This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Key Points

• A media report stated that the two companies have held discussions recently.

• These apparently concern a new partnership, an investment by Apple, or both.

The hot trend in big tech now, it seems, is to plow vast amounts of capital into Intel (NASDAQ: INTC).

Last month, the federal government invested a cool $8.9 billion to own roughly 10% of the chipmaker's equity. Closely following that, Asian tech conglomerate SoftBank bought into the company with a $2 billion investment. Finally, in September, Nvidia piled in with a $5 billion stock buy.

Now, apparently, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) might be reaching for its wallet, too.

Together again... maybe

On Wednesday, Bloomberg, citing unnamed "people familiar with the matter," reported that Intel approached Apple regarding such an investment. Officials from the two tech giants also talked about potentially working together. The article didn't state how much Apple is being asked to invest, or what form future collaboration could take.

The report's sources did say that these discussions are at an early stage. As such, it's possible they won't result in any kind of agreement. Additionally, those folks said Intel also contacted other enterprises about investments and partnering up. No names were given, but if this is accurate we can safely assume these are sizable and well-capitalized peer tech companies.

Neither Intel nor Apple commented on the report, and there has been no official word from either following publication.

Previously partners

The pair had a lengthy business relationship in the recent past.

Most notably, in 2006 Intel started manufacturing processors for Apple computers, but over time the latter decided it was more advantageous to bring such critical components in-house. The transition from third-party to homegrown began in 2020, and Apple discontinued the last Intel-powered machine in 2023.

Since then Apple bobbled along, effectively defending its position as a relatively high-end smartphone maker (so far this decade its iPhone has maintained global market share in the high-20% range against the more ubiquitous Android devices).

Intel's fortunes, however, declined. The PC market that was its bread and butter for many years hasn't been an inspiring source of growth lately -- annual worldwide shipments have fallen more than they've risen since 2015, and that takes into account a COVID-fueled spike in 2021.

Meanwhile, the company has been slow and ineffective in embracing powerful, next-generation processors that can handle the heavy demands of artificial intelligence (AI) technology (in contrast to the prescient Nvidia, which is now a powerhouse in the segment). And a long-promised effort to be a chipmaking business for others (or "foundry" in industry parlance) hasn't gotten much traction.

Money can't solve every problem

In the wake of the report, Intel's share price shot up by 6% and Apple's sagged by 1%. That's telling me the tech investing hive mind thinks any potential tie-up would be a win for Intel. For Apple, not so much.

That stands to reason. Intel's major troubles are daunting and deep, and not the kind that can easily be wiped away by infusions of cash (even large ones). That said, getting billions from companies and governments gives Intel at least a fighting chance at tackling the problems and becoming prominent again. So why not accept a fat bag from Apple for a chunk of stock?

It's harder to see any real advantage for the iPhone maker, though. It probably doesn't desire any kind of development or manufacturing partnership with Intel; it expended much time, capital, and resources in that proprietary chip effort, after all.

Besides, it has what appears to be a fine relationship with the most successful third-party chippie in the world, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which cranks out those Apple processors. As far as I can tell, there's no reason to rock this boat.

A different motivation might lie in the political realm. One of the top Trump administration goals is to bring manufacturing, especially that of the tech variety, back into this country. To that end, in April Apple promised to add $100 million to its investments in this country, adding to an existing $500 billion pledge.

Putting a few of those bucks into Intel would help satisfy this commitment. However, in the announcement, CEO Tim Cook said the extra funding would include "new and expanded work with 10 companies across America. They produce components that are used in Apple products sold all over the world."

This sounds very much like it's aiming to channel money to existing business partners, not ones it divorced years ago.

Wisest not to count on it

Ultimately, if I were a betting man I wouldn't place any money on Apple placing money on Intel. Yes, like Nvidia the company has piles of cash in its treasure chest (over $30 billion at the end of its latest-reported quarter), but it didn't become the behemoth it is today by spending vaguely or casually. There seems to be, at best, little for it to gain with any level of Intel buy-in.

Yet in the tech world, far more oddball investments have been made, some of which were even successful. So these Intel-Apple discussions are worth monitoring for shareholders of both companies, because one never knows. Still I, for one, am not expecting a reunion of the pair. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Eric Volkman has positions in Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Apple, Intel, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: short November 2025 $21 puts on Intel. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Key Points

• Since the tech giant's dividend yield is quite low, the short answer is: quite a few.
• Apple can't really be considered an income stock, but there are still powerful reasons for owning it.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is known for many things. One that isn't talked about so much is the dividend that it has been bestowing on its shareholders quarterly since mid-2012, when it reinstated a payout it had previously halted in the mid-1990s.

