Silicon chips are a good guide to global economic health owing to their ubiquity – they are everywhere, from smartphones to laptops, cars to industrial robots, and servers to smart meters.
And global sales of silicon chips are expected to top $600 billion in 2023 to set a second consecutive all-time high, analysts at AJ Bell highlighted in a client note.
Tesla remains the top electric vehicle (EV) brand in 2023 according to UBS Evidence Lab’s EV annual consumer survey.
UBS said Tesla kept its lead in the survey with 42% of battery EV purchase intenders considering a Tesla.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)’s bid to improve transparency around its financial performance and confirmation of its 2023 guidance are no grounds to change estimates for the car manufacturer, according to analysts at Jefferies.
Ford on Thursday unveiled its intention to report financial results by group (Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro), instead of by geographic regions.
The price of gold is set to reach US$2,050 per ounce by the year-end and $2,100 per ounce by March 2024, analysts at UBS have forecast.
“We have always viewed gold as a hedge in a portfolio context, and during recent market turbulence, gold’s safe haven qualities have shined through again,” the analysts wrote in a note to clients.
Analysts at Wedbush Securities have reiterated their ‘Neutral’ rating and $70 price target for Block after the payments app’s stock came under pressure on Thursday amid fraud allegations by short-seller Hindenburg Research.
Shares of Square's parent company Block closed down 14.8% on Thursday and fell another 3% to US60.10 shortly after the opening bell in New York on Friday.
PureTech Health (LSE:PRTC, NASDAQ:PRTC, OTC:PTCHF) PLC announced a lucrative royalty deal with Royalty Pharma for its KarXT drug, developed by Karuna Therapeutics.
In response, Liberum, the corporate broker, has increased its target price for PureTech Health (LSE:PRTC, NASDAQ:PRTC, OTC:PTCHF) from 420p to 470p, reiterating its 'buy' recommendation.
Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) stock held onto Wednesday’s gains after the company reported strong fourth quarter operating results supported by its North America segment, warranting its ‘Outperform’ rating and a higher price target from analysts at Noble Capital.
Shares of the global internet media company that provides exclusive offers and experiences for members traded at $5.28 in early Thursday afternoon trade in New York following Wednesday’s 13% jump.
Fears of financial market contagion in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank crisis have driven investors to the perceived safe haven store of value that gold offers.
The price of the yellow metals has been driven up by about US$150 per ounce over the past two weeks, trading at US$1,981.80 shortly before noon on Thursday.
PureTech Health PLC (LSE:PRTC, NASDAQ:PRTC, OTC:PTCHF) shares jumped 10% higher after it agreed a US$500mln royalty deal, US$100mln of which will be paid upfront.
In the first half hour of trading the shares were up 21.49p at 224.49p.
Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) shares edged lower while the broader market was largely flat ahead of the Federal Reserve’s March interest rate decision despite the athletic apparel company’s latest results topping expectations.
After the market closed on Tuesday, the company posted diluted earnings per share of $0.79 on revenue of $12.39 billion, surpassing Wall Street forecasts of diluted earnings per share of $0.55 on revenue of $11.48 billion.
Corporate broker Liberum has repeated its buy and 56p a share price target on Atlantic Lithium Limited (AIM:ALL, OTCQX:ALLIF, ASX:A11) after it revealed a staged project development plan for its Ewoyaa lithium project in Ghana.
The new blueprint focuses on an optimised process flowsheet and mine throughput scenarios following the release of an increased mineral resource estimate in February 2023.
Analysts at Canaccord Genuity (TSX:CF, LSE:CF) and Stifel GMP have both repeated their ‘Buy’ rating for WELL Health Technologies after the digital health company posted stronger-than-anticipated fourth quarter results and upped its 2023 outlook.
WELL Health Technologies shares surged 8% on Tuesday after the company posted 4Q revenue of $156.5 million and gross adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $27.2 million.
Faron Pharmaceuticals Limited (AIM:FARN, OTC:FPHAF) is a ‘buy’ up to 524p, according to Peel Hunt in a note reacting to positive feedback from the US regulator following the completion of early-stage trials of the drug discovery group’s promising putative cancer treatment.
“Management commented that these trial data lay the groundwork for multiple routes to market and we believe this is an important milestone for the company, with Faron now able to reflect – with any future interaction with pharma – that their asset and plans align with FDA [Food & Drug Administration] thinking,” the broker told investors.
