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This Week’s Alpha Coverage: YouTube Playlist.
Editor’s Pick:
[Podcast] Ep4. Tesla FSD 12, Imitation AI Models, Open vs Closed AI Models, Delaware vs Elon, & Market Update:
Tesla’s New Approach to Self Driving is different from what it’s done in the past. It is using AI. Earlier, Tesla would code, now it is using computer vision and AI. I cannot stress this enough, this is probably one of the most important podcasts episodes you will see given where Tesla’s stock price is right now.
Link to YouTube Full Video (1:04 Hours) - Mar 07, 2024
$BTC $ETH
[News] London Stock Exchange accepts applications for Bitcoin, Ethereum ETNs, BTC Crosses $72K, ETH crosses $4K
The London Stock Exchange will accept applications for the admission of bitcoin (BTC-USD) and ethereum (ETH-USD) crypto exchange-traded notes, but will only allow professional investors to trade in the securities, it said on Monday.
The move came after the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") updated its position on cryptocurrency asset exchange traded notes, saying it will not object to requests from Recognized Investment Exchanges "to create a UK-listed market segment for crypto asset-backed exchange traded notes (cETNs)" for professional investors, such as investment firms and credit institutions.
Bitcoin hit new records on Monday, climbed 3.1% in the past 24 hours to over $72K, while ether jumped 3.3% to ~$4.06K.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 11, 2024
[News] Figure 01 can now have full conversations with people, thanks of OpenAI
Using the power of OpenAI’s large language models, Figure 01 can now have full conversations with people.
Since OpenAI models also support multi-modal input, they provide high-level visual and language intelligence to Figure 01.
Link to YouTube Full Video (02:34 Mins) - Mar 13, 2024
News, Facts, Analyst & Market Commentary - Short Reads:
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Cannabis rescheduling opposed by some DEA officials: WSJ
Some DEA officials have raised concerns over scheduling, citing modern cannabis strains, which can be far more potent than those commonly available in the past, people familiar with the matter said.
Some have noted that the drug's therapeutic benefits remain unproven, and it has a high potential for abuse. Others have argued that more studies are required to evaluate the long-term health benefits of marijuana.
In August, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended the DEA move cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to Schedule III, alongside medications such as Tylenol and ketamine.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 09, 2024
#ElonMusk #GrokAI
Elon Musk says xAI will open source Grok chatbot 'this week'
Grok, which was unveiled in November 2023 and is available to X Premium Plus users.
The generative AI chatbot has real-time access to information through the X platform.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 09, 2024
CRM 0.00%↑ NOW 0.00%↑ MDB 0.00%↑ CRWD 0.00%↑
[Newsletter Exclusive] The AI Opportunity in software, IT services and infrastructure: Wedbush
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote, said that for every $1 spent on an Nvidia H100 chip there could be an additional $10 to $12 spent across software, IT services and infrastructure.
The impact of AI to software companies such as Microsoft, Palantir, Salesforce (CRM), ServiceNow (NOW), Oracle (ORCL), MongoDB (MDB) and Adobe (ADBE) is just "starting to take hold" and should help boost other areas, such as cybersecurity companies, including Zscaler (ZS), Crowdstrike (CRWD), Palo Alto (PANW), Varonis (VRNS), Qualys (QLYS), Tenable (TENB) and Okta (OKTA), Ives said.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 09, 2024
[Newsletter Exclusive] Qualcomm in spotlight as Rosenblatt boosts price target on gen AI potential
San Diego-based Qualcomm Snapdragon's system-on-a-chip is likely to lead the market in the next class of computing platform as it's likely to help bring generative AI to the edge, analyst Kevin Cassidy said. Cassidy maintained his Buy rating and increased his price target to $200 from $170.
Recent data points suggest that Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-based Samsung (OTCPK:SSNLF) Galaxy S24 shipments are 13% above last year's S23 shipments and 47% above the S22, Cassidy said. He also pointed to the release of the Snapdragon X Elite for PCs, which is expected to hit the market in the next several months.
