Fed Governor Christopher Waller said his decision on whether to support an interest rate cut at the March FOMC meeting will hinge on labor market data for February.The US Feb Dallas Fed manufacturing outlook level of general business activity survey rose +1.4 to a 7-month high of 0.2, stronger than expectations of -0.5.The US Jan Chicago Fed National Activity Index rose +0.39 to a 9-month high of 0.18, stronger than expectations of 0.01.Geopolitical risks are also negative for stocks. US-Iran nuclear talks ...

Quick Read VGT allocates 18% to Nvidia and XLK allocates 15%. QQQ maintains single-digit Nvidia exposure. VGT trades at a 36.8x average P/E ratio exceeding the S&P 500. Michael Burry is betting against both Nvidia and Palantir. A recent study identified one single habit that doubled Americans’ retirement savings and moved retirement from dream, to reality. Read more here. The AI revolution has arrived, and if you're overwhelmed by the past couple years' of momentum or the more recent wave of vol ...

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) is a company that’s in the news a lot. From its innovative and powerful software revolutionizing businesses and government agencies to its controversial government contracts that include support of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Palantir has a high profile. PLTR stock has been a big winner as well, up more than 460% in the last five years. Now Palantir is making news for a new reason — a sudden relocation of the company’s corporate office from Denver, Colorad ...

Core Insights - The article discusses Goldman Sachs's top growth stock picks amid a shifting market environment, highlighting the performance of growth versus value stocks and the implications for investment strategies going into 2026 [2][3][5]. Market Performance - The S&P 500 Growth Index gained 22.18% in 2025, down from 35.66% in 2024, and was down 2.46% year to date as of February 18, 2026, while the broader S&P 500 was up 0.33% [2]. - Value stocks outperformed growth stocks in early 2025, but a shift occurred in the second half of the year, leading to a strong performance from tech and growth stocks, particularly the Nasdaq Composite, which topped 20% performance [3]. Goldman Sachs Asset Management - Goldman Sachs's Asset and Wealth Management division closed 2025 with a record $3.61 trillion in total assets under supervision, adding $154 billion in the last quarter of 2025 and $469 billion for the entire year [4]. - Hedge funds, including those managed by Goldman, delivered double-digit returns for the second consecutive year, leading to increased investor confidence in their stock picks for 2026 [5]. Stock Selection Methodology - The list of top growth stock picks was created by analyzing Goldman Sachs's portfolio, focusing on stocks with over 10% revenue and earnings growth in the last five years and an upside potential of more than 20% as of February 20, 2026 [7]. Top Growth Stock Picks - **Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP)**: Goldman Sachs holds a stake of $2.12 billion, with 5-year sales growth of 15.08% and earnings growth of 31.58%, indicating a stock upside of 31.54% [9]. - **Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR)**: Goldman Sachs holds a stake of $2.22 billion, with 5-year sales growth of 32.58% and earnings growth of 177%, indicating a stock upside of 46.99% [14].

Core Viewpoint - Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTR) has been recognized as one of the top AI stocks on Wall Street, receiving an upgrade from Mizuho analyst Gregg Moskowitz, who raised the stock rating from Neutral to Outperform with a price target of $195.00, citing a significantly de-risked valuation following a contraction in its forward multiples [1][2]. Group 1 - Mizuho described Palantir as a "category of one," highlighting its unique combination of revenue growth, accelerating performance, and margin expansion that is unmatched in the software industry [2][4]. - The estimated enterprise value-to-free-cash-flow (EV/FCF) multiple for Palantir in 2026 has contracted by approximately 46% in the early weeks of the year, indicating a significant de-rating of the stock [4][5]. - The current risk/reward profile for Palantir is considered attractive following the de-rating, suggesting potential for investment [5].

Core Insights - Michael Burry has once again targeted Palantir Technologies Inc. due to CEO Alex Karp's significant private jet expenses, which have raised concerns about corporate governance and executive perks [1] Financial Overview - Palantir's Form 10-K reveals that the company reimbursed CEO Karp $17.2 million for the use of his "Executive Aircraft" in 2025, marking a 123% increase from the $7.7 million reported for 2024 [2] - Financial analysts have found it challenging to reconcile the $17.2 million expenditure with standard aviation costs, with Jefferies' analyst Brent Thill noting that this spending is elevated compared to peers like Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Palo Alto Networks' Nikesh Arora, who spent approximately $1.8 million and $2.4 million respectively on similar travel [3] Governance Concerns - The disclosure of Karp's travel expenses has reignited scrutiny regarding Palantir's internal controls, with critics arguing that the CEO's travel budget indicates a lack of the same financial discipline that the company promotes through its own software solutions [5]

