Tag Archives: Rockets

Sports

Sources — Victor Oladipo turned down 2-year, $45.2 million extension from Houston Rockets

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Houston Rockets guard Victor Oladipo recently turned down a two-year, $45.2 million maximum contract extension, the most the franchise could offer him before summer free agency, sources told ESPN.

As expected, Oladipo is pursuing a longer-term deal, sources said, something that the collective bargaining agreement doesn’t allow the Rockets to offer him until the offseason.

Oladipo is in the final year of a four-year, $85 million contract, which leaves the Rockets with decisions to make prior to the March 25 trade deadline — including whether they’ll make him available in trade talks. The transitional state of the Rockets’ roster makes it likely they’ll listen to overtures as they continue to get to know Oladipo — and he gets to know them — since the mid-January trade that brought him from Indiana as part of the James Harden blockbuster.

For the Rockets, amid a post-Harden and Russell Westbrook era, there are a number of options with Oladipo, including weighing his value in the trade deadline marketplace, committing to aggressively pursuing a long-term deal in the summer, working with Oladipo on getting value back in sign-and-trade talks in the offseason or letting him walk to use the cap space on other players in free agency.

It is typical that teams become more focused in pursuing trades closer to the deadline, which is still a little less than four weeks away. Houston has yet to engage with teams on trade talks involving Oladipo, sources said.

Nevertheless, Oladipo, 28, has the chance to become one of the best two-way players available at the trade deadline or free agency. Miami and New York are among teams who’ve had an interest in Oladipo, and both have the salary-cap space to sign him outright in the summer.

Before the start of free agency, Houston would be able to allow him as much as a four-year, $113 million extension; once free agency comes, Houston can offer up to four years for $151 million, or five years, $195 million.

Oladipo has averaged 18.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 13 games with the Rockets this season. For his nine-year career, including stops with Orlando, Oklahoma City and Indiana, he has averaged 17.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Oladipo has also shown the ability to be a top defender.

Front office insider Bobby Marks contributed to this report.

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Business

SocketMobile’s stock rockets to a more than 13-year high after unveiling of DuraSled scanner for iPhone 12s

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Shares of Socket Mobile Inc.
SCKT,
+237.04%
skyrocketed 251.9% on very heavy volume toward a more than 13-year high in morning trading Tuesday, to pace all gainers on major U.S. exchanges, after the mobile data capture company unveiled its new DuraSled offering, which is an enterprise-grade barcode scanner for Apple Inc.’s
AAPL,
-0.78%
iPhone 12s. Trading volume spiked to more than 75 million shares, compared with the full-day average over the past 30 days of about 256,000 shares. The company said employers can now support workers who use the iPhone 12 series of mobile phones. “The DuraSled turns your iPhone into a one-handed solution that combines the versatility of the iPhone and the power of an enterprise-grade scanner,” said SocketMobile Senior Product Manager Vanessa Lindsay. The latest data showed that short interest as a percent of public float was 0.9%. The stock, which which is trading at the highest levels seen since October 2007, has soared 373.0% over the past three months, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.13%
has gained 8.9%.

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Sports

Immanuel Quickley, Derrick Rose lead Knicks to win over Rockets

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A costly weekend due to Mitchell Robinson’s injury still resulted in two important wins against undermanned opponents for the Knicks.

Immanuel Quickley connected on four 3-pointers and scored 22 points — while replacement centers Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson played well in the first game without Robinson — as the Knicks’ depth led them to a convincing 121-99 victory Saturday night over the Rockets at the Garden.

Derrick Rose contributed 16 points off the bench as the Knicks (13-15) took advantage of Victor Oladipo’s absence for Houston due to a foot and ankle injury, just as they had the previous night against the Wizards without NBA scoring leader Bradley Beal.

Julius Randle also scored 22 points and Elfrid Payton added 15 for the Knicks, who will host the Hawks on Monday. John Wall led the Rockets (11-15) with 26 points, while Eric Gordon finished with 24.

