Category Archives: Technology

5 Hot Artificial Intelligence Stocks to Buy

Everyone is buzzing about artificial intelligence right now. Before we know it, AI will be part of our everyday lives.

Market experts say artificial intelligence will lead the next wave of economic growth and productivity for at least the next couple of decades. But many AI stocks have a cautious outlook from the Street.

Take, for example, Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), which despite its gains has a “moderate buy” consensus rating from the analyst community. And then there’s  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), which each average out to “hold” ratings. In many cases, that’s largely because of high valuations and overheated shares.

To find the best investing opportunities in AI right now, we looked for five stocks with a “strong buy” consensus rating from the Street’s top analysts. These are analysts with the highest success rate and average return. By limiting the ratings to best-performing analysts, we cut out analysts with poor track records to find recommendations investors can trust.

Stocks with “strong buy” ratings are also more likely to have significant upside potential from the current share price.

[Editor’s note: This story was originally published June 22, 2017. It has since been updated and republished, as we believe the stock picks remain valuable.]

Hot Artificial Intelligence Stocks to Buy: Salesforce (CRM)

salesforce stock

Source: Shutterstock

On June 15, cloud computing giant Salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) launched its Einstein Analytics platform. “We have more customer data than ever before and we need AI to turn data into something actionable for the business user,” says CRM exec Arijit Sengupta.

Salesforce wants a slice of the fast-growing AI market. A new report by IDC and commissioned by CRM found that AI technologies will create more than 800,000 new jobs and add $1.1 trillion to global GDP by 2021.

CRM has a very strong outlook from the Street, with 13% upside potential from its current share price.

Hot Artificial Intelligence Stocks to Buy: Microsoft (MSFT)

Time to Buy Microsoft Corporation Amid Tech Stock Rout?

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Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) acquired Canadian AI company Maluuba this year. Maluuba teaches machines to think and ask questions through deep learning. You may have heard of Maluuba when it made the impossible possible and used AI to beat the notoriously difficult Ms. Pac-Man arcade video game.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says he wants to “democratize AI” and bring the technology to more industries such as healthcare, education and manufacturing.

“Microsoft is back to showing durable double-digit EPS growth — and investors should be willing to pay a higher multiple for that growth,” says Morgan Stanley’s Keith Weiss. He raised his price target from $72 to $80 on June 19.

Artificial Intelligence Stocks to Buy: Alphabet (GOOGL)

Google Stock Is a Winner, but Upcoming Earnings Could Be a Road Bump

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Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has made the most AI purchases out of any tech firm calculated research firm Quid, which shows that GOOGL has made 20 acquisitions, including predictive analytics platform Kaggle in Q1 2017.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently spoke about Google’s “AI first” future. At Google’s developer conference, he showed the Google Lens (a camera that can recognize what it sees) and AutoML. AutoML uses neural networks to build better neural networks, essentially creating an AI that can create itself.

GOOGL received 18 buy and four hold ratings in three months, and has 11% upside.

Hot Artificial Intelligence Stocks to Buy: Baidu (BIDU)

Baidu Inc stock bidu stock

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Chinese internet company Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU), the “Google of China”, has been investing heavily in AI. It thinks artificial intelligence can give it an edge over local rivals Tencent Holdings Ltd. (OTCMKTS:TCEHY) and Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd (NYSE:BABA).

Baidu spent $2.9 billion on R&D in just 2.5 years, with most of this going on AI. The money has funded a 1,700-member research team and four separate research labs. Crucially, Baidu has an AI advantage because of the huge data it gains from its 665 million monthly search engine users.

BIDU received four buy ratings and one “hold” rating in three months, and has impressive upside of 17%.

Hot Artificial Intelligence Stocks to Buy: Delphi Automotive (DLPH)

Source: Shutterstock

U.K.-based auto tech company Delphi Automotive PLC (NYSE:DLPH) is on the rise. Delphi grew by 30% in 2016 and is predicting revenue of $16.5 billion to 16.9 billion for the full year 2017.

Delphi has just dropped its powertrain business to focus on self-driving cars and electrical vehicles. With BMWIntel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) and Mobileye NV (NYSE:MBLY), Delphi plans to launch self-driving cars by 2021.

DLPH received five buy ratings and one hold” rating recently and has 12% upside potential for the next 12 months.

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3 Great Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Now

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Semiconductor stocks are having a bumpy 2018. While the sector is in the green overall, the chipmakers are trailing the Nasdaq Composite, as measured by the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) by a wide margin. The QQQ ETF is up 16% year-to-date, with the iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) up just half that for the year.

It’s not hard to see why investors are worried about chipmakers. Several of the trends that had powered them in recent quarters and years are starting to fade. The group of chipmakers tied to Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), for example, have lost momentum as the global smartphone market looks increasingly saturated. Other trends that had been powering increased semiconductor demand, such as cryptocurrencies and Internet of Things are starting to see their expectations come back in a bit.

On top of that, semiconductor stocks were among the hottest groups in the market since 2016. A pause in their momentum is not a big surprise. That said, given the recent underperformance in the sector, it could be time to go fishing for a little value. And yes, that means steering clear of the controversial and expensive high-fliers like Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) in search of more compelling value.

Here are three such semiconductors stocks to buy today.

Semiconductor Stocks to Buy: Texas Instruments (TXN)

Semiconductor Stocks to Buy: Texas Instruments (TXN)

Source: Shutterstock

Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) suffered from a bit of unwanted publicity recently. Its new CEO, Brian Crutcher, resigned due to personal conduct issues less than two months after being promoted to the role.

Texas Instruments has reinstated long-time top executive John Templeton, who guided the company to great prosperity in recent years, to the CEO role indefinitely. While the management shake-up may have made some investors nervous, TXN’s core business keeps on humming. Last quarter produced yet another earnings beat on both the top and bottom line.

With the string of earnings-per-share growth in recent years, Texas Instruments now tops $100 billion in market cap. It dominates its niche: analog chips that process real-world measurable data for digital applications. It continues building out its patent library, manufacturing capabilities and product lines with additional acquisitions. As such, it has achieved massive scale and can continue plugging more products into its platform.

Texas Instruments has its fingers in many pies, with its efforts in automotive and communications chips showing particular promise given current market trends. Additionally, the company has more security and recurring revenue than most chipmakers, as its products tend to have much longer lifecycles than the sorts of designs that go into hot consumer products such as phones.

TXN stock has soared in recent years; it’s up from $50 to more than $110 just since early 2016. But the fun isn’t over yet.

TXN stock sells for 18x forward earnings. Combine that with its 15% projected five-year EPS growth rate, and you have a reasonably priced tech growth company. On top of that, the company pays a market-beating dividend of 2.2%, and management raises the dividend by a double-digit percentage every year.

Semiconductor Stocks to Buy: Intel (INTC)

Semiconductor Stocks to Buy: Intel (INTC)

Source: Shutterstock

AMD’s recent gains have, to some extent, been Intel’s (NASDAQ:INTC) pain. While AMD stock has soared to a new 12-year high, INTC stock has slipped back under the $50 level. Intel is still up strongly over the past year, but the stock has now corrected almost 20% since early June.

The dip in INTC stock is a buying opportunity.

The market has grown concerned about repeated delays with Intel’s line of 10nm technology. For the first time in many years, it appears that AMD is reaching technological parity with Intel across both the server and laptop markets. AMD, which has been stuck in the 20% market share range for ages, could draw much closer to Intel in coming quarters.

However, don’t count Intel out anytime soon. The company still has far more resources and R&D prowess than AMD. While its delays with this product cycle have been embarrassing, they can and will be fixed. And as it is, there is more to performance than just the nanometer size of chips — Intel’s current generation of products are still highly competitive.

