Lemon_tm/iStock via Getty Images Intro MP Materials ( MP ) has just reported final results for a year that has been nothing less than pivotal. As I wrote in my first article on the company, MP is in the process of a government-backed transformation into a company engaged in mining and production of REE magnet inputs that are critical to national security. It is the beneficiary of a landmark Depart...
Lemon_tm/iStock via Getty Images Intro MP Materials ( MP ) has just reported final results for a year that has been nothing less than pivotal. As I wrote in my first article on the company, MP is in the process of a government-backed transformation into a company engaged in mining and production of REE magnet inputs that are critical to national security. It is the beneficiary of a landmark Department of War deal that I believe has essentially removed most downside price risk from the company, leaving its primary risk as operational execution and making it, arguably, the lowest-risk developer-stage mining company ever. Back in November, I rated the company as a Sell, primarily because it was overvalued, I didn’t see much upside potential, and we don’t really know how to value a government-backed company like this. The opportunity cost seemed high, particularly in the midst of a strong bull market. Since then, shares have been relatively flat but are currently slightly outperforming the broader market. Data by YCharts I have now upgraded my rating to a Hold. My fundamental view hasn’t changed. I still think it’s overvalued and have no idea what kind of multiple investors will put on a company like this long-term. However, since then, MP has reported strong operational results, and the world has become far riskier. The recent war in Iran seems to be only escalating right now, and holding more defensive positions has become more appealing to me. The Trump-Xi summit has the potential to drive markets in either direction and could be a positive catalyst for MP Materials without much downside potential even if talks go very well. Lastly, NdPr prices are on the rise right now, and MP is growing NdPr production at a quick pace today, giving the company a strong tailwind. Put all this together, and we have a company with some upside potential and minimal downside risks, which is well-suited for the current environment, even if it’s still overvalued today. Q4 and FY2025 Resul...
Hims & Hers Health (NYSE:HIMS) , a direct-to-consumer telehealth platform, closed Monday at $22.15, up 40.72%. The stock moved higher after announcing a collaboration with Novo Nordisk to sell branded GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. Investors are watching how the shift from compounded to FDA-approved medications affects growth and margins. Trading volume reached 168.1 million shares, about 557% above its...
Hims & Hers Health (NYSE:HIMS) , a direct-to-consumer telehealth platform, closed Monday at $22.15, up 40.72%. The stock moved higher after announcing a collaboration with Novo Nordisk to sell branded GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. Investors are watching how the shift from compounded to FDA-approved medications affects growth and margins. Trading volume reached 168.1 million shares, about 557% above its three-month average of 25.6 million shares. Hims & Hers Health IPO'd in 2019 and has grown 126% since going public. The S&P 500 rose 0.81% to 6,794, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.38% to finish at 22,696. Within telehealth and online pharmacy names, Teladoc Health closed at $5.30 (+4.33%) and American Well finished at $5.55 (+1.65%), trailing Hims & Hers Health’s sharp move. Novo Nordisk dropped its patent infringement lawsuit against Hims & Hers after the two agreed to a deal under which Novo’s GLP-1 drug Ozempic would be sold on the latter’s platform, and Hims & Hers would stop marketing compounded versions of GLP-1s. HIMS stock soared 41% on the news today, while NVO inched 3% higher. Continue reading
Identity Politics Trumps Public Safety On The Chicago Transit Authority Authored by George Shay via American Greatness, The Legacy of Jesse Jackson Makes All of Us Less Safe If you ride the trains or buses in Chicago with any regularity, you don’t worry about microaggressions. You worry about being maced, mugged, or shoved onto the tracks—or, in one grotesque recent case, set on fire. That’s the l...
Identity Politics Trumps Public Safety On The Chicago Transit Authority Authored by George Shay via American Greatness, The Legacy of Jesse Jackson Makes All of Us Less Safe If you ride the trains or buses in Chicago with any regularity, you don’t worry about microaggressions. You worry about being maced, mugged, or shoved onto the tracks—or, in one grotesque recent case, set on fire. That’s the lived experience of Chicagoans navigating the Chicago Transit Authority and Metra. Not academic theory. Not seminar-room sociology. Reality. So naturally, when a modest pilot program is introduced allowing the transit agencies to suspend individuals who assault conductors, spit on drivers, punch random riders, or otherwise turn public transportation into a Thunderdome audition, what does the Chicago Tribune decide is the story? Not whether the program works. Not whether it can be enforced. Not whether it deters crime. No. The story, apparently, is that it’s racist. Because roughly 90 percent of the approximately 40 individuals suspended under the program are black or Hispanic. Forty people. In a city of nearly three million. On a transit system carrying hundreds of thousands daily. That’s the scandal. The Exercise in Futility Nobody Wants to Discuss Let’s start with the obvious: The program is likely an exercise in futility. How exactly do you enforce a transit ban in 2026 Chicago? There are no ticket agents. There are no conductors policing turnstiles. Bus drivers sit behind plastic shields—cages, really—installed because too many of them were being attacked. You think a driver is going to step out from behind that barrier and say, “Excuse me, sir, our records indicate you’re under suspension”? There’s no one at the station entrances checking IDs. There’s no practical mechanism to stop someone from tapping a Ventra card or just hopping a turnstile. And if you suggest facial recognition technology? Prepare for the five-alarm firestorm about privacy, surveillance, and civil l...
