10:00AM Q4
ArcturusTherap FirstInternetBncp MrCooper US Lime&Min FibroBiologics Cadre HuntingIngalls PJT Partners
NEW LOWS StoneBridgeA Travelers ETSY February 21 5:00PM Q4
Ardelyx FirstWatchRest MYR Group VeecoInstr FinchTherap Caleres HyattHotels PVH
StryveFoods Trex Exelon February 21 10:00AM Q4
AIM Immuno Arm Flex NanoLabs Fluent CanNtlRlwy PalantirTech
VEON SunshineBio HysterYaleMatls TriPointe Home Depot February 20 9:00AM Q4
AgEagleAerial Arq Flexsteel Napco Security FocusUniversal CdnPacKC IDT ParPacific
VeraTherap Synaptogenix TriNet Host Hotels & Resorts February 22 10:00AM Q4
AmbowEduc ArrowrootAcqnA Fonar NaturalHlthTrends ForresterRes Carlisle IQVIA ParkerHannifin
Vericel Synlogic TurkcellIletism Insulet February 22 4:30PM Q4
AtlasClear Arvinas FosterLB NatureWood ForwardAir Carter's Informatica Parsons
Viatris Techprecision TylerTech International Flavors & Fragrances February 21 9:00AM Q4
Azitra AryaSciencesIV Freshpet Nayax VikingTherap FractylHealth Celestica IngersollRand Pentair
TenaxTherap US Foods Iron Mountain February 22 8:30AM Q4
B2Gold AscendisPharma FTAI Infra Netflix VSE FreightTech Chubb Ingredion PerformanceFood
TH Intl Uber Live Nation Entertainment February 22 5:00PM Q4
BiomX AthiraPharma FusionFuelGreen NeumoraTherap WeatherfordIntl Gaxos.ai Ciena InstalledBldg PetroleoBrasil LKQ February 22 8:00AM Q4
TivicHealth UiPath
BoqiiHolding authID Gentex Nextracker WeycoGroup GenerationIncm Cigna IntegerHoldings PetroleoBrasilA Medtronic PLC February 20 8:00AM Q3
ToughBuiltInds UltraparPart
CalidiBiotherap Aware GibraltarInds Nkarta WholeEarthBrds Genmab CleanHarbors ICE PiperSandler Newmont February 22 10:00AM Q4
TreasureGlobal Unisys
CamberEnergy Axogen GigaCloudTech NN WillisTowers GeoVaxLabs ComfortSystems InterContinentl PlayAGS UnitedRentals Newmont February 22 4:00PM Q4
Tuniu
ChicagoRivet AxonEnterprise GoldenOcean Nordson Wingstop GigaMedia SABESP IntercorpFinSvcs PrestigeCnsHlth UniversalHealthB NiSource February 21 11:00AM Q4
UrbanOne D
ChromocellTherap AxsomeTherap GoldenStarAcqn NorthernTechsIntl XenonPharm GileadSciences Core&Main JPMorganChase Primerica UtzBrands Nordson February 22 8:30AM Q1
UtahMedProducts
DeltaApparel Backblaze GooseheadIns Nova XerisBiopharma GladstoneLand CorebridgeFin Jabil PrimorisSvcs Vizio PG&E February 22 11:00AM Q4
Vaxxinity
Flanigans Balchem GreatLakesDredge Nutanix XOMA GlblMofyMetaverse Credicorp JacksonFinl ProcoreTech Vertiv Public Storage February 21 12:00PM Q4
Veradigm
GEE Group BeamrImaging GreenlightCapRe Nuvalent Y-mAbsTherap GlobalGas Cummins JacobsSolns Progressive Visa Synopsys February 21 5:00PM Q1
VintageWineEstates
i-80Gold BelFuse A GridDynamics NVIDIA Zillow A Gogoro Curtiss-Wright JamesHardie PrudentialFinl VistaEnergy Teleflex February 22 8:00AM Q4
Volcon
IvanhoeElectric BelFuse B Groupon NXP Semicon Zillow C GoPro Danaher JanusIntl PureStorage Vistra Verisk Analytics February 21 8:30AM Q4
voxeljet
MAG Silver BeliteBio H&E Equipment Nyxoah ZimVie GreenbrookTMS DaVita JefferiesFinl PyrophyteAcqn Vontier VICI Properties February 23 10:00AM Q4
VoxRoyalty
