Saturday, March 6th, 2021
Corona losers tick off the crisis
These stocks are taking off
By Benhamin Feingold
One year after the start of the pandemic, normalization in everyday life and work is not in sight anytime soon. The stock exchange sees it differently, however: stocks that have suffered severely from Corona are warming up there. Investors can earn a lot from it.
Perseverance, no planning security, warnings about the third wave and a very poor vaccination start in the EU – an optimistic view of the future looks different. However, Corona is slowly being ticked off on the stock exchange. As is well known, the future is traded there, which a look at the price increases of the corona losers and corona winners shows.
Shares like Home24 were among the absolute high-flyers with a plus of around 900 percent between April 2020 and February this year. Since the previous month's high, however, the price plummeted by 40 percent. The home office now seems to be furnished. The situation is similar with other favorites of the past few months such as Delivery Hero, Shop Apotheke and Zalando. The handsome profits are crumbling.
In return, the corona losers are now taking off. How great the longing for holidays and freedom throughout Europe is, was impressively observed at the end of February when Great Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson offered his compatriots the prospect of freedom to travel until the end of June. The world's largest tour operator Tui recorded an overnight increase in bookings of a whopping 500 percent. Similar responses can be expected if restrictions fall in other countries.
Tui share popular
The joy of many people on a trip is apparently so great that they spend more money on it than before to treat themselves to something special. This is good news for providers, because their margins are higher on more expensive trips. Tui shares are therefore one of the hottest stocks with brokers like Comdirect or Smartbroker. Even a capital increase, which usually depresses the share price, did not harm the stock. The stock is still more expensive than it was before the pandemic.
The situation at Carnival is similar. The corona crisis will leave deep marks on the AIDA parent's balance sheet for a long time to come – the rapid increase in net debt to $ 22 billion is a considerable burden. In addition, the company does not promise a profit for the coming year at the earliest. However, the rate has doubled since November. The reason: Carnival generates a good 50 percent of its sales in North America. The advances in vaccination in the US and the spread of tests are fueling the imagination. However, up to the pre-Corona level, the share still has a lot of room for improvement.
Airlines are catching up
The aviation sector is closely linked to the tourism industry. As expected, Lufthansa put disastrous numbers for 2020 on the table this week. But that's a thing of the past: if things go well, the airline says it could soon increase its capacities to around 70 percent of the pre-crisis level. However, the number of lucrative business travelers threatens to be lower in the future, but black numbers are expected for 2022.
The share is still 25 percent short of the level in mid-February 2020. Investors should also keep an eye on shares in MTU and Airbus. The aircraft manufacturer had clearly hit expectations in the final quarter and should at the same time benefit from the ongoing problems of rival Boeing.
Trillion dollar economic stimulus programs in the USA also suggest a shopping boom in the world's largest economy, from which several industries will benefit at the same time. Credit card providers such as Visa and Mastercard are also among the winners, as is the financial services company Square, which is now also involved in the banking business. The stationary trade should also take off: Macy`s and Dillard's in the USA are hot topics, in Germany it is worth taking a look at Hugo Boss. The fashion company has massively expanded its online business and is benefiting more and more from its presence in mainland China. Retail, credit card companies, airlines and travel companies – the current situation couldn't be better for bargain hunters.
Benjamin Feingold operates the stock exchange portal Feingold Research.
This article does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell individual stocks, ETFs, certificates or other investment products. No liability is assumed for the correctness of the data.
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