SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) stock and Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) stock are both surging again on Tuesday, each climbing 5% to 6% in midday trading. This is a continuation of Monday’s momentum, when SanDisk and Micron shares rallied sharply. The most evident trigger pertains to Micron amid the company’s tie-in with a well-known materials producer. Nevertheless, there are ... Memory Stocks Jump on Tues...
SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) stock and Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) stock are both surging again on Tuesday, each climbing 5% to 6% in midday trading. This is a continuation of Monday’s momentum, when SanDisk and Micron shares rallied sharply. The most evident trigger pertains to Micron amid the company’s tie-in with a well-known materials producer. Nevertheless, there are ... Memory Stocks Jump on Tuesday: SanDisk, Micron See Strong Gains Again
HAKINMHAN/iStock via Getty Images Investment Outlook Backblaze, Inc. ( BLZE ) recently reported its Q4 2025 and end-of-year financial results , beating quarterly revenue and EPS consensus estimates. I previously reviewed BLZE in July 2025 with a Sell outlook due to continued high operating losses. Operating losses have improved, but topline revenue growth is declining, core operating leverage cont...
HAKINMHAN/iStock via Getty Images Investment Outlook Backblaze, Inc. ( BLZE ) recently reported its Q4 2025 and end-of-year financial results , beating quarterly revenue and EPS consensus estimates. I previously reviewed BLZE in July 2025 with a Sell outlook due to continued high operating losses. Operating losses have improved, but topline revenue growth is declining, core operating leverage continues to trend lower, and gross margin headwinds will increase in 2026, despite higher RPO from a major deal. I remain bearish on BLZE until it can continue to produce larger deals to offset the decline of its computer backup segment. Backblaze’s Market and Approach The firm operates primarily in the cloud backup and storage market and targets small and mid-sized customers. According to a 2026 Mordor Intelligence market research report , the global cloud storage market was an estimated $145 billion in 2025 and was expected to exceed $513 billion by the end of 2031. If accomplished, this would represent a forecast CAGR of 23.45% from 2026 to 2031, a very strong rate of growth. The primary reasons for this expected growth are the continuing growth in demand from organizations for data backup and storage, with recent gains in generative AI applications only intensifying this growth factor. While the North America region accounted for nearly 38% of global spend in 2025, the Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at the highest rate of growth through 2031. Major industry players include: Hyperscalers: Amazon ( AMZN ) Alphabet ( GOOGL ) Microsoft ( MSFT ) Dell EMC ( DELL ). Developer/SMB-focused platforms: DigitalOcean ( DOCN ) Dropbox ( BOX ). Consumer backup/storage vendors: iDrive pCloud Icedrive NordLocker Others. The firm’s primary offerings include: B2 Cloud Storage Computer Backup. Its revenue contribution percentages are shown in the pie charts here: SEC The firm pursues new business via online marketing, social media, an in-house sales team, and word of mouth. Its prima...
showcake/iStock via Getty Images Amazon ( AMZN ) has been able to temporarily stop Perplexity from using its Comet agentic shopping bot from searching and purchasing products on the Amazon ( AMZN ) platform without navigating the site directly. A San Francisco court issued a temporary order while both sides argue the legality of using shopping bots to purchase merchandise without consent from the ...