Group 1 - Phillip Securities analyst Paul Chew lowered the price target on Palantir Technologies Inc. to $190 while reiterating a Buy rating, down from an initial target of $208 set on January 22, 2026 [1] - Freedom Capital upgraded Palantir's rating from Sell to Buy, setting a new price target of $170, following a strong fourth quarter earnings report [2] - Palantir reported a 70% year-over-year revenue growth in its fourth quarter earnings, with an EPS of $0.25, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.23 [2][3] Group 2 - Palantir Technologies Inc. specializes in big data analytics and AI-driven operating systems, founded in 2003 and headquartered in Colorado [3]

Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR) stock may be near a bottom. I discussed this in a recent Barchart article on Feb. 18, “Has Palantir Bottomed? Probably, Based on Huge, Unusual Put Options Activity in PLTR.” PLTR stock is now down $135.24 per share as of Friday, Feb. 20. That's down $58.93 from a recent peak of $194.17 on Dec. 24, 2025, a 30% drop in just 2 months. I showed in my article why PLTR is worth between $189 and $245 per share, or between 40% to 81% more. More News from Barchart PLTR stock - la ...

Group 1 - The article highlights the launch of Top Picks for 2026 by High Yield Investor, celebrating its five-year anniversary with a 30-day money-back guarantee for new members [1] - The market has recently shown a negative sentiment towards software-as-a-service (SaaS) stocks, indicating a potential crisis for companies in this sector, including major players like Microsoft and Palantir [1] - High Yield Investor focuses on balancing safety, growth, yield, and value in its investment strategies, offering various portfolios and resources for investors [1]

Core Viewpoint - The launch of ByteDance's AI video generation model Seedance 2.0 significantly lowers the barrier for high-quality video content creation, marking a pivotal moment in AI film development. The domestic AI application is accelerating its penetration into vertical fields, creating a new pattern of deep integration between technology and industry. Under policy-driven initiatives, intelligent technology is becoming a core growth engine, with applications in industrial quality inspection and medical diagnosis, pushing AI from "perception" to "decision-making." The year 2026 is anticipated to be a critical year for AI applications transitioning from "technology validation" to "commercial promotion" [1][2]. Industry Trends - AI application industry trends are solidifying, with 2026 expected to witness a dual impact. Companies are increasingly seeing AI orders and revenue constituting over 10% of their overall income, indicating that the cold start phase has passed. The Chinese IT sector, primarily project-based, necessitates deep integration of AI with complex business processes to create greater value for clients [2][3]. Recommended Directions for AI Applications - **Super Entry Points**: Large models are establishing themselves as dominant flow entry points in the AI era, with significant commercial acceleration. OpenAI's ARR is projected to exceed $20 billion by the end of 2025, while Google Gemini's token usage is expected to reach 1.3 trillion per month by October 2025. Domestic platforms are also experiencing similar growth, with daily token usage expected to surpass 50 trillion by December 2025 [3][4]. - **AI Infrastructure**: Software-defined computing is crucial for determining the cost curve and capability ceiling of AI applications. Companies like Databricks and Snowflake are leading in this space, with Databricks achieving a valuation of $134 billion and annualized revenue exceeding $4.8 billion, reflecting strong enterprise investment in data governance and computing scheduling [4][5]. - **High Growth Areas**: AI technology is evolving, with marketing and animated series becoming pioneers in commercialization. For instance, AppLovin has demonstrated that AIGC can directly enhance customer ROI, while the demand for AI-generated animated series has surged, with Douyin's daily paid traffic reaching over 10 million by August 2025 [5][6]. - **High Barriers**: Industries with deep know-how, proprietary data assets, and complex process integration capabilities will benefit from large models, which will reinforce their core advantages. The AI healthcare sector is rapidly expanding, with companies like Ant Group entering the market and achieving significant app store rankings [6][7]. Animation Series Market Insights - The short drama industry has reached a scale of hundreds of billions, indicating the commercial potential of fragmented entertainment. The animated series market is expected to exceed 22 billion yuan by 2026, with significant growth in commercial data observed in 2025. Douyin's daily GMV for animated series surpassed 10 million, reflecting a robust monetization cycle [7][8]. - ByteDance is positioned as the absolute leader in the animated series market, leveraging its comprehensive advantages in traffic, IP, and AI. By 2025, Douyin's cumulative playback volume for animated series is projected to exceed 75.772 billion [8]. Long-term Outlook - AI technology is transforming the production paradigm of animated series, reducing production cycles and costs significantly. For example, the production cycle has been compressed from over 50 days to under 30 days, with costs dropping to the thousand-yuan level. This trend is exemplified by companies like Qixiang Wuxian Network, which has integrated AI capabilities to streamline production processes [8]. - Dynamic animation agents are expected to evolve into foundational platforms for virtual worlds, with the potential for technology spillover into game development and architectural design [8].