| From: Julius Wong | 1/27/2025 2:34:07 PM | | | | | | Former Intel CEO blasts market for DeepSeek overreaction
Jan. 27, 2025 2:10 PM ET
By: Brandon Evans, SA News Editor
 Michael M. Santiago
Intel's (NASDAQ: INTC) former CEO Pat Gelsinger called out the market for overreacting to the news of China's DeepSeek artificial intelligence model.
AI stocks collapsed across the board on Monday as DeepSeek's chatbot rose to the top of the most downloaded app on Apple's ( AAPL) App Store.
However, Gelsinger pointed out that if DeepSeek proves that large language models can be created with less computing power, it stands to reason AI will grow even more.
"Wisdom is learning the lessons we thought we already knew," Gelsinger said in a post on X. "DeepSeek reminds us of three important learnings from computing history: 1) Computing obeys the gas law. Making it dramatically cheaper will expand the market for it. The markets are getting it wrong, this will make AI much more broadly deployed. 2) Engineering is about constraints. The Chinese engineers had limited resources, and they had to find creative solutions. 3) Open Wins. DeepSeek will help reset the increasingly closed world of foundational AI model work. Thank you DeepSeek team." |
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| From: Julius Wong | 1/28/2025 3:40:12 PM | | | | | | Oaktree Capital’s Howard Marks: The era of low rates not returning any time soon
Jan. 28, 2025 3:11 PM ET
By: Monica L. Correa, SA News Editor
 Dilok Klaisataporn
Investors who profited greatly during the era of “easy money” should not expect the same strategies to deliver such exceptional returns moving forward, said Howard Marks, co-founder of Oaktree Capital Group.
“I don’t believe that the next 10 years will be characterized by declining interest rates or ultra-low interest rates,” he said, during the Miami Hedge Fund Week at the Global Alts conference.
He said that overestimating the fundamentals of large-cap companies is dangerous and weighted on the “irrationality of the markets” while the Federal Reserve is shifting away from ultra-low interest rates.
Speaking about the frenzy seen on Monday over Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek causing a big Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) selloff, he said that “if it were just objective, clinical, unemotional investors looking at Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), there would be no reason why yesterday’s news should knock all these other things down.”
“It just shows you the pervasiveness of psychology and the irrationality of the markets in the short run,” he said.
Also, in a recent note to clients, Marks he cautioned about above-average stock valuations, including the Magnificent Seven stocks – Nvidia ( NVDA), Apple ( AAPL), Meta ( META), Tesla ( TSLA), Microsoft ( MSFT), Amazon ( AMZN), and Alphabet ( GOOGL) – as well the fact that large-cap stocks have seen “automated buying…without regard for their intrinsic value.”
“Everybody should look at their holdings and try to make sure that the things they own, they own based on strong and improving fundamentals,” he said. “If you can get low single-digit returns from the S&P 500 with great uncertainty and 7.3% from high-yield bonds contractually, isn’t it better?” |
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| From: Julius Wong | 1/28/2025 3:42:53 PM | | | | | | Novo Nordisk's Ozempic gets FDA approval for kidney disease
Jan. 28, 2025 3:15 PM ET
By: Val Brickates Kennedy, SA News Editor
 hapabapa
Novo Nordisk ( NVO) said its popular diabetes drug Ozempic, also known as semaglutide, has been approved to reduce the risk of kidney disease worsening, kidney failure, and death from cardiovascular disease in adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
The Danish drugmaker said the approval makes semaglutide the first GLP-1 RA drug approved for the indication. Semaglutide is also approved for weight loss and is marketed for that indication under the name Wegovy.
In 2020, Ozempic was granted additional approval to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death in adults with type 2 diabetes with known heart disease.
Semaglutide's main competitor in the GLP-1 RA therapy market is Eli Lilly's ( LLY) tirzepatide, which is marketed for diabetes as Mounjaro and for weight loss as Zepbound.
