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CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday gave investors his blessing to consider purchasing beaten-down tech stocks after Target’s latest quarter indicated good news for the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation.
“The real greenlight here is on the beaten down tech. … They might deserve a bit of a resurgence if they have profits and a total romp if they have buybacks and dividends,” he said.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday gave investors his blessing to consider purchasing beaten-down tech stocks after Target’s latest quarter indicated good news for the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation.
“The real greenlight here is on the beaten-down tech. … They might deserve a bit of a resurgence if they have profits and a total romp if they have buybacks and dividends,” he said.

“This is not a subtle market. I don’t want you to overthink it because sometimes it can be easy,” he added.
Cramer’s comments come after Target said in its latest quarter that it will need to shed its excess inventory, which will in turn constrain the company’s profits. 
The “Mad Money” host, who the day before advised investors to buy the dip only on oil stocks, said that Target’s news suggests that inflation is peaking. This opens up the door for investors to buy stocks that were previously untouchable in a high interest rate environment, he said. 
Listing ServiceNow, Broadcom and Salesforce as names that are more attractive after Target’s news, Cramer said he’s still staying away from retail stocks short-term.
He also warned investors that this change in the market could go away as fast as it came, due to the economy’s volatility.

“Of course, this market’s so darned fickle that this whole move could reverse when we get the big consumer price index number at the end of the week. … That could drive long-term interest rates higher again, putting this whole move on ice,” he said.
Disclosure: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Salesforce.

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Club holding Eli Lilly (LLY) offered fresh insight Tuesday into its new type 2 diabetes drug Mounjaro and the exciting prospects of using it to treat obesity. The FDA-approved diabetes drug is an important product for Lilly as it works to commercialize its strong innovation pipeline. That pipeline is a big reason why we own the drugmaker. Mounjaro deepens Eli Lilly’s presence in diabetes treatment, while potentially creating a new market for Lilly in obesity care. Mizuho estimates Mounjaro sales of more than $14 billion by 2030 and sees more upside potential than downside risk to that estimate given the drug’s performance so far. LLY shares rose nearly 3% Tuesday, outperforming the S & P 500’s roughly 1% advance. What’s new Over the weekend, Eli Lilly presented data from its phase 3 Surmount-1 trial at the annual meeting for the American Diabetes Association, showing robust weight loss among participants and solid tolerability. Results also were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Executives in the company’s diabetes division discussed those obesity-trial results Tuesday on a call with analysts. They also offered details about the rollout of Mounjaro since it received Food and Drug Administration approval to treat diabetes in May. The big takeaway The phase 3 trial data confirms what we already knew from the top-line weight loss results in April. The drug — which also is called tirzepatide — offers tremendous promise as a way to treat obesity, a common disease among Americans that also increases risk of other health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The number of Americans who are technically considered obese is expected to grow in the coming years. Here’s what Eli Lilly’s trial found: Participants on the highest dose (15 mg) of the drug lost an average 22.5% of their baseline body weight, equal to about 52 pounds, after 72 weeks. What’s more, about 40% of patients on the 15-mg dose lost at least 25% of their body weight compared to under 1% of those in the placebo group. Patients on the middle dose (10 mg) saw a 21.4% average weight reduction, or a 49-pound reduction. Those in the placebo group reported a 2.4% reduction, on average, or about 5 pounds. The baseline weight for participants, on average, was 231 pounds. Another important result relates to the drug’s tolerability. On the Tuesday analyst call, Jeffrey Emmick, Lilly’s vice president of diabetes product development, said tirzepatide’s safety profile is similar to obesity drugs in the same category that have been approved. The side effects, which include nausea and vomiting, also are similar to what Lilly saw during the drug’s type 2 diabetes trial called Surpass, according to Emmick. He said it is “noteworthy” that discontinuation rates for trial participants on the drug ranged between 14% to 16%, depending on dosage, while those in the placebo had a discontinuation rate north of 26%. That goes to show “the limited efficacy of diet and exercise alone” in generating weight loss that participants find satisfying enough to remain in the trial, Emmick said. What to look for next Investors want information on when the company will ask U.S. regulators to approve the drug specifically for obesity, and Eli Lilly said Tuesday to expect an update in the second half of the year. Michael Mason, president of Lilly Diabetes, told analysts the company intends to speak with regulators about the possibility of submitting for approval using both data from the Surmount-1 trial along with data from the Surpass trial. Mason said that while weight loss was not the main goal of the Surpass trial, it was a secondary endpoint given 80% of participants had a body mass index (BMI) of 27 and a comorbidity, or a BMI greater than 30. A BMI above 30 is considered obese. “So we have a large data set,” Mason said. To us, this appears to suggest Lilly may not have to wait for additional results from other phase 3 trials involving the drug before submitting a supplemental Biologics License Application to the FDA. Eli Lilly execs declined to share any of their thinking into potential pricing for tirzepatide as an obesity treatment, saying Tuesday it was too early to get into that. What analysts are saying A number of Wall Street analysts expressed satisfaction with the data Lilly presented at the ADA conference over weekend. Morgan Stanley analysts titled their note to clients, “Tirzepatide ushering in a new era of obesity treatment,” while reiterating their overweight rating on shares of Eli Lilly. Morgan Stanley projects sales of tirzepatide to reach $17.2 billion in 2030, with about $12.2 billion of that being for diabetes and $5 billion for obesity. Goldman Sachs analysts now project peak sales of tirzepatide for obesity to be $7 billion — raising their forecast upward from $6.5 billion “based primarily on an increase to our probability of success factoring for the product, based on the recent approval for type 2 diabetes.” After reviewing Eli Lilly’s full data, Goldman analysts said they still believe tirzepatide looks more effective than a similar obesity drug already on the market, Novo Nordisk ‘s Wegovy. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long LLY. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

