Calgary arts groups left to find new space once longtime theatre society shuts down next month
Evergreen Theatre Society, which offers educational programming and 24,000 square feet of studio, theatre and office space, is going out of business at the end of June. Its 10-year, $5.5.-million loan contract is not being renewed.
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Globe and Mail
39 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Could Buying Palantir Today Set You Up for Life?
Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) has been around for more than 20 years and in its earlier days was most known for software contracts with government clients. But in recent times, commercial customers have offered this player an exciting new revenue stream, and today, with both government and commercial growth soaring, the future looks bright. Investors have recognized this, and they've been piling into Palantir shares for quite some time. Last year, the stock surged 340%, posting the best performance in the S&P 500. In fact, Palantir's share price has climbed so far and so fast that it's found itself at an eye-popping valuation. Still, earnings have continued to march higher and haven't shown any signs of slowing. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More » Considering this, could buying Palantir today, even at the current valuation, set you up for life? Let's find out. One of the superstars of the AI boom So, first, a quick summary of Palantir's business. The company, through its software platforms, helps customers aggregate often the most disparate of data to make better use of it. Palantir has integrated artificial intelligence (AI) into this process and two years ago launched its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP). This has made the company one of the superstars of the AI boom as both governments and commercial customers raced to get in on this often game-changing tool. AIP can be useful in everything from battlefield operations, immediately identifying risks and implementing key plans, to business needs -- for example, customer United Airlines is using AIP for predictive maintenance, helping the airline avoid delays and millions of dollars in costs. How did Palantir reach so many customers so quickly with AIP? The company launched AIP bootcamps, sessions that allow potential users to go from zero to a use case within hours -- so they can see exactly how AIP could benefit their businesses. All of this has translated into explosive revenue growth, particularly as commercial customers discover that Palantir is no longer a business that primarily serves governments -- instead, its technology has broad applications that also are valuable in the commercial world. In the most recent quarter, U.S. commercial revenue advanced more than 70% to $255 million, and the U.S. commercial business delivered its most valuable quarter, booking total contract value of $810 million. That's up 183% from the year-earlier period. Growth in government and commercial revenue As I mentioned, this is as government revenue continues to climb in the double digits quarter after quarter, so Palantir has conserved the growth of its main revenue stream -- the government business -- and added to it with a newer and high-potential revenue stream -- I say "high potential" because companies across industries are aiming to apply AI to their businesses, and Palantir's AIP makes it easy for them to do this. Importantly, Palantir isn't only focused on revenue gains, but the company also has struck a fantastic balance between growth and profitability -- as seen in its Rule of 40 score. Scores of 40% or higher indicate a software player has balanced these two priorities well, so Palantir's delivery of a score of 83% shows the company is hitting it out of the park. Only about a third of software companies meet this rule, according to McKinsey research, and this further highlights Palantir's accomplishment. All of this is very positive, but now let's look at the one point that's been a thorn in the side of Palantir and its investors: and that's the stock's valuation. Today, it trades for an eye-popping 219 times forward earnings estimates, making some investors question whether they should buy the stock or even stay invested if they've already bought it. At such a valuation, the risk is any disappointment could hurt stock performance. Two important questions So, considering all of this, could this unstoppable (at least so far) stock set you up for life? There actually are two questions here, and the first is: Is Palantir a buy? If you're a value investor, you're sure to find a stock better suited to your strategy elsewhere. But if you're a growth investor and aim to hold on for at least five years, even at today's high valuation it's worth picking up a few Palantir shares. The forward price-to-earnings ratio we looked at, above, considers potential earnings next year -- but not over the long term. Palantir is well positioned to gain as the AI boom continues over the next several years, so even if the stock dips at certain points here and there, you still may benefit greatly from an investment today. As for setting you up for life, this growth stock could help -- but it's never a good idea to depend on one stock on its own to do the whole job. It's much too risky to put all of your eggs in one basket. Instead, supercharge your wealth-building power by investing in several quality stocks and holding on for the long haul. Should you invest $1,000 in Palantir Technologies right now? Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Palantir Technologies wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to173%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025
Globe and Mail
39 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
2 AI Stocks Down 49% and 86% to Buy Before They Soar, According to Certain Wall Street Analysts
Certain Wall Street analysts see The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) and Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST) as no-brainer buying opportunities at their current prices, as detailed below: The Trade Desk is 49% below its record high. But Shyam Patil at Susquehanna has set the stock with a target price of $135 per share. That implies 90% upside from its current share price of $71. Upstart is 86% below its record high. But Dan Dolev at Mizuho has set the stock with a target price of $85 per share. That implies 57% upside from its current share price of $54. Here's what investors should know about The Trade Desk and Upstart. The Trade Desk: 90% implied upside The Trade Desk operates the leading independent demand-side platform (DSP), software that helps media buyers plan, measure, and optimize ad campaigns. The Trade Desk is considered an independent ad tech company because it does not own media content and, therefore, has no reason to steer media buyers toward specific ad inventory. That differentiates the company from rivals such as Alphabet 's Google and Meta Platforms. Importantly, The Trade Desk was recognized as a DSP technology leader in recent reports from Forrester Research and Frost & Sullivan. Analysts mentioned its dominance in connected TV advertising and its use of artificial intelligence (AI) as key strengths. The company in 2023 announced Kokai, a platform upgrade featuring new AI capabilities that optimize the digital media buying process, helping advertisers buy the right impression at the right price to reach the right audience. In addition, The Trade Desk has a strong position in retail advertising, where partnerships with industry giants such as Albertsons, Dollar General, and Walmart provide