Barron's Most Recent Picks And Pans: Airbnb, Duke Energy, Evoqua, Netflix And More

• The cover story in this weekend's Barron's suggests how to play travel stocks as the recovery falters.
• Other featured articles discuss banking stocks with steady dividends, stocks that will benefit from share buybacks and why the boom in energy stocks may be over.
• Also, see the prospects for a water-treatment company, a leading video streamer, utility stocks and more.

Cover story "With Cases on the Rise, Travel's Rebound Faces a Big Test" by Lawrence C. Strauss suggests that the reopening rally in travel and leisure stocks has fizzled. However, there are some bargains out there for intrepid investors. Are Avis Budget Group Inc. CAR, Carnival Corp CCL or MGM Resorts International MGM among them?

In "Airbnb's Brian Chesky Sees a 'Travel Rebound of the Century'," Eric J. Savitz discusses why Airbnb Inc ABNB co-founder and chief executive officer Brian Chesky, undaunted by the rising number of COVID-19 cases, expects big things from the travel industry. Check out the article to see how he can be so optimistic.

Josh Nathan-Kazis's "Rising Covid Cases Put the Recovery at Risk" makes a case that while worries that the economic recovery could be derailed briefly rattled investors, the test will be if people's behavior changes in the face of rising cases. See what Barron's believes that could mean for Johnson & Johnson JNJ, Pfizer Inc. PFE and more.

Though Evoqua Water Technologies Corp AQUA has had its ups and downs, demand for clean water is rising, and there is a scarcity of competitors. So says "Evoqua Stock Is a Bet on Clean Water" by Al Root. Find out what Barron's thinks makes this water-treatment company's stock a good one to tap into.

In Jack Hough's "3 Electric Utility Stocks to Give Your Portfolio a Jolt," discover why regulated utilities can hold up relatively well if the economy falters, and some stack up better than others on growth. North Carolina-based Duke Energy Corp DUK is one such stock that investors should consider now, says the article, which offers two others as well.

"You Can Bank on Bank Stocks for Steady Dividends. Here Are 4 With Yields Above 3%" by Carleton English points out that the banking industry emerged from the pandemic largely unscathed, and the largest banks also endured three stress tests in a 12-month window to prove their durability for capital returns. Fifth Third Bancorp FITB and KeyCorp KEY are among the names to consider, according to Barron's.

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Buyback announcements this year from Bank of America Corp BAC, Newell Brands Inc NWL and others already have exceeded 2020's $307 billion total, according to Jack Hough's "Share Buybacks Are Back. 5 Stocks That Stand to Benefit. Could they top the previous record of $1 trillion?

In "The Boom in Oil Stocks Could Be Over," Avi Salzman indicates that, after a decade of underperformance, energy stocks like Chevron Corporation CVX and Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM lit up the market this year. Yet, one key analyst has taken "a fundamentally more pessimistic view of the integrated oil sector."

Eric J. Savitz's "Netflix Opens a New Front in the Streaming War. How Games Can Boost the Stock" claims the new Netflix Inc NFLX gaming initiative could have ramifications not just for nascent gaming streamers, like Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and Google, but also for core video rivals.