The Eli Lilly logo is shown on one of the company’s offices in San Diego, California, September 17, 2020.
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Actor Matthew McConaughey delivered an emotional White House appeal for gun regulations in the wake of last month’s mass shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas.
Through misty eyes, McConaughey recalled his recent travel to Uvalde, where he and his wife met with victims’ families.
The mass shooting on May 24, carried out by a lone teenage gunman, left 19 children and two teachers dead.

In an emotional speech at the White House on Tuesday, actor Matthew McConaughey called for new gun regulations in the wake of last month’s mass shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas, and urged federal lawmakers to honor their moral obligations instead of party affiliations.
Through misty eyes, McConaughey recalled his recent travel to Uvalde, where he and his wife met with victims’ families, local law enforcement and morticians who were tasked with preparing some of the bodies of the school-aged children who were shot to death on May 24.

He also recounted his younger years in Uvalde, where he said he learned what it means to be a responsible gun owner and to revere the Second Amendment.
“We heard from so many people: Families of the deceased, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, Texas Rangers, hunters, border patrol and responsible gun owners who won’t give up their Second Amendment rights,” he said. “They all said, ‘We want secure and safe schools and we want gun laws that won’t make it so easy for the bad guys to get these damn guns.’ ”

Actor Matthew McConaughey, a native of Uvalde, Texas as well as a father and a gun owner, becomes emotional as he holds up a picture of a young victim of the school shooting in Uvalde as he speaks to reporters about mass shootings in the United States during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 7, 2022. 
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

McConaughey specifically called on U.S. lawmakers to pass legislation to raise the minimum age gun owners can purchase an assault rifle to 21 from 18, bulk up background checks and institute red flag provisions.
His White House appearance came a day after the actor, known for films like “The Wedding Planner” and his Oscar-winning role in “Dallas Buyers Club,” wrote an op-ed in the The Austin American-Statesman titled “It’s Time to Act on Gun Responsibility.”
In that op-ed, the actor pressed Congress to appreciate the difference between gun “control” and “responsibility” in the wake of the gruesome mass shooting in Uvalde that left 19 children and two teachers dead.

“I believe that responsible, law-abiding Americans have a Second Amendment right, enshrined by our founders, to bear arms. I also believe we have a cultural obligation to take steps toward slowing down the senseless killing of our children,” he wrote.
“There is no constitutional barrier to gun responsibility,” McConaughey continued. “Keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous people is not only the responsible thing to do, it is the best way to protect the Second Amendment. We can do both.”
The Biden administration has called on Congress to pass gun control measures in the wake of two high-profile mass shootings last month: The massacre in Uvalde and a racist attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, that left 10 slain.
President Joe Biden met with Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut leading bipartisan gun control talks, earlier Tuesday to discuss the latest debate on Capitol Hill.
Murphy, perhaps the chamber’s biggest advocate for tighter gun laws, is working with Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn on efforts to improve school security, strengthen background checks and introduce red flag laws that would allow families to petition courts to seize guns from a person suspected of posing a public health threat.

