Core Viewpoint - Oracle's stock is gaining attention with a 2.3% increase in pre-market trading, following an upgrade to 'Buy' by Oppenheimer analyst Brian Schwartz, who set a price target of $185, indicating over 25% upside potential from the last close of approximately $146 [1][2]. Group 1: Stock Performance and Analyst Insights - The stock's valuation multiples have decreased by more than 50% since September, making the risk-reward profile more attractive despite the early nature of the call [2][3]. - Oracle's shares have experienced a significant decline of roughly 25% in 2026, attributed to investor concerns regarding the company's heavy investments in AI and cloud infrastructure [4]. - Oppenheimer's analysis suggests that Oracle is a "strong EPS compounder," projecting pro-forma earnings per share (EPS) to grow at a 20% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through fiscal 2023, reaching $12.66, with a bull-case scenario estimating EPS growth at around 30% annually to $17.79 [5]. Group 2: Factors Supporting Optimism - Several factors contribute to the positive outlook, including reduced counterparty, financing, and execution risks due to recent capital-raising efforts and significant customer acquisitions like OpenAI [6]. - Despite the optimism, there are acknowledged concerns regarding balance sheet strain, margin pressure from AI investments, elevated counterparty risk, and the substantial financing needed for Oracle's infrastructure expansion [6].

Core Viewpoint - Broadcom is set to continue its dividend payout streak with an estimated quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share on March 27, 2026, marking sixteen consecutive years of dividend increases [1][5]. Dividend Details - The next estimated dividend of $0.65 per share aligns with the previous payout on December 31, 2025, meaning shareholders with 100 shares will receive a total of $65 [2]. - If the dividend remains unchanged, the total annual payout for Broadcom would amount to $260 [3]. Competitive Position - Broadcom's dividend is considered attractive compared to competitors, such as Nvidia, which offers a minimal dividend of $0.01 per share. Broadcom's forward dividend yield is approximately 0.8%, which is below the technology sector average of around 1.37% [4]. - As of February 24, 2026, Broadcom's stock price is $325.49, with a market capitalization of $1.58 trillion [5]. Financial Health - The forward payout ratio is slightly above 18%, indicating that the dividend is well-supported by earnings, allowing for potential increases while maintaining capital for growth [6]. - Historically, Broadcom's stock has recovered from typical ex-dividend dips in about 8.6 days on average, which may be relevant for investors considering dividend-capture strategies [6].

Core Viewpoint - Meta Platforms' stock may be nearing a critical point before a potential deeper correction, as indicated by technical analysis suggesting a loss of upside momentum since its all-time high in August 2025 [1] Technical Analysis - The stock price remains supported by the weekly 100-period moving average, which has prevented a sharper decline, marking it as the last major support level before the risk of a broader bear cycle increases [2] - The monthly relative strength index has shown bearish divergence since July 2025, indicating weakened momentum despite previous price increases, similar to patterns observed before significant declines in 2018 and 2022 [3] - Historical data suggests that a break below the weekly 100 moving average could lead to declines towards the monthly 50 moving average, with potential losses of approximately 44% in 2018 and 40% in 2022 [4] Price Targets and Predictions - If the bearish trend continues, the next downside target for Meta stock could be around $480, aligning with the monthly 50 moving average and the 0.236 Fibonacci retracement level [4] - In a potential intensified bear cycle, the stock could drop to the monthly 100 moving average and the 1.236 Fibonacci extension around $360, indicating a possible decline of about 55.8% [6] Company Developments - On February 24, Meta announced a multi-year partnership with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to deploy up to 6 gigawatts of AMD Instinct GPUs for its AI infrastructure, marking one of the largest chip supply deals to date [7] - Meta's capital expenditure guidance for 2026 is projected to be between $115 billion and $135 billion, primarily focused on AI data centers, despite concerns over high capital spending [11] Stock Performance - As of the latest session, Meta's stock closed at $639.30, reflecting a year-to-date decline of 3% amid concerns regarding capital expenditures [8] - Analysts maintain a bullish outlook on Meta, with a 'Strong Buy' consensus on TipRanks, supported by 39 buy recommendations and an average 12-month price target of $864.62, suggesting a potential upside of approximately 35% from the current price [11][13]

Core Viewpoint - Wall Street strategists have raised their outlook for the S&P 500, predicting it will surpass 7,000 in the coming months, with an end-of-year target of 7,500, indicating a potential gain of approximately 10% from current levels [1][4]. Group 1: Market Projections - The S&P 500 is projected to end the year at 7,500, which is about 9% above its current value of 6,892 [1]. - This forecast represents a modest upgrade from previous projections and would mark the fourth consecutive year of advances for the index [4]. Group 2: Earnings Growth Expectations - Analysts anticipate S&P 500 earnings growth of 14.8% in 2026, slightly higher than the 14.4% estimate for 2025 [5]. - Technology companies are expected to be the primary drivers of this growth, with profit growth in the sector projected to rise by approximately 33% next year [5]. Group 3: Valuation Insights - The S&P 500 currently trades at about 21.6 times forward earnings, down from 22.5 at the beginning of the year, indicating some moderation in valuations while fundamentals remain supportive [5]. Group 4: Market Sentiment and Risks - Despite the positive year-end target, many strategists foresee potential turbulence, with a majority expecting a market correction within the next three months, viewing it as a reset rather than a change in the broader trend [6]. - Key risks include persistent inflation pressures, the trajectory of Federal Reserve policy, trade tensions, and geopolitical uncertainties [7]. Group 5: Sector Performance - Software stocks have experienced significant declines since the start of the year, reflecting investor caution, yet the sector is still projected to lead overall earnings growth [8]. - The consensus view suggests resilient corporate performance and steady economic conditions will support further gains for the S&P 500 through the end of 2026 [8].

