The Dow leads the rise in stock prices.Apple falls out of business as Berkshire cuts stock

Wells Fargo stock soars as regulatory oversight eases following 2016 fake account scandal

27 minutes ago

Wells Fargo (WFC) shares rose Thursday after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) ended a consent order against the bank that had been in place since 2016, when the federal watchdog accused the company of illegal sales practices. It skyrocketed to . Create an account without the customer’s knowledge.

“The OCC believes that the safety and soundness of the bank and its compliance with laws and regulations do not require its continued existence,” according to the OCC order published Thursday.

The order, imposed in September 2016, required banks to review their sales and risk management practices under regulatory oversight. Investigations following the 2016 order revealed widespread risk management problems at the bank, leading the Federal Reserve to impose asset caps in 2018 to limit the bank’s growth.

CEO Charlie Scharf, who joined the bank in 2019, said: “Our top priority is to implement a risk and control framework that is appropriate for a bank of our size and complexity. “We have repeatedly said that we do, and the passage of the consent order is an important sign of our progress.” , in a statement.

Wells Fargo shares rose 7.4% to $52.12 Thursday afternoon, for a 12-month return of about 9%.

Albemarle stock price rises due to better-than-expected results

2 hours 4 minutes ago

Albemarle (ALB) stock rose on Thursday after the lithium miner reported a smaller-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter profit.

Albemarle had a net loss of $618 million, or $5.26 per share, on net sales of $2.4 billion. This is a significant decrease from the same period last year, when the company reported net income of $1.1 billion on net sales of $2.6 billion. Still, the results were better than analysts expected.

Albemarle’s earnings and stock price have been hurt by falling lithium prices. Lithium prices skyrocketed in 2022 due to lithium shortages and a surge in demand for electric vehicles. (Lithium is a key ingredient in EV batteries.) Mining companies also ramped up production, but demand for EVs waned last year as high prices and interest rates crowded out buyers. Lithium miners are currently dealing with a supply glut.

Albemarle offers a wide range of sales and profit outlooks based on three average lithium prices ($15,000 per kilogram, $20,000 per kilogram and $25,000 per kilogram) to reflect the volatility in lithium prices. showed that. The company expects full-year net sales to be between $5.5 billion and $7.6 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $900 million to $2.6 billion.

The company also said it is taking steps to reduce capital expenditures and costs, which it estimates will increase cash flow by more than $750 million.

The stock was up 3.2% Thursday afternoon after surging more than 8% in early trading. Still, the stock has lost more than 50% of its value in the last year.

Nvidia 13-F boosts obscure AI stocks

3 hours 11 minutes ago

Call this the Nvidia effect. On Thursday, several The stock price of a little-known AI company soared. .

Share price of Nano-X Imaging (NNOX), an Israeli medical imaging company with a market capitalization of approximately $360 million, reveals that Nvidia’s 13-F owns 59,632 of the company’s 57 million shares. It soared 50% on Thursday. The stock price soared more than 90% in early trading, before paring its gains slightly.

Voice recognition company SoundHound AI (SOUN) also soared 50% following the filing, which showed Nvidia owns 1.7 million shares. Nvidia’s acquisition of a $3 million stake in Tusimple Holdings (TSPH), a self-driving car company that was delisted from the Nasdaq earlier this month, sent the company’s stock up more than 40% in over-the-counter trading. Shares of Recursion Therapeutics (RXRX), Nvidia’s second largest investment, rose 9%.

Considering the size of NVIDIA, none of the investment amounts are particularly large, and it is far from controlling the investment ratio. Still, Wall Street’s assessment on Thursday seemed to be that the Nvidia connection, no matter how small, is cause for optimism.

Dan Loeb’s Third Point exits Alphabet, slashing Uber stock in Q4

4 hours 10 minutes ago

Billionaire Dan Loeb’s Third Point Capital will exit its position in Alphabet (GOOGL) and acquire a stake in Uber Technologies (UBER) in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the firm’s latest 13-F replenishment. Reduced.