While we can't really characterize Apple as an income stock, as its 0.5% dividend yield is too low for consideration, the company does dole out a distribution on the regular.

A bite of the Apple

In mid-August, Apple declared its latest quarterly shareholder payout; $0.26 per common share. Annualized, this is $1.04 per share, meaning you'd have to hold at least 962 shares to earn $1,000 per year in disbursements.

All told, those 962 shares would cost a little over $223,722 at the most recent closing stock price (not counting seller commissions, assuming one's broker still charges such fees). Like the prices on Apple's always-premium products, that's a rather hefty-looking amount.

In my view, though, iPhones (which I've owned continuously since 2007) and iPads are quality products that are worth the relatively high expense. I feel the same way about Apple stock, which at first glance looks pricey given that its five-year price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio sits above 2.

Smart ownership

Since most of Apple's revenue is still, after all these years, derived from device sales, many investors and analysts are concerned about the sluggish revenue growth of this category. The smartphone market in general is long past its hot growth phases, with new models tending to feature essentially incremental improvements. Most smartphone owners upgrade them only occasionally these days.

The power and potential of Apple lies in its other top-line category -- services, which is stuffed with revenue generators like the App Store. The revenue growth for services tends to outpace that of products, to the point where it now accounts for 29% of the company's considerable top line. Such offerings are the sleeper growth engine of the company, and will continue to boost its fundamentals higher, in my view. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Eric Volkman has positions in Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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While Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) is one of the oldest internet-related companies operating, it remains among the most popular. That popularity helps the company's search business continue to generate significant revenue growth, plenty of cash, and solid profitability (a situation unlikely to change).

But search isn't the only machine keeping this company on the road to growth, at least according to one analyst. Although he recently made a slight cut to his price target, he still feels the tech giant's shares have plenty of upside.

A cloudy future is not necessarily a bad thing

In mid-March, John Blackledge of TD Cowen (a division of Toronto-Dominion Bank), issued an updated report that trimmed his prior price target. Blackledge now believes Alphabet's Class C shares (the ones traded under the GOOG ticker symbol) will rise to $210 over the next year, down a bit from his previous estimation of $220.

Despite the drop, Blackledge is still very bullish on Alphabet, and he left his buy recommendation intact. And why shouldn't he? Even at that reduced price target, the anticipated upside is over 30% from the stock's midday price on Tuesday, March 18.

The analyst's latest take on the stock, according to reports, is based on his anticipation that the company will ramp up its spending on artificial intelligence (AI). He believes this will particularly enhance Alphabet's already strong Google Cloud business, giving it a competitive advantage in what is currently a crowded segment of the tech industry.

Many fingers in many pies

One of the benefits of owning Alphabet stock is that management has various levers it can pull to produce more growth. It's not only involved in AI and the cloud, it's also a leader in autonomous driving technology and other potentially strong businesses.

Meanwhile, no one's going to knock it off its throne as the king of search. I fully agree with Blackledge's buy recommendation.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Alphabet. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Financial professionals like to talk of "psychologically important" price levels for securities. Although this fancy-sounding term is more construct than reality, when an asset hits or exceeds a certain price, it can dramatically boost confidence in its future.

These days, all eyes in the crypto world are on the trajectory of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). During the past few weeks, it has approached the $100,000 level, at times getting tantalisingly close to that mark. As of this writing -- December 4 -- it's trading at about $98,000. Here's my take on whether we'll hit this magic number at some point during the next 24 hours.

A year full of catalysts

Before we discuss that, let's do a little tour of recent Bitcoin history. If we cast our imaginations back to the long-ago, dark days of December 2023, Bitcoin was sailing along at about the low $40,000s. Within weeks, though, the first of several powerful catalysts propelled the coin's trajectory upward.

This was the approval, after much lobbying from both institutional and individual market players, of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January 2024. Bitcoin funds existed before this, of course, but these new instruments were an innovation because they were actually allowed to hold the crypto directly.

This meant that, for the first time, investors could essentially put their money more or less straight into Bitcoin without owning any of the physical crypto. That's a true advantage because ETFs trade publicly and can be bought and sold as easily as stocks. That's not really true of digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Dogecoin -- these require some tech know-how and the willingness and capacity to maintain digital wallets.