MetallaRoyalty BGC HaoxiHlthTech OlympicSteel Zymeworks GRI Bio Dick's JonesLang QuadGraphics VulcanMatls Warner Bros Discovery February 23 8:00AM Q4
Vroom
MovingiMage Bitfarms HarpoonTherap OneSpaWorld GryphonDig DieboldNixdorf KB Financial Qudian WEX Source: CCBN, www.ccbn.com
NEW LOWS Vuzix
NewPacificMetals BlueBird HealthEquity OricPharm GT Biopharma DigitalRealty KKR RB Global Wabtec
WheelerREIT
Barron’s 50-Stock Average
BlueprintMed HealthStream OtterTail 2U HanoverBancorp DigitalBridge KT RELX Walmart
PineappleFinl WhereFoodComes
BowmanConsult HelixAcqnIIA Paccar 36Kr Hempacco Dillard's Kadant RalphLauren WasteConnections
Southland WiSA Tech
Braze HeronTherap Palomar Aclarion HertzGlobal Disney Kaman RaymondJames WasteMgt
TRX Gold Workhorse This index is a weighted average of 50 leading issues. Useful in security
byNordicAcqnA Hibbett PatrickIndustries AcrivonTherap HubCyberSecurity Donaldson valuation. Source: Barron's Stats
UnusualMachines Yunji
Distributions & Offerings
ByrnaTech Honest PB Bankshares AdialPharm Hywin DonnelleyFin
WesternCopper ZaiLab Feb 15 Feb 8 Feb Yr-to-Yr
CadenceDesign HudsonTech PCConnection AdlaiNortye IdealPower Dover
Zomedica Zhongchao 2024 2024 2023 % Chg
Camtek ICF Intl Pegasystems AestheticMed Imunon DrReddy'sLab
Zoomcar Secondary Distributions of common stocks S&P 500 Index 5029.73 4997.91 4091.00 22.95
Nasdaq Canna-GlobalA Ichor PerellaWeinberg AgapeATP IridiumComm DycomInds
Agriforce Agilysys 867,729 $83.80 $72,715,690 Barron’s 50 Index 12957.59 12798.53 11402 13.64
CapitalProduct Icon Photronics Kaltura NYSE elfBeauty
NEW HIGHS Azitra 16,667,000 $0.30 $5,000,100 Projected quarterly earn 115.34 116.52 141.55 –18.52
CardiolTherap IDEAYA Bio Pixelworks Ainos KintaraTherap EMCOR
AAON Beamr Imaging Ltd 1,971,300 $7.00 $13,799,100
CavcoIndustries IES Holdings PowellIndustries Akanda KyvernaTherap NEW HIGHS ESAB Annualized projected earn 461.37 466.08 566.21 –18.52
Eltek Ltd 625,000 $16.00 $10,000,000
AbeonaTherap Celcuity Immunome ProceptBio AkariTherap LakeshoreAcqnII ACCO Brands EagleMaterials Annualized projected P/E 28.09 27.46 20.3 38.05
Gates Industrial plc 20,125,000 $12.20 $245,525,000
AcademySports CellebriteDI InceptionGrowth Pulmonx AllarityTherap Leafly ADC Therap Eaton GE HealthCare Technologies 13,000,000 $82.25 $1,069,250,000 Five-year average earn 515.93 516.40 479.72 7.55
ACI Worldwide CentessaPharm InflectionPtIIA PumaBiotech AlnylamPharm LibertyBroadbandA AZZ Ecolab Immunome 10,000,000 $20.00 $200,000,000
Five-year average P/E 25.11 24.78 23.8 5.64
Adeia CerevelTherap INmuneBio Rapid7 AlternusCleanEner LibertyBroadbandC AbbVie KalVista Pharmaceuticals 10,500,000 $15.25 $160,121,516
ElancoAnimal Year-end earn 681.35 681.35 601.05 13.36
ADMA Biologics Larimar Therapeutics 17,162,472 $8.74 $150,000,005
CervoMed Innospec RayzeBio AmerBatteryTech LibertyLatAmA Abercrombie&Fitch Elastic
Modular Medical 9,090,910 $1.10 $10,000,001 Year-end P/E 19.02 18.78 19.0 0.17
ADS-TEC CG Oncology InsightEnt RealBrokerage AN2 Therap LibertyLatAmC Acushnet ElementSolns NewAmsterdam Pharma Co NV 10,608,750 $19.00 $201,565,776 Year-end earns yield, % 5.26 5.32 5.3 –0.29
