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The stock market is pushing toward a new all-time high, but some stocks have been left behind in the recent market rally.

After a brutal crypto winter in 2022, the resurgence that swept through the crypto asset class in 2023 was more than refreshing. With signs that a bull market might be looming ahead, 2024 is shaping up to be a year for the history books.

Let’s face it, saving $10,000 in six months sounds impossible. There’s no doubt that it’s a big number, and the idea of drastically changing your lifestyle is daunting. Fear not, however. Using this step-by-step guide, you can achieve this seemingly impossible f

As a certified B corporation, The Vita Coco Company (NASDAQ: COCO) and its suite of better-for-you beverages aim to succeed not only for its shareholders but for the sake of all stakeholders involved in its operations. Sourcing three million coconuts from thousands of farms daily

The S&P 500 is within 0.5% of its all-time high as of this writing after very strongly closing out the last three months of 2023. So finding stocks that just went on sale is a challenging task -- most everything is up recently. And finding quality on-sale businesses is harder

Unidentified arsonists set fire to at least five primary schools, including four polling booths, in Bangladesh, police said on Saturday, the eve of a general election that the main opposition party is boycotting.

A Myanmar rebel alliance has gained control of a key town along the country's volatile northern border with China after weeks of fierce fighting with junta troops, the alliance and the junta said.

The death toll from Japan's New Year's Day earthquake topped 100 on Saturday with more than 200 people still missing, the country's deadliest quake in nearly eight years.

The late financier Jeffrey Epstein invoked his constitutional right against incriminating himself about 600 times in testimony for a lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexual abuse.

In a recent survey, only 39% of financial advisors expressed confidence that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve the spot Bitcoin ETF in 2024. What Happened: According to a study by Bitwise and VettaFi, there is a lack of ...

While the stock market enjoyed a banner year in 2023, Alibaba ( NYSE:BABA ) didn't join the festivities. But the much-maligned stock could be ready to bounce back in 2024.   Over the last few years, it has been a long, hard road for the Chinese mega-cap stock and its shareholders. Its underperformance continued something of a trend; the former high-flyer has sadly lost 75% of its value from its peak in late 2020, falling from over $300 a share to just $73.01 today. This downfall was even more jarring because it came at a time when tech stocks and the broader market indices raced higher. However, Alibaba stock now looks like a deep-value play that can begin to reward investors in 2024 and beyond. The stock now looks compelling from a risk-reward perspective. I’m bullish on Alibaba stock based on its strikingly cheap valuation, its efforts to ramp up its return of capital to shareholders, and the immense upside forecast by Wall Street analysts. How Cheap is Alibaba Stock? After the steep decline in share price, Alibaba trades for just 8.4 times earnings. It’s difficult to overstate how cheap this is.  Chinese stocks are generally cheaper than their U.S. peers, but Alibaba is significantly cheaper than the typical U.S. or Chinese stock. Alibaba’s valuation represents a steep discount to the S&P 500 ( SPX ), which trades for an average price-to-earnings multiple of 21.9. It’s also cheaper than the Chinese market as a whole. The iShares MSCI China ETF’s ( NASDAQ:MCHI ) average price-to-earnings multiple is 11.7.  To be fair, some of Alibaba's sell-off over the last few years is understandable. Growth has slowed, and shares took major hits when the company nixed plans to spin off Ant Financial in 2020 and its cloud business in November. But at this point, the sell-off seems overdone, and these disappointments are likely baked into the share price. Perhaps the best illustration of this is the striking fact that the stock price is now back to where it was following its 2014 IPO, even though its earnings are now five times higher and its revenue is 10 times higher than it was then.  In 2020, Alibaba’s market cap surpassed $800 billion. Today, it’s below $200 billion. In an environment where many other tech stocks have run up to frothy valuations, making it difficult to find bargains in the tech sector, Alibaba's beaten-down valuation looks appealing. Plus, it's not like the company isn't working on turning things around. It hired a new CEO last summer, and co-founder Joseph Tsai took over as chairman. The massive conglomerate was also restructured into six distinct business units. Each of these units now has its own management team and Board, which should increase accountability and autonomy. A Brand-New Dividend Stock In addition to this incredibly cheap valuation, Alibaba is attractive because it is now a dividend payer. While its dividend yield of 1.3% isn’t going to get income investors’ hearts racing, it’s a positive move from the company and shows that it’s focused on rewarding its shareholders. There is also the possibility that this dividend payout can increase over time as the company grows its earnings. In addition to paying its shareholders this new dividend, Alibaba is returning capital to shareholders through share repurchases. The company bought back a massive $9.5 billion worth of its own shares in 2023. Alibaba is still authorized for another $11.7 billion of share repurchases under its current share repurchase plan, so more buybacks seem likely, going forward. Share repurchases can benefit shareholders, as they reduce the number of shares outstanding and can be an indicator that management believes its stock is undervalued. Is BABA Stock a Buy, According to Analysts? Turning to Wall Street, BABA earns a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 18 Buys, two Holds, and zero Sell ratings assigned in the past three months. The average BABA stock price target of $125.92 implies 72.5% upside potential. Furthermore, the highest price target of $158, from CLSA's Elinor Leung, implies more than a double from here. Even the lowest price target of $90 from Morgan Stanley's ( NYSE:MS ) Gary Yu is significantly higher than the stock’s current price, suggesting that the stock may have capitulated at this point. Analysts Aren't the Only Ones Who Like Alibaba Wall Street analysts are collectively bullish on Alibaba, and they aren't alone. TipRanks’ Smart Score system also views the stock favorably. The Smart Score is a proprietary quantitative stock scoring system created by TipRanks. It gives stocks a score from 1 to 10 based on eight key market factors. A score of 8 or above is equivalent to an Outperform rating. Alibaba boasts an Outperform-equivalent Smart Score of 8. Looking Ahead While this one-time market darling has been a major disappointment for investors in recent years, it now looks compelling from a risk-reward perspective. Its performance has been ugly, but this is often where the best opportunities abound. The tech mega-cap trades at a paltry valuation at a time when many of its tech sector peers have soared to nosebleed valuations. It’s a bargain compared to these tech stocks and to the broader U.S. and Chinese markets as a whole, and it gives investors exposure to the same lucrative long-term themes that other tech stocks are lauded for, including artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and e-commerce. Furthermore, the company recently initiated a dividend and has been returning a surfeit of capital to its shareholders via share buybacks. Lastly, Wall Street analysts believe that the stock has major upside potential, and the Smart Score system also predicts that it will outperform the market, meaning that Alibaba could be a surprise winner in 2024. Disclosure

