Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) just received twin price target hikes from two major firms, both landing on the same number. Barclays raised its price target to $195 from $186 while reiterating an Overweight rating, and Mizuho analyst Wei Fang lifted his target to $195 from $190 with an Outperform rating. The convergence comes one day after Alibaba’s ... Wall Street Splits on Alibaba: Two Firms Hike Price Tar...
Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) just received twin price target hikes from two major firms, both landing on the same number. Barclays raised its price target to $195 from $186 while reiterating an Overweight rating, and Mizuho analyst Wei Fang lifted his target to $195 from $190 with an Outperform rating. The convergence comes one day after Alibaba’s ... Wall Street Splits on Alibaba: Two Firms Hike Price Targets to $195 as Cloud Growth Hits 38%
Razvan25/iStock via Getty Images The U.S. military has destroyed more than 90% of Iran’s roughly 8,000 naval mines, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper, offering the clearest measure yet of progress against one of Tehran’s most disruptive maritime threats. Cooper told lawmakers that over 700 airstrikes targeted Iran’s mine inventory, though he did not speci...
Razvan25/iStock via Getty Images The U.S. military has destroyed more than 90% of Iran’s roughly 8,000 naval mines, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper, offering the clearest measure yet of progress against one of Tehran’s most disruptive maritime threats. Cooper told lawmakers that over 700 airstrikes targeted Iran’s mine inventory, though he did not specify how many devices had been deployed in the Strait of Hormuz versus eliminated in storage or aboard vessels. The campaign is part of a broader effort that has included more than 13,000 strikes on Iranian military infrastructure. Tactical wins, strategic stalemate U.S. officials argue the operation has significantly degraded Iran’s conventional capabilities. Cooper said Tehran no longer has the capacity to challenge U.S. dominance in the air or at sea, describing its remaining threats as limited to lower-level harassment such as drones, rockets and proxy activity. Still, Iran’s asymmetric playbook continues to matter. Drone and missile attacks have persisted, hitting regional energy assets and even U.S. equipment, while the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed after months of disruption to commercial shipping. That disconnect has fueled criticism in Washington. Senator Jack Reed said the objectives of the campaign remain unclear, noting that Iran’s leadership, missile stockpiles and nuclear materials are largely intact, even as the waterway remains shut. Costs mount as conflict drags on The U.S. has leaned heavily on high-end munitions, burning through billions of dollars in weapons that are costly and slow to replace. At the same time, Iran’s cheaper drones and missiles have continued to inflict damage, underscoring the imbalance in cost and strategy. Cooper highlighted broader operational gains, including thousands of strikes on weapons production sites and command structures, which he said have disrupted Iran’s ability to rebuild and coordinate forces. U.S. and al...
Netflix’s job listings indicate an generative AI-heavy animation studio is coming. | Image: The Verge This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers , a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week. Netflix has been building a new internal studio called INKubator that aims to use AI to produce short-form animated content: The str...
Netflix’s job listings indicate an generative AI-heavy animation studio is coming. | Image: The Verge This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers , a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week. Netflix has been building a new internal studio called INKubator that aims to use AI to produce short-form animated content: The streamer is hiring for a wide variety of roles, including producers, software engineers, and CG artists to staff INKubator, according to a number of recently published job listings. Netflix has yet to publicly announce its plans for INKubator, which job listings also sometimes refer to as INK. The company did not immediately respond to a request for c … Read the full story at The Verge.
Two of the hottest names in tech right now are Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) . While Sandisk only began trading on its own a little over a year ago, it's been on a tear ever since. Meanwhile, Nvidia has been a hot buy since artificial intelligence (AI) became a huge buzzword on the markets, and today it's the most valuable company in the world, with a valuation eclipsing $5 tril...
Two of the hottest names in tech right now are Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) . While Sandisk only began trading on its own a little over a year ago, it's been on a tear ever since. Meanwhile, Nvidia has been a hot buy since artificial intelligence (AI) became a huge buzzword on the markets, and today it's the most valuable company in the world, with a valuation eclipsing $5 trillion. There are compelling reasons to buy these stocks today. With Sandisk, it's smaller in size and is benefiting from the surge in demand for memory and storage products. Nvidia, meanwhile, has incredibly strong financials and is at the center of the AI revolution . Which stock are you better off buying right now? Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Six major Wall Street firms hiked their price targets on Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) on May 14, following a blowout fiscal Q3 2026 report that sent shares surging roughly 19% after the close. The coordinated wave of revisions reflects a clear thesis shift: Cisco’s accelerating hyperscaler order book has decisively answered the long-running bear case that ... Six Firms Just Piled Into Cisco: Wall S...
