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Stocks may be in for more punishment

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said on Friday that next week’s market events could offer signs of a late December rally after a highly volatile week that saw many smaller technology stocks slip during rising investor concern about the omicron Covid variant.

“I think we may be in for more punishment because the valuations got so out of control, but given the crushing blows we’ve seen so far, there’s reason to believe that we’re getting closer and closer to the light at the end of the tunnel,” Cramer said.

Here’s what the Mad Money host will be watching during the coming week. All revenue and per-share earnings estimates are pulled from FactSet.

Monday: MongoDB and Coupa Software

MongoDB

  • Q3 2022 earnings release after the bell; conference call at 5 p.m.
  • Projected Loss: Loss of 38 cents per share
  • Projected revenue: $205.3 million

Coupa Software

  • Q3 2022 earnings release after the bell; conference call at 4:30 p.m.
  • Projected EPS: 3 cents
  • Projected revenue: $178.3 million

Cramer said that technology companies MongoDB and Coupa Software have been “crushed” lately as money managers dump risky stocks for safer bets amid omicron worries. “MongoDB and Coupa also find themselves in the unenviable position of having to report right after what will no doubt be one of the very biggest weekends of when we’re going to hear about the omicron variant,” Cramer said.

Tuesday: SentinelOne, Toll Brothers and Stitch Fix

SentinelOne

  • Q3 results after the bell; conference call at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday
  • Projected Loss: Loss of 18 cents
  • Projected revenue: $49.6 million

Cramer said cybersecurity company SentinelOne is a good test case for investors to determine if technology stocks have been oversold. “I was shocked to see that this stock had already come down from $76 to $46, for no obvious reason aside from the broader stock market rotation,” Cramer said.

Toll Brothers

  • Q4 results after the bell; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday
  • Projected EPS: $2.48
  • Projected revenue: $2.9 billion

Toll Brothers, the high-end homebuilder, has several tailwinds that have helped it put up “amazing numbers,” Cramer said, including low mortgage rates, strong profit margins, and the hybrid work environment that’s boosting home sales. “Will Toll Brothers be hurt by today’s weaker-than-expected jobs report? I doubt it,” Cramer said.

Stitch Fix

  • Q1 results after the bell; conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET Tuesday
  • Projected Loss: Loss of 14 cents
  • Projected revenue: $571 million

Stitch Fix is more of an apparel play than a tech stock, Cramer contended, but he said next week’s earnings might indicate that it and similar stocks with a heavy digital component have hit their bottom and are ready to rise again.

Wednesday: UiPath, Campbell Soup, RH and GameStop

UiPath

  • Q3 results after the bell; conference call at 5 p.m. ET Wednesday
  • Projected EPS: Loss of 4 cents
  • Projected revenue: $208.3 million

Cramer also believes that UiPath, a software company specializing in automating repetitive tasks, is a key test case for technology stocks.

Campbell Soup

  • Q1 results before the bell; conference call at 8 a.m. Wednesday
  • Projected EPS: 81 cents
  • Projected sales: $2.28 billion

“Think the world’s coming to an end? All right, then I’ve got something for you” in Campbell Soup, Cramer said on Friday, noting that he sees its performance as more of a leading indicator on slowdown-related names than a reflection on the company’s management.

RH

  • Q3 results after the close; conference call at 5 p.m. ET Wednesday
  • Projected EPS: $6.62
  • Projected revenue: $983 million

“I think CEO Gary Friedman has a long-term view,” Cramer said, adding that in the past, every sell-off in RH shares have “been a reason to buy, not sell.”

Gamestop

  • Q3 results after the bell; conference call at 5 p.m. ET Wednesday
  • Projected Loss: Loss of 52 cents
  • Projected sales: $1.2 billion

Cramer says GameStop is the “king of the meme stocks” despite the fact he hasn’t seen a “real turnaround plan” from the company’s new management. “I can’t justify owning it up here and I think the Wall Street Bets cohort has run out of firepower of late … but there’s tremendous prurient interest here,” Cramer said.

