Crypto whale lays out bitcoin's bull case — Cathie Wood's 2021 forecasts — How to pick tiny biotech winners

Hello and welcome to Insider Investing. I'm Joe Ciolli, and I'll be shepherding you through what to expect in markets in the coming weeks, while also featuring some of Insider's best work on the subject.

Regular readers may notice that this newsletter has moved from its previous slot early in the week to Sunday afternoon. This will be the new publication time, so please do continue to enjoy!

Here's what's on the docket:

• The bull case on crypto, straight from a bitcoin whale who's sunk more than $1 billion of his firm's funds into the digital asset
• 2021 outlooks on the economy, bitcoin, and Tesla from Cathie Wood's ARK Invest, which manages 5 ETFs that more than doubled in 2020
• A guide for picking risky small-cap biotech stocks, straight from a fund manager crushing his peers

If you aren't yet a subscriber to Insider Investing, you can sign up here.

Have thoughts on the newsletter? Just want to talk markets? Feel free to drop me a line at jciolli@insider.com or on Twitter @JoeCiolli.

All eyes will be on corporate earnings this coming week, with Apple, Facebook, Tesla, and Amazon set to report. Given the massive weighting of these stocks in major indexes, it's not an exaggeration to say their quarterly results — and, perhaps more importantly, their forward outlooks — will dictate the entire market's direction.

The question is the same for these tech titans: Will they be able to keep delivering (and forecasting) stronger-than-expected profit growth? It's something they've been able to do for years, even as estimates have gotten more ambitious. With their valuations sitting at all-time peaks across every imaginable measure, these tech titans are especially vulnerable to any disappointment.

But if the latest earnings report for mega-cap tech stalwart Netflix — which handily blew past estimates for subscriber growth — is any indication, investors may not have much to worry about. In a post-pandemic world where the products and services provided by these companies are still attracting major demand, there's seemingly endless profit-growth opportunity.

And as it pertains to Tesla specifically, just ask the legions of scorched short-sellers what it's like to bet against Elon Musk. They lost roughly $39 billion in 2020 as Tesla's stock soared 743%. Will the company's earnings give them reason to start shorting again? Tune in Wednesday to find out.

R.Tsubin/Getty Images

Michael Saylor is the chief executive officer of business intelligence and software firm MicroStrategy, which has plowed more than $1 billion of its funds into bitcoin.

In a recent "SALT Talks" interview with SkyBridge founder Anthony Scaramucci, Saylor recounted how he went from a bitcoin skeptic to its "most important proselytizer." He also shared the eureka moment that changed his beliefs about bitcoin and laid out the hurdles that the digital asset still has to jump through to become the "newest institutional safe-haven asset."

Read the full story here:

ARK Invest

All of the five active ETFs run by Cathie Wood's ARK Invest returned more than 100% in 2020. This strong performance helped the firm rake in over $20 billion last year and bring its total assets under management to $50 billion, according to Morningstar and Bloomberg data.

In a recent markets update, Wood shared her 2021 outlook, breaking down why the current bull market is very different from the dot-com bubble. ARK crypto analyst Yassine Elmandjra also detailed a new three-layered framework for valuing bitcoin's fundamentals, while analyst Tasha Keeney shared her Tesla outlook for 2021.

Read the full story here:

Reuters

Mutual fund manager Darren Chervitz has delivered returns of 32% a year for five years, investing in the market's smallest stocks. Along the way, he's become an expert in picking biotech stocks.

In an exclusive interview, Chervitz told Insider how he maximizes gains and reduces the risk of failures and blowups.

Read the full story here:

Join Insider on Wednesday, February 3 at 2:30 p.m. ET as Insider's chief finance correspondent Dakin Campbell moderates a panel featuring Kim Posnett, Goldman Sachs partner and Internet investment banking chief, Greg Rodgers, a Latham & Watkins LLP attorney and direct-listings expert, and Mitchell Green, a venture capitalist at Lead Edge Capital who backed Uber, Spotify, Asana, and Alibaba.

These IPO experts will discuss what you can expect for the year ahead and how the recent changes have dramatically altered the calculus for startup entrepreneurs. They will also take reader questions. 

Register here.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Seeking experts who are willing to name names? Look no further:

• GOLDMAN SACHS: Buy these 25 stocks best-positioned to juice profits in 2021 as stimulus and vaccine progress spur economic growth
• Bank of America says to buy these 16 semiconductor stocks as the US industry is poised to quadruple its growth rate of the past 3 years
• Barclays says buy these 8 conviction stocks set to gain with the reflation trade in 2021 — including one that could rally 76%
• Buy these 12 stocks set to soar at least 30% or more as they benefit from a surge of investment in Europe's digital economy, Goldman says
• Goldman Sachs reveals the 8 'green energy majors' that are set to shoot up in value in a sector worth trillions of dollars as the renewables race heats up

NOW WATCH: Why electric planes haven't taken off yet

See Also:

• BANK OF AMERICA: Buy these 31 unheralded stocks as the recovery's hottest trades of recent months continue to gain strength in 2021
• GOLDMAN SACHS: Buy these 26 renewable-energy stocks best-positioned to benefit from increased spending as governments aim for net-zero emissions
• Buy these 13 stocks poised to benefit from a boom in 5G smartphone adoption, UBS says — including one expected to surge 69%