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) is reportedly preparing to re-enter the stablecoin market in the second half of the year.Sources familiar with the matter claim the company has circulated a request for product (RFP) to third-party firms to help administer stablecoin-based payments, according to a report published by CoinDesk on February 24.The renewed interest in stablecoins follows a failed attempt to launch one with Libra in 2019, which faced significant regulatory resistance amid political scrutiny. Convers ...

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) stock is back in the green in 2026 and the AI chipmaker is expected to pay its first dividend of the year later next month. Specifically, NVDA investors will be paid out on March 27 and will receive a payout of $0.01 per share. The $0.01 per share figure marks no difference from the past quarter’s dividend issued on December 26, 2025.Nvidia dividend schedule. Source: Dividend.comHow much will NVDA investors receive in dividends next month?Accordingly, the annual payout sits at $0.04, m ...

Core Viewpoint - International Business Machines (IBM) is experiencing significant stock pressure, with February potentially being its worst month in over 50 years, primarily due to competition from AI advancements by Anthropic [1][2]. Group 1: Stock Performance - IBM's stock dropped 13.15% following Anthropic's announcement, marking the company's worst trading day in the 21st century with a closing price of $224.50 [1][2]. - The stock's decline is attributed to concerns over the company's reliance on COBOL, a programming language that is becoming increasingly obsolete due to a shortage of developers [3][4]. Group 2: COBOL and Developer Bottleneck - COBOL is critical for IBM's operations, facilitating large-scale transactions across various sectors, yet the number of developers proficient in it is diminishing as new programmers favor languages like Python and Java [4][5]. - Reports indicate that hundreds of billions of lines of COBOL code are in use daily, but the institutional knowledge is fading as the original developers retire [5][7]. Group 3: AI's Role in Modernization - Anthropic claims its AI technology can modernize COBOL infrastructure, potentially allowing teams to update their codebases in quarters instead of years, which poses a threat to IBM's traditional business model [8][9]. - Despite the potential benefits of AI in modernization, IBM's long-term business outlook remains under pressure due to these technological advancements [8].

Core Viewpoint - A banking giant, Goldman Sachs, maintains a Buy rating on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) with a price target of $600, indicating confidence in the company's long-term growth despite current price declines [1][2]. Group 1: Stock Performance and Analyst Ratings - The reaffirmed price target of $600 represents a projected upside of approximately 55% from Microsoft's current value of $389, despite a year-to-date drop of over 15% [2]. - Wall Street analysts remain bullish on MSFT, with a consensus rating of 'Strong Buy' from 36 analysts, where 33 recommend buying, three suggest holding, and none recommend selling [7][8]. - The consensus 12-month price target is $594.02, implying a potential upside of 52.88%, with a high-end target of $678 and a low estimate of $392 [8]. Group 2: Technological Developments - The positive outlook follows Microsoft's announcement of the Maia 200 AI inference accelerator, which is designed to enhance AI workloads and reflects progress in the company's internal chip development [4]. - The Maia 200's performance is reportedly becoming competitive with other solutions, which could improve Microsoft's AI compute price-to-performance positioning within Azure [5]. - Enhanced efficiency at the silicon level may help Microsoft achieve AI compute gross margins similar to traditional CPU-based cloud workloads, thereby strengthening profitability in its cloud segment [5]. Group 3: Risks and Challenges - Execution risks are present, as large-scale production benchmark data for the Maia 200 has not yet been fully demonstrated, and successful manufacturing ramp-up is essential for broader rollout [6]. - Expanding software ecosystem support, including developer tools and inference engines, is critical for maximizing adoption of the Maia 200 [6]. - The competitive landscape is rapidly evolving, with rival accelerator programs advancing, which could pose challenges for Microsoft [6].

A banking giant has suggested that Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) stock still has potential upside despite the ongoing drop in prices.In this case, Goldman Sachs has reiterated its Buy rating on Microsoft and maintained a $600 price target, signaling continued confidence in the software giant’s long-term growth prospects despite competitive pressures in artificial intelligence.The reaffirmed target represents a projected upside of roughly 55% from Microsoft’s press-time value of $389. Notably, MSFT has had a roug ...

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) analyst Ken Gawrelski apparently took Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Friday, February 20 rally as a sign it was time to alter the previously-neutral rating for the technology giant’s equity.Specifically, the Wall Street expert elected to raise his recommendation for GOOGL shares from ‘Neutral’ to ‘Buy’ on Monday, February 23, while simultaneously raising his 12-month price target from $353 to $387.With Google stock trading at $315 following a 0.05% decline year-to-date (YTD) and a 5-day ra ...