Category: Portfolio Management

Feb 4th, 2024 - Let’s face it, Apple (AAPL) (Purchased 0.6 units @ $183.96) has had a less than desirable 6 months. The stock has barely moved since June, and isn’t having the most positive beginning to 2024. Most investors have concerns regarding iPhone 15 and 15 pro sales, especially when it comes to the Chinese market, which has proven to be a particularly challenging demographic given the domestic competition. All those factors combined have contributed to a couple of bearish quarters that have even resulted in the company falling second to Microsoft (MSFT) (Purchased 0.1 units @ $374.44) in market valuation.  However, the company’s CEO Tim Cook hasn’t expressed concerns regarding poor iPhone sales. His focus is entirely directed toward the company as a whole, especially the Apple Vision…

Feb 3rd, 2024 - In the latest round of earnings calls from major tech companies including Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, and Apple, a common theme emerged: substantial investments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are crucial for future growth.  Tech leaders highlighted the importance of introducing AI across every layer of their technology stack. Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, stressed the transition from talking about AI to applying it at scale, winning new customers and driving productivity gains. The generative AI boom, marked by sophisticated chatbots and assistants, particularly benefited Nvidia, whose GPUs power large language models created by major players in the field. To finance AI initiatives and the necessary cloud infrastructure, cost-cutting measures are being implemented across various departments. Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, highlighted 2023 as the 'year of efficiency,' emphasizing…

Feb 2nd, 2024 - Friday indices performances: the S&P 500 closed the session with a + 1.07% performance, rising for a fourth-straight week thanks to strong tech earnings and reaching a new record. Thanks to almost the same tech companies, the Nasdaq was up by 1.74%, and also the Dow Jones gained 0.35% in this session.  Meta Platform shares soared around 20% on Friday, after posting a better-than-expected result in the fourth quarter of 2023. The company has also declared its first dividend of 50 cents per share, that will be paid in late March, along with authorization for additional stock buybacks. Portfolio Holding Apple (AAPL) (Purchased 0.6 units @ $183.96) experienced a 2% stock decline despite beating expectations in Q1 earnings with $2.18 EPS and $119.6 billion in revenue.…

Feb 1st, 2024 - Today shares jumped and fell after many companies reported their quarters’ results, but in general the market reacted positively, the biggest winner was NASDAQ as it grew 1.3% closing at 15,361.64. Just points lower we have the S & P 500 with an increase of 1.25% that closed at 4,906.19 and lastly DOW JONES growing 0.97% closing at 38,519.84. Shares of Internet of Things service provider Digi International (DGII), soared today, as much as 16.2% after the company reported fiscal first-quarter 2024 financial results. Despite the results being negative as revenue fell 3%, net loss of $3 million and adjusted earnings per share of $0.48, flat from a year ago, shares jumped as they beat expectations. In fact analysts were only expecting revenue of $105.8 million,…

Jan 31st, 2024 - On Wednesday, Wall Street experienced its most significant decline since September after Big Tech stocks reported earnings. The S&P 500 lost 1.6% . The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.2%, and the Dow fell 0.8%. FED held rates unchanged.The market was pricing rate cuts to start in March but chairman of FED Powell said that he thinks it would be too soon to start cutting in March, however he also expressed that inflation is heading towards their target and rate cuts will start at some point this year. One of our portfolio holdings, Novo Nordisk (NVO) (Purchased 1 unit @ $100.88) increased by more than 5% after posting a Q4 earnings report that topped estimates. (Earnings of 71 cents compared to 66 cents expected.) The company announced that…

Jan 30th, 2024 - On Tuesday, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), one of the main chipmakers worldwide,  disclosed 2024 Q1 revenue expectations way lower than Wall Street analysts’ estimates, while the AI processors sales are expected to increase sharply. With respect to the second feature,  it must be considered that many businesses are trying to find alternatives rather than using AI  chips developed and sold by Nvidia. However, the AMD chips represent one of the few available solutions and probably the most appropriate one, providing an incredible competitive advantage to the company in this sector. So, focusing on the analytical data, AMD forecasted revenue is equal to $5.4 billion against the $5.73 billion expected by market operators, while the 2024 AI revenue expectation increased $1.5 billion from the previous value of…

Jan 29th, 2024 - In a surprising turn of events, Amazon has decided to abandon its planned acquisition of iRobot, a renowned vacuum-maker company, known for its Roomba devices; this move comes after both companies acknowledged that obtaining regulatory approval for the deal was an insurmountable challenge. Alongside this announcement, iRobot disclosed plans to lay off approximately 31% of its workforce, equating to around 350 employees, and simultaneously, Colin Angle, iRobot's Chair and CEO, has stepped down with immediate effect. Following this news, iRobot's stock experienced a 10% decline during morning trading. The uncertainty surrounding the fate of the deal intensified when The Wall Street Journal reported that the European Union was unlikely to grant regulatory approval. Indeed, in July, the European Commission initiated an investigation, expressing concerns that the…

Jan 28th, 2024 - Given the USA is currently entering the presidential race, it is wise for us to look at how a possible republican victory might affect the stock market, and especially, our portfolio. As it stands, Donald Trump seems to have the upper hand over Nikky Haley in the republican party, meaning we will probably see a repeat of the 2020 race, featuring Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Joe Biden has had a relatively firm stance on the export of Artificial Intelligence related technology to China, banning certain Nvidia products from being exported altogether. These bans haven’t significantly impacted Nvidia, as the Palo Alto based company has successfully managed to build replacements for every GPU that got banned. However, Trump would have a much more strict stance in…

Jan 27th, 2024 - JPMorgan Chase is undergoing significant leadership changes, stirring speculation about the eventual successor to current CEO, Jamie Dimon. The reshuffle involves key executives, including Jennifer Piepszak and Marianne Lake, who were previously considered front-runners for Dimon's position. Piepszak, former co-head of JPMorgan's consumer bank, now shares the role of co-head of the commercial and investment bank with Troy Rohrbaugh, an experienced leader in the bank's trading operations. Marianne Lake, Piepszak's former partner, transitions from co-head to become the sole CEO of the consumer bank, overseeing major operations in retail banking, credit cards, and small business lending. These strategic moves aim to provide Piepszak and Lake with more experience as they remain in the spotlight of the ongoing succession race. In 2021, when appointed co-heads of consumer…