Technology Stocks Like NVIDIA and Amazon Help Boost the Entrepreneur Index™ Netflix (-1.28 percent) and TripAdvisor Inc. (-0.31) had the only two losses in the sector.
By Andrew Osterland •
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Stock prices had a bumpy ride today thanks to conflicting reports on the state of the U.S.-China trade talks from Bloomberg News and Dow Jones Newswire. The former suggested China was balking at some U.S. demands in the agreement, while the latter reported that the deal was in its final stages.
The major indexes all swung widely today before settling relatively flat. The Dow index, up 200 points in the morning, gave it back by mid-day, recovered then fell again to post a loss of 0.1 percent. The S&P 500 index was down 0.01 percent while the Nasdaq Composite index was up 0.12 percent.
Technology stocks helped the Entrepreneur Index™ to a 0.37 percent gain today. Eleven of the thirteen tech stocks on the index were up. NVIDIA Corp. led the pack, rising 4.0 percent, the biggest gain on the Entrepreneur Index™ today.
Company founder and CEO Jensen Huang gave a two and a half hour keynote address at NVIDIA's GPU Technology Conference in Silicon Valley yesterday and addressed investors today. They apparently liked his message.
The meteoric rise of NVIDIA hit a wall last year as demand fell for the graphics processing chips the company makes. The resulting inventory bulge led to lower prices and falling revenues and to a nearly 60 percent plunge in the stock price. Since bottoming on Christmas Eve, however, the stock is up 41 percent.
Other tech stocks posting good gains included Amazon, up 1.13 percent, and salesforce.com, up 1.22 percent. Facebook shares, beaten up over the last five trading sessions, also rose 0.69 percent. Netflix (-1.28 percent) and TripAdvisor Inc. (-0.31) had the only two losses in the sector.
L Brands had another good gain today, rising 2.66 percent after posting the biggest gain (3.27 percent) on the Entrepreneur Index™ yesterday. The return of Victoria's Secret swimsuits--apparently very popular -- may have created some enthusiasm for the stock, but low valuation is probably the bigger attraction. The shares are down nearly 30 percent in the last year and trade at only 12.2 times trailing earnings. They also have a dividend yield of 4.3 percent.
Other gains on the index included Chipotle Mexican Grill (1.53 percent), Ford Motor Co. (1.52 percent), and Wynn Resorts (1.44 percent).Homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc. had the biggest decline on the Entrepreneur Index™ today, falling 2.17 percent. The state of the housing and home-building markets have been difficult to read in the last six months, but D.R. Horton shares are up 14.1 percent this year. Wall Street analysts currently have twelve sell ratings, six buy ratings and ten neutral ratings on the stock, according to data from TradingView.
Other notable declines on the Entrepreneur Index™ today included Hess Corp. (-1.93 percent), Estee Lauder Companies (-1.47 percent) and asset manager BlackRock (-1.34 percent). Fedex Corp. reported financial results after the market close. In after-hours trading, the stock was down more than four percent after the company missed earnings and revenue estimates. It cited weaker global trade as the cause.
The Entrepreneur Index™ collects the top 60 publicly traded companies founded and run by entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurial spirit is a valuable asset for any business, and this index recognizes its importance, no matter how much a company has grown. These inspirational businesses can be tracked in real time on Entrepreneur.com.
