Tesla, Wells Fargo, and Delta Air Lines Among 5 Stocks Grabbing Morning Headlines

Although the VIX might be below 14, many stocks will likely show more volatility than usual as earnings season kicks into high gear. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some companies that have just reported earnings, as well as a few other companies that are trending for various reasons.

Without further ado, let’s analyze the latest concerning Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL), Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), Devon Energy Corp (NYSE:DVN), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), and Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) and see why investors are closely monitoring these stocks this morning. Let’s also see what the world’s greatest investors think of each stock.

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Delta Reports Earnings

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) earned $1.47 per share on revenue of $10.45 billion for the second quarter, beating profit estimates by $0.05 per share but missing the sales consensus by $40 million. Passenger revenue per available seat mile inched lower by 4.9%, while consolidated capacity rose by 3.2% year-over-year. The passenger load factor declined a tick, to 85.5% from last year’s 85.6%. In terms of guidance, management expects passenger unit revenue to fall between 4% and 6% year-over-year and for operating margin to be between 19% and 21%. Of the 766 active funds that we track, 97 funds owned $6.93 billion of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) shares on March 31, which accounted for 18.30% of the float.

Tesla Discontinues Vehicle Buyback

In its effort to make cars more affordable, Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has discontinued a program begun in 2013 that guaranteed a certain resale value on its vehicles. In conjunction with ending its vehicle buyback program, Tesla has also lowered the price of the 60D Model X crossover to $74,000, or over 10% less than the Model X 75D. The ending of the buyback program will improve Tesla’s usable cash flow and make Tesla cars more mainstream by lowering vehicle prices. Tesla will need to keep lowering the price of its vehicles if the company is to meet its ambitious 500,000-vehicle production target by 2018. 39 top funds in our system owned shares of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) at the end of the first quarter, up by ten from the end of the prior quarter.

On the next page we’ll take a closer look at why Devon Energy, JP Morgan, and Wells Fargo are drawing interest today.

Devon Divests More Assets

Devon Energy Corp (NYSE:DVN) is in the spotlight after the company officially agreed to sell its 50% stake in the Access Pipeline to Wolf Midstream Inc, a portfolio company of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for around $1.1 billion. The deal includes a potential additional payment of CAD$150 million, dependent on the sanctioning and development of a thermal-oil project at Devon’s Pike lease. The sale marks the completion of Devon’s divestiture program, which has totaled $3.2 billion so far, and improves Devon’s investment-grade balance sheet. The number of funds in our database with holdings in Devon Energy Corp (NYSE:DVN) rose by 11 quarter-over-quarter to 58 as of the end of March.

JPMorgan Beats

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) shares are 2% in the green this pre-market after the bank beat top and bottom-line expectations by $1.05 billion and $0.12 per share respectively, pulling in EPS of $1.55 on sales of $25.21 billion for the second quarter. The company’s consumer and community banking sales rose by 4% and JPMorgan’s overall CET1 ratio inched up by 90 basis points to 11.9%. Tangible book value jumped to $50.21 per share from $46.13 per share a year earlier. Look for JPMorgan shares to do well if the global economy recovers and interest rates normalize. 97 funds that we follow had a bullish position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) at the end of March, down by three quarter-over-quarter.

Wells Fargo Drawing Interest After Fed President Comment

Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) is being watched today after Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said that the U.S economy might need two interest rate hikes by the end of the year. Although Harker’s stance could be construed as dovish given that he thought the economy needed two to three hikes in late May, his comments could be construed as bullish for interest rate-related stocks. Due to Britain’s vote to leave the EU on the 23rd of last month and due to the political sensitivity of raising rates before an upcoming Presidential election, many traders assumed the Fed would keep interest rates lower for longer and only raise them once in 2016, in December. If the Fed raises them twice this year to avert higher inflation down the road, Wells Fargo will benefit with higher interest-related income. The higher profits could translate into faster dividend growth down the road. 90 funds tracked by Insider Monkey owned shares of Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) as of the most recent 13F reporting period, up by five from a quarter previous.

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