Loeb sold several positions to close out 2023. His fund exited a $118 million position in Alphabet Class A stock. Other notable sales this quarter included his approximately 1 million shares of T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS), valued at approximately $140 million, and his 5.5 million shares of Option Care Health (OPCH), valued at approximately $140 million. worth $176 million).

Third Point cut positions at multiple technology companies last quarter. He sold 480,000 Amazon shares, 210,000 Microsoft shares, 600,000 shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), and 1.7 million shares of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). Mr. Loeb reduced the fund’s holdings in Uber stock by 3.2 million shares, ending the quarter with 1 million shares.

-Nathan Leaf

Cisco Systems stock falls amid cautious guidance and layoffs

5 hours 7 minutes ago

Shares of computer networking giant Cisco Systems (CSCO) fell in early trading Thursday after the company issued weaker-than-expected guidance for the current quarter and announced plans to cut 5% of its global workforce. did.

The legacy computing giant said it expects fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings to be between 84 cents and 86 cents a share, well below the consensus outlook of 92 cents a share at the high end of that range. . Revenue estimates were also off the mark, with the company’s expected range of $12.1 billion to $12.3 billion, lower than analysts’ expectations of $13.09 billion.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty in the macro environment, so there’s a lot more caution and scrutiny in trading,” Robbins told analysts on a post-earnings conference call. “Hearing this from our customers has made us more cautious about our forecasts and expectations,” he added.

Cisco announced Wednesday that it plans to reduce its global workforce by 5% as part of a restructuring plan, resulting in the loss of approximately 4,250 jobs.

Cisco shares fell 2.2% to $49.19 Thursday morning. It has risen just 1% in the past 12 months.

-Timothy Smith

Buffett cuts positions in HP, Apple, Paramount Global in 4th quarter

5 hours 57 minutes ago

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) will acquire approximately 10 million shares, or approximately $2 billion worth of Apple (AAPL), in the final quarter of 2023, according to the company’s 13-F filing. Sold the stock. to that portfolio.

Buffett significantly reduced his long-term holdings in two other companies in the fourth quarter: HP (HP) and Paramount Global (PARA). Berkshire sold most of its HP stock, reducing its holdings by about 80 million shares, ending the year with about 23 million shares left. Berkshire reduced its position in Paramount Global by about 30 million shares, leaving it with about 63 million shares.

Berkshire made three significant additions to existing positions in the final months of 2023. Berkshire bought an additional 16 million shares of Chevron (CVX) and another 19 million shares of Occidental Petroleum (OXY), both energy companies. Berkshire also added approximately 30 million shares of SiriusXM (SIRI), increasing its position more than fourfold.

-Nathan Leaf

Stocks that move the most before the market

6 hours 39 minutes ago

Profit:

• AppLovin Corp. (APP): The marketing software company’s stock rose more than 20% after its quarterly report beat Wall Street expectations on revenue and bottom line. The company also offered better earnings guidance and expanded its share buyback program.
• Super Micro Computer Inc. (SMCI): The computer server company’s stock rose 5% after BofA Securities began covering the stock with a “buy” rating, citing strong demand for AI servers.
• Coinbase Global (COIN): The cryptocurrency exchange’s stock rose 4% as Bitcoin prices soared above $52,000 and JPMorgan upgraded the stock to neutral, citing soaring crypto prices.

loss:

• Twilio Inc. (TWLO): Shares of the communications software maker fell 10% after the company said it expected lower-than-expected revenue this quarter.
• Penn Entertainment (PENN): The casino operator’s stock fell 7% after the company said it fell into the red in the fourth quarter due to lower-than-expected revenue.
• Cisco Inc. (CSCO): Shares of the computer networking company fell 4% after the company cut its full-year revenue forecast and said it would lay off 5% of its employees.

Stock futures rise on retail sales data

7 hours 13 minutes ago

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% in premarket trading.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.1%.

Nasdaq 100 futures also rose 0.1%.