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Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) will release its third earnings report after the closing bell on Tuesday, Aug. 18.

Analysts expect the Santa Rosa, California-based company to report quarterly earnings of $2.48 per share, up from $1.72 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Keysight’s quarterly revenue is $1.75 billion. It reported $1.35 billion last year, according to Benzinga Pro.

On May 19, Keysight reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results and issued third-quarter guidance above estimates.

Keysight shares rose 1.1% to close at $357.82 on Friday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated the company in the recent period.

Morgan Stanley analyst Meta Marshall upgraded the stock from Equal-Weight to Overweight and raised the price target from $350 to $400 on July 13, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 67%. Truist Securities analyst Matthew Niknam maintained a Hold rating and boosted the price target from $310 to $376 on May 22, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 65%. JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee maintained an Overweight rating and raised the price target from $360 to $390 on May 21, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 87%. Citigroup analyst Atif Malik maintained a Buy rating and increased the price target from $320 to $396 on May 21, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 86%. Susquehanna analyst Mehdi Hosseini maintained a Positive rating and increased the price target from $415 to $425 on May 20, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 81%. Latest Private Market Opportunities

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The chips are quite small and some can be held in the palm of a hand. They are fundamental to the development of artificial intelligence models – and the world’s biggest technology companies need vast numbers of them to keep ahead.

Microsoft is one of them. And, on paper, it seems to have a problem. A Guardian investigation has found an apparent discrepancy between what the company has said about its AI capacity – and the number of advanced AI chips it has in operation.

It is not a small shortfall either. Microsoft reportedly targeted having 1.8m AI chips installed in its datacentres around the globe by the end of 2024. Nearly two years on, in the middle of a $280bn (£208bn) expansion, the company has 2.2m AI chips installed, according to internal documents seen by the Guardian. This is less than half the number some experts had imagined.

Put simply, the global AI arms race requires a massive build-out of datacentres that run on extremely expensive chips. The apparent discrepancy over the chips suggests Microsoft’s newest datacentres may not be fully operational or, if they are, they do not have the chips they need.

Nvidia’s microchips are integral to the boom in datacentre development. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty ImagesThis highlights something even more fundamental about charting the progress being made in the development of AI technologies. The chips that power AI are made by Nvidia, one of the two most valuable companies in the world. Its supply chain is one of the most tightly held secrets in the entire industry.

With almost no exceptions, Nvidia does not report how many of these chips it sells or to whom. Its clients, the world’s biggest tech companies, in turn do not reveal how many they have. Without this information, it is very hard for anyone to know whether AI is booming or not.

Microsoft: a power vacuum?In the past two years, Microsoft says it has built AI infrastructure at breakneck speed. Its chief executive, Satya Nadella, said last year it would double its global datacentre footprint by mid-2027. Since 2022 it has ploughed roughly $280bn into the land, buildings and computational infrastructure to build AI. This includes more than $41bn in the past quarter.

But it is difficult to estimate how many datacentres Microsoft has built with this money.

It is possible to assess the progress that the company is making by looking at what it has announced publicly, with a particular eye on the power it needs. Datacentres need electricity, so one way of estimating how many datacentres are operational is to add up the energy Microsoft has at its disposal – its AI capacity.

Microsoft’s own claims, set out in annual reports and quarterly earnings, suggest it has added 5GW of datacentre capacity over the past two years as part of its AI build-out. It says it now has hundreds of datacentres on five continents.

Five gigawatts is a dizzying amount of energy – it is four times the size of the largest datacentre park in Europe. But Microsoft’s total capacity should be even greater than this; it has been building AI infrastructure since 2022. How much greater is an open question.

The hardware inside a Microsoft datacentre campus. Photograph: Audrey Richardson/ReutersIn an investor presentation from 2024, Microsoft reportedly claimed to have 5GW of datacentre capacity already installed. That would suggest it could now have a total of 10GW of capacity. It is unclear if all of these are AI datacentres – some could be for other cloud services. But Microsoft’s own statements indicate that the overwhelming focus of its capital expenditures in recent years has been to build AI infrastructure.

Ten gigawatts of AI datacentres would suggest Microsoft should have roughly 6.4m graphics processing units (GPUs). Shaolei Ren, a professor at the University of California, Riverside, said Microsoft’s sustainability reports, which contain figures for its electricity usage and are published separately from its financials, painted a different picture.

