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☆ Bank of America names 3 ETFs and a handful of stocks that will benefit from AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-19 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bank of America has identified several stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) poised to benefit from the growth in artificial intelligence. The Wall Street bank surveyed its fundamental equity team of 130 analysts, covering approximately 3,400 companies, to identify the companies that stand to gain from AI across various sectors. The bank believes the development of AI is the third major tech cycle over the past five decades. The earlier cycles are the growth of the internet and mobile phone devices. "Despite AI capital expenditure potentially reaching [$1 trillion plus] in the near term, we're only in 1996 relative to the internet," said Bank of America analysts led by Alkesh Shah, who compiled the stock picks, on Aug 5.

Persons: Alkesh Shah, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: of America, Budweiser, Anheuser, Busch InBev, ASM International, SAP Locations: U.S, Orange, British

☆ Tuesday's analyst calls: Taiwan Semiconductor a buying opportunity, CrowdStrike upgraded
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-06 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

He increased his price target by $25 to $575, which suggests shares can jump about 20.9% over the next year. Rollins upgraded the stock to neutral from sell and upped his price target from $1.25 to $3.15 per share, which implies roughly 21.6% potential upside. Analyst Rick Wise initiated coverage of GE Healthcare with a buy rating and $100 price target, which suggests 22.7% upside. Analyst Rob Owens upgraded the global cybersecurity company to overweight from neutral and lowered his price target by $20 to $290, which implies 30.6% upside. Its price target of 1,200 Taiwanese dollars implies upside of 36.4%.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Piper Sandler, Rob Sanderson, Sanderson, — Pia Singh, Michael Rollins, Rollins, Lumen, Rick Wise, Wise, CrowdStrike, Rob Owens, Owens, pare, Price, Charlie Chan, Chan, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Taiwan Semiconductor, Meta, Citi, Lumen Technologies, GE Healthcare, Delta Air Lines, Microsoft Locations: U.S

☆ Wall Street analysts think investors should buy the dip in Amazon, call cloud business a 'bright spot'
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Investors may way to consider buying the dip in Amazon , according to some Wall Street analysts. A 'bright spot' in AWS Despite Thursday's disappointing results, many Wall Street analysts are finding the positive in the company's Amazon Web Services division. Many expect this business to continue gaining steam, with Susquehanna Financial Group's Shyam Patil referring to this acceleration as a "bright spot" in the results. Evercore ISI's Mark Mahaney referred to accelerating AWS growth as one of "three fundamental catalysts" for the stock. Bank of America's Justin Post named the stock the firm's top large cap picks, citing the AWS acceleration and opportunity within artificial intelligence.

Persons: Deutsche Bank's Lee Horowitz, Deutsche Bank's Horowitz, Mark Shmulik, Shyam Patil, Patil, Morgan Stanley's Brian Nowak, Evercore, Mark Mahaney, Bank of America's Justin Post, We're, Doug Anmuth, Anmuth Organizations: Deutsche, Wall, Web Services, Susquehanna, Bank of America's

Along with the downgrade, Roach slashed her price target to $286 from $463. Along with the downgrade, Arya cut his price target to $23 from $35 a share. — Samantha Subin 6:15 a.m.: Apple results suggest 'best is yet to come,' support multiyear upgrade cycle The latest earnings report from Apple reaffirms analysts' confidence in the technology giant and a multiyear upgrade cycle when it launches its latest iPhone later this year. Bernstein's Mark Shmulik trimmed his price target by $5 to $210 a share but encouraged investors to use the sell-off as an entry point. His price target of $95, down from $99, implies downside of 6.6% over the next 12 months.

Persons: Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Henning Cosman, Cosman, — Samantha Subin, Goldman Sachs downgrades Lululemon, Goldman Sachs, Lululemon, Brooke Roach, Roach, LULU YTD, Vivek Arya, Arya, Samantha Subin, America's Wamsi Mohan, macOS, Samik Chatterjee, Citi's Atif Malik, Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi, Morgan Stanley's Brian Nowak, ISI's Mark Mahaney, Bernstein's Mark Shmulik, Wells, downgrades Morgan Stanley Wells Fargo, Mike Mayo, Mayo, Morgan, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Barclays, Ferrari, Bank of America, Intel, AMD, Apple, Apple Intelligence, America's, Amazon, Web Services, North Locations: Europe, U.S, Lululemon

☆ The GenAI jitters: Is there enough demand for $1 trillion in AI spending?
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Alistair Barr | Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementBig tech companies are forecast to spend $1 trillion on data centers, real estate, chips and other gear to build AI models, tools and products. AdvertisementSome big tech companies have already whittled away a large chunk of their cash reserves chasing this AI trend. For more than a year, the assumption has been that generative AI will stoke a massive wave of new demand. What if that demand turns out to be weaker than expected? A major piece of evidence he shared was about demand for Microsoft's 365 Copilot service.

