JUMP REPORT

* This weekend’s Barron’s cover story offers a slew of stock and bond picks from the latest Barron’s Roundtable. * Other featured articles examine how last year’s Barron’s stock picks fared, what to focus on when investing in China and the latest signs of a speculative frenzy. * Also, the prospects for digital infrastructure stocks, video game IPOs, a video streaming leader, an auto parts supplier and more.Cover story “28 Investment Picks to Beat the Market” by Lauren R. Rublin offers a slew of top stock and bond recommendations for 2021 from Barron’s Roundtable members Rupal J. Bhansali, Scott Black, Mario Gabelli and Sonal Desai. See if Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) made the cut.Daren Fonda’s “4 Ways to Play a Boom in Digital Infrastructure” points out that cell tower stocks like Crown Castle International Corp (NYSE: CCI) and data center stocks like CoreSite Realty Corp (NYSE: COR) have lagged behind, despite their key role in the digital transformation.In “Barron’s Stock Picks Beat the Market Again Last Year. Here’s How We Did It,” Avi Salzman indicates that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR) were among the key picks last year that helped Barron’s beat the market. See how things turned out for the Barron’s 2020 bearish calls though.Even as China is criticized for its social practices (including its treatment of the Uighur ethnic minority), it is making rapid progress on its environmental actions. So says “Investing in China Isn’t Easy. Focusing on ESG Can Help” by Leslie P. Norton. Find out whether Barron’s believes Tencent Holdings (OTC: TCEHY) is among the stocks that are worth a look now.In Jack Hough’s “Roblox’s Stock Listing and the Boom Market in Desperate Parents,” the focus is on the wave of initial public offerings that is about to hit the market, now that everyone is playing video games. See how Barron’s recommends that investors play this IPO boom, starting with Roblox, an online platform offering games created by users.”GameStop Stock Is Just the Latest Sign of a Speculative Frenzy” by Randall W. Forsyth discusses how last week’s short squeeze on GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) stock is the sort of action that was prevalent last August, just before the big techs stocks that drive the Nasdaq Composite topped out.See also: Benzinga’s Weekly Bulls And Bears: Eli Lilly, Ford, GameStop, Intel, McDonald’s And MoreApple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) and the rest of the FAANGs helped lift the stock market this past week, according to Ben Levisohn’s “Big Tech Stages a Comeback. A Correction Could Be the Market’s Next Act.” See why Barron’s now believes a retreat may be in the cards.In “For All Us Netflix Skeptics, It’s Finally Time to Concede,” Eric J. Savitz examines how, as Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) starts to generate cash, the company has a lot more flexibility. Discover what Barron’s thinks could come next from the video streaming colossus. Sports? News? Music? Perhaps even gaming?Teresa Rivas’s “LKQ Is Helping Itself to a Higher Price” explains that shares of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ: LKQ) have been stuck in neutral for years, but 2021 could see things turn around for the specialty automotive parts supplier. See why Barron’s says that the pandemic forced the company to do what it should have done long ago and now the stock is a buy.Also in this week’s Barron’s: * Barron’s annual ranking of the top-performing sustainable funds * How Biden’s China policy will look different from Trump’s * Why Biden shouldn’t let the federal debt deter a spending spree * Why the stock market is ignoring coming tax hikes * What the originator of the 4% rule thinks about it now * How the tourism industry is scrambling after new CDC guidelines * The humanitarian crisis at sea that threatens global supply chains * What to know about expiring COVID-19 homeowner protections * Undervalued European stocks poised to beat pre-pandemic earnings in 2021At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.Photo by Dwight Burdette via Wikimedia.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Notable Insider Buys Of The Past Week: Affirm, HEICO, Vector Group, Biotechs And More * Benzinga’s Weekly Bulls And Bears: Eli Lilly, Ford, GameStop, Intel, McDonald’s And More(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