He said these reports suggest Microsoft’s AI capacity in 2024 was probably closer to 1.2GW. But even this lower figure would indicate Microsoft would need roughly 4m AI chips – if it added 5GW of AI datacentres in the past two years.

“According to their own metrics, Microsoft could be correct. But it isn’t clear what they mean when they say they have added datacentre capacity. They are giving insufficient context,” Ren said. “The sustainability reports are audited by a third party. They have more credibility than announcements.”

An analyst who specialises in Nvidia said they thought Microsoft would have more chips, given its public statements. “They’re low to me. They’re less than I expected Microsoft would have,” they said.

Microsoft insisted the Guardian’s calculations were based on incorrect information. It did not offer any insight as to which of the Guardian’s numbers were incorrect or why. What is clear is that Microsoft’s build-out of AI capacity appears to be going far more slowly than its annual reports may suggest.

Ren said: “It may be plausible to secure or announce 1GW of power capacity within a single quarter on paper. But bringing that capacity online and actually using it for computing within the same quarter would be far more difficult.”

Sources within Microsoft say the company’s total number of AI chips has “barely moved” over the past year.

Some of the apparent discrepancy may be explained by Microsoft’s tie-up with OpenAI. The exact terms of their commercial partnership are not public, but this unit may account for some of Microsoft’s datacentre deployments, which would not be in the documents the Guardian has seen.

A Microsoft datacentre in Middenmeer, the Netherlands. Photograph: ANP/Shutterstock‘You may have a bunch of chips … you can’t plug in’There is another factor: some of Microsoft’s big projects appear to be far from operational.

Take Microsoft’s largest AI development in the US, a pair of datacentres in Wisconsin and Georgia called Fairwater. In April, Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive, said the Fairwater project in Wisconsin “is going live”.

Satellite footage of the building from Epoch AI, however, appears to indicate only part of it is operational. In May, Microsoft admitted to a Wisconsin newspaper that Fairwater was not yet online.

This is very common, said Ren. Initially it was a multi-gigawatt, multibillion-dollar investment. Three years later, only 300MW has been built.

Satya Nadella said last year Microsoft would double its global datacentre footprint by mid-2027. Photograph: Jeff Chiu/APThe internal document also indicates Microsoft has fewer of Nvidia’s newest model of chip, the Blackwell, than one might expect given Nvidia’s public announcements. Last March, Nvidia’s chief executive, Jensen Huang, said orders for Blackwells from Nvidia’s top four customers – widely thought to be Amazon, Oracle, Microsoft and Google – amounted to 3.6m.

There was no breakdown given for this figure, but Microsoft has historically been one of Nvidia’s largest customers. If this was still the case, that should put Microsoft’s total Blackwell holdings at somewhere close to 1m chips. In fact, it has less than half of this amount installed.

Where are the chips, if not in the datacentres?Nvidia’s balance sheets appear to indicate that it has sold a great many chips; it posted a revenue of $215.9bn in February. Has Microsoft bought these but not installed them? How many, and are all of them in its possession?

Nadella appeared to gesture at this question on a podcast late last year called All Things AI, where he talked about Microsoft’s datacentre build-out. The biggest problem, he said, was electrical power and building datacentres close enough to where power was located.

“If you can’t do that, you may actually have a bunch of chips sitting in inventory that I can’t plug in. In fact, that is my problem today. It’s not a supply issue of chips. It’s actually the fact that I don’t have warm shells to plug into.”

A Microsoft spokesperson said: “Over several decades, Microsoft has built a global infrastructure to meet rapidly growing customer demand for cloud and AI services. Our datacentres combine custom silicon, AMD, Intel and Nvidia chips across multiple generations with the networking, storage and systems infrastructure required to operate at scale.

“Microsoft does not report on the volume of specific chips in its AI infrastructure. The estimates the Guardian has shared with us are inaccurate, drawing the wrong conclusions from incorrect assumptions.”

Nvidia did not respond to a request for comment.

How to calculate numbers of chips from a company’s ‘AI capacity’The world’s biggest technology companies give figures for their AI capacity in terms of power: gigawatts. One gigawatt powers between 700,000 and 1m homes. Meta says its controversial Hyperion datacentre in Louisiana will have 5GW of capacity. The UK company DataVita is planning a 1GW datacentre in Lanarkshire.

