Today's News
Goldman Sachs has outlined the next phases of the artificial intelligence (AI) trade, emphasizing the high optimism surrounding AI in U.S. equities. The investment bank predicts three broad stages following the initial Nvidia (NVDA, Financial) boom, highlighting the significant impact of AI on stock performance. Nvidia has seen a remarkable 522% return since the beginning of 2023, with sales expected to surge by 300% in two years. Goldman Sachs anticipates the next phase to focus on infrastructure, involving stocks beyond Nvidia that are integral to the AI infrastructure.
Biogen (BIIB, Financial) announced the departure of its Chief Medical Officer, Maha Radhakrishnan, who left to pursue new endeavors. Priya Singhal, head of development, will serve as interim CEO. Radhakrishnan's exit follows her recent appointment to the board of newly public Alto Neuroscience (ANRO), signaling a significant change in Biogen's leadership amidst strategic challenges.
The S&P 500's six largest tech stocks, including Nvidia (NVDA, Financial), Meta (META, Financial), Microsoft (MSFT, Financial), Amazon (AMZN, Financial), Alphabet (GOOG, Financial), and Apple (AAPL, Financial), continue to dominate the market, driven by strong earnings revisions. UBS U.S. Equity Strategy reports that 2024 EPS growth expectations for these tech giants stand at 26.3%, compared to 6.1% for the rest of the S&P 500. This narrow leadership has been justified by the scarcity of high-quality earnings growth among other U.S. equities.
Adobe (ADBE, Financial) faced a significant drop after reporting mixed fiscal first-quarter results and guidance. Concerns about the company's ability to monetize artificial intelligence in the short term have led to a decrease in its stock price. Despite the challenges, Adobe is still considered an early beneficiary of AI, with potential paths to monetization expected to emerge later this year.
Uranium-related stocks saw broad gains following a statement from Kazatomprom, the world's largest uranium producer, indicating that global production will not meet market demand this decade. This announcement has led to a surge in uranium prices and a positive outlook for uranium producers and related ETFs, such as NexGen Energy (NXE, Financial) and Cameco (CCJ, Financial).
James River (JRVR, Financial) experienced a significant stock price increase following reports of a $15 per share takeover offer from Global Indemnity (GBLI, Financial). The offer, which represents a 122% premium over JRVR's closing price, has yet to receive a response from James River, sparking speculation about potential acquisitions in the insurance sector.
Apple (AAPL, Financial) has settled a class action lawsuit for $490M, related to allegations of defrauding shareholders over iPhone sales weakness. The settlement, pending court approval, addresses concerns raised by investors following a revenue forecast cut due to Sino-American tensions.
