Key Points Small caps are having a strong rebound this year thanks to improving earnings, attractive value, and lower rates. Given how long they've underperformed large caps, small caps could be setting up for an extended run. The iShares Core S&P Small Cap ETF adds a quality screen to its small-cap coverage, giving it an advantage over other similar ETFs. 10 stocks we like better than iShares Cor...
Key Points Small caps are having a strong rebound this year thanks to improving earnings, attractive value, and lower rates. Given how long they've underperformed large caps, small caps could be setting up for an extended run. The iShares Core S&P Small Cap ETF adds a quality screen to its small-cap coverage, giving it an advantage over other similar ETFs. 10 stocks we like better than iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF › After years of lagging the S&P 500, small caps are finally having a moment again. While large caps are still mostly flat on the year, the iShares Core S&P Small Cap ETF (NYSEMKT: IJR) is up more than 7% year to date (as of March 3, 2026). The artificial intelligence (AI) narrative has played a big part in this. The market has begun looking at things through the lens of how industries will be disrupted by AI, not how profitable it can make the big tech companies. That has led to a major rotation away from tech and into more undervalued areas of the economy. Small caps fall into that group. 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 » Given how long they've underperformed large caps, small caps could finally be in line for an extended stretch of leadership. Here's the investment case. Small-cap corporate earnings begin to rebound Earnings growth is a big driver of long-term stock performance. That hasn't been a problem lately for megacap tech, but it has been for small caps. Earnings were slipping over the past few years, but that trend appears to be reversing now. In the latter part of 2025, small-cap earnings rebounded by 27%, finally providing the fundamental rebound that could support stock price gains. With positive earnings growth and much more attractive valuations to begin with, the foundation is set for a small-cap comeback. A strong value play Part of the reason that large...
Key Points The Palantir Artificial Intelligence Platform has been a game-changer for the company over the last few years. Accelerating growth across both the private and public sectors should fuel meaningful growth into the next decade. Palantir could become a $1 trillion company if it achieves management's long-term growth ambitions. 10 stocks we like better than Palantir Technologies › Over the ...
Key Points The Palantir Artificial Intelligence Platform has been a game-changer for the company over the last few years. Accelerating growth across both the private and public sectors should fuel meaningful growth into the next decade. Palantir could become a $1 trillion company if it achieves management's long-term growth ambitions. 10 stocks we like better than Palantir Technologies › Over the last few years, Palantir Technologies(NASDAQ: PLTR) has evolved from a data analytics provider heavily utilized by the Department of Defense into one of the premier artificial intelligence (AI) operating systems purpose-built for the modern enterprise. Last summer, CEO Alex Karp laid out a vision for the company that would see it 10x its revenue while simultaneously reducing its headcount. While this goal may seem like a moonshot, the accelerating deployments of Palantir's Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) underscore the software's value to clients across various industries. 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 » If Palantir can achieve Karp's vision, I think it could grow to a $1 trillion valuation within the next five years. Palantir AIP is a prolific enterprise software tool For much of its history, the largest share of Palantir's growth was driven by deals with the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies. That dynamic continued to bolster the company's top line in 2025. Last year, Palantir won a 10-year deal with the U.S. Army worth up to $10 billion as well as a $795 million expansion of its deal with the U.S. military for its Maven Smart System. While the fact that the company is still tightening its relationship with the U.S. government is encouraging, Palantir's most lucrative potential lies in its ability to improve corporate workflows. In 2025, the company's U.S. commercial segment...
Advanced Micro Devices AMD shares have surged 109% in the trailing 12-month period, outperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s 34.1% return. Strong demand for data center EPYC processors and Instinct GPUs has been the key catalyst. However, we believe the stock’s appreciation from this level is limited given intensifying competition from the likes of NVIDIA NVDA, Broadcom AVG...
