Latest news with #NASDAQ100
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Investors taking on more risk through defense, international ETFs
In the latest installment of Yahoo Finance's ETF Report, Invesco's Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) are seeing some recovery from April's tariff-induced sell-offs. CFRA Research head of ETF research Aniket Ullal examines the investor behaviors driving ETF inflows, noting the growth in defense funds and international market ETFs. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here. Since the early April tariff induced sell-off investors are piling back into risk on trades with both Invesco's NASDAQ 100 pegged ETF and IShares small caps ETF both back in positive territory. But, there are still concerns ahead especially when it comes to the dollar still being under pressure. For this, I want to bring in Aniket Ullal, CFRA's research's head of ETF research. This week's ETF report brought to you by Invesco QQQ. Aniket, great to have you here. Uh talk to me about what you're seeing in the flows. It seems like investors are buying a little bit of risk in everything. Well, uh we try to look at both performance and flows in tandem because sometimes flows can lag uh performance. From a performance perspective what you said earlier is absolutely right. We saw bottom on April 8th, which was of course the date when President Trump paused reciprocal tariffs. Since before that date in the year, you know, SPY was down 18%, uh IBIT the Bitcoin ETF was down significantly, as was QQQ which is really the best proxy from an ETF perspective for the AI trade. All of those ETFs have bounced back significantly since then, most of them 20 plus percentage, in the case of uh IBIT more than 30%. So, from a performance perspective we have seen investors really go back and kind of take on more risk. To your point about the flows, there are certain categories where we've seen significant inflows, uh defense ETFs is one of them, utilities flows another. So, you know, both from a flows and performance perspective, it's a much healthier environment now for ETF investors than of course early April. Yeah. And talk to me about those flows into defense ETFs. What is that signaling to you about sentiment? I I That I think is really driven by what's happening in the uh budget reconciliation process. If you look at the budget there's another $150 billion allocated uh to defense. This is on top of the $850 billion, of course, in annual spending that's funded through a continuing resolution. So, you know, this includes $27 billion for the golden dome project which President Trump has kind of talked about quite a bit. Um so, this really benefits of course the large um defense contractors. You know, we've got ETFs like ITA, which provide exposure to the big defense contractors. But, there's also another huge component here which is software automation process automations benefits firms like Palantir, and ETFs like PPA, which are kind of broader in terms of their defense exposure and hold some of the software and kind of process automation companies actually benefit a lot from the defense trade. So, we actually think PPA is a good proxy, which is an Invesco defense ETF, for the kind of broader defense play when it comes to uh benefiting from the budget reconciliation process. That's that's a really great overview. I want to uh have you do the exact same thing but for international ETF flows. What are you seeing there? And what is it indicating to you about where, or I guess how convicted investors are in the narrative that international is going to continue to outperform U.S.? It's going to be interesting to see how patient investors are with international. In the past we have seen investors sometimes go to international when we've seen some seen some weakness in the U.S. and then pull back. So far, this year flows have been very strong particularly within uh Europe, and we starting to see in in emerging markets, emerging markets ex China be kind of an interesting trade. Within Europe of course, Germany is one of the engines of Europe. Uh we've seen stimulus in Germany in terms of, you know, 500 billion Euro um infrastructure uh build, you know, spending allocation. Uh we've seen defense stocks really lead that. And the way we think about European allocation is it's really a complement to U.S. allocation because U.S. ETFs are very very tech uh dominated, very dominated by the AI trade. If you look at European ETFs in general, they tend to have less than 5% to 10% of their exposure to IT. It's a lot more financials, it's a lot more industrials. And industrials really benefit from some of the stimulus we talked about. So, we think European trading is here to stay, but it's really non tech driven. It's much between industrials and financials play. Mm yeah. So given that, because the U.S. continues to win when it comes to large cap tech uh how much is the U.S. equity market sort of relying on a dollar snap back in order to have some sort of catalyst to new or all time highs? I think I think your intro, you know, you said it well, which is that is this 2020, probably not. Because you know, there are factors that are different now than than we saw last year, right, which was the very AI driven trade. Now we've got dollar weakness. We've got much more of course driven by uh tariff uncertainty. So, if this year we've seen the dollar, if you look at a trade weighted basket uh index of the dollar against trade weighted basket of currencies, it's down about 5% to 6% this year. That's That's actually improvement from a couple weeks ago. And because of that we've seen money go into uh currency ETFs, you know. You look at ETFs like FXY, which is kind of a uh Yen USD uh trade that's taken in over $400 billion. FXE, which is the Euro USD pair, uh is taken in $300 million. So, we have seen investors kind of go into currency ETFs as a way to capture some of this dollar depreciation. We have seen dollar depreciation moderate a little bit, but I think there's a lot we need to watch in the next couple of weeks particularly with what happened with the pause on tariffs on July 9th and how that plays out. Aniket, really appreciate you joining us. Thank you so much. Thank you.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Micron's Sell?Off Is a Prime Buying Opportunity