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We’re updating a handful of price targets in the portfolio to reflect recent earnings reports, comments from company executives, and general market multiple compression. Cisco Systems (CSCO): We are reducing our price target to $56 per share , representing about 15 to 16 times fiscal 2023 earnings estimates. We are comfortable giving CSCO a small premium to its five-year average because the makeup of the company is much different now than what it was five years ago. The significant change relates to the company’s transformation into more software and subscription sales. We place more value on software and subscription sales because they tend to be higher in margin relative to hardware, and the recurring nature of subscriptions adds a layer of predictability. Also, the record value of Cisco’s backlog suggests it will have a strong fiscal year 2023, if, of course, the supply chain cooperates. Energy stocks: We are increasing our price targets on Coterra Energy (CTRA), Chevron (CVX), Devon Energy (DVN) and Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) because oil and natural gas price have remained elevated, and these stocks still screen attractive on a free cash flow basis. Remember these companies are staying disciplined and focusing on maximizing cash flow generation and returning that cash to shareholders through large dividends and steady buybacks. We are increasing our price target on CTRA to $40 per share, DVN to $82, PXD to $300, and nudging CVX up to $185 . Disney (DIS): We are lowering our price target to $140 per share , representing about 25x fiscal 2023 earnings per share estimates. Despite the big change to our price target, our bullish view about the company has not wavered. We still think the margin performance of the theme parks business — the profit engine of the company — is underappreciated. We also think upside to second half of the year Disney+ subscriber additions is possible thanks to its robust content slate of new shows and movies. Marvell Technology (MRVL): We are lowering our price target to $85 per share to reflect lower group multiples on semiconductor stocks. Even though we are lowering our price target Tuesday, we want to reiterate that Marvell’s quarterly results were great and its 88% sales exposure to data infrastructure projects means its business is much more secular growing and less cyclical compared to other chip makers who have big cellphone and PC businesses. Eli Lilly (LLY): We are increasing our price target to $350 per share as long-term estimates for tirzepatide have moved higher following the Food and Drug Administration recently approving the treatment in Type 2 diabetes, and the full phase three obesity data on the drug that was presented on this past weekend. Although our new price target puts LLY at an even heftier premium to its peers, we think it’s justified based on how big of a sales opportunity tizepatide will be. The strength of Lilly’s pipeline and new launches, as well as management’s track record of expanding margins are also factors. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long CSCO, CTRA, DVN, PXD, CVX, DIS, MRVL and LLY . See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
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In 1999 timemagazine put three heavyweights from America’s Federal Reserve and Treasury Department on its cover, calling them “The Committee to Save the World”. They were Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers. Their accomplishment was stopping economic upheavals from Russia to Brazil causing mayhem in the global financial system. Big stuff, for sure. But nothing compared with the task facing those who today could be called “The Committee to Save the Planet”. They are Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of England, Larry Fink, boss of BlackRock, the world’s largest investment firm, and Jamie Dimon, ceo of JPMorgan Chase, America’s biggest bank.Their aims are no less than to stop global warming and create a fairer, more enlightened form of capitalism. In just a few years they have marshalled to the cause more than 100 central banks, tens of trillions of dollars of investors’ cash and bank finance, and the bosses of America’s biggest firms. Their ambitions are not just big. They are epochal. So why are they suddenly figures of mockery in the war on “woke” capitalism?Mr Carney was the first global policy wonk to raise his cufflinked fist. In 2015 he focused attention on the systemic risks to banks and insurance companies as a result of climate change. In doing so, he set in motion a blitzkrieg of regulatory activity to press companies and their