jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Investment Overview I remain the only Seeking Alpha analyst to have awarded health insurance giant Elevance Health, Inc. ( ELV ) stock a Sell rating , back in April 2024, but it has proven the right call to date - stock is down >20% since that note, trading at $393 pre-market today, valuing Elevance at a market cap of $85.4bn. In fact, Elevance stock ...
jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Investment Overview I remain the only Seeking Alpha analyst to have awarded health insurance giant Elevance Health, Inc. ( ELV ) stock a Sell rating , back in April 2024, but it has proven the right call to date - stock is down >20% since that note, trading at $393 pre-market today, valuing Elevance at a market cap of $85.4bn. In fact, Elevance stock has sunk as low as $293 per share, as recently as March this year, and down >40% since my note, but since that nadir it has gained ~34%. Since I upgraded my rating to a Hold in October 2024, the stock is down 12%, but given the general recovery in the health insurance market in 2026 to date, after torrid years in 2024 / 2025, in this note I'll consider if a further ELV upgrade is due. Elevance Joins Sector Recovery With Positive Q1 Earnings selected health insurers - 5 year performance (TradingView) If we look at the chart above, tracking the 5-year share price performance of selected health insurers Elevance, UnitedHealth ( UNH ), CVS Health ( CVS ), Cigna ( CI ), and Centene ( CNC ), we can see how stock prices crashed in 2024 and 2025, but also how the recovery has begun in earnest in 2026, although so far, only CVS and Cigna stocks are up on a 5-year basis. What caused the poor performance in 2024 / 2025? Chiefly, rising healthcare utilization by members, versus lower than expected payment rates from the U.S. government particularly for Medicare Advantage ("MA") plans. Elevance's biggest share price drop occurred in late 2024 - as I wrote in my last note, discussing its Q3 2024 earnings: The company reported operating revenues for the quarter of $44.7bn - up $2.2bn year-on-year - however its benefit expense ratio, which is a measure of an insurer's expenses for underwriting insurance against the revenues it receives from those policies - increased by 270 basis points to 89.5%. In 2023, Elevance's benefit expense ratio was 87% (lower is better), in 2024, 88.5%, and last ...
LifeMD ( LFMD ) announced on Monday the appointment of Umesh Sripad as chief technology officer ( CTO ), effective immediately. The company stated that Sripad will lead LifeMD’s technology strategy, platform transformation, AI enablement, cybersecurity, data infrastructure, and enterprise scalability initiatives as the company continues its rapid expansion. The firm highlighted that it will grant ...
LifeMD ( LFMD ) announced on Monday the appointment of Umesh Sripad as chief technology officer ( CTO ), effective immediately. The company stated that Sripad will lead LifeMD’s technology strategy, platform transformation, AI enablement, cybersecurity, data infrastructure, and enterprise scalability initiatives as the company continues its rapid expansion. The firm highlighted that it will grant Sripad 150,000 restricted stock units, of which 75,000 units will vest based on his continued service, with 25,000 units vesting on each of the first, second, and third anniversaries of his appointment, and an additional 75,000 units will vest based on the company’s achievement of performance targets. Sripad joined LifeMD from PetMeds, where he served as c hief digital and technology officer and led enterprise-wide transformation across digital commerce, pharmacy technology, data platforms, customer experience, and core enterprise systems. Before PetMeds, Sripad served as chief product officer at PureRED, a private equity-backed digital commerce and marketing technology company. Earlier in his career, he held the role of SVP and c hief digital officer at Bed Bath & Beyond and c hief digital officer for IKEA USA. He has also held executive roles at Overstock.com, CNN, and The Weather Channel. Source: press release More on LifeMD LifeMD: Comparing The High Yield Preferred Stock To An Options Income Strategy LifeMD: Wegovy Pill, Net Cash, And Low Multiple Sets Up Longs For Possible Alpha Lifemd reaffirms 2026 guidance of $220M-$230M revenue and $12M-$17M adjusted EBITDA as it targets $250M+ run-rate revenue by Q4 LifeMD GAAP EPS of -$0.20 beats by $0.03, revenue of $50.2M beats by $1.32M
Inside The Major Bill Poised To Reshape The US Housing Market Authored by Andrew Moran via The Epoch Times, The United States may be on track to implement the first comprehensive housing legislation in decades. For the past several years, housing affordability has been a significant subject across the country, with many young people struggling to achieve the dream of homeownership. Lawmakers on bo...
