Good morning, investors. General Motors finished yesterday's trading session as the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 after investors were left unimpressed by the automaker's recent quarterly report. Today's Featured Stock Story 9 Upgraded Stocks to Buy in AugustAfter grinding higher once again in July, the S&P 500 is now up almost 20% year to date and more than 90% from its March 2020 lows.
But just because the market has already come so far doesn't mean investors have completely missed the boat on the rebound.
Many economists believe the U.S. is in the early innings of a multiyear expansion phase.
Analysts still see plenty of fresh buying opportunities in the market, even with the S&P 500 at all-time highs.
Here are nine stocks to buy that were recently upgraded by Bank of America:
1. F5 Networks Inc. (ticker: FFIV). The company specializes in application delivery networking products that manage internet traffic to both servers and network devices. Analyst Tal Liani upgraded F5 and says its fiscal third-quarter earnings beat coupled with upcoming contract renewals suggest growth upside in 2022.
2. Prelude Therapeutics Inc. (PRLD). Prelude is a clinical-stage oncology biotechnology company developing the PRT543 and PRT811 treatments, which are currently in phase 1 clinical trials. Analyst Tazeen Ahmad upgraded the stock and says Prelude's risk-reward balance skews to the upside.
Click here to continue.
Check out our most popular stories:
7 of the Best Cryptocurrencies to Invest in Now
10 Best ETFs to Buy for 2021
15 of the Best Dividend Stocks to Buy for 2021 Dow34,792.67 (-0.92%)
Nasdaq14,780.53 (+0.13%)
S&P 5004,402.66 (-0.46%)
* Market data as of Wednesday's close
Here's what you missed in the markets yesterday.
Spotlight on Exchange-Traded Funds 7 Clean Energy ETFs to Buy Now
With historic heat waves, raging wildfires and massive floods, the worldwide effects of climate change are becoming more apparent than ever. Many investors are looking to gain a footing in clean energy exchange-traded funds, either because of personal principles or simply because they see the profit opportunity there. These seven clean energy ETFs offer slightly different ways to invest in this trend. Our guide to options trading. Options trading allows investors to harness the power of stock price fluctuations and boost returns – but it isn't for everyone, and the risks can outpace the rewards. The strategy requires diligence, experience and a fundamental understanding of why you want to trade options in the first place. Here's what you need to know about options and whether they're right for you. No. 2. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and space company Blue Origin, was bumped from the top spot on Forbes' billionaires list by Bernard Arnault, founder and chief executive of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton. Job gains fall short. Stocks fell Wednesday as a weak reading on private-sector payrolls for July dinged equities, which have strung together six straight positive months.
ADP’s employment report showed 330,000 jobs added last month. It’s great that the economy is back on the mend and folks are finding employment, but that figure was well below the 650,000 figure economists expected and a far cry from June’s 680,000 number.
The S&P 500 shed 0.5% to finish at 4,402.66.
GM tumbles on weaker guidance. Top U.S. automaker General Motors Co. (GM) slumped 8.9% on Wednesday, ending as the worst performer in the S&P 500. Despite actually raising guidance and beating revenue expectations for the second quarter – GM posted sales of $34.2 billion against analyst estimates for $29.1 billion – investors were unimpressed.
Wall Street seems to want more from GM than the company was willing to forecast in its earnings call, with executives bemoaning factors like rising commodity costs, the lingering global semiconductor shortage and a less profitable lending arm as headwinds in the second half of the year. Lyft also underwhelms. Ride-sharing giant Lyft (LYFT) also sold off heavily on Wednesday following its own earnings release. As with GM, the problem wasn’t necessarily with the most recent quarterly results, which actually exceeded expectations in almost every way as revenue jumped 125% year over year and the business reached adjusted profitability one quarter sooner than expected. Investors just weren’t crazy about future cost trends at the company, which could shell out $400 million in the third quarter in driver incentives alone – a figure that could add up to $1 billion in 2021, a steep increase from run rates of about $560 million in 2018 and 2019.
Lyft shares finished with a 10.6% loss on the day.
- Caught Our Eye written by John Divine Today's earnings reports. Companies expected to report today include Moderna Inc. (MRNA), Duke Energy Corp. (DUK), Cigna Corp. (CI), Becton, Dickinson & Co. (BDX), ViacomCBS Inc. (VIAC), Wayfair Inc. (W), Kellogg Co. (K), Fiverr International (FVRR), Papa John's International (PZZA) and SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. (SEAS). | 
