Nasdaq MSFT MicroSoft

Perhaps the biggest technological change of the current age is the massive shift of enterprise IT spending to the public cloud. The public cloud offers numerous benefits to companies, saving costs by eliminating the need to buy and manage one's own infrastructure, offering the a

(RTTNews) - Twitter has had preliminary talks with TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance to buy the U.S. operations of the video-sharing app, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter. Meanwhile, Microsoft has been the only company so far to say publicly

Twitter Inc has approached TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance to express interest in acquiring the U.S. operations of the video-sharing app, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, as experts raised doubts over Twitter's ability to put together financing for a potential deal.

No one anticipated that this year's operating conditions would be defined by a pandemic that would spur widespread social distancing and shelter-in-place initiatives. The coronavirus plunged the U.S. economy into a state of recession and triggered the biggest annual quarterly GD

Cloud computing has become one of the hottest markets for tech stocks, as many companies have moved their focus from hardware-based products to cloud-based services. This shift in the industry has not only created a lot of new, fast-growing companies that focus solely on cloud s

Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) are unhappy with their big tech peer Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) in relation to two of the companies' gaming platforms. On Friday, Microsoft lashed out at Apple about the latter's refusal to allow a version of its platform into the App

Anything you can do I can do better. Is that what Apple (AAPL) is trying to tell Microsoft? Rumors have been making the rounds that Apple would also like to get in on the TikTok action. A recent report by Axios intimated the tech giant might be interested in acquiring the Chinese video-sharing social network.

Microsoft (MSFT) is currently in talks with parent company ByteDance to purchase TikTok’s US operations. Apple, however, has said there are no ongoing talks and it has no interest in a deal.

Deutsche Bank analyst Jeriel Ong has also joined the discussion. Calling the deal unlikely, the analyst lists several reasons why the idea is fanciful.

For starters, Ong notes, assuming TikTok has a $30 billion enterprise value, a deal would be 10 times bigger than any other in Apple’s history.

Additionally, Apple has historically taken a negative stance toward targeted advertising - a key ingredient of TikTok’s modus operandi. So, a U-turn on the issue would reveal a lack of backbone, unless Apple makes changes to how TikTok collates users’ data.

Lastly, TikTok would represent a foray far beyond the boundaries of the usually insular Apple ecosystem.

“While Apple has dabbled in the past with experiences outside of AAPL (for example, one can be an Apple Music user on Android phones, technically), the vast majority of TikTok users do not use Apple devices. There could be questions to what extent TikTok makes sense within AAPL and how TikTok furthers AAPL's present business. Overall, we reiterate our doubt that this a serious consideration for AAPL and believe that many investors would prefer they continue to use cash to repurchase shares as they have in the past few years (~$20b/quarter)," the analyst added.

There’s no change to Ong’s rating on AAPL which remains a Buy. The analyst’s price target stays at $440, indicating minimal movement from current levels. (To watch Ong’s track record, click here)

Overall, AAPL's Moderate Buy consensus rating is backed by 23 Buys, 6 Holds and 2 Sells. Analysts are expecting shares to decline 4% over the coming months, as implied by the $427.29 average price target. (See Apple stock-price forecast on TipRanks)

To find good ideas for tech stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s ban on transactions using popular Chinese messaging app WeChat will cut ties to families and friends in China, millions of users in the United States fear, as they become the latest casualties in the standoff between the two nations.

The S&P 500 Index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) closed on Friday relatively flat, up less than one-tenth of one percent. But while the index as a whole finished close to even to end the week, the vast majority of stocks in the index finished higher. The outsize influence of Apple Inc

Friday was a fitting end to a busy week on Wall Street, as stock markets remained deeply mixed. The Nasdaq Composite wasn't able to hit another record high close, instead giving way to declines in the wake of some high-profile tech earnings disappointments. However, the Dow Jone

President Donald Trump’s ban on transactions using popular Chinese messaging app WeChat will cut ties to families and friends in China, millions of users in the U.S. fear, as they become the latest casualties in the standoff between the two nations.

It was a wild end to the first trading week of August. All day, the Dow and S&P 500 tried to fight back into the black, only to succeed in the final minutes before the closing bell. Gains of course were capped, as tensions continued to build between the U.S. and China, and

The Nasdaq closed lower on Friday, as data showed a sharp slowdown in U.S. employment growth and investors worried lawmakers would fail to agree on another fiscal stimulus bill to bolster the economy from a coronavirus-induced recession.

The Nasdaq closed lower on Friday, as data showed a sharp slowdown in U.S. employment growth and investors worried lawmakers would not be able to agree on another fiscal stimulus bill to bolster the economy from a coronavirus-induced recession.

Among the underlying components of the S&P 500 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Microsoft Corporation (Symbol: MSFT), where a total of 244,693 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 24.5 million underlying shares. That amounts to

InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips

InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips

Wall Street's main indexes fell on Friday as data showed a sharp slowdown in U.S. employment growth, and investors turned their attention toward the likelihood of another fiscal stimulus bill to buttress the economy from a pandemic-induced recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) was heading lower by early Friday afternoon after a volatile morning. An employment report that showed a slowdown in job gains, and executive orders signed by President Trump related to Chinese mobile apps gave investors a lot t

President Trump is preparing to ban Chinese video-sharing app TikTok and the mobile texting app WeChat in 45 days because of national security concerns. He issued two separate executive orders that will prevent them from doing business with U.S. companies.