Thursday: Broadcom, Costco, Hormel, Lululemon and Chewy

Broadcom

  • Q4 results after the bell; conference call at 5 p.m. ET Thursday
  • Projected EPS: $7.74
  • Projected revenue: $7.36 billion

Chipmaker Broadcom has been “remarkably consistent in an inconsistent world,” Cramer said.

Costco

  • Q1 results after the bell; conference call at 5 p.m. ET Thursday
  • Projected EPS: $2.62
  • Projected revenue: $54.1 billion

Costco often gets hit after big runs higher, Cramer said, offering investors a buying opportunity.

Hormel

  • Q4 results before the bell; conference call at 9 a.m. ET Thursday
  • Projected EPS: 50 cents
  • Projected revenue: $3.22 billion

Cramer said that Hormel is a “tried and true” name that’s down from its highs despite savvy management moves.

Lululemon

  • Q3 results after the close; conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET Thursday
  • Projected EPS: $1.40
  • Projected revenue: $1.43 billion

Cramer said he believes Lululemon will turn in a “fantastic” report next Thursday, making it an aggressive play.

Chewy

  • Q3 results after the close; conference call at 5 p.m. ET Thursday
  • Projected Loss: Loss of 3 cents
  • Projected revenue: $2.21 billion

“I also want to hear from Chewy,” Cramer said. “The online pet food retailer that’s seen its stock get cut in half. … You get the pattern here? It’s called a bear market, people: Anything digitized is getting pulverized.”

Friday: Centene

Centene

  • Investor meeting 8:30 a.m. ET

Centene’s analyst meeting could deliver good news for investors in the form of bountiful cash flow and buybacks, Cramer said.

Sign up now for the CNBC Investing Club to follow Jim Cramer’s every move in the market. Cramer’s charitable trust owns shares of Broadcom and Costco.

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Why more EV brands might not be good business for China automakers

SHANGHAI – While selling electric vehicles under their existing brands, major Chinese carmakers have launched a plethora of new EV marques since last year to fend off competition from Tesla and domestic EV startups. 

A similar brand explosion took place 10 years ago, underscoring how such a tactic could backfire as a brand needs to be nurtured over time rather than built in a haste.

At the Guangzhou auto show last month, Changan Automobile Co. unveiled its EV brand Avatr.

Prior to Changan, four other major state-owned automakers also created new brands for EVs. 

At the Shanghai auto show in April, SAIC Motor Corp. launched IM, the company’s second EV brand following the R marque introduced last year. 

Also last year, BAIC Motor Co., Dongfeng Motor Group and GAC Motor Co. each debuted an EV brand, known as Arcfox, Voyah and Vion, respectively.

Like SAIC, two leading private Chinese carmakers – Great Wall Motor Co. and Geely Automobile Holdings — have unveiled their second EV brands this year. 

At the Guangzhou show, Great Wall launched the Salon. The company’s first EV brand, Ora, was created in 2018.

And in April, Geely revealed the Zeekr, two years after the roll-out of the Geometry.

With initial products featuring rich infotainment functions and advanced driver assistance systems, these new marques are all marketed as premium EV brands, and their owners expect to build presence in the domestic market for smart EVs, dominated by Tesla and startups such as Xpeng, Nio and Li Auto.

SAIC is another example. The state-owned company now markets EVs under its Roewe and MG mass-market brands. This year, it has launched sales of EVs under R, labeled as a premium brand. Next year, the first product — a midsized sedan — is due to arrive in the market under its high-end brand IM.

Can the new brands really help build new business? 

For one thing, traditional Chinese automakers have long been producers of battery-powered vehicles converted from gasoline models. Hence, it takes time for their new marques to win customer recognition as premium EV brands.

Secondly, a multi-brand strategy would stretch thin the engineering and financial resources allocated for each brand at a company, which in turn would affect product quality.

In fact, this is not the first time Chinese carmakers have applied the multi-brand strategy. 

In 2009, Geely and Chery Automobile Co. — a state-owned light-vehicle manufacturer — each created three brands for their gasoline vehicles in an attempt to move upscale in the domestic car market.

Two years later, both companies started to phase out the new brands after product quality problems multiplied to drag down their sales. 