Additionally, Qualcomm shares are trading at roughly a 40% discount to the broader Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, Cassidy explained.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 11, 2024
[Newsletter Exclusive] Apple to allow EU developers to distribute apps directly from websites
Developers will now have the choice to design their own templates for in-app promotions, discounts, and other deals, instead of being limited to Apple's (AAPL) templates.
Apple (AAPL) will also allow developers to set up alternative marketplaces offering a catalog of apps made up of the marketplace developer's own apps.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 12, 2024
Li-Cycle surges after securing $75B investment from Glencore
Li-Cycle Holdings (NYSE:LICY) +48.4% in Tuesday's trading after the battery recycling firm said it secured an additional $75M investment through a $75M senior secured convertible note from Glencore (OTCPK:GLCNF) (OTCPK:GLNCY).
Glencore (OTCPK:GLCNF) (OTCPK:GLNCY), which invested $200M in Li-Cycle (LICY) in 2022, is a battery feedstock partner for the company's Spoke facilities and a planned future supplier of black mass and key reagents for Li-Cycle's future Hub facilities.
Ajay Kochhar, Li-Cycle co-founder and CEO, commented: "We also continue to work closely with the U.S. Department of Energy on the conditional commitment for a loan of up to $375 million.”
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 12, 2024
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 12, 2024
Global lithium market shows signs of life after last year's bust
Lithium is showing tentative signs of a revival, with the spot price of lithium carbonate in China rebounding to the highest level since December following its 80%-plus collapse in 2023, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
"The lithium market is rebalancing, with industry curtailing production and projects," UBS said while also cautioning that a surplus remains and that a rebalancing "could be transitory if price sentiment lifts too far, too fast."
Not all analysts believe in the rebound, with Goldman Sachs saying the rally in lithium contracts "should not be interpreted as the end of the bear market," warning the surplus remains sizable.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 12, 2024
[Newsletter Exclusive] Eli Lilly in pact with Amazon to deliver Zepbound and other medicines
Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) announced Wednesday a partnership with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) for home delivery of certain prescription drugs, such as its popular weight loss therapy Zepbound, for patients using its direct-to-consumer service, LillyDirect.
In January, the Indiana-based pharma giant launched LillyDirect, in partnership with pharmacy providers like Truepill, to deliver prescribed Lilly medicines, including its drugs for obesity, migraine, and diabetes.
After the new partnership, prescriptions sent to LillyDirect will be delivered to the patients' homes using either Amazon Pharmacy or Truepill based on factors such as insurance coverage.
The company said in an emailed statement that Amazon Pharmacy and Truepill will share the majority of prescription drug deliveries.
The two-day delivery facility available for Amazon Prime members will also apply to patients using LillyDirect to order their medicines.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 13, 2024
Spotify set for beta launch of music video service in some countries
Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) is going to roll out full-length music videos in a limited beta launch for premium subscribers.
The Luxembourg-based company will begin to roll out music videos from a select catalog for Premium users in 11 countries — the U.K., Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Brazil, Colombia, Philippines, Indonesia, and Kenya.
The move puts the music streaming platform in an arena which has been dominated by Alphabet's (GOOG) (GOOGL) YouTube for years.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 13, 2024
[Newsletter Exclusive] First Solar CEO says tariff exemptions threaten U.S. solar manufacturing, U.S. solar firms in 'dire situation' as imports soar
Tariff exemptions on solar components jeopardize efforts to build a domestic manufacturing base for the solar industry, First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) CEO Mark Widmar said Tuesday.
30-40 GW of excess products have entered the U.S. market, which he said makes it difficult for domestic manufacturers to scale up.
A flood of Chinese-produced solar panels is driving prices to record lows in the U.S., causing U.S. power companies to favor imports over more expensive domestic panels; in response, North American manufacturers say they are pulling back on expansion plans despite incentives available under the Inflation Reduction Act.
While First Solar (FSLR) said it does not expect the IRA would disappear in a Republican administration, the company warned a loss of subsidies and weak tariffs risked the U.S. turning into Europe, where Chinese panels have overwhelmed the market and crippled domestic suppliers.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 13, 2024
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 13, 2024
Stellantis invests an additional $23 Million in Archer Aviation, bringing total investment to $175 Million
Stellantis (STLA) bought 3.6 million shares of Archer Aviation (NYSE:ACHR) worth $15.63 million between March 4 and March 7.