Persons: —, Ashley Stewart, I've, Ashley, Keith Weiss, Morgan Stanley, Weiss, Andy Jassy, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, BI's Ashley Stewart, Nadella Organizations: Service, Business, pharma, Big, Microsoft, stoke, Amazon, Google, CIO

☆ Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet are spending big in a battle to dominate AI. It might not end well.
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewAI is burning a big hole in the pockets of Big Tech. Leaders at Meta and Alphabet have conceded that they might be funneling too much money into AI out of fear of falling behind in the arms race. AdvertisementGartner's research shows that generative AI requires executives to have a higher tolerance for indirect gains on their investments in the future over immediate returns. AdvertisementBut Big Tech executives believe that generative AI will bring about some of the biggest technological changes the world has seen in the past century — so it's worth the risk. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a letter to shareholders earlier this year that generative AI "may be the largest technology transformation since the cloud" and maybe even "since the internet."

Persons: —, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Rita Sallam, Elliott, Andy Jassy, Brian Olsavsky, Dan Ives Organizations: Service, Big Tech, Meta, Business, Nasdaq, Gartner, Analytics, Eliott Management, Financial Times, Big, Wedbush Securities

☆ Meta's AI apparently said the shooting at the Trump rally didn't happen. Here's what ChatGPT and Claude said.
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Jordan Hart | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Kaplan also said the incorrect responses, or "hallucinations," aren't specific to Meta AI only. Meta AISince receiving criticism, Meta has tweaked the responses from Meta AI. Related stories"We've since updated the responses that Meta AI is providing about the assassination attempt, but we should have done this sooner. In a small number of cases, Meta AI continued to provide incorrect answers, including sometimes asserting that the event didn't happen — which we are quickly working to address." ClaudeClaude didn't make any assertions about what happened at Trump's rally on July 13. Business InsiderUnlike Meta AI and ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude AI didn't try to make assertions about whether or not the shooting occurred.

Persons: —, Meta, Donald Trump, chatbot, Joel Kaplan, Kaplan, they're, Anthropic's Claude, wasn't, Trump, ChatGPT ChatGPT, ChatGPT, OpenAI, Claude Claude didn't, Claude AI didn't, Claude, Anthropic Organizations: Service, Business, Meta, Google, Trump . Business Locations: Butler ,, Butler , PA

☆ 'Gaining share': Here's what Wall Street expects from Amazon's 2nd-quarter earnings
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Wall Street expects the retail giant to report adjusted earnings per share of $1.47 in the quarter and revenue of $148.78 billion, according to data from Bloomberg. Here's what Wall Street expects from Amazon's upcoming second-quarter earnings report. While the US consumer is showing signs of softening, the bank expects Amazon's retail unit to be a beneficiary from the current economic environment. "AWS sales, in constant currency, may meet consensus' high-teens view," Bloomberg Intelligence said. AdvertisementThe analysts also said Amazon's advertising revenue could continue to grow at a "20%-plus pace as Amazon takes market share."

Persons: —, Wall, Goldman Sachs, Amazon's, Rufus Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Business, Bank of America, of America, 1Q, " Bank of America, Citi, Amazon, 2Q, JPMorgan, Bloomberg Intelligence Locations: America, North America

☆ Here are Tuesday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Roblox, Netflix, Amazon, Tesla, McDonald's, Affirm & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Tuesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Loop initiates BrightView as buy Loop said it's bullish on shares of the commercial landscaping company. Evercore ISI reiterates Apple as outperform Evercore said it's bullish ahead of Apple earnings later this week. " Bank of America reiterates Roblox as buy Bank of America said it's standing by Roblox ahead of earnings on August 1. Deutsche Bank reiterates McDonald's as buy Deutsche said it's standing by the fast food giant following earnings. Bank of America reiterates Goldman Sachs as buy Bank of America said top pick Goldman Sachs has "cyclical/secular tailwinds."

