Kohl's Corporation (NYSE: KSS) shares are down 4% on Friday after the company cut its guidance and said inflation is eating into its sales growth.
On Thursday, Kohl's reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.11 on $4.09 billion. Both numbers exceeded consensus analyst estimates of $1.30 and $3.85 billion, respectively. Revenue was down 8.1% from a year ago.
Same-store sales dropped 7.7% in the quarter. Kohl's also said its inventory ballooned 48% compared to a year ago.
Looking ahead, the company cut its fiscal 2022 adjusted EPS guidance from a previous range of between $6.45 and $6.85 to a new range of between $2.80 and $3.20.
Related Link: 4 Walmart Analysts Raise Price Targets After Q2 Earnings Beat: 'Leader And Market Share Gainer'
Macroeconomic Pressures: Bank of America analyst Lorraine Hutchinson said she remains cautious as macro pressures mount for Kohl's.
"Mgmt called out a slowdown from the middle-income consumer, cited reduced spend per transaction and a shift to value-oriented private brands," Hutchinson wrote.
Morgan Stanley analyst Kimberly Greenberger said Kohl's "fundamentals are likely to get worse before they get better."
"We worry KSS' diminished financial flexibility leaves it with far fewer shock absorbers should the road ahead remain bumpy," Greenberger wrote.
Related Link: 4 Rivian Analysts On Sales Growth, Widening Losses: Is EV Maker Back On Track After 'Horror Show' IPO?
Credit Suisse analyst Michael Binetti said Kohl's updated guidance is concerning, but it may be conservative.
"We're concerned to hear that Children's apparel underperformed the chain in 2Q ahead of the important BTS season," Binetti wrote.
Difficult Margin Outlook: Telsey Advisory Group analyst Dana Telsey said Kohl's need for promotional activity doesn't bode well for its margin outlook.
"Promotional activity looks to weigh on margins in the back half of the year as the company moves through elevated inventory, while ongoing investments in strategic initiatives adds incremental expense as well," Telsey wrote.
Guggenheim analyst Robert Drbul said improved inventory and reduced freight pressures should set Kohl's up for a much better 2023.
"While we are disappointed with the earnings reduction, we believe, at these levels, the shares reflect many of the concerns and challenges the company is facing and offers an attractive risk-reward ratio," Drbul wrote.
Photo: Sundry Photography via Shutterstock
Former President Donald Trump could be welcomed back to social media platform Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR) if the acquisition by Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk is completed. Trump will not be welcomed back to two other social media platforms until January 2023 at the earliest. Here’s what you need to know.
What Happened: A new report from Politico said Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) will not rush a decision of whether Trump will be allowed back on Facebook and Instagram social media accounts.
Meta Platforms previously announced a ban of Trump from its platforms and said it would review a decision to bring him back on Jan. 7, 2023, two years after the ban.
Meta Platforms President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg told Politico the date would remain as the earliest the company would explore the option to bring Trump back onto social platforms it owns.
Facebook cited Trump’s account being a “risk to public safety” and said it would only unban him if that risk has “receded.” A further suspension could be announced after a review. If Trump is reinstated, he could face sanctions and permanent removal if further violations occur.
“Given the gravity of the circumstances that led to Mr. Trump’s suspension, we believe his actions constituted a severe violation of our rules which merit the highest penalty available under the new enforcement protocols,” Clegg previously wrote.
Trump spoke out against the ban at the time.
“Facebook’s ruling is an insult to the record-setting 75M people, plus many others, who voted for us in the 2020 Rigged Presidential Election,” Trump previously said.
Twitter, which previously announced a permanent ban of Trump, could see a reversal if the acquisition by Musk is pushed through.
“I do think that it was not correct to ban Donald Trump,” Musk said after his acquisition was announced. “I think that was a mistake, because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice.”
Musk said he would reinstate Trump and was against permanent bans with the exception of bot and spam accounts.
“I would reverse the permanent ban. I don’t own Twitter yet. So this is not like a thing that will definitely happen.”
Trump indicated he would not rejoin Twitter after Musk’s comments became public.
YouTube, owned by Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), also has banned Trump and said it will not reverse the ban until the risk of violence inspired by Trump’s account decreases.
Related Link: Donald Trump's SPAC Deal Could Face New Hurdle In Vote Extension, Could The Merger Fall Apart?
