BTC toils as ETH steals the show, UBER drops on earnings, PTON slumps on treadmill recall
By John Shepard
16:12, 7 May 2021
Bitcoin (BTC) has struggled to get to the $60,000 level this week with the coin seeing highs above the $58,000 level. The largest cryptocurrency has since pulled back to trade at $56,500 as the market lacks a catalyst.
In the meantime, ether (ETH) has taken the spotlight, with another price hike taking the coin to trade at $3,598 on 6 May.
The US earnings season has continued and two growth stock darlings have been hammered, with Uber (UBER) and Peloton (PTON) sharply lower on subdued earnings. For Peloton the situation was made even worse by treadmill recalls after a series of injuries to users.
Bitcoin loses its sparkle as ETH continues to shine
Bitcoin has failed to make any real advance towards the $60,000 level this week after a push higher from support near $50,000. Ether stole the show again with a surge above $3,500 as traders piled into the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. ETH has enjoyed a phenomenal rise this year, with the coin’s market cap currently hovering around $400bn.
Institutional investors have been looking outside of BTC after its recent gains, with the ongoing talk of regulation always focusing on the coin. ETH has more value as a platform and is seeing growth from the boom in sectors such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralised finance (DeFi).
Uber slumps and Peloton forced to recall treadmills
Uber’s share price slumped 8.85% on Thursday after the company released its latest quarterly earnings. Results were mixed, beating estimates in some areas, with a 6% a share compared with the 54 cents expected. However, the company fell short on revenue expectations where it was expected to bring in $3.29bn during the quarter but generated only $2.9bn.
Uber attributed this to a $600m accrual made for the resolution of historical claims in the UK relating to the classification of drivers as employed, rather than self-employed.
The company’s earnings benefited with a $1.6bn gain from the sale of its autonomous vehicle unit to vehicle firm Aurora. Uber generated cash from the sale, and also saw reduced operating costs in the struggling sideline.
Peloton also struggled this week, with the business forced to recall treadmills after a spate of injuries and one death. Peloton will now delay the launch of its Tread machine in the US until new safety features are added.
The new product was set to be launched on 27 May and that will drag on earnings expectations. The recall affected around 125,000 Tread+ machines and more than 1,000 Tread products in the US. The company’s stock crashed from $98 per share on 5 May to almost $80 per share on 6 May.
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