Intel, like other lumbering tech companies, appeared to be waking up recently. INTC stock had started to trade up to a higher price-to-earnings ratio for the first time in years. But the recent drop has Intel back well into value territory. At these prices, INTC stock is selling at 12x trailing and 11x forward earnings. The company’s dividend is also back above the 2.5% mark.

Take advantage of temporary competitive issues against AMD to score INTC stock at a nice discount to recent prices.

Semiconductor Stocks to Buy: Qualcomm (QCOM)

Semiconductor Stocks to Buy: Qualcomm (QCOM)

Source: Shutterstock

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), like Texas Instruments, has also had some excitement lately. Qualcomm finally abandoned its long-running attempt to take over NXP Semiconductors(NASDAQ:NXPI).

This acquisition would have broadly diversified Qualcomm’s business. Investors have looked nervously at Qualcomm’s concentration in patent-based revenues as its own chips have fallen prey, in some cases, to OEM competition.

However, there was also a good deal of execution risk in the proposed mega-merger. So China’s influence in scuttling the deal could come out as a plus. As it is, Qualcomm still gets huge royalties off of 3G and 4G technology, and it has an enviable position in the upcoming rollout of 5G.

Shareholders will get a concentrated ownership position on these assets. That’s because Qualcomm — now that the NXP deal is dead — announced a gigantic buyback of up to $30 billion by the end of 2019.

Given Qualcomm’s current $100 billion market cap, we’re talking about the company retiring something along the lines of a quarter of outstanding QCOM stock. On top of that, QCOM stock offers a large dividend yield, currently almost 4%, making it one of the top income plays in the tech space. QCOM stock has recovered nicely since the NXP deal failed. Still, the all-time high is up around $80, offering substantial upside as a target, especially as the buyback kicks in.

At of this writing, Ian Bezek owned shares in TXN, INTC and QCOM stock.

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Buy This Profitable Tech Stock Beating the FAANGs

In my last article few articles (herehere, and here), we looked at emerging markets. I gave you the breakdown as to the markets I do not like and those that I do, in the Asia-Pacific region.

But even if you’re not a fan of emerging markets, please do not make the mistake many investors do… just because you don’t like China, for instance, do not throw out the entire Asia-Pacific region. If you do, you will be missing out on some wonderful opportunities to make money.

One of my favorite investing destinations is Australia, which is a stable, democratic country in the Asia-Pacific region. It has a number of top-quality stocks, including a technology stock that trades right here in the U.S. – Atlassian Corporation PLC (Nasdaq: TEAM). The company provides team collaboration and productivity software solutions worldwide. It offers project tracking, content creation and sharing, real-time communication, and service management products to all sizes of organizations.

What Atlassian Does

The company’s products include JIRA, a workflow management system that enables teams to plan, organize, track, and manage their work and projects; Confluence, a content collaboration platform that is used to create, share, organize, and discuss projects; HipChat that provides teams a way to communicate in real-time and share ideas, updates, codes, and files; Trello, a Web-based project management application for capturing and adding structure to fluid and fast-forming work for teams; Bitbucket, a code management and collaboration product for teams using distributed version control systems; and JIRA Service Desk, a service desk product for creating and managing service experiences for various service team providers, including IT help desks, and legal and HR teams. It also offers other tools for software developers, such as Stride, FishEye, Clover, Crowd, Crucible, Bamboo, SourceTree, and StatusPage.

The company recently entered into a strategic partnership with Slack. Atlassian currently has two offerings in the real-time communications market: Stride and Hipchat. With this partnership, Atlassian will exit the communications space. Slack has acquired the intellectual property for Stride and Hipchat Cloud, both of which will be discontinued. Atlassian will also discontinue Hipchat Server and Data Center and will be working with Slack to provide a migration path for customers of all four products.

Related: Sell These 21 Stocks About to Be Destroyed by Amazon [ad]

Microsoft Competition

Atlassian also said it has also made an equity investment in Slack to reinforce the long-term nature and significance of the partnership. The logic behind the two companies joining forces in this particular segment is that both were facing significant competition from Microsoft and its TEAMs product that is offered to its Office cloud customers. Microsoft also offers a free version to people that do not subscribe to Office 365. The deal will let Atlassian and Slack focus on the area where they lead – Slack in chat and Atlassian in project management software.

Microsoft is also trying to encroach on Atlassian’s turf with its recent $7.5 billion purchase of GitHub.

Initially, investors were fearful that Microsoft’s buy would hurt Atlassian. But it turns out the deal may actually bolster Atlassian’s Bitbucket business, which competes with GitHub in the business of storing code for companies and software developers. Immediately after the Microsoft announcement, the company’s Bitbucket enjoyed its best day ever in terms of new user sign ups.

The reason is straightforward – Atlassian offers better products at lower costs. Bitbucket prices are significantly lower than GitHub’s due to its focus on spending more on research and development rather than sales and marketing (more on this in a second).

Atlassian’s Unique History

I have been following Atlassian for a number of years because of its uniqueness among tech firms. Let me fill you in briefly on its history…

Because of its Australian roots, it was a unicorn that was valued well below its Silicon Valley peers.

Part of the reason for that was that the company did not sell much stock (only about $200 million) to private investors. So there was not the typical feeding frenzy sending valuations soaring. And the potential future valuation potential had not been already squeezed out by the venture capitalists.

Also, Atlassian was unique in that the company had always been profitable. I’m sure the investment banks on its IPO had difficulty pitching this unique asset – a technology company that had healthy revenue growth, positive cash flow and a reasonable valuation. What a contrast from what normally comes out of Silicon Valley!

 And now its most unique aspect – Atlassian does not have a sales team. Its business grows simply on word of mouth about the high quality of its products. I absolutely love that concept… letting the quality of your product speak for itself!

Atlassian Still Growing

The lack of a paid sales staff certainly has not slowed down Atlassian’s growth.

Its latest quarterly report sent the stock soaring by rose more than 23%. The company reported financial results for fiscal Q4, with earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ expectations; it also provided guidance for fiscal Q1 and full year 2019 above forecasts.

For the quarter ended June 30, Atlassian posted earnings of $0.13 per share, compared with the prior-year period’s $0.09 per share. Wall Street analysts had expected EPS of $0.12. Revenue came in at $243.8 million, up from $174.3 million in the same quarter last year. That was again above Street estimates for revenue of $233.4 million.

The company expects fiscal first quarter EPS of about $0.19 on revenue of $258 million to $260 million. Wall Street analysts had been looking for guidance of $0.15 on revenue of $252.5 million. For fiscal 2019, Atlassian forecast EPS of about $0.77 on revenue of $1.146 billion to $1.154 billion. That compares to the Street view of EPS of $0.66 on revenue of $1.11 billion.

Not surprisingly, firms such as Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Atlassian. Oppenheimer raised its stock price target to $85 from $65 while retaining its outperform rating. “Strength reflects continuing good execution, broad-based product demand, and record new customer expansion,” analyst Ittai Kidron said in a note, while viewing its exit from the communications business positively because it’s playing catch-up in the business.” We’re buyers seeing multiple growth drivers (new customers, deeper penetration, new products, pricing).”

I’m in agreement, with my expectation that Atlassian will continue to be a winner following its unique Australian model of success.

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Source: Investors Alley

Is It Time to Bail on the FAANGs?

In recent months, it has gotten harder to separate the performance of the U.S. stock market from the performance of the FAANG stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google/Alphabet).