Why It’s Important: The update from Politico comes as Trump is seen as the betting favorite for DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ: DKNG) and other sites outside the U.S. to win the 2024 presidential election.
Trump is expected to announce his intention of running for president once again. His decision could come before the November midterm elections and would come as he is banned from many social media platforms.
The ban by Facebook and Instagram being in place after Trump announces he is running could put pressure on the platforms to overturn the ban or be accused of interfering with the election.
Meta Platforms announced an update on how its plans to address election misinformation and tighten political advertisements.
“While some of the challenges in 2020 were unique, we are once again prepared to respond to content discussing the integrity of the election by applying labels that connect people with reliable information,” Clegg said.
TikTok announced a new in-app election center it will use for election coverage. TikTok said it is banning political advertising, including paid partnerships with political groups by influencers.
Outside of the social media platforms on which he has been banned, Trump posts on Truth Social, a social media platform owned by Trump Media & Technology Group.
Digital World Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ: DWAC) announced a SPAC deal to take Trump Media & Technology Group public in late 2021.
It’s almost time for the NFL’s regular season to start, which will bring back one of the nation’s favorite pastimes. The football season is broken up into 18 weeks that run from Thursday-Monday, and it all culminates in the largest event of the year, the Super Bowl.
While the Super Bowl remains supreme in captivating hundreds of millions of viewers, the primetime spectacular of Thursday Night Football (TNF) does a pretty good job at that as well.
Heading into the 2022-2023 season, the NFL has been shopping around to find a TV or streaming service that would be willing to pay millions to produce TNF. Now, just weeks away from kickoff, the contract has been signed and TNF has a new home.
The Billion-Dollar Deal: On Friday, Amazon.com, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) Prime Video signed a $1-billion deal with the NFL to be the main producer of TNF, CNBC reported.
The online behemoth has continued to grow through its subsidiaries such as Prime Video, and TNF is now the newest addition to that plan. The new era of TNF will begin on Aug. 25 with a preseason game between the San Francisco 49s and the Houston Texans.
This marks the first time in the league’s history a streaming service will be the sole carrier for a package of national games, and it has caused initial frustration among fans.
Why Are Fans Upset: The deal has upset many fans because they will no longer be able to enjoy TNF without any additional costs. Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA) subsidiary CBS has been the main producer of the game since 2014, which allowed fans to watch the game for no additional cost, assuming they had a cable plan including CBS.
On the contrary, fans will now have to pay $8.99 a month for a Prime Video subscription to access the game.
Another worry that fans are having is that their internet doesn’t have the bandwidth to handle a livestream. Amazon is promising to keep an open line of communication with customers on how it can better the viewing experience.
Amazon spokesman Tim Buckman shared with CNBC: “Free of bandwidth and channel limits that constrain optionality on linear platforms, our promise is to continually listen to our customers, iterate and intentionally develop new and better ways for more fans to enjoy the games.”
Delivering New Experience For Timeless Game: As Amazon takes over coverage of TNF, the company has announced plans to provide viewers with a new experience.
To drive viewership towards its NFL broadcast, live games will automatically begin playing when people log on to Amazon.com. The game will also be featured on Prime Video's home screen to alert members when the game is taking place. Once a customer clicks on the stream, they will be given the choice to watch, record or start from the beginning of the broadcast. Customers will also have the option to record the entire slate of TNF games for the season all at once.
In addition, Amazon will also debut new technology features such as “X-ray stats.”
The feature will give viewers the ability to see real-time statistics on the screen. Along with standard stats such as yards and touchdowns, it will include next-gen stats such as the quarterback’s average throw time or yards after contact for running backs and receivers. This will all be possible through Amazon Web Services chips that allow for instant updates.
Fire TV users will be able to ask their Alexa commands such as “show me stats” or “play the last touchdown” if they want to catch up on the action.
Finally, many users are concerned the quality of the content will fluster as TNF moves to Prime Video.
Earlier this year, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: APPL) began to cover MLB games on Apple TV+ and it received backlash from viewers. Many complained the announcers lack experience and that they don’t provide the same quality play-by-play experience viewers are used to.
Amazon has made two hires on this front: the company has hired broadcasting legend Al Michaels, who used to cover NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” and longtime college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit to call the game.
Photo: Courtesy of Adrian Curiel on Unsplash.
