Home Depot (HD) – A play on economist expectations for continued increases in housing-related costs. A top story on the Wall Street Journal Tuesday, “Climbing Housing Costs Could Prop Up Inflation for a While,” highlighted “Economists say rents will eventually moderate. Question is when?” Also Tuesday, data from the US Census Bureau showed housing starts were stronger than expected during August.
Ford (F) – The company warned inflation-related costs during the third quarter would be $1 billion higher than the automaker’s original estimate. Ford said it expects to have about 40,000-45,000 “vehicles on wheels but awaiting parts” by the end of the third quarter. For some perspective, back in May of 2022, Ford had about 53,000 cars on wheels but awaiting parts.
Rocket Companies (RKT) – A play on interest rate-sensitive sectors. As a provider of mortgages, Rocket Companies operations will be affected by the Federal Reserves’ continued rate hikes. The Fed is expected to raise its key interest rate by 75 basis points on Wednesday of this week.
Livent (LTHM) – A play on a bullish call by an analyst at Piper Sandler. The firm’s Charles Neivert set the equivalent of a buy rating on Livent and noted his estimate for a key industry metric was “considerably above” analysts’ consensus estimates. The analyst cited a higher price trajectory for lithium.
BYND Cannasoft Enterprises (BCAN) – Monday and likely Tuesday’s low-float momentum du jour name. Shares closed about 30% higher on Monday following news of a deal with a current patent holder for one of BYND Cannasoft’s products, Zigi Carmel. The Monday press release showed a price of about $4.74 for BYND Cannasoft. On Tuesday morning, shares of BYND Cannasoft continued another 30% higher and last traded over $7.