US Consumers All In – by Justin Vaughn

(Justin Vaughn, Editor, Options Trading Report) All the indexes Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq Composite and the Russell 2000 reflected the market’s uneasiness, the ‘worst’ in over a year. After a blazing three months this year that followed nearly 6 strong months last year, extending the ‘bull,’ the market turned obstinate, struggling with stubborn CPI’s, lingering military wars and pricey oil, not to mention Mr.Powell and the Fed. Mounting … Read more…

Dogecoin Rebounds To $0.15, Daily Active Addresses Spike 14%

Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) is bouncing back from its price slump, prompting analysts and traders to voice bullish predictions. What Happened: Crypto analyst Javon Marks is optimistic about Dogecoin’s prospects. Since breaking out of its resistance trend, the meme coin has already seen a roughly 234% upside move. Marks believes this could be followed by a healthy pullback, potentially leading to a more than 315% uphill run to the $0.6553 target. Rafaela Rigo, a popular crypto … Read more…

Why Paramount Global Shares Are Gaining Today

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) shares are trading higher following reports that suggest Sony Group Corporation (NYSE:SONY) is in talks with Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) to enter a bid for the company. The companies haven’t yet approached Paramount, which is currently in exclusive deal negotiations with Skydance Media, led by David Ellison, Reuters reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. However, the report indicates that some investors advocate for Paramount to explore alternative options. The rival offer, still in the process of being formulated, would propose cash … Read more…

Looking At MicroStrategy’s Recent Unusual Options Activity

Deep-pocketed investors have adopted a bullish approach towards MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), and it’s something market players shouldn’t ignore. Our tracking of public options records at Benzinga unveiled this significant move today. The identity of these investors remains unknown, but such a substantial move in MSTR usually suggests something big is about to happen. We gleaned this information from our observations today when Benzinga’s options scanner highlighted 44 extraordinary options activities for MicroStrategy. This level of activity … Read more…

Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit To Boost Startups With Increased Funding And Support

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) of the Pentagon, known for its collaboration with startups, is set to receive a significant increase in funding and support. What Happened: The DIU, founded in 2015, has granted 62 contracts worth $5.5 billion to startups for products ranging from autonomous drones to cybersecurity software, Bloomberg reported. Despite this, the DIU has been criticized for its slow progress in converting technology pilot programs into full-scale contracts. The new head of … Read more…

TikTok’s Ticking Clock: Meta, Snap Stocks Climb As US Ban Bill Vote Nears

A high-profile bill that aims to dismantle TikTok‘s U.S. operations is affecting social media stocks. What Happened: At last check on Thursday: Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) is up 1.4% Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP), whose app Snapchat presents significant overlap in user base with TikTok, saw its shares rise by 6.1% Global X Social Media ETF (NASDAQ:SOCL) is also up by 1.7%. The bill was already approved by the House of Representatives last month. Since then, it … Read more…

Wall Street’s Most Accurate Analysts’ Views On 3 Utilities Stocks Delivering High-Dividend Yields

During times of turbulence and uncertainty in the markets, many investors turn to dividend-yielding stocks. These are often companies that have high free cash flows and reward shareholders with a high dividend payout. Benzinga readers can review the latest analyst takes on their favorite stocks by visiting our Analyst Stock Ratings page. Traders can sort through Benzinga’s extensive database of analyst ratings, including by analyst accuracy. Below are the ratings of the most accurate analysts for three … Read more…

Amazon Analyst Predicts Lead in AI Revolution with Strategic Cost Efficiency and Tech Innovations

Needham analyst Laura Martin reiterated Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) with a Buy rating and a $205 price target. The analyst raised her fiscal 2024 profit estimates for AMZN, based on CEO Andy Jassy’s shareholder letter promising more cost-cutting at AMZN’s inbound fulfillment architecture and inventory placement during fiscal 2024. She also expects fiscal 2023’s cost-cutting actions to drive margin expansion throughout fiscal 2024. For the first quarter of 2024, Martin maintained her revenue estimate at $141.5 billion (up 11% year-on-year) … Read more…

EXCLUSIVE: Streaming Platform Winner Picked By Benzinga Readers: Did Disney+, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video Or Max Take Top Honors?

Consumers are spending more money monthly on video streaming plans. But, as consumers look to cut streaming plans as costs go up, only the best and most-loved platforms will thrive, which could be bad news for streaming stocks. What Happened: Benzinga recently polled its website readers to ask which streaming platform would be the one they would keep if they were forced to choose. The poll came ahead of highly anticipated first-quarter earnings from streaming leader Netflix … Read more…

Why The Bitcoin Dump Prompted 10x Research To ‘Sell Everything’

Crypto research firm 10x Research is worried about the possibility of a significant price correction for risk assets, including stocks and crypto, with inflation being the main trigger. What Happened: In an April 15 newsletter titled “We Sold Everything Last Night,” 10x Research writes that the narrative for a sustainable crypto bull market can’t simply be that U.S. baby boomers are buying Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) because BlackRock suddenly promoted an ETF. They believe there must … Read more…