Presented by

NEWS
Big Tech Bounces Back

Weaker-than-expected producer prices helped stave off some of yesterday’s inflation concerns, but the stock market rebound was primarily led by big tech today. Eyes turn to earnings season tomorrow as JPMorgan and several other big banks kick things off. Let’s see what else you missed. 👀

Today's issue covers a retailer’s turnaround story $CONNtinuing, a short seller’s report crashing Globe Life shares, and more from the day. 📰

Here's today's heat map:

5 of 11 sectors closed green. Technology (+2.00%) led, & financials (-0.71%) lagged. 💚

The European Central Bank is diverging from the U.S. Central Bank’s messaging, holding rates steady for a fifth straight meeting but strongly indicating rate cuts are ahead. The divergence can be attributed to the strong outperformance of the U.S. economy and labor market. ✂️

U.S. producer prices rose less than expected in March, and initial jobless claims also remained near historic lows. Following the recent uptick in Treasury yields, average 30-year fixed mortgage rates jumped back above 7%. 🔺

Morgan Stanley shares plummeted 5% on news that its wealth management arm is under probe by multiple regulators. Regulators are assessing if the bank sufficiently investigated the identities of prospective clients, the sources of their wealth, and how it monitors their financial activity. 🕵️‍♂️

Lucid Motors and Rivian both closed at new all-time lows after Ford cut prices on its electric pickup truck to our demand. The industrywide price war is making it difficult for unprofitable startups to compete with larger automakers who have internal combustion engine (ICE) profits to offset electric vehicle (EV) losses. 🪫

Vera Therapeutics was boosted by 18% on the back of the Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Alpine Immune Sciences deal. Since it also has a drug candidate to treat the same kidney condition as Alpine, some investors and traders believe it could also be a takeout target. 🎯

Other active symbols: $RENT (+161.89%), $RYLB (+82.82%), $CADL (+42.74%), $ELYM (+71.54%), $NVDA (+4.11%), & $NKLA (-26.73%). 🔥

Here are the closing prices: 

COMPANY NEWS
$GL With Those Losses…

If you asked someone what the ticker symbol $GL was before today, they’d probably laugh and say, “good luck.” That’s because the actual company, Globe Life, is not a widely followed stock on Wall Street or Main Street. 🤷

But it certainly is now, climbing the ranks to become the #1 newly-watched stock on Stocktwits today as its shares were cut in half.

Driving the decline was short seller Fuzzy Panda Research revealing a position in the stock and alleging multiple instances of insurance fraud. 🚨

Its report allegedly uncovers “extensive allegations of insurance fraud ignored by management despite being obvious and reported hundreds of times.”

Notably, this isn’t the first time a market analyst has raised concerns about the company. Earlier this month, Nate Koppikar of hedge fund Orso Partners said the company’s book value was “inflated” and that its stock represented an “attractive” short-selling opportunity.

Still, the company responded to the allegations after the bell, saying it reviewed the report and found it to be “wildly misleading.” 🛡️

Unfortunately for management, the damage was already done by that point. As is often the case with short-seller reports, the market was quick to shoot first and ask questions later. 🔻

$GL shares plunged 53% on the day, erasing a decade of gains in the process. Stocktwits message volume surged as people discussed the stock’s prospects, with sentiment unsurprisingly ending in “extremely bearish” territory.

As always, we’ll have to wait and see what the company’s response is in the days and weeks ahead. But for now, the stock is likely to remain on traders’ radars as they take advantage of the uptick in volatility. 📉

SPONSORED
FinChat.io Is The Complete Stock Research Platform For Fundamental Investors

With comprehensive data on more than 100,000 stocks, FinChat has everything you need to track and manage your investments. 

From standard financial metrics like revenue and EPS to company-specific measures like AWS Revenue and Tesla Deliveries, FinChat tracks everything so you don't have to. 

Best of all, FinChat’s conversational AI assistant can quickly and accurately answer all your investing questions.

• “Show me Microsoft’s Cloud Revenue over the last 10 years”

• “Summarize Palantir’s latest earnings call”

• “How many paying subscribers does Netflix have?”

Get started for free or use code “STOCKTWITS” at checkout for 15% off any paid plans.

*3rd Party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Stocktwits. See disclosure here.

