U.S. IPOs are a long way from reaching extremes of 2000

U.S. initial public offerings are a long way from the extreme gains recorded 20 years ago, according to Ari Wald, Oppenheimer & Co.’s chief technical analyst. Wald cited the performance of a composite IPO index, derived from indicators compiled by Bloomberg and Renaissance Capital LLC, in a report Saturday. The composite index’s advance over 250 trading days, or about a year, peaked last week at 88%. Readings in March 2000 topped 300%. Wald recommended buying an exchange-traded fund that tracks the Renaissance index in August.

** 2 years later, monthly chart ***

• Renaissance IPO ETF (NYSE:IPO)

Frontier-market stocks seen rising after lost decade

Frontier markets are poised to rise this year as they benefit from lower valuations and a “reasonably solid” economic outlook, according to Andrew Howell, a Citigroup Inc. equity strategist. 

• Howell provided the view in a report released Wednesday. Any advance might be well received because these stocks have been through what can be considered a lost decade. The MSCI Frontier Markets Index rose just 9.5 percent from 2009 through 2018. 
• During the same period, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 70 percent and the MSCI World Index of developed markets climbed 112 percent.

Emerging-market stocks look cheap to BlackRock

Emerging-market stocks have “restored a lot of value” after eight months of losses, according to Richard Turnill, BlackRock Inc.’s global chief investment strategist. Turnill compared the MSCI Emerging Markets Index’s forward price-earnings ratio, based on profit projections, with the ratio for the MSCI World Index of developed markets in a blog post Friday. Developing countries’ P/E discount widened to 29 percent Friday from this year’s low of 19 percent, set Jan. 26, as their MSCI index dropped 21 percent.

The Royal Bank of Scotland: "Sell everything except high quality bonds"

The Royal Bank of Scotland tells investors to 'sell everything' in client note.  "Sell everything except high quality bonds," the note said, warning that the situation is similar to the global financial crisis that occurred in 2008.

• market  4 years later **

The Royal Bank of Canada: 30 best stock ideas for 2016

• The Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) is the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization.

Goldman Sachs: U.S. economic expansion to continue

In a note from Goldman's David Kostin issued on Tuesday morning, the company says it expects the U.S. economic expansion to continue in important areas such as housing, the labor market, and consumer spending. 

The team is going to keep a close eye on big data releases next week, including ISM manufacturing and one of the most important job reports in a while. Despite its confidence that spillover effects will be limited, Goldman is recommending stocks that have limited exposure to the global turmoil.

 Simply put, firms with high U.S. sales will experience limited impact on their top and bottom line from economic weakness in China. In Exhibit 17 we highlight a list of 25 stocks that have declined in price roughly twice as much as the S&P 500 since the index hit a high in May and also generate nearly all their sales domestically.

• According to the note, stocks with the highest U.S. revenue exposure have been significantly outperforming those with the highest international exposure. Goldman expects this trend to continue. 

New stock picks August 2015

Here's a full list of today's biggest price target changes.

Goldman's underdog strategy : buy calls on these stocks in anticipation of an earnings relief rally

Goldman’s clients are being advised to buy call options on 15 stocks in anticipation of an earnings relief rally

At Goldman Sachs, strategists are reminding clients that a very basic strategy can be very profitable. The firm is telling clients that buying calls on stocks underperforming the stock market ahead of earnings has been almost twice as profitable as buying calls on stocks that outperformed the Standard & Poor’s 500 by 3% or more.

Since 1996, this basic trading strategy has outperformed the market 12 of 19 years by an average of 9%.

Goldman is advising clients to buy calls on 15 stocks in anticipation of an earnings relief rally. Stocks include

1. Caterpillar ( CAT )  - Jan 27, before 
2. Danaher ( DHR ) - Jan 27, before
3. Viacom ( VIAB ) - Jan 29, before, 
4. Ryland Group ( RYL ) - Jan 29, before, 
5. Deckers Outdoor (DECK ) - Jan 29, after, 
6. Mattel ( MAT ) - Jan 30, before, 
7. CBRE Group ( CBG )- Feb 3, after, 
8. Ralph Lauren ( RL ) - Feb 4, before, 
9. Lions Gate Entertainment ( LGF ) - Feb 5, after, 
10. Hasbro ( HAS ) - Feb 9, before, 
11. Masco ( MAS ) - Feb 9, before, 
12. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide ( HOT ) - Feb 10, before, 
13. Time Warner ( TWX ) - Feb 11, before, 
14. NetApp ( NTAP )- Feb 11, after, 
15. Fossil Group ( FOSL ) - Feb 17, after, .

All tickers (change from open, new window):
CAT,DHR,VIAB,RYL,DECK,MAT,CBG,RL,LGF,HAS,MAS,HOT,TWX,NTAP,FOSL

by market cap:
       

John Marshall and Katherine Fogertey, Goldman’s derivatives strategists, recommended February expirations and strike prices that are aligned with the associated stock prices. For example, Fossil is expected to report earnings Feb. 17. The strategist picked the February $99.50 call when the stock was at $99.