The spot Bitcoin ETFs were the rocket fuel propelling their foundational cryptocurrency upward. No rally lasts forever, but as the ETF-fueled one faded, the macroeconomic picture got brighter. In September, encouraged by notable declines in the rate of inflation, the U.S. Federal Reserve made the first cut to its key interest rate since early 2020. This was followed by a more modest reduction in November.

Lower interest rates are good for cryptocurrencies because they theoretically encourage investors to take on more risk. Although it's something of a blue chip equivalent in the digital currency realm, Bitcoin is considered relatively risky simply because it's a crypto.

Finally, the victory of Donald Trump in the presidential election gave Bitcoin and its ilk even more of a push. Trump and his Bitcoin-owning Vice President-elect J.D. Vance have both expressed support for the crypto industry. Their ascension was quite a relief to believers in an asset class that has been maligned at times by both lawmakers and regulators.

Patience is a virtue

With those kinds of forces supporting its growth, it's understandable that Bitcoin more than doubled in price during that relatively limited period of time. So let's gaze into the crystal ball. Will today also be Bitcoin $100,000 day?

If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on "no." I feel that a key reason the price has been hovering lately is the lack of a fresh catalyst or two. The election is one month in our past, spot Bitcoin ETFs are well-established at this point, and the Fed might not be in a hurry to cut rates again (besides, the next meeting of its Federal Open Market Committee is set for late January).

It's possible we won't even get that price as a nice gift in time for the holidays. Rather, I'd imagine that -- barring any negative developments affecting cryptos -- the famous January Effect will push Bitcoin above $100,000 at the start of 2025. Investors are typically more optimistic that month, and many will be adjusting their portfolios. More than a few will cast a longing gaze toward the leading digital coin's price graph.

Hopefully for the Bitcoin holders out there, I'm wrong, and we will witness a historic day in a matter of hours. But, hey, no one can complain about the gains we've already had.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Eric Volkman has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

One of the hottest investments these days is a fifteen-year-old currency that doesn't exist in physical form.

That's right. Our mystery bachelor is Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), which across that decade-and-a-half long stretch has been the most familiar and popular cryptocurrency. That's a fine position to be in these days since investors have eagerly been piling into all manner of digital coins and tokens since Election Day. As Bitcoin is the undisputed crypto leader it has rocketed to new heights. Might it even cross the $95,000 level by weekend's end?

Mighty tailwinds

As we glide into the holiday season with the presidential poll freshly in the past, cryptocurrencies are benefitting from an unprecedented set of tailwinds.

There's the election, which is delivering to the White House not one but two men who've strongly indicated support for the crypto industry. Vice president-elect J.D. Vance, in fact, is a holder of Bitcoin as per recent election filings, so at the very least, he's likely to be displeased with any concentrated attempts to regulate it.

This blends well with the economy, which continues to thrive and seems to be exorcising that scary ghost of inflation. Everyone's least favorite economic development continues to weaken -- fingers crossed -- with the growth in the consumer price index (CPI) easing in the last few measurements.

That, in turn, has led to lower interest rates, to the tune of a cumulative 75 basis point reduction in the Federal Reserve's (Fed) key rate over the past two months. The regulator started hiking rates in the thick of the coronavirus pandemic in mid-2022. This was the start of a more than two-year series of raises aimed at getting the once-hibernating but suddenly resurgent inflation under some control.

All things being equal, lower interest rates are beneficial for assets on the more risky side of the investment spectrum, like cryptocurrencies. One major effect of lower rates is that they reduce the competitiveness of investments considered to be safe. At the same time, they enhance the attractiveness and potential returns of riskier assets.

Room to run

This past weekend provided even more rocket fuel for Bitcoin and, as ever in the rallies it inspires, a wide range of altcoins such as Ethereum, Dogecoin, and many others.

One big advantage cryptos have over traditional investments like stocks is that, as decentralised assets, they're not beholden to the finance industry's long tradition of set trading hours. So this past Saturday and Sunday, investors with insufficient opportunity to trade during the work week piled in on the weekend. Rolling into Monday, Bitcoin had zoomed past the $80,000 price barrier and was teasing $90,000, setting new all-time highs on the way.