* Benzinga has examined the prospects for many investor favorite stocks over the past week. * The week’s bullish calls included aerospace, automaker and pharmaceutical giants. * A leading semiconductor maker and a struggling retailer were among the bearish calls.In a week when much of the nation’s attention was on the inauguration of the new president, the main U.S. indexes saw gains, led by the Nasdaq’s more than 4% rise. The new administration came out swinging, and it seemed the markets were optimistic. One tech giant even offered to lend a hand to the administration.Meanwhile, earnings reporting season was in full swing, bringing one winner and another last week, but there were big disappointments as well.Elsewhere in corporate America, an aerospace giant scored a big win, the big automakers were positioning themselves for the future, and another video streaming option is preparing to launch.Bitcoin investors watched the cryptocurrency plunge last week as well.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 Priya Nigam’s “Berenberg Upgrades Boeing On 737 Max Prospects” discusses how the worst seems to be in the rearview mirror for the 737 Max and what that means for Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) going forward. See why cash generation should greatly improve beginning in 2022.A great week for Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) got even better on Friday when the stock got a major upgrade from a big name Wall Street bank. Read more about that in Wayne Duggan’s “JPMorgan Upgrades Ford: ‘Incoming Tide Of Hot New Products’.” Find out what factors are working in the automaker’s favor.”Lilly Awash In Catalysts, Pipeline Updates, Mizuho Says In Upgrade” by Shanthi Rexaline examines why initial top-line data suggests potential for its Alzheimer’s treatment to add significant upside to the Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE: LLY) story. Plus, uncertainties related to the U.S. presidential election are now in the past.In Jayson Derrick’s “3 Fast-Food Stocks To Own Right Now: Coffee, Pizza And Mickey D’s,” see why investors seeking exposure to the restaurant space now may want to consider McDonald’s Corp (NYSE: MCD) and a couple of other masters of the fast-food experience.In “DraftKings Could Beat Revenue Estimates By 25% Over Next 4 Years: Morgan Stanley,” Chris Katje is focused on what the improvement in sports betting and internet gambling means for shares of DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ: DKNG), according to the featured analyst.For additional bullish calls of the past week, also have a look at the following: * After The Hottest Year On Record, 3 Stock Ideas That Are Green For The Planet * Schaeffer’s Investment Research: Top 2 Contrarian Stock Picks For 2021 * JPMorgan On Finance Stocks In 2021: Why It’s Bullish On Credit Cards, Cautious On MortgagesBears Shanthi Rexaline’s “8 Intel Analysts On Q4 Report: Why Some See Difficult Years Ahead For Chipmaker” shows which analysts see earnings stagnation at Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) and which project it will take years for the company to set right what’s wrong.In Wayne Duggan’s “Citron’s Andrew Left Says GameStop Is ‘Pretty Much In Terminal Decline’,” see why this famous short seller sees shares of struggling retailer GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) dropping to around $20 apiece in the near future.MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) struggles with a complex corporate structure and it lags its peers in certain respects, according to “Bearish MGM Analyst Sees Less Sports Betting Upside Opportunity For Casino Giant” by Priya Nigam.”Beyond Meat Analyst: Attractive Growth Story Takes Back Seat To Valuation Concerns” by Jayson Derrick makes the case that the valuation makes it difficult to justify buying Beyond Meat Inc (NASDAQ: BYND) stock now, despite the company’s long-term prospects.For more bearish takes, be sure to check out these posts: * Tesla, Bitcoin More Likely To Halve Than Double Value In 2021: Deutsche Bank Survey * UBS On Internet Stocks: Chewy, Fiverr, Peleton Downgraded To Sell, Take-Two Interactive To NeutralAt the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Barron’s Picks And Pans: Exxon Mobil, GameStop, Intel, 3M, Toll Brothers And More * Notable Insider Buys Of The Past Week: Conagra Brands Plus Plenty Of Biotech Activity(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

This sort of action was prevalent last August, just before the big techs that drive the Nasdaq Composite topped out.

After being left for dead less than a year ago, GameStop (NYSE: GME) has come roaring back, ending the day up 50% to a new all-time high of $65.01, after trading for roughly $2.50 per share early last year. The recent run-up has all the earmarks of a short squeeze, which accelerated this week when a spat broke out between noted short-seller Citron Research and a group of investors that frequent the r/WallStreetBets subreddit. Members of the forum remained bullish and even encouraged other retail traders to buy GameStop.

(GME) stock rocketed above its 2007 peak Friday in a move that one short selling expert thinks could possibly kill investor interest in shorting the videogame retailer. Pointing to an earlier squeeze where a moderate amount of older short sellers covered their positions as the stock surged in recent weeks, S3 Partners’ Ihor Dusaniwsky told Barron’s he thinks today’s action has piled up mark-to-market losses for even newer short sellers betting on a price decline.