the company with data that creates unique measurement opportunities on its platform. CEO Jeff Green recently told analysts, "We are convinced that based on the current landscape and current competitive set, we are the best positioned to win the lion's share of market share." Wall Street expects The Trade Desk's earnings to increase at 12% annually through 2026. That puts the current valuation of 31 times earnings between reasonable and expensive, but the company may perform better than the average analyst anticipates. The Trade Desk beat the consensus earnings estimate by an average of 11% in the last six quarters, and ad tech spending is forecast to increase at 14% annually through 2030. Here's the takeaway: The Trade Desk has a strong competitive position in a quickly growing industry. Shares are not cheap today, nor are they absurdly expensive. Of course, there is no guarantee the stock ever regains its previous record high, but patient investors should feel comfortable buying a small position. Upstart: 57% implied upside Upstart provides a lending platform that leans on artificial intelligence to help banks and credit unions quantify credit risk more accurately than traditional credit scores. Its machine learning models analyze thousands of signals across millions of repayment events to identify fraud and estimate the odds of default. Comparatively, traditional models consider a few dozen variables at most. Upstart says its AI models can approve more borrowers at lower interest rates than tradition underwriting models, which means its platform lets lenders operate more profitably. That value proposition should only strengthen over time. Its platform benefits from a network effect whereby the underlying AI models become more intelligent each time a borrower makes or misses a payment. As a caveat, Upstart is highly sensitive to interest rates. Loan originated on its platform during the last eight quarters delivered annual returns that exceeded the 2-year Treasury yield by more than 8 percentage points. That is a compelling return on investment, but the risk profile would change if the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, and Upstart would likely see less demand for its platform. Nevertheless, Wall Street estimates the company's adjusted earnings will increase at 195% annually through 2026. That makes the current valuation of 165 times earnings look reasonable. Additionally, the stock currently trades at 6.9 times sales, a discount to the one-year average of 7.3 times sales. Here's the takeaway: As with The Trade Desk, there is no guarantee Upstart ever regains its previous record high. But the company has a compelling value proposition for banks and credit unions, which should drive adoption of its AI lending platform over time. Long-term investors should feel comfortable buying a small position today. Should you invest $1,000 in The Trade Desk right now? Before you buy stock in The Trade Desk, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and The Trade Desk wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to173%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Trevor Jennewine has positions in The Trade Desk. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Meta Platforms, The Trade Desk, Upstart, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
1 Low-Risk Way to Help Grow Your Portfolio to $1 Million
For many investors, growing their portfolio to at least $1 million is a key goal, especially if their plan is to have a strong nest egg by retirement. But there's always the temptation to try to generate better returns in a shorter time frame, and that can lead people to take on more risk. The problem, however, becomes that if you incur losses through that strategy, then you may be inclined to take on even more risk to achieve even better returns to offset them. The situation can quickly spiral out of control, and cripple your investment plans. But to get to $1 million, you don't have to take on significant risk. A slow-and-steady approach of remaining invested in a top exchange-traded fund (ETF) for decades can be a no-nonsense way to build up a massive portfolio. Specifically, investing in an ETF that mirrors the broad S&P 500 index can put you on a path to a $1 million portfolio. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » Why the S&P 500? The S&P 500 index contains the 500 largest publicly traded U.S. companies. When a business reaches the level where it earns inclusion in the index, that's an added sign of its credibility. Historically, investing in the broad index has been a great strategy. Over the past 97 years, it has averaged an annual total return of around 10%, including dividend reinvestment. Over the course of a 10-year period, an investment that rises by 10% per year will grow by nearly 160%. And over a 20-year period, those gains rise to over 570%. Those are great returns, especially when you consider that the overall risk in this strategy is low. There will of course be years where the overall market performs poorly and loses money, but over the long term, you're likely to amass some strong gains. And you can track the S&P 500 through an ETF such as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: SPY). ^SPX data by YCharts. How to grow your portfolio to $1 million There are multiple ways you could invest in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF to put yourself on track to retire with a $1 million portfolio. You could invest a lump sum today and let it sit for the long haul. Or, if you don't have a large amount of money to invest now, then starting with a small amount and steadily investing more money each month or paycheck can work, too. That requires a bit more work, but either way, make sure you're reinvesting your dividends, and then watch your gains compound along the way. As an example of the buy-and-forget approach, let's postulate that you invest $35,000 into the SPY ETF today. Assuming that your investment grows by an average of 10% per year it would take nearly 36 years for it to reach a $1 million valuation. However, if that market doesn't fare as well in the coming decades as it has in the past -- and some pundits and market-watchers view that as a strong possibility given how hot the market has been in recent years -- then it could take longer than that. If instead, you contribute a set amount each month to an index fund, you can still get to a $1 million holding over the long term. Again assuming a 10% annualized return, the table below shows you what your future portfolio balance could be based on varying monthly investment amounts. Years Investing $200 per month Investing $250 per month Investing $300 per month 20 $153,139 $191,424 $229,709 25 $267,578 $334,473 $401,367 30 $455,865 $569,831 $683,798 35 $765,655 $957,069 $1,148,483 40 $1,275,356 $1,594,195 $1,913,034 Calculations by author. If you're able to invest $300 per month, that could put you on track to reach a $1 million portfolio balance before year 35. Tracking the S&P 500 is a safe long-term strategy There's no way to know how the S&P 500 will perform over the long haul, but investing in a fund that tracks it has been one of the best low-risk ways to achieve strong long-run returns. Investing in the SPY ETF can be a sensible strategy for a lot of investors, especially for those who would prefer not to spend a lot of time and effort analyzing individual stocks and managing their portfolios. Should you invest $1,000 in SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust right now? Before you buy stock in SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to173%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025