Looking at the market right now, it's entirely possible that Bitcoin will hit that $95,000 level this week. But no rally lasts forever, and given the recent leaps that make this one feel like a bubble, I feel some degree of correction will occur before long.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The rage for artificial intelligence (AI) stocks is showing no signs of cooling off. That's why Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) management made sure to mention AI tech prominently in both the press release and during the conference call detailing its fiscal second quarter of 2024 earnings. 

Those results, divulged just after market hours on Tuesday, beat analyst estimates and featured some impressive numbers. And while AI certainly played a part in that, it was actually another set of offerings from the tech giant that really gave its quarter some muscle.

No cloudy skies with the cloud

Microsoft's second frame of the fiscal year saw the company book slightly over $62 billion in revenue, which was a sturdy 18% improvement over the same quarter of fiscal 2023 and topped the company's guidance of $60 billion to $61 billion. Not to be outdone, non-GAAP (adjusted) net income advanced by 26% year over year to hit nearly $22 billion ($2.93 per share).

Analyst expectations for the quarter were relatively modest. On average, they were expecting the tech giant to earn slightly over $61 billion on the top line, and post a per-share, adjusted net income figure of $2.78.

Microsoft posted estimate-beating quarters throughout calendar 2023, but the rise in its shares was due more to its association with top AI app developer OpenAI. Microsoft is a major investor in -- and partner of -- the company, which is the entity behind the popular ChatGPT app. Microsoft has assertively incorporated OpenAI functionalities into more than a few of its offerings, including the Office software suite.

In the earnings release, the only quote Microsoft attributed to its CEO Satya Nadella was about, yes, AI. The company's leader briefly enthused about the technology, saying that by applying it at scale, it's helping to gain new clients and improve productivity throughout its operations.

What didn't get as much attention, and probably should have, was Microsoft's cloud computing products and services. The company is the No. 2 provider of such offerings -- behind Amazon's mighty Amazon Web Services (AWS) -- and is doing well in drawing fresh revenue from this source.

During the quarter, the company's Intelligent Cloud business segment saw its revenue balloon by 20% year over year to nearly $26 billion. Inside that grouping, the still-hot Azure and other cloud services saw their collective take rise at a 30% clip, outpacing the analyst expectations of under 28%.

The AI and cloud combination is already potent

Even if AI -- still a relatively young technology -- wasn't a mighty driver of Microsoft's growth for the quarter, it still made a difference. The company said it now has about 53,000 clients for Azure AI, its anchor cloud-based AI platform. Nadella said that one-third of that figure comprises customers new to Azure within the past year.

This portends very well for Microsoft's future. However, judging by the market's rather tepid reaction to the quarterly results -- the stock was trading slightly down after hours as of this writing -- investors haven't yet fully considered this potential. So even though the company's shares zoomed higher in 2023, in this year and beyond, they can certainly hit even loftier heights. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

What happened

Thursday was a fairly eventful news day for bellwether electric vehicle company Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). On balance, the latest developments were taken positively by investors. They traded the company's shares up marginally, as the S&P 500 index booked a 0.6% decline.

So what

Arguably the most stock-moving news item of the day -- aside from the latest developments around CEO Elon Musk's pursuit of Twitter, which don't directly affect Tesla -- came from Europe. The institutions that run the 27-member state EU have reached a deal to mandate all carmakers reach a zero-emission target starting in 2035.

This means that all autos sold in the vast economic bloc will have to be non-internal combustion models. At the moment, that largely means electric vehicles (EVs) such as the sleek models offered by Tesla.

Concurrently, citing research from Jato Dynamics, Bloomberg reported that the company's Model Y was the best-selling car in Europe last month. All told, Tesla delivered more than 29,000 Model Ys in September, tripling its tally from the same month of 2021. That figure also trounced that of the No. 2 model, the Peugot 208, with roughly 19,600.

Now what

In rather less encouraging news, a Wall Street Journal report published Thursday said that the Justice Department and its Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating Tesla.

Citing "a person familiar with the matter," the newspaper said that both arms of the government are trying to determine whether the company misled investors and consumers about the Autopilot system packed into its vehicles. Despite its name, the system offers extremely limited automated functionality; it's actually more of an assisted-driving solution.   

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Tesla and Twitter. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

What happened

Thursday morning, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) filled in the details of its ad-supported subscriber tier. Investors obviously liked what they heard, and consequently they pushed up the streaming service's stock price. As of midafternoon trading, Netflix shares were rising at a 4%-plus clip over the previous day's close, well outpacing the S&P 500 index's 2.2% gain.