Despite Facebook’s face-plant, after its earnings announcement led to the worst one-day loss ever for any stock, the overall performance of the market year-to-date has been supported by the FAANG group. While they’re only a 13.6% weight in the S&P 500’s market cap, they’re driving the market up to the tune of almost half of its year-to-date gains. Impressive stuff for just 5 stocks on their own. Here is a chart from Bespoke Investment Group that displays that fact graphically.

The question facing investors is, of course, whether the FAANG stocks will continue carrying the market or if their leadership is beginning to fade.

Tech Divergence

Investors have taken it as gospel that tech stocks promise unending growth, based on the over-arching macro-trend of a digital revolution across society. This makes them different from other stocks whose growth are more tied to the ebbs and flows of the underlying economy.

As for the FAANGs, they have huge valuations for a reason – these companies have built huge franchises, allowing them to still grow fast, despite their size. That’s why, with the exception of Netflix, their stock market valuations have topped $500 billion and Amazon, Apple and Alphabet are approaching the $1 trillion valuation mark.

Related: Facebook, We Have a Problem

The latest earnings reports seem to show that the fortunes of these stocks are starting to diverge. In other words, some companies like Amazon continue to perform, while others like Facebook are facing more headwinds. This makes sense since they are in very different businesses.

  • Facebook’s playing fast and loose with user data resulted in slowing user growth and engagement as well as slowing sales growth.
  • With Google, investors chose to focus on how smartphones contributed to outsized growth and profits, while completely ignoring that Google plays more fast and loose with data than Facebook does.
  • With Netflix, it was expectations that were too high. Its stunning stock-price rally came crashing to a halt after it reported 1million fewer subscribers than investors had expected.
  • Amazon did not disappoint though. It blew past Wall Street earnings forecasts as its diversification into higher-margin cloud computing and the dominance of its online retail business produced the first $2 billion quarterly profit in its history

One area that I will be watching in the weeks and months ahead is whether executives at these firms continue to sell their stock. FANG insiders, led by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg (he sold $2.84 billion of FB stock) are selling stock at the fastest pace in six years. Senior executives and directors of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google parent Alphabet have disposed of $4.58 billion of stock this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They’re on track to exceed $5 billion for the first six months of 2018, the highest since Facebook went public in 2012.

Obviously, continued selling when a stock is still dropping is never a good sign.

What the Future Holds

So what will the future hold for these tech megagiants? Eventually, their growth rate will slow.

As to the why, that was pointed recently by Mary Meeker, a partner at the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. She said the landscape was getting more competitive for tech companies now that more than half of the world’s population are online. Internet users will hit 3.6 billion people this year, reaching a majority of the world’s population for the first time, according to a new report from Ms. Meeker. Growth in the number of new internet users is also slowing markedly, she said, from 12% in 2016 to 7% last year. She believes that when you get to a market with 50% penetration, new growth becomes more difficult to find. The smartphone market is proof of that.

She also thinks the giant giants will come more and more into competition with themselves. We already see that in the cloud computing sector with Amazon leading Microsoft and Google. And we are starting to see that in the digital advertising space where Amazon is moving into the territory of Google and Facebook. And also in media where Amazon is taking on Netflix.

So which of these big tech stocks should you own?

I strongly dislike the companies that make money from people’s data – Facebook and Google. I believe they will have to revamp their entire business model as the rest of the world seems to be moving toward European style of regulation to protect citizens’ privacy and away from the American all-is-fair-game model.

I am neutral on Netflix and Apple. Netflix is facing a ton of competition all over the world, including some very heavy competition to come soon from Disney. And its sky-high valuation implies investors are oblivious to the fact that it has competition.

Related: Buy These Streaming Giants as Netflix’s Challenges Grow

I like Apple, but the nearly no-growth global smartphone has me hesitant on it. Although its services business is doing extremely well. I just wish the company would do something innovative, something it hasn’t done since the death of Steve Jobs.

That leaves Amazon and Microsoft, both of which I like a lot. Amazon is already in, or will be soon, every business that touches consumers’ everyday lives. The only thing that could stop the Amazon juggernaut is if the Trump Administration does pursue some sort of anti-trust action.

Microsoft has transformed itself into a growth company once again under the leadership of CEO Satya Nadella. Leading the way is its Azure cloud business. The number of new customer contracts worth more than $10 million for the company’s Azure cloud platform doubled in the latest quarter. Wall Street had been expecting the rate of growth in Azure revenues to moderate, slowing to 77%. But the business continued its recent streak to rise 89% and underpin overall sales growth of 17% to $30 billion, leading to Microsoft’s strongest revenue quarter in years. With Microsoft at or near the lead in edge computing, quantum computing and AI, it and Amazon looks like the best of the big tech stocks.

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7 Best Stocks to Buy to Upgrade Your AI Portfolio

Source: Shutterstock

Precious few other industries will lever an indelible impact quite like artificial intelligence. As I mentioned in my write-up for the related field of automation technologies, AI drastically improves efficiencies to unprecedented levels. Moreover, AI will spark new industries, opening up several opportunities. From an investment perspective, AI companies represent some of the best stocks to buy.

At the same time, we must be careful not to conflate hype with practical realities. As MIT Sloan Management Review explains, “Virtually all human achievements have been made by groups of people, not lone individuals.” In other words, innovation, according to the brilliant minds at MIT, is inherently collaborative.

Discussing artificial intelligence conjures up images of humanoid robots that function just like we do, perhaps with stilted, awkward mannerisms. It also brings up the very awkward concept that machines will one day take over our jobs. Robots and AI mechanisms don’t ask for vacations or benefits, nor do they complain to HR for interpersonal issues.

But the true power of artificial intelligence is far more conducive to our way of life. A genuine AI platform ultimately complements human economic and scientific efforts, not replaces them. For instance, AI can be deployed to scan through terabytes of data, extracting useful patterns and insights previously unattainable. Moreover, AI can advance medical understanding on our way to eradicating diseases.

Therefore, proper AI development is nothing something to be feared, but to be embraced. That also goes for AI-related investments. Here are my seven picks for the best stocks to buy within this rapidly-evolving sector.

Best Stocks to Buy in the AI Market: Nvidia (NVDA)

Best Stocks to Buy in the AI Market: Nvidia (NVDA)

Source: Shutterstock

These days, semiconductor and tech firm Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is mostly known for its graphics processors. However, NVDA is much more than just an indirect way to play the cryptocurrency markets. Since artificial intelligence is so data-centric, its benefits cannot be actualized without the proper physical infrastructure.

To that end, Nvidia promises a dramatic improvement in computer-processor speeds that contradicts Moore’s Law, a principle that states gains in CPU performance sharply declines once technology passes a critical maturation point.

In addition, we all know about the company’s innovations in autonomous driving technologies. While the industry has received a black eye due to high-profile accidents, that’s not going to stop NVDA from further perfecting the burgeoning innovation.

But what makes NVDA one of the best stocks to buy in this sector is its outstanding financials. Investors have plenty of attributes to like, from their cash-rich position relative to debt, or their class-leading profitability margins.

The one knock against NVDA stock is that everybody loves it. It had an outstanding year in 2017, and it’s following it up this year with another strong performance. But if shares take a dip, NVDA is a no-brainer buying opportunity.

Best Stocks to Buy in the AI Market: IBM (IBM)

On surface level, IBM (NYSE:IBM) is the exact opposite of an exciting AI investment like NVDA. Unlike many of its competitors, IBM is part of the technology old guard. That’s a diplomatic way of saying that the company has become irrelevant. Indeed, “Big Blue” has been shedding its legacy business in a bid to get with the times.

That said, the future looks bright for IBM’s foray into artificial intelligence. Their Watson platform is a particular highlight — it utilizes cloud-based predictive analytics to provide key insights and forecasts. One major client among several is Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE:RBS). To develop their own digital assistant, RBS called on IBM Watson.