lenders to disclose their exposure to the risks of global warming. But he has also stirred a backlash. During a polemical presentation last month Stuart Kirk, hsbc Asset Management’s head of responsible investment, attacked the “unsubstantiated, shrill, partisan, self-serving, apocalyptic warnings” about the risks a changing climate pose to financial markets. There was no mistaking the target of the dig: it was Mr Carney. Conservatives, including the Wall Street Journal, smelled red meat. They ridiculed central bankers’ focus on the long-term effects of climate change while missing more immediate risks such as inflation. Mr Fink has brought big money to Mr Carney’s climate crusade—and done well out of it, too. BlackRock, with $9trn of client assets, is a big force behind a surge in environmental, social and governance (esg) investing in recent years, with which it has wooed investors. For asset managers esg has been a high-fee gravy train. But it is an unholy muddle for investors. Returns have been shrivelling as tech stocks, a favourite of esg funds, swoon, and oil stocks soar. Since the war in Ukraine, the sustainability mantra has switched from shunning oil and defence stocks to embracing them. There is an emerging whiff of scandal. Last month dws, Deutsche Bank’s asset-management arm, was raided by German police over esg “greenwashing” allegations, which it has denied. And esg finds itself in the trenches of America’s culture wars. Ted Cruz, a senator, talks of a “Larry Fink surcharge” when people fill up their petrol tanks. Texas, which he represents, threatens to keep state money from funds that boycott oil and gas. No wonder Mr Fink now says: “I don’t want to be the environmental police.” Mr Dimon is the architect of the corporate corollary to this financial do-goodery. As chair in 2019 of the Business Roundtable, a ceo lobby group, he led efforts to change its creed from prioritising the interests of shareholders to putting them alongside those of customers, employees and others. Stakeholder capitalism has given rise to the activist ceo, speaking out on issues ranging from voting laws to education on sexual orientation. Questions about whether such concerns are relevant to a company’s bottom line, or agreed upon by all stakeholders, are mostly brushed aside. It may be tested if rising interest rates choke off the economic recovery, leading firms to fire some of the stakeholders whose interests they claim to serve. It is already costly. JPMorgan has been largely excluded from the Texas municipal-bond market since last September, when a law was passed stopping the state from doing business with companies that have anti-gun policies. And it is widely misunderstood. “I am a red-blooded free-market capitalist and I’m not woke,” Mr Dimon said in a defiant outburst this month.For all the pushback, the triumvirate can point to a few genuine reasons for using the bully pulpit. Governments are abjectly failing to take steps, such as high and co-ordinated carbon taxes, to tackle climate change. Companies have got away for too long without taking account of—or paying for—their externalities, especially their impact on the natural world. Consumers, employees and investors are increasingly motivated by threats to the environment, as well as to social welfare, and gravitate towards firms that want to make a difference.Missionary creep Yet there is a ring of truth to some of the criticisms, too. Take the accusations of mission creep. In tackling climate change, Mr Carney has urged central banks out of their comfort zones, though so far with little evidence that financial systems are being destabilised by the costs of the energy transition. Though Messrs Fink and Dimon are bound by fiduciary constraints to serve the interests of their asset-owners and shareholders, esg and stakeholder capitalism make such duties harder to define. The second valid criticism concerns the tendency towards sanctimony. Until recently the private sector was a sanctuary from political partisanship and moral crusades. Bosses should speak out when events occur that materially impact their businesses, rather than pontificate about all manner of extra-curricular concerns. Third, critics have a point when they note that it is governments’ responsibility to solve societal problems. This may be a world bereft of inspiring political leadership. But that is something voters must fix at the ballot box, not billionaires smuggling in their political views via the backdoor at annual general meetings. Saving the planet is one thing. Saving it by committee smacks of plutocratic overreach. Sadly, that appears to be part of the future Messrs Carney, Fink and Dimon have in mind. ■ More