Iryna Olkhova/iStock via Getty Images Palladyne AI ( PDYN ), the US defense and industrial technology firm, reported its fourth quarter and full year results after the bell on Wednesday the 4th March. The stock is up over 20%, and this is deserved. In fact, the market has a lot more catching up to do. Palladyne is an under the radar name compared to other Artificial Intelligence plays in the marke...
Iryna Olkhova/iStock via Getty Images Palladyne AI ( PDYN ), the US defense and industrial technology firm, reported its fourth quarter and full year results after the bell on Wednesday the 4th March. The stock is up over 20%, and this is deserved. In fact, the market has a lot more catching up to do. Palladyne is an under the radar name compared to other Artificial Intelligence plays in the market. Yet despite this, the Company has quietly gone about its business, steadily building up a number of partnerships and now, as per the latest quarter, starting to build up a revenue base that will kick on in the years to come. Palladyne's 2023 pivot It would not have been misguided to write off Palladyne in 2023. Shares mulled below $1 a share, and liquidity was running dry. Then came a masterstroke pivot by the management team to move into artificial intelligence focused on military applications. This later came with a name change; "Sarcos" would become "Palladyne AI" in 2024. Not only was it on trend, it provided a renewed growth opportunity, giving a glimpse of a non-fatal end-point. Whilst the pivot may have appeared to be a last gasp move to turn the ship around, it's becoming more apparent that management was intent on the new proposition. And that software would just be the start. Launch of Palladyne Defense Palladyne went on an acquisition spree in November 2025 with three new entities coming under its wing. This culminated in the launch of Palladyne Defense. This expanded the company's capabilities within the defense industry to encompass more advanced precision manufacturing and development capabilities. A bold vertical integration move that made the offering far more compelling for government bodies. Notably, aligning the company with the Department of Defense's priorities around building US independence and new capabilities. More importantly this move represented an in-road into drone hardware capabilities. Palladyne has been working with Redcat Holdings ( RCAT...
Oil tumbled after US President Donald Trump signaled the Iran war could be ending soon, as the conflict in the Middle East upends global energy markets and sparks fresh concerns about an inflation crisis . West Texas Intermediate slumped as much as 10% to $85.52 a barrel, after a volatile session on Monday that saw oil swing in the widest range since prices briefly turned negative during the depth...
Oil tumbled after US President Donald Trump signaled the Iran war could be ending soon, as the conflict in the Middle East upends global energy markets and sparks fresh concerns about an inflation crisis . West Texas Intermediate slumped as much as 10% to $85.52 a barrel, after a volatile session on Monday that saw oil swing in the widest range since prices briefly turned negative during the depths of the pandemic. Trump told CBS News he believed the war was “ very complete, pretty much .” Crude smashed through $100 a barrel early in the session Monday before pulling back as the world’s largest economies considered an effort to release emergency oil reserves. Still, the vital Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, which has led to major producers in the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, curtailing output. Read More: Can Tapping Oil Reserves Tame Iran War Price Shock?: Explainer “I think you’ll see it’s going to be a short term excursion,” Trump told Republican lawmakers on Monday at his resort in Doral, Florida. Those remarks came hours after the president spoke to CBS. The intense prices swings on Monday saw WTI trade in a $38 band. Brent tumbled about $20 from its high, marking the largest-ever drop from an intraday maximum to a closing price on record. To get Bloomberg’s Energy Daily newsletter in your inbox, click here . WTI for April delivery was 7.9% lower at $ 87.28 a barrel at 6:04 a.m. in Singapore. Brent for May settlement closed 6.8% higher to settle at $98.96 a barrel on Monday after climbing as high as $119.50 in the session.
