DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Microsoft earnings are coming up. Here’s what traders are looking for in the report
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Investors will be looking to see if Microsoft's report can restart the rally, but the bar for success might be high. The AI narrative Microsoft is viewed as one of the companies best-positioned to take advantage of recent advances in artificial intelligence. Another area is Copilot , the AI tool that Microsoft is packaging with its Office suite of software products. "That said, we expect AI contribution to Azure growth to increase w/ our checks pointing to strong demand for Azure AI services & elevated workloads as more models go into production. Wall Street is overwhelmingly positive on the stock, with more than 90% of the analysts covering Microsoft giving it a rating of "buy" or "strong buy," according to LSEG.

Persons: Jefferies, Brent Thill, MSFT's, LSEG, Brad Reback, Reback, MSFT, Guggenheim, John DiFucci, DiFucci, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Microsoft, Investors, Wall Street Locations: MSFT, F4Q

☆ Here's why this financial technology fund could break out during earnings season
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Technical analyst Rob Ginsberg said in a note to clients Wednesday that the Global X FinTech ETF (FINX) looks attractive after a long period of underperforming the broader market. "Now that we're past much of the big bank earnings, there are a number of fintech and financial service names on the docket this week and next. FINX 5Y mountain The FINX ETF has shown early signs of a rebound in 2024. Ginsberg wrote that the ETF has some positive technical signals of its own. To be sure, earnings reports could prove to be a downside catalyst for financial technology stocks and the fund.

Persons: Rob Ginsberg, Ginsberg, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: titans, Wolfe Research, Paypal Locations: Fintech, FINX

☆ This fund that lets retail traders invest in SpaceX and OpenAI is trading at a massive premium
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

DXYZ 1M mountain The Destiny Tech 100 fund has seen big swings and is trading well above its net asset value. "It's common for them to not trade exactly at their NAV, but trading at a premium is very strange. Robinhood confusion The popularity of the new fund appears to have caused some confusion on retail brokerage app Robinhood . According to Prasad, the Destiny fund was previously available for trading on brokerage Robinhood, but they started seeing complaints last week that things had changed. "Our focus is not on the premium," but in building out the fund, Prasad said.

Persons: Jack Shannon, Shannon, Chelsea Childs, Sohail Prasad, Prasad, Robinhood, Chelsea, Destiny Organizations: SpaceX, New York Stock Exchange, Tech, Morningstar, Gray, CNBC, Trust

☆ Insurance stocks are rallying as a way to play one of the hottest spots for inflation
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The stubbornly high inflation readings to start 2024 are good news for one group of stocks — insurance companies. Stocks to watch In general, Wall Street analysts are buying the underlying story for these insurance stocks. For a slightly different angle, Wells Fargo analyst Elyse Greenspan upgraded Hamilton Insurance Group to overweight last week. Potential downsides To be sure, there are several factors that could derail the rally for insurance stocks. Another concern is so-called "social inflation," in which legal trends or regulatory changes can drive costs higher for insurance companies.

Persons: Goldman, Robert Cox, Stocks, Goldman's Cox, Cox, Wells, Elyse Greenspan, Hamilton, HG, Greenspan, Jimmy Bhullar, Andrew McGee, McGee, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Allstate, Wall Street, PGR, Progressive, Hartford Financial Services, Hamilton Insurance Group, U.S . Insurance, JPMorgan, CNBC Locations: Northbrook , Illinois, Wells Fargo

☆ The big, month-long rally in commodities is turning these ETFs into winners
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Some equity funds closely tied to those commodities, such as those that invest in gold and silver miners, have soared even more. Five of the six biggest gold ETFs have seen outflows this year, totaling almost $3 billion, according to FactSet. GLD 5Y mountain Gold, and the ETFs that track it, are trading at record highs in early 2024. The fund's holdings include gold, silver, platinum and palladium. Meanwhile, Teucrium has several ETFs focused on agricultural commodities that have climbed over the past month as well, including the the Teucrium Soybean Fund (SOYB) , up over 3%.

