1 Stock To Buy, 1 To Dump When Markets Open: General Motors, Conagra

Stocks on Wall Street closed higher on Friday, entering the final quarter of 2021 in a buoyant mood. However, the benchmark still suffered its worst weekly decline since February, falling 2.3%, as worries over the Federal Reserve’s tapering plans sapped investor risk appetite.

Between another batch of important economic data—including the latest U.S. report—as well as notable earnings from companies like PepsiCo (NASDAQ:), Constellation Brands (NYSE:), and Levi Strauss (NYSE:), the week ahead is expected to be an eventful one.

Regardless of which direction the market goes, below we highlight one stock likely to be in demand in the coming days and another which could see fresh losses. 

Remember though, our timeframe is just for the week ahead.

Stock To Buy: General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:) will be in focus  as the world’s third-largest automaker hosts a highly anticipated investor day event on Wednesday, Oct. 6.

At the event, Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra and other members of GM’s leadership team will provide an overview of the company’s ambitious long-term transformation growth strategy.

The presentations—which will be broadcast live on the GM website starting at 1:00PM ET—are expected to offer fresh details on the company’s electric vehicle (EV) roadmap, future manufacturing capabilities, and financial goals.

Management could also touch on plans to sell its autonomous driving software, as well as how the company intends to monetize its investment in self-driving ride-hailing company Cruise.

The event is expected to conclude at approximately 5:30PM ET.

The Detroit, Michigan-based automotive giant has thrived this year, with investors growing increasingly bullish on the vehicle maker as it seeks to shift away from gas and diesel cars and push into the high-flying EV sector.

By 2035, the U.S. auto giant to produce only electric vehicles, including 30 new plug-in models the company says will arrive by 2025.

GM stock, which has outperformed other notable names in the sector since the start of the year, such as Tesla (NASDAQ:), Nio (NYSE:), and Toyota Motor (NYSE:), ended at $53.13 on Friday, giving the company a market cap of roughly $77.1 billion.

Year-to-date, General Motors shares have climbed by 27.5%, easily outperforming the S&P 500’s 16% increase over the same timeframe.

Stock To Dump: Conagra Brands

Shares of Conagra Brands, formerly ConAgra Foods (NYSE:), are expected to suffer another volatile week as investors brace for disappointing financial results from one of America’s largest packaged-food companies.

The Chicago, Illinois-based corporation is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter numbers before the U.S. market open on Thursday, Oct. 7.

Consensus estimates call for earnings per share (EPS) of $0.48, declining roughly 31% from EPS of $0.70 in the year-ago period. Revenue, meanwhile, is expected to fall around 6% year-over-year to $2.52 billion.

Perhaps of greater importance, Conagra’s outlook for…