A new report from New Frontier Data (NFD) showed that U.S. home weed growers will produce more than 11 million pounds of dried cannabis flower this year. The report notd that in 2020, Colorado produced 816,000 lbs. of dried flower while generating $2.2 billion in legal sales.
NFD conducted a survey involving 4,682 cannabis consumers and 1,250 non-cannabis consumers. "Home growers, as consumers, tend to be intentional with their use and prolific in their consumption of cannabis." However, "only one in three home growers report being the only ones to consume what they grow; nearly half (49%) say that they share with friends or family," stated Noah Tomares, NFD senior research analyst.
The role residential cultivation plays in the national cannabis supply is notable, supplementing the stocks of both commercially legal and illicit growers. Most growers (62%) keep six plants or less at a time while harvesting up to three times a year (73%).
Those practices fall in line with most state regulations, which limit home cultivation to six plants at a time per person. Those who grow more than six permitted plants may do so legally as part of state-sanctioned medical collectives. Others still participate in illicit markets.
So, briefly, six percent of cannabis consumers grow their own cannabis, which translates to 3 million growers
According to the report, registered medical patients are twice as likely to have tried growing cannabis at home compared to users who have never registered. “Registered patients who are home growers are also likelier to claim that they alone consume the cannabis they grow (39%) as compared to consumers who have never registered as medical patients in their state (29%).
“Almost half (47%) of currently registered medical patients report growing seven or more plants at a time,” continued the report.
"Even after seeing the effects as access increases, the flower's relative market share declines, and new markets emerge, it is likely that domestic growers will continue to produce their own flowers." Production is a key indicator of whether a home grower shares their flowers: "Half of those producing less than 1 ounce reported consuming it all themselves, while about a quarter (26%) of those producing 3 pounds or more consumed it alone," reads the NFD report.
Image by New Frontier Data
Established producers are likely to become increasingly efficient and expand their operations with experience. NFD projects that by 2030, home growers will produce more than 15 million pounds of dried flower a year. "Brands and growers are already well aware of the competitive challenges posed by other corporate growers, but understanding the nuances of personal cultivation will become increasingly important," the report concluded.
Photo: Courtesy Of Matthew Sichkaruk On Unsplash
Electronics giant Samsung, technology behemoth Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), and investment management company BlackRock Inc (NYSE: BLK) are among the largest publicly traded entities that have invested in blockchain and crypto companies between September 2021 and June 2022, according to a study by crypto intelligence platform Blockdata.
Information provided by Blockdata stated that during the period, 40 major companies made investments in businesses operating in the blockchain and crypto industries.
The most active investor is Samsung with 13 investments, followed by UOB (OTC: UOVEY) with seven investments, Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) with six and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) with five.
Given a bifurcation of the total funding amounts of the rounds these companies participated in, Blockdata stated the investors active in the biggest funding rounds were Alphabet with $1.5 billion across four rounds, followed by BlackRock with $1.1 billion in three rounds.
The other top companies which participated in the funding of blockchain companies over the same time frame were Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Samsung, Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon (NYSE: BK) and PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL).
The 40 companies invested approximately $6 billion into blockchain startups between September 2021 and June 2022, but, “In most cases, we cannot determine how much money these corporations have invested, as they participate in funding rounds with multiple or many other investors,” Blockdata stated.
• Over the course of 71 investment rounds, 61 blockchain and crypto firms received funding, with more than 20 industries and 65 use cases being active for these blockchain companies.
• Non-fungible tokens (NFT) solutions and services are provided by 19 different businesses.
• Several of these companies belong to sectors such as distributed ledger technology, arts and entertainment, and gaming (DLT).
• In all, 12 firms are marketplaces, with some supporting the buying and selling of NFTs.
• Eleven organizations provide gaming services.
• There is considerable overlap among use cases for the companies that offer NFT solutions, marketplaces and gaming.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY) broke a four-week winning streak this week as the latest commentary from the Federal Reserve suggests investors can expect aggressive interest rate hikes to continue.
On Wednesday, the Fed released minutes from its policy-setting meeting in July that revealed the central bank is prepared to continue raising interest rates until inflation subsides substantially. The bond market is pricing in another rate hike of at least 0.5% in September.
On Thursday, GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) Chairman Ryan Cohen's RC Ventures disclosed in a filing that it has unloaded its entire stake in so-called meme stock Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ: BBBY). Bed Bath & Beyond shares had skyrocketed more than 350% in the last month, but they dropped 40.5% on Friday following the news of Cohen's exit.