EARNINGS
Retailer’s Turnaround $CONNtinues

After talking about a potentially fraudulent company, it’s only right that we move on to Conns, Inc. ($CONN), which, as sus as its ticker symbol and name sounds, is not being accused of fraud… 🤣

The furniture retail space has been challenging for quite some time, which is why shares of Conn’s have been down in the dumps along with many of its peers. But today, the stock popped at an all-too-familiar level after its earnings surprised to the upside. 😮

The specialty retailer’s consolidated revenue rose 9.30% YoY, with total net sales rising 8.60% and finance charges/other revenues rising 10.70%. Its adjusted net loss of $1.25 per share was $0.06 narrower than estimates.

Executives said they’re focused on integrating W.S. Badcock (who is naming these companies…lol), an affordable furniture retailer it acquired in December. They’ve already realized $50 million in cost savings and expect another $50 million to be realized over the next eighteen months. 💰

While the macroeconomic environment is expected to remain challenging throughout fiscal 2025, executives expect YoY improvements in both retail sales and profitability as a result of their recent operational changes.

In addition to the fundamental improvements, the chart has many technical analysts taking a close look at the stock. 🔍

$CONN shares jumped 26% on today’s news, finding their footing at the same $2.75-$3.50 level where buyers have emerged repeatedly since 2011.

Investors argue that those who believe in the longer-term turnaround potential of the company and stock can clearly define their risk against these levels. Should the stock go onto all-time lows, then all bets are off.

But as we’ve seen with many other beaten-down stocks across industries, a little momentum can go a long way. Time will tell if Conn’s can become the latest beneficiary of the “dash for trash” trade. 🤷

STOCKTWITS CONTENT
New “Trends With Friends” 🍿

Stocktwits co-founder Howard Lindzon chops it up with pals JC Parets and Phil Pearlman every Thursday on "Trends With Friends."

Watch the latest on YouTube and Spotify, and subscribe to catch each episode when it goes live!

Bullets From The Day

🦾 The “robotification” of warehouses continues, with Walmart joining the fray. The U.S.’s largest retailer is taking a piecemeal approach to automation through partnerships with a range of robotics firms as it looks to keep up with Amazon. This week, it announced a partnership with Fox Robotics to bring 19 of its robotic forklifts to distribution centers after a 16-month pilot showed success. Ultimately, it highlights the company’s brownfield approach to automation, retrofitting existing warehouses with technology instead of building that space ground-up around the tech. TechCrunch has more.

₿ Venture Capital dips its toes back into crypto as prices push higher. It seems the crypto winter in private markets is beginning to thaw, with venture capitalists investing $2.50 billion globally in crypto startups during the past quarter. While that is flat relative to last year’s numbers, it’s an uptick from the previous quarter and shows a stabilization in capital committed to the space. Analysts say VCs are investing across stages now, a change from their defensive stance in 2023, which primarily focused on smaller rounds for early to seed-stage companies. More from Axios.

🚀 Leaked SpaceX financials show big spending on moonshot bets. Confidential documents from 2018 and 2019 provide an early glimpse at the degree to which Musk’s space company is dependent on its Starlink business unit and bringing the Starship rocket online to become cash flow positive. With a $180 billion valuation late last year, it’s clearly in a much better position than it was five years ago, expecting to earn $3 billion during 2024 on $15 billion in revenues. Still, the documents help provide some color on the journey of a company typically shrouded in secrecy. TechCrunch has more.

Links That Don’t Suck

📈 Get 2 months of MarketSurge for $59.95—that’s under $1/day for pro-grade stock research tools*

⚡ How AI is helping to prevent future power cuts

💸 Dollar stores are shutting down across America. They did this to themselves

🏘️ The VA has its fix for a home loan debacle, but many vets who got hurt won't get help

🧑‍⚖️ FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried appeals fraud conviction, 25-year prison sentence

🪧 Environmentalists protest as Biden administration approves huge oil export terminal off Texas coast

*3rd Party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Stocktwits. See disclosure here.

Get In Touch

Follow our social channels for great, real-time content on Stocktwits and Twitter. And check out our YouTube channel for in-depth video content! 📲

Help us deliver the best content possible by completing this brief survey. 📝

Email me (Tom Bruni) your feedback; I’d love to hear from you. 📧

Want to sponsor this newsletter and reach hundreds of thousands of passionate investors and traders? Reach us here. 👍

Disclaimer: Content, news, research, tools, and securities symbols are for educational and illustrative purposes only and do not imply a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell a particular security or to engage in any particular investment strategy. Read the full terms & conditions here. 🔍