Microsoft ( NASDAQ:MSFT ) and the rest of the Magnificent Seven are off to a relatively slow start to 2024. Undoubtedly, the "Mag 7" has been referred to by some outlets as the "Lag 7," a name I do not believe is warranted in the slightest. It's only been one week of trading, after all. And though a weak start isn't a great indicator of what's to come for the rest of the year, I do think the stage could be set for continued gains going into year's end. Undoubtedly, Microsoft stock is hardly the biggest laggard of the "Mag 7" cohort. The unenviable title of biggest 2024 laggard goes to Apple ( NASDAQ:AAPL ) so far, thanks to two untimely downgrades from big-name analysts on Wall Street. Though some investors may be inclined to think Apple, the world's largest company, stands to drag down the rest of the market, I'm inclined to believe that AI-savvy firms, like Microsoft, have what it takes to roll with the punches and perhaps maintain its magnificence in the early innings of this mildly bearish start to the year. For this reason, I'm staying bullish on MSFT stock. Microsoft: AI is Still the Name of the Game in 2024 Through 2023, Microsoft has stood tall, delivering AI news and innovations that investors applauded throughout the year. Indeed, Microsoft Copilot (the firm's AI assistant) has proven quite useful. With new Windows PCs to sport the "Copilot" key, users have never been this close to a powerful generative AI. This year, I believe Microsoft (and other tech firms) will try to remove even more friction between users and their generative AI platforms to help entice greater usage from those who would have otherwise gravitated toward a search engine. Indeed, it's hard to break a habit of going straight to a search engine with one's questions. Whether a physical button on new devices and the inclusion of Copilot on Windows operating systems change this remains to be seen. Personally, I believe a strong case can be made for the new Copilot button being as useful as the Netflix ( NASDAQ:NFLX ) button on modern-day television remote controls. In any case, don't expect Microsoft to pull its foot off the AI gas in the new year. Microsoft Stock: What About Its Valuation? Though the AI narrative has been priced in for a while now, I think there's room for Microsoft to deliver a bit more in the way of surprises, especially when it comes to the actual numbers themselves. This year, we'll get a glimpse of just how much AI can add to the bottom line and perhaps more guidance on what to expect over the longer term. The trillion-dollar question remains: can Microsoft grow into its swollen valuation with its impressive slate of AI tech and talent? Many analysts think it can. At writing, shares of MSFT go for just shy of 36 times trailing price-to-earnings (P/E). That's a nearly 15% premium to the stock's five-year historical average P/E of around 31.6 times. Given Microsoft's AI edge, a premium is warranted. In my view, a premium north of 25% may not be all that absurd, given AI's longer-term impact on the company’s bottom line. Jefferies analyst Brent Thill thinks Microsoft could continue to gain this year, with his price target of $450.00 entailing more than 22% upside from Friday's close. Thill went as far as to say that Microsoft boasts the "best AI lineup in software." I couldn't agree more. Microsoft pretty much kicked off the AI frenzy a year ago, after all, with its stake in OpenAI and the advent of Bing AI. Is MSFT Stock a Buy, According to Analysts? On TipRanks, MSFT stock comes in as a Strong Buy. Out of 37 analyst ratings, there are 36 Buys and one Hold recommendation. The average MSFT stock price target is $424.36, implying upside potential of 15.4%. Analyst price targets range from a low of $375.00 per share to a high of $600.00 per share. Despite last year's magnificent gains (MSFT soared around 60%, outperforming the Nasdaq ( NDX )), Microsoft still seems primed for even more upside. The highest price target of $600.00 (entailing more than 63% gains from current levels) comes courtesy of Truist Financial's Joel Fishbein. Indeed, a lot needs to go right for Fishbein's target to come true in 2024. As analysts rush to raise the bar on their price targets for the year, I don't view the Street-high target as far-fetched in the slightest. The Takeaway: MSFT Will Likely Stay Magnificent in 2024 As Microsoft continues adding to last year's strengths, I expect it's just a matter of time before the software giant snags the title of "world's largest company by market cap" right out of Apple's hands. Apple's in a funk right now, with less clarity on its AI plans. For Microsoft, it seems to have the clearest AI roadmap of the Magnificent Seven. And for that reason, I expect it to stay magnificent in 2024. Disclosure 