showcake/iStock via Getty Images Amazon ( AMZN ) has been able to temporarily stop Perplexity from using its Comet agentic shopping bot from searching and purchasing products on the Amazon ( AMZN ) platform without navigating the site directly. A San Francisco court issued a temporary order while both sides argue the legality of using shopping bots to purchase merchandise without consent from the retailer. Additionally, Perplexity is prohibited from accessing password-protected Prime accounts and must destroy copies of Amazon’s data. Amazon ( AMZN ) accused the AI startup of committing computer fraud for disguising itself as a human to bypass Amazon’s terms of service and refusing to stop when ordered by the company. Perplexity argues that because Comet bypasses Amazon’s ( AMZN ) online advertising and cannibalizes its ad revenue, the issue is more about advertising dollars than security risks. “AI agents don’t have eyeballs to see the pervasive advertising Amazon bombards its users with,” Perplexity said in its response to Amazon’s lawsuit. Shopping bots have become much more prevalent and have raised concerns over not just security risks but also lost revenue as a result of apps like Instant Checkout. Despite its beef with Comet, Amazon ( AMZN ) is exploring AI tools with OpenAI ( OPENAI ) and other third-party agents. The court must decide, however, if Amazon’s “terms of service” extends to shopping bots as well as humans. Amazon argues it does not, while Perplexity believes it has the shoppers’ consent to purchase. “The preliminary injunction will prevent Perplexity’s unauthorized access to the Amazon store and is an important step in maintaining a trusted shopping experience for Amazon customers,” Amazon spokesperson Lara Hendrickson said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. The temporary order remains in place for one week. More on Amazon Amazon: Berkshire Hathaway Q4 Trimming And Capital Lease Accounting In Focus Amazon: I Bought The Recent Sell-Off Amazon: ...
Roman Tiraspolsky Blackstone ( BX ) and Blue Owl Capital Inc. ( OWL ) teamed up to acquire a minority stake in Atlas Holdings, a private equity firm that specializes in complex situations, the companies said on Tuesday. Financial terms of the transaction weren't disclosed. The investment was made through Blackstone GP Stakes and Blue Owl GP Strategic Capital units, according to a statement. Founde...
Roman Tiraspolsky Blackstone ( BX ) and Blue Owl Capital Inc. ( OWL ) teamed up to acquire a minority stake in Atlas Holdings, a private equity firm that specializes in complex situations, the companies said on Tuesday. Financial terms of the transaction weren't disclosed. The investment was made through Blackstone GP Stakes and Blue Owl GP Strategic Capital units, according to a statement. Founded in 2002, Atlas, which is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, and its affiliates own and operate a group of 30 industrial, manufacturing, and distribution businesses. "Atlas’s ability to transform complex industrial businesses into more resilient, higher-performing enterprises aligns with the differentiated, durable playbook we seek in a partner," said Blackstone GP Stakes Chief Investment Officer Ward Young. "We look forward to deepening our relationship and sharing Blackstone’s resources to support the firm and its portfolio companies." Atlas co-founder and Managing Partner Andrew Bursky commented, "The transaction further strengthens our ability to attract and retain top talent, and Blackstone and Blue Owl will provide meaningful strategic support to Atlas and our portfolio companies through their scaled GP support platforms, allowing us to selectively leverage the broader capabilities of their respective organizations." Blackstone ( BX ) stock rose 1.1%, while Blue Owl Capital Inc. ( OWL ) fell 1.9% in Tuesday afternoon trading. More on Blackstone Avoiding Blackstone And Blackstone Secured Lending Even Before BCRED Redemption Surge Blackstone: An Alternative Asset Compounder Built To Outperform Blackstone: Don't Let Sentiment Obscure The Fundamentals (Rating Upgrade) Blackstone is said to work with Citi on $1B ShyaHsin sale Blackstone's $4B New World Development deal remains stalled over control - report
There’s a line buried in HPE’s latest earnings commentary that tells you everything about where this company is headed. An HPE executive put it plainly: “Networking, which now represents 30% of our revenue and more than half of our profits.” That single sentence is the thesis. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) just posted Q1 FY2026 total ... Networking now 30% of HPE revenue but over half of p...
There’s a line buried in HPE’s latest earnings commentary that tells you everything about where this company is headed. An HPE executive put it plainly: “Networking, which now represents 30% of our revenue and more than half of our profits.” That single sentence is the thesis. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) just posted Q1 FY2026 total ... Networking now 30% of HPE revenue but over half of profits
Mineralys Therapeutics ( MLYS ) traded higher on Tuesday after the FDA accepted a marketing application for the company’s initial product candidate, lorundrostat, designed as a treatment for adults with high blood pressure. Specifically, the company has submitted the new drug application to seek U.S. approval of the oral aldosterone synthase inhibitor along with other antihypertensive drugs for ad...