Granted, a reason why investors don’t clamor towards IBM stock is that market performance has been disappointing. But from a contrarian perspective, this is more favorable than buying into extreme momentum.

Plus, IBM being different from its peers is a positive. Currently, the company’s dividend yield is a generous 4.3%. At a time when the broader indices hardly generate much excitement, IBM’s sure bet offers an attractive solution.

Best Stocks to Buy in the AI Market: Amazon (AMZN)

Best Stocks to Buy in the AI Market: Amazon (AMZN)

Source: Shutterstock

A few months back, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) made headlines as it inched closer to becoming the first trillion-dollar company. At time of writing, Apple has yet to decisively seal the deal. This sets into motion the idea that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) can beat the iconic smartphone maker to the punch.

With a market capitalization of $860 billion, it’s certainly not out of the question. However, the real reason to buy AMZN shares is its robust strengths across multiple industries. We’re well aware of Amazon’s dominant position in e-commerce. But lately, the company has focused significantly on artificial intelligence.

Through Amazon Web Services, or AWS, the e-commerce giant offers machine-learning and deep-learning solutions for its business clients. On the consumer end, Amazon offers smart-speaker devices fitted with the Alexa digital assistant. In fact, the company is so dominant in this sector that it owned 70% to 76% of market share.

True, AMZN stock has enjoyed tremendous momentum, which doesn’t help swaying contrarian buyers. But just consider that last year, AMZN building off its $1,000 price point seemed like a far-fetched concept. Now, it’s looking to conquer $2,000.

Better yet, Amazon has the tools to get there, and beyond.

Best Stocks to Buy in the AI Market: Facebook (FB)

Best Stocks to Buy in the AI Market: Facebook (FB)

Source: Shutterstock

I can’t think of too many companies that are having a worse year than Facebook (NASDAQ:FB). For some time, its Facebook Live platform had faced sharp criticism for indirectly facilitating violent criminal broadcasts. Later, the social-media firm took a massive hit in the markets due to the Cambridge Analytica controversy.

It took a while, but FB eventually got back on its feet. It even gained about 20% for the year … until its second-quarter earnings report happened.

After posting what the Street considered disappointing revenues and subscriber growth, shares plummeted. The fallout was so bad that the company lost between $100 billion and $130 billion in market value.

With such sharp losses, it’s easy to pin the blame on Facebook’s management team. But you also must consider rival Twitter’s (NYSE:TWTRearnings disappointment. It too lost substantial momentum in subscriber growth that analysts didn’t expect. Obviously, the social-media fallout isn’t exclusively a Facebook phenomenon.

This makes FB one of the best stocks to buy from a contrarian point of view. Facebook is an AI engineer’s dream come true. With a database of over two billion active users, any predictive-analytics program gains immediate credibility if plugged into this network.

No wonder Cambridge Analytica eagerly took advantage!

Best Stocks to Buy in the AI Market: BioXcel Therapeutics (BTAI)

Best Stocks to Buy in the AI Market: BioXcel Therapeutics (BTAI)

Source: Shutterstock

Invariably, any list of best stocks to buy in artificial intelligence will feature a healthy dose of tech firms. That said, AI isn’t limited to computer-centric endeavors. The same advancements in big data and predictive analytics can be incorporated to address the human condition. This is where BioXcel Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BTAI) comes into the picture.

BTAI is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm that specializes in immuno-oncology and therapies towards neurodegenerative diseases. What makes BioXcel stand out is their integration of artificial intelligence into their pharmaceutical pursuits. With their AI platform’s big data capabilities, they can analyze promising or discontinued drugs that didn’t quite meet expectations.

The idea here is to see if an adjustment to the drug’s chemistry, or even the dosage, can spark progress in challenging cases. This process also potentially gives new life to older or less-appreciated therapies.

However, investors must watch out for market volatility. Similar to many other clinical-stage pharma companies, BioXcel doesn’t have the greatest financials. To put it bluntly, BTAI is an all-or-nothing affair. But if you have the steel fortitude to handle the risks, this company has tremendous upside potential.

Best Stocks to Buy in the AI Market: Arotech (ARTX)

Best Stocks to Buy in the AI Market: Arotech (ARTX)

Source: Shutterstock

While AI has the power to heal, it also paradoxically has the power to destroy. Unfortunately, as long as humans will walk the earth, we will have the seemingly uncontrollable urge to kill each other. That’s cynically one of the reasons why defense contractors like Arotech (NASDAQ:ARTX) exists. They help ensure that our losses stay at a minimum.

But dig a little deeper and you’ll discover that Arotech’s AI platforms have wide-ranging applications. Along with their core products and services, ARTX offers world-class combat simulators. Thanks to their extensive AI expertise, Arotech simulators offer military and emergency personnel an opportunity to train in realistic, high-stress environments without the consequences of actual bullets flying.

Arotech’s simulators can be especially helpful for law-enforcement agencies, which have suffered PR crises stemming from discriminatory practices.

ARTX stock will appeal to many contrarians and discount-seekers looking to jump on the next big rally. Certainly, its price warrants its inclusion on a list of best stocks to buy under $5.

However, those who want to bet on ARTX should note its financials. Middling is a fair and appropriate description. The defense contractor has also disappointed in terms of sales growth. That said, Arotech produced a 22% year-over-year revenue lift to $27.2 million in Q1. Therefore, this “cheap stock” could be on the resurgence.

Best Stocks to Buy in the AI Market: Plug Power (PLUG)

Best Stocks to Buy in the AI Market: Plug Power (PLUG)

You may love your gas-guzzling hot rod, but a day will come when all fossil-fuel based vehicles are destined for the junkyard. Increasingly, automotive manufacturers are shifting towards electric vehicles, or EVs. We’re not just talking about boring fare like Toyota’s (NYSE:TM) Prius. As I mentioned several weeks ago, Ferrari (NYSE:RACE) is planning their own supercar EV.

For traditional automotive enthusiasts, this concept is a mind-boggling one. However, New York-based Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) would simply call it the next step in a long-awaited evolution. An alternative-energy company specializing in hydrogen fuel cells, PLUG prides itself on delivering cost-effective solutions.

To be fair, Plug Power isn’t quite a household name. That said, they secured FedEx (NYSE:FDX) as a major client. In conjunction with Workhorse Group (NASDAQ:WKHS), PLUG provided FedEx’s first North American fuel-cell powered delivery van.

Of course, this is a significant victory, but before considering PLUG stock, check out its financials. As you might imagine from its sub-$2 price point, it’s not pretty. However, management showed strong revenue growth in the most recent quarter, so PLUG  may be on the up and up.

As of this writing, Josh Enomoto did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Get up to 14 dividend paychecks per month from safe, reliable stocks with The Monthly Dividend Paycheck Calendar, an easy-to-use system that shows you which dividend stocks to pick, when to buy them, when you get paid your dividends, and how much.  All you have to do is buy the stocks you like and tell them where to send your dividend payments. For more information Click Here.


Source: Investor Place 

7 Alternative Internet of Things Stocks to Buy

Source: Shutterstock

As an investment sector, the Internet of Things, or IoT, is a no-brainer. Increasingly, our consumer devices no longer have a specific function or operation; rather, they’re part of an integrated, digital ecosystem that responds to variable requests. This movement will only increase in volume and engagement, but picking the right IoT stock can be a challenge.

That’s because no single definition of an IoT stock exists. Typically, financial writers focus on big semiconductor names like Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) or Intel (NASDAQ:INTC). The connection is readily apparent: these major tech manufacturers produce the physical components that go into IoT devices. But you’re also likely to gain serious profits through investing in renowned device-makers and distributors like Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN).