US equity indexes rose on Monday, turning the corner after steep declines intraday, amid a slump in Upgrade to read this MT Newswires article and get so much more. A Silver or Gold subscription plan is required to access premium news articles.
US equity indexes rose on Monday, turning the corner after steep declines intraday, amid a slump in Upgrade to read this MT Newswires article and get so much more. A Silver or Gold subscription plan is required to access premium news articles.
A few months ago, fears of an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble abounded in the financial media. And while those fears aren't gone, they seem to have quieted down for the time being. That's likely due to the sheer amount of money the biggest companies in the tech industry plan to throw at their AI programs this year. Microsoft announced a relatively modest 66% capital expenditure (capex) increas...
A few months ago, fears of an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble abounded in the financial media. And while those fears aren't gone, they seem to have quieted down for the time being. That's likely due to the sheer amount of money the biggest companies in the tech industry plan to throw at their AI programs this year. Microsoft announced a relatively modest 66% capital expenditure (capex) increase to $37.5 billion for 2026. announced a relatively modest 66% capital expenditure (capex) increase to $37.5 billion for 2026. Meta Platforms is planning to spend anywhere from $162 billion to $169 billion, up over 37% from 2025's number. is planning to spend anywhere from $162 billion to $169 billion, up over 37% from 2025's number. Alphabet is set to double its capex to between $175 billion and $185 billion this year. is set to double its capex to between $175 billion and $185 billion this year. And Amazon has projected a 51% increase in its capex to $200 billion for 2026. Hundreds of billions of dollars have already been funneled into AI hardware buildout because data centers aren't cheap. They can cost anywhere from $7 million to $12 million per megawatt just to build. Add in the power bill and maintenance costs and it only gets pricier. And there are two pick-and-shovel plays in the tech industry that will profit (albeit indirectly) from just about every data center built anywhere in the world. Chip and shovel Up first is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM +2.83%), the world leader in the pure foundry segment of the semiconductor industry. As of the end of Q3 2025 it controlled a 72%-and-growing share of the market with No. 2 Samsung Electronics controlling just 7%. Taiwan Semiconductor doesn't design any of its own chips; it simply manufactures them for other companies. And that client list includes Apple and Nvidia, which has its Blackwell chip produced at Taiwan Semiconductor's factory in Arizona. This company is the reason the country of Taiwan produces 60% of...
Key Points Several big tech companies are increasing their spending on AI hardware dramatically. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is the leader in chip manufacturing globally and all data centers need semiconductors. ASML is the world's only producer of the EUV lithography machines needed to produce advanced semiconductor chips. 10 stocks we like better than ASML › A few months ago, fears of an ...
Key Points Several big tech companies are increasing their spending on AI hardware dramatically. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is the leader in chip manufacturing globally and all data centers need semiconductors. ASML is the world's only producer of the EUV lithography machines needed to produce advanced semiconductor chips. 10 stocks we like better than ASML › A few months ago, fears of an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble abounded in the financial media. And while those fears aren't gone, they seem to have quieted down for the time being. That's likely due to the sheer amount of money the biggest companies in the tech industry plan to throw at their AI programs this year. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Microsoft announced a relatively modest 66% capital expenditure (capex) increase to $37.5 billion for 2026. announced a relatively modest 66% capital expenditure (capex) increase to $37.5 billion for 2026. Meta Platforms is planning to spend anywhere from $162 billion to $169 billion, up over 37% from 2025's number. is planning to spend anywhere from $162 billion to $169 billion, up over 37% from 2025's number. Alphabet is set to double its capex to between $175 billion and $185 billion this year. is set to double its capex to between $175 billion and $185 billion this year. And Amazon has projected a 51% increase in its capex to $200 billion for 2026. Hundreds of billions of dollars have already been funneled into AI hardware buildout because data centers aren't cheap. They can cost anywhere from $7 million to $12 million per megawatt just to build. Add in the power bill and maintenance costs and it only gets pricier. And there are two pick-and-shovel plays in the tech industry that will profit (albeit indirectly) from just about every data center built anywhere in the wo...
Jonathan Kitchen/DigitalVision via Getty Images The Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF ( XYLD ) is a passively managed exchange-traded fund designed to provide investors with exposure to the S&P 500 ( SPX ) while enhancing income through the use of a covered call strategy, often referred to as a buy-write investment strategy. The strategy provides direct exposure to the constituents that make up th...