Mineralys Therapeutics ( MLYS ) traded higher on Tuesday after the FDA accepted a marketing application for the company’s initial product candidate, lorundrostat, designed as a treatment for adults with high blood pressure. Specifically, the company has submitted the new drug application to seek U.S. approval of the oral aldosterone synthase inhibitor along with other antihypertensive drugs for adults with hypertension. Mineralys ( MLYS ) said that there was a clinically meaningful reduction in blood pressure in response to aldosterone in its Phase 2 Explore-OSA, which, however, didn’t indicate a clinically meaningful difference in terms of the main goal related to sleep apnea. Despite the failure in the main goal, “the blood pressure reductions and safety profile were clinically meaningful, especially for this difficult-to-control population,” added CEO Jon Congleton. The FDA has issued December 22, 2026, as the target action date, the Radnor, Pennsylvania-based biotech said. More on Mineralys Therapeutics Mineralys: Pre-NDA Feedback Sets Stage For A Pivotal 2026 Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Mineralys Therapeutics Historical earnings data for Mineralys Therapeutics Financial information for Mineralys Therapeutics
What happened According to an SEC filing dated February 17, 2026, Sagefield Capital LP initiated a new stake in CSG Systems International (CSGS 0.41%). The fund acquired 270,824 shares during the fourth quarter, with the estimated transaction value at $20.77 million based on quarterly average pricing. The quarter-end value of the position also stood at $20.77 million, accounting for both share pur...
What happened According to an SEC filing dated February 17, 2026, Sagefield Capital LP initiated a new stake in CSG Systems International (CSGS 0.41%). The fund acquired 270,824 shares during the fourth quarter, with the estimated transaction value at $20.77 million based on quarterly average pricing. The quarter-end value of the position also stood at $20.77 million, accounting for both share purchases and any stock price movement during the reporting period. What else to know This was a new position for Sagefield Capital LP, now accounting for 1.76% of its reportable U.S. equity portfolio as of December 31, 2025. Top five holdings after the filing: NASDAQ:EXE: $80.91 million (6.9% of AUM) NYSE:PR: $61.60 million (5.2% of AUM) NYSE:MTDR: $47.42 million (4.0% of AUM) NYSE:COP: $41.51 million (3.5% of AUM) NYSE:FTI: $37.44 million (3.2% of AUM) As of February 17, 2026, shares were priced at $79.69, up 28.3% over the past year and outperforming the S&P 500 by 14.72 percentage points. Company Overview Metric Value Revenue (TTM) $1.22 billion Net Income (TTM) $55.88 million Dividend Yield 1.70% Price (as of market close 2/17/26) $79.69 Company Snapshot CSG Systems International provides revenue management, digital monetization, customer engagement, and payment solutions, with a focus on SaaS platforms and managed services for the communications sector. It generates revenue through recurring software subscriptions, professional services, managed services, and solution licensing. The company serves communications providers globally, as well as clients in retail, financial services, healthcare, insurance, and government sectors. CSG Systems International, Inc. operates at scale with $1.22 billion in TTM revenue, leveraging its proprietary SaaS platforms and managed service offerings to support clients' digital transformation and operational efficiency. The company's strategy centers on providing mission-critical billing and customer engagement solutions, which are deeply e...
The Acuity DXPD sensors are now available with lifetime warranties and reduced prices. Photo cr The Acuity Direct X-Ray Photon Detection (DXPD™) intraoral sensor provides clearer, more detailed digital x-ray images than is possible with CMOS sensors. CMOS sensors experience significant data loss as they process x-ray photons into visible images. DXPD technology captures more x-ray data immediately...
