Barron's Post-Christmas Picks And Pans: Alibaba, Apple, Intel, Pool, Yelp And More

• This weekend's Barron's cover story offers six travel and leisure stock picks for a rebound in demand.
• Other featured articles examine China's crackdown on tech giants, the iPhone maker's interest in automobiles, and how Barron's 2020 stocks picks have fared.
• Also, the prospects for a semiconductor giant, airline stocks, a swimming pool stock and more.

Cover story "Try These 6 Travel and Leisure Stocks to Play a Vaccine-Driven Rebound in Demand" by Lawrence C. Strauss indicates that the COVID-19 vaccine rollout will boost some companies and sectors sooner than others. Cruise stocks like Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL, lodging and casino stocks like MGM Resorts International MGM and others have been on a tear.

Daren Fonda's "5 Airline Stocks That Could Cruise Even Higher" shows that airline stocks have climbed as vaccines lifted hopes, and they are no longer bargains. A few stocks look appealing, however. See whether American Airlines Group Inc AAL and Southwest Airlines Co LUV are worth checking out now.

In "China's Crackdown on Alibaba Probably Won't Stop There," Al Root and Liz Moyer point out that Beijing is targeting e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA and its co-founder. Regulators there are likely to go after other companies too.

The widespread shutdown of indoor dining weighed heavily on Yelp Inc YELP in 2020. So says "A Cry for Yelp: A Reopening Play That's Cheap" by Eric J. Savitz. However, the online recommendation site is growing its home and local service business. See how that is setting it up for a rebound in the coming year.

In Teresa Rivas and Al Root's " This Swimming-Pool Stock Got a Covid Boost. It's Still a Buy," the case is made that consumers who installed swimming pools during the pandemic will have to pay to maintain them for years to come. That is good news for Pool Corporation POOL, which distributes swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products.

"What Apple Would Want From the Auto Market" by Eric J. Savitz suggests that, while speculation that Apple Inc. AAPL could launch an autonomous car as soon as 2024 had the market abuzz this past week, the consumer electronics giant's interest is more likely to be in services for the "internet of cars."

See also: Benzinga's Bulls And Bears Of Christmas Week: Airbnb, Apple, Netflix, Nike, Tesla And More

Connected fitness is all the rage, but stock prices of Apple, Peloton Interactive Inc PTON and others are plump, according to Jack Hough's "Fitness Stocks That Can Get Your Portfolio in Shape." Check out the alternatives featured in the article, and see whether Planet Fitness Inc PLNT made the cut.

In "Here's How Barron's Stock Picks Did in 2020," Ben Levisohn claims that this year wasn't the easiest for picking stocks or the direction of the market. One big mistake overshadowed the Barron's calls. Was it Mcdonald's Corp MCD? Starbucks Corporation SBUX? Target Corporation TGT?

Max A. Cherney's "Intel Had a Rough 2020. Next Year Isn't Looking Much Better" ponders why, unlike many of its rivals, Intel Corporation INTC stock has had a lousy year. It was it one of the worst-performing stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average, while gains for other chip stocks continue to be a theme during the pandemic.

Also in this week's Barron's:

• How small-caps have been too hot
• Barron's annual forecasting challenge
• What the strength of China's currency means for the United States
• Whether low yields of ESG bonds should deter investors
• Why initial public offerings will remain robust in 2021
• Whether the Federal Reserve is to blame for today's low rates
• What the end of pandemic investing means for investors
• Whether the value stock rebound is a head fake
• What is fueling the recovery for luxury spirits
• The fate of the pandemic relief bill
• How Wall Street has responded to the historic hack

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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