Persons: Evercore, it's, Jensen Huang, Nvidia's Blackwell, Blackwell, KBW, Oppenheimer, Wells, Roblox, Tesla, McDonald's, Baird, Edward Jones, Goldman Sachs, ROE resiliency, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo Organizations: Apple, Citi, Nvidia, " Bank of America, of America, Barclays, UBS, Amazon, Netflix, Bank of America, JPMorgan, RBC, Tesla, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche, Whirlpool, underperform Bank of America, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Labs, Edward, Stock, 2Q, PNC, WF

☆ Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Tesla, Live Nation, 3M, Uber, Eli Lilly, Amazon, Coinbase & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Monday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Morgan Stanley reiterates Live Nation as overweight Morgan Stanley said shares of the entertainment concert company are compelling. " Cantor Fitzgerald reiterates Nvidia as overweight Cantor said the stock is still a top pick at the firm. Guggenheim upgrades Akamai to buy from neutral Guggenheim said shares of the cloud computing networking company have more room to run. Bank of America reiterates Apple as buy Bank of America said it's bullish heading into Apple earnings later this week. JPMorgan reiterates Eli Lilly as overweight JPM said the stock is a "core holding" ahead of earnings on August 8.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Cantor Fitzgerald, Cantor, TD Cowen, AAPL, Wells, Booz Allen Hamilton, it's, Guggenheim, Piper Sandler, Charles Schwab, Piper, Schwab, Olin, Mizuho, Bill Brown's, Myers Squibb, JPMorgan, Eli Lilly, JPM, Evercore, Tesla, Oppenheimer, Raymond James, Davidson, Raymond James downgrades Organizations: NVDA, MU, Apple, Huawei, Booz, Guggenheim, RBC, Deutsche Bank, Northrop, Deutsche, JPMorgan, Uber, Holdings, 3M, " Bank of America, Bank of America, Edge, Barclays downgrades Bristol, Myers Squibb, Barclays, Bristol, Ford, Microsoft, Charter, HSBC Locations: China, underperform

☆ Buy top tech stocks like Apple ahead of their results before it's too late, Bank of America says
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The investment bank says stocks like Apple are table-pounding buys ahead of quarterly results this week. CNBC Pro combed through Bank of America research to find buy-rated tech stocks with more room to run. Apple Bank of America recently raised its price target on the iPhone maker to $256 from $230. Shopify Time to buy shares of the Canadian provider of websites for businesses, according to Bank of America. Analyst Brad Sills recently upgraded Shopify to buy from neutral as a "more balanced growth & margin profile" take hold.

Persons: Wamsi Mohan, Apple, Mohan, GenAI, Brad Sills, Sills, Shopify, Sachin Salgaonkar, Mark Murphy, Satya Kumar, Samir Organizations: Bank of America, CNBC, Microsoft, Apple, Micron Technology, Sea, Apple Bank of America, Apple Vision, Micron Locations: Bank, Shopify, U.S, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Asia, Brazil, Boston, New York

☆ Apple's no longer among top 5 smartphone vendors in China as domestic brands dominate market
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Sheila Chiang | In Sheilachiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Apple was edged out of the top five smartphone vendors' list in China in the second quarter, as competition from domestic brands such as Huawei intensifies, according to a Canalys report. Apple's market share in China shrank to 14% in the second quarter, the report released Thursday showed, from 15% in the first quarter and 16% in the same period a year ago. The iPhone maker, which was the third-largest smartphone vendor in the second quarter last year, dropped to the sixth spot with about 9.7 million in shipments, according to CNBC calculations. "It is the first quarter in history that domestic vendors dominate all the top five positions," said Lucas Zhong, research analyst at Canalys. Apple's shipments have been declining since the first quarter when they dropped 25% year on year to 10 million units.

Persons: Lucas Zhong, Zhong, Canalys Organizations: Apple Smart Products, Apple, Huawei, CNBC, Canalys, Apple Intelligence Locations: Nanjing, Shanghai, China

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Tesla, Spotify, Apple, GM, Alphabet, Imax, Disney & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Wednesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: RBC upgrades Estee Lauder to outperform from sector perform RBC said it sees an attractive risk/reward. Morgan Stanley reiterates Tesla as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's standing by shares of Tesla following the release of disappointing earnings. Morgan Stanley initiates Biohaven as overweight Morgan Stanley said it sees "value creation" for the biotech company. Morgan Stanley downgrades General Motors to equal weight from overweight Morgan Stanley said it sees a more "balanced" risk/reward for shares of GM. " Cantor Fitzgerald downgrades Tesla to neutral from overweight Cantor downgraded Tesla following earnings on Tuesday.