So what

Netflix's ad-supported tier has been formally christened Basic With Ads. It will cost $6.99 per month in the U.S. The tier will also be available in 11 other countries, including the U.K., Germany, Japan, Korea, and Mexico. Netflix did not specify the pricing for those non-U.S. markets.

Basic With Ads will launch on the morning of Thursday, Nov. 3. The tier will be the lowest on a four-rung ladder, underneath the video streaming giant's Basic, Standard, and Premium pricing levels.

The new tier's subscribers will be able to screen movies and shows at 720p/HD resolutions, while being fed an average of four to five minutes of advertising per hour, Netflix said. The company added without elaboration that "a limited number" of titles will be unavailable because of licensing restrictions, although it is working to resolve this.

Netflix is already pushing for advertisers to get aboard. In the press release heralding the arrival of Basic With Ads, it wrote that the service "represents an exciting opportunity for advertisers -- the chance to reach a diverse audience, including younger viewers who increasingly don't watch linear TV, in a premium environment with a seamless, high-resolution ad experience."

Now what

Although it's yet to be put through its paces with consumers, on paper Basic With Ads seems like a compelling offer. It's notably cheaper than Netflix's other tiers, and the ad load doesn't seem overly burdensome for viewers. As for the advertisers, the company's wide, global customer base is an enticing market, so there should be plenty of interest in buying spots. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Netflix. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Netflix. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

What happened

Most investors are cool on tech stocks these days, but enough of them warmed to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Tuesday to give an encouraging little rise to its share price. Thanks to some news about its global operations and positive comments from an analyst, the company's stock closed nearly 2% higher on the day, in contrast to the over 1% decline of the S&P 500 index.

So what

In an official company blog post, Apple revealed that will soon start raising prices in its App Store for certain regions and countries. These include all countries that use the euro as a currency, plus a clutch of other large and small markets in Europe, Asia, and South America. Non-eurozone countries that will see increases include Egypt, Chile, Japan, and South Korea.

The hikes will start to take effect on Wednesday, Oct. 5, Apple said.

The move comes as the U.S. dollar continues to be a strong currency when matched against peers like the euro or the Japanese yen. A strong dollar reduces the take for U.S.-based Apple from such currencies, hence the need to make adjustments.

It should be noted that this isn't a unique, one-off move by the company. It periodically makes pricing adjustments based on factors like this.

Meanwhile, noted Apple tracker Daniel Ives from Wedbush reiterated his outperform (read: buy) recommendation on Apple stock, at a $220 per share price target. In a new analyst note, Ives cited the "brisk sales" and lengthening customer wait times for the new iPhone 14 as a key reason for his continued optimism.

Now what

Apple's services business -- which includes the App Store and its massive inventory of titles -- has become increasingly important to the company. Compared to Apple's other revenue stream (products), it's growing more robustly, to the point where it comprised nearly $20 billion in revenue in the tech giant's most recently reported quarter.

Meanwhile, Apple device owners tend to be relatively affluent and fond of their apps, so there shouldn't be too much resistance to the price hikes.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Eric Volkman has positions in Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

What happened

Although it won't be the direct beneficiary of a big pile of federal spending on electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure, Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) attracted quite a few bulls on Thursday. On news of a sprawling (and expensive) project to build out EV charging stations throughout the U.S., shares of the popular EV maker inched 0.4% higher. That was in favorable contrast to the more than 1% slump of the S&P 500 index on the day.

So what

On Wednesday, President Biden announced that the federal government would disburse $900 million to 35 U.S. states to establish a network of EV charging stations. That funding will be part of the $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed last year.

The following day, investors sensibly plowed into stocks of companies directly or closely involved with charging infrastructure -- ChargePoint Holdings and Blink Charging were obvious plays, among others.

The knock-on effects of this big initiative are also obvious for the companies that manufacture the EVs themselves, and Tesla is the top selection among this crowd. The bellwether for the segment is a pure-play, in contrast to domestic incumbents like General Motors and Ford, which are currently in the midst of fairly long-tail transitions away from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

Now what

A heaping pile of money for charging stations isn't an automatic knock-on win for Tesla, to be sure. Investors are well aware that General Motors, Ford, and the other incumbents aren't going to let the company own the EV segment. We can say the same for up-and-coming rivals such as China's Nio.