AffinityBncshs ChinaNaturalRscs InteractiveBrkrs RedRockResorts APA LytusTech AdvDrainageSys ElevanceHealth Prime Medicine 25,760,006 $6.25 $161,000,005
Agric&NatSolnsA Best grade bond yields, % 3.94 3.79 4.40 –10.35
CleanSpark InterDigital RelmadaTherap ArtesianRscs A Mangoceuticals AerCap EmeraldHldg REV Group 8,000,000 $16.50 $132,000,000
AI Transportation ClimbGlbl Interface Repligen AscentSolar MatthewsIntl AlamoGroup EmersonElec SMX (Security Matters) plc 12,125,000 $0.24 $2,910,000 Bond yields/stock ylds, % 0.75 0.71 0.83 –10.09
AimeiHlthTech CodereOnline AstraZeneca Allegion Sunshine Biopharma 71,428,571 $0.14 $9,955,000 Actual year-end divs 253.92 253.90 239.03 6.23
Intra-Cellular ResearchSolutions MediciNova EmployersHldgs
Airbnb CognyteSoftware Intuit RhythmPharm AtriCure MercerIntl AllisonTransm EnerpacTool Source: Dealogic LLC, New York City; (212) 577-4400. Actual yr-end divs yld, % 1.96 1.98 2.10 –6.54
54 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
O T H E R VO I C E S
“Brain drain” has resulted in less Wall Street
research on individual companies and a wider
divergence among valuations.
the S&P 500 index. “I think there are years, according to BofA. If the same
massive inefficiencies in the public strategies were applied to all compa-
equity market right now that haven’t nies in the S&P 500, companies with
necessarily been sussed out by expert cheap valuations would have outper-
stockpickers,” she says. formed by a lower 2.6 percentage
In 2000, pensions had about 80% points a year and those with a high
of their equity allocation in active pub- return on capital by 0.8 percentage
lic equities. That has shrunk to about points a year over the same period.
a third of overall equity allocation, Charles Bobrinskoy, vice chairman
with holdings in private equity and and head of the investment group at
passive investments also at about a Ariel Investments, sees a similar
third each, Subramanian says. trend. More information is supposed
The mutual fund world has also to make markets more efficient, he
seen big changes. The number of says. “And the inverse is true. The less
funds in U.S., long-only, large-cap information there is, the less efficient
funds has dropped by 40% since a market will be and the more disper-
2013, found BofA Global Research. sion there will be between the price
The decline of stock-picking means observed in the market and a fair
that there are fewer eyeballs watching price.”
some companies, even large ones, and Small-caps can be particularly at-
that results in divergent pricing in the tractive because many are undercov-
stock market. That, in turn, means ered—and underloved by traders.
that some securities are undervalued “It’s not just analyst coverage. It’s if
and could be potential value plays. the traders aren’t putting any money
Markets Aren’t as
“It’s sort of this spiral, where the into them, there could be opportuni-
lack of interest leads to low valua- ties where something would gap down
tions. The low valuations lead to less in price and we could take advantage
interest,” says Peter Boockvar, chief of that,” he says.