Going with the blue chips is the most popular way to pursue an IoT stock. Personally, I have zero complaints about this approach. But I’d also like to give some lesser known or less appreciated IoT companies some love.

It’s a big market, and it’s only going to get bigger. Thus, it’s an opportune time to get acclimated with the other names in the sector.

Here are my choices for the best alternative Internet of Things stocks:

Best Alternative Internet of Things Stocks: Honeywell (HON)

As a multi-faceted organization, Honeywell (NYSE:HON) is probably the most comprehensive IoT stock available in the markets; it just doesn’t get as much coverage as a sector player as you might expect. I find this strange considering that they make common home products, such as thermostats, air conditioners and security systems, that scream IoT.

Honeywell is also a leader in industrial IoT, or IIoT. Again, this is probably one of the lesser-appreciated components of the Internet of Things, which largely focuses on consumer goods. But IIoT has the potential to revolutionize manufacturing as we know it, improving efficiencies, providing real-time data analysis, and reducing the frequency and impact of human error.

The one major knock on HON as an IoT stock is that it’s somewhat of a bellwether investment. In other words, HON is incredibly boring. Plus, shares have generally tracked the broader markets recently, which has produced uninspiring results.

But if you’re not looking for a sexy play and want something stable, HON is one of your top choices.

Best Alternative Internet of Things Stocks: ADT

Best Alternative Internet of Things Stocks: ADT

Source: Shutterstock

I mentioned previously that the most popular IoT stock tends to be either a semiconductor firm or device manufacturer. These are natural choices considering that they’re direct plays. However, IoT also serves a defensive or protective role. That’s why if you love this sector, you should check out ADT (NYSE:ADT).

ADT is a name you immediately recognize, either because you’re enrolled in their security services or you have their sign planted conspicuously on your front yard. Earlier this year, our own Tom Taulli covered ADT and its initial public offering. He provided some background about the company, stating:

“ADT, whose roots go back to 1874, is the most recognized brand in its industry. A survey indicates that it has about 95% awareness with consumers. This is certainly a big-time advantage as the market is highly competitive.

Keep in mind that ADT controls about 30% of the residential market in the U.S. and Canada. In all, there are 7.2 million residential and business customers.”

That sounds spectacular. Unfortunately for early bird investors, ADT is down sharply from its IPO price, as Wall Street reassessed its competitive risks.

ADT is speculative, no doubt about it. Still, with a year-to-date loss of 34%, I like it as a contrarian opportunity.

Best Alternative Internet of Things Stocks: Johnson Controls International (JCI)

Best Alternative Internet of Things Stocks: Johnson Controls International (JCI)

Source: Shutterstock

When we discuss the Internet of Things, we often think small and personal. We consider devices that adjust our home’s temperature automatically, or devices that give us the ability to warm-up our cars from afar. Not to take away from these consumer innovations, but they also limit what IoT can do broadly.

For an IoT stock with a much larger framework, check out Johnson Controls International(NYSE:JCI). While not exactly the most popular household name, Johnson Controls corporate heritage extends back to the 19th century. Today, the company is known for its build-management and safety systems. Additionally, JCI features a battery and distributed-energy storage divisions.

A significant concern about JCI stock, though, focuses on its fundamentals, which are middling. The company has also tacked on more debt, which makes it difficult to invest in future innovations. As a result, JCI shares are down almost 8% YTD.

That said, JCI appears to have found a baseline of support after hitting a year-low in late April. Given its massive resources, and penchant for technological advancements, Johnson Controls is a solid bet.

Best Alternative Internet of Things Stocks: Emerson Electric (EMR)

Best Alternative Internet of Things Stocks: Emerson Electric (EMR)

Source: Shutterstock

Similar to other innovations, some organizations are guilty of using IoT as a buzzword, and nothing else. This reminds me of the blockchain: everybody talks about it, but few understand what it is, and even fewer offer practical solutions with it.

Thankfully, Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) rises above the hype, delivering scalable IIoT solutions for the world’s top industries. EMR has particularly found success with large oil and energy corporations as they shift toward next-generation technologies. Moreover, Emerson Electric offers training services to help their clients get the best out of the IIoT movement.

Like many of the names mentioned on this list, EMR stock hasn’t generated much excitement this year. Shares have been choppy, but have so far only broken even. But I expect this circumstance to change. After having some rough years, Emerson Electric is firmly in recovery territory. Last quarter, the company generated $4.25 billion in sales, up nearly 19% YoY.

Best Alternative Internet of Things Stocks: NetGear (NTGR)

Best Alternative Internet of Things Stocks: NetGear (NTGR)

Source: Shutterstock

Computer-networking firm NetGear (NASDAQ:NTGR) has largely earned its reputation through selling popular routers and firewalls. In addition, the company sells storage devices, and owns a security-camera business with its spin-off organization, Arlo. This synergy of connectivity-related expertise makes NTGR one of the more exciting opportunities among IoT stocks.

The evidence lies in its market performance. On a YTD basis, NTGR shares are up over 32%. While I’m not the biggest fan of buying into extreme strength, its fundamentals justify the premium. Definitely, if NTGR stock hits a corrective phase, you should immediately put it on your must-watch list.

For starters, NetGear has demonstrated consistently strong earnings performances. The last time the company failed to meet expectations was back in the second quarter of 2015. Since then, management has beaten their earnings-per-share estimates.

NTGR is a distinct IoT stock in that it has a strong balance sheet with zero debt on its books. That enables its leadership team to invest in research and development, giving it a leg-up on the competition. Finally, the company has enjoyed robust revenue growth, which should continue due to increased sector demand.

Best Alternative Internet of Things Stocks: Analog Devices (ADI)

Best Alternative Internet of Things Stocks: Analog Devices (ADI)

Source: Shutterstock

With a name like Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI), ADI doesn’t seem to fit the description of an IoT stock. Yet don’t let initial appearances fool you: Analog Devices have built some of the most groundbreaking semiconductor technologies for commercial industries and scientific endeavors.

What’s more, ADI refreshingly focuses not just on IoT for its own sake, but as a comprehensive solution. Their products and services ensure both technical connectivity, as well as relevant and accurate data analysis and transmission.

According to their corporate ethos, you’re only as strong as your weakest link. Therefore, management expends significant effort to create seamless communication among the “things” of an IoT network.

Another component of ADI’s investment potential is its growth metrics. For instance, its profitability margins are ranked among the best semiconductor firms. The company’s three-year revenue growth rate averages 17.4%, and that doesn’t look to fade anytime soon. In Analog Devices’ last earnings report, it delivered $1.51 billion in sales, up a whopping 32% YOY.

Best Alternative Internet of Things Stocks: Fitbit (FIT)

Best Alternative Internet of Things Stocks: Fitbit (FIT)

Source: Shutterstock

I’ve saved my most speculative idea for an alternative IoT stock for last. Fitbit (NYSE:FIT) captured the wildly popular fitness market’s attention with their quirky advertisements and killer products. When the company first hit its stride, no one could get enough of their fitness trackers. Now, with fierce competition from Garmin and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Fitbit appears merely an also-ran.

As I said in my previous write-up about FIT stock, I don’t blame you if you take that argument. Since its IPO, and especially since its early run-up, FIT has become an unmitigated disaster. Even when shares fell into the teens, and optimists like yours truly considered it a contrarian opportunity, Fitbit still disappointed.

But if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know that FIT stock dramatically reversed its ugliness. On a YTD basis, shares are up over 15%. Of course, most people regard this as a bull-trap. I think there’s still significant upside remaining.

That’s because Fitbit focuses almost exclusively on fitness trackers, whereas its competitors are encumbered with various and sometimes disparate markets. Furthermore, Fitbit features a popular user ecosystem that’s difficult to replicate.