Inside The Major Bill Poised To Reshape The US Housing Market Authored by Andrew Moran via The Epoch Times, The United States may be on track to implement the first comprehensive housing legislation in decades. For the past several years, housing affordability has been a significant subject across the country, with many young people struggling to achieve the dream of homeownership. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have tried to reverse the trend by advancing the 21st Century Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act of 2025. Here is a look inside the sweeping housing package and the path to passage. Inside the Act Although the current administration has examined strategies to expand access to the housing market, the bipartisan legislative initiative aims to bolster supply for middle-class families. The bill’s main provision is a limit on institutional investors’ purchases of single-family homes. Both chambers tweaked the proposal. The Senate approved language that requires major investors who build single‑family rental homes to sell those properties within seven years. The House’s version still aims to rein in Wall Street’s footprint in the single‑family market, but its latest draft eases the restrictions. Lawmakers added wider exemptions for institutional buyers of newly constructed rentals, homes needing substantial renovation, and several other categories. Other measures aim to facilitate more construction, including incentives to build more homes, convert abandoned buildings into housing, and modernize existing homes. In addition, Washington bolstered eligible income limits for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, a federal block grant program that state and local governments use to build, maintain, and support affordable housing for low‑income households. Officials created a Housing Supply Framework to enable best practices in state and local zoning and land use. The legislative text also expands banks’ authority to make public w...
International money transfer service’s shares tumble as it confirms discussions with prosecutor’s office Business live – latest updates Wise, the UK-based international money transfer service and darling of the London fintech scene, has confirmed it is answering questions from Belgian prosecutors investigating money laundering, sending its shares tumbling. In a statement to the stock market , Wise...
International money transfer service’s shares tumble as it confirms discussions with prosecutor’s office Business live – latest updates Wise, the UK-based international money transfer service and darling of the London fintech scene, has confirmed it is answering questions from Belgian prosecutors investigating money laundering, sending its shares tumbling. In a statement to the stock market , Wise said it was “currently working with the Brussels prosecutor to respond to queries about our business, as we routinely do with regulators and law-enforcement authorities. Continue reading...
Alexey_Fedoren Craig-Hallum downgraded Corsair Gaming's ( CRSR ) rating to Hold from Buy with a $10 price target, expecting "a rougher consumer macro through FY26." Shares of Corsair tumbled about 15% on Monday. "We are stepping to the sidelines as we believe retail investors have misinterpreted product releases and have falsely driven the stock price higher. Further, we note CRSR will likely face...
Alexey_Fedoren Craig-Hallum downgraded Corsair Gaming's ( CRSR ) rating to Hold from Buy with a $10 price target, expecting "a rougher consumer macro through FY26." Shares of Corsair tumbled about 15% on Monday. "We are stepping to the sidelines as we believe retail investors have misinterpreted product releases and have falsely driven the stock price higher. Further, we note CRSR will likely face impacted gross margins as we expect further memory price increases in 2026. Recall, we believe CRSR has enough lower-cost memory inventory for margin benefit through Q2, but we believe margins will face significant downward pressure in 2H26. We don’t believe the shift to higher margin products will be enough to offset memory impacts," said the analysts. The analysts noted that memory revenues were 42% of total revenues in the March quarter. The analysts added that while management believes they can grow their peripheral business double digits year-over-year, they noted that this implies a softer component business outlook. Though the analysts expect Corsair to benefit from the pickup in AI and from the PC launch of GTA 6 potentially in 2027/2028, overall they are cautious about consumer spending in 2026 and believe continued memory price increases will eat into the company's margins. "We believe multiple compression in the industry is imminent. Therefore, we are downgrading shares to a Hold rating with a $10 price target and urge investors to pick their spots lower after 60% move in just a couple of days," said the analysts. More on Corsair Gaming Corsair Gaming: Excellent Returns, Decision On Rotation (Rating Downgrade) Corsair Gaming, Inc. (CRSR) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Corsair Gaming, Inc. 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation SA analyst upgrades/downgrades: GOOG, NFLX, CRSR, PG Corsair Gaming launches new portfolio of AI workstations and servers
Panuwat Dangsungnoen/iStock via Getty Images A P&C Insurer with 4 Earnings Beats in a Row The insurance sector is my focus for today's article, covering The Hanover Insurance Group ( THG ), who caught my attention after beating Q1 EPS estimates by $1.03 when it reported earnings in late April, the 4th quarterly beat in a row actually. I called this stock a buy in Sept. 2024 and it is up over +26% ...
