The cyclicality of the semiconductor industry might give some investors pause, even as the memory chip makers continue to skyrocket past expectations and the price targets set in place by sell-side analysts. Names like Micron (NASDAQ:MU) and SK Hynix have been simply unstoppable of late. That is, until we had that brutal Friday session that ... Is Micron Quietly Preparing for the Collapse in AI De...
The cyclicality of the semiconductor industry might give some investors pause, even as the memory chip makers continue to skyrocket past expectations and the price targets set in place by sell-side analysts. Names like Micron (NASDAQ:MU) and SK Hynix have been simply unstoppable of late. That is, until we had that brutal Friday session that ... Is Micron Quietly Preparing for the Collapse in AI Demand?
gopixa/iStock via Getty Images Stocks swooned on Friday after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy created 172,000 jobs last month, driving interest rates higher and shifting sentiment firmly towards a rate hike by the Federal Reserve as soon as October. Rates have been on the rise in lockstep with higher inflation readings, but stock prices were immune until valuations in the ...
gopixa/iStock via Getty Images Stocks swooned on Friday after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy created 172,000 jobs last month, driving interest rates higher and shifting sentiment firmly towards a rate hike by the Federal Reserve as soon as October. Rates have been on the rise in lockstep with higher inflation readings, but stock prices were immune until valuations in the technology sector hit extremes that were not sustainable. Hence, the Nasdaq 100 had its worst day in more than a year on Friday, as investors took profits on this year’s biggest gainers. Considering that the AI-fueled technology sector now dominates such a large percentage of the major market indexes, it comes as no surprise that we saw such a large broad-based market decline. Metlife Yet investors were not selling everything, as money rotated out of this year’s leaders into those sectors that are more defensive and present a better value proposition. This is because we are not in the midst of an economic downturn or a decline in earnings growth rates. This is purely a valuation issue where investors were overly concentrated in the largest companies with the fastest growth rates, which were extremely overbought. We took one step towards correcting that on Friday, but if interest rates continue to rise, then the correction process may continue until long-term interest rates peak alongside the spike in war-induced inflation. As I have been preaching, the summer months are likely to introduce a period of consolidation. Finviz During the final stages of the internet bubble in 1999, my father gave me a great piece of investment advice, which was to never invest in a stock that was trading at 10 times sales. The reason being that such a lofty valuation would inevitably lead to a significant correction in that stock’s price once the growth rate in revenues and earnings peaked and started to slow. We saw an example of this after chipmaker Broadcom gave disappointing guidance last w...
RollingCamera/iStock via Getty Images Showcase Intro In May, we welcomed 24 new analysts who published their first-ever article on Seeking Alpha. In this article, our editors highlight some of the best ideas from these new analysts and introduce them. The first five introductions are spotlight features, including a longer excerpt from the analyst's article. The rest of the new analysts will be int...
RollingCamera/iStock via Getty Images Showcase Intro In May, we welcomed 24 new analysts who published their first-ever article on Seeking Alpha. In this article, our editors highlight some of the best ideas from these new analysts and introduce them. The first five introductions are spotlight features, including a longer excerpt from the analyst's article. The rest of the new analysts will be introduced after these, with a more brief excerpt, and are generally organized by rating from Strong Sell to Strong Buy . Each section includes details about the new analysts' interests and backgrounds, so you can get to know them a bit more. With all the ideas and information shared in this article, we'd invite you to join the conversation and let others know what you think: are any of these picks worth following up on ? To our new analysts: welcome to the community ! And please don't hesitate to share more in the comments to introduce yourself t o our readers. Top Stock Picks From Seeking Alpha's New Analysts Peter Richman | How To Own SpaceX Through Alphabet Shares: The Pre-IPO Strategy Biography: “Peter Richman, MD, MBA, brings a scientific and evidence-based approach to momentum investing and technical market analysis developed through an academic career as a Professor of Emergency Medicine and, previously, serving as Vice Chair for Research at the Mayo Clinic Hospital. Drawing from decades of experience in clinical research, including the development and evaluation of risk assessment algorithms in emergency medicine, he applies principles of statistical analysis, probability risk stratification, and evidence-based modeling to financial markets and tactical asset allocation. ” Buy | “Direct SpaceX ownership remains difficult for retail investors. Current publicly traded vehicles like DestinyTech100 that hold private shares of the company often carry irrational premiums to net asset value (150%+). Alphabet Inc. ( GOOG , GOOGL ) share ownership offers a liquid, institutiona...