Six major Wall Street firms hiked their price targets on Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) on May 14, following a blowout fiscal Q3 2026 report that sent shares surging roughly 19% after the close. The coordinated wave of revisions reflects a clear thesis shift: Cisco’s accelerating hyperscaler order book has decisively answered the long-running bear case that ... Six Firms Just Piled Into Cisco: Wall Street Rushes to Hike Price Targets After 20% Earnings Pop
Gary Yeowell/DigitalVision via Getty Images Starwood Property Trust, Inc. ( STWD ) did not manage to restore its dividend coverage ratio in the first quarter and continues to suffer an increasing dividend shortfall in its business. While the REIT is seeing strong demand for new loan fundings, especially in its commercial real estates ("CRE") and infrastructure lending business, the fact that Starw...
Gary Yeowell/DigitalVision via Getty Images Starwood Property Trust, Inc. ( STWD ) did not manage to restore its dividend coverage ratio in the first quarter and continues to suffer an increasing dividend shortfall in its business. While the REIT is seeing strong demand for new loan fundings, especially in its commercial real estates ("CRE") and infrastructure lending business, the fact that Starwood Property under-earned its dividend for five consecutive quarters -- displaying an increasingly negative trend -- is highly concerning. As a result, while I am not yet ready to downgrade shares to Sell, I do have a slightly negative outlook on Starwood Property Trust and would expect the gap between share price and the REIT’s BV to continue widen unless the REIT significantly improves its coverage situation. Seeking Alpha Previous rating I specifically downgraded shares of Starwood Property from Strong Buy to Hold last year due to growing concerns about the REIT's dividend coverage. While I most recently (in February) maintained a Hold rating on Starwood Property, citing a strong liquidity position and the possibility of non-core asset sales in order to make up any dividend shortfall, the dividend trend is concerning, with STWD under-earning its dividend at a growing amount. Strong originations in the commercial segment In the first-quarter, Starwood Property grew its portfolio, through the lever of new originations, to $31.7B, showing a Q/Q increase of $1.0B. The portfolio grew, as we will see below, mainly because of new loans the REIT originated in its core business, commercial & residential lending. As we can see in the portfolio split below, Starwood Property has more than half of its assets -- a total of 52% -- invested in commercial loans which are responsible for 61% of earnings available for distribution (calculated before the deduction of corporate management expenses). Starwood Property A contradictory picture has emerged within Starwood Property, however, whi...
The long-term case for Costco rests on the fact that its membership model strengthens when inflation squeezes household budgets, and the data entering mid-2026 says that squeeze is back. Costco (NASDAQ:COST) closed Q2 FY2026 with 82.1 million paid memberships and an 89.7% worldwide renewal rate, a figure so stable across quarters it functions more like ... Inflation Just Hit 3.8% and Nine Out of T...
The long-term case for Costco rests on the fact that its membership model strengthens when inflation squeezes household budgets, and the data entering mid-2026 says that squeeze is back. Costco (NASDAQ:COST) closed Q2 FY2026 with 82.1 million paid memberships and an 89.7% worldwide renewal rate, a figure so stable across quarters it functions more like ... Inflation Just Hit 3.8% and Nine Out of Ten Costco Members Re-Up Every Year. Here Is Why That Math Matters.
Ralf Hahn Along with its Q1 results, Brookfield Corp. ( BN ) said it's advancing plans to combine Brookfield Corp. and its insurance business, or BNT. "As our insurance platform continues to scale, the combination will enhance capital efficiency and flexibility, supporting our ability to deploy capital globally into high-quality investment opportunities, and our commitment to provide excellent ser...
Ralf Hahn Along with its Q1 results, Brookfield Corp. ( BN ) said it's advancing plans to combine Brookfield Corp. and its insurance business, or BNT. "As our insurance platform continues to scale, the combination will enhance capital efficiency and flexibility, supporting our ability to deploy capital globally into high-quality investment opportunities, and our commitment to provide excellent service and long-term certainty for our policyholders," said Brookfield President Nick Goodman. The combination is expected to allow Brookfield to fully utilize its permanent capital base — an incremental ~$145B of cash, equities, real estate, and other investments — to support the growth of its insurance operations. Brookfield Corp. ( BN ) reported Q1 distributable EPS of $0.66, up from $0.65 in Q1 2025. Revenue of $18.6B, missing the Visible Alpha consensus of $21.1B, increased from $17.9B a year ago. Asset management distributable earnings rose to $765M from $684M in the year-ago quarter, while wealth solutions distributable earnings were flat at $430M. Operating businesses' distributable earnings of $360M dropped from $426M in Q1 2025. The company ended Q1 2026 with $188B of capital available to deploy, including $74B of cash financial assets and undrawn credit lines at the corporation, its affiliates, and its wealth solutions business, as well as $114B of uncalled private fund commitments. More on Brookfield Corporation Brookfield Corporation Is A Buy (Technical Analysis) Brookfield Is Building The Backbone Of The AI Economy Brookfield: Finding The Right Mix Of Capital Growth, Hard Assets, And High Margins Brookfield Asset Management prices $1B note offering Brookfield Asset Management launches $1 billion commercial paper program