With Robinson facing the likelihood of surgery after breaking a bone in his right hand during Friday’s win in Washington, Noel made his first start of the season and finished with 10 points and six rebounds in a season-high 32 minutes. Gibson replaced Noel on the second unit and contributed four points and five boards in 16 minutes.

Immanuel Quickley, who scored 22 points, drives on Rodions Kurucs during the Knicks’ 121-99 victory over the Rockets.
AP

“Our starters and our bench, they’re similar in many ways,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “The individual strengths are a little bit different with each guy. But in terms of what they bring for the team, you can make a case that you can start all the guys that are on the second unit.”

Noel came in averaging only 17.5 minutes per game off the bench, but he ranks fifth in the league with 2.0 blocked shots per game.

Noel converted an early alley-oop pass from Randle, and Reggie Bullock buried three 3-pointers during a 16-3 run for an eight-point Knicks cushion midway through the first quarter. Their second unit — with Gibson replacing Noel — closed off the period with buckets by rookies Quickley and Obi Toppin (11 points) for a 30-25 advantage.

The lead was extended to 14 with a 15-4 spurt, with the backcourt tandem of Rose and Quickley accounting for nine points. The duo finished with seven apiece in the half, and the Knicks led by as many as 17 while carrying a 63-47 lead into intermission.

It was the third straight impactful game with the Knicks for Rose since he was acquired last weekend from Detroit. He even studied videos with assistant coach Andy Greer at the team’s Tarrytown training facility after the Knicks returned to home from Washington late Friday night.

“He’s a great student of the game,” Thibodeau said. “He’s always had that. I think that is what has allowed him to adapt, grow and change. I think you see that with a lot of players that are dominant players. They are constantly adding to their game.

“So it doesn’t surprise me. I think he’s put a lot of time into trying to understand his new teammates and what their strengths are and how he can better effectively use them.”

Randle finished the half with 13 points and Noel added eight on 4-for-5 shooting as the Knicks shot 52.2 percent from the floor and committed just one turnover through the first two quarters.

The Knicks got sloppy in the third, committing four early turnovers, enabling the Rockets to cut the lead to five with 3:40 remaining. Wall pumped in 15 in the quarter, but a dunk by Noel and a two 3-pointers by Quickley pushed the Knicks’ advantage to 87-75 entering the final quarter.

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Sports

Charlotte Hornets rookie LaMelo Ball goes off for big night against Houston Rockets

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Have a Monday night LaMelo Ball.

The Charlotte Hornets’ rookie point guard tied team records, had some amazing assists and buried a career-high seven 3-pointers in the Hornets’ 119-94 win over the Houston Rockets. The effort also helped slow down the Rockets, who had won four of their past five road games by double-digits.

“Stepped on the court. No warm-up, no nothing,” Ball said in a postgame interview on NBA TV. “Was still cool.”

According to Elias Sports Bureau research, Ball is the third player, age 19 or younger, to record multiple games of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, joining LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Pretty good company.

Ball finished with 24 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds and did it in a variety of fun ways.

Shooting 3s

Ball tied his career high with four 3s in the first half Monday night. He finished with seven 3-pointers, which tied the Hornets’ rookie record. Ball has made 45 3s in 25 games. For comparison, at the same point in his career, Lonzo, LaMelo’s older brother, had 25 made 3s.

Ball is averaging 22.6 PPG in his past five games (all starts) compared to 12.2 PPG in his first 20 games, in which he came off the bench in every game, per ESPN Stats & Information research.

The assists and passing

Ball had 10 assists Monday, one short of his career high of 11, done twice this season.

With the performance, Ball is the youngest player in NBA history to record a game with 20 points, 10 assists and at least five 3-pointers.

ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.



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Sports

Rockets concerned that Christian Wood could miss ‘extended period’

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The Houston Rockets are concerned that rising star Christian Wood could be “sidelined for an extended period” after reinjuring his ankle in Thursday’s win at Memphis, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. Wood appeared to badly roll his right ankle, which he initially sprained in mid-January, upon stepping on the foot of Grizzlies guard Ja Morant.

