Group 1 - Clearwater Analytics Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CWAN) is identified as one of the best SaaS stocks trading at a discount [1] - DA Davidson has reiterated a Buy rating for Clearwater Analytics with a price target of $30, while the stock's latest closing price was $21.80 [2] - The company could be valued between $30 and $34 in the event of a sale, as suggested by DA Davidson [2] - Activist investor Starboard has taken a 5% stake in Clearwater Analytics and is advocating for a sale if there is buyer interest [2][3] - Starboard believes Clearwater Analytics is significantly undervalued, which aligns with earlier reports of private equity firm Thoma Bravo's interest in acquiring the company [3] Group 2 - Morgan Stanley maintained a Buy rating on Clearwater Analytics with a price target of $27 as of November 13 [3]

We recently published 10 Best SaaS Stocks Trading at a Discount.  Strategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR) is one of the best SaaS stocks trading at a discount. Strategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR) is an enterprise analytics firm that operates in the SaaS industry via its Strategy One platform. Bernstein discussed the firm’s shares on December 8th when it lowered the share price target to $450 from $600 and kept an Outperform rating. As part of its coverage, the financial firm commented that Strategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR) has 21 mon ...

Turn to Dan Primac. He's the business editor at Axios who brought our attention to the boring IPO boom last week. Dan, um, does it become much more buzzy next year.>> I think so. And I think, as Leslie said, I think you're going to see more of these deals. I mean, it's worth noting Medline was kind of exceptional in private equity terms anyway, right.This was a deal that was done in 2021. It was a return of so-called club deals. I believe it's the largest healthcare leverage buyout ever.Um, so it was a very ...

Group 1 - Credo Technology Group's stock has experienced a significant decline of nearly 12% in five market days and a total drop of 28% over two weeks, despite being up 103% year to date and 839% over the past three years [2][3][8] - The recent stock drop is attributed to typical volatility in high-growth stocks rather than any specific negative news related to the company, such as earnings misses or customer losses [4][8] - Credo's stock has a high beta value of 2.7, indicating that it tends to move 2.7 times faster than the S&P 500, leading to frequent double-digit weekly swings [5][8] Group 2 - The fundamental story of Credo remains strong, with significant opportunities in AI connectivity as GPU clusters expand, making data-transfer solutions critical [6] - Credo's active electrical cables (AECs) provide substantial advantages, including 1,000 times better reliability and approximately 50% lower power consumption compared to fiber-optic alternatives, which is crucial for large data centers [7] - The company has shown strong execution, with revenue more than doubling in the last fiscal year, expanding gross margins, and achieving profitability [7]

Core Insights - Rohit Prasad, the executive leading Amazon's AI model development, is leaving the company at the end of the year after two years of launching the Artificial General Intelligence group [1] - Prasad was instrumental in launching the Nova family of AI models, which, while efficient, still lag behind competitors like OpenAI's GPT, Anthropic's Claude Opus, and Google's Gemini [2] - Amazon is restructuring its AI initiatives, creating a new organization under Peter DeSantis to oversee AGI, AI models, silicon chip, and quantum computing efforts [2] - Pieter Abbeel, co-founder of Covariant, will now lead Amazon's frontier AI model research team following Prasad's departure [3] - The leadership changes at AWS include several recent departures and new hires, indicating a significant shift in the company's AI strategy [3][4]

Group 1: Advertising Business - Amazon's advertising business is accelerating, climbing 24% in the most recent quarter, reaching a $70 billion run rate, with Prime Video being a key catalyst for growth as 80% of subscribers are on the ad-supported tier [1] - The advertising business has expanded from retail media ads to video ads served through Prime Video and other streaming partners [3] Group 2: E-commerce and Marketplace - The online retail business continues to produce high-single-digit revenue growth despite generating over $250 billion in annual sales, with third-party seller services showing accelerating growth, up 11% in the most recent quarter [2] - The entire ecosystem relies on Amazon's Prime subscription service, which has pushed subscription revenue 10% higher [2] Group 3: Cloud Computing - Amazon's cloud computing business, AWS, remains the most important segment, accounting for most of the operating income and achieving 20% year-over-year growth last quarter, driven by strong triple-digit revenue from AI services [7] - Management expects sales in the cloud computing segment to continue at the current pace, supported by a growing backlog that reached $200 billion by the end of the third quarter [8] Group 4: Capital Expenditures and Cash Flow - Amazon is investing heavily in cloud computing and e-commerce, spending $90 billion on capital expenditures in the first three months of the year, with full-year cash capex expected to be around $125 billion [9] - High capital expenditures have impacted Amazon's free cash flow, which fell to $14.8 billion over the trailing-12-month period, down from $47.7 billion in the previous period [10] Group 5: Future Outlook - Amazon has historically emerged stronger from investment cycles, and with a growing backlog of cloud computing contracts, investors are expected to remain confident in future cash flow recovery [11] - Amazon's current market cap of $2.5 trillion suggests that investors are expecting it to return to peak free cash flow levels, which is likely to be exceeded over time, potentially pushing stock prices significantly higher [12]

