The Latest Barron's Picks And Pans: Facebook, Jefferies, Palantir, Spotify And More

• This weekend's Barron's cover story examines the long-term prospects for big tech companies currently in the sights of regulators and lawmakers.


• Other featured articles discuss what the ongoing COVID-19 threat means for drugmakers and why investors so often fail to understand how to value a value stock.


• Also, see the prospects for a mid-cap investment bank, a renewable energy play, a quirky software company, mortgage REITs and more.

"Big Tech Won't Be Held Down" by Eric J. Savitz and Max A. Cherney points out that with regulators and lawmakers sharpening their aim, Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, Microsoft Corporation MSFT and its peers find themselves in a perilous moment. See why Barron's believes that threat will not last.

In "What Does the Covid Threat Means for Drugmakers?" Josh Nathan-Kazis discusses how fighting the pandemic may mean confronting new variants of the coronavirus. Find out what Barron's thinks that could mean for Moderna Inc MRNA, Pfizer Inc. PFE and others.

Andrew Bary's "Jefferies Is Ready to Break Out of the Bank Pack. Its Stock Is a Buy" suggests that well-managed mid-cap investment bank Jefferies Financial Group Inc JEF is increasingly able to take on its bigger, better-known rivals. Furthermore, there is plenty of growth potential in the stock despite a sizable gain this year.

Renewable energy is the future, and small-cap energy technology company Stem Inc STEM should help make that future happen by helping companies manage their electricity. So says "Stem Is a Play on the Future of Batteries. Its Stock Could Double" by Al Root. See why Barron's suggests that the share price could double.

In Sarah Max's "Facebook Is 'a Screaming Value,' Says This Top-Performing Fund Manager," discover why the featured fund manager believes too many investors do not understand how to value a value stock, as well as why Facebook, Inc. FB should be on value investors' radars. What is the difference between valuation and value?

"Walmart's Earnings Were Spectacular. Why the Stock Didn't Move?" by Ben Levisohn explores why expectations were so high for the Walmart Inc WMT second-quarter report. The stock has been on the rise, and one analyst was so sure of the results that he upgraded the stock before the report was even out. So, what happened?

See also: Benzinga's Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Apple, Bitcoin, Microsoft, Robinhood, Walmart And More

Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR stock is a favorite of retail investors, according to Eric J. Savitz's "The Strange, Compelling Case for Palantir." And the quirky software company's outside-the-box thinking makes some on Wall Street nervous, but there is an oddly compelling case for the business and the stock, says the article.

In "Try These 2 Mortgage REITs for Strong Yield and Potential Upside," Carleton English makes the case that real estate investment trusts that own mortgage debt have proved a reliable source of yield for investors in the later phases of the pandemic. MFA Financial, Inc. MFA and Redwood Trust, Inc. RWT, for example.

Avi Salzman's "Spotify Has Confidence in Its Stock. Investors Should Have More, Too" claims that Spotify Technology SA SPOT announcing a share buyback was a sign of confidence in management, and perhaps some frustration that investors no longer seem interested.

Also in this week's Barron's:

• How the Biden administration is taking on big tech


• What geopolitical issues come next after Afghanistan


• How the chip shortage looks like the oil shortage of the 1970s


• Whether the taper tantrum will look more like a paper tiger


• Why slowing demand might be a good thing—for now


• How to hedge your stock portfolio before interest rates start rising


• Why, even though big job gains are over, the Fed is on the right track


• China's willingness to do business in the new Afghanistan


• What stocks Al Gore's investment firm is buying


• Social Security's biggest percentage bump for inflation in 40 years


• The best ETFs for the infrastructure boom

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

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