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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Apple, Microsoft, Take-Two Interactive and Virgin Galactic

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 4, 2020 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) , Microsoft Corporation (MSFT - Free Report) , Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (TTWO - Free Report) and Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (SPCE - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Nasdaq Closes at New High on Mega-Cap Interest

Investors entered the week stoked, sending market indexes into the green early Monday, and never looked back. Despite various levers of concern that may be pulled — a falling-out over congressional lawmaking to provide economic aid to those affected by the ongoing pandemic, the coronavirus case levels continuing to tick up ever higher, etc. — a trust in the backstopping of the markets by the Federal Reserve has put the proof to the maxim “Don’t Fight the Fed.”

The Dow finished up 0.9% or 236 points; the S&P 500 climbed to within spitting distance of 3300, up 0.72% to within 3% of its all-time high; and the Nasdaq met and set a new all-time closing high, +157 points, +1.47%, to 10,902.

The key to Nasdaq strength remains the mega-cap tech names, particularly Apple and Microsoft — the former of which posted superb earnings figures last week, while talk this morning of Microsoft’s interest in obtaining wildly popular China-based video-sharing app TikTok have spurred investment interest. The app, which has been compared to the national security threat akin to Huawei in the U.S., does not have a price tag publicly attached to the deal, but its high popularity does make it an intriguing consideration for Microsoft — especially in its potential to rival Facebook and YouTube.

Zacks Rank #2 (Buy)-rated Take Two Interactive, a major video game developer, has far outperformed expectations on its fiscal Q1 top-line results reported after Monday’s close: $996 million in sales rocketed past the $844 million projected, which itself represented 100% growth year over year. Further, the company upped guidance for next quarter and fiscal year on its top-line: between %775-825 million for Q2 and between $2.8-2.9 billion for the full year. Shares are up 4% in late trading.

Commercial space enterprise company Virgin Galactic also put out Q2 results after Monday’s closing bell, missing the Zacks consensus by 2 cents to -30 cents per share, on revenues that are quite beside the point at this stage. This is a stock one buys on the story of its possibilities: much like SpaceX becoming the first private outer-space service company, Virgin Galactic is talking supersonic passenger jets in the future. The company announced it expects to raise $460 million on a 20 million share offer. SPCE shares are tumbling 8% in late trading.

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