Core Viewpoint - Wall Street analysts maintain a positive outlook on software businesses despite recent market declines, suggesting that the sell-off may be overdone and presenting potential investment opportunities in select software stocks [1][3]. Software Sector Overview - The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF has experienced a decline of over 22% since December 10, officially entering bear market territory as of February 3 [3]. - Analysts believe that certain software stocks could offer significant upside potential, with average price targets indicating increases of 47% to 63% [3]. Company-Specific Insights Datadog - Datadog's stock has fallen from nearly $200 per share in early November to around $120, indicating a potential upside of 61% according to analysts [5][9]. - The company provides cloud monitoring and security solutions, and is expected to grow revenue by 20% by 2026, leveraging AI to enhance operations and create new capabilities [6][8]. - Of the 33 analysts covering Datadog, 30 have a buy rating, reflecting strong confidence in its business model and future growth [9]. Snowflake - Snowflake's stock has an average price target suggesting a 63% upside, despite challenges in convincing investors of its AI strategy and its current lack of profitability [10][14]. - The company has formed partnerships with AI leaders and completed a $200 million deal with OpenAI, indicating its relevance in the AI space [13]. - Analysts remain optimistic, with 30 out of 33 providing buy ratings, highlighting confidence in its long-term potential [14]. Microsoft - Microsoft, while primarily known as a software company, is also seen as a major beneficiary of the AI boom, despite a 23% decline in stock price over the past six months [15][19]. - The company faced a sell-off following lower-than-expected growth in its Azure cloud business, which is critical for its AI-related revenue [16][18]. - Analysts have a strong positive outlook, with 34 out of 35 providing buy ratings, suggesting a 47% upside potential for the stock [19].

Core Viewpoint - The technology sector has experienced significant losses over the past week, with major companies facing double-digit declines, marking a three-month downturn in tech stocks [1][2]. Group 1: Market Trends - The slump in U.S. technology stocks has persisted for three months, primarily affecting growth stocks, which are companies that typically increase earnings faster than the market average [2]. - Investors have shifted their preference from growth stocks to value stocks, which are less volatile and often have cheaper valuations relative to their earnings and long-term growth potential [3]. - The Russell 1000 Value index has increased by 8.4% since Halloween, while the tech-heavy Russell 1000 Growth index has decreased by 3.7% [4]. Group 2: Investor Sentiment - There has been a notable decline in investor optimism regarding artificial intelligence, which had previously driven technology stock prices higher [6]. - The recent downturn in tech stocks has been exacerbated by a lack of confidence in AI's ability to significantly enhance corporate financial performance and the broader economy [6]. - The rapid rise in tech stock prices has made them vulnerable to sharp declines upon any signs of disappointment, as evidenced by Microsoft's recent stock drop despite beating Wall Street expectations [7]. Group 3: Company-Specific Performance - Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has seen a decline of almost 21%, Intuit (INTU) is down more than 17%, Micron Technology (MU) has dropped nearly 13%, Microsoft (MSFT) is down about 7%, Nvidia (NVDA) has fallen 9%, and Salesforce (CRM) has decreased by 12.5% [8]. - Microsoft experienced its largest one-day stock drop since March 2020, falling 11% due to signs of slowing cloud revenue, which is closely tied to AI [9].

Investment Opportunities in AI Sector - The AI sector presents several strong investment opportunities, particularly for stocks that are expected to benefit from significant AI spending [1] - Companies identified as excellent buys include Nvidia, Broadcom, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), and Microsoft, all of which are positioned to outperform the market [2] Nvidia - Nvidia is the world's most valuable company by market cap, driven by high demand for its GPUs, which are essential for training and running AI models [4] - The company has a market cap of $4.5 trillion, with a current price of $185.65 and a gross margin of 70.05% [5][6] - Analysts project a 52% growth for Nvidia in fiscal 2027, indicating strong long-term potential despite concerns about an AI bubble [6] Broadcom - Broadcom is competing with Nvidia in the AI chip sector by focusing on ASICs, which are optimized for specific workloads and can outperform GPUs in certain applications [7] - The company has a market cap of $1.6 trillion, with a current price of $333.06 and a gross margin of 64.71% [8][9] - Broadcom expects its AI semiconductor revenue to double year over year, indicating rapid growth potential [9] Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) - TSMC is a leading chip foundry with unmatched technology and capacity, making it a key player in the AI industry [10] - The company has a market cap of $1.8 trillion, with a current price of $348.85 and a gross margin of 59.02% [11] - Analysts forecast a 31% growth for TSMC this year and 22% next year, supported by sustained AI spending [11] Microsoft - Microsoft operates in both AI application and infrastructure markets, with its Azure cloud platform experiencing significant revenue growth of 39% year over year [13] - The company has a substantial backlog of $625 billion in its cloud business, indicating further growth potential [13] - Despite a recent stock decline, Microsoft is viewed as a buying opportunity, trading at 25 times forward earnings, the lowest in some time [14][16]