Panuwat Dangsungnoen/iStock via Getty Images A P&C Insurer with 4 Earnings Beats in a Row The insurance sector is my focus for today's article, covering The Hanover Insurance Group ( THG ), who caught my attention after beating Q1 EPS estimates by $1.03 when it reported earnings in late April, the 4th quarterly beat in a row actually. I called this stock a buy in Sept. 2024 and it is up over +26% since then, as well as up since my followup bullish rating last November, confirming my thesis. Some factors driving my views including top line growth factors and an investment-grade asset portfolio. In today's followup, I'll take a look at some data from Q1 results, and well as multiple fundamental and technical analysis categories, to see if my prior thesis stays or not. From its Seeking Alpha profile , some key points about Hanover are that it has been around since the 1800s and that its focus is the property/casualty niche (P&C) rather than life insurance, and later I'll discuss why that distinction matters. Thesis Calls for a Slight Downgrade, but Remains Constructive From my updated research, I am actually downgrading this stock slightly to a hold, from my prior buy rating. This is not a negative, but simply constructive as it seems my overall rating score points to a neutral view, and while this stock remains a compelling dividend idea with a conservative balance sheet risk profile, what hurts the bullish case now is the earnings consensus and flat upside forecast. THG - rating worksheet (author) A Proven Revenue Grower Through Many Market Cycles Kicking off this first section focused on top line growth, I gave the stock a strong buy in this section because despite the P&C segment in America facing slower growth in 2025, this firm entered Q1 with net written premiums YoY growth and a steady and proven 5-year revenue growth. First, I considered macroeconomic factors that could impact the P&C insurance niche, which differs from life insurance in that it can be impacte...
Intel plans to ship an AI chip by the end of this year that uses cheaper memory and cooling technology than rival offerings from Nvidia and AMD, as the US chipmaker seeks to capitalize on a sharp turnaround in its fortunes. Kevork Kechichian, who leads Intel’s data center group, told the FT that the company is “starting with the basics” as it tries to challenge its rivals in the booming market for...
Intel plans to ship an AI chip by the end of this year that uses cheaper memory and cooling technology than rival offerings from Nvidia and AMD, as the US chipmaker seeks to capitalize on a sharp turnaround in its fortunes. Kevork Kechichian, who leads Intel’s data center group, told the FT that the company is “starting with the basics” as it tries to challenge its rivals in the booming market for semiconductors that power AI. Its new “Crescent Island” graphics processing unit is designed to speed up “inference” tasks, the stage when a user makes their request, rather than the training of models, an area where Nvidia’s processors are dominant. Read full article Comments
A Hong Kong court has fined a now-defunct bakery chain a total of HK$251,800 (US$32,127) over unpaid wages and other entitlements exceeding HK$1.3 million. A liquidator for Taipan Bread & Cakes, Taipan Restaurant and their parent company, Vast Luck, pleaded guilty at Kowloon City Court on Monday to 96 charges under the Employment Ordinance, after the group failed to pay 47 employees following the ...
A Hong Kong court has fined a now-defunct bakery chain a total of HK$251,800 (US$32,127) over unpaid wages and other entitlements exceeding HK$1.3 million. A liquidator for Taipan Bread & Cakes, Taipan Restaurant and their parent company, Vast Luck, pleaded guilty at Kowloon City Court on Monday to 96 charges under the Employment Ordinance, after the group failed to pay 47 employees following the closure of all outlets on June 24 last year. Asked when the parent company could settle the fines,...
(RTTNews) - People Incorporated (IAC) has submitted a non-binding proposal to the Board of MGM Resorts International (MGM) to acquire all outstanding shares of MGM that People Incorporated does not already own for $48.30 per share. People Incorporated now owns 26.1% of the outsta
(RTTNews) - People Incorporated (IAC) has submitted a non-binding proposal to the Board of MGM Resorts International (MGM) to acquire all outstanding shares of MGM that People Incorporated does not already own for $48.30 per share. People Incorporated now owns 26.1% of the outsta
We just covered the ChatGPT Stock Portfolio: Top 7 Picks For 2026. Credo Technology Group (NASDAQ:CRDO) ranks #5 (see ChatGPT Stock Portfolio: Top 4 Picks For 2026). Number of Hedge Funds: 59 Credo Technology Group (NASDAQ:CRDO) makes high-speed connectivity products that are used inside AI data centers. These products help move data quickly and efficiently […]
We just covered the ChatGPT Stock Portfolio: Top 7 Picks For 2026. Credo Technology Group (NASDAQ:CRDO) ranks #5 (see ChatGPT Stock Portfolio: Top 4 Picks For 2026). Number of Hedge Funds: 59 Credo Technology Group (NASDAQ:CRDO) makes high-speed connectivity products that are used inside AI data centers. These products help move data quickly and efficiently […]
According to the average brokerage recommendation (ABR), one should invest in Oracle (ORCL). It is debatable whether this highly sought-after metric is effective because Wall Street analysts' recommendations tend to be overly optimistic. Would it be worth investing in the stock?
According to the average brokerage recommendation (ABR), one should invest in Oracle (ORCL). It is debatable whether this highly sought-after metric is effective because Wall Street analysts' recommendations tend to be overly optimistic. Would it be worth investing in the stock?