Benzinga's First Bulls And Bears Of 2021: Ford, Mastercard, PepsiCo, 3M, Tesla And More

• Benzinga has examined the prospects for many investor favorite stocks over the past week.
• The week's bullish calls included automakers and a recovering retailer.
• Beverage giants and a satellite radio leader were among the bearish calls.

The major U.S. indexes finished a busy and hectic first week of 2021 with modest gains, led by a 2.4% rise in the Nasdaq. The historic Georgia runoff election results were followed by seditious violence in Washington, D.C., that was widely condemned, failed to stop certification of presidential election results and has led to some blowback on the current president already.

In addition, there was more good news about the COVID-19 vaccines, even as the pandemic led to further lockdowns. An aerospace leader appeared set to put its troubles behind it, only to face fresh bad news. Meanwhile, a transportation and delivery giant aims to expand its air cargo fleet.

Also last week, a financial giant faced new federal scrutiny, Bitcoin continued to soar, and the latest jobs numbers were ugly.

Through it all, Benzinga continued to examine the prospects for many of the stocks most popular with investors. Here are a few of this past week's most bullish and bearish posts that are worth another look.

Bulls

In "Why The Biden Administration Could Be Very Bullish For Ford, GM," Wayne Duggan discusses why Ford Motor Company F and General Motors Company GM are likely to see their fair share of $40 billion in federal funding intended for clean energy efforts.

"4 Reasons Why Li Auto Is Poised For 48% Compounded Annual Growth Over By 2025" by Shanthi Rexaline examines four reasons why Chinese electric vehicle startup Li Auto Inc. LI is poised to outperform in the near to medium term, according to one top analyst.

Priya Nigam's "BofA Upgrades Mastercard On 'Potentially Priceless Opportunity'" focuses on how Mastercard Inc MA could benefit from pent-up demand for both domestic and cross-border leisure travel, an opportunity not reflected in the recent share price.

Enterprise Products Partners LP EPD is among "Bond King" Bill Gross's top picks for 2021. So says Chris Katje's "Tesla, SPACs 'May Struggle,' Natural Gas To Shine In 2021: Bill Gross." See why it and peers could outperform the favorites of "day trading Robinhoods."

In Jayson Derrick's "Why The Year Ahead Looks Promising For Bed Bath & Beyond," see why specialty retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. BBBY showed strong momentum heading into the new year, lifting expectations for its upcoming fiscal third-quarter earnings report.

For additional bullish calls of the past week, also have a look at the following:

• 4 Reasons The Stock Market Rally Could Resume In 2021
• Jim Cramer's 9 Dividend Stock Picks For Fixed Income Investors
• Georgia Runoff Results Bode Well For Cannabis If Lawmakers Follow Through, Industry Pros Say

Bears

In Wayne Duggan's "Michael Burry To Tesla Investors: 'Enjoy It While It Lasts'," see why a former hedge fund manager is sticking with his bearish bet on Tesla Inc TSLA even though other bears have thrown in the towel and upgraded the stock. Will the Tesla story ultimately end poorly?

"RBC Highlights Valuation Concerns In Coca-Cola, PepsiCo Downgrades" by Jayson Derrick shows why the bullish case for beverage giants Coca-Cola Co KO and PepsiCo, Inc. PEP has come to an end. What growing pains and headwinds do they face?

Henry Khederian's "Is SiriusXM Screwing Up By Potentially Losing The New 'King of All Media' Dave Portnoy?" argues that Sirius XM Holdings Inc SIRI has backed the wrong horse by choosing to renew Howard Stern's contract.

Increased regulation and legislation are likely to affect the financial liability of 3M Co MMM, according to "Why A Democratic Congress Is Turning This 3M Analyst Bearish" by Priya Nigam. See why negative headlines and lawsuits may be ahead.

For more bearish takes, be sure to check out these posts:

• Airlines Expect Turbulent 2021 After 2020 Erased Two Decades Of Passenger Traffic Growth
• Scott Nations Is Bearish On 10-Year Treasuries

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

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Photo courtesy of Ford.