If you have been a participant or follower of/in the stock markets for a decade or longer, you will know that the week gone by was anything but normal. No, it’s not only about the crazy volatility in gold and silver or the rout in bitcoin. What made it exceptionally unusual was the rout in global enterprise software stocks, which, as it is, have been underperforming the markets significantly over the last year. The same technology stocks that many apparent ‘experts’ claimed ‘hands down,’ over the last three ...

We recently published 12 Stocks Jim Cramer Talked About. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the stocks that Jim Cramer talked about. Software giant Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s shares dipped by 7% in extended trading after it reported its fiscal third-quarter earnings report. The results saw the firm post $81 billion in revenue and $4.14 in adjusted earnings per share to beat analyst estimates of $80.27 billion and $3.97. Following the earnings, Stifel downgraded Microsoft Corporation ...

Let's get to some earnings now because Amazon's fourth quarter results are just hitting the wire. You can see we're dropping initially here a quick 8%. Q4 EPS $1.95%. The street was at a $1.96%. Uh it looks like Q4 net sales I see 213.39% billion. The estimate was 211.49% billion. Uh Q4 AWS net sales XFX up 24%. The estimate was 21%. Just to break that out, it looks like that was 35.58% billion. The street was at 34.88% billion. Q4 operating margins 11.7%. That looks smack in line with what the street was l ...

Group 1 - The article discusses the concept of "Geo-capex" investing, which is an evolution of the "Capex Nation" idea, highlighting the ongoing bull market driven by AI enthusiasm despite January's volatility [1] - The focus is on long-term investment strategies in U.S. and European equities, emphasizing undervalued growth stocks and high-quality dividend growers [1] - Sustained profitability, characterized by strong margins, stable and expanding free cash flow, and high returns on invested capital, is identified as a more reliable driver of returns than valuation alone [1] Group 2 - The author manages a portfolio publicly on eToro, qualifying as a Popular Investor, which allows others to replicate real-time investment decisions [1] - The interdisciplinary background of the author, including Economics, Classical Philology, Philosophy, and Theology, enhances both quantitative analysis and market narrative interpretation [1] - The investment philosophy aims to balance asset accumulation with the freedom to choose work that aligns with personal expression, rather than seeking to avoid work altogether [1]

Group 1: Microsoft - Microsoft is a leading tech company with a market cap of $3.1 trillion, experiencing a recent stock decline despite a 17% revenue growth in the last quarter of 2025 [4][6] - The Azure cloud business showed a growth rate of 39%, slightly below the expected 39.4%, which contributed to investor disappointment [4] - The company reported a profit of $38.5 billion, up from $24.1 billion a year ago, indicating strong financial health [7] - Microsoft has a dividend yield of 0.9% and recently announced a 10% increase in its dividend [8] Group 2: American Express - American Express generated $72.2 billion in revenue for 2025, reflecting a 10% year-over-year increase, driven by strong card member spending [9] - The company forecasts a revenue growth rate of 9% to 10% for 2026, despite concerns over potential caps on credit card interest rates [10] - American Express has a market cap of $247 billion and a dividend yield of approximately 0.9%, with plans to increase its payout by 16% this year [12]

After the chaos of a software-led sell-off that bled into techs stocks at large and dragged the broader market, here are a few strategies from Wall Street pros that might help you navigate the next meltdown. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 2% for the week, despite Friday's comeback. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF is down more the 12% in the same period.But the market rotation is on, and analysts say this week's plunge isn't the end of the bear market. Instead, it is a moment to asse ...

The outlook quickly became dire for software stocks this week as investors envisioned a world where Anthropic's Claude AI assistant rendered entire companies and IT departments useless. The bottom fell out of the sector as the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) fell 19% from January 26 to February 5.But Morningstar says fears are largely overdone, and the chaotic burst of selling represents a prime dip-buying opportunity. "We see little evidence that the bear case is unfolding — retention ra ...