It purchased an additional 800,000 shares of Archer Aviation on March 8th for $4.6 with a total value of $3.68 Million.
The most recent purchase of another 800,000 shares was made on March 11th for $4.83, with a total value of $3.86 Million.
Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,251,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175 Million.
Link to Business Insider News Article - Mar. 12, 2024
Link to Defense World News Article - Mar. 13, 2024
Link to SEC Website - Form 4
Link to SEC Website - Form 4
[Newsletter Exclusive] UiPath paves way with AI automation, analysts react with high praise
"While the spending environment appears little changed, UiPath's message of infusing a business automation platform (RPA, process mining, communication mining, testing automation, intelligent document processing) with 'classic' AI capabilities (computer vision, document understanding) is resonating with enterprise customers," said Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss and others in a note.
Morgan Stanley maintained an Equal-weight rating on UiPath but upped the price target to $25 from $17.
J.P. Morgan upgraded UiPath to Overweight from Neutral and increased its price target to $28 from $22.
"As a reminder, we held a contrarian view of PATH shares while they were broadly recommended by peers, avoiding the stock during the unwind from the $80s down into the $20s," said J.P. Morgan's Mark Murphy and others in a note. "Recently we had previewed UiPath's quarters more constructively, including the current one, as we saw potential for the period of rapid ARR growth decel to come to a close."
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 14, 2024
Lithium Americas jumps to YTD high as DoE offers record loan for Nevada project
Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) +13% in Thursday's trading after the company confirmed it received a preliminary commitment for $2.26B in financing from the U.S. Department of Energy to finance construction of the lithium processing facilities at its Thacker Pass project in Nevada.
Lithium Americas (LAC) said the loan, along with General Motors' $650M investment last year that made it the company's largest shareholder, should provide most of the money needed for the mine's first phase.
The funding is the largest-ever loan to a mining company from the DoE's Loan Programs Office.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 14, 2024
Intuitive gets FDA clearance for its next-generation multiport surgical robotics system, da Vinci 5
The da Vinci 5 will be initially made available to a small number of U.S. customers who collaborated with the company on its development and those with “mature” robotic surgical programs.
Intuitive plans to hold a conference call on Monday, March 18, to discuss the company’s launch plans for the system.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 14, 2024
Cannabis stocks spike as VP Kamala Harris urges immediate rescheduling
“I cannot emphasize enough that they need to get to it as quickly as possible,” Marijuana Moment reported, quoting Harris, who was referring to the ongoing DEA review on cannabis scheduling.
“This issue is stark when one considers the fact that on the schedule currently, marijuana is considered as dangerous as heroin," Haris noted.
"Marijuana is considered as dangerous as heroin and more dangerous than fentanyl,” she said, adding, “Which is absurd. Not to mention patently unfair.”
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 15, 2024
Link to YouTube Video - Mar. 15, 2024
$GTBIF MSOS 0.00%↑
World's top uranium producer says global output won't cover market needs this decade
"In the current pricing environment another Kazatomprom-sized supply source will be needed to cover future market needs," Kazakhstan's state uranium company said.
Uranium prices jumped to a 16-year high when it closed at $106.40/lb early last month, more than doubling from $43.05/lb at the start of last year.
Uranium prices have moderated somewhat to ~$91/lb, but brokerage PGM Global remains bullish, saying "the global trend towards nuclear power suggests uranium is in a long-term bull market."
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Mar. 15, 2024
YouTube:
Inflation in Plain English I TCAF 134
On episode 134 of The Compound and Friends, Michael Batnick and Downtown Josh Brown are joined by Peter Boockvar and Dan Greenhaus to discuss: inflation, the Fed, stock market bubbles, Tesla, short sellers, international stocks, banning TikTok, and much more!
Sectors that were worst hit by interest rate hikes, and will likely benefit the most from cuts - Clip
Asia for the next 10 to 20 years is the most exciting growth story in the world - Clip
Tesla’s Bear Case: Hybrids? - Clip
Link to Full Video (1:36 Hours) - Mar 15, 2024
Disclosure: We own positions in some/all of the tickers mentioned in this article.
