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Luke Kawa

IBM “separating themselves from the pack,” added to Wedbush’s Best Ideas list

If you’ve read any of Dan Ives’ work, you’d know the Wedbush analyst is pretty bullish on the medium-term prospects for AI, deeming it a “once in a generation 4th Industrial Revolution.”

But like any good analyst, he’s got to make calls on which tech companies are going to be big beneficiaries of sea change and which will be taken out by the tide. To that end, he’s named IBM as the newest addition to Wedbush’s Best Ideas List. Shares are up about 1% in early trading.

“While there is a lot of noise in the software world around driving monetization of AI, a handful of software players have started to separate themselves from the pack,” he wrote. “The clear standout over the last month from checks has been the cloud penetration success at IBM which has a massive opportunity to monetize its installed base over the next 12 to 18 months.”

Big Blue is up 11% this year, far outstripping the 3.6% and 8% declines in the S&P 500 and US tech sector, respectively. Shares of the computing giant had their best day since 1999 after reporting surprisingly strong earnings in January, bolstered by big growth in its AI business.

“In a nutshell, investors remain nervous about the AI spending trajectory in this backdrop yet to the contrary we see many enterprises accelerating their strategic paths for 2025 which is bullish for the software ecosystem,” he added.

Earlier this month, Ives also added Tesla to his “Best Ideas” list.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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