Displaying items by tag: nasdaq

Amid ongoing market volatility, technology stocks centered on AI, cloud computing, 5G, and IoT continue to gain traction, offering long-term growth potential. Small and mid-sized companies like UiPath Inc., Five9 Inc., and Innodata Inc. are drawing attention with strong revenue growth and recent positive earnings estimate revisions. 

Despite challenges stemming from concerns over high valuations and Federal Reserve policy shifts, the tech sector remains buoyed by relentless innovation and adaptability. Investors are particularly interested in companies providing automation platforms, intelligent cloud solutions, and advanced AI-driven data services. 

For example, UiPath has introduced generative AI features tailored to business needs, Five9 focuses on enhancing customer engagement through its cloud contact center platform, and Innodata supports Big Tech with AI data engineering services. 

Finsum: While the AI battle will happen at scale these companies could prove to be fruitful growers in the AI age.

Technology stocks are making a strong comeback, with the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 approaching record highs after their recent pullback. For those exploring artificial intelligence opportunities, stocks with reasonable valuations and solid growth potential remain attractive. 

Evercore strategist Julian Emanuel identifies promising options like Visa and Micron Technology, which leverage AI to enhance performance and competitiveness. Visa's adoption of AI-driven fraud prevention tools is expected to drive earnings growth of over 12% annually for the next two years. 

Similarly, Micron’s AI-related components, crucial for powering Nvidia’s chips, position the company for a 25% annual sales increase through 2026. 

Finsum: These examples highlight how AI can fuel profitability and create sustained momentum in select technology stocks.

Technology stocks have had an excellent 2024, driven by the growing demand for AI services and digital transformation. Generative AI has spurred substantial investments from major tech companies like Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft. 

This surge in demand is also benefiting the semiconductor industry, with global sales expected to grow by 16% in 2024, reaching $611.2 billion. As the tech sector continues to thrive, the Nasdaq Composite has gained over 26% year-to-date, with the momentum expected to continue into 2025. 

Stocks such as American Superconductor, Vertiv, Toast, and Impinj have seen impressive gains and are well-positioned to capitalize on the ongoing growth in AI and technology. These companies, with strong growth prospects, have become attractive investment opportunities amid the sector's favorable outlook.

Finsum: There still seems to be positive momentum for AI technology now but its medium-term outlook to be profitable still is suspect. 

Last week, the Nasdaq made an all-time high pushing past its previous highs from January 2022. This was before the Federal Reserve embarked on an aggressive campaign of rate hikes to curb inflation. In one respect, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is playing catch-up with the S&P 500 which has been setting new record highs over the last couple of months and is now more than 10% above its January 2022 levels.

While a major component of these advances is due to the strength in the 7 largest technology stocks and frenzy around the AI boom, it’s worth noting that the equal-weighted indices for the Nasdaq and S&P 500 also made new, all-time highs as well. It’s an indication that the bull market is expanding in terms of participation. It also leads to the conclusion that the market is strong from a bottom-up perspective as well.

Another way to assess the market’s strength from a bottom-up perspective is corporate earnings. With Q4 earnings season nearly in the books, it’s clear that earnings remain robust despite a host of macro headwinds. So far, 97% of S&P 500 companies have reported. 73% topped earnings expectations, while 64% exceeded revenue estimates. Overall, earnings were up 4% compared to last year, marking the second consecutive quarter of earnings growth, validating the bullishness of investors. 

Finsum: The stock market is making all-time highs consistently in 2024. The strength goes beyond the ascendant tech sector as equal-weighted indices are hitting new highs, while corporate earnings continue to grow despite an array of headwinds. 

American Century Investments recently launched its newest active ETF, the American Century Short Duration Strategic Income ETF (SDSI). The fund, which now trades on the NASDAQ, will seek to generate attractive yield by investing across multiple fixed-income market segments that maintain a short-duration focus. The fund invests in both investment-grade and high-yield, non-money market debt securities. This could include corporate bonds and notes, government securities, and securities backed by mortgages or other assets. SDSI is a transparent active ETF with an expense ratio of 0.32%. The fund management team includes Jason Greenblath, Charles Tan, Jeffrey Houston, CFA, and Peter Van Gelderen. Ed Rosenberg, American Century's head of ETFs, noted that "SDSI expands our existing Short Duration Strategic Income capabilities to an actively managed ETF. The Short Duration Strategic Income ETF seeks to complement an investor's core bond holdings with high current income, broad diversification, and the potential to mitigate the impact of rising rates."

Finsum: American Century continues to build up its active ETF lineup with the addition of the American Century Short Duration Strategic Income ETF.