FIT stock is by no means a sure thing, but it has enough good qualities to justify a calculated risk.

As of this writing, Josh Enomoto did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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Buffett could see this new asset run 2,524% in 2018. And he's not the only one... Mark Cuban says "it's the most exciting thing I've ever seen." Mark Zuckerberg threw down $19 billion to get a piece... Bill Gates wagered $26 billion trying to control it...
What is it?
It's not gold, crypto or any mainstream investment. But these mega-billionaires have bet the farm it's about to be the most valuable asset on Earth. Wall Street and the financial media have no clue what's about to happen...And if you act fast, you could earn as much as 2,524% before the year is up.
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Double Your Money in Less Than Three Years with This Backdoor Play on AI

Citigroup Inc(NYSE: C) is looking to cut half of its 20,000 tech and operations staff and replace them with artificial intelligence, robotics, and other forms of automation.

Goldman Sachs International is looking to do something similar.

This is according to a series of interviews in the Financial Times.

A Gallup survey of 3,000 Americans released in March shows that 73% felt that AI would kill more jobs than it creates. That tracks with a 2016 survey by the Pew Research Center in which 65% said automation that includes AI would replace “much” of the work done now by humans.

People are scared – and I understand why.

But there’s a much bigger story here – and it’s a positive one for job seekers.

It’s a positive story for technology investors, too – so you know you’ll want to pay attention to this.

The truth is, AI-led automation is not a zero-sum proposition.

So, today let’s drill beneath these alarmist headlines.

Let’s discover how AI-driven automation is actually sparking a jobs boom.

And let’s dig up a hidden way to play this field with a stock that I think will double in lesss than 30 months.

Check it out…

An AI Odyssey

We recently celebrated the 50th anniversary one of the great, groundbreaking films of all time.

For millions of Americans, the debut of “2001: A Space Odyssey” on April 3, 1968, served as their intro into the world of artificial intelligence. And it came with quite a negative point of view.

Recall that the AI-powered HAL 9000 computer takes over the spaceship Discovery One, and even kills one astronaut.

To this day, many Americans remain leery of AI thanks to “2001.”

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However, Stanley Kubrick’s film had such a powerful impact on me that I’ve followed the world of AI – both its positive and negative effects – ever since.

In recent years, AI has become synonymous with automation and robotics because the three are now tightly intertwined as factories all over the world adopt these high-output platforms.

While the mainstream media is focused on automation’s job-killing prospects, I believe that AI will be a long-term boon to the economy.

And I’ve got several pieces of empirical data to back that stance up…

  • Last month, the Asian Development Bank said automation had created an extra 34 million jobs in the region. That’s because the tech lowered prices while improving quality for Asian goods.
  • In a 2017 study, Deloitte found that automation in the United Kingdom had destroyed 800,000 jobs in the past 15 years. But over that same period, it had created 3 million jobs – and they paid an average $13,500 more than the old ones.
  • The Centre for European Economic Research predicts that by 2021 industrial employment in its home market of Germany will rise by 1.8%. The study says that’s because the tech is making those factories more competitive.
  • And a June 2017 study sponsored by Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) puts the economic impact of AI at $1.1 trillion by 2021 – and that’s just for cloud-based revenue in the customer relationship management end of the cloud computing sector.

So, it’s exciting news to see global chip leader and Silicon Valley pioneer Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) focus so heavily on AI.

In September 2017, Intel unveiled an experimental “neuromorphic” chip called Loihi. As Intel says, this chip compares “machines with the human brain.” It can “read” its environment and become constantly smarter.

In fact, Loihi mimics many of the basic neural pathways in the human brain by packing 130,000 neurons and 139,000 synapses into 128 computer cores.

But as much as I find Intel’s new breakthrough highly exciting, there is an even better way for technology investors like you to play this emerging field.

Fact is, as important as AI chips are becoming, they are useless without one key device – computer memory.

And this firm delivers…

Crushing the “Memory” Market

As a quick recap, memory devices store dynamic data to make computers run faster and more smoothly.

This is what allows you to open multiple windows on your web browser while you work on a document, edit photos, and add graphics to a presentation – all while streaming music in the background.

By definition, AI requires complex memory chips because of the daunting amount of data these systems must crunch through to work at speeds that approach the human brain.

And Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE: MU) is the best memory firm operating in the world today. Even better, it has signed key partnerships with Intel over the course of its history.

Back in 2003, for example, Intel invested $450 million for a 5.3% stake in Micron to help the firm develop memory chips that would work well with Intel’s microprocessors.

Then, in 2005, the firms formed a $1.2 billion joint venture to develop NAND flash memory. That’s the kind of memory that now stores all the data in your smartphones and tablet computers.

If that’s all we tapped with our investment in Micron, it still would be huge. But Allied Market Research says NAND flash memory will be a $39 billion market by 2022.

And the story gets better…

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Micron is investing in the next generation of chip building and has begun selling a type of memory that will take smartphone and tablet computing to a whole new level.

And it should have a huge impact on gaming, Big Data, cloud computing, and virtual reality – not to mention AI.

Multidimensional Computing

Launched roughly a year ago in another joint effort with Intel, 3D XPoint is a new platform that looks at memory in a whole new way. This tech uses a microscopic mesh of wires that can be stacked on top of each other to provide computing in three dimensions.

The result is a single system that can handle both memory and storage – and performs both functions better than what’s out there today.

Grand View Research says the market for next-gen memory such as 3D XPoint will reach $3.4 billion by 2020 because of its scope throughout the world’s major tech systems.

In other words, Micron has a lot of long-term upside.

And it’s not doing badly in the short term, either. In its most recent fiscal quarter, Micron said it grew earnings per share by 246%.

With that strong earnings growth, we also get bargain pricing. Shares trade at $56 but are dirt cheap on a relative basis – roughly just five times next year’s earnings.

That’s a nearly 70% discount from the S&P 500’s forward earnings ratio.

In other words, you’re getting an amazing discount on a firm that cuts a wide swath through our tech-centric world.

I believe the stock could double in as little as 30 months.

I base that on the fact that over the past three years, Micron’s earnings have grown an average 31%. That means they should double in just 27 months – and pull the stock price up along the way.

Add it all up and you can see that it’s time to stop worrying about AI.

Instead, cash in on this red-hot trend.

With Micron, we have a stock that can do just that while piling up profits for tech investors over the next several years.

Get up to 14 dividend paychecks per month from safe, reliable stocks with The Monthly Dividend Paycheck Calendar, an easy-to-use system that shows you which dividend stocks to pick, when to buy them, when you get paid your dividends, and how much.  All you have to do is buy the stocks you like and tell them where to send your dividend payments. For more information Click Here.


Source: Money Morning 

Sell Wall Street’s Favorite FANG Stock Before it Implodes!

For millennia now humans have known that a leopard cannot change its spots and a tiger cannot change its stripes. The same holds true when it comes to corporate behavior. . .Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) just can’t stop giving away your personal data for profit. Not surprising considering its corporate culture was laid down by Mark Zuckerberg, whose past was a preview to the present.

Even at Harvard, Zuckerberg was in the middle of a privacy scandal when he developed a “hot or not” app. Zuckerberg was called before Harvard’s administrative body in 2003 to face allegations he had violated other students’ privacy and made unauthorized use of photos. He agreed to take down “Facemash” and thereby avoided penalties that could have forced him to leave Harvard. If you’re interested, here’s a link to the 2003 story in the school newspaper, The CrimsonFacemash Creator Survives Ad Board.