Taiwan's defence ministry accused China on Saturday of threatening aviation safety and waging psychological warfare on the island's people with a recent spate of balloons spotted near or over the island, days before key Taiwanese elections.

Fintel reports that on January 5, 2024, Oppenheimer upgraded their outlook for Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) from Perform to Outperform .

Wheat futures limited the damage on Friday with another fractional to 3 cent gains across the U.S. classes. SRW futures were up by 2 ½ to 3 cents on the week, but down by 12 (March) for the week. KC HRW prices ended 2 ¼ to 3 ½ cents in...

Nearby fat cattle pressed the downside some more on Friday, though by less than Monday’s rally. On net the futures were 47 cents to $1 weaker at the settle, though still $1.15 higher for the week. USDA had the bulk of the week’s cash sales near $173-$175 for the North....

Lean hog futures were up by $0395 to $1.42 pushing the front months to net weekly gains of +$1 – after printing new contract lows. USDA’s National Average Base Hog price dropped by 75 cents on Friday afternoon to $44.56. The CME Lean Hog Index increased by another 67 cents...

Front month cotton prices ended the Friday session off the highs, though had kept 1 to 23 poitn gains for the bell. The March contract finished on a net 81 point loss for the week. The Dec contract closed the first trade week of the new year a net 7...

Nearby corn prices were another 4 ¾ to 5 ¾ cents weaker on Friday completing the week a net 10 ½ cents lower for March. That was also a new contract low. Weekly data from CFTC had the managed money spec funds closing longs and adding shorts for a 19.7k...

Soybean futures were another 11 ¼ to 13 ¼ cents weaker on Friday, leading the front months to new lows for the move. March beans finished at a net 41 ¾ cent loss on the day. Soymeal futures ended the session with 1.5% to 3.3% losses, led by the in-deliver...