So yes, this latest development is good for Tesla. Let's see how effectively the company can ride it.

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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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What happened

Many investors have become notably more bearish on Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) lately, but you wouldn't know that by looking at the stock's performance on Wednesday. It surged nearly 5% higher on the day, thanks to an article in a top financial news outlet highlighting some potentially beneficial moves it's making, and an analyst recommendation upgrade. 

So what

The article was published Wednesday morning in the finance world's newspaper of record, The Wall Street Journal. Citing "people familiar with the matter," the report states that Netflix is actively reviewing its operations for areas in which it can cut costs. Among other activities currently being assessed are its real estate holdings and cloud computing expenses.

In the personnel sphere, the article's sources say the company has actively been hiring more junior staff, presumably because such individuals require lower salaries.

All told, Netflix's operating expenses were $23.5 billion in 2021, which was up 15% from the 2020 level. Meanwhile, the streaming video king's subscriber count has been falling lately. The company has already said that it will cut spending on both content and non-content costs.

Netflix has not yet officially commented on the Journal article.

Now what

Meanwhile, Macquarie analyst and longtime Netflix tracker Tim Nollen lifted his recommendation on the stock. He now feels it's worthy of a neutral rating, rather than his previous tag of underperform (sell). He's also lifting his price target substantially, boosting it to $230 per share from the preceding $170.

Nollen is basing this on Netflix's plan to introduce an ad-supported subscription tier. He wrote in a new note that the company could draw $3.6 billion in revenue from this, although that tally shakes down to $1.1 billion when factoring in the almost certain lower subscription prices for such a tier.

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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Netflix. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Netflix. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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What happened

Monster retailer Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) doesn't often lose, so shareholders get discouraged when the company doesn't come in first in a contest. That was the situation on Tuesday, when a rival's bid was selected for a big healthcare asset that was in play. As a result, Amazon's share price closed the day over 1% lower, a steeper fall than that of the S&P 500 index.

So what

Amazon was vying for healthcare services company Signify Health, but the nod ended up going to CVS Health, whose bid was worth roughly $8 billion. Other companies participating in the effort to acquire Signify were UnitedHealth Group and Option Care Health.

Among that crowd, Amazon was a bit of an outlier. UnitedHealth and Option Care are pure-play healthcare companies. Amazon, which has always aimed to be a retailer of any product or service imaginable, is still considered by many to be more of a giant online shopping outlet than a provider of healthcare services.

In Signify's press release announcing its selection of CVS, CEO Kyle Armbrester said that "we determined that CVS Health is the ideal partner, given its focus on expanding access to health services and helping consumers navigate to the best sites of care."

While Amazon has indisputably made strides in its medical business efforts -- witness its $3.9 billion deal for primary care provider 1Life Healthcare earlier this year -- it still isn't readily identified with that sector. It wouldn't be surprising if this made the company a dark horse candidate, at best, in the Signify bidding.

Now what

Amazon isn't known for setbacks and management probably isn't too fond of them, so we can expect the company to make fresh bids for other healthcare businesses that come into play. But other entities with deep pockets will also be looking to buy, so Signify might not be the last of its defeats in the sector.

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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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What happened

Few people were hot on cryptocurrency investments this sweltering weekend; Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) was one of the rare exceptions. After its co-creator nailed a concrete date for a major upgrade of the blockchain platform, investors traded it up through the weekend. As of mid-afternoon Sunday, its value had risen by 4% over the preceding 24 hours.

So what

Friday morning, Cardano's co-founder, Charles Hoskinson, announced that that upgrade is going to occur on Thursday, Sept. 22. It will take the form of a hard fork, i.e., a new, separate, and non-backward-compatible blockchain from the original, which is titled Vasil.

The pop in Cardano's value was due in no small part to a cocktail of relief and hope. Vasil's launch was originally scheduled for June and subsequently experienced more delays.

Cardano has attracted much investor interest since its launch in 2017. Hoskinson was a co-founder of Ethereum, currently the leader in decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts. Cardano is being developed basically to be a faster and more efficient dApp and smart contract platform.

According to a post on the site of Input Output Global, the so-called "driving force" behind Cardano, Vasil "will bring significant improvements using Cardano's hard fork combinator (HFC) approach and enhance the network's performance by increasing throughput, script efficiency, and reducing latency in block transmission."