Efficient as They
investment officer at Bleakley Finan- But investors should know what
cial Group, of the decline in analysts’ they’re buying, Bobrinskoy says.
research. Small-caps can be less liquid, and low
The average number of sell-side analyst coverage can be risky.
C
better on a universe of companies view Holdings. “It’s the largest com-
that have fewer analysts following mercial landscaping company in the
hanges in investing BY PATTI “My thesis is we’ve seen a brain them. On its list of companies with country. It has a market cap of only
strategies by pen- DOMM drain from active public equity inves- low coverage are the likes of Bio-Rad $800 million, but it’s expected to do
sion funds and The writer is an tors to private equity or passive” in- Laboratories, Prologis, and CF almost $3 billion of revenue this year,”
other institutions Emmy Award— vestments, says Savita Subramanian, Industries. he says. “Six analysts cover that.”
have created ineffi- winning financial head of U.S. equity and quantitative The BofA strategists created a uni- The payoff can be large when ana-
ciencies in the stock journalist. strategy at BofA Global Research. verse of undercovered stocks by split- lysts discover a company that Wall
market. They could “That public equity component has ting the S&P industry groups into Street has ignored, Boockvar says.
be opportunities for bargain-seeking been squeezed out by either [inves- those above and below the median “What reverses that is a company just
investors. tors] reaching for growth in private numbers of analysts’ estimates. gets more successful, more profitable,
Fund managers over the years equity—and that’s where people are Within the low-coverage universe, and bigger and just graduates to the
have moved capital away from stock- looking for their long-term fundamen- they filtered for companies with cheap next level where more portfolio man-
picking strategies and put more money tal exposure—or they’re getting low- valuations, based on sales-to-price, agers become aware of that,” he says.
RETIREMENT MAILBAG
Before Calling It Quits, How to Fix the
Consider These Costs
Pharmacy Chains
BY ELIZABETH O’BRIEN If you’re forced into early retirement To the Editor:| holdings and does some basic math, ab-
M
and your health allows, taking on a part- I’m not surprised that the chain pharma- sent its Microsoft holdings, this ETF had
any people dream of the time job can help bridge the gap until your cies are having trouble (“Walgreens, CVS, almost no gains. Whether it can be prof-
days when they won’t planned retirement date. Even if it doesn’t and Other Pharmacy Chains Are in a itable to justify the 16% “discount” price
have to work. But an early cover all of your expenses, part-time in- World of Hurt. What’s to Blame,” Feb. 9). or to maintain its 6.57% yield remains to
exit from the workforce— come could help you withdraw less from It’s astonishing how many pharmacies be seen. A one-off item often makes a
whether chosen or not—can have huge retirement accounts and delay claiming there are. It seems like every intersection business in the short term but also
ripple effects on your financial life and Social Security. has at least two of them, and frequently breaks it in the long term. Investors need
health insurance. There’s a perennial debate over when to there are few people working. Close half of to seek average steady gains from all
Surveys consistently find that many start taking Social Security; retiring early them and the remaining half can employ items and all investments rather than
workers retire earlier than planned. A can complicate the math. People born in more than twice as many people, provid- trusting one-offs.
new study from Allspring Global Invest- 1960 or later have a full retirement age of ing better service at a lower cost. Rick Auerbach
ments reported that 37% of respondents 67, meaning that’s when they’re entitled J. Acorn Sandy Hook, Conn.
retired sooner than expected. The 2023 to 100% of their benefits. (For those born On Barrons.com
Employee Benefit Research Institute/ before, it’s slightly earlier.) Those who
Greenwald Research Retirement Confi- claim at 62 receive a benefit that’s perma- Live Debt-Free
dence Survey found 46% retiring earlier nently 30% less than it would be at full CVS Inc.