Persons: Jake Hanley, Hanley, Robert Minter, Minter, Teucrium Organizations: United States Oil Fund, Hershey Locations: East, Europe

☆ BlackRock says this is the 'last best opportunity' to buy these bonds
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"We believe the recent back up in rates is probably the last best opportunity to extend duration," wrote Gargi Pal Chaudhuri, chief investment and portfolio strategist, Americas, at BlackRock. Generally speaking, the value of a bond goes up as interest rates go down, with longer-dated bonds seeing the biggest gains. While bond funds have been seeing inflows this year, there are still plenty of investors with excess cash in short-term accounts. Different funds that offer that type of exposure include the iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEI) , the SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Treasury ETF (SPTI) and the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF (VGIT) . Investors shouldn't go overboard with adding duration, because the long-term bonds on the market carry extra risk, Akullian said.

Persons: BlackRock's, Gargi Pal Chaudhuri, Kristy Akullian, It's, Akullian, Investors shouldn't Organizations: Treasury, Federal, Investment Company Institute, BlackRock, CNBC, Treasury Bond ETF, Research, Investors Locations: Americas, BlackRock, US10Y

☆ Here's where the jobs are for March 2024 — in one chart
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Health care and social assistance were the top sector for job gains — a common theme in recent years — adding 81,300 jobs. The U.S. labor market surprised economists with its strength once again, adding more than 300,000 jobs in March, with a few key sectors continuing to fuel its growth. Within health care, ambulatory services and hospitals combined to add 55,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that the labor force participation has changed little in the past year despite consistent upside surprises for job gains. It's been the key to rebalancing the labor market.

Persons: It's, we've, Stephanie Kelton Organizations: Bureau of Labor Statistics ., BLS, Labor Statistics, Brook University Locations: U.S

Other analysts saw upside for Coinbase and DoorDash along with Meta Platforms, as the social network builds advertising market share. The firm initiated coverage of DoorDash stock with a buy rating and a $165 per share price target. The analyst reiterated his overweight rating on Tesla stock but lowered his price target slightly to $310 per share from $320. The firm reiterated a buy rating on Meta stock and raised its price target to $585 per share from $550 on Thursday. Meta stock has surged more than 43% in 2024.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Pamela Kaufman, Kaufman, — Jesse Pound, Mark Zgutowicz, — Brian Evans, Oliver Wintermantel, Wintermantel, Brian Evans, Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas, Morgan Stanley's, Adam Jonas, Tesla's, Jonas, Tesla, — Brian Evans TSLA, Oppenheimer, Coinbase, Owen Lau, Jefferies, Brent Thill, outgrow Amazon's, Meta, Thill, Erika Najarian, Najarian, BofA's Organizations: CNBC, Jefferies, Bank of America, UBS, Big Four, Meta, Hershey, ISI, Tesla Network, 2Q, Amazon, UBS downgrades Bank of America Locations: Big Four U.S, Hershey, cryptocurrency, Wednesday's, 2H24

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo called for 20% upside for Meta Platforms and raised one of its estimates for the company's ad sales. Despite those positive trends, the new price target from KBW is still below the stock's closing level on Tuesday of $245.84. — Jesse Pound 5:53 a.m.: Redburn Atlantic upgrades UPS UPS could be in for strong gains after a slow start to the year, according to Redburn Atlantic. Analyst Oliver Holmes upgraded the package delivery giant to buy, raising its price target to $180. "We believe UPS is at, or close to, trough revenue, volume, margin and share price levels," Holmes wrote to clients.

Persons: Wells, Tesla, Gary Mobley, Wolfspeed, Mobley, Wells Fargo, — Jesse Pound, Ronald Jewsikow, Guggenheim, Jewsikow, Richard Shane, Shane, Coinbase, Keefe, Kyle Voigt, Voigt, Ken Gawrelski, Gawrelski, Oliver Holmes, Holmes, Fred Imbert, ~ ~ . Organizations: CNBC, Wednesday, UPS, Hyundai, Guggenheim, JPMorgan, ADV, SEC, Meta, Wall, ~$ Locations: Wells Fargo, 4Q23 ., Tuesday's

☆ Steve Cohen says his financial firm can already save $25 million by using AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

You can count billionaire investor Steve Cohen among those who believes artificial intelligence is already making an impact on the business world. The Point72 founder told CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin on "Squawk Box" that his financial firm has found ways for even the early AI models to save the company money. My CTO comes to me and says I can save the firm $25 million by using these LLMs to improve our efficiency," Cohen said, referencing his chief technology officer and the large language models like ChatGPT. "Now, we're a nice sized firm. And that's just one thing, so it gives you a little bit of a look into what's possible," he added.