Now what

Crypto investors have been starved of good news lately, with negative macroeconomic trends such as inflation favoring assets considered to be relatively safer and less speculative. With its creators' goal of making a low-friction blockchain, perhaps even one that can usurp Ethereum, Cardano is already a compelling crypto play. Fresh news of the impending upgrade is getting investors that much more excited about its prospects.

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Eric Volkman has positions in Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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What happened

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock and product aficionados might be getting excited about the company's upcoming "event" next week, but the shares nevertheless stumbled on Monday. A media report is giving some investors pause to think, with the result that Apple shares lost 1.4% of their value across the day.

So what

An article published in Politico on Friday afternoon stated that the Justice Department is currently in an early stage of preparing a potential antitrust complaint against Apple. Citing "a person with direct knowledge of the matter," the story said that several groups of Justice prosecutors are involved in the effort, suggesting a renewed push by the government to curb what it considers to be the unfair trade practices of big tech companies.

According to the article's source, if the Department decides to go through with filing its complaint, it will do so by the end of this year. Yet that person, plus what Politico described as "one other familiar with the probe," have both said that Justice hasn't yet made a final decision on the matter.

Apple has not yet officially responded to the article.

Now what

If the article is accurate, this would hardly be the first time the government has gone after the country's top-tech companies over what it believes is anti-competitive behavior. Apple has been in its sights for some time and the focus of a formal investigation since 2019. We need to bear in mind, though, that at this point the filing of an antitrust complaint is only speculation at best, and investors shouldn't trade the company's stock purely on that basis.

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Eric Volkman has positions in Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Apple and Qualcomm. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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What happened

Are we witnessing the start of a tech stock rally? It's too soon to tell, but numerous big names in the industry rose from the ground on Wednesday.

One of them was Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), which closed the day 1.4% higher against an essentially flat S&P 500 index. In addition to being the target of tech stock bargain hunters, the powerhouse online retailer also benefited from a high-profile bank picking it as a top buy in that beaten-down sector.

So what

The analysis in question came from JPMorgan Chase's near-namesake JPMorgan unit. Prognosticator Doug Anmuth updated his coverage of internet stocks, with notably muted enthusiasm.

"The Internet sector continues to have secular growth, but it is far more mature than in 2008-2009, and the ability to offset broader, macro trends is more limited," he wrote in a new research note. "As a result, all of our companies are at risk in a slowing environment."

Anmuth reduced estimates for a clutch of these stocks, especially those most heavily associated with online advertising and e-commerce.

Now what

That was the bad news in the JPMorgan analyst's new take. The good news is that, according to Anmuth, several of the sector's big titles already have such negative factors priced into their shares. He tapped three of these as his "Best Ideas," one of them being Amazon (the other two were online travel agency incumbent Booking Holdings and rideshare king Uber).

In spite of that, Anmuth did give his price target on Amazon a haircut, to $175 per share from the previous $200. 

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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Amazon and Booking Holdings. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon and Booking Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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What happened?

A victim of the Great Tech Stock Exodus of 2022, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) suffered another decline on Tuesday. The company's shares lost nearly 3% of their value, a worse showing than the 2% decline of the S&P 500 Index. Investors were disheartened by one analyst's price target cut, and another's speculation about manufacturing difficulties. 

So what?

Of the two analyses, it was the one from TF International Securities that was the more concerning. That company's Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a tweet that the results of a survey he conducted indicate that Apple's "own iPhone 5G modem chip development may have failed."

The company had been developing its own chips to alleviate its dependence on chip leader Qualcomm. Kuo speculated that Apple's struggles mean Qualcomm will remain the sole supplier of 5G chips for the tech giant's upcoming line of new iPhones, presumably making their production more expensive.

It's important to note that Apple has not released any updates recently about its 5G modem chip production.

Now what?

Meanwhile, Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani is growing more bearish on Apple's prospects for different reasons. Tuesday morning, he cut his price target on the stock to $180 per share from the previous $210.

Daryanani explained in a new research note that "Apple was in growth mode during the 2008/2009 as we were still at the beginning of the smartphone revolution, so revenue declines in a recession today would likely be more severe vs. the growth they managed in 2009." 

Despite his concern and the price target reduction, Daryanani is maintaining his outperform (read: buy) recommendation on Apple stock.

