Roku, Google Reach YouTube Deal

Today is Thursday, December 9, 2021.

Roku, Google Reach YouTube Deal

Shares of Roku (Nasdaq: ROKU) increased 18.23% on Wednesday after the digital media player announced a new deal with Google (Nasdaq: GOOGL).

Details: Roku reaches a multi-year extension with Google for YouTube and YouTube TV, which will be available for all streamers on the platform.

Challenges: While this is good news for Roku, there are still plenty of challenges for the company. Growth has slowed and competition has picked up. The stock might be overvalued for some investors.

Numbers: Last year, shares of Roku jumped over 140%. In 2021, the stock is down 19.45%.

Final Thoughts: Does Roku still have room to recover more of its 2021 losses?

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL), Chewy (NYSE: CHWY), Lululemon Athletica (Nasdaq: LULU), Costco Wholesale (Nasdaq: COST), Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), Leslie’s (Nasdaq: LESL), Broadcom (Nasdaq: AVGO), Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN).

Notable IPOs Today: Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NU), Mobiquity Technologies, Inc. Common Stock (MOBQ), HashiCorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: HCP), The Valens Company, Inc. Common Shares (Nasdaq: VLNS), Arisz Acquisition Corp. Common Stock (Nasdaq: ARIZ), NeuroSense Therapeutics Ltd. Ordinary Shares (Nasdaq: NRSN), Emerging Markets Horizon Corp. Unit (Nasdaq: HORIU).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: UpCounsel (Wefunder), Blue Sky Energy (StartEngine), Sol Bistro St Pete (MainVest).

Notable Economic Events Today: Jobless claims (8:30 a.m. ET), Wholesale inventories (10:00 a.m. ET), World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report (12:00 p.m. ET).

Crypto Executives Go to Washington, Explained

Executives from six major cryptocurrency companies appeared before Congress on Wednesday for a significant first hearing of its kind.

Details: The executives asked Congress to provide clearer rules for the $3 trillion crypto industry, including issues regarding regulations that would be tailored to fit the sector.

Background: For some time, lawmakers have been trying to regulate the industry. Wednesday’s hearing gave some members of Congress the opportunity to learn more about crypto.

Numbers: Prices for most cryptos ticked up Wednesday, except for Bitcoin, which decreased about 1%.

Final Thoughts: Wednesday’s hearing was a good first step into legitimizing cryptocurrency. It is more proof that crypto has reached the mainstream.

Omicron Threatens Santa Claus Rally

The emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus could upend a potential Santa Claus rally, which is a trend where the stock market increases during the end of December and into early January.

The Bearish Case: Investors fear that the Omicron variant could be more contagious and more deadly, which could result in lockdowns. Under this scenario, the stock market would be spooked.

The Bullish Case: It is too early to assume that the Omicron variant is more deadly. When we get more data in, we can make a better determination on how bad it might be. Thus, there could still be a Santa Claus rally.

Final Thoughts: Even if the Omicron variant resulted in more lockdowns, then the stay-at-home stocks would be one area that investors can turn to.

Trends to Watch

Game Over: GameStop shares fall as video game retailer reports widening losses in third quarter (CNBC)

New Offering: Lucid Group to sell $1.75B of convertible senior notes (Seeking Alpha)

Speaking Out: Coinbase Customers Claim Accounts Were Locked, Demand Refunds (PYMNTS)

Insta-Worthy: Instagram's CEO Adam Mosseri hears senators brush aside his promises to self-police (NPR)

Help Wanted: 'The Great Resignation' slowed in October, but 4.2 million Americans still quit jobs (MarketWatch)

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