MoMo Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images Whenever I rate a company a 'hold,' I am making the claim that the stock should perform pretty much along the lines of the broader market for the foreseeable future. To some investors, this might mean that my call regarding Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. ( CFR ) has been a failure. After all, since I reaffirmed the institution as a ‘hold’ candidate back ...
MoMo Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images Whenever I rate a company a 'hold,' I am making the claim that the stock should perform pretty much along the lines of the broader market for the foreseeable future. To some investors, this might mean that my call regarding Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. ( CFR ) has been a failure. After all, since I reaffirmed the institution as a ‘hold’ candidate back in February of this year, shares have dropped 3.4%. The S&P 500, meanwhile, is up 5.6%. But the good news is that when you look from the time I originally rated Cullen/Frost Bankers a 'hold,' you can see a much clearer picture. The stock is up 44.8%, which is barely above the 43.3% increase that the market enjoyed. So in this respect, my call is working out quite nicely. This is not to say that the picture cannot change for the better or worse. In fact, we are already seeing some signs of improvement for the institution. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that the stock is quite expensive, both in relation to earnings and asset values, I would be swayed by the strong asset quality of the institution and upgrade it to a 'buy.' But as things stand, I would argue that taking a more neutral stance and maintaining my 'hold' rating on it is the right choice. I'm Banking On Cullen/Frost Bankers The only new data that has come out since I last wrote about Cullen/Frost Bankers covers through the first quarter of its 2026 fiscal year . During that time, deposits for the institution came in at $42.84 billion. That is unfortunately down slightly from the $42.92 billion that the company ended 2025 with. But it's not such a large drop that I'm worried just yet. For the third quarter, for instance, deposits were a bit lower at $42.52 billion. So if anything, our candidate seems to be fluctuating within a pretty narrow range. Even though that's not as good as achieving growth, it's certainly not awful. Author - SEC EDGAR Data At the end of 2025, Cullen/Frost Bankers had loans amounting t...
Just_Super/E+ via Getty Images I've turned bullish on NetScout Systems, Inc. ( NTCT ). Its 2QFY2026 (YE Mar) results surprised me positively. The outlook is promising with an expected double-figure EPS growth for the full year. NTCT's above-consensus 1QFY25 showing and underwhelming 2QFY25 guide were detailed in my earlier July 26, 2024, piece . Shares Surged After Mid-Teens Bottom-Line Outperform...
Just_Super/E+ via Getty Images I've turned bullish on NetScout Systems, Inc. ( NTCT ). Its 2QFY2026 (YE Mar) results surprised me positively. The outlook is promising with an expected double-figure EPS growth for the full year. NTCT's above-consensus 1QFY25 showing and underwhelming 2QFY25 guide were detailed in my earlier July 26, 2024, piece . Shares Surged After Mid-Teens Bottom-Line Outperformance The company published an 8-K filing revealing its most recent financials on the morning of May 7. NTCT recorded earnings of $0.52/share for the final quarter of fiscal 2026. This surpassed the sell-side's forecast by +14.3%, according to S&P Capital IQ. I'm not worried about the implied flattish growth on year-on-year terms. At the analyst meeting , management clarified that "certain orders originally expected in Q4 were pulled forward" to "utilize remaining calendar year-end budgets." Stable governmental outlays and robust demand for AI-related cyberattack solutions drove NTCT's EPS beat, in my opinion. Its 4QFY26 cybersecurity division's sales went up 7.8% YoY. That outpaced the group-level topline increase of 4.5% during the same timeframe. Its results briefing commentary highlighted that "cyber threats increasingly leverage AI tools." The CEO sees this trend having a favorable effect of "supporting upgrade cycles and expanding use cases." His optimism is validated by a stronger-than-expected rise in cybersecurity-related revenues. It is also worth noting that NTCT recently secured a fresh $4-$6 million mandate by upselling to an existing key account. Separately, turnover for the "Enterprise" client segment (+5.4%) grew at a more rapid pace than the "Service Provider" customer group (+3.3%) in the recent three-month period. This was credited to "contributions from both federal and nonfederal government-related spending" at the earnings call. My take is that the public sector's budgets are typically unaffected by minor changes in economic conditions. I believe it als...
The big layoffs tied to artificial intelligence by Block , along with the company's user improvements using the technology, will power the stock to even greater heights, according to Citi. The bank, which has buy rating on the fintech name, raised its price target to $100 from $85. That implies 43% upside from Thursday's close. "XYZ is effectively leveraging AI (Goose, Builderbot) internally, and ...