Wood pounded the floor in obvious agony and discomfort. After staying down for much of the timeout, Wood initially attempted to stay in the game to shoot free throws, since not shooting those would disqualify him. But Wood’s teammates talked him out of that idea, and he hobbled toward the tunnel — where a wheelchair was waiting for him.

According to reporters in Memphis, Wood was still in a wheelchair and with crutches in hand upon leaving the arena postgame.

In 20 minutes against the Grizzlies, Wood had 17 points (70% FG) and 7 rebounds as Houston raced out to a 21-point lead at the time of his departure. For the 2020-21 season, the 25-year-old big man entered Thursday averaging 22.3 points (55.3% FG) and 10.4 rebounds in 31.9 minutes per game, including 39.7% on 3-pointers. All are career-highs.

Wood’s injury comes at an awful time for the surging Rockets (11-10), who won for the seventh time in eight games at Memphis.

Houston’s next game comes Saturday at home versus San Antonio. Considering that Wood was wheeled off, and that it appeared to be a reaggravation of a previous injury, it would be a surprise if he can return quickly. “I don’t know,” Silas said postgame. “It didn’t look great.”

“It was difficult for me,” Silas said. “I had to sit down and collect my thoughts and gather myself. As good as he has been playing, a breakout season, and doing everything we need him to do. … Yeah, it sucks.”

MacMahon reports that Wood will undergo an MRI on Friday to determine the injury’s severity, along with a potential timetable to return.



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Business

Dow Jones Futures: GME Stock Rockets On Elon Musk Tweet; Microsoft, AMD, Palantir Are Key Movers

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Dow Jones futures and S&P 500 futures rose slightly late Tuesday, while Nasdaq futures rose solidly, lifted by MSFT stock. The stock market rally had fractional losses Tuesday on the surface, but many leaders had a tough session. Microsoft (MSFT) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) earnings late Tuesday, while Palantir Technologies (PLTR) held its much-anticipated Demo Day.




X



Apple (AAPL), and Tesla stock are due Wednesday night.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk kept GameStop (GME) frenzy going overnight, tweeting out “Gamestonk!!” in reference to the Reddit-led mass short squeeze. GME stock skyrocketed more than 50% overnight in still-massive trade. That’s after soaring 93% to 147.98 in Tuesday’s session, a record close. GME stock hit an intraday all-time high of 159.18 on Monday. GameStop is up 685% already this year.

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) and Dillard’s (DDS), two other short-squeeze plays, jumped 20% Tuesday. BBBY stock kept running overnight.

While tech giants and Tesla stock generally had modest gains, providing support for the major indexes. That masked some losses among leading chip, software, genomics and mining and materials firms.

10 Heavily Shorted Stocks Set For GameStop-Like ‘Squeeze’ Rallies

Key Earnings

Microsoft earnings and sales easily beat views. Microsoft stock rose overnight, signaling a breakout after flirting with a buy point in Tuesday’s session. Amazon.com (AMZN) rose slightly on the Microsoft’s cloud-driven quarter, with AMZN stock near possible early entries.

AMD earnings also easily beat, with the chipmaker also guiding higher. AMD stock tilted lower overnight after some up and down action.

Palantir Demo Day

Palantir Technologies held its much-anticipated Demo Day, where it showcased what its technology could do, including supply chain and data integration. PLTR stock fell modestly overnight. Palantir stock closed down 2.4% to 35.37, just out of range of a 33.60 buy point. But that followed Friday’s 25% spike and Monday’s 11% jump.

Apple, Tesla Earnings On Tap

Looking ahead to Wednesday, Apple stock, Tesla (TSLA), Facebook (FB) and ServiceNow (NOW) are among those reporting. Apple and Tesla stock are in buy range. Facebook stock has crossed over a very early entry. ServiceNow stock is finding support at its 50-day line in a new flat base.

Also, the Federal Reserve meeting concludes Wednesday, with a policy announcement due at 2 p.m. ET. The central bank is expected to leave interest rates and asset purchases unchanged and likely will signal that will remain so for quite some time. It may be a nonevent. Investors will look for hints — if any — about when Fed policymakers might taper bond buys down the road. Commentary about stock and other asset prices would get close attention.

