President Donald Trump has personally called on CEOs of America’s big three automakers not to raise their prices to offset tariffs. This call to action is ringing true as worries grow over escalation of trade skirmishes and their costs to vital consumer markets. The financial landscape continues to transform as analysts recalibrate stock valuations and firms face new operational pressures.
In industry news, Bausch + Lomb was in the news recently with its announcement of a recall of its enVista IOLs. The recall was initiated due to safety concerns raised after reports of toxic anterior segment syndrome. Shares of Bausch + Lomb were down about 15% on Thursday. They closed at $15 which is a decline of more than 4% in the course of the day’s trading session. Analyst Larry Biegelsen has revised his price target for Bausch + Lomb’s stock from $24 to $15, citing the recall as a significant factor.
“enVista was an important growth driver and BLCO’s main entry into the fast growing premium IOL segment,” – Larry Biegelsen
Wells Fargo said the continued decline of Bausch + Lomb’s shares have prompted the downgrade from overweight to equal weight. This recent decision illustrates the increasing market skepticism regarding the company’s future prospects.
The broader market experienced fluctuations. As of Thursday morning, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 15 points, or 0.04%. This jump followed a modest drop of 31 points, or 0.07%, on Wednesday. Fundstrat’s Tom Lee remains optimistic about the market’s recovery, predicting a major comeback after April 2.
“The odds of a V-shaped recovery in stocks that come after April 2 is just extremely high because we’ve already sequenced a lot of the panic that people saw in 2018,” – Tom Lee
The S&P 500 increased a mere 0.5% over the same stretch. The Nasdaq Composite is poised to close with a slim 0.1% gain. Tesla, the company that has been under intense pressure all this year, saw a huge rebound of almost 10% this week. Notled with this positive forward movement, Tesla is still trending down by 32% as forecast stretch all the way out to 2025.
“I think if Tesla is leading us into this balance, that’s a bold case for Mag Seven to be the group to own in the next few months,” – Tom Lee
Lululemon Athletica stumbled as its stock crashed 10% after its first-quarter outlook came in well below expectations. The company raised its expected Q1 earnings to a range of $2.53 to $2.58 per share. This forecast does not meet investor expectations and raises red flags about its long-term viability.
With market volatility still riding high on the list of investors’ worries, Lauren Goodwin provides a deep dive into the ways that sentiment shapes behavior.
“I don’t expect that market volatility is going to calm until we have more policy [certainty]. And a lot of us are looking to see if we get that next week,” – Lauren Goodwin
“I’m not really seeing it. I anticipate that this volatility is here to stay with us.” – Lauren Goodwin