Elon Musk last week told SpaceX employees the company isn’t likely to take its Starlink satellite internet business public until 2025 or later, CNBC has learned.
The latest timeline signals another IPO delay and comes despite repeated questions from a variety of investors over the years about owning a piece of SpaceX.
Musk emphasized, as he has previously, that the Starlink business needs to be “in a smooth sailing situation” with “good predictability” before it goes public.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stands at the base of a Starship rocket prototype at the company’s facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
Steve Jurvetson on flickr

Elon Musk last week told SpaceX employees the company isn’t likely to take its Starlink satellite internet business public until 2025 or later, CNBC has learned, extending the estimated timeline for an initial public offering yet again.
“I’m not sure exactly when that [IPO] is, but maybe it will be like — I don’t know, just guessing — three or four years from now,” Musk said at an all-hands meeting of the private company’s employees on Thursday, according to an audio recording obtained by CNBC.

Musk emphasized, as he has previously, that the Starlink business needs to be “in a smooth sailing situation” with “good predictability.” At that point, “I think spinning it off as a public company can make a lot of sense,” the SpaceX CEO said.
The latest timeline delay comes despite repeated questions from a variety of investors over the years about owning a piece of SpaceX, a stock which remains privately traded.
Musk previously targeted an offering as soon as this year, according to an email to SpaceX employees obtained by CNBC. The email, sent by Musk in May 2019, said “it will probably make sense to take Starlink public in about three years or so.”
Musk then pushed back that estimate, saying in a tweet last year that it would be “at least a few years before Starlink revenue is reasonably predictable,” adding that “going public sooner than that would be very painful.”
SpaceX did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Musk’s remarks.

SpaceX’s Starlink network is designed to deliver high-speed internet anywhere on the globe through thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit. The company disclosed late last month that Starlink now has over 400,000 subscribers around the world. SpaceX has launched about 2,500 satellites to date to support the system.
While SpaceX offers a variety of Starlink products and services, the base price of $110 per month and the company’s most recent subscriber numbers suggest annual service revenue of more than $500 million a year.

A Starlink satellite terminal, also known as a dish, setup in front of an RV.

Musk warned employees during his comments on Thursday that they “should not think of things going public as, like, a sure path to riches.”
“The public markets are fickle” and “really pistol-whip you if you don’t meet expectations,” he said.
Musk has had an often contentious relationship with the regulations of publicly traded companies. In 2018, he agreed to pay millions in settlement charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission in response to fraud charges around an aborted plan to take his electric vehicle maker Tesla private. He’s also currently battling with Twitter over a proposal to take the social media company private.
“Being public is definitely an invitation to pain,” he told SpaceX employees Thursday. “And the stock price is just distracting.”
SpaceX continues to raise billions in capital to develop both Starlink and its mammoth Starship rockets. The company’s valuation hit $127 billion during its latest funding round.

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The CDC on Monday ramped up its monkeypox alert to level 2 and encouraged people to “practice enhanced precautions” to stem the recent outbreak.
The new guidance includes wearing face masks while traveling, as well as avoiding close contact with sick animals and people, especially those with skin lesions.
As of Monday, 1,019 confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox have so far been reported in 29 countries, according to the public health body.

Test tubes labelled “Monkeypox virus positive and negative” are seen in this illustration taken May 23, 2022. 
Dado Ruvic | Reuters

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stepped up its monkeypox guidance, urging travelers to take extra precautions including wearing face masks as global cases of the virus surpass 1,000.
The CDC ramped up its alert to a level 2 on Monday, encouraging people to “practice enhanced precautions” to stem the outbreak, which has spread to 29 nonendemic countries in the past month. The highest level alert — level 3 — would caution against nonessential travel.

While the public health body said the risk to the general public remains low, the heightened alert encourages people to avoid close contact with sick people, including those with skin or genital lesions, as well as sick or dead animals. It also urges those displaying symptoms of the virus, such as an unexplained skin rash or lesions, to avoid contact with others and to reach out to their healthcare provider for guidance.
Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus, with symptoms including rashes, fever, headaches, muscle ache, swelling and backpain. 
It is typically endemic to Central and West African countries, but the recent outbreak across North America, Europe and Australia has confounded health professionals and raised fears of community spread.
As of Monday, 1,019 confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported in 29 countries, according to the CDC. The U.K. has recorded the most cases by far, with 302 suspected and confirmed infections. It is followed by Spain with 198, Portugal with 153 and Canada with 80.
Health experts have been searching for clues as to the source of the outbreak, which has historically been linked to travel from endemic countries. The World Health Organization’s technical lead for monkeypox said Wednesday that the virus could have been transmitting undetected within non-endemic countries for “weeks, months or possibly a couple of years.”

