Companies to Watch in the Third Week of 2Q Earnings Season and this Weeks Market Forecast

On Tuesday, Pfizer (PFE) is likely to unveil 2Q EPS of $0.65 vs. $0.80 the prior year on revenue of $11.7B compared to $13.3B last year. The Co is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical firms and on July 13th, the Co announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted BioNTech SE (BNTX) and the Co a Fast Track designation for two of their four joint investigational vaccine candidates to help protect against the virus that causes COVID-19. On July 20th, the United Kingdom announced an agreement with Pfizer and BioNTech SE for 30 million doses of their vaccine candidate to be delivered in 2020 and 2021, dependent upon the vaccines clinical success and regulatory approval. Looking at a daily chart, the RSI is above 50. The MACD is above its signal line and positive. The configuration is positive. Moreover, the stock is trading above both its 20 and 50 day MA (respectively at $35.04 and $35.38). We are looking at the final target of $41.10 with a stop-loss set at $36.10.

On Wednesday, Facebook (FB) is expected to announce 2Q EPS of $1.39 vs. $1.99 the prior year on revenue of $17.3B compared to $16.9B last year. The Co operates the largest online social network platform and on July 22nd, the Co added an App Lock feature in order to give users more confidence that friends and family cannot access their chats if they lend out their phone, according to Bloomberg. In other news, on July 20th, the Co announced that it will now ask its users in Brazil for permission to use certain data, as Brazil added a new data protection law that takes effect in a few weeks. From a technical point of view, the RSI is below its neutrality area at 50. The MACD is below its signal line and positive. The MACD must penetrate its zero line to expect further downside. Moreover, the stock is trading under both its 20 and 50 day MA (respectively at $237.10 and $232.78). We are looking at the final target of $201.50 with a stop-loss set at $244.90.   

On Thursday, Apple (AAPL) is anticipated to release 3Q EPS of $2.03 vs. $2.18 the prior year on revenue of $52.0B compared to $53.8B last year. The Co develops and manufacturers consumer electronics, and on July 21st, the Co announced that it plans to become carbon neutral across its entire business by 2030. In other news, on July 15th, the New York Times reported that a European court overruled a 2016 decision that ordered Apple to pay 14.9 billion dollars (13 billion euros) of alleged unpaid taxes to Ireland. From a chartist's point of view, the RSI is mixed and calls for caution. Prices broke below the rising trend line in place since March lows. Caution! We are looking at the final target of $420.00 with a stop-loss set at $368.00.    

Also on Thursday Amazon.com (AMZN) is awaited to post 2Q EPS of $1.39 vs. $5.22 the prior year on revenue of $80.7B compared to $63.4B last year. The Co is the world's largest online retailer and web services provider, and on July 23rd, Bloomberg reported that the Co is in talks to purchase a 9.9% stake in Reliance Retail, the largest retailer in India. On a different note, the Co announced that it plans to open its first fulfillment center in El Paso, Texas by 2021. Technically speaking, the RSI is above 50. The MACD is positive and below its signal line. The stock could retrace in the short term. Moreover, the stock is above its 20 and 50 day MA (respectively at $3000.60 and $2722.19). We are looking at the final target of $3389.00 with a stop-loss set at $2738.00.

Looking at the S&P 500 CFD on a 30 minute chart, the index advanced last week creating a new peak at 3,292 before pulling back and holding above last week's support level of 3,197. The U.S. Dollar has broken down to a low last seen in June of 2018, while Gold just made a new all time high. The fact that we are still in a bull market and the price of Gold is continuing to rise appears to be an abnormal occurrence in these uncertain times as fears of a second wave of the coronavirus loom. The index will likely continue to advance to its 3,255 resistance level, break through it and retest the 3,292 peak. If price pulls back, it will probably find support at 3,197. If price does not find support at 3,197, then the next place we could witness support would be at the 3,165 level.       



Source: GAIN Capital, TradingView