Jump ahead to 2004 and you have this instant message he sent to a friend: “THEY ‘trust me’…dumb f***s,” after boasting that he had personal data, including photos, e-mails and addresses, of some 4,000 of his social network’s users. He offered to share whatever information his friend wanted to see.

That willful disregard for people’s data and privacy continues at Facebook with even more scandals. Here are the details. . . . .

Facebook Follies Continue

Facebook is under fire again for another instance of sharing personal data of users with more than 60 device-makers that had permission to make Facebook-branded apps. The users, of course, had no knowledge of this and did not give permission to use their data.

Many of these multiple data-sharing partnerships with dozens of device makers, such as Samsung, go back as far as 2010. These firms were given access to detailed data about Facebook users and all their friends including information on their work history, personal relationships and religious affiliations.

These deals (because they continued onward) seem to be in direct violation of Facebook’s 2011 agreement with the Federal Trade Commission in which it promised not to share users’ personal data with outside partners. But what makes this worse in the government’s eyes is the fact that four of these firms were Chinese and included Huawei Technologies that U.S. intelligence consider to be a security risk.

Related: You Won’t Believe Which Tech Giants Amazon’s Set to Destroy

The worst thing though about this latest Facebook scandal about its poor stewardship of people’s personal information is that it seems that it never learns from its own mistakes. . .it doesn’t change its stripes/spots.

As usual, when give the chance to be open and transparent, Facebook goes down the path of obfuscation. When the Cambridge Analytica story broke, Facebook did a lot of verbal gymnastics while pointing the finger at Cambridge, ignoring that it had left a whole series of data ‘barn’ doors wide open.

And that continues today. . .Facebook’s response to the data-sharing partnerships focused on the past. . .these relationships were set up years ago, blah, blah. But it does not explain why it did not end or even revise these data-sharing partnerships with smartphone manufacturers.

The company’s latest response to criticism tells me Facebook still isn’t interested in having the public understand exactly what it does. And it’s definitely not interested in becoming more transparent and holding itself accountable. For me, that makes Facebook rather repugnant and not a stock I would ever one. Instead, I would rather own a company that values privacy more highly – Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL).

Apple Goes After Facebook

In fact, Apple seems to be going after Facebook lately.

At the Apple developer conference, Apple unveiled iPhone, iPad and MAC software updates that will limit Facebook’s data collection. Apple’s default Safari browser will show a pop-up window asking users for permission before loading share buttons from social networks like Facebook and Twitter. This will give the user the power to decide whether to share web browser data with Facebook and others.

To give you some sense of the importance of this move, let me explain how the web works. Let’s say your at website Z, saw a story you liked and wanted to share it. Those website icons that allow to share that story are also part of Facebook’s massive data-harvesting system. When websites have those icons, they send information about people’s web activity back to Facebook, which uses the information to fill out the personal digital dossiers they have on billions of people in order to improve how it tailors the advertisements Facebook sells. Many Facebook users aren’t aware that it collects data about non-Facebook websites that people visit, even if they don’t click on any of those “like” or “share” buttons. This data harvesting unfortunately is standard internet practice.

Apple also showed off a new system that makes it more difficult to gather information about its users as they browse across the web. When people visit sites, the characteristics of their device can be used by advertisers to create a “fingerprint” to track them. Safari will share only a “simplified” profile to thwart this tracking. Last year, Apple also launched its ‘Intelligent Tracking System’ that made its more difficult for advertisers to follow users around the web.

Another step in its privacy ‘war’ with Facebook occurred earlier this year when Apple added a new privacy panel to its operating systems. That panel explained in plain language why, how, and what data is collected from Apple devices and by specific applications.

Add up all these measures and we’re talking about throwing a major wrench into the data gathering and harvesting for big profits machine that is Facebook today!

There a lot of reasons for liking Apple’s stock, but these moves regarding privacy is just one more in reason to own it.

Buffett just went all-in on THIS new asset. Will you?
Buffett could see this new asset run 2,524% in 2018. And he's not the only one... Mark Cuban says "it's the most exciting thing I've ever seen." Mark Zuckerberg threw down $19 billion to get a piece... Bill Gates wagered $26 billion trying to control it...
What is it?
It's not gold, crypto or any mainstream investment. But these mega-billionaires have bet the farm it's about to be the most valuable asset on Earth. Wall Street and the financial media have no clue what's about to happen...And if you act fast, you could earn as much as 2,524% before the year is up.
Click here to find out what it is.

Source: Investors Alley 

Is This What Will Save Apple?

Apple’s annual developers conference kicks off on June 4. Apple watchers always keep a close eye on the conference for a sense of the company’s priorities for the next year. In the past, Apple has used the conference to roll out new products for developers to build augmented reality applications, medical research apps and more.

So what can we expect this year?

I think there will be a lot of news surrounding the true growth area of Apple’s business – the company’s software and services segment. There may be a new version of the software that runs the iPhone and iPad (iOS 12?). And a new version of the operating system for MAC is also likely as well as new software for the Apple Watch and Apple TV. Hopefully, there will be an upgrade to Siri’s intelligence – it is so much ‘dumber’ than Alexa right now.

Apple’s Growth Driver – Services

While most on Wall Street are focused on iPhone sales, I’m much more interested in Apple’s “Services” business which has become the company’s second-largest source of revenues. Businesses such as the App Store, Apple Music and iCloud storage brought in more than $9 billion last quarter, a 31% year-on-year gain. CEO Tim Cook has set a target for the business of $50 billion in annual revenues by the end of 2020.

Unlike the volatility surrounding iPhone sales, Apple’s services business has been a model of consistency, averaging a year-on-year growth rate since 2006 of 23%. It is interesting to note that according to Gene Munster – the former Apple analyst turned tech investor through Loup Ventures – that if Apple’s services businesses were valued like other SaaS (software as a service) companies, it would have a valuation of about $380 billion!

The reason why revenues at Apple’s services business has doubled in four years is straightforward – it has an installed base of more than 1.3 billion devices worldwide, up from one billion devices at the end of 2015. Tim Cook said, “With that kind of change in the installed base, with the services we have now and others that we are working on, I think this is just a huge opportunity for us.”

And it is, as Apple joins in on the fast-growing ‘subscription economy’. Subscriptions are a big part of the services business predictability. The number of paid subscriptions to Apple’s own services, including Music, as well as third-party apps that charge through the App Store (such as Netflix and Spotify), has grown to 270 million. That total has soared by 100 million in the last year alone!. Apple gets a cut of subscriptions sold through its App Store.

The Future for Apple’s Services Business

Some on Wall Street believe the current growth spurt in services will not last much longer, as growth in the installed base flattens out.

I disagree… I think Apple has more “tricks up its sleeve.” In other words, more levers to pull to grow in services. One of these is ‘Project Titan’…

Wall Street may be disappointed that Apple has toned down its ambitions with regard to self-driving vehicles (Project Titan). I am not… it’s not easy building cars from scratch… just ask Elon Musk and Tesla about that.

Instead, Apple is focusing on providing software to vehicle makers – it is currently working with Volkswagen – to give riders an ‘Apple experience’.  Apple also now has the second-biggest fleet (55) of autonomous vehicles that is being tested on California roads. Apple’s fleet has expanded quickly over recent months. After first receiving a permit to test just three autonomous vehicles in April 2017, the number of vehicles jumped to 27 in January. It has more than doubled since then to 55 vehicles. That leaves Apple second only to General Motors Cruise, which has 110 cars testing on California’s roads.

I find myself in agreement with a recent note to clients from Morgan Stanley that said Wall Street is undervaluing Apple’s services business that includes healthcare, augmented reality and original content too. It called services Apple’s “primary growth engine”, predicting the company’s services business will represent 67% of Apple’s sale growth over the next five years.