Other companies working on GLP-1 drugs include AstraZeneca ( AZN), Amgen ( AMGN), Pfizer ( PFE), Roche ( OTCQX:RHHBY), Altimmune ( ALT), Viking Therapeutics ( VKTX), Zealand Pharma ( OTCPK:ZLDPF), Terns Pharmaceuticals ( TERN) and Structure Therapeutics ( GPCR). |
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| From: Julius Wong | 1/28/2025 7:11:32 PM | | | | | | Steve Cohen says DeepSeek’s disruption ‘bullish’ for AI landscape
Jan. 28, 2025 5:53 PM ET
By: Carla Mozee, SA News Editor
 sankai/E+ via Getty Images
Point72 Asset Management’s founder Steven Cohen sees the emergence of Chinese startup DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence technology as beneficial to the industry, according to media reports Tuesday.
The billionaire investor offered his view after U.S. stocks ( SPX) ( COMP:IND) slid Monday, triggered by DeepSeek's updates that highlighted its powerful, low-cost AI model. AI chip behemoth Nvidia’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) market cap was slashed by nearly $600B in the selloff.
"Our view is that what happened with DeepSeek is actually bullish because it advances the move to artificial intelligence," Cohen said in Miami at the iConnections Global Alts conference, Bloomberg reported.
"There'll be new companies that will use these tools and start hearing about that,” Cohen said about growth in AI, according to Reuters.
Point72 Turion, an AI-focused fund launched by Cohen’s firm, has already returned 14% since its October launch, bolstering it to ~$1.5B, Reuters reported.
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) closed up +8.9% on Tuesday. |
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| From: Julius Wong | 2/2/2025 8:42:32 PM | | | | | | Notable analyst calls this week: Nvidia, Coca-Cola and AMD stocks among top picks
Feb. 01, 2025 9:37 AM ET
By: Tiyashi Datta, SA News Editor
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The S&P500 ( SP500) closed in the red on Friday, after the week saw a massive sell-off of AI-related stocks sparked by worries around Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek, as well as earnings reports from mega companies including Apple, Microsoft and Meta.
For the week, Nasdaq ( COMP:IND) gained 1.8%, while Dow ( DJI) rose 0.4%.
Wall Street had a slew of upgrades and downgrades from analysts. Here are some of the major calls for the week:
AMD downgraded by Melius over Nvidia competition concern
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) was downgraded to Hold from Buy by Melius Research, due to a lowered outlook for x86 servers and PCs for AMD.
The research and investment firm believes Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) will slice into AMD's market share in these two areas. Melius also slashed its PT on AMD to $129 from $160.
"We think Nvidia is going to increasingly 'come for them' in both markets with their Arm-based CPUs that are optimized for accelerated PCs," said Melius analyst Ben Reitzes.
Nvidia upgraded after DeepSeek rout wipes off billions
Nvidia ( NVDA) was upgraded by Tigress Financial from Buy to Strong Buy, after the Jensen Huang-led company experienced a rout in its stock related to Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek that wiped off nearly $600B in market cap.
The brokerage argued that Nvidia continues to be a core holding in the powerful AI investing theme and the industry-leading beneficiary of the significant capital investment in AI development. The brokerage increases its 12-month PT to $220 on the stock.
Analysts remains bullish on Meta following quarterly report
Benchmark upgraded Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) to Buy from Hold following its quarterly results and said it was encouraged by its core business outlook.
"We are intrigued with the beginning development of AI engineering agents that can code and problem-solve like “a good mid-level engineer,” Benchmark said and set a PT of $820 on the stock.
Similarly, most of the Wall Street brokerages, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, RBC and Barclays appreciated Meta’s earnings report and maintained their bullish stance on the company.
Moderna downgraded on lack of sales outlook clarity
Goldman Sachs downgraded Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) to Neutral from Buy, citing a lack of clarity over its revenue outlook.
The COVID-19 vaccine maker slashed its 2025 revenue guidance, citing low demand for its respiratory vaccines targeted at COVID and respiratory syncytial virus.
While the revised outlook appears feasible, it "leads us to believe MRNA has limited visibility on the revenue stream for the respiratory vaccine business," analyst Salveen Richter wrote, slashing her PT on the stock to $51 from $99 per share.