Jonathan Kitchen/DigitalVision via Getty Images The Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF ( XYLD ) is a passively managed exchange-traded fund designed to provide investors with exposure to the S&P 500 ( SPX ) while enhancing income through the use of a covered call strategy, often referred to as a buy-write investment strategy. The strategy provides direct exposure to the constituents that make up the S&P 500 while overlaying a covered call strategy using SPX index call options. With my expectation of relatively flat performance by the S&P 500 Index for 2026, I believe XYLD can provide investors with an appealing investment opportunity to gain exposure to the S&P 500 constituents while earning income on their investment. Investment Rationale Taking into consideration the current market environment, I believe the equity market is undergoing a major shift by investors, turning away from mega-cap technology stocks in favor of value-oriented investments. Though I maintain a bullish long-term outlook on the mega-cap technology stocks, I believe investor sentiment will play a major role in 2026 as the investment cycle intensifies to build out data center capacity in order to deliver on their intended growth targets. Collectively, I’m expecting the hyperscalers to invest $666b in building out data center capacity for 2026, driving investor hesitation as to whether the investments will pay off, particularly when considering the accelerated depreciation schedule of GPUs. From an investment perspective, I believe investors are focusing on the wrong details relating to hyperscaler performance. With much of the attention focusing on AI development, the major cloud services providers like Microsoft Corporation( MSFT ), Alphabet Inc. ( GOOG ), and Amazon.com, Inc. ( AMZN ) largely generate revenue through cloud hosting services with some emphasis on AI development and not the other way around. With this in mind, I believe the investment outlays presented in the hyperscalers’ calenda...
Frazao Studio Latino/E+ via Getty Images Introduction: A Time Of Change For Argentina And Telecom Argentina It's been around five years since I last covered Telecom Argentina ( TEO ). At the time, the outlook for Argentina and its incumbent telco, the company that's the topic here, looked bleak, to put it mildly. The Covid pandemic was in full effect, the annual inflation reached sky-high triple-d...
Frazao Studio Latino/E+ via Getty Images Introduction: A Time Of Change For Argentina And Telecom Argentina It's been around five years since I last covered Telecom Argentina ( TEO ). At the time, the outlook for Argentina and its incumbent telco, the company that's the topic here, looked bleak, to put it mildly. The Covid pandemic was in full effect, the annual inflation reached sky-high triple-digit percentages, and Telecom Argentina was not allowed to compensate for inflation with price increases . The policy to restrict telecom price hikes was set because rising subscription prices during Covid would risk cutting off Argentinians from essential communications services. This was not acceptable at a time when people were constrained in their movements or forced to work from home. While understandable from a societal perspective, it resulted in annual double-digit declines in revenue in real terms for Telecom Argentina. Moving on to today, things have changed for the better very quickly. Milei has now been in office since late 2023, and his shock therapy to bring the triple-digit annual inflation in the country under control is taking effect. Many have seen the images of Milei holding a chainsaw to bring across the plan to drastically cut government spending. The new policies seem to work, and inflation has been rapidly decreasing. 2025 has had the lowest inflation in 8 years (see below graph). Note, however, that even after this decrease, inflation is still ~30%, so there's still work to do for the government. Inflation in Argentina 2017 - 2025 (tradingeconomics.com) Aside from lower inflation, there's another effect of the new politics in the country, which is general renewed economic optimism with rising valuations of Argentinian companies. The doubling of the price of the Global X MSCI Argentina ETF ( ARGT ) over the last three years illustrates this (see below image). Data by YCharts Aside from country-wide changes, there are also two major changes for Telecom...
Key Points Vertiv is a leader in data center cooling infrastructure with rapidly growing sales and earnings. Institutions like BlackRock, State Street, and JPMorgan Chase have been loading up on shares since Q3 2025. Despite its incredible run over the last year, valuation metrics point to Vertiv potentially being a bargain even at these prices. 10 stocks we like better than Vertiv › One of the mo...
Key Points Vertiv is a leader in data center cooling infrastructure with rapidly growing sales and earnings. Institutions like BlackRock, State Street, and JPMorgan Chase have been loading up on shares since Q3 2025. Despite its incredible run over the last year, valuation metrics point to Vertiv potentially being a bargain even at these prices. 10 stocks we like better than Vertiv › One of the more overlooked infrastructure problems with data centers is cooling. Running advanced artificial intelligence (AI) programs, even on bleeding-edge hardware with loads of computing horsepower, generates a lot of heat. The small fan that's in your laptop or desktop doesn't cut it at that level. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » No, you need advanced cooling systems, beefy industrial air conditioners, and liquid cooling to run a modern data center. A data center is an incredibly expensive investment, and the last thing you want is all your top-notch chips cooking themselves with the heat they generate from running. Most of the headlines you'll see about AI-related infrastructure shortages have to do with chip hardware, like the current memory shortage, or the gluttonous appetite data centers have for electricity. Both of those are serious problems, but cooling, which is just as serious an infrastructure concern, doesn't get anywhere near as much attention. Well, not from the media at least. Wall Street is paying close attention, and institutional investors have been pouring money into Vertiv (NYSE: VRT) to profit from the cooling needs of the tech industry and the data centers it's building all over the place. The surge of investment has seen Vertiv shoot up 199% in the past 12 months. And, based on the latest moves of some of the biggest institutional investors out there, Wall Street seems to t...