Converting these figures into chips means calculating how many chips can be run with that amount of power. The Guardian used the following methodology, reviewing these calculations with Abdeltawab Hendawi, a professor at the University of Rhode Island, and Ren.

To get a very broad approximation of how many chips there are in a datacentre, you could divide the power usage of that datacentre by the power usage of an AI chip – for example, an H100. A single H100 uses 700W. If Microsoft has 10GW of capacity, dividing this by 700 watts suggests it should have 12m chips.

H100s make up the bulk of the chips described in the internal document. It also indicates that Microsoft has A100s, which use less power, and Blackwells, which use more.

But this approximation does not account for several factors. First, datacentres have cooling systems and other equipment, which also use electricity. Ren estimates that in a given AI datacentre, 80% of the electricity goes to computer chips. This is roughly in accordance with figures from the International Energy Agency, although the number depends on the efficiency of the datacentre. Eighty per cent of 10GW would suggest 8GW may actually be in use.

This is slightly lower than Microsoft’s own figures for its datacentre efficiency, which appear in a 2024 sustainability report and suggest that 89% of the electricity in its new datacentres powers the IT systems, with an 11% overhead.

Second, not all the chips in a datacentre are AI chips. Instead, AI chips are fitted on to server racks with other computer chips, such as memory chips, that help them run calculations. A server with eight H100 GPUs uses a maximum of about 10kW of power.

Dividing 8GW by 10kW gives 800,000 servers, or 6.4m chips.

This is a conservative estimate, as in practice companies such as Microsoft oversubscribe their power capacity to some extent – putting more chips in a datacentre than can be supported by their IT capacity, said Ren.

Intel is reconsidering a business it spent decades leaving as artificial intelligence transforms memory from a commodity into a crucial computing bottleneck.

CEO Lip-Bu Tan said on the TechSurge: Deep Tech podcast that Intel is exploring new memory architectures, including ways to bring memory and processors closer together.

Tan said he once viewed memory as a commodity business not worth investing in but believes the economics have changed.

Intel has not announced a new DRAM, NAND or HBM product. The comments matter for Micron stock investors because they arrive during shortages, rising prices and AI-driven demand.

Tan’s interest comes as memory profitability looks unusually strong.

KeyBanc analyst John Vinh said “memory shortages remain persistent,” after supply-chain checks in Asia.

The firm expects tight conditions through 2027, with DRAM prices rising another 15%-20% sequentially in the third quarter and 15% in the fourth. NAND prices could jump 30%-40% in the third quarter before another 15% increase.

That helps explain why Intel is looking again.

AI systems increasingly depend on moving huge quantities of data quickly between processors and memory.

That has made bandwidth, packaging and memory capacity strategic constraints for AI systems.

Intel also hired former SK Hynix chief executive Seok-Hee Lee in June to lead advanced packaging and system integration at Intel Foundry.

Lee will help tightly couple logic, memory, networking and other components in next-generation systems, the company said.

His appointment is not evidence of a new memory division, but it strengthens Intel’s expertise where compute and memory are converging.

For Micron, the immediate competitive threat still looks limited.

Oppenheimer analysts, cited by Barron’s, said a serious Intel return to memory would require fresh capital, significant research and development and, crucially, time. That makes a major near-term challenge unlikely.

Meanwhile, Micron is benefiting from tightening high-bandwidth memory supply. UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri said HBM4 and HBM4E pricing was “even stronger than our prior expectations.” UBS expects HBM average selling prices to rise about 79% year on year.

Micron is also trying to make the current boom more durable. The company says multiyear strategic customer agreements should improve the predictability of its financial performance.

Its June agreement with Anthropic spans memory and storage architecture design, supply and AI infrastructure development.

Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh remains bullish too. Barron’s reported that Rakesh expects DRAM and NAND markets to stay tight through 2027 and believes Micron could sustain gross margins above 80%.

Intel can decide it wants exposure to memory, but recreating Micron’s manufacturing scale, HBM expertise and customer relationships is another matter.

That does not make Intel’s interest irrelevant.

High memory prices are attracting capital across the industry. Chinese producers are also expanding.

YMTC overtook Micron in NAND shipment volume during the second quarter, although Micron remained ahead by revenue because its product mix carries greater value.