Persons: Steve Cohen, CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, Cohen, We're

☆ Tesla first quarter deliveries were a 'disaster' and may mark turning point, Wedbush's Dan Ives says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Tesla 's big miss on first-quarter deliveries is raising alarm even among some of the stocks most strident supporters. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, a long-time optimist about the automaker and its CEO Elon Musk, delivered a harsh review of the results on Tuesday morning. "While we were anticipating a bad 1Q, this was an unmitigated disaster 1Q that is hard to explain away. Otherwise, some darker days could clearly be ahead that could disrupt the long-term Tesla narrative," Ives said in a note to clients. "For Musk, this is a fork in the road time to get Tesla through this turbulent period otherwise troubling days could be ahead," Ives added.

Persons: Tesla, Dan Ives, Elon Musk, Ives, Musk, Wedbush Organizations: optimist, Tesla Locations: Tesla's Berlin, Delaware, Texas

☆ Buy the Atlanta Braves tracking stock since it will likely be bought by a billionaire, analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Analyst Barton Crockett hiked his price target on Atlanta Braves Holdings by more than 10% to $53 per share, saying in a note to clients Tuesday that the team could soon become a buyout target. "We assume that the Braves are likely to be taken private by a billionaire once properly tax-seasoned. Shares of Atlanta Braves Holdings closed at $38.79 per share on Monday, more than 36% below the Rosenblatt price target. BATRK YTD mountain The tracking stock for the Atlanta Braves has struggled in 2024. Atlanta Braves Holdings includes not only the baseball franchise but also some real estate development around the team's baseball stadium in suburban Atlanta.

Persons: Barton Crockett, John Malone, Crockett, Rosenblatt, Carlyle, David Rubenstein, Matt Ishbia Organizations: Rosenblatt Securities, Atlanta Braves Holdings, Liberty Media, Sirius XM, Braves, Sports, National League East, Baseball, Atlanta Braves, Carlyle Group, Baltimore Orioles, Phoenix Suns Locations: U.S, Atlanta

☆ April is company preannouncement season and Goldman has a way to trade it
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

April sees about 10% of all preannouncements for a given year on average, according to Goldman Sachs. Given that earnings announcements can cause stock volatility, whether they are scheduled or not, this could create an opportunity for options traders to capitalize. CNX, a natural gas company, has announced preliminary results in April four times since 2011, according to Goldman, while Delta has done so three times. The stock has since erased that drop, but the sharp one-day move likely created some winners among options traders. Health care is a sector that sees a higher-than-average number of preannouncements, according to Goldman, which could bode well for traders interested in HCA.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, John Marshall, Goldman, bode Organizations: Delta Air Lines, HCA Holdings, Fidelity National Information Services Locations: Delta, DAL

☆ How this bull market could unravel and what to watch for, according to Larry McDonald
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Lawrence McDonald, author of "A Colossal Failure of Common Sense" and "How to Listen When Markets Speak." The recent stock market rally and the surprisingly resilient U.S. economy are reliant on an uneasy balancing act between the U.S. Treasury market, the oil market and struggling regional banks, according to one bestselling author and market risk expert. Larry McDonald, author of "A Colossal Failure of Common Sense" about the downfall of Lehman Brothers, told CNBC that another spike in inflation could have major repercussions through the U.S. economy. Many regional banks have a high amount of long-term bonds and loans on their books that will go down in value if yields rise. McDonald's warning, and his new book, "How to Listen When Markets Speak," come with the stock market hovering just under record highs and the Dow Jones Industrial Average flirting with the 40,000 level.

Persons: Lawrence McDonald, Larry McDonald, Lehman, McDonald Organizations: U.S . Treasury, Lehman Brothers, CNBC, Dow Jones Locations: U.S

☆ Ron Insana's new firm aims to bring AI-powered trade ideas to individual investors
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The firm, called iFi AI, launches Wednesday. The company will use AI models to help generate projected returns for stocks over various time periods, according to Ron Insana, iFi AI CEO and CNBC senior analyst and commentator. IBM's watsonx powers the AI programs behind the new venture, incorporating fundamental news, technical analysis and other factors to make projections about where stocks are headed. The AI programs are already being used to help make decisions with $6 billion that is managed institutionally, Insana said. "The difference between quantitative analysis and AI-driven analysis is that AI learns and continues to learn and teach itself," Insana said.

