10 things to watch in the stock market Thursday, including inflation, Nvidia, Broadcom, Microsoft

Published Thu, Mar 14 20249:12 AM EDT

My top 10 things to watch Thursday, March 14 The producer price index, out Thursday morning, accelerated at a faster-than-expected pace for last month, following a hotter consumer price index two days ago. The stock market shrugs off the PPI and pushes higher. It did the same following Tuesday's CPI. Bond yields are slightly higher. Market odds are over 50% for a first Federal Reserve interest rate cut in June. Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tells CNBC he's putting together a group of investors to try to buy TikTok's U.S. assets. Divest or face ban is the ultimatum a House-passed bill gave the social media platform's Chinese owner ByteDance. The TikTok ban measure faces an uncertain fate in the Senate. Last week, Mnuchin revealed his role as a lead investor in a $1 billion capital raise to stabilize New York Community Bancorp . Morgan Stanley analysts say, "Within internet coverage group, the survey results were most bullish for OW (overweight) META . Facebook remained the most widely used platform with highest marks for ROI [return on investment]." Bernstein is out with a note discussing the semiconductor business cycle, saying its top picks are still Nvidia and Broadcom , both Club names. Nvidia seems set for estimates to continue being revised higher, meaning the stock may be cheaper than its current valuation implies, they say. As for Broadcom, Bernstein thinks the AI part of the business is strong enough to make up for the weakness in more cyclical parts until we get closer to 2025. Citi research analysts say, "We spent the last couple of weeks meeting investors, and it appears the most favored stocks were AI (NVDA/ AMD /AVGO), equipment, and NXP while the most disliked stocks were Micron , equipment (yes both sides), ON , and MCHP ." Mizuho reiterates Club name Microsoft as a top idea following the company's announcement that Copilot for Security will become available worldwide starting in April. While surprised to see that pricing will be consumption-based, the analysts think it will be viewed favorably "as it will enable users to better experiment and explore interesting cybersecurity use cases." Evercore ISI raises its Netflix price target to $640 per share from $600, reiterating its buy-equivalent rating. The analysts cite modestly positive trends in Japan and the effectiveness of the addition of an ad-based version of the platform. They say the ad tier is driving subscriber additions and helping to reduce churn. Club streamers Disney and Amazon also offer advertising options. Bank of America raises its IBM price target to $220 per share from $200 and reiterates its buy rating following a call with CEO Arvind Krishna. The analysts say the turnaround at IBM continues, citing "a defensive portfolio, attractive dividend yield, and underappreciated AI capabilities." Goldman Sachs research analysts upgrade shares of Citigroup to buy from neutral with a $68-per-share price target. They see a real path to a 9.5% return on average tangible common equity (ROTCE) by fiscal 2026. "Citi can grow revenue and deliver on expense reductions simultaneously," they say. In banks, we own Wells Fargo and sent a commentary Wednesday about drivers for the stock. Morgan Stanley is also a Club holding. Dick's Sporting Goods jumps nearly 5% after a positive earnings release. The retailer delivers top- and bottom-line beats along with a better-than-expected full-year earnings forecast. Sales guidance was a bit light at the midpoint but matches estimates at the high end. Dick's also boosts its dividend payout by 10%. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free (See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

My top 10 things to watch Thursday, March 14

The producer price index, out Thursday morning, accelerated at a faster-than-expected pace for last month, following a hotter consumer price index two days ago. The stock market shrugs off the PPI and pushes higher. It did the same following Tuesday's CPI. Bond yields are slightly higher. Market odds are over 50% for a first Federal Reserve interest rate cut in June.
Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tells CNBC he's putting together a group of investors to try to buy TikTok's U.S. assets. Divest or face ban is the ultimatum a House-passed bill gave the social media platform's Chinese owner ByteDance. The TikTok ban measure faces an uncertain fate in the Senate. Last week, Mnuchin revealed his role as a lead investor in a $1 billion capital raise to stabilize New York Community Bancorp.
Morgan Stanley analysts say, "Within internet coverage group, the survey results were most bullish for OW (overweight) META. Facebook remained the most widely used platform with highest marks for ROI [return on investment]."
Bernstein is out with a note discussing the semiconductor business cycle, saying its top picks are still Nvidia and Broadcom, both Club names. Nvidia seems set for estimates to continue being revised higher, meaning the stock may be cheaper than its current valuation implies, they say. As for Broadcom, Bernstein thinks the AI part of the business is strong enough to make up for the weakness in more cyclical parts until we get closer to 2025.
Citi research analysts say, "We spent the last couple of weeks meeting investors, and it appears the most favored stocks were AI (NVDA/AMD/AVGO), equipment, and NXP while the most disliked stocks were Micron, equipment (yes both sides), ON, and MCHP."
Mizuho reiterates Club name Microsoft as a top idea following the company's announcement that Copilot for Security will become available worldwide starting in April. While surprised to see that pricing will be consumption-based, the analysts think it will be viewed favorably "as it will enable users to better experiment and explore interesting cybersecurity use cases."
Evercore ISI raises its Netflix price target to $640 per share from $600, reiterating its buy-equivalent rating. The analysts cite modestly positive trends in Japan and the effectiveness of the addition of an ad-based version of the platform. They say the ad tier is driving subscriber additions and helping to reduce churn. Club streamers Disney and Amazon also offer advertising options.
Bank of America raises its IBM price target to $220 per share from $200 and reiterates its buy rating following a call with CEO Arvind Krishna. The analysts say the turnaround at IBM continues, citing "a defensive portfolio, attractive dividend yield, and underappreciated AI capabilities."
Goldman Sachs research analysts upgrade shares of Citigroup to buy from neutral with a $68-per-share price target. They see a real path to a 9.5% return on average tangible common equity (ROTCE) by fiscal 2026. "Citi can grow revenue and deliver on expense reductions simultaneously," they say. In banks, we own Wells Fargo and sent a commentary Wednesday about drivers for the stock. Morgan Stanley is also a Club holding.
Dick's Sporting Goods jumps nearly 5% after a positive earnings release. The retailer delivers top- and bottom-line beats along with a better-than-expected full-year earnings forecast. Sales guidance was a bit light at the midpoint but matches estimates at the high end. Dick's also boosts its dividend payout by 10%.

Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free

(See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.)

What Investing Club members are reading right now

As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.

THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER. NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.