Haste makes waste. That lesson seems to have been forgotten at traditional Chinese carmakers today when it comes to exploring the domestic EV market.

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Confirmed US omicron cases up; Biden’s winter plan: COVID news

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Drake’s selfie at Oklahoma City Thunder game is surprise for couple

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New omicron variant cases found in New York, Colorado, Minnesota

Four states in the U.S. have identified new cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

On Thursday, health officials from Minnesota, New York, and Colorado announced cases of the new, highly mutated variant, one day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first individual detected with omicron in California.

The three cases in California, Minnesota and Colorado have been mild and those individuals are recovering, health officials say.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday evening that the state had confirmed five cases of the omicron variant.

“Let me be clear: This is not cause for alarm. We knew this variant was coming and we have the tools to stop the spread,” Hochul said. “Get your vaccine. Get your booster. Wear your mask.”

Hochul held a joint news conference with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, telling reporters that the early cases appear to be minor, non-life-threatening cases at this time.

A 67-year-old woman in Suffolk County who traveled to South Africa tested positive Nov. 30 following mild symptoms upon returning home. She had received at least one vaccination, but it was unclear whether the woman was fully vaccinated, Hochul said.

Two other cases were from individuals in Queens and one in Brooklyn, but their vaccination status was unknown.

The fifth case was identified in New York City from a traveler, but Hochul did not have further details.

Minnesota’s Department of Health said an adult male, who lives in Hennepin County, was found to have the variant. He was vaccinated about six months ago and had gotten his booster shot in early November, officials with the department said during a briefing Thursday.

He had mild symptoms on Nov. 22, which have since resolved.

He told the Minnesota Department of Health that he had traveled to New York City to attend the Anime NYC 2021 convention at the Javits Center on Nov. 19-21.

Minnesota health officials are working with New York health officials to determine who the man may have had contact with. He hadn’t traveled internationally, and officials with the Minnesota Health Department said it’s most likely that transmission of the virus happened at the convention.

A statement from the Javits Center, which at one point was a New York City vaccination center, said visitors are required to show proof of vaccination and wear masks indoors.

Because the Minnesota man attended the convention, it’s likely the variant is spreading in New York City, health commissioner, Dr. Dave Chokshi, said on Twitter Thursday, urging attendees of the convention to be tested immediately and take precautions such as wearing a mask and social distancing.

It’s unclear whether the new cases in New York were related to the convention at the Javits Center, Hochul and de Blasio said, noting that contact tracing had only just begun.

One person close to the man, in Minnesota, has tested positive for coronavirus with a rapid test, officials said. The result is under investigation, and the person is isolating, they said.

Gov. Tim Walz said the “news is concerning, but it is not a surprise.”

“We know that this virus is highly infectious and moves quickly throughout the world,” he said.

A female resident of Colorado has also contracted the variant strain of the virus, the state’s department of health confirmed Thursday. The woman, who lives in Arapahoe County, had recently traveled to South Africa and was fully vaccinated, but had not yet received a booster shot.

She is experiencing mild symptoms and isolating in her home, according to Colorado Department of Health and Environment.

On Wednesday, the CDC and the California Department of Public Health and the San Francisco Department of Public Health identified a traveler who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22 as the first confirmed case of the omicron variant in the U.S. — three days before scientists in that country announced they’d identified the new variant.

The person in California, an adult under age 50, developed symptoms a few days after arriving in the U.S. and got tested on Nov. 28, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a briefing Wednesday. The test came back positive for Covid-19 on Monday, Nov. 29.

“The individual, who was fully vaccinated and had mild symptoms that are improving, is self-quarantining and has been since testing positive,” the CDC reported in a statement.

Close contacts of the California case have been undergoing Covid tests and so far, no one has tested positive. The individual from California was fully vaccinated with two doses of the Moderna vaccine, but had not been eligible to receive a booster shot.

The omicron variant has a high number of mutations that suggest it may spread just as or more easily than the delta variant, which accounts for 99.9 percent of Covid cases in the U.S.

Scientists have cautioned that it’s still unclear whether omicron is more dangerous than other versions of the virus that has killed more than 5 million people worldwide. It is also unknown how well the vaccines and treatments would work against the variant.