On Thursday, the National Association of Realtors reported existing U.S. home sales dropped 20.2% year-over-year in July. The national average mortgage rate on a 30-year fixed loan is around 5.5%, up from 3% at the beginning of the year.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) filed its quarterly 13F form on Monday disclosing all the investment moves its legendary CEO Warren Buffett made in the second quarter. Buffett added to large stakes in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: OXY), Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) and Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reduced his investments in General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) and Kroger Co (NYSE: KR) and exited a position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ).
Fleet Of Foot: Shares of athletic footwear retailer Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) traded higher by 20% on Friday after the company reported a second-quarter earnings beat and announced a new CEO.
In the week ahead, second-quarter earnings season rolls on with reports from Macy's Inc (NYSE: M) and Xpeng Inc - ADR (NYSE: XPEV) on Tuesday, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) on Wednesday and Peloton Interactive Inc (NASDAQ: PTON) on Thursday.
Excluding the energy sector, S&P 500 earnings are down 4% year-over-year in the second quarter, according to FactSet.
Economic Numbers: In the week ahead, investors will get key economic updates on Monday when the People's Bank of China announces its latest interest rate decision and on Friday when Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivers a speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium.
Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) has outperformed the market over the past 5 years by 5.83% on an annualized basis producing an average annual return of 17.3%. Currently, Star Bulk Carriers has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion.
Buying $100 In SBLK: If an investor had bought $100 of SBLK stock 5 years ago, it would be worth $228.36 today based on a price of $24.96 for SBLK at the time of writing.
Finally -- what's the point of all this? The key insight to take from this article is to note how much of a difference compounded returns can make in your cash growth over a period of time.
This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.
Biotech psychedelics company HAVN Life Sciences Inc. (OTC: HAVLF) recently closed the initial tranche of its financing pact with innovative fund Alpha Blue Ocean (“ABO”), previously announced on July 21, 2022.
Since its creation in 2017, ABO has executed more than $1.5 billion in financial commitments and more than 90 transactions, mostly within the life sciences sector, all around the globe.
Following the current first-tranche closing, HAVN issued to the investment fund managed by ABO “Global Corporate Finance Opportunities 17” a total $1,100,000 principal amount of senior unsecured convertible debenture as well as 189,393 common share purchase warrants for net proceeds of approximately $420,000.
The convertible debenture may become common shares and in certain cases cash-repayable. Also, each warrant entitles the purchase of an additional common share at $1.32 each for a period of 60 months since issuance date.
The fund purchasing the convertible debenture and warrants got paid a commitment fee of $600,000 on behalf of HAVN, payable through additional $600,000 of the principal amount of the convertible debenture and 489,130 common “compensation” shares.
Those shares would be returned to HAVN if either 36 months since the date of the agreement go by or if the agreement is terminated before its convened period; if all outstanding credits issued under the agreement have been converted by their holder(s); if HAVN is not in breach of the agreement; and if no outstanding payment and no delivery of common shares (from a conversion of the senior unsecured convertible debentures issued under the agreement), nor the exercise of any of the common share purchase warrants by HAVN to the subscriber is left,
HAVN has also agreed to issue 190,214 common “debt” shares at $1.15 each in order to settle an aggregate $218,746.53 of indebtedness to certain third-party creditors.
All shares have been set for listing by HAVN on the CSE.
Following the closing of the first tranche, the subscriber (P.O. Box 2775, 67 Fort Street, Artemis House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1111, Cayman Islands) acquired an aggregate principal amount of $1,100,0000 convertible debentures and 189,393 warrants.
Each warrant is exercisable at an exercise price of $1.32 per underlying warrant share, subject to adjustment in accordance with the terms of the certificate representing the warrants.
Prior to the closing of the first tranche, the subscriber did not beneficially own or control any HAVN securities. Immediately following the closing of the first tranche, the investor holds 189,393 warrants, $1,100,000 principal amount of convertible debentures and 489,130 of compensation shares representing 9.57% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the company on a non-diluted basis and 25.59% of the common shares on a partially diluted basis, assuming the conversion of the outstanding debentures into common shares at a price of $1.00.
The convertible debentures were acquired, in the ordinary course of business, for investment purposes only and pursuant to the terms of the subscription agreement, pursuant to which the Subscriber is expected to acquire control and direction over additional convertible debentures as further Tranches close and common shares upon the conversion thereof.