Advanced Micro Devices AMD shares have surged 109% in the trailing 12-month period, outperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s 34.1% return. Strong demand for data center EPYC processors and Instinct GPUs has been the key catalyst. However, we believe the stock’s appreciation from this level is limited given intensifying competition from the likes of NVIDIA NVDA, Broadcom AVGO and Intel INTC across domains, including AI-powered data-centers, high-performance computing and AI PCs. In the past year, AMD has outperformed NVIDIA and Broadcom, shares of which have returned 67.3% and 81.9%, respectively, but underperformed Intel, shares of which have jumped 130.2%. AMD Stock’s One-Year Performance AMD’s modest guidance for the first-quarter of 2026 is expected to remain an overhang on the share price movement. The company expects revenues of $9.8 billion (+/-$300 million), which at the mid-point represents year-over-year growth of approximately 32% but a sequential decline of approximately 5%. The revenue guidance includes roughly $100 million of MI308 sales to China. AMD expects year-over-year growth in revenues to be driven by Data Center, Client and Gaming segments and modest growth in the Embedded segment. However, sequential revenue decline is attributed to a seasonal decline in Client and Gaming, and the Embedded segment, partially offset by growth in the Data Center segment. AMD’s Earnings Estimate Revision Shows Declining Trend The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $1.27 per share, down by a penny over the past 30 days, suggesting 32.3% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. The consensus estimates for second-quarter 2026 earnings also declined by a penny to $1.42 per share over the past 30 days. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Price and Consensus Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Quote The consensus mark for 2026 earnings is pegged at $6.61 per...
Advanced Micro Devices AMD shares have surged 109% in the trailing 12-month period, outperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s 34.1% return. Strong demand for data center EPYC processors and Instinct GPUs has been the key catalyst. However, we believe the stock’s appreciation from this level is limited given intensifying competition from the likes of NVIDIA NVDA, Broadcom AVG...
Advanced Micro Devices AMD shares have surged 109% in the trailing 12-month period, outperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s 34.1% return. Strong demand for data center EPYC processors and Instinct GPUs has been the key catalyst. However, we believe the stock’s appreciation from this level is limited given intensifying competition from the likes of NVIDIA NVDA, Broadcom AVGO and Intel INTC across domains, including AI-powered data-centers, high-performance computing and AI PCs. In the past year, AMD has outperformed NVIDIA and Broadcom, shares of which have returned 67.3% and 81.9%, respectively, but underperformed Intel, shares of which have jumped 130.2%. AMD Stock’s One-Year Performance Zacks Investment Research Image Source: Zacks Investment Research AMD’s modest guidance for the first-quarter of 2026 is expected to remain an overhang on the share price movement. The company expects revenues of $9.8 billion (+/-$300 million), which at the mid-point represents year-over-year growth of approximately 32% but a sequential decline of approximately 5%. The revenue guidance includes roughly $100 million of MI308 sales to China. AMD expects year-over-year growth in revenues to be driven by Data Center, Client and Gaming segments and modest growth in the Embedded segment. However, sequential revenue decline is attributed to a seasonal decline in Client and Gaming, and the Embedded segment, partially offset by growth in the Data Center segment. AMD’s Earnings Estimate Revision Shows Declining Trend The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $1.27 per share, down by a penny over the past 30 days, suggesting 32.3% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. The consensus estimates for second-quarter 2026 earnings also declined by a penny to $1.42 per share over the past 30 days. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Price and Consensus Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Price and Consensus Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. pri...
(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday, extending the upward move seen over the course of the previous session. The major averages have all climbed into positive territory following an early pullback. Currently, the major averages are just off their highs of the session. The Dow is up 250.27 points or 0.5 percent at 47,991.07, the Nasdaq is up 138.56 points or 0.6 pe...
(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday, extending the upward move seen over the course of the previous session. The major averages have all climbed into positive territory following an early pullback. Currently, the major averages are just off their highs of the session. The Dow is up 250.27 points or 0.5 percent at 47,991.07, the Nasdaq is up 138.56 points or 0.6 percent at 22,834.51 and the S&P 500 is up 26.24 points or 0.4 percent at 6,822.23. The strength on Wall Street comes amid a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil, with crude for April delivery plummeting $10.49 or 11.1 percent to $84.28 a barrel. Crude oil prices have surged to nearly $120 a barrel on Monday amid concerns about the conflict in the Middle East before giving back ground as the day progressed. The volatility in the oil markets comes amid uncertainty about the U.S. war with Iran after President Donald Trump's latest remarks about the conflict. Trump said in a press conference on Monday that the war against Iran could end "very soon" but provided few details about his end game. The president claimed in a subsequent post on Truth Social that Iran would be hit "twenty times harder" if they do anything that stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz. "We will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!" Trump said. Echoing Trump's confidence, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asserted in a press conference this morning that Iran is "badly losing" but said the U.S. will still be launching its "most intense day of strikes" in Iran today. Sector News Gold stocks have moved sharply higher along with the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surging by 2.5 percent. Significant strength is also visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent jump by ...