Persons: Lauder, Raymond James, Taylor Morrison, it's, Morgan Stanley, Tesla, Tesla's, TD Cowen, JFrog, Cowen, Lockheed Martin, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Smith, Stifel, GOOGL, Jefferies downgrades, Gamble, Jefferies, Piper Sandler downgrades Ulta, Piper, Gordon Haskett, Joel Anderson, Cantor Fitzgerald downgrades Tesla, Cantor Organizations: RBC, Taylor Morrison Homes, Tesla, Lockheed, Spotify, JPMorgan, Garden Entertainment, Apple JPMorgan, Apple, Jefferies downgrades Colgate, Palmolive, Procter, Colgate, Gamble, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche, Motors, GM, Barclays, Disney, Universal Studios, Davidson Locations: GenAI, Malibu

☆ Alphabet could be in for a tough period ahead, analysts warn
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Alphabet investors may want to prepare for some volatility moving forward. However, shares fell about 5% as the company also reported lower-than-expected YouTube advertising revenue. On top of that, Alphabet highlighted plans to boost capital expenditures as it races to meet rising artificial intelligence demand. That is due in part to tough advertising comparisons amid the anniversary of a particular strong period for Asia and Pacific retailers. The move to 'future proof' business Some analysts and investors are reading the tea leaves with a positive tilt, however.

Persons: Ruth Porat, Sundar Pichai, Porat, Mark Shmulik, Brent Thill, Benjamin Black, Ross Sandler, Gene Munster, Goldman Sachs, Eric Sheridan, Bank of America's Justin Post, Truist's Youssef Squali, Citi's Ronald Josey Organizations: Jefferies, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Bank of America's, DR Locations: Asia, Pacific

☆ Alphabet reports earnings after the market close. Here's how analysts see it playing out
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Sean Conlon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Alphabet is set to report second-quarter earnings after the market closes Tuesday, one of the first of the " Magnificent Seven " to post its results this earnings season. For Google search revenue, Wolfe Research estimates growth of 12.6% compared to the prior-year period. Wolfe has an outperform rating on Alphabet and a share price target of $240, implying more than 32% upside from Monday's close. Deutsche Bank, Bank of America and TD Cowen all increased their price targets on the stock heading into earnings. GOOGL mountain 2024-07-22 Alphabet, 2-day Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik also chooses to stay neutral, rating Alphabet market perform.

Persons: LSEG, Baird, Colin Sebastian, Wolfe, Shweta Khajuria, TD Cowen, Benjamin Black, Justin Post, John Blackledge, Barton Crockett, Rosenblatt, Bernstein, Mark Shmulik, Shmulik Organizations: Google, Wolfe Research, Deutsche Bank , Bank of America, Bank of America, YouTube, Rosenblatt Securities, Department of Justice, DOJ

☆ Autonomous AI workers that talk to each other will arrive in 2025, Capgemini predicts
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Such a system would entail a collection of agents that work together to solve tasks in a distributed and collaborative way, according to Capgemini. Brier said the so-called AI agents fall into two types: individual agents that carry out tasks on your behalf, and multi-agent technology or, "agents talking to agents." In 2023, the number of firms adopting generative AI was 6%, according to Capgemini, but this year, that number has risen to 24%. According to the report, 10% of firms with an annual revenue of $1 billion to $5 billion are implementing generative AI. In aerospace and defense, 88% of organizations have invested in generative AI, for retail, that number drops to 66%.

Persons: Pascal Brier, Capgemini, Brier, it's Organizations: Istock, CNBC, Brier Locations: U.S, Europe, Germany

Analyst Mauricio Serna also raised his price target to $20 from $13, indicating 57.6% upside potential from where shares closed on Thursday. Barclays also lowered its price target to $47 from $55, indicating 11.4% downside from Thursday's close. Analyst Benjamin Swinburne has a $780 price target on shares, indicating shares could rise 20% from Thursday's close. Cahall raised his price target to $758 from $726, suggesting nearly 18% upside potential from the stock's close price on Thursday. His new price target of $190, up from $107, implies upside of 20% from Thursday's close.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Mauricio Serna, Serna, — Hakyung Kim, Barclays downgrades Molson Coors, Lauren Lieberman, BUD YTD, Hakyung Kim, Benjamin Swinburne, Swinburne, Doug Anmuth, Anmuth, Wells, Steven Cahall, Cahall, Arm Holdings Morgan Stanley, Lee Simpson, Simpson, GenAI, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Netflix, Arm Holdings, UBS, Barclays downgrades, Barclays, bearish, Molson Coors, NFLX's, Holdings, ARM Locations: Serna, Thursday's, Wells Fargo