The market's been kind of rocky since late February, especially for tech stockssemiconductors in particular have taken a beating. But things turned around in a big way recently. On Monday, tech stocks shot up after the U.S. and China agreed to cut tariffs from 125% down to just 10% for 90 days. That was a huge relief for the market, and semiconductor stocks rallied hard. Micron, for example, jumped 7.6% in one day. Now, Micron's stock is up about 16.4% so far this year, which is way better than the NASDAQ 100 and S&P 500, which are only up 2% and 1.3%, respectively. In my opinion, all this ups and downs started with the panic over Trump's tariffs, and now the mood has flipped again with the new trade deal. It just shows how sensitive the market can be to headlines. But in times like this, I think it's important for investors to stay calm and focus on the bigger picture. Personally, I'm still bullish on Micron. I think the stock has a lot of upside ahead. Memory chip prices are going up, and demand from AI is only getting stronger. I believe Micron is in a good position to grow its sales and profits in 2025 and 2026. The company's fundamentals look solid. Their recent earnings were strong, and even though their forecast for the next quarter looked a bit slower, I think they'll hold up well. All in all, I still think Micron is a good buy right now, even after its recent jump. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Sign with MU. MU Data by GuruFocus Industry trends are lining up nicely for Micron's expansion and innovation plans. Data center spending is still going strong. Alphabet's CEO recently said Google will put $75 billion into AI infrastructure this year, and the biggest U.S. tech firms will collectively spend over $300 billion on data centers in 2025. Chinese rivals aren't holding back eitherthey're also pouring billions into beefing up their AI setups. Micron even warned customers it will raise prices because demand for its high?bandwidth memory (HBM) is likely to stay robust through 2026. That pricing power really shows off how strong Micron's HBM tech is. Mordor Intelligence expects the HBM market to grow at a 25.9% CAGR through 2030, and I believe Micron is well?positioned in that booming niche. Some worry that this AI spending surge could fizzle out and leave Micron with idle plants and weak returns. That's a valid risk, but I think it's premature to dismiss Micron's build?out. We've already seen a notable uptick in their machinery and facility investments in recent quartersclear signs they're scaling up capacity. On top of that, Micron is pouring money into R&D, and I believe that innovation is the key to protecting its moat and preserving pricing power. With $9.6 billion in cash and investments against $14.4 billion in debt, I think the company's $14 billion CapEx plan for FY 2025 is manageable. In my view, these aggressive investments in both CapEx and R&D will pay off over the long term. Micron's trailing?twelve?month revenue hit $31.3 billion, up from $25.1 billion at the end of FY 24 and just $15.5 billion in FY 23. Management is guiding for about $8.8 billion in revenue next quarter ($200 million), which at the midpoint implies roughly 29.2% YoY growth versus last year's $6.81 billion. DRAM still makes up about 76% of sales and grew 47% YoY, while NAND contributes around 23% and was up 18% YoY. That does show a bit of a growth slowdown, but it's right in line with the averages we've seen over the past few years. The longer?term AI memory story remains intact. The high?bandwidth memory market was worth $5.6 billion in 2024 and is forecast to expand to $22.5 billion over the next decade. AI chips need fast, on?package memoryexactly what Micron's DRAM tech delivers. HBM sales alone jumped over 50% sequentially, topping $1 billion for the quarter, or more than 12% of total revenue. Management also noted a shift to higher?priced 12?high stacks and expects the HBM TAM for 2025 to exceed $35 billion. If Micron hits that target, it could reach HBM market?share parity with its overall DRAM share by year?end, which should boost margins. Part of the margin story is supply tightness. An HBM bit takes three times (and eventually over four times) more silicon than a standard DRAM bit. As Micron allocates more leading?edge wafer capacity to HBM, it limits supply for other DRAM products like DDR5, tightening the market and supporting prices across the board. We're already seeing results: adjusted gross margin climbed from 20% to 37.9% YoY, and adjusted operating margin rose from 3.5% to 24.9%. For the next quarter, Micron is guiding a gross margin of about 36.5% (1%), up sharply from Q3 FY 24's 28.1%. Some growth moderation is natural as the business scales, but these margin improvements and pricing dynamics tell me Micron's fundamental outlook remains very solid. On its March 21 earnings call, Micron's management stressed that its direct exposure to the newly announced tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China is very limitedsemiconductors themselves remain exempt and only certain memory modules and SSDs carry modest duties, which Micron will pass straight through to customers rather than absorb into its margins. Then, on May 12, the U.S. and China stunned markets by agreeing to a 90-day truce that slashes U.S. duties on Chinese goods from as high as 145% down to 30% and cuts Chinese levies from 125% to 10%, immediately lowering landed costs for chipmakers and their customers . That breakthrough sent semiconductor shares sharply higherMicron jumped 