In this article VRTX Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT A sign hangs in front of the world headquarters of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston. Brian Snyder | Reuters Vertex Pharmaceuticals said its experimental drug for a rare kidney condition succeeded in a Phase 3 trial, a crucial step in the company's path to diversify beyond its main drugs for cystic fibrosis. The Boston-based drugm...
In this article VRTX Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT A sign hangs in front of the world headquarters of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston. Brian Snyder | Reuters Vertex Pharmaceuticals said its experimental drug for a rare kidney condition succeeded in a Phase 3 trial, a crucial step in the company's path to diversify beyond its main drugs for cystic fibrosis. The Boston-based drugmaker on Monday said its drug for immunoglobulin A nephropathy, povetacicept, decreased levels of a marker of the autoimmune condition by 52% in a late-stage trial. That passed the bar analysts had set for Vertex's drug to compete with a recently approved treatment from Japan-based Otsuka and another in the pipeline from U.S.-based biotech Vera Therapeutics . Shares of Vertex rose more than 9% on Tuesday. Vertex's successful trial is an important first step in unlocking a new franchise in kidney disease, said Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Carter Gould. Vertex is developing two drugs behind povetacicept, and Gould sees the three together generating more than $10 billion in revenue a year. That could rival Vertex's cystic fibrosis franchise, which brought in more than $11 billion in sales last year. "You don't really have to look too hard to connect the dots and say this is pretty meaningful white space they could be growing into," Gould said. Vertex transformed the treatment for cystic fibrosis with a portfolio of drugs for the inherited lung disorder, but the company has repeatedly faced questions about whether it could replicate that success in other conditions. The company in recent years expanded into blood disorders with the approval of its gene-editing treatment Casgevy and acute pain with its drug Journavx. Neither has so far been a runaway success, leaving Vertex to search for other opportunities to expand. In 2024, Vertex paid nearly $5 billion to acquire Alpine Immune Sciences and its lead program, povetacicept. The drug could treat a rare autoimmune condition known as ...
alexsl/iStock via Getty Images Reasons to invest in OBDC Blue Owl Capital Corporation ( OBDC ) is a business development company that focuses on direct lending to U.S. middle-market companies. OBDC primarily provides senior secured loans, which implies a robust portfolio of loans backed by collateral and having priority in case of default. This approach is a positive fundamental factor as it incre...
alexsl/iStock via Getty Images Reasons to invest in OBDC Blue Owl Capital Corporation ( OBDC ) is a business development company that focuses on direct lending to U.S. middle-market companies. OBDC primarily provides senior secured loans, which implies a robust portfolio of loans backed by collateral and having priority in case of default. This approach is a positive fundamental factor as it increases the probability of maximizing recovery on the debt portfolio. Furthermore, OBDC is an established player in the industry with a portfolio size of $16.5 billion spanning 234 portfolio companies. It is also very important to mention that concentration risks are low as OBDC offers investors a quite wide industry diversification across around 30 various industries. The largest holding industry-wise is "Internet software and services", and it represents a relatively modest 11% of the total. A wide diversification is another fundamental advantage as it significantly decreases concentration risks for investors. Seeking Alpha OBDC is very attractively valued if we compare its current share price to the company's net asset value (NAV). OBDC currently trades at $11.4, while its NAV as of the end of FY2025 amounted to $14.81 . It implies that OBDC is undervalued by more than 20%, and it approximately aligns with the consensus target price of almost $14 . Moreover, we can see in the above graph that even Wall Street's most conservative analyst has a target price of $12, which is higher than OBDC's current share price. Besides attractive valuation and wide diversification of its loan portfolio, a big positive factor is OBDC's current forward dividend yield of 13.2%. Such a high dividend yield makes OBDC a very attractive opportunity for income investors. Moreover, the stock is substantially undervalued if its current share price is compared to its NAV. Finally, in the current environment of growing fears around AI-exposed growth stocks, OBDC's 13%+ dividend yield might help attract...