The Acuity DXPD sensors are now available with lifetime warranties and reduced prices. Photo cr The Acuity Direct X-Ray Photon Detection (DXPD™) intraoral sensor provides clearer, more detailed digital x-ray images than is possible with CMOS sensors. CMOS sensors experience significant data loss as they process x-ray photons into visible images. DXPD technology captures more x-ray data immediately, producing images with higher resolution and greater dynamic range while boosting users’ diagnostic confidence. Each sensor comes with the Acuity Imaging Software package, providing everything a clinician needs. See what you’ve been missing, and rest easy knowing that every Acuity includes a 3-year warranty, and optional lifetime warranties are also available. At the recent Chicago Midwinter Meeting, AMD Lasers introduced new pricing and a lifetime warranty for the Acuity DXPD intraoral sensor line, removing long-standing cost and replacement barriers associated with digital imaging systems. DXPD represents the newest approach to direct x-ray photon detection, offering reduced photon loss and a thinner sensor profile compared with conventional CMOS-based sensors. Powered by proprietary DXPD sensor technology and imaging software, these sensors deliver exceptional diagnostic clarity and reliability. Available in Size 1 and Size 1.5, Acuity DXPD sensors are now priced at $1,995 per sensor or $2,995 with lifetime warranty. The lifetime warranty includes 2 complete sensor replacements during the life of the product to provide long-term confidence for practices. For more information, call (866) 999-2635 or visit amdlasers.com.
The Royal Navy warship HMS Dragon is heading to the eastern Mediterranean, a week after its deployment was announced. The Type 45 destroyer is capable of shooting down drones and ballistic missiles fired by Iran and its proxies as the Middle East crisis continues. The crew of the vessel were seen lining the deck as the ship moved out of Portsmouth harbour. Officials said the ship had been prepared...
The Royal Navy warship HMS Dragon is heading to the eastern Mediterranean, a week after its deployment was announced. The Type 45 destroyer is capable of shooting down drones and ballistic missiles fired by Iran and its proxies as the Middle East crisis continues. The crew of the vessel were seen lining the deck as the ship moved out of Portsmouth harbour. Officials said the ship had been prepared as quickly as possible for deployment, with six weeks’ worth of work squeezed into six days. The announcement of the deployment of the ship came in response to a drone attack that hit the RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus. On Monday evening the defence secretary, John Healey, told the House of Commons that navy crews were working “tirelessly, 22 hours a day” to prepare the warship, as he faced accusations of not acting fast enough to protect British interests in the region. The Labour minister said proposals to deploy the warship were discussed six days ago and then signed off about 36 hours after a drone struck the RAF airbase at Akrotiri on Cyprus. That was on the fourth day of a joint US-Israel attack on Iran, which began after a highly visible six-week-long buildup of US forces in the Middle East and led to an Iranian retaliation against 10 countries within 24 hours.
Aliaksandr Trafimovich/iStock via Getty Images In my view, trading Tesla, Inc. ( TSLA ), starts with one basic rule: this is not a stock you analyze like a normal car company. I know some fundamental-driven value-based investors who would highly disagree with the statement above. However, as I'm about to show in this piece, EV deliveries can weaken, autonomy timelines can slip, and valuation can s...
Aliaksandr Trafimovich/iStock via Getty Images In my view, trading Tesla, Inc. ( TSLA ), starts with one basic rule: this is not a stock you analyze like a normal car company. I know some fundamental-driven value-based investors who would highly disagree with the statement above. However, as I'm about to show in this piece, EV deliveries can weaken, autonomy timelines can slip, and valuation can stay extreme, yet the stock can still rally as long as the macro backdrop rewards risk-taking behaviour. That is the core of my playbook on trading narrative stocks like Tesla. Right now, Tesla still has a powerful long term autonomy story, mainly due to its humanoid venture, valued at over $30B, and the massive rollout of robotaxis planned in the first half of the year. However, the weaker risk environment makes the setup significantly more fragile, especially as the stock is right at the 200-day moving average. Overall, I downgrade my rating to a hold. Below, I explain why it's not a sell yet. The Latest On The Autonomy Story I'm looking at the autonomy story, as it appears that's what the market really cares about. Evidence of that is the following remarks from a BofA analyst, who upgraded the stock last week to a buy rating: We expect TSLA to quickly become a leader in robotaxi services, given its ability to scale more profitably than competitors. We see autonomous vehicles spurring the next era of mobility and, as the most significant change agent in the Auto 2.0 landscape, offering consumers the prospect of saving time, safer travel, and more accessible transportation In my view, fundamentals are secondary in the rationale of most people on the bid side of this stock. Just take a look below at the quarterly data below, showing the yoy change in total deliveries (i.e., model Y/3 + other models): Author Compilation At the same time, take a look at the TSLA chart below: Guidance Terminal The stock jumped by 120% between the lows in April and the highs in December last yea...