☆ Socialist AI: Chinese regulators are reviewing GenAI models for 'core socialist values,' FT reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Dylan Butts | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

AI companies in China are undergoing a government review of their large language models, aimed at ensuring they "embody core socialist values," according to a report by the Financial Times. The review is being carried out by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the government's chief internet regulator, and will cover players across the spectrum, from tech giants like ByteDance and Alibaba to small startups. AI models will be tested by local CAC officials for their responses to a variety of questions, many related to politically sensitive topics and Chinese President Xi Jinping, FT said. An anonymous source from a Hangzhou-based AI company who spoke with the FT said that their model didn't pass the first round of testing for unclear reasons. They only passed the second time after months of "guessing and adjusting," they said in the report.

Persons: Xi Jinping Organizations: Financial Times, Cyberspace Administration of China, CAC, U.S Locations: China, Hangzhou, Beijing

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Rivian, Nvidia, Apple, Micron, Microsoft, Sweetgreen, Tesla, Netflix & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Here are Wednesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Morgan Stanley reiterates Rivian as overweight Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Rivian to $17 per share from $13. UBS reiterates Apple as neutral UBS said it sees Apple results as "in-line" when the company reports on Aug. 1. UBS initiates Sweetgreen as buy UBS said the restaurant chain has "margin potential." Guggenheim reiterates Netflix as buy Guggenheim said it's sticking with its buy rating on Netflix heading into earnings Thursday. UBS reiterates Micron as buy UBS said it's sticking with its buy rating on shares of Micron.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Rivian, Jefferies, Bernstein, TD Cowen downgrades Charles Schwab, Cowen, Schwab, it's, Morgan Stanley downgrades, TD Cowen, 2H24, Tesla, Oppenheimer downgrades Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer, Guggenheim, Needham Organizations: VW, Susquehanna, Nvidia, AMD, UBS, Apple, Chevron, bbl, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche, Valero, Mizuho, Citi, Hershey Citi, TD Cowen downgrades, Airlines, Barclays, MasterCard Citi, Mastercard, " Bank of America, Bank of America, Enterprise, NASDAQ, HSBC, Qualcomm, Netflix, Micron, Microsoft

☆ Huma, a London-based healthcare startup, just raised $80 million to offer new AI services using this 11-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Read previewHuma, an AI digital healthcare company, has raised $80 million in Series D funding. "AI is core to how we build scalable digital health solutions," Huma CEO Dan Vahdat, told Business Insider. "It is a challenging environment for digital health companies in general, particularly with the public markets being down," Vahdat added. The company's $80 million Series D funding round was raised by new and existing investors such as AstraZeneca, Hat Technology Fund 4 by HAT SGR, HV Fund by Hitachi Ventures, and Leaps by Bayer. Check out Huma's 11-slide Series D pitch deck below:

Persons: —, Dan Vahdat, Huma, Sifted, Vahdat Organizations: Service, Business, Bayer, AstraZeneca, Hat Technology, HAT, Hitachi Ventures Locations: Swedish

☆ Dell employees used the company's signature corporate survey to tell bosses how they feel after its RTO push
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The company runs an annual employee engagement survey called "Tell Dell." "Frankly, most people I work with were expecting a steeper decline," said another Dell employee. The results are covered in detail with every team member along with action plans to address employee concerns," one Dell employee explained. Related stories"It's as if every leader was given the OK to ignore it," said one Dell employee. "In the Tell Dell Survey, our team members shared that they believe their leaders treat them with respect, uphold the company's Culture Code values and offer flexibility to balance work/life."