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Eric Volkman has positions in Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Apple and Qualcomm. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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1. Tesla

2. Alphabet

3. Nintendo

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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares) and Alphabet (C shares). The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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What happened

On one of the better days for the stock market in recent times, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) was a standout. On a general resurgence in tech stocks and a very positive new analyst note, the giant online retailer's stock zoomed more than 5% higher on Wednesday, easily topping the 1.5% gain of the bellwether S&P 500 index.

So what

The tech rally was certainly a tailwind for Amazon at the end of the day, but investors were probably more encouraged by that research note. It was written by JPMorgan Chase analyst Doug Anmuth, who shared a very heartening update on the company's Prime loyalty program.

Following what he calls a "deep dive" into Prime's present and future, Anmuth came up with a new estimate of the program's value to its subscribers. All told, according to his calculations, Prime membership confers roughly $1,100 in annual benefits, such as free shipping and savings on items like drug prescriptions. This makes it quite the compelling value proposition even at the recently increased rate of $139 per year.

It also makes it an increasingly more attractive add-on for Amazon customers. Again according to his estimates, Anmuth says those yearly benefits totaled around $1,000 in 2020, and only approximately $544 in 2016.

Now what

Not surprisingly, the prognosticator is very bullish on Amazon stock. With his new take, he's maintaining his overweight (buy) recommendation on it, at a price target of $200 per share. This level is nearly double that of the stock's most recent closing price, even after Wednesday's pop. 

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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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What happened

Long-suffering tech stock investors had to endure yet another painful trading session on Tuesday. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shareholders saw their company lose nearly 2% of its value. That performance was relatively good on a day when a profit warning from Snap Inc (NASDAQ: SNAP) resulted in the social media stock's worst trading day ever, crumbling by 43% and dragging many other tech titles deep into the red along with it.

So what

Limiting the damage to Apple was a glowing research note from Bank of America. The big lender's analyst Wamsi Mohan reiterated his buy rating on the star tech stock, and his $200 price target.

Mohan believes that the company has several strong tailwinds, including growth in user count and App Store revenue improvement.

The analyst was particularly encouraged by developments with the App Store. Revenue for the mobile marketplace rose a robust 7% year over year in the January-through-April period of 2022.

Much of this comes from the Chinese market, which is apparently home to a great many eager Apple users in search of something good to play. Mohan cited data indicating that gaming apps alone have seen growth of 13% to date in the company's current quarter.

Now what

The analyst explained in his note that the "Chinese government lifted its nine-month new gaming licensing ban, approving 45 titles".

Therefore, he concluded, "Given the slightly favorable stance from regulators and ongoing lockdowns in China, we potentially see upside to the China App Store growth in [the fiscal second half of 2022]."

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Bank of America is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Eric Volkman has positions in Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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What happened

On Monday, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: FB) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) were tagged by a storied investment bank as stocks worthy of consideration. Interestingly, the pair went in different directions as investors reacted, with Meta shares eking out a slight (0.7%) gain in price on the day and Amazon stock falling by over 2%.

So what

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) analyst Brian Nowak reiterated his overweight (read: buy) recommendation on Meta shares and said that Amazon has fine potential to become a very compelling buy.

In his latest research note on Meta, he focused on the steps the social media pacesetter is apparently taking to save expenses. He said that if the company were to enact a hiring freeze, it could filter down into a 4% to 16% improvement in free cash flow (FCF) per share for all of 2022. Nowak added that he would still rate the company a buy without such moves; with them, Meta's FCF improvement might be "significant."

He feels that Amazon has similar potential. He cited the giant retailer's $6 billion annual spend on "other bets" as a prime candidate for reductions. "In our view," he wrote, "AMZN still does not screen as being 'inexpensive' on FCF in this increasingly FCF focused market." 

Now what

Of the two stocks, investors seem to be taking Nowak's argument on Meta more to heart. He certainly makes an interesting point about Amazon, but at the moment, that company is clouded by an intensifying war of words between founder Jeff Bezos and the Biden administration over economic policy. The high-profile businessman escalated the fight on Monday, posting a pair of tweets that took aim at both its failed Build Back Better initiative and a rather sideways criticism of Amazon's labor policies.

No matter how wealthy or powerful, when an individual gets into a tussle with the government that individual tends to lose. It's not surprising that Bezos' spat with the current administration is dampening investor sentiment on his company. 

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Eric Volkman has positions in Meta Platforms, Inc. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Amazon and Meta Platforms, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon and Meta Platforms, Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.