Image source: The Motley Fool. Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026 at 10 a.m. ET Call participants Chief Executive Officer — Austin Willis Chief Financial Officer — Scott B. Flaherty Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected] Takeaways Revenue -- $193.6 million for the quarter, up 27%, and $730.2 million for the full year, up 28%. -- $193.6 million for the quarter, up 27%, and $730.2 mill...
Image source: The Motley Fool. Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026 at 10 a.m. ET Call participants Chief Executive Officer — Austin Willis Chief Financial Officer — Scott B. Flaherty Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected] Takeaways Revenue -- $193.6 million for the quarter, up 27%, and $730.2 million for the full year, up 28%. -- $193.6 million for the quarter, up 27%, and $730.2 million for the full year, up 28%. Adjusted EBITDA -- $459.1 million, an increase of 16.6% from the prior year, newly reported to reflect "the immense cash-generating capability of our enterprise." -- $459.1 million, an increase of 16.6% from the prior year, newly reported to reflect "the immense cash-generating capability of our enterprise." Earnings before tax (EBT) -- $160.6 million, a record figure directly attributed to strong demand for leasing and services. -- $160.6 million, a record figure directly attributed to strong demand for leasing and services. Lease portfolio utilization -- 85% average utilization, up from 83%, with a lease rental factor in excess of 1% per month. -- 85% average utilization, up from 83%, with a lease rental factor in excess of 1% per month. Dividend policy -- Introduced a recurring dividend of $0.40 per share, with recent quarterly dividends paid at the higher rate for six consecutive quarters. -- Introduced a recurring dividend of $0.40 per share, with recent quarterly dividends paid at the higher rate for six consecutive quarters. Leasing portfolio -- Total portfolio reached $3 billion in assets at year-end. -- Total portfolio reached $3 billion in assets at year-end. Maintenance reserve revenues -- $232 million, up 8.4%, with $44.5 million from long-term lease returns and $187.5 million from short-term reserves. -- $232 million, up 8.4%, with $44.5 million from long-term lease returns and $187.5 million from short-term reserves. Spare parts and equipment sales -- $95.5 million to third parties, up markedly from $27.1 million, driven by a $57...
In this series, we look through the most recent Dividend Channel ''DividendRank'' report, and then we cherry pick only those companies that have experienced insider buying within the past six months. The officers and directors of a company tend to have a unique insider's view of the business, and presumably the only reason an insider would choose to take their hard-earned cash and use it to buy st...
In this series, we look through the most recent Dividend Channel ''DividendRank'' report, and then we cherry pick only those companies that have experienced insider buying within the past six months. The officers and directors of a company tend to have a unique insider's view of the business, and presumably the only reason an insider would choose to take their hard-earned cash and use it to buy stock in the open market, is that they expect to make money — maybe they find the stock very undervalued, or maybe they see exciting progress within the company, or maybe both. So when stocks turn up that see insider buying, and are also top ranked, investors are wise to take notice. One such company is Old Republic International Corp. (Symbol: ORI), which saw buying by Director John Eric Smith. Back on March 2, Smith invested $48,916.59 into 1,135 shares of ORI, for a cost per share of $43.10. In trading on Tuesday, bargain hunters could buy shares of Old Republic International Corp. (Symbol: ORI) and achieve a cost basis 6.4% cheaper than Smith, with shares changing hands as low as $40.32 per share. It should be noted that Smith has collected $0.32/share in dividends since the time of their purchase, so they are currently down 5.7% on their purchase from a total return basis. Old Republic International Corp. shares are currently trading -1.37% on the day. The chart below shows the one year performance of ORI shares, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, ORI's low point in its 52 week range is $34.43 per share, with $46.76 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $40.57. By comparison, below is a table showing the prices at which insider buying was recorded over the last six months: Purchased Insider Title Shares Price/Share Value 11/03/2025 Therace Risch Director 1,000 $39.14 $39,135.81 03/02/2026 John Eric Smith Director 1,135 $43.10 $48,916.59 The DividendRank report noted that among the coverage universe, ORI shares displaye...