Brunch Reads – 8/11/24

Welcome to Bespoke Brunch Reads — a linkfest of the favorite things we read over the past week. The links are mostly market-related, but there are some other interesting subjects covered as well. We hope you enjoy the food for thought as a supplement to the research we provide you during the week.

The Rock: On August 11th, 1934, Alcatraz Island off of San Francisco Bay, known as “The Rock,” officially opened as a federal prison. It was designed to house the most dangerous criminals of the era, including Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly. Despite its isolated location, a total of 14 escape attempts were made by 36 prisoners during Alcatraz’s 29 years of operation. Most were caught, shot, or drowned in the cold, treacherous waters. The most famous and intriguing escape attempt occurred on the night of June 11th, 1962, when Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin successfully broke out of their cells and vanished into the bay. They were never found, but the story was immortalized in the 1979 film Escape from Alcatraz, starring Clint Eastwood. Today, Alcatraz is no longer an active prison but operates as a popular tourist destination managed by the National Park Service. Visitors can explore the eerie remnants of the prison and hear stories of its infamous inmates.

Health & Wellness

What Happens When Ozempic Takes Over Your Town (Bloomberg)
In Bowling Green, Kentucky, Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs have become so widespread that the city has earned the nickname “Ozempictown, USA.” Once associated with celebrities, these drugs are now a common part of daily life in this middle-class Southern city, where nearly everyone seems to be on, or knows someone on, these medications. Despite their popularity, the drugs have brought mixed results, including side effects and accessibility issues, as demand outpaces supply. [Link]

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Bespoke’s Morning Lineup — 8/9/24

See what’s driving market performance around the world in today’s Morning Lineup. Bespoke’s Morning Lineup is the best way to start your trading day. Read it now by starting a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium.  CLICK HERE to learn more and start your trial.

“There are three things in the world that deserve no mercy; hypocrisy, fraud, and tyranny.” – Frederick William Robertson

Morning stock market summary

Below is a snippet of commentary from today’s Morning Lineup. Start a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium to view the full report.  

Since the start of 2022 (when the last bear market began), there have been 26 one-day gains of 2%+, and 23 of those came in 2022 when markets were struggling.  Yesterday was just the 2nd 2%+ gain of 2024 and there was only one 2%+ gain in all of 2023.  As shown below, the S&P has averaged a small decline of 0.14% on the day after 2%+ up days since 2022 and a bigger drop of -0.39% in the week after 2%+ gains.  Over the next month, though, the S&P has averaged a gain of 1.10%.

Continue reading today’s full Morning Lineup by starting a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium.

The Triple Play Report — 8/8/24

An earnings triple play is a stock that reports earnings and manages to 1) beat analyst EPS estimates, 2) beat analyst sales estimates, and 3) raise forward guidance.  You can read more about “triple plays” at Investopedia.com where they’ve given Bespoke credit for popularizing the term.  We like triple plays as an indication that a company’s business is firing on all cylinders, with better-than-expected results and an improving outlook.  A triple play is indicative of positive “fundamental momentum” instead of pure fundamentals, and there are always plenty of names with both high and low valuations on our quarterly list.

Bespoke’s Triple Play Report highlights companies that have recently reported earnings triple plays, and it features commentary from management on triple-play conference calls, company descriptions and analysis, and price charts.  Bespoke’s Triple Play Report is available at the Bespoke Institutional level only.  You can sign up for Bespoke Institutional now and receive a 14-day trial to read this week’s Triple Play Report, which features 20 new stocks.  To sign up, choose either the monthly or annual checkout link below:

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CareDx (CDNA), a healthcare name that specializes in transplant patient care, is an example of a company that recently reported an earnings triple play. The stock started the year off slow but has flown higher by more than 250% since April lows. CDNA has put together back-to-back triple plays, garnering one-day earnings reaction gains of 34.1% and 18%.

Looking at the snapshot below from our Earnings Explorer, CDNA has started a bit of a run on the earnings front after some weaker reports in 2022 and 2023. The past year of earnings has painted a much rosier picture of the company, as the stock has moved at least 9.5% higher on each of its post-earnings trading days. In the three years prior to the last four earnings reports, the average one-day move for the stock was a decline of 5.1% post earnings. On its last four reports, it has seen an average swing higher of 18.9%.

The company’s core offerings include AlloSure Kidney and AlloMap Heart, non-invasive blood tests designed to monitor the health of organ transplant recipients. AlloSure measures donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) to detect signs of organ rejection, while AlloMap assesses gene expression profiles to evaluate heart transplant rejection risk. AlloSeq is a suite of next-generation sequencing (NGS) solutions that are essential for matching donors and recipients and monitoring engraftment success in transplant patients. These tests are obviously important, and they are performing quite well for CDNA. You can read more about CDNA and the 19 other triple plays in our newest report by starting a Bespoke Institutional trial today.

Bespoke Investment Group, LLC believes all information contained in these reports to be accurate, but we do not guarantee its accuracy. None of the information in these reports or any opinions expressed constitutes a solicitation of the purchase or sale of any securities or commodities. This is not personalized advice. Investors should do their own research and/or work with an investment professional when making portfolio decisions. As always, past performance of any investment is not a guarantee of future results. Bespoke representatives or clients may have positions in securities discussed or mentioned in its published content.

Bespoke’s Morning Lineup – 8/8/24 – Follow the Odds

See what’s driving market performance around the world in today’s Morning Lineup. Bespoke’s Morning Lineup is the best way to start your trading day. Read it now by starting a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium.  CLICK HERE to learn more and start your trial.

“If you have someone equal in ability to me I will beat him every time because I will try harder.” – Pete Rose

Morning stock market summary

Below is a snippet of commentary from today’s Morning Lineup. Start a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium to view the full report.  

Along with NVIDIA (NVDA), Super Micro Computer (SMCI) has been one of the poster-childs of the AI Boom.  As shown below, though, the bloom appears to be off the rose.  Earlier this year, SMCI shot up to $1,200/share, but since then it has now fallen 60%.  Shares are currently trading around $480 in the pre-market this morning.

Continue reading today’s full Morning Lineup by starting a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium.

The Closer – Reversal, Consumer Credit, Terrible 10y – 8/7/24

Log-in here if you’re a member with access to the Closer.

Looking for deeper insight into markets? In tonight’s Closer sent to Bespoke Institutional clients, we lead off with a look at the intraday reversal (page 1) followed by a checkup on investor sentiment (page 2). We then take a look into the latest consumer credit figures (pages 3 and 4).  We then turn over to the latest petroleum stockpile data (page 5) and close out with a recap of the horrendous 10-year note auction (page 6).

See today’s full post-market Closer and everything else Bespoke publishes by starting a 14-day trial to Bespoke Institutional today!

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