The World Health Organization said Monday that the global risk of the new variant is “very high.”

Meanwhile, public health experts continue to recommend tried-and-true ways of Covid protection: vaccination and a booster, wearing masks indoors and in crowded spaces, and continued physical distancing.

The variant has been detected in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Australia, Israel and Hong Kong, among other countries.

While world leaders and health experts are urging people to get vaccinated as soon as possible, some countries are struggling to inoculate their populations due to lack of access.

Follow NBC HEALTH on Twitter & Facebook.

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Celebs, fashion, 24k chicken wings at Miami Art Basel

MIAMI (AP) — After a pandemic hiatus, the official Art Basel show is back in Miami with all its eccentric glory, a dizzying list of celebrity attendees and dozens of spin-off shows that are already generating a buzz, including a phenom child painter

MIAMI (AP) — After a pandemic hiatus, the official Art Basel show is back in Miami with all its eccentric glory, a dizzying list of celebrity attendees and dozens of spin-off shows that are already generating a buzz, including a phenom child painter and a $4 million Banksy sale.

Ten-year-old contemporary artist Andres Valencia’s gallery has already nearly sold out at Art Miami. The San Diego-based artist simply saw a cubist painting in his living room two years ago and declared, ‘I can do that’.

Actress Sophia Vergara bought one of his pieces this week and Channing Tatum, Jordan Belfort, and artist Shepard Fairey stopped by his booth at the Art Miami fair to check out his work, according to a spokesperson for Chase Contemporary.

Proceeds from Valencia’s works are going to the Perry J. Cohen Foundation, which supports the arts, and environmental and wildlife education and preservation.

Maddox Gallery is also showing at Art Miami, selling Banksy’s Charlie Brown for $4 million dollars on Tuesday. A spokeswoman for the gallery said this is the first year they’ve had a profound collection of Banksy canvases including many original works.

Basel’s annual prestigious December art fair draws collectors, socialites and celebrities from around the world. But fashion has also played a prominent role in recent years with Christian Dior hosting its first ever U.S. show in 2019 as a sort of unofficial kick-off to Miami’s art week.

Louis Vuitton did the same on Tuesday night, with its first ever U.S. fashion show. But the sudden death of its 41-year-old legendary designer Virgil Abloh turned the show into a somber yet whimsical celebration of life attended by Rihanna, Kim Kardashian West and her daughter North, Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, model Bella Hadid, Joe Jonas, Maluma and Pharrell. Kid Cudi and Erykah Badu performed at an after-party. Ivanka Trump and hubby Jared Kushner were also in the crowd.

And Chanel collaborated with artist Es Devlin for a monumental sculptural installation to celebrate its iconic fragrance. The fashion house is taking over Jungle Plaza to create a multi-sensory experience using hundreds of plants and trees. The installation is open to the public, but several big name celebs are expected to attend Friday’s VIP dinner with a top-secret performance.

Gucci is hosting a party Thursday night to celebrate Mickalene Thomas’ Monograph.

Alicia Keys, Lizzo and Cardi B are also among those performing around town this week. The rapper is launching a new line of Vodka infused whipped cream on Saturday. After-party performances at various clubs this weekend include Migos, Meek Mill, Diplo and Marshmello.

While Miami’s art week is a draw for serious collectors, it is also full of the absurd, including diamond and gold chicken wings. Yep, Miami’s DJ Khaled dropped “bling wings” topped with 24-karat gold dust and edible diamonds to promote his restaurant Another Wing.

There’s also an 18 carat gold bagel avocado toast on sale for $2.9 million at Galerie Rother at Art Miami.

Celebrity sightings included Martha Stewart in a gold coat and walking cane at Komodo restaurant and the Denver Nuggets and Venus Williams popped bottles all night at Pharrell and David Grutman’s restaurant Swan.

Hailey Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo, Brooklyn Beckham, Nicola Peltz were spotted loading up on cocktails and caviar at Papi Steak and singer Camila Cabello was spotted in the trendy art district of Wynwood on Monday for an unveiling at Wynwood Walls to celebrate 14 new artists with murals and sculptures.

Kelli Kennedy, The Associated Press