Persons: —, there's, Dell, I've, Jenn Saavedra, Saavedra, Brandon Bell Organizations: Service, Business, Dell, Employees, Tell Dell Survey, Getty, Workers, Wall, Deutsche Bank, Deloitte Locations: Texas, Rock , Texas

☆ Competitions and pig roast prizes: Here's how private equity firm THL is getting its portfolio companies to embrace generative AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It's a juicy prize for winning a generative AI coding competition hosted by Inriver's owners, private equity firm Thomas H. Lee. It's one way the Boston-based buyout firm has been able to implement generative AI coding assistants among its portfolio of middle-market companies. The goal is to accelerate software development so that portfolio companies can do more work with the same amount of resources. He also persists that deploying generative AI coding assistants is not a cost exercise, but a means to productivity. Now, the key for the SRG is educating portfolio companies on what problems AI can fix and which it can't.

Persons: Thomas H, Lee, Mark Benaquista, Benaquista, THL, Github, Alex Sabel, Sabel, Jagjit Singh, He's, Singh, it's Organizations: Service, THL's Strategic Resources Group, Engineering, THL, Boston, Apple Watch, Apple Locations: Philippine, Boston, genAI, India, Netherlands, Philippines

☆ Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Tesla, Microsoft, Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices and more
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-15 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the iPhone maker to $273 per share from $216. Morgan Stanley downgrades BP to equal weight from overweight Morgan Stanley downgraded the oil major due to "weak earnings." Morgan Stanley reiterates Microsoft as overweight Morgan Stanley said it has "increased clarity" on AI monetization. Citi names KLA Corp. a top pick Citi raised its price target on the semiconductor equipment maker to $980 from $760. Morgan Stanley downgrades Rocket Lab to equal weight from overweight Morgan Stanley said it sees a "limited catalyst path" for the space company.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Apple, Morgan Stanley downgrades, TD Cowen, Teck, Baird, CARR, Zeta, John Donovan, AAPL, Wells, Tesla, underperform Wells, it's, Evercore, it's bullish, DDOG Organizations: Netflix, Nvidia, Devices, AMD, Citi, Electronic Arts, College Football, BMO, Teck Resources, JPMorgan, Biosciences, Zeta Global, Citi downgrades Bank of New York Mellon, Bank, New York Mellon, Apple, IOL, Amazon, UW, CIO, Susquehanna, Caesars, MGM, PENN, Bank of America, KLA Corp, OW, Department of Defense Locations: 2H24, Dell, Teck, TSLA, Las Vegas

Bank of America, meanwhile, raised its price target on Costco after the company announced an increase to its membership fees. Analyst James Heaney assumed coverage of Roblox with a hold rating — down from a buy — and $42 price target, which implies a 5.9% potential increase. Rakers' new target price suggests the stock — which is up 24.8% this year — could gain another 11.4%. Analyst Robert Ohmes upped his price target by $88 to $962 on Costco, suggesting shares could gain 8.8%. Its price target of $385 implies upside of 26.2% from Wednesday's close.

Persons: Jefferies, Roblox, downgrades, James Heaney, Heaney, RBLX, — Pia Singh, Wells, Aaron Rakers, Rakers, Wamsi Mohan, Mohan, There's, Robert Ohmes, Ohmes, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Spotify Technology, Bank of America, Costco, Silo AI, Silo, AMD, Apple, of America, Apple's, Conference, U.S, Apple Vision, America, Jefferies, Spotify Locations: Wells Fargo, Europe, North America, Nod.ai, U.S, China, India, Canada, Wednesday's

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Amazon, Spotify, AMD, Uber, McDonald's, Broadcom & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Thursday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Morgan Stanley reiterates Eli Lilly as overweight Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock to $1,083 per share from $1,023. "We are initiating RBBN with a Buy rating and $5 price target because the investment thesis has significantly improved." Rosenblatt reiterates Broadcom as buy Rosenblatt raised its price target on the stock to a Street high $2,400. Morgan Stanley downgrades Microchip to equal weight from overweight Morgan Stanley said the semis company has a "lofty" valuation. Morgan Stanley upgrades Telefonica Brasil to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said it's bullish on shares of the LatAm telecom company.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Eli Lilly, Rosenblatt, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Mizuho, Truist, Wells, Guggenheim, it's, Jefferies downgrades Darden, Jefferies, Roblox, VIV, OW, Uber, McDonald's Organizations: Broadcom, AVGO, " Bank of America, Apple, Bank of America, JPMorgan, Nvidia, Digital Realty, Mizuho, Services, AMD, Silo AI, KBW, Guggenheim, Costco, Jefferies, Spotify, Telefonica Brasil, Energy, Uber, CART Locations: NYC, Europe, underperform, Olive, China

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