Los Andes Copper Ltd (TSX-V:LA) is undervalued following the release of a preliminary feasibility study for its Vizcachitas copper project in Chile, according to analysts at Stonegate Capital Partners.
The PFS showed ”‘very promising results,” setting the proven and probable reserves at 10.9 billion pounds of copper equivalent, increasing the amount of measured and indicated resources by 16% to 14.8 billion pounds and more than doubling the inferred resources to 15.4 billion pounds.
Analysts at Canaccord Genuity (TSX:CF, LSE:CF) have upped their revenue forecast for MGC Pharmaceuticals by 45% following recent positive developments at the pharmaceutical company.
On March 21, MGC announced that one of its flagship products ArtemiC, a natural anti-inflammatory and nutritional supplement, had gained the status of an over-the-counter (OTC) product in the United States.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is now a blue chip stock from a corporate debt perspective after Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the EV maker’s credit rating from junk status to investment-grade quality.
Moody’s analysts upgraded Tesla’s credit rating to Baa3, the first rung on its investment-grade ladder, from Ba1, its top rating for high-yield corporate debt.
Analyst at Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) have upgraded their rating and price target on UBS after it was revealed the investment bank would be buying troubled lender Credit Suisse.
The analysts upgraded their price target from ‘Neutral' to ‘Buy’ and upped their price target from 21 CHF to 23 CHF. UBS shares were trading up 8.3% at 18.75 CHF on Tuesday afternoon in Zurich.
Analysts at Canaccord Genuity (TSX:CF, LSE:CF) have reiterated their ‘Buy’ rating for Illumina Inc (NASDAQ:ILMN) following recent activism efforts against the biotechnology company led by veteran activist investor Carl Icahn.
Icahn, who owns a 1.4% stake in the San Diego-based DNA sequencing company, on March 13 issued a letter to Illumina shareholders criticizing its $7.1 billion merger with Grail and nominated three individuals to join the company’s Board of Directors.
Opportunities for generative AI are expected to be a big focus at Nvidia Corporation's (NASDAQ:NVDA) 2023 GTC conference next week, according to analysts at Wedbush Securities.
Of the 650 sessions at GTC, more than 10% are focused on generative AI, the analysts pointed out in a note to clients.
GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) faces several short- and long-term headwinds that are likely to weigh on its performance, leading to analysts at Wedbush maintaining an ‘Underperform’ rating on the stock, with a 12-month price target of $5.30 — against the roughly $16/$17 the stock currently trades at.
Ahead of the release of its fourth quarter fiscal 2023 results after the bell on Tuesday, they said the Street appears to be in a “generous mood for its holiday quarter estimates.”
Endeavour Mining PLC (LSE:EDV, TSX:EDV, OTCQX:EDVMF) has earned a price target raise and repeat ‘Buy’ rating from Canaccord Genuity (TSX:CF, LSE:CF)'s analysts who say the company remains one of their top picks among senior gold producers.
The analysts wrote in a note to clients that they were raising their target price for the stock from C$43 to C$45 following the company’s fourth-quarter 2022 results and year-end 2022 reserve and resource update.
Analysts at Eight Capital hit the road with Trillion Energy International Inc. (CSE:TCF, OTCQB:TRLEF) to see the company’s marketing tour in person and came away impressed.
The firm reiterated a ’Buy’ rating and C$1.50 price target in a note to clients published Thursday.
The current liquidity crisis within the banks will pass, says Jefferies, but a credit crisis may soon be upon us.
Contagion fears following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) should fade thanks to measures from the US Federal Reserve, Treasury and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has initiated coverage in US-based technology hardware group Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), alongside competitor Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company.
Analysts at the multinational investment bank believe Dell should benefit from an “improvement in investor sentiment over the next 12 months” as pricing estimates “approach a cyclical bottom” in Dell’s diversified lines of personal computers, servers and data storage, all the while benefitting from a “leading market share” position.
Atlantic Lithium Limited (AIM:ALL, OTCQX:ALLIF, ASX:A11)’s “exciting” Ewoyaa spodumene lithium project in Ghana is progressing well, with the definitive feasibility study on track to finish in the second quarter of 2023, according to analysts at house broker Liberum.
On the exploration front, drilling is planned to test for concealed pegmatites containing large lithium deposits which would “improve resource confidence and potentially add to the current resource estimate”.