U.S. detects two monkeypox strains

Until recently, the current outbreak was thought to have derived from the West African strain of the virus, which produces less severe illness than other variants and has a 1% fatality rate.
However, the CDC said Friday that at least two genetically distinct monkeypox variants are currently circulating in U.S., adding to health experts’ confusion. The U.S. has so far reported 30 cases of the virus in total.
“While they’re similar to each other, their genetic analysis shows that they’re not linked to each other,” Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the CDC’s high consequence pathogens and pathology division, said of the two variants at a Friday press briefing.
McQuiston said it is likely that the two strains stem from two different instances where the virus has spilled over from animals to humans in Africa, before spreading via person-to-person contact.
Professor Eyal Leshem, infectious disease specialist at Sheba Medical Centre told CNBC Monday that the spread of the virus to non-endemic countries was unsurprising given the frequency and ease of international travel, as well as the increased interaction between humans and animals.
“Diseases that were locally spread are now able to make their way across countries and continents much more easily,” Leshem said.
“Meanwhile, interaction between humans and animals has also amplified. Climate change has forced some animals into closer contact with humans, you will see more of these types of diseases,” he added.
Though most cases of monkeypox are mild, typically resolving within 2 to 4 weeks, the U.S. said Monday that it has 36,000 doses of a suitable vaccine which it is sending to people who have had high-risk exposures to the virus. Some European countries, including the U.K. and Spain, have announced similar measures to stem the spread of the disease.
Monkeypox is not considered a sexually transmitted disease, though the majority of cases so far have spread via sex, and particularly men who have sex with men, according to the CDC.

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“Yellowstone,” Paramount’s hit streaming show, has given rich city slickers an idea of what it would be like to become a real-life baron of the Wild West.
“We’ve had an influx of all sorts of wealthy individuals looking for ranches,” Robert Keith, founder of boutique investment firm Beartooth Group, told CNBC.
But as rich buyers move in, and the state’s population grows, native Montanans and others on the lower end of the income spectrum are feeling the squeeze from higher rents and property prices.

“Yellowstone” has become one of the hottest shows streaming. Filmed on location in the West, much of it in Montana, the scripted drama tells the story of a modern day ranch owner John Dutton, played by Kevin Costner, and his family dynasty.
The storyline is deliciously captivating, with back-stabbing and family intrigue, high stakes power plays and dramatic plot twists, but the cinematography is a major element of the appeal. Sweeping vistas, snow-capped mountains and charming small towns are captured throughout the episodes.

Still, ask native Montanans what they think of the show, though, and you’ll likely be met with grimaces and criticism.
Ginger Rice, a lifelong resident of the state, said she initially vowed not to watch the series after seeing just one episode.
“It’s unreal,” she said. “It doesn’t portray Bozeman or Montana life as far as I’m concerned.”
Yet Rice, who admits the show eventually sucked her in, also recognizes that the show makes her home state alluring to viewers: “Do you see what our state looks like? The mountains and prairies and who can can’t love this?”
The production itself has a significant economic impact on the state, according to a study by the University of Montana. When season four was shot on location last year, the production spent $72 million dollars in the state, with businesses in the state getting another $85 million economic boost. The study was funded, in part by Paramount, which owns the show.

That study did not quantify the impact of all the free advertising Montana gets from “Yellowstone.” But it’s clear the fictional John Dutton and his fictional sprawling ranch have given rich city slickers an idea of what it would be like to become a real-life baron of the Wild West.

A still from the TV series Yellowstone on Paramount Networks that is set in Montana.
Courtesy: Paramount Networks. 

“We’ve had an influx of all sorts of wealthy individuals looking for ranches,” Robert Keith, founder of boutique investment firm Beartooth Group, told CNBC. “They’re looking to own really amazing large properties.”
As demand for land and homes has soared, prices have followed suit.
Around Bozeman, the median cost of a single-family home spiked from less than $500,000 before the pandemic to nearly $750,000 according to the Gallatin Association of Realtors. The areas around Missoula and Kalispell saw even more dramatic price increases. Rents are so high that even working professionals are having a tough time finding housing they can afford. And some landlords, seeking higher rents, aren’t renewing leases with tenants.

Huge demand in Big Sky

Big Sky Country’s population boom had been years in the making. Montana, the eighth smallest state by population, now has a population of more than 1.1 million people. From 2010 to 2020, the state grew 9.6% according to the U.S Census Bureau.
Then came Covid and remote work. In 2021, Montana became one of the fastest growing locations in the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“A lot of our clients during the pandemic, came out and found shelter at the ranches, a safe place to be and no people around,” says Tim Murphy, a longtime ranch broker from Bozeman and partner at Hall & Hall.
Last year, Chris Kimbrell, who had been living in Georgia, joined the mass migration to Montana, for a job as a veterinarian in Bozeman. From his very first visit as a nine-year-old, he said he was hooked on the state and kept making return trips for fly-fishing through college.
But he carefully weighed the soaring cost of living.

