What you need to know on Wall Street today
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Heading into Netflix's earnings report last week, traders were braced for the worst. With the stock up a massive 30% since January, a measure of bearish bets sat close to its highest level of the year. The company went on to destroy subscriber forecasts, sending its shares up as much as 14% the next day, costing short sellers more than $400 million, according to data from IHS Markit.
It's a dynamic that has played out countless times this year among the mega-cap tech cohort that has been dominating the US equity market. As those companies outperform, traders pile into shorts, only to lose money as the stock market's relentless chug higher continues.
So why are investors interested in betting against tech titans like Google, Amazon, Tesla, and Netflix even though they're likely to get burned? Because the very nature of how these companies are being traded is changing.
Highfields Capital Management, a $13 billion hedge fund is sounding the alarm on one of the biggest trends in investing. And Boaz Weinstein, whose $1.7 billion firm, Saba Capital, is best known for its winning bet against the JPMorgan trader known as the "London Whale," is piling into a market he says Wall Street is ignoring.
And the VIX is flirting with its lowest close on record.
In Wall Street news, Goldman Sachs is pulling back from trading America's hottest investment product. The New York Stock Exchange is out to crush America's newest stock exchange. Additionally, a $32 billion hedge fund bet its future on a 34-year old - and there is a $280 million pay package on the line.
In deal news, the rise of Amazon is going to drive a surge in dealmaking, according to Ken Moelis. Michael Kors is buying Jimmy Choo for $1.2 billion. Barnes & Noble is surging after an activist investor urged the company to sell itself in letter evoking Cicero and Thomas Jefferson.
And the CEO of Chinese conglomerate HNA denied Wall Street banks are cutting ties with his firm.
In company news:
- Alphabet had a massive quarter, and everyone thinks the stock is going well above $1,000
- Chipotle's food-borne illness problems are far from over
- McDonald's beats on earnings after slashing prices on soda and coffee
- Caterpillar crushes earnings, boosts its outlook for the rest of the year
- GM had a strong second quarter in the US and China as crossovers and Cadillac surged
Lastly, go inside the swanky, Cuba-inspired lounge that was just named the best new cocktail bar in America.
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