Nasdaq AMZN Amazon

When deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold a stock, investors often rely on analyst recommendations. Media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm-employed (or sell-side) analysts often influence a stock's price, but are they really important?

The Invesco QQQ Trust ( QQQ ) ETF ( Exchange-Traded Fund) has advanced more than 24% so far in 2023, outperforming the 8% rise in the S&P 500 Index ( SPX ). Even after the solid year-to-date run, technical indicators reveal further upside. QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index ( NDX ), providing investors exposure to many leading technology stocks. It comprises companies that are at the forefront of innovation and are focusing on attractive themes like cloud computing, augmented reality, mobile payments, streaming services, and electric vehicles. The top three sectors that QQQ offers exposure to are tech, consumer discretionary, and healthcare, with the tech sector stocks accounting for nearly 66% of the ETF. Microsoft ( MSFT ), Apple ( AAPL ), and Amazon ( AMZN ) are the top three holdings of QQQ. It is interesting to note that QQQ has outperformed the S&P 500 Index in nine of the last 10 years. Furthermore, QQQ has a low expense ratio of 0.20%, which makes it an attractive ETF investment. What do Technical Indicators Signal? QQQ is a Buy based on TipRanks’ easy-to-understand summary signals that combine the moving averages and technical indicators into a single, summarized signal. According to TipRanks’ Technical Analysis tool, the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF’s 50-Day EMA (exponential moving average) is 314.21, while its price is $331.12, making it a Buy. Further, QQQ’s shorter duration EMA (20-day) also signals a bullish trend. Aside from technical indicators, analysts’ consensus also indicates further upside. As per 1,697 analysts providing ratings on QQQ's Holdings, the ETF is a Moderate Buy and the average price target of $365.90 implies 10.5% upside. Further, of the 1,697 analysts offering recommendations on QQQ’s 102 holdings, 66.65% have a Buy rating, 29.4% have a Hold rating, and nearly 4% have a Sell rating. Overall, QQQ is a Buy as per technical indicators and Wall Street analysts. Moreover, according to TipRanks’ Smart Score System, QQQ has a smart score of 8 out 10, which indicates that the ETF could outperform the broader market over the long term. Disclosure

Below is Validea's guru fundamental report for AMAZON.COM, INC. (AMZN). Of the 22 guru strategies we follow, AMZN rates highest using our P/B Growth Investor model based on the published strategy of Partha Mohanram. This growth model looks for low book-to-market stocks that exhi

The e-commerce landscape is dominated by behemoths like Amazon and Walmart. However, there are a number of rising players that have made inroads. One of them is Shopify (NYSE: SHOP). If you have ever clicked on an advertisement on Facebook or Instagram and subsequently made a pur

Retiring a millionaire is a goal for many investors, because it is a threshold many feel is necessary to retire comfortably. While it's possible to reach this status with market-tracking funds like ETFs, individual stocks can achieve this goal much faster by picking the correct o

For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – May 18, 2023– Zacks Director of Research Sheraz Mian says, "Earnings estimates for full-year 2023 appear to have reversed course lately after consistently coming down for almost a year from the April 2022 peak."

Google parent company Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is no stranger to artificial intelligence (AI). The technology giant made it a focus years ago, using AI to improve everything from its searches to its offerings to potential advertisers. And just last week, Alphabet w

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) has had a banner year so far in 2023, riding the wave of a broad recovery among technology stocks. Shares of the search giant are up 35% so far this year, roughly five times the 7% gains of the S&P 500. This is in stark contrast to the

Are you seeking a relatively safe way to invest in this uncertain economic environment? In that case, investing in one of the mega-cap FAANG stocks is an excellent idea, as they have the resources to weather any market downturn.

Launched on 07/24/2000, the iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value category of the market.

To quote the great Warren Buffett: "Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful." I'm sure investors would prefer not to experience down periods, but they can bring good opportunities. Chaos in the madness, if you will.

There are some stocks you can buy that are almost guaranteed to grow over the long term thanks to the innovative nature of their businesses. The tech market is an excellent place to find such stocks, as the industry is in a near-constant state of development. As a result, investi

You don't have to be a billionaire to invest like Warren Buffett. Actually, you don't need much money at all to follow in the legendary investor's footsteps.

It's never too early to start building a portfolio that may eventually make you a millionaire. You can get to work on this no matter what the market is doing because, at any point, the market offers you opportunities.

Between earnings season and a constant barrage of economic data releases, it's easy for investors to feel overwhelmed by the amount of information thrown their way. What you might not realize is that one of the most important information releases of the entire quarter occurred ju

Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing division of Amazon.com Inc, said on Thursday it plans to invest 1.06 trillion rupees ($13 billion) in India by 2030, doubling down on its past investments to cater to an ever-growing demand.