Bloom Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images The last several months have been a really good time for shareholders of Meridian Corporation ( MRBK ). Since I last reaffirmed the company as a "Buy" candidate back in December of last year, the stock has jumped 14.3%. That easily outperforms the 0.3% rise that the S&P 500 saw. And since I upgraded it from a "Hold" to a "Buy" in September of last y...
Bloom Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images The last several months have been a really good time for shareholders of Meridian Corporation ( MRBK ). Since I last reaffirmed the company as a "Buy" candidate back in December of last year, the stock has jumped 14.3%. That easily outperforms the 0.3% rise that the S&P 500 saw. And since I upgraded it from a "Hold" to a "Buy" in September of last year, the stock has skyrocketed 27.1%. That stacks up nicely against the 5.9% rise that the market experienced. In many respects, the institution is a high-quality player. Management has achieved some pretty impressive results as of late. Asset quality is robust. But unfortunately, this stock is no longer as cheap as I would like it to be. In addition to this, the bank is seeing its credit quality worsen. And while some investors might accept that trade-off when other metrics are factored into play, I believe that the prudent choice is to downgrade the business to a "Hold. " A Change In Sentiment Since my previous article about Meridian Corporation, investors have only seen data covering one additional operating quarter. That happens to be the final quarter of the 2025 fiscal year . During that time, management reported deposits of $2.16 billion. That's up from the $2.01 billion the company reported a year earlier. The only thing that I really don't like about the institution is that a whopping 22% of total deposits are classified as brokered. This means they are high-cost deposits borrowed from other financial firms. But even with this significant exposure, Meridian Corporation is doing an exceptional job, as you will see shortly. One thing that certainly eases my concern here regarding brokered deposits is the fact that only 22% of its overall deposit base is classified as uninsured. This falls below the 30% maximum that I typically like to see and indicates that the risk profile for the business is far from absurd. Author - SEC EDGAR Data As deposits increase, the value o...
In his decades toiling as a health official in a coastal Chinese province, Alan Chen has rarely had to study a subject about which he knew so little. “Nd is Neodymium. It is needed for almost all modern EV motors. China dominates the refining of Nd oxide. Dy is Dysprosium. It is needed for magnets to operate at high temperatures and is also essential for EV motors.” This was the kind of content Ch...
In his decades toiling as a health official in a coastal Chinese province, Alan Chen has rarely had to study a subject about which he knew so little. “Nd is Neodymium. It is needed for almost all modern EV motors. China dominates the refining of Nd oxide. Dy is Dysprosium. It is needed for magnets to operate at high temperatures and is also essential for EV motors.” This was the kind of content Chen pored over in a training course he attended at the Central Party School, the Communist Party ’s top educational institution, in Beijing. Advertisement For six months, Chen joined hundreds of middle-aged officials from across China and various disciplines for studies to prepare promising mid-level cadres to take on bigger roles in China. In the past, much of the focus has been on political ideology, decision-making and international relations, but now the officials are being instructed on area that is more important than ever: supply chains and economic security. The school is one of the main ways Beijing grooms talent, enabling cadres to leave their jobs and study full time for a semester.
In the latest trading session, Valero Energy (VLO) closed at $133.75, marking a -0.38% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.13% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.55%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.52%. Heading into today, shares of the oil refiner had lost 10.39% over the past month, lagging the Oils-Energy sector's loss...
In the latest trading session, Valero Energy (VLO) closed at $133.75, marking a -0.38% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.13% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.55%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.52%. Heading into today, shares of the oil refiner had lost 10.39% over the past month, lagging the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 2.9% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.67% in that time. The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Valero Energy in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on October 24, 2024. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $2.65, marking a 64.62% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $33.88 billion, down 11.77% from the prior-year quarter. Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $12.30 per share and revenue of $133.25 billion, indicating changes of -50.6% and -7.96%, respectively, compared to the previous year. Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Valero Energy should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.19% lower. Valero Energy present...