than planned. retirement age, while those who wait until To the Editor:
The biggest financial hit may be to 70 will receive 124% of the full benefit. It To the Editor: It’s generally a bad idea for most people to
your retirement savings. You could lose isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition, how- Catherine Dunn did an excellent job of borrow from the equity of their home
valuable years of contributions to Social ever: Every month you can delay claiming exposing the corporate culture in the Vir- (“Homeowners Are Sitting on a Ton of
Security—especially if you’re at your will put a little extra money in your check. ginia Beach CVS pharmacy (“What’s Gone Equity. How to Tap It Wisely,” Retirement,
career peak earnings—and miss out Health insurance is another big con- Wrong at Pharmacies? A CVS Store in Feb. 8). The best part of homeownership is
on padding accounts like a 401(k) or an sideration if you retire before 65, the age Virginia Beach Holds the Answer,” Feb. to pay off the mortgage and live debt-free.
individual retirement account. Things when you’re eligible for Medicare. Laid- 9). But this only the tip of the iceberg for This well-written article espouses the
can get worse if you have to dip into your off workers are usually entitled to Cobra many corporate retail pharmacies. While polar opposite. A paid-off home is a won-
nest egg ahead of schedule, diminishing coverage for 18 to 36 months, but you they are in the process of closing hun- derful gift to one’s future self.
compound interest and equity returns. typically have to pay the full cost of pre- dreds of stores, they appear to neglect to M.J. Pesqueira
While some workers leave their jobs miums plus a 2% administrative fee. add staff in the remaining pharmacies that On Barrons.com
because they have met their financial goals Thanks to Obamacare, insurance plans will absorb the huge number of trans-
ahead of time, the majority depart due to available through HealthCare.gov may be ferred prescriptions. These corporate deci-
layoffs or health concerns for themselves cheaper—especially since government sions create a harmful impact, adding CORRECTIONS & AMPLIFICATIONS
or a partner. Of the 46% who reported subsidies have been expanded through the more risk and responsibility to the front-
retiring early in the EBRI survey, 35% did end of 2025. The downside: These plans line pharmacy staff. Lithium has the highest charge-to-weight
so due to a health problem or disability usually come with high out-of-pocket Dan Marrah ratio of any battery metal. Last week’s
and another 31% did so because of changes costs. For marketplace plans this year, the Monterey, Calif. Streetwise column incorrectly said that
at their company. out-of-pocket limit is $9,450 for an indi- it had the lowest.
“You have less time to save, and more vidual and $18,900 for a family.
time to live off it, so you’re getting hit on Sue Shearer, a registered nurse in the Trusting in One-Offs
both sides,” says Nate Miles, head of re- Seattle area, originally planned to retire Send letters to Mail@Barrons.com.
tirement at Allspring Global Investments. at 62 and stay on her husband’s health To the Editor: To be considered for publication,
That’s all the more reason to save as insurance until he retired at 67. He is two In Randall W. Forsyth’s Up & Down correspondence must bear the writer’s
much as you can, when you can. For years older than she is, and when he de- Wall Street column (“Closed-End Funds name, address, and phone number.
2024, the Internal Revenue Service al- cided to retire at 65, she changed course Sport Historic Discounts, High Yields. Letters are subject to editing.
lows savers age 50 and over to contrib- and kept her job. What to Buy Now,” Feb. 9), David Tep-
ute an additional $7,500 to their 401(k) “It made more sense to keep working, per recommended the Ellsworth Growth
as “catch-up contributions,” for a total of stash money away, and keep my own & Income closed-end fund. I would cau- The Barron’s Daily is our morning briefing
$30,500. If you’re turning 50 at any time health insurance,” says Shearer, now 64 tion Barron’s readers to break it down. If for what you need to know for the day.
in 2024, you can start catching up now. and happy she didn’t call it quits. B one looks at the ETF’s prospectus and Sign up at barrons.com/newsletters.
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56 BARRON’S February 19, 2024
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