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have captured the imagination of the market and the general public alike in 2023, so it’s no surprise that AI-focused ETFs are enjoying solid year-to-date gains. With just $13 million in assets under management (AUM), the WisdomTree Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Fund ( BATS:WTAI) could be a hidden gem among these funds. Here’s why there’s plenty to like about this tiny, under-the-radar ETF.  AI is Just Getting Started WisdomTree writes that AI “is a transformative megatrend that has the potential to influence nearly all aspects of how we live and work globally in the years to come.”  And while AI offers plenty of long-term growth potential, it’s also being used in plenty of applications that are impacting our lives and businesses today -- whether it’s chatbots like ChatGPT, self-driving technology in cars, industrial automation, or workflow automation software.  Legendary investor Stanley Druckenmiller, who reportedly returned 30% annually over a 30-year timeframe while running Dusquense Capital, recently said that AI could be “every bit as impactful as the internet.” He also said that while he believes we are in for a “hard landing” economically, AI leaders like Nvidia ( NASDAQ:NVDA ) and Microsoft ( NASDAQ:MSFT ) could be “unbelievable opportunities” coming out of a hard landing. Further, he noted that even if there is a major recession, Nvidia's opportunity in AI is so compelling that he's not convinced that Nvidia’s share price will go down, even though it sports a high price-to-earnings multiple. Thoughtful Diversification WTAI offers investors a diversified and comprehensive way to gain exposure to AI. Not only does it hold 76 different stocks, but it’s also not overly concentrated toward its top positions like some other AI-themed ETFs. Its top 10 holdings make up just 22.6% of the fund, which means that investors aren’t left overly exposed to the ups and downs of a few large holdings. Top position Nvidia accounts for just a 3% weighting, which is reasonable.  Another thing I like about WTAI’s holdings is that it invests across a wide-ranging swath of today’s AI universe. WisdomTree says that the WTAI ETF "seeks to offer precise access to the AI megatrend through direct investment in publicly listed firms all over the globe that are focused on capitalizing on AI in a diverse array of technologies and applications.” WTAI places its investment focus in AI across four key areas -- AI software, semiconductors, hardware (which would include the likes of autonomous vehicles, drones, robotics, and industrial automation), and what it calls “innovation,” an all-encompassing category that could include any company using AI to disrupt existing industries.  Below, you’ll find a snapshot of WTAI’s top holdings using TipRanks’ holdings tool, which gives investors a comprehensive overview of an ETF’s top holdings and their characteristics. Semiconductors are crucial for powering AI applications, and you’ll find plenty of leading semiconductor names here, like Nvidia, Taiwan’s Alchip Technologies, Advanced Micro Devices ( NASDAQ:AMD ), and Lattice Semiconductor ( NASDAQ:LSCC ).  Nvidia is a semiconductor leader when it comes to AI, with some sources estimating it has up to an 85% share of the GPU market, but don’t count out the likes of AMD, which Morgan Stanley ( NYSE:MS ) analyst Joseph Moore recently said could have an opportunity within AI that is multiple times larger than originally anticipated. Semiconductor fabrication companies like Taiwan Semiconductor ( NYSE:TSM ) and ASML Holding N.V. ( NASDAQ:ASML ) also have a place in the top 10 here, as AI wouldn’t be possible without these companies manufacturing the chips behind it for the likes of Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.  WTAI also holds the mega-cap tech names, like holding Meta Platforms ( NASDAQ:META ), and further down the list, Microsoft, Alphabet ( NASDAQ:GOOGL ), and Amazon ( NASDAQ:AMZN ), which are all making exciting advances in AI technology of their own. The portfolio also includes software companies like ServiceNow ( NYSE:NOW ) and UiPath ( NYSE:PATH ) that utilize AI within their offerings in order to help customers streamline and automate their workflows. An additional thing you'll notice about WTAI's top holdings is that they have some very strong Smart Scores. The Smart Score is TipRanks’ proprietary quantitative stock scoring system that evaluates stocks on eight different market factors. The result is data-driven and does not require any human intervention. A Smart Score of 8 or above is the equivalent of an Outperform rating. Nvidia, C3.Ai ( NASDAQ:AI ), Lattice Semiconductor, Cadence Design Systems ( NASDAQ:CDNS ), and ASML lead the way with 'Perfect 10' Smart Scores. Meanwhile, AMD and Infineon Technologies ( XETRA:IFX ) also have Outperform-equivalent ratings, with Smart Scores of 8 and 9, respectively. Is WTAI Stock a Buy, According to Analysts? Analysts are also bullish on WTAI stock, giving it a Moderate Buy rating. Of the 886 ratings on WTAI, 70.43% are Buys, 23.36% are Holds, and 6.21% are Sells. The average WTAI stock price target of $19.97 implies upside potential of 18.1% from current levels. The lowest price target, $15.90, is not too far below the ETF’s current price of $16.91, implying that while WTAI harbors solid upside potential, the downside could be limited from here.  Reasonable Expense Ratio WTAI has a reasonable expense ratio of 0.45%. While this isn’t as cheap as one would expect from a low-cost, broad-market index fund, this is at least reasonable for a specialized, thematic ETF like this. While it's a bit higher than I would normally like to see, when looking at a number of other popular AI-themed ETFs using TipRanks’ ETF comparison tool, WTAI has the lowest expense ratio of the bunch, narrowly edging out the iShares Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Multisector ETF ( NYSEARCA:IRBO) and coming in much lower than several other prominent names.  TipRanks users can use the comparison tool to easily compare up to 20 stocks or ETFs on a wide variety of customizable key criteria, such as price, Smart Scores, past performance, AUM, and much more. A Strong Choice for Investing in the AI Megatrend  One risk that investors should be aware of is that at $13 million in AUM, WTAI is a very small ETF, which could make it more volatile than larger ETFs. However, it also has enough daily trading volume that liquidity shouldn’t be an issue for the average retail investor.   In summary, with a reasonable expense ratio (especially when compared to other AI-themed ETFs) and a well-diversified portfolio of holdings that encompasses all aspects of the AI space, WTAI looks like a strong choice for investors who want to gain exposure to this powerful long-term megatrend.  Disclosure

Note: The following is an excerpt from this week’s Earnings Trends report. You can access the full report that contains detailed historical actual and estimates for the current and following periods, please click here>>>

Note: The following is an excerpt from this week’s Earnings Trends report. You can access the full report that contains detailed historical actual and estimates for the current and following periods, please click here>>>

Uruguayan fintech Dlocal on Wednesday posted a 35% year-on-year jump in its first-quarter profit, landing at $35.5 million amid a strong boost in payments volumes.