Vermilion Compass: Weekly Equity Strategy

Back to Near-Term Bullish on SPX and QQQ We downgraded our near-term outlook on the S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) to neutral last week (11/19/25 Compass), after being bullish since our 4/22/25 Compass, while maintaining our intermediate-term bullish outlook (as of our 5/14/25 Compass). Crucial support levels of 6480-6520 on SPX and $580-$583 on QQQ held last week, and we are right back to being near-term bullish as long as these support levels continue to hold. Just know that SPX could see 6200 fast if 6480 were to break. We will maintain our bullish intermediate-term view as long as mar...

Vermilion Compass: Weekly Equity Strategy

Downgrading Financials to Underweight We remain bullish since our 4/22/25 Compass, and we will maintain our bullish outlook as long as market dynamics remain healthy and the S&P 500 (SPX) is above 6028-6059. We would need to see a break below 6569 in order to have confidence that a consolidation period has finally begun. For now, we continue to expect support to show up at the 4-month uptrend, which generally coincides with the 20-day MA. Short-term supports to buy include 6640 (the 20-day MA), 6569, 6480-6520, 6450, 6400-6410, 6340-6360, 6200, 6100-6150, and 6028-6059. Growth Themes Galore....

The Wedbush Monthly Check-Up: October 2024

Business as Usual for No-Moat Lonza; Specialty Ingredients Carve-Out on Track for 2020

Contract manufacturer Lonza reported solid half-year results, with over CHF 2.9 billion in total sales year to date, up about 6.4% from last year and boosted by foreign exchange tailwinds. Core EBITDA margin expanded 30 basis points from last year to about 27.8%, helped slightly by new accounting standards. Management indicated that it continues to expect mid- to high-single-digit sales growth in 2019. We are maintaining our fair value estimate of CHF 210 per share and our no-moat rating. The ph...

Astra Posts Solid 2Q, Driven by Strong Cancer Drug Sales and Moving Away From One-Time Divestments

We don't expect any major changes to our AstraZeneca fair value estimate following second-quarter results that largely fell in line with our expectations and slightly ahead of consensus expectations. Overall, the company is posting leading Big Pharma sales growth with total sales up 18% operationally year over year, led by impressive cancer drug sales growth of 57%. Astra's ability to continue to bring next generation drugs to the market that address unmet medical need (especially in oncology) s...

Astra Posts Solid 2Q, Driven by Strong Cancer Drug Sales and Moving Away From One-Time Divestments

We don't expect any major changes to our AstraZeneca fair value estimate following second-quarter results that largely fell in line with our expectations and slightly ahead of consensus expectations. Overall, the company is posting leading Big Pharma sales growth with total sales up 18% operationally year over year, led by impressive cancer drug sales growth of 57%. Astra's ability to continue to bring next generation drugs to the market that address unmet medical need (especially in oncology) s...