Intel potentially represents a different competitive risk. Tan appears interested in architectures that integrate processing and memory more closely rather than simply returning to commodity NAND.

Rumble’s $767M Acquisition Marks Bold Pivot Into AI InfrastructureRumble NASDAQ: RUM is positioning its recently combined operations as an AI compute infrastructure business with a substantial 2027 power pipeline, while continuing to operate its established video platform separately.

Speaking at an event with Canaccord Genuity Equity Research Senior Analyst Kingsley Crane, RUM Group CFO Mike Massey said the company now consists of two autonomous businesses: Rumble Video and Quake AI. Rumble Video has more than 50 million monthly active users, according to Massey, while Quake AI combines Rumble’s cloud, content-delivery network and data-center assets with GPU-as-a-service capabilities acquired through Northern Data.

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Rumble Stock Gets Ready to Rumble in its Second Quarter Massey said Rumble built much of its own infrastructure because of its history as a free-speech video platform, including its CDN and data centers. The company is also exploring potential AI-training applications for its video data after receiving outreach from robotics companies interested in spatial and temporal video datasets, he said.

Quake AI Focuses on Compute Expansion
The company’s primary financial opportunity is expected to come from Quake AI, Massey said. The business currently operates 22,000 Hopper-generation GPUs, mainly in Europe, serving more than 50 customers across inference, training, pre-training and QLoRA workloads.

Is Rumble Revving Up for Growth or Just Sputtering? According to Massey, utilization of the existing GPU fleet improved from less than 20% in the middle of last year to more than 83% consistently during the first half of the current year. He attributed the improvement to new management and a renewed focus on execution and customer credibility following the Northern Data acquisition.

Quake AI’s largest contract to date is a multiyear, $270 million agreement with Together AI for NVIDIA B300 GPUs, Massey said. He described the contract as an initial proof point that Quake can deliver latest-generation GPU capacity at scale.

RUM Group’s central expansion opportunity is 250 megawatts of grid-connected power expected to be available in 2027. Massey said monetizing that capacity could represent a revenue run rate of more than $3 billion at current market rates, though the company must still execute on construction, customer agreements and equipment deployment.

180 megawatts are associated with a site in Atlanta, Georgia.
A smaller Pittsburgh site is expected to serve AI-native customers.
The company also has 50 megawatts in Sweden and 20 megawatts in Norway.

Massey said the Atlanta location has use permits, a Georgia Power CES agreement, an installed substation and transformers already in place. The company is engaging with multiple hyperscalers as it seeks a partner for the site, he said.

Capital Needs and Equipment Supply
In discussing the buildout, Massey said data-center capital expenditures generally range from $8 million to $12 million per megawatt. The company is targeting NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin architecture for its next generation of deployment. For an 180-megawatt project, he said the required installation could amount to roughly 40,000 to 50,000 GPUs.

Massey said the company expects that a majority of construction capital could be financed when supported by long-term, take-or-pay customer agreements. He identified selecting financeable customers and partners as a key priority.

While GPU availability remains an industry concern, Massey said management is less concerned about chip supply than about construction-related constraints, such as skilled labor, steel, uninterruptible power systems and chillers. He said the Atlanta market offers a strong labor pool and that several long-lead items, including transformers, a substation and generators, are already available.

The company has a strategic relationship with Tether, which Massey said owns nearly 50% of the combined company. He said Tether’s position as a major investor is a “tailwind” in discussions with partners because of its capital base and international reach.

Pricing and Operating Strategy
Massey said Quake’s current Hopper GPU estate generates roughly $6 million to $7 million of annual revenue per megawatt. He said latest-generation Blackwell systems have been priced at more than $11 million per megawatt annually, while future Vera Rubin deployments are expected to command a premium.

He added that demand continues to exceed supply across AI compute markets and that pricing for Hopper capacity has strengthened. Massey also argued that older GPU generations could remain useful longer than some investors expect, as customers use different hardware generations for different tasks such as retraining and recursive inference.

Quake AI intends to remain focused on infrastructure rather than expanding into software or platform-as-a-service offerings, Massey said. He said the company wants to avoid competing with customers that provide higher-level AI services, arguing that operating GPU hardware and data centers at scale remains a valuable business in its own right.