Kinross Gold double-upgraded at BofA ahead of Q4 results
Kinross Gold (NYSE: KGC) is raised to Buy from Underperform by BofA ahead of its fourth quarter results.
BofA analysts led by Lawson Winder see Kinross Gold ( KGC) as well-positioned into Q4 2024 results with potential catalysts in 2025, and materially increases their outlooks for 2026 earnings per share and production to 2M gold equivalent oz.
Meanwhile, the brokerage downgrades Barrick Gold (NYSE: GOLD) to Neutral with an $18 PT, citing increased risk around guidance, particularly relating to the Loulo-Gounkoto mine in Mali.
Jefferies sees Coca-Cola's business in 'great shape', upgrades to Buy
Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) was upgraded by Jefferies to Buy from Neutral, ahead of earnings. Analyst Kaumil Gajrawala’s said the company’s business is in great shape.
While the recent strength in the U.S. dollar is seen leading to 2025 earnings numbers being revised lower, Gajrawala and his team think that expectation is already priced into valuation.
Datadog (NASDAQ: DDOG) was downgraded to Hold from Buy by Stifel, citing revenue growth and margin headwind over the course of FY25. The firm also lowered its PT to $140 from $165.
Goldman Sachs upgraded Twilio's (NYSE: TWLO) rating to Buy from Neutral and raised PT to $185 from $77, with analyst Kash Rangan saying that after several years of growth compression and several strategic actions, Twilio is now hitting an inflection point both in terms of narrative and fundamentals.
Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ: AFRM) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell by Compass Point. The brokerage said, "the flywheel benefit of multiple quarters of higher growth and the potential to continue that trend in the near-term should drive material expense leverage and push AFRM towards GAAP profitability in FY25, potentially as soon as 3Q25." |
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| From: Julius Wong | 2/5/2025 11:55:31 AM | | | | | | The top 10 Growth stocks by BofA: ALL, CRWD, DOW, and more
Feb. 05, 2025 11:14 AM ET
By: Monica L. Correa, SA News Editor
Bank of America updated their “Growth 10” stocks, which are the 10 highest ranking growth stocks according to their methodology.
Analysts replaced Uber Technologies ( UBER) by Merck & Co. ( MRK) as the BofA vs. Consensus EPS Surprise rating fell below 5 for Uber ( UBER).
Criteria for the “Growth 10” stocks includes a BofA vs. Consensus EPS Surprise rating of 1; a “buy” opinion; the stock must be rated top 1 or 2 by BofA vs. Consensus EPS Surprise model for less than 10 months; and be part of the select 10 stocks with the highest five-year projected EPS growth rate.
This group is up 7.3% year-to-date, compared to 2.7% for the S&P 500 Growth ( IVW). Also, their annual total return for 2024 is 29%.
Here is the full list:
- Allstate Corp. ( ALL) – Next five-year EPS growth: 172.7
- CrowdStrike ( CRWD) – Next five-year EPS growth: 55.0
- Dow Inc. ( DOW) – Next five-year EPS growth: 32.5
- KKR & Co. Inc. ( KKR) – Next five-year EPS growth: 28.6
- Eli Lilly & Co. ( LLY) – Next five-year EPS growth: 44.8
- Meta Platforms ( META) – Next five-year EPS growth: 13.8
- Merck & Co. ( MRK) – Next five-year EPS growth: 54.9
- Netflix ( NFLX) – Next five-year EPS growth: 22.9
- Progressive Corp. ( PGR) – Next five-year EPS growth: 15.9
- Warner Bros. ( WBD) – Next five-year EPS growth: 13.2
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| From: Julius Wong | 2/8/2025 12:24:02 PM | | | | | | Notable analyst calls this week: AMD, Skyworks and Nike stocks among top picks
Feb. 08, 2025 9:35 AM ET
By: Tiyashi Datta, SA News Editor
The S&P500 ( SP500) closed in the red on Friday, after investors digested another wave of corporate earnings report from major firms including Alphabet ( GOOG), Amazon ( AMZN) and Qualcomm ( QCOM).
For the week, Nasdaq ( COMP:IND) gained 2%, while Dow ( DJI) rose 0.7%.
