Markets
markets
Matt Phillips
2h

Duolingo slips after Citi analysts trim price target and product announcements receive muted response

Duolingo dropped in early trading after Citi analysts snipped their price target to $375 from $400, citing, in part, some disappointment with announcements at Duolingo’s Duocon convention Tuesday, as well as deceleration in the growth of daily active users (DAUs) that continued into August.

Among other changes, the company announced improvements to its video call service — where language learners can practice their target language with an AI version of Duolingo characters — as well as enhanced offerings of its chess product, which it will expand to Android and offer in more languages, including Chinese.

“This year’s product announcements had a lower profile,” Citi analysts wrote, adding that they still “expect the video call improvements, better engagement drivers, and broader use case for chess to help drive better user growth trends.”

Still, Citi’s analysts pointed to decelerating year-on-year growth in key app metrics like downloads for their price target cut. Data from third-party groups that track app usage shows that the slowdown in the growth rate of daily active users, which seemed to stem from a social media backlash to an artless LinkedIn post from the company, continued through August.

“Duolingo DAU growth trajectory remains [the] key investor debate,” analysts at JPMorgan wrote in a note on Duolingo published Wednesday.

Through the end of August, DAU growth was 25% year on year, according to third-party data. That’s down from 31% in July, JPM said.

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markets
Luke Kawa
9m

Plug Power’s option-fueled romp higher continues to accelerate

For the second day in a row, Plug Power is surging on little to no news and a ton of seemingly bullish option flow.

Tuesday’s call volumes of 97,079 were over 5x the 20-day average, and the hydrogen fuel cell company has already nearly doubled that mark by 11:54 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

So far 181,671 call options have changed hands, with activity once again centered in contracts with a strike price of $2 that expire on October 17 and this Friday.

The put/call ratio is less than 0.03, which if sustained would be the lowest since May 27, 2020. The volumes appear to be a bit of a mirage when it comes to assessing just how bullish these flows are: some of this looks to be an unwind of the previous session’s trade, with the October call options being sold.

markets
Luke Kawa
32m

IonQ’s purchase of Vector Atomic will support efforts to grow its sales to governments, says Needham & Company

IonQ’s announced plans to acquire quantum sensor company Vector Atomic in an all-stock deal worth approximately $400 million. The purchase is expected to close in Q4.

“This acquisition marks a significant acceleration and expansion opportunity for IonQ as we continue to lead the commercialization of quantum technologies,” Niccolo de Masi, chairman and CEO of IonQ, said in a press release. “Integrating Vector Atomic’s sensing capabilities across our compute, networking, and space portfolios will advance our mission to provide scalable, commercial-grade quantum solutions for our customers today. The addition of Vector Atomic’s 29 pending and issued patents to IonQ’s formidable patent portfolio, and its talented team of scientists and engineers will help us reach our quantum technology goals.”

Needham analyst N. Quinn Bolton, who has a “buy” rating and $80 price target on IonQ, highlighted that Vector Atomic’s more than $200 million in government contracts and projects would help support the company’s growth in this area.

“Vector Atomic’s field-validated offerings, which include high-performance clocks, synchronization hardware, gravimeters, and inertial sensors, strengthen IonQ’s position as the only quantum company integrating computing, networking, and sensing within a single platform,” he wrote. “Vector Atomic’s portfolio of products has been designed to support mission-critical federal and national security applications.”

This deal comes on the heels of the closing of its acquisition of Oxford Ionics and its Analyst Day event, which served as a catalyst for IonQ and the broader quantum space.

Today, on the other hand, IonQ is not the top performer in the industry: that distinction goes to D-Wave Quantum, which is benefiting from a wave of bullish options bets.

markets
Max Knoblauch
38m

Lucid climbs out of its reverse stock split rut as EV demand swells

Lucid’s rallying like the end of August and beginning of September never even happened. The luxury EV maker rose more than 8% in Wednesday trading, climbing out of its recent all-time lows following the company’s 1-for-10 reverse stock split.

Lucid shares are above $21, or $2.10 presplit. That’s their highest level since the week leading up to the drop in late August.

Also potentially boosting the stock is the looming expiration of the $7,500 EV tax credit on September 30, which pricey Lucid vehicles can qualify for through leasing loopholes. Consumers have rushed to buy the vehicles before the credit ends, with EV registrations surging 27% in July, according to S&P Global Mobility. Lucid has been discounting its vehicles to capitalize on the sales bump.

markets
Luke Kawa
40m

D-Wave Quantum soars on a wave of bullish options bets

Shares of D-Wave Quantum are roaring higher, up 8% as of 11:27 a.m. ET, as traders press wagers on short-term upside for the annealing-centric quantum computing company.

Call volumes are running at 110,453 as of 11:28 a.m., more than double the 20-day moving average. And that flow has a particularly bullish tilt to it: the put/call ratio is under 0.2 so far, versus the 20-day average of 0.36.

The contracts seeing the most activity are call options that expire this Friday with strike prices of $21, $20, and $19.50.

Get Smart: D-Wave CEO Alan Baratz discusses how the quantum computing company competes against AI, potential acquisitions, and more

markets
Luke Kawa
1h

Opendoor surges as management commits to ongoing engagement with shareholders, confirms plans to expand services throughout the US

Every Opendoor shareholder I’ve spoken to in the past five days has stressed how important it is for management to be transparent, direct, and engage with shareholders. It’s a crucial part of why they believe in the stock and how they expect to receive positive reinforcement on its turnaround efforts.

Shares of Opendoor Technologies are surging double digits as the company fully committed itself to following that path.

“Opendoor Technologies Inc. (the ‘Company’ or ‘Opendoor’) investors and others should note that the Company has used, and intends to continue to use, Opendoor’s website, press releases, Securities and Exchange Commission (‘SEC’) filings, blogs, community hub and social media accounts, as well as the X (formerly known as Twitter) accounts of its Chief Executive Officer, @CanadaKaz, and @Opendoor, as means of disclosing material non-public information,” according to a filing. “Opendoor encourages investors and others to review the information Opendoor makes public in the foregoing locations as such information could be deemed to be material information.”

The company has given its retail base of shareholders the management they asked for, which propelled shares sharply higher on Thursday, and is also giving them the communications they’re demanding.

The filing also confirmed the plan to expand throughout the US, as announced by CEO Kaz Nejatian in a tweet on Tuesday:

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