7.6% on the news as investors piled back into tech amid hopes for steadier trade flows. Crucially, I believe semiconductors will stay off any future core tariff lists, given their vital role in U.S. tech and defense supply chainseven as policy talks proceed, any adjustments would need to be gradual and well telegraphed. Of course, Fed policy remains a wildcard, and if interest rates stay higher for longer, growth-oriented names like Micron could still see volatility as some investors rotate out of riskier assets. Micron's current P/S ratio sits at just 3.5xdown from over 7.5x in mid?2024and is near three?year lows. I know memory is a cyclical business, but this plunge below its average feels extreme compared to the underlying fundamentals. MU Data by GuruFocus Micron is currently trading at just 9 times its expected earnings for fiscal year 2025, which is historically low. Every time the stock has traded this cheaply in the past, it's usually marked a local bottom and set the stage for a rebound. Even if growth slows a bit from here, I think this drop in valuation is overdone. If we assume a conservative rebound to just a 13x forward P/E, still well below the 20x it reached in mid 2024, Micron's stock would be worth around $141. That's about 44 percent higher than where it's trading today. Considering the solid growth outlook and Micron's strong position in high bandwidth memory for AI infrastructure, this kind of discount doesn't make much sense. The fundamentals are strong and the market is likely underestimating both the earnings power and the long term demand for its tech. MU Data by GuruFocus I ran a simple DCF using FY2026 consensus revenue as Year 1, then a 12% revenue CAGR for Years 25, a 3% perpetual growth rate, and a 10% discount rate. I didn't bake in any big margin gains since I expect Micron to keep plowing money into R&D and CapEx as technology evolves. Even so, the model produces an intrinsic value per share about 22% above today's price. That kind of upside on a business with solid growth visibility and a strong market position is exactly why I'm getting in on Micron now. I'm encouraged that top allocators also see value here. David Tepper (Trades, Portfolio) upped his Micron stake by 14.3% in Q4 2024, adding about 150,000 shares at around $101now 1.36% of Appaloosa's portfolio. Vanguard holds 100 million shares, BlackRock about 96 million, State Street roughly 50 million, and Fidelity's FMR close to 48 million. Other notables like Donald Smith & Co, Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), Prem Watsa (Trades, Portfolio), Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio), and Jefferies Group (Trades, Portfolio) all maintain meaningful positions. This broad?based support from gurus and institutions reinforces my confidence that Micron's stock is set to outperform in 2025. In my view selling Micron after this recent pullback would be a missed opportunity. The tariff scare and questions over ramping up CapEx in 2025 have scared some investors, but I believe management's spending is exactly what's needed to meet surging AI?memory demand. There's no real reason to think tariffs will hit Micron as hard as the market fears, and today's forward valuation is at levels that historically have marked the bottom. With improving financials, a rock?solid balance sheet, and powerful AI tailwinds still building, now feels like the perfect time to add to a top AI memory play for the long run. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
RC Mowers names new CFO and expands sales team
This Green Bay-area robotic mower manufacturer has also added engineering and human resources roles to its growing team GREEN BAY, Wis., May 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- RC Mowers, a leading manufacturer of robotic and autonomous mowers, announced today that it has hired a new chief financial officer, along with key additions across its sales, engineering and human resources departments. The expansion supports the company's continued growth and commitment to innovation in the landscaping industry. "Helping commercial landscaping companies and public agencies solve real business challenges is one of our top priorities," said RC Mowers CEO Michael Brandt. "These new hires bring the expertise we need to keep pushing boundaries and stay at the forefront of autonomous and robotic mowing. We're excited to welcome them to the team." The company has tapped new CFO Dave Kempski to lead its financial strategy and operations by drawing on more than 30 years of financial and operational leadership to drive sustainable growth. Kempski has worked with both public and private technology and manufacturing companies, ranging from startups to global enterprises with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion. Kempski has been instrumental in a variety of high-impact areas, including mergers and acquisitions, divestiture transactions, financial planning and analysis, SEC and SOX compliance, equity and debt offerings and system implementations. He was instrumental in building the global finance function for a company that scaled from a startup to S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 status. Nationally, the company has also hired: Mike Brown, director of operations & quality. Brown's 30 years of experience spans production, inventory control, packaging and facility operations. As a Lean Six Sigma expert, he knows how to optimize production flow, minimize waste and enhance reliability through data-driven decision-making. A U.S. Air Force veteran, Brown's background as a mechanic shaped his problem-solving mindset and disciplined leadership style. Jeff Bowden, regional sales manager, Pacific Northwest. Bowden has experience in both equipment and technology sales. After receiving training as a diesel engine, weapons elevator and main propulsion maintenance technician in the U.S. Navy, Bowden started his career as a mechanic. He moved into sales