Tesla stock, Apple, AMD, Microsoft, ServiceNow and Palantir stock are on IBD Leaderboard. Apple stock is on SwingTrader. Microsoft stock and ServiceNow are on IBD Long-Term Leaders. AMD and NOW stock are on IBD 50.

Dow Jones Futures Today

Dow Jones futures edged up vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.15%. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.6%. Microsoft stock is providing a lift to futures, with several other tech giants also climbing.

Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn’t necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.

Join IBD experts as they analyze actionable stocks in the stock market rally on IBD Live.

Coronavirus News

Coronavirus cases worldwide reached 100.78 million. Covid-19 deaths topped 2.16 million.

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. have hit 25.99 million, with deaths above 434,000. New coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and even deaths have fallen sharply over the last couple of weeks, though they remain high.

The U.S. late Tuesday that it will buy another 200 million doses from Pfizer (PFE) and Moderna (MRNA). It’ll also boost coronavirus vaccine supply to the states by 20% to 10 million a week. After a rocky start, vaccinations have been averaging more than one million a day recently, with expectations that this can ramp up.

Pfizer said it can deliver 200 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine two months earlier than planned. That would be by the end of May.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) expects data from its final-stage coronavirus vaccine data by early next week. CFO Joseph Wolk told CNBC that he’s expecting “robust” results. The J&J Covid vaccine takes just one shot and is easier to store than the two-shot vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech (BNTX) and Moderna. If efficacy and safety data are strong, the FDA could approve the J&J vaccine by early March.

Stock Market Rally

U.S. Stock Market Today Overview
Index Symbol Price Gain/Loss % Change
Dow Jones (0DJIA) 30937.89 -22.11 -0.07
S&P 500 (0S&P5) 3849.55 -5.81 -0.15
Nasdaq (0NDQC ) 13626.07 -9.92 -0.07
Russell 2000 (IWM) 213.31 -1.48 -0.69
IBD 50 (FFTY) 45.47 -0.55 -1.20
Last Update: 4:20 PM ET 1/26/2021

The stock market rally saw slim losses on the major indexes, a quiet session after Monday’s whipsaw action.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 0.1% in Tuesday’s stock market trading. The S&P 500 index dipped 0.15%. The Nasdaq composite edged down 0.1%, while the big-cap Nasdaq 100 edged higher.

Apple and Microsoft, the two biggest megacaps and members of the Dow Jones, S&P 500 index and Nasdaq composite, provided support for the major indexes. Amazon stock, Facebook, Tesla and AMD also helped.

Growth Stocks Struggle

Despite the solid performance in tech giants and the continued mania in GME stock and other speculative names, leading stocks tended to lag somewhat.

Beneath the surface, many chip, software and genomics stocks suffered significant losses, though it was bloodletting, not a bloodbath.

Among the best ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) fell 1.2%, while the Innovator IBD Breakout Opportunities ETF (BOUT) retreated 2.3%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) sank 0.6%, with MSFT stock and ServiceNow notable components. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) 1.7%, with AMD stock an exception to the downward shift.

ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) sank 3.3% and ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG) tumbled 4.9%. SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) pulled back 2.3%, extending losses since spiking on Jan. 6.

Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.

Microsoft Earnings

Microsoft earnings rose 34% to $2.03 a share in the fiscal Q2, accelerating for a second straight quarter. Revenue grew 17% to $43.08 billion, the best gain in at least two quarters. Wall Street expected Microsoft earnings of $1.64 a share on sales of $40.18 billion.

The Azure cloud-computing services saw 50% revenue growth, better than expected. Intelligent Cloud revenue, which includes Azure public cloud, server products, GitHub and enterprise services, advanced 23% to $14.60 billion also topping consensus.

Microsoft provided upbeat sales guidance on the conference call.

Microsoft stock rose 4% in overnight trade, signaling a breakout. Shares rose 1.2% to 232.33 on Tuesday. briefly clearing a 232.96 buy point, according to MarketSmith analysis. MSFT stock closed in buy range of some early entries.