It's been a tumultuous year for U.S. stock markets. Investors have had their nerves rattled twice this year by government-related events—President Trump's Liberation Day tariffs in the spring, followed by the longest U.S. government shutdown in history this fall. That's on top of an economy already hit hard by inflation and declining consumer confidence. Yet despite this, there have still been several high-profile and successful initial public offerings throughout the year—especially in the AI and fintech s ...

Wasatch Global Investors, an asset management company, released its “Wasatch Micro-Cap Fund” third-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Microcap stocks reported strong results in the quarter, due to the consistent risk appetite of investors. The fund—Investor Class returned 9.52% in the quarter but lagged the benchmark Russell Microcap® Growth Index’s 19.93% return. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025. In its third-qua ...

Core Insights - ABM reported record quarterly revenue of $2.3 billion for Q4 2025, reflecting a 5.4% increase year-over-year, driven by 4.8% organic growth and contributions from acquisitions [2][4][10] - The company achieved a full-year revenue of $8.7 billion, marking a 4.6% increase from the previous year, with all segments showing organic growth [10][11] - Adjusted EPS for Q4 was $0.88, unchanged from the previous year, while adjusted EBITDA was $124.2 million, slightly down from $125.6 million [4][8][12] Financial Performance - Q4 net income was $34.8 million, or $0.56 per diluted share, a significant improvement from a net loss of $(11.7) million in the prior year [4][6] - Full-year net income reached $162.4 million, or $2.59 per diluted share, compared to $81.4 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, in the previous year [11][12] - Adjusted EBITDA margin for Q4 was 5.6%, down from 6.0% in the prior year, impacted by prior year self-insurance adjustments [8][12] Segment Performance - Technical Solutions led revenue growth with a 16% increase, followed by Manufacturing & Distribution at 8%, and Aviation at 7% [5][10] - Business & Industry and Education segments each reported 2% revenue growth, demonstrating resilience in their respective markets [10][11] - For the full year, Technical Solutions grew 10%, Aviation 8%, Manufacturing & Distribution 4%, and both Business & Industry and Education 2% [10][11] Shareholder Returns - The company repurchased $73.0 million of common stock in Q4 and $121.3 million for the full year, reducing the outstanding share count by 4% [2][16] - A 9% increase in the quarterly dividend was approved, raising it to $0.29 per common share, marking the 58th consecutive year of annual dividend increases [17][18] Outlook - For fiscal 2026, ABM expects organic revenue growth of 3% to 4%, with an additional point of growth anticipated from the WGNSTAR acquisition [18] - Adjusted EPS is projected to be in the range of $3.85 to $4.15, excluding impacts from prior year self-insurance adjustments [18]

Core Insights - The article discusses the current market sentiment regarding AI investments and the potential for an AI-driven bubble, leading to increased caution among investors [2][4] - It highlights the recent performance of major indices, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite experiencing declines, while the CBOE Volatility Index has risen, indicating heightened market volatility [3][5] - The article suggests that increasing exposure to volatility and option income ETFs may be a strategic move for investors in the current economic environment [6][10] ETF Recommendations - Volatility ETFs, such as iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN and ProShares VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF, are recommended for short-term investors looking to hedge against potential market downturns [6][5] - Option income ETFs, including JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF, JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF, and Global X Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF, are gaining popularity as they provide predictable returns amid market uncertainty [8][7] Long-term Investment Strategies - For long-term investors, diversifying across less concentrated ETFs can provide stability, while strategies like buy-the-dip and dollar-cost averaging can help navigate short-term volatility [9][11] - Major financial institutions have raised year-end forecasts for the S&P 500, driven by growth in the AI market, suggesting that completely avoiding AI investments may not be wise [10][11]