Wall Street had a slew of upgrades and downgrades from analysts. Here are some of the major calls for the week:
AMD downgraded by Citi after Q4 results
Citi downgraded Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) to Neutral from Buy, following the chipmaker’s fourth quarter results, wherein Data Center revenue missed expectations.
Citi analyst Christopher Danely said AMD reported decent results and that the company did not provide Al revenue guidance, and it appears AMD’s Al revenue is flat to down for the first half of 2025 with margin dilution. The brokerage cut PT to $110 from $170.
However, KeyBanc and Evercore reiterated their bullish rating on AMD.
Skyworks downgraded as Apple plans to cut content demand for new iPhone
Stifel downgraded Skyworks Solutions (SKWS) to Hold from Buy, after the company reported that its largest customer, Apple, plans to reduce its dependence on the company for its iPhone 17 model.
"iPhones represent ~85% of Apple-related revenue for SWKS, so this dynamic is expected to significantly impact F4Q (we forecast <$900mn in revenue vs. ~$1.05bn consensus prior to the print) and FY26 (we forecast $3.6bn-$3.7bn range vs. ~$3.99bn prior consensus)," said Stifel analyst Ruben Roy. The brokerage reduced PT by about 40% to $62 from $105.
B. Riley Securities also downgraded Skyworks to Neutral from Buy, while Mizuho downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform.
Palantir receives praises from analysts after quarterly results
Morgan Stanley upgraded Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) to Equal-weight from Underweight and increased PT to $95 from $60, after fourth quarter results and outlook beat expectations.
Analysts led by Sanjit Singh said as fundamentals are improving and the likelihood that this proves durable given the stronger 2025 outlook, their original downside catalysts are unlikely to materialize.
BofA also reiterated its Buy rating, while Jefferies maintained its Underperform rating but upped the price target to $60 from $28.
Nike downgraded by Citi, Deckers receives upgrade
Citi downgraded Nike (NYSE: NKE) to Neutral from Buy, saying the sportswear giant’s turnaround plan will take even longer than anticipated as management acknowledged the competitive threat in running and challenges in earning back lost shelf space.
“We no longer have the patience or conviction to wait another year, especially with the stock trading at 39x our FY26EPS and 28x our FY26 EBITDA,” noted Paul Lejuez, lowering his FY26 EPS estimate by 24% to $1.84 based on weaker sales and gross margin.
Meanwhile, Lejuez upgraded Deckers Outdoor (NYSE: DECK), the parent company of footwear disrupter HOKA, to Buy from Neutral. The brokerage said the 25% selloff in shares after Q3 results is unwarranted and was largely driven by fears of slowing growth in its HOKA label, which Citi viewed as “misunderstood/unwarranted.”
Regeneron upgraded by Leerink to Outperform
Leerink Partners upgraded Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) to Outperform from Market Perform citing growth opportunities despite recent share weakness.
Analyst David Risinger projects that Eylea HD performance will improve in the second half of the year and uptake of Dupixent in COPD will help drive growth in 2025. The investment firm raised its price target to $834 from $762.
Cirrus Logic raised by Benchmark on solid quarter
Benchmark upgraded Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ: CRUS) to Buy from Hold following the company's fiscal third-quarter 2025 results.
Analyst David Williams said they were upgrading the shares and setting a $125 price target after the company "turned in a solid" third-quarter performance, beating revenue and earnings by a wide margin, with a healthy upside to the fourth-quarter outlook.
Morgan Stanley reiterated Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) as its Top Pick, noting that DeepSeek ( DEEPSEEK) selloff is a buying opportunity. Analyst Joseph Moore said that sentiment has worsened around potential longer-term risks, but near-term business continues to be firm.
BofA downgraded STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) to Neutral from Buy, citing relative preference for Infineon Technologies ( OTCQX:IFNNY). The analysts think STMicroelectronics' shares could benefit from a cyclical improvement in the second half of 2025 but believe that investors will prefer to leverage it via Infineon — due to its AI server power management and Automotive microcontroller units market share gains.
Jefferies upgraded Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) to buy from hold, citing management's "impressive" EPS track record. Jefferies raised its price target for the stock to $150 from $140. |
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