UK inflation could end the year higher than previously expected at 3% because of the US-Israel war in Iran, the government’s economics watchdog has warned. David Miles, a senior figure at the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), said inflation could end the year close to 3% – a percentage point higher than expected before the war – because of the energy price shock triggered by the crisis in th...
UK inflation could end the year higher than previously expected at 3% because of the US-Israel war in Iran, the government’s economics watchdog has warned. David Miles, a senior figure at the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), said inflation could end the year close to 3% – a percentage point higher than expected before the war – because of the energy price shock triggered by the crisis in the Middle East. The UK’s official inflation target is 2%. Oil prices fell on Tuesday after rising above $100 (£75) a barrel on Sunday, but remain significantly above the level before the US and Israel began bombing Iran just under a fortnight ago. A barrel of Brent crude was trading at $89 on Tuesday afternoon. Miles told the Commons Treasury committee that if current energy prices were sustained, the UK would face a “material, significant” increase in inflation, delivering a “noticeable” and “unwelcome” increase in living costs for British households. On Tuesday the oil price was nearly a fifth higher than before the military action began, while gas prices are up by more than 50%. “If there is no change in the picture on the prices from now on, forward, we estimate something like 1% higher consumer prices by the end of the year. “That’s orders of magnitude as of right now. I’d have given you a different answer probably yesterday morning, and by the end of this week, it could look different again. It’s not clear which way we go from here.” His comments come after Rachel Reeves warned Britain to prepare for rising inflationary pressures as the fallout from the war in the Middle East begins to feed through to domestic energy prices. The chancellor has made the cost of living a top priority for Labour this year, including measures to cut energy bills. However, economists say the likelihood of a drawn-out US-Israeli war with Iran could drive up energy prices and stoke inflationary pressures in Britain and around the world. Headline inflation in the UK is currently running at 3%,...
Earnings Call Insights: Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. (PRTH) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Thomas Priore reported that Priority grew net revenue for the year by 8%, adjusted gross profit by 14%, adjusted EBITDA by 10%, and increased adjusted EPS by $0.52 or 102% year-over-year to $1.03 for fiscal 2025. He highlighted, "We ended the year with 1.8 million total customer accounts operating on our ...
Earnings Call Insights: Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. (PRTH) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Thomas Priore reported that Priority grew net revenue for the year by 8%, adjusted gross profit by 14%, adjusted EBITDA by 10%, and increased adjusted EPS by $0.52 or 102% year-over-year to $1.03 for fiscal 2025. He highlighted, "We ended the year with 1.8 million total customer accounts operating on our commerce platform, up from 1.2 million at the end of last year. Annual transaction volume in 2025 increased by $20 billion to $150 billion and average account balances under administration improved by $500 million from the prior year to $1.7 billion." Priore stated, "We anticipate achieving 6% to 9% top line revenue growth to a range of $1.010 billion to $1.040 billion and generating adjusted EBITDA of $230 million to $245 million in 2026 despite headwinds related to lower interest rates, a challenging macroeconomic and consumer spending environment and the continued investment in early-stage growth opportunities within Priority Tech Ventures." CFO Tim O’Leary shared, "For the fourth quarter, reported revenue growth of 8.8% included organic growth of 6.8%, fueled by strong 13% growth in payables and 18% growth in Treasury Solutions, complemented by 6% reported growth in Merchant Solutions, which included 3% organic growth." O’Leary emphasized segment performance: "Adjusted gross profit from our Payables and Treasury Solutions segments represented 62% of the total for the year... The 3 percentage point year-over-year organic increase in Q4 is indicative of our continued investment in higher growth, higher-margin operating segments." Outlook Management expects consolidated revenue of $1.01 billion to $1.04 billion in 2026, reflecting 6% to 9% growth, with 4% to 7% organic growth. Adjusted EBITDA is forecast between $230 million and $245 million. Segment guidance includes 6% to 8% revenue growth in Merchant Solutions (3% to 4% organic), 8% to 10% organic growth in Payables, an...
