Alphabet Climbs as Analysts Raise Targets on AI-Driven Growth
12 minutes ago
Shares of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) climbed Friday as several analysts raised their price targets for the stock after the tech giant delivered better-than-expected quarterly results and touted the early success of AI features.
Alphabet’s Class A shares were up 2% at $165 in recent trading, propelling it into the ranks of the best-performing stocks on the S&P 500 Friday.
Citi analysts raised their price target to $200 from $195, pointing to growing usage and monetization of AI features in Search, including AI Overviews, which Google said has reached 1.5 billion monthly users roughly a year after launch. “We believe Google’s GenAI search tools are gaining traction,” Citi said.
Bank of America, which likewise raised its price target to $200, said Google also “has data and distribution advantages” against rivals like ChatGPT developer OpenAI in terms of driving AI usage growth.
Wedbush boosted its target to $200 as well, calling out Google’s growth potential “as investors gain more comfort related to the current macro environment, regulatory risk, and the impact of generative AI on Google Search.”
Meanwhile, Jefferies analysts reiterated a price target of $200, while JPMorgan maintained a target of $195.
CFO Anat Ashkenazi said during the company’s earnings call Thursday that Alphabet still plans to spend $75 billion in capital expenditures this year, most of which is expected to go toward building out the company’s AI infrastructure. The investments “should help us have a more resilient organization, irrespective of macroeconomic conditions,” Ashkenazi said.
T-Mobile US Sinks on Slow Phone Subscriber Growth
58 minutes ago
Shares of T-Mobile US (TMUS) tumbled early Friday after the cellphone service provider said it added fewer wireless customers than expected and warned that customers would have to pay more if new tariffs raised phone prices.
The company reported that it had 495,000 new postpaid phone customers in the first quarter, a drop of 37,000 from the year before. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for 499,000. In addition, the postpaid “churn rate,” a key metric for the industry, rose 5 basis points to 0.91%.
Adding to the concerns for investors were comments by CEO Mike Sievert, who toldYahoo! Finance that T-Mobile is closely watching the situation with potential tariffs on cellphones, and said that if they happen and are significant, “that’s going to have to be borne by the customer. I mean, our model isn’t prepared for something like that.”
The news offset the carrier’s better-than-expected financial results. T-Mobile posted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.58 on revenue that grew nearly 7% year-over-year to $20.89 billion, both above forecasts.
The company increased its full-year outlook for core adjusted EBITDA and raised the lower end of its guidance ranges for net cash provided by operating activities and adjusted free cash flow.
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T-Mobile shares were down more than 9% recently, cutting the stock’s year-to-date gain to about 7%.
Major Indexes on Track for Winning Week
1 hr 44 min ago
With three straight days of big gains under their belt, major U.S. stock indexes entered Friday’s session on track to post weekly gains for the second time in the last three weeks.
Through Thursday’s close, the Dow had gained 2.4% so far this week, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up 3.8% and 5.4%, respectively. Though sizable, this week’s gains are still lower than those recorded the week before last.
The indexes remain in the red for the month, though the Nasdaq is just barely so.
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Watch These Intel Levels as Stock Drops on Weak Outlook
2 hr 30 min ago
Intel (INTC) shares plunged in premarket trading Friday after the chipmaker posted a quarterly outlook that fell short of Wall Street expectations.
The chipmaker late Thursday said uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration’s tariff policies had led customers to stockpile chips in the first quarter, which it expects will weigh on current quarter revenue as a result. Newly installed CEO Lip-Bu Tan cautioned that it would take the company time to gain market share and drive sustainable growth.
Intel shares have outperformed the S&P 500 since the start of the year amid hopes of a turnaround under Lip-Bu Tan’s leadership. However, the stock is down about 40% over the past 12 months amid worries about the company’s strategic direction and its inability to make inroads into the booming AI chip market.
Since gapping sharply lower last August, Intel shares have drifted sideways in an extended trading range, helping to establish identifiable trading levels.
More recently, an upswing in the stock, which coincided with the relative strength index (RSI) reclaiming the 50 threshold, looks set to end abruptly on Friday following the chipmaker’s uninspiring earnings report.
Investors should watch major support levels on Intel’s chart around $19 and $15, while also monitoring key overhead areas near $22 and $26.
Intel shares were down 7% at around $20 ahead of the opening bell on Friday.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Major Stock Index Futures Slightly Lower
2 hr 51 min ago
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.4%.
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S&P 500 futures were off 0.2%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.3%.
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