Morgan Stanley added that “We don’t see services growth slowing anytime soon.” And they’re right – it won’t be the iPhone that pushes the company through the $1 trillion valuation, it will Apple’s fast-growing services business.

Plan B Investing: Mark Zuckerberg’s Secret Plan to Make 2,524%

Famed Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been in the hot seat over privacy issues. First the U.S. Congress and now European regulators.

He’s been telling them anything they want to hear because he’s already got Plan B in place and it’s promising to be even bigger than Facebook.

He’s already put $19 billion into and has been joined by some of America’s wealthiest people including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, and Mark Cuban.

Just what is Plan B?

It’s not gold, crypto or any mainstream investment but it’s set to be the most valuable asset on Earth. And if you act fast, you could earn as much as 2,524% before the year is up.

 

Buffett just went all-in on THIS new asset. Will you?
Buffett could see this new asset run 2,524% in 2018. And he's not the only one... Mark Cuban says "it's the most exciting thing I've ever seen." Mark Zuckerberg threw down $19 billion to get a piece... Bill Gates wagered $26 billion trying to control it...
What is it?
It's not gold, crypto or any mainstream investment. But these mega-billionaires have bet the farm it's about to be the most valuable asset on Earth. Wall Street and the financial media have no clue what's about to happen...And if you act fast, you could earn as much as 2,524% before the year is up.
Click here to find out what it is.

The Artificial Intelligence Arms Race

Technology is key to whether a country’s economy grows and to whether a country can exert geopolitical influence. Every country knows this including the world’s top two economies – the United States and China.

The United States has held the technological top spot for longer than many people’s lifetimes. But that dominance is being challenged at the moment, particularly by China.

This challenge is a primary reason for the demand by the U.S. in trade talks that the Chinese government quit directly supporting technology start-ups and projects through its ‘Made in China 2025’ program whose aim is to make the China the leader in technology. The Chinese simply smile and point to the Apollo program where the U.S. put men on the moon as an example they’re following with joint efforts of government and private corporations.

For whatever reason, the U.S. seems to be losing its technology edge. For example, a recent study by the consulting and research firm Analysis Mason found that in the next global wireless technology, 5G, China had a narrow lead over both the U.S. and South Korea.

The company pointed to the benefits that 4G technology gave the U.S. with its leadership position as to the importance of the race to 5G. Findings from Recon Analytics include the following.

  • Winning the race to 4G boosted America’s GDP by nearly $100 billion and its 4G launch spurred an 84% increase in wireless-related jobs.
  • American 4G leadership helped secure leading positions in key parts of the global wireless ecosystem, including the app economy.
  • Losing wireless leadership had long-term negative effects on Japan and Europe, contributing to job losses and the contraction of their domestic wireless industries.

As important as 5G may be, even more important will be leadership in artificial intelligence (AI), which is one of the pillars of the Made in China 2025 plan. Russian president Vladimir Putin emphasized AI’s importance last year when he said: “Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world.”

Related: The #1 Stock Powering the Artificial Intelligence Revolution

The AI Arms Race

And here, Michael Chui – a partner at McKinsey that led its most recent in-depth study on AI – said it best, “If you look globally, it’s a two-horse race in AI.” The McKinsey study found that the U.S. and China were the two clear leaders.

The study from the McKinsey Global Institute found that, for some industries, deep learning — the most advanced form of artificial intelligence — has the potential to create value equivalent to as much as 9% of a company’s revenues. Multiply that many times and it will translate into trillions of dollars of potential economic value.

That’s why the most important aspect of the AI revolution comes from a source that isn’t always visible with just a cursory glance — the ability to sweat the largest amount of data the hardest. Machine learning systems that can find patterns by analyzing huge volumes of data are at the cutting edge of today’s AI.

Overall, most experts still think the U.S. is in the lead. Here’s why – it takes three things to be a world-class AI power: the most advanced algorithms, specialized computing hardware, and as mentioned previously, getting your hands on as much of the raw material that machine learning systems depend on — data .

In the first category – algorithms – the U.S. has a lead, but it is narrowing fast. China’s growing capabilities were evident in the good showing by Chinese researchers in the annual ImageNet competition for image recognition or when relative newcomer Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) tied perennial powerhouse Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) in a reading comprehension test for AI.

In the second category, the U.S. maintains a clear lead as China still struggles to get a homegrown chip industry off the ground. But keep in mind that semiconductors are also a pillar of the Made in China 2025 plan.

In the third category – data – China is far and away the leader. The reason is simple… not only are there a lot more Chinese people from which to gather data from, but with a Communist government there is no such thing as privacy rights. All Chinese citizens’ data is open for use by both government and companies.

So what does this AI race between the U.S. and China mean from an investment perspective?

Related: 5 Stocks to Buy in the AI Race Between the U.S. and China

China AI Investments

I’m largely in agreement with a Silicon Valley venture capitalist quoted in the Financial Times with regard to AI opportunities: “The business is bigger and better in China.”

However, some of the very best Chinese AI companies are either still in the start-up stage or their stocks trade only in China. That leaves the three national champions, the so-called BAT stocks – Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU)Alibaba and Tencent Holdings (OTC: TCEHY).

These three giants often are the leading investors into the top Chinese AI start-ups. According to McKinsey Global Institute, China is in the world’s top three for venture capital investment in core sectors of digital technology: virtual reality, autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, drones, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI).

Baidu, the smallest of the BAT group, has staked out its strategic future on leading the global research in self-driving cars and other AI applications. The company is investing heavily into Apollo, its open-source autonomous car software. At the last Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it unveiled Apollo 2.0, which offers improved security against hacking.

Baidu already has partnerships with Intel and Nvidia, as well as automakers Ford and Daimler. In China, it is working with local auto manufacturers JAC and BAIC, who plan to start producing autonomous vehicles based on Apollo as soon as next year.

In addition to its own research, one start-up that Tencent invested into is UBTech. It has developed a small domestic robot called Lynx that costs only $800 and which has facial recognition and can be used to talk to Amazon’s Alexa. It also developed a Star Wars Stormtrooper that can be controlled with a smartphone or tablet, and which sells for $300 in partnership with Disney.

Alibaba is pouring $15 billion into its research and development projects. One prominent project it is working on is a neural network chip capable of carrying out AI functions such as facial and speech recognition with substantially less power used. And the company is also acquiring local chipmaker C-Sky Microsystems.

Meanwhile, one start-up that Alibaba invested into is SenseTime. Its facial recognition software is used by Chinese police and the plan is for it to have its technology adopted around the world. It is considered to have the best face recognition technology because it has had so much data – the faces of Chinese citizens – to work with and to learn from.

There are many more Chinese start-ups these companies have invested into. Today, there are almost as many Chinese unicorns as there in the U.S. Research firm CB Insights rates China second worldwide with 64 businesses valued at $277 billion versus America’s 114 unicorns valued at almost $400 billion. And CB Insights did not include one of the biggest companies – Ant Financial – in its calculation.

Bottom line – China is closing fast in the AI race. The best way for you to play that currently is through owning the BAT stocks.

Buffett just went all-in on THIS new asset. Will you?
Buffett could see this new asset run 2,524% in 2018. And he's not the only one... Mark Cuban says "it's the most exciting thing I've ever seen." Mark Zuckerberg threw down $19 billion to get a piece... Bill Gates wagered $26 billion trying to control it...
What is it?
It's not gold, crypto or any mainstream investment. But these mega-billionaires have bet the farm it's about to be the most valuable asset on Earth. Wall Street and the financial media have no clue what's about to happen...And if you act fast, you could earn as much as 2,524% before the year is up.
Click here to find out what it is.

Source: Investors Alley