Barron's Latest Picks And Pans: Tesla, Exxon Mobil, Advanced Micro Devices, Hertz And More

• This weekend's Barron's cover story looks back at the market records set in 2021 despite uncertainties surrounding a new COVID variant.
• Other featured articles discuss the outlook for Tesla stock in the year ahead and how a major oil company may be set to beat earnings estimates.
• Also, the prospect of an American semiconductor company nearing a takeover and how the rental car industry is benefiting from ongoing automobile shortages.

"2021 Is in the Record Books: A Year of Memes, Crypto, and Stock All-Time Highs" by Connor Smith looks back at the past year, noting that the economic fallout from new coronavirus variants—first Delta and now Omicron, a surge in inflation, and a wave of meme stocks and cryptocurrencies hasn’t been easy for the average investor. 

In "Tesla Could ‘Considerably’ Extend Its EV Lead. Deutsche Bank Lifts Target to $1,200," Joe Woelfel writes about an analyst who boosted their price target on shares of Tesla Inc TSLA, saying the world’s shift to electric vehicles could help “extend Tesla’s EV lead considerably.”

Ben Levinsohn writes about an update released by Exxon Mobil Corp XOM on the factors impacting its fourth-quarter profits that suggests a likely earnings beat when it reports on Feb. 1 in "Exxon’s SEC Filing Suggests Earnings Will Be Better Than Wall Street Thinks."

"Xilinx Stock Slips as Takeover by AMD Pushed Back to First Quarter of 2022," by Joe Woefel looks at how Xilinx Inc XLNX shares are responding after its acquisition by larger semiconductor rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD was pushed into the first quarter of 2022.

Rental cars are the best business in travel now, as auto shortages have led to strong pricing and high used-car prices, and Hertz Global Holdings Inc HTZ is among the beneficiaries, that's according to Andrew Bary's "Hertz Is in Great Shape for 2022. It’s One of Barron’s Top Stock Picks."

See Also: Benzinga Bulls And Bears Of The Past Week: Disney, Ford, Carnival, Robinhood, Tesla, Apple And More

Also in this week's Barron's:

• Want to Retire at Age 50? Do Some Hard Thinking First.
• This Mini Berkshire Hathaway Flies Under the Radar. And Its Stock Is Cheap.
• China's Stocks Had a Bad Year. What to Expect in 2022.
• M&A Is Booming. The Hot Streak Will Continue.
• Home Depot Was the Dow's Best Performer. The Gains Are Expected to Continue.

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

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