Persons: Ron Insana, Insana, Morgan Stanley Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, CNBC, Wall Street

Cadre Holdings CEO Warren Kanders sold $50.3 million worth of stock. Ares Management CEO Michael Arougheti sold $32.7 million worth of stock. Cadence Design Systems CEO Anirudh Devgan sold $14.7 million worth of stock. AppLovin CFO Herald Chen sold about $9.5 million worth of stock. Cleanspark CEO Zachary Bradford sold nearly $9 million worth of stock.

Persons: Michael Dell, Verity Data, Mark Zuckerberg, Chan Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan, Warren Kanders, Kanders, Jayshree Ullal, Michael Arougheti, Sytse Sijbrandij, Sijbrandij, Anirudh Devgan, Aneel Zaman, Herald Chen, Zachary Bradford Organizations: Dell Technologies, Dell, DELL, Securities and Exchange Commission, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Facebook, Cadre, VerityData, Arista Networks, Ares Management, Cadence Design, Herald Locations: 10b5

☆ This new ‘opportunistic’ ETF is an example of hedge fund strategies coming to the masses
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Opportunistic Trader ETF, trading under the ticker "WZRD," launched on Wednesday and quickly surpassed $15 million in assets. Benedict is a former hedge fund manager who later founded The Opportunistic Trader, an information and education service about his strategies. And he's not the only hedge fund veteran trying out products that are open to retail investors. The WZRD ETF won't be a buy and hold strategy common among ETFs, according to securities filings and the Opportunistic Trader team. Rise of active ETFs The rise of hedge-fund like ETFs is part of a broader trend toward more active funds.

Persons: Larry Benedict, Jack Schwager, Benedict, Pershing, Bill Ackman, James Hickey, Hickey Organizations: Trader, SEC, Trust, Nvidia, JPMorgan Chase Locations: United States, WZRD

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Nvidia, Unilever, Coinbase and more
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Here are the companies making headlines on Wall Street ahead of the opening bell. Several Wall Street analysts hiked their price target for Nvidia after the event. Disney — Shares declined less than 1% following news that filmmaker George Lucas is backing Disney CEO Bob Iger in the company's proxy fight with activist investor Nelson Peltz. Super Micro Computer — The tech stock tumbled more than 10% after a filing showed a new stock offering of two million shares. The company's full-year revenue guidance was also near the low end of Wall Street expectations.

Persons: Jerry's, bitcoin, George Lucas, Bob Iger, Nelson Peltz, Lucas, Goldman Sachs, DLocal Organizations: Nvidia, Unilever, Disney —, CNBC, Tencent Locations: San Jose , California

☆ Super Micro Computer, one of the hottest AI plays alongside Nvidia, tanks 10% on share offering
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

In this article SMCI Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTShares of Super Micro Computer dropped Tuesday after the company announced a new share offering, taking a bite out of one of the biggest rallies tied to the artificial intelligence boom. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Super Micro, 1-day"The principal purposes of this offering are to obtain additional capital to support our operations, including for the purchase of inventory and other working capital purposes, manufacturing capacity expansions and increased research and development ('R&D') investments," the filing said. Goldman also has an option to purchase up to 300,000 additional shares of Super Micro Computer within the next 30 days. Super Micro Computer, a tech infrastructure company, has become one of the biggest winners of Wall Street's appetite for AI investments. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Super Micro Computer, YTD

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman Organizations: Micro Computer, Super Micro Computer, Micro, Nvidia, YTD

☆ A key segment of the Treasury market is on a record losing streak ahead of the Fed meeting
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The price of bond funds like TLT move in the opposite direction of bond yields, meaning lower prices equal higher yields. TLT 1M mountain The iShares 20+ Year Treasury ETF has fallen for eight straight trading sessions. Only two of the trading sessions have seen a decline of more than 0.5%. One of the TLT's main competitors, the Vanguard Long-Term Treasury ETF (VGLT) , also fell for eight-straight trading sessions. The iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY) has only fallen in five of the past eight sessions, for example.