ABO Infinium Americas Opco Ltd. exercises control or direction over the convertible debentures and warrants in its capacity as investment manager. However, the subscriber beneficially owns the securities. This investment will be reviewed on a continuing basis and ABO Infinium Americas Opco Ltd., on behalf of the subscriber, may further increase or decrease its ownership, control or direction over HAVN securities depending on market conditions, reformulation of plans and/or other relevant factors.
The subscription agreement prohibits the conversion of such debentures into common shares in the event that the subscriber would hold in excess of 9.99% or 19.99% of the common shares following conversion.
HAVN has also amended specific common share purchase warrants issued to Armistice Capital Master Fund Ltd, in such a way as to reduce their exercise price from $3.75 to $2.70 per common share.
This possibility would have to be approved by the CSE; and, if during the 90-day period after the 30:1 share consolidation proposed the common shares’ volume-weighted average price (VWAP) over any fifteen consecutive trading day period falls by greater than 30%, the exercise price of the warrants would be adjusted as to equate 120% of the fifteen trading day VWAP of the common shares.
What’s more, the company announced it has issued 16,669 new common share purchase warrants to certain designees of H.C. Wainwright & Co., which will be entitled to acquire one common share at $2.70 each.
These new warrants were issued as consideration for Wainwright waiving its exclusivity according to an engagement with HAVN set on a letter of January 31, 2022, for the issuance of certain convertible debentures.
Photo by Verne Ho on Unsplash
A whale with a lot of money to spend has taken a noticeably bearish stance on SolarEdge Technologies.
Looking at options history for SolarEdge Technologies (NASDAQ:SEDG) we detected 26 strange trades.
If we consider the specifics of each trade, it is accurate to state that 7% of the investors opened trades with bullish expectations and 92% with bearish.
From the overall spotted trades, 21 are puts, for a total amount of $1,309,238 and 5, calls, for a total amount of $464,310.
Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $270.0 to $440.0 for SolarEdge Technologies over the last 3 months.
Looking at the volume and open interest is an insightful way to conduct due diligence on a stock.
This data can help you track the liquidity and interest for SolarEdge Technologies's options for a given strike price.
Below, we can observe the evolution of the volume and open interest of calls and puts, respectively, for all of SolarEdge Technologies's whale activity within a strike price range from $270.0 to $440.0 in the last 30 days.
Symbol PUT/CALL Trade Type Sentiment Exp. Date Strike Price Total Trade Price Open Interest Volume SEDG PUT SWEEP BEARISH 03/17/23 $270.00 $382.5K 28 472 SEDG CALL SWEEP BULLISH 12/16/22 $350.00 $230.0K 99 101 SEDG PUT SWEEP BEARISH 03/17/23 $270.00 $142.1K 28 689 SEDG CALL SWEEP BEARISH 09/16/22 $280.00 $138.1K 330 50 SEDG PUT SWEEP BEARISH 03/17/23 $270.00 $103.2K 28 742
Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.
If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for SolarEdge Technologies, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.
Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bullish stance on EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG).
And retail traders should know.
We noticed this today when the big position showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.
Whether this is an institution or just a wealthy individual, we don't know. But when something this big happens with EOG, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.
So how do we know what this whale just did?
Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 16 uncommon options trades for EOG Resources.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 56% bullish and 43%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 3 are puts, for a total amount of $2,030,400, and 13 are calls, for a total amount of $941,617.
Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $82.7 to $125.0 for EOG Resources over the last 3 months.
In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for EOG Resources options trades today is 618.56 with a total volume of 5,695.00.
In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for EOG Resources's big money trades within a strike price range of $82.7 to $125.0 over the last 30 days.
Symbol PUT/CALL Trade Type Sentiment Exp. Date Strike Price Total Trade Price Open Interest Volume EOG PUT TRADE BULLISH 01/19/24 $82.70 $1.9M 236 2.5K EOG CALL SWEEP BULLISH 08/19/22 $100.00 $169.5K 967 129 EOG CALL SWEEP BULLISH 08/19/22 $100.00 $169.3K 967 229 EOG CALL SWEEP BULLISH 08/19/22 $100.00 $150.1K 967 329 EOG CALL SWEEP BEARISH 09/16/22 $120.00 $107.4K 2.2K 936
Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.
If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for EOG Resources, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.