The Society of Authors (SoA) has launched a scheme to help identify works written by humans in a market increasingly flooded by AI-generated books. The scheme is the first of its kind launched by a UK trade association, and allows authors to register their books and download a “Human Authored” logo to display on their back cover. The logo can be displayed on the back cover of books. Photograph: So...
The Society of Authors (SoA) has launched a scheme to help identify works written by humans in a market increasingly flooded by AI-generated books. The scheme is the first of its kind launched by a UK trade association, and allows authors to register their books and download a “Human Authored” logo to display on their back cover. The logo can be displayed on the back cover of books. Photograph: Society of Authors The SoA said the absence of any government measure to compel tech companies to label AI-generated output meant readers were struggling to distinguish between books written by a human, and machine-generated work based on AI models trained on copyrighted work without permission or payment. It mirrors a similar scheme launched by the Authors Guild in the US at the beginning of 2025. Mary Beard, the classicist, is one of several high-profile authors who have backed the scheme and plan to register their works on the Human Authored website. “It’s only going to be human authored books on my desert island,” she said. Malorie Blackman, the children’s author, said the scheme “seeks to highlight the imagination, commitment, craft and care taken to produce stories and books which can be enjoyed by everyone. “Any creative endeavour requires time, effort, a willingness to learn from mistakes and failure, and a determination to persevere – lifelong, essential skills which cannot be learned and honed by allowing AI to do all of our creative thinking and production for us. “Surely part of the pleasure of reading, listening to songs, watching films and dramas, looking at an artwork and, in fact, sharing any creative endeavour is that sense of connection with the content creator, that feeling that they are speaking to you on some deep, emotional level that is entirely absent when the work has been produced by AI.” View image in fullscreen Malorie Blackman: ‘Any creative endeavour requires time and effort.’ Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Guardian The scheme and logo was launche...
Ildo Frazao/iStock via Getty Images Software Selloff Stabilized, What About Private Credit? Blue Owl Capital's ( OWL ) stock has tumbled by 63% from its 2025 peak. If you pull out a five-year chart, it's hovering near an all-time low. You probably know the story and are wondering if this is a good time to buy. The key issue here is that OWL is trapped in a liquidity crisis. The Blue Owl Corp II (B...
Ildo Frazao/iStock via Getty Images Software Selloff Stabilized, What About Private Credit? Blue Owl Capital's ( OWL ) stock has tumbled by 63% from its 2025 peak. If you pull out a five-year chart, it's hovering near an all-time low. You probably know the story and are wondering if this is a good time to buy. The key issue here is that OWL is trapped in a liquidity crisis. The Blue Owl Corp II (BDOC II) fund has prevented investors from taking money out. Fund managers are rushing to offload private credit products. As Warren Buffett said, "Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked." It all started last month when the software sector had a panic selloff. Suddenly, everyone was worried about agentic AI disruptions. You've seen many headline news, such as Anthropic's new Claude plugins and the " 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis " from Citrini Research. The sentiment around private credit has turned sour because of it. The risk is that these leveraged software companies might not be able to pay back their debts if SaaS businesses are eventually replaced by AI. Blue Owl Under this narrative, the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF ( IGV ) tanked 25% year-to-date in February. JPMorgan called out the SaaS software EV/sales fwd dropped to 3.6x, nearing a 10-year low. You can argue that the SaaSpocalypse is overdone, but I believe the private credit market will remain volatile. FRED JPMorgan's CEO, Jamie Dimon, once said, "when you see one cockroach, there are probably more." But who is the "cockroach" here? Simply put, when a company borrows money, lenders want something as collateral. These could be assets, which should be worth more than the loan itself. But how do we value these assets? It's a problem if private credit lenders lower their standards (such as accepting high leverage companies) when the market was booming. In reality, these asset values could be worth less than the loans. During distress periods, these companies will face i...