Persons: Jason Goepfert Organizations: U.S . Treasury, Treasury Bond ETF, Treasury, Federal, White Oak Consultancy

☆ Bitcoin to rally to $150,000 this year and could touch $250,000 in 2025, Standard Chartered says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The excitement around the arrival of bitcoin ETFs and the subsequent surge to new highs for the cryptocurrency is making even bitcoin bulls raise their expectations. "We raise our long-held price estimate to the USD 150,000 level from USD 100,000 given the more rapid pass-through from ETF inflows to the BTC price to date," the note said. The new bitcoin ETFs have pulled in billions of dollars from investors since their January launch, even with the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust seeing heavy outflows. The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has raked in more than $12 billion on its own, according to FactSet. The quick growth of the bitcoin ETFs has boosted confidence that there are more investors interested in crypto who have been reluctant to buy it through crypto exchanges.

Persons: Geoff Kendrick, Kendrick Organizations: BTC, Metrics, bitcoin Locations: Bitcoin

☆ Goldman lays out the next phases of AI trade and stocks to play them
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"In addition to NVDA, investors have been focused on a broadening of the AI trade. We expect there will likely be three broad, subsequent stages of the AI trade," Hammond wrote. Goldman foresees a second phase that focuses on companies that build and maintain the infrastructure around AI. "Based on performance and valuation, investors have already started to price subsequent phases of the AI trade. An equal-weighted basket of Phase 2 stocks is up 14% during the past 6 months, largely driven by valuation expansion.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Ryan Hammond, Hammond, Goldman foresees, Goldman, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Nvidia, Broadcom, Foundry, Keysight Technologies, Palo Alto Networks, Intuit, Adobe, Nvidia —, Pinterest, Tenet Healthcare

☆ Goldman is making a big call to clients to hedge for a market decline. Here's what it recommends
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Arun Prakash from Goldman's derivatives research team proposed an options trade focused on the Cboe Volatility Index , or "Vix," to hedge against a market selloff. .VIX 5Y mountain The Cboe Volatility Index has been trading at an unusually low level in 2024 so far. Generally speaking, a call option gives the holder the right to buy the underlying asset at the strike price, and serves as a bet that the asset will rise above the strike price. "Over the past 30+ years, VIX has averaged 19 in April, and we see upside risks to the current low VIX levels given current macro environment and upcoming macro/micro catalysts. If the Vix does not rise above the strike price before the options contract expires, the trader loses the premium paid for the contract.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Arun Prakash, Prakash, hasn't, That's, Goldman, VIX, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Reserve

☆ Bitcoin shows its volatility once again, tumbling back to $67,000 in overnight decline
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Data from Coin Metrics shows bitcoin was trading above $72,000 late Thursday night before fall to about $67,000 on Friday, a decline of roughly 7%. Bitcoin is still up about 57% year to date, and the overnight drop came from near record highs. The cryptocurrency has climbed over the past few months, in part due to anticipation and then demand from the new bitcoin ETFs that launched in the U.S. in January. Rapid rallies and steep drops have been a recurring feature of bitcoin's history. Crypto optimists say that the volatility of the asset class should decline as bitcoin matures.

Persons: Bitcoin, Kris Marszalek, bitcoin, Crypto Organizations: Coin Metrics, Rapid Locations: U.S

Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is building an investor group to acquire ByteDance's TikTok, as a bipartisan piece of legislation winding its way through Congress threatens its continued existence in the U.S. "It's a great business and I'm going to put together a group to buy TikTok." There's no way that the Chinese would ever let a U.S. company own something like this in China," Mnuchin said. Last week, Mnuchin's Liberty Strategic Capital was a lead investor in a $1 billion capital raise to stabilize New York Community Bancorp. That administration also took an antagonistic stance toward TikTok, which ultimately resulted in ByteDance striking a data partnership with Oracle .

Persons: Steven Mnuchin, ByteDance's, ByteDance, Mnuchin, CNBC's, Masa, Joe Biden, Peter Thiel, Vinod Khosla, Keith Rabois, TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, Wang Wenbin, Bobby Kotick, Donald Trump, Trump Organizations: U.S, Liberty Strategic Capital, Vision Fund, Senate, Lawmakers, China Foreign Ministry, Financial Times, Street, Activision, Community Bancorp, Oracle Locations: Liberty, ByteDance, U.S, China, TikTok, New

Search resuls for: "In Jesse-Pound"

25 mentions found