The big layoffs tied to artificial intelligence by Block , along with the company's user improvements using the technology, will power the stock to even greater heights, according to Citi. The bank, which has buy rating on the fintech name, raised its price target to $100 from $85. That implies 43% upside from Thursday's close. "XYZ is effectively leveraging AI (Goose, Builderbot) internally, and AI-based solutions like Moneybot and Managerbot," analyst Bryan Keane wrote. Moneybot is an AI tool to manage and track spending. Managerbot aims to help owners manage their businesses. This should "help to drive even further end user engagement helping to sustain mid-to-high teens [gross product] growth and rapidly expanding margins." Block shares have rallied 33% over the past three months as the company increasingly adopts AI. That rally gained steam in late February, when Block CEO Jack Dorsey announced the firm was laying off as much as 24% of its staff as part of its efforts to automate its workforce with AI. XYZ 3M mountain Shares are up 33% over the past three months. Block should continue to benefit financially from its AI initiatives, adding to "multiple drivers [that are] all working concurrently to sustain and extend Cash App [gross product] growth" and efforts to increase the business' scale, per Citi. The emerging technology powers Goose, or the company's open-source AI agent framework designed to connect large language models to software engineering tasks. It also is used in Builderbot, an internal agentic AI tool at Block that can write, review and deploy code. Citi's call falls in line with consensus on Wall Street. Of the 45 analysts covering Block, 37 have a buy or strong buy on the stock.
World relay gold medallist bailed until 28 May court hearing Police alleged suspects part of an organised crime group The British sprinter CJ Ujah, who won 4x100m relay gold at the 2017 world championships , is one of 10 suspects charged with conspiracy to defraud as part of a police investigation into cryptocurrency fraud. It is alleged that the suspects were part of an organised crime group link...
World relay gold medallist bailed until 28 May court hearing Police alleged suspects part of an organised crime group The British sprinter CJ Ujah, who won 4x100m relay gold at the 2017 world championships , is one of 10 suspects charged with conspiracy to defraud as part of a police investigation into cryptocurrency fraud. It is alleged that the suspects were part of an organised crime group linked to a scam involving phone calls to multiple victims, from people purporting to be police officers and cryptocurrency companies. Continue reading...
An Avride autonomous vehicle at the Nvidia booth during the Nvidia GTC (GPU Technology Conference) in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. Kent Nishimura | Bloomberg | Getty Images The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday it is opening an investigation into a series of crashes involving startup Avride's autonomous vehicles that raised questions about their perform...
An Avride autonomous vehicle at the Nvidia booth during the Nvidia GTC (GPU Technology Conference) in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. Kent Nishimura | Bloomberg | Getty Images The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday it is opening an investigation into a series of crashes involving startup Avride's autonomous vehicles that raised questions about their performance. NHTSA said the vehicles' behavior may indicate excessive assertiveness and insufficient capability, which "may also constitute traffic safety violations." Some of the crashes resulted in property damage and one reported minor injury. NHTSA said the vehicles had executed lane changes into other vehicles and failed to avoid vehicles or objects in the road, resulting in crashes. NHTSA noted that Avride operates some of its AVs on Uber's platform and has offered passenger services in Dallas since December, where many of the incidents occurred. NHTSA cited 16 crashes of concern. Avride said it welcomes "the opportunity to provide the agency with a deeper understanding of our safety protocols and technology." It added that in all cases "the vehicle was under the supervision of a trained safety operator on board. In most cases, the vehicle was traveling at low speeds and many of the events were precipitated by the actions of other road users." The company said it has "implemented targeted technical and operational mitigations to address our findings from each reported incidents." Avride, which uses Hyundai's Ioniq 5 platform, said last month it has a fleet of 200 vehicles and is adding dozens more each month. NHTSA has opened several investigations into self-driving cars and advanced driver assistance systems in recent years. The agency said a preliminary review of crash videos showed instances of vehicles changing lanes into the path of others, failing to slow or stop for traffic ahead, and striking stationary objects partially blocking lanes. The investigation will assess ...
aprott Neurostimulation device company Mobia Medical ( MOBI ) priced its initial public offering at the midpoint of the range ahead of its trading debut on Friday, raising roughly $150M in gross proceeds. The company, formerly known as MicroTransponder, priced the offering of 10M shares at $15.00 each at the midpoint of the initial pricing range of $14 and $16 per share. Underwriters have received...
aprott Neurostimulation device company Mobia Medical ( MOBI ) priced its initial public offering at the midpoint of the range ahead of its trading debut on Friday, raising roughly $150M in gross proceeds. The company, formerly known as MicroTransponder, priced the offering of 10M shares at $15.00 each at the midpoint of the initial pricing range of $14 and $16 per share. Underwriters have received a 30-day option to purchase ~1.5M additional shares at the IPO price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The offering is expected to close on Monday. Mobia ( MOBI ), which markets the neurostimulation device, Vivistim Paired Vagus Nerve Stimulation System, has recorded operating losses and negative operating cash flows since its inception in 2007. The Austin, Texas-based firm intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to expand its direct sales force, boost its R&D activities, and fund other operational activities. More on Mobia Medical, Inc. Mobia Medical Moves Forward On Its IPO Plan Financial information for Mobia Medical, Inc.