shortly after, however, and has consistently proven to be a top negotiator with a knack for problem-solving. Michael Nichols, regional sales manager, mid-south region. Nichols has spent most of his career cultivating relationships with his clients while driving positive customer service experiences through education and consultation. His track record highlights his dedication to delivering results and plans to elevate RC Mowers' visibility in the mid-south region. Jason Mayosky, regional sales manager, California. Mayosky has more than 10 years of outside sales experience and understands how to maintain relationships to build business development. At RC Mowers, he will implement innovative sales and marketing strategies to increase the company's market share in the Golden State. The robotic mower manufacturer has also hired several positions that will work at the company's main office and factory in Suamico, Wisconsin. These include: Marcus Laabs, mechanical engineer. Laabs has more than five years of experience as a mechanical engineer and wants to help RC Mowers succeed through departmental collaboration. He enjoys bringing new products to the market. Evan Molnar, engineering designer. With experience as both an engineer and group leader, Molnar has experience bridging the gap between the engineering department and the manufacturing floor. He is certified in advanced composites and additive manufacturing with an adept knowledge of CAD, CAM and GD&T. Miranda Coonen, human resources generalist. Coonen began her professional career as a teaching assistant at her alma mater, the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point (USWP). From there, she went on to serve as an office administrator, where she managed everything from budgeting to inventory oversight. She also assisted in and eventually led the hiring process for UWSP's Health and Wellness School and for the payroll department. She will help RC Mowers manage its talent while onboarding new employees. For more information about RC Mowers, visit About RC Mowers Founded in 2018 and based near Green Bay, Wisconsin, closely held RC Mowers manufactures autonomous and remote-operated robotic mowers that solve the biggest challenges and improve opportunities for profitability and growth for landscaping contractors, public works departments, city, county, state and federal parks systems and roads departments, and many more. All of our robotic mowers are designed and manufactured in the United States, have a 30-day buy-back guarantee and come with a 72-hour parts shipping guarantee. We are redefining the business of mowing. For more information, visit MEDIA CONTACT:Heather RipleyRipley PR865-977-1973hripley@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE RC Mowers
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Nasdaq 100's overbought signal could mean more gains ahead
The Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) has surged over 6% in three of the last six weeks, triggering concerns it may be overbought. Yahoo Finance markets and data editor Jared Blikre — who also hosts the Stocks In Translation podcast — explains how a rare combination of technical signals could point to more gains ahead. Twice a week, Stocks In Translation cuts through the market mayhem, noisy numbers and hyperbole to give you the information you need to make the right trade for your portfolio. You can find more episodes here, or watch on your favorite streaming service. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here. The NASDAQ 100 just hit the gas, surging over 6% in three of the last six weeks. But has it sped too far, too fast? Is this market overbought? I'm Jared Blikre, host of Stocks and Translation. First, what is an overbought market? It's pretty simple. It means prices might have moved or rallied too far, too fast, and this sets up for a possible pullback. Now, technically, we can measure this with the relative strength index or RSI. That's the momentum gauge that we've discussed before. Above 70 is considered overbought, and below 30 is oversold. So let's test it out. Since 1985, if you bought the NASDAQ 100 on any random day, you are up a whopping tenth of a percent after one day. After about half a percent after a week, and a solid 17% after a year with an 81% hit rate. That is your baseline. So stocks tend to go up, right? Now, let's look at what happens specifically when the index RSI goes overbought. That's over 70, the way it is right now. That has happened 94 times since '85, and the first few days are unremarkable, modest gains at best. But fast forward one year, and you are still up an impressive 15% with an even better win rate of 83%. Not exactly a big warning sign here. But here's where things get really interesting. Right now, we have a breadth blast on top of that RSI signal. Just one month ago, only 11% of the NASDAQ 100 stocks were above their 200-day moving averages. That's a key technical level. Today, that number has exploded from 11% to 57%, and that, too, is overbought on the RSI. So we've only seen this dynamic combo six times since 2011, and guess what? Short-term, things can get a little choppy, but longer-term, three months out, you were up 7%, and after a year, an average gain of 26% with a perfect track record. Every single instance ended higher. So you stack them all side by side, and the story is clear. When price momentum and market breadth both signal overbought, that has been a setup for long-term outsize returns. It's not an instant green light, but the odds are firmly in your favor over the long haul. So bottom line, NASDAQ's rally might stall or stutter in the short term, but if history is any guide, this kind of overbought condition usually marks a launchpad and not a ceiling. So if you're betting on a sustained reversal, you might think twice. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Core Scientific (CORZ) the Best Young Stock to Buy According to Hedge Funds?
