What happened
Harley-Davidson (HOG +2.39%) roared to life Monday morning, ripping to a 10% gain as the market itself burst higher.
So what
Between positive trends in the numbers of coronavirus cases and businesses being able to do business again, there was hope the economy could soon be jump-started. Even the person who last week brought buckets of cold water to douse on everyone's high hopes, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, managed to sound upbeat when sharing his views on the economy during a 60 Minutes interview Sunday night.
Image source: Getty Images.
The trio of developments apparently gave investors cause to believe consumers might begin shelling out big bucks for expensive motorcycles again.
Now what
Harley-Davidson investors have some reason to believe new CEO Jochen Zeitz can lead the motorcycle maker's turnaround.
While he hasn't provided much detail on where he was taking the company, hints suggest the turnaround plan would point the company in a better direction than it was heading.
However, investors would be wise to not get over their handlebars in anticipation. The bike industry remains in a secular decline, the motorcycles Harley is counting on to change course have been delayed because of the pandemic, and Powell still says a full economic recovery is still at least a year away.
Powell may not think we're heading into a depression, but Harley-Davidson notching a 10% stock gain out of the gate today might not last, at least not until it can prove its turnaround plan can work.