Amazon stock advanced 1% in extended trade. Shares rose 1% to 3,326.13 on Tuesday, closing right around a downward-sloping trend line. Clearing that trend line would be an early entry for AMZN stock, along with 3350.75. Amazon stock has an official buy point of 3,552.35. Earnings are next week.

Apple stock and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) also rose about 1% overnight. Both are already in buy zones.

AMD Earnings

AMD earnings jumped 62.5% to 52 cents a share, with sales up 52% to $3.24 billion. Analysts forecast AMD earnings of 47 cents on sales of $3.02 billion.

The graphics and data center chip maker sees Q1 revenue up 79% to $3.2 billion, with full-year sales up 37%.

AMD stock initially rose in extended trade, then reversed slightly lower. Shares edged up 0.6% to 94.71 on Tuesday. That’s slightly above a buy zone from a prior base but in range from the 10-week line. Investors might want to use 99.33 as an entry from a short consolidation.

AMD rival Nvidia (NVDA) was little changed overnight.

Texas Instruments (TXN) and Maxim Integrated Products (MXIM) also beat views late Tuesday. But the two chipmakers fell modestly late.

Apple, Tesla, Facebook Earnings

Wednesday night will be busier than Tuesday, with Apple, Tesla, Facebook and ServiceNow among the big names reporting.

Apple earnings will not only have a big impact on AAPL stock, but on the broader iPhone ecosystem, notably chipmakers. Tesla earnings are important, but the focus will likely be on 2021 delivery targets and updates on the Cybertruck and two factories under construction. For the Facebook earnings report, commentary about political headwinds will be key for FB stock and other social media names. ServiceNow is the first business software pure play that has held up well at a time when many software makers have lost ground.

Apple, Tesla, Facebook and ServiceNow stock are all at or near buy points, raising the stakes. Along with Microsoft and AMD, these leaders could have a huge influence on the stock market rally direction.

Stock Market Rally Analysis

The Nasdaq is now 7.8% above its 50-day moving average, down slightly from Monday’s 8.2%.

The rule of thumb is that when the Nasdaq is more than 6% above the 50-day line, the odds of a pullback are relatively high. But, as the stock market rally has shown in recent days and many times over the past several months, the Nasdaq can keep getting more extended. But the more extended the Nasdaq gets, the higher the risk of a pullback, with greater odds that the retreat will be larger.

In late August, Apple and Tesla stock helped push the Nasdaq higher and higher, finally peaking at 11.6% above the 50-day line on Sept. 2. The Nasdaq then plunged 10% over the next three sessions, closing below the 50-day line, with further losses in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, bullish sentiment is high, while froth is evident in GME stock and others. It’s possible that hot money, at least among retail investors, is concentrating in GME stock and other squeeze plays, moving away from a wider array of leading stocks and even “traditional” speculative names.

Margin debt is up substantially vs. a year earlier, but the increase is still well below extreme levels associated historically with foreshadowing bear markets. However, leveraged ETFs and the explosion of call options suggests that retail investors are more exposed than margin debt alone would indicate.

An extended market rally, high bullish sentiment, crazy stock moves are warning signs. But weakness in leading stocks is the first one that stings.

Sideways action or a modest pullback over a few weeks would be ideal for the stock market rally. But earnings season in the current environment seems likely to be a catalyst for big market gains or losses — or both. As always, the market is going to do what the market is going to do.

What You Should Do Now

Along with the earnings crush, risks are relatively high for leading stocks and overall market rally. Monday’s short-lived market reversal spurred some sharp losses in growth stocks. They generally fared OK before lagging Tuesday. But if the Nasdaq fell 5% in a day or 10%-15 over a week or two, the losses in many growth stocks, especially IPOs and more-speculative names, could be intense. How would your portfolio handle that action?

Continue to analyze your holdings and overall portfolio. Create a game plan for dealing with negative action in your stocks or overall market rally.

Keep in mind that despite rising warning signs, the stock market rally has been faring well overall, though leading stocks bear watching. Investors may want to be more cautious about adding exposure, sell some shares into strength and quickly cut laggards, but it’s not time to be defensive overall. However, dust off those defense plans.

Please follow Ed Carson on Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.

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