Montana Housing Prices Soar: Robert Keith, Founder of the Beartooth Group, rehabilitates damaged land and sells the restored ranches to conservation-minded buyers
Contessa Brewer | CNBC

“If it wasn’t for a family member who’s letting me live on his property, I would really have to think hard about moving out here,” Kimbrell said. “Rent and housing is becoming extremely expensive.” The support staff at his veterinary practice are being priced out of housing, he added.
Rice, the lifetime Montana resident, said her daughter and son-in-law were recently served notice that their landlord would not renew their lease in a three-bedroom home they’d rented for more than a decade. It was a mad scramble even to find a two bedroom apartment at three times the rent they were paying, she said.
“My daughter says we’ll never be able to afford a house,” she said. “We tried to save but everything’s going up and up and up.”
Some families, even those with full-time employment, are moving into recreational vehicles or tents. The local roads are now scattered with people in campers who can no longer afford to pay rent or own a house. Habitat for Humanity calls it a housing crisis. “Montana has quickly become inaccessible to those who live and work here,” said the nonprofit, which is pushing lawmakers to prioritize housing affordability.

Fly fishing and designer jeans

Longtime residents also criticize the cultural divide between newcomers and long-time Montanans. They frown on newcomers buying property but refusing to join in and commit to their communities.
“I used to love the fact that you knew your neighbors. We still do know our neighbors, but we’re not really friends with our neighbors,” Rice said.
She quietly complains that Bozeman is crammed with “highfalutin people” wearing posh attire who make her feel uncomfortable around them. And she says downtown has become nearly unrecognizable.
“I don’t like how busy it is. I don’t like the traffic. And it’s too expensive,” she said.
Longtime residents told CNBC the changes are obvious in Missoula and Kalispell, as well. Outsiders, they say, are always in a rush and too loud with their unrealistic demands. Rice said in her former job at a dry cleaner, a customer insisted on having paint splatters removed from designer jeans. “What were they doing painting in those pants anyway?” she wondered.
The “Yellowstone” effect reminds residents about another culture clash, which developed when Hollywood depicted Montana in the movie “A River Runs Through It.” The movie, which was directed by Robert Redford and featured an up-and-coming movie star named Brad Pitt, was filmed on location in 1991 and released in 1992. It won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
“At that point, fly fishing became in vogue,” ranch broker Murphy said, “as massive amounts of people wanted to buy fly fishing properties in the area.”
As a result, the fly fishing industry grew by 60% in both 1991 and 1992, according to Forbes.
He’s seeing the surge again, he said, even as uncertainty clouds the economy. “When the stock market gets shaky and there’s turmoil, that just fuels our market because the land market is pretty stable,” he said.
Many of the newcomers arrive with deep pockets and entrepreneurial aspirations that fuel Montana’s growing economy. Gov. Greg Gianforte’s office said in May the state economy grew by 6.7% in 2021, the fastest pace in more than 40 years, making it the seventh-fastest growing state economy in the nation.

Montana Housing Prices Soar: Robert Keith, Founder of the Beartooth Group, rehabilitates damaged land and sells the restored ranches to conservation-minded buyers
Contessa Brewer | CNBC

The Beartooth Group is betting that investors not only want a financial return but a legacy as well. The firm specializes in rehabilitating degraded land – such as old mines, feedlots or ranches – and then selling it.
Keith, the Beartooth founder, showed CNBC a creek that had been restored into a winding waterway, perfect for trout. Generations ago it had been forced into a ditch to be used for agricultural purposes. But now the fish draw birds. Ospreys built a nest and the parents were seen feeding their young.
That’s the kind of property that appeals to would-be buyers with notions about the wild spaces of Montana, Keith said. They want to see deer and bear and butterflies.
“I think we can all agree there aren’t enough dollars going into conservation, ” he said. Wealthy, conservation-minded buyers often invest even more in restoring the land once they own a property. He said Beartooth’s pitch is unique: “By doing something good for the world, we’re making it more valuable financially and environmentally.”
The state is also hoping to draw former residents back to the Big Sky state with a marketing campaign, “Come Home Montana.”
“No matter how long you’ve been away, now is the to come home to rural Montana,” the campaign says. “Embrace the life you truly want to live.”
But if you want to live there, bring your checkbook. Former residents will find their home state is far more expensive than when they left.

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