Market movers: Stocks seeing action on Tuesday - and why

Tesla Inc. shares continue to be on fire, jumping a further 15 per cent Tuesday morning to near US$900. That’s on top of the 20 per cent gain on Monday, its biggest one-day rise in six years. Argus Research raised its price target on Tesla to $808 a share on Monday - but that’s now well below where the stock is trading.

Argus is hardly alone in being unable to peg a value to the stock. While many analysts have hiked price targets in recent days, they can’t keep up with Tesla’s breathtaking rally, which has been partly fuelled by a high number of shorts covering positions.

The average 12-month price target of analysts is now $493, up from $334 in December, according to FactSet.

The stock has more than doubled this year alone.

As Roth Capital analyst Craig Irwin told CNBC this morning: “I just can’t believe this freaking stock. It’s insane. This is a big separation from those of us who like to pull out the calculators and look at reality.”

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EBay Inc. shares were up nearly 8 per cent in late afternoon trading after the Wall Street Journal reported Intercontinental Exchange is making a takeover bid for the company. It would value the online marketplace at more than US$30-billion, according to WSJ.

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Bombardier Inc. shares were up about 10 per cent at midday after the Wall Street Journal reported the company is in talks to sell its business jet division to Textron Inc.

The talks have been going on for several weeks, according to the Journal, quoting unnamed sources, and they may not result in a deal. A sale could yield billions that Bombardier could use to reduce some of its approximately US$9-billion of debt.

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Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. shares were up nearly 4 per cent Tuesday morning despite saying it has canceled eight cruises out of China through March 4 in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

The company said it expects the cancellations and some modifications to its itineraries to reduce earnings by 25 cents per share. Royal Caribbean also said it would deny boarding to people who had visited mainland China or Hong Kong over the past 15 days. It will also screen Chinese and Hong Kong passport holders and people showing flu-like symptoms.

Investors may be slightly relieved that the hit to Royal Caribbean wasn’t greater. The stock is also likely getting swept up in the surge in equities in general on Tuesday.

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ConocoPhillips shares were down 0.8 per cent in morning trading, bucking the rally elsewhere seen in the energy sector. The oil and gas producer reported a 36.5-per-cent fall in adjusted quarterly profit on Tuesday, weighed down by lower output and weak realized prices for crude. The company also boosted its share buyback program by US$10-billion.

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Alphabet shares were down about 4 per cent in morning trade after reporting fourth-quarter results late Monday that were slightly disappointing to the Street overall. Revenue of US$46.08-billion slightly missed expectations of $46.94-billion. Earnings modestly beat expectations. The company also made its first ever disclosures on financial results for YouTUbe, Search, and Google Cloud, but search advertising growth left some Street analysts disappointed.

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Shares in lumber producers were higher Tuesday on news that Canadian softwood producers are getting a surprise break from the United States. A preliminary decision by the U.S. Department of commerce is expected to result in sharply lower duties by August for most Canadian producers of softwood lumber.

The Commerce Department ruled late on Monday that tariffs imposed on most Canadian lumber sold south of the border could be reduced, after conducting an administrative review of anti-dumping and countervailing duties applicable for 2017 and 2018.

In its preliminary assessment of most Canadian producers, the Commerce Department pegged the combined anti-dumping and countervailing rate at 8.21 per cent, down from 20.23 per cent levied more than two years ago.

Shares in Canfor Corp were up 5 per cent Tuesday morning. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. was up nearly 3 per cent. Interfor was up 2.7 per cent.