We recently published a list of the 11 Best Young Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORZ) stands against other best young stocks. NASDAQ CEO and chair Adena Friedman appeared on CNBC's 'Squawk Box' on April 24 to discuss what to make of the market volatility, as well as the IPO landscape. Friedman reported that NASDAQ achieved 12.5% overall revenue growth in the quarter, with every division posting double-digit increases. Specifically, the index business grew by 26%, which was supported by $27 billion of inflows during the quarter. Half of these inflows were directed into NASDAQ 100 index products, while the other half went into various other indexes offered by NASDAQ. Friedman also acknowledged that the economy entered the year with resilience but faced increasing uncertainty and volatility as the quarter progressed. However, she explained that such environments often drive clients to turn to NASDAQ as the market operator of choice to manage their trading volumes and capital flows. She noted that even amid market value fluctuations, NASDAQ saw inflows into its index products and strong demand for its fintech services. The discussion also indicated that while short-term market volatility can boost trading activity and liquidity, longer-term IPO prospects depend on broader economic conditions. Friedman said that IPO activity and investor behavior could change more significantly if the economy were to enter an extended recession. But for now, NASDAQ benefits from a strong start to the year and remains a preferred venue for investors to express their views. The conversation then turned to global capital flows, particularly as Chinese sovereign wealth funds may reduce investments in US venture capital and private equity firms. Friedman stated that the capital flows where returns are the strongest. She emphasized that asset owners and managers have 'fiduciary' responsibilities to their ultimate beneficiaries and will prioritize returns over the long term. Acknowledging the influence of geopolitical and political factors on investment decisions, Friedman stressed that NASDAQ's role is to provide the infrastructure that allows capital to flow efficiently regardless of shifts. We first used the Finviz stock screener to compile a list of young stocks that went public in the last 3 years. We then selected the 11 stocks that were the most popular among elite hedge funds and that analysts were bullish on. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that have stakes in them, as of Q4 2024. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here). An aerial view of a modern data center, its server racks humming with activity. Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 66 Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORZ) is a digital asset mining company that offers infrastructure, software, and hosting solutions across the US. It operates through self-mining, hosted mining, and HPC hosting segments. It provides data center facilities, miner deployment & management, and essential infrastructure services to support blockchain transactions and digital asset operations. On May 8, H.C. Wainwright analyst Kevin Dede maintained a Buy rating on Core Scientific with a $17 price target. The strategy centers on the company's high-density co-location business, which is driven by its contracts with CoreWeave. These agreements are structured as take-or-pay and fixed-price contracts, which ensure a consistent revenue stream regardless of utilization. CoreWeave is funding the majority of CapEx for these deployments. This model allows Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ) to maintain a light balance sheet, with its direct capital outlay on the largest 70-megawatt expansion being $104 million. The company expects to deliver 250 megawatts to CoreWeave by the end of 2025 and 590 megawatts by early 2027. It's also building out 570 megawatts of billable capacity across 4 locations. The Denton, Texas, facility is projected to deliver 260 megawatts of buildable capacity and potentially host one of North America's largest GPU clusters. Overall, CORZ ranks 4th on our list of the best young stocks to buy according to hedge funds. While we acknowledge the growth potential of CORZ, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold great promise for delivering high returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CORZ but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