In response to AI’s hyperrealism, artists and creatives are gravitating toward the homespun and imperfect Earlier this year, a group of film-makers, commercial directors and AI industry influencers gathered in New York City for the Runway AI Summit – a daylong hype-fest, trumping up the potential of this new technology. During one talk, Rob Wrubel, co-founder and managing partner at San Francisco ...
In response to AI’s hyperrealism, artists and creatives are gravitating toward the homespun and imperfect Earlier this year, a group of film-makers, commercial directors and AI industry influencers gathered in New York City for the Runway AI Summit – a daylong hype-fest, trumping up the potential of this new technology. During one talk, Rob Wrubel, co-founder and managing partner at San Francisco ad firm Silverside, talked up his work on the Coca-Cola company’s AI-generated 2025 Holiday Caravan ad . “What’s incredible about AI,” Wrubel said, “is that you can go from script to production is just two weeks!” What Wrubel failed to mention was that the ad – with its computerized polar bears and fake-looking trundling delivery trucks – was widely despised by pretty much anyone who saw it. Indeed, the public distaste for the campaign became its own news story, spawning headlines like “People really don’t like Coke’s AI holiday commercial” and “Coca-Cola’s New AI Holiday Ad is a Sloppy Eyesore” . It may indeed have been quickly conceived – and it looked like it. Reached for comment about the backlash, Wrubel admits: “The conversation around the ad became almost as important as the ad itself because it surfaced questions the entire creative industry is wrestling with right now.” Continue reading...
Welcome to the Brussels Edition. I’m Sam Stolton, European Union competition reporter with Bloomberg, bringing you the latest from the EU. Make sure you’re signed up . The EU’s appetite for consolidation is growing — putting the bloc’s ambitions to foster European champions to the test. After months of speculation, billionaire Patrick Drahi over the weekend agreed to sell French mobile carrier SFR...
Welcome to the Brussels Edition. I’m Sam Stolton, European Union competition reporter with Bloomberg, bringing you the latest from the EU. Make sure you’re signed up . The EU’s appetite for consolidation is growing — putting the bloc’s ambitions to foster European champions to the test. After months of speculation, billionaire Patrick Drahi over the weekend agreed to sell French mobile carrier SFR to a consortium of rival telecom operators in a €20.4 billion ($23.5 billion) deal that could reshape France’s communications market and test regulators’ openness to consolidation. Bouygues Telecom, Orange and Iliad signed a memorandum of understanding with Drahi’s Altice France, the companies said in separate statements. The deal remains subject to regulatory approval and could still fall apart. Following the weekend agreement, “eyes now switch to a pivotal and likely protracted competition review,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Aidan Cheslin said. The European Commission’s recent rhetoric in favor of greater consolidation is being viewed positively, he added, while commitments by the acquiring firms to protect jobs are likely to be welcomed. If completed, the SFR buyout would rank among Europe’s largest telecom deals of the past decade. It would also effectively reduce the number of nationwide telecom operators in France from four to three — a type of consolidation that Brussels has historically scrutinized closely. But the mood in the EU capital has shifted in recent months, and boardrooms are increasingly preparing to take advantage of a policy rethink toward deals that may once have faced steeper regulatory hurdles. In April, the commission unveiled plans to make it easier for European companies to merge, part of a broader effort to create firms with the scale needed to compete against US and Chinese rivals. The policy has become a central pillar of commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s second-term agenda. As a result, a growing number of headline-grabbing tran...