While Rumble Video remains part of the company, Massey said Quake AI’s financial results are expected to “far outstrip” those of the video platform over time. He said management believes the broader market has not yet fully recognized RUM Group’s position in AI compute as a service.

About Rumble (NASDAQ:RUM)Rumble Inc operates a video-sharing platform designed to offer creators and audiences an alternative to traditional social media and streaming services. The company's primary business activities include hosting, distributing and monetizing user–generated and professional video content. Through its platform, Rumble enables content creators to retain a higher share of advertising revenue and maintain greater control over their intellectual property, while offering viewers open access to a wide range of videos spanning news, sports, entertainment and educational programming.

In addition to its core video platform, Rumble provides cloud–based video hosting and delivery services via Rumble Cloud, a content–delivery network (CDN) designed to support high–volume streaming and storage.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

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Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are in focus on Monday after closing sharply higher on Friday, as a long-term margin forecast from US flash-memory maker SanDisk gave investors reason to reassess how long the AI-driven memory boom could last.

South Korean markets are closed Monday for the Liberation Day holiday.

On Friday, Samsung rose 2.43% to 274,500 won and SK Hynix climbed 3.26% to 1.645 million won, helping the KOSPI finish 2.41% higher at 6,977.34.

The catalyst was SanDisk’s investor day, where the company laid out a framework that challenged assumptions about memory cyclicality.

SanDisk expects mid- to high-teens revenue growth from fiscal 2028 through 2030, alongside non-GAAP gross margins of about 80% and operating margins near 75%.

For Samsung and SK Hynix, the significance lies in what those targets imply for the industry.

Memory has historically followed a familiar pattern. Strong pricing boosts profits, encourages investment and eventually brings enough new supply to crush margins.

SanDisk is arguing that AI demand, tight capacity and longer-term customer agreements could keep industry profitability far above historical norms for years.

JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur said SanDisk was “uniquely positioned to capture the ongoing structural inflection in NAND demand” driven by AI inference.

He also argued that longer customer agreements had improved the company’s margin profile while reducing the boom-and-bust volatility associated with memory.

Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore offered another bullish read.

MarketWatch reported that Moore believes SanDisk could “stay at or above these margin levels for multiple years” while shortages persist, although he questioned whether operating margins around 75% could be sustained indefinitely.

That message fits a shift in analyst expectations around the memory cycle.

Macquarie Capital analysts said the industry is facing the “worst memory crunch in history” and see no sign of supply constraints easing within the next three years.

The firm described AI inference-related memory demand as “off the charts” and expects Samsung and SK Hynix to lead the Korean market’s near-term recovery.

Inference matters because running AI models at scale requires vast amounts of memory and storage, not just computing power.

As AI usage expands, data centres need more HBM and DRAM, while NAND demand can rise as operators seek cheaper ways to store and retrieve the vast quantities of data generated by AI workloads.

Bernstein analyst Mark Newman told MarketWatch that SanDisk’s planned high-bandwidth flash could become a “huge new growth driver for NAND demand.”

He added that the technology could consume substantially more wafer capacity, potentially keeping supply conditions tighter for longer.

The bullish case does not mean the memory cycle has disappeared.

Moore’s caution is important. SanDisk’s current profitability reflects an exceptional shortage, and an 80% gross-margin framework leaves little room for disappointment if supply expands faster than expected.

The same risk applies to Samsung and SK Hynix.

Both stand to benefit if AI infrastructure spending continues to absorb new capacity, but high prices also give manufacturers a powerful incentive to invest in additional production capacity.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR -2.78%) CEO Alex Karp is fond of highlighting the company's Rule of 40 score. The Rule of 40 states that a healthy software company's year-over-year revenue growth percentage plus its operating margin must exceed 40. Palantir blew that benchmark away last quarter, producing a Rule of 40 score of 155.

Another software company is quietly producing a triple-digit Rule of 40 score as well. But while the market is rewarding Palantir with earnings and sales multiples far in excess of those of practically any other company of its size, the valuation for this other fast-growing software stock is much more tame. In fact, its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) sits below 19, less than the overall S&P 500's.

Here's why AppLovin (APP +0.89%) deserves a closer look.

Image source: Getty Images.

Can this software stock keep its triple-digit Rule of 40 score? AppLovin is an adtech company that sets itself apart by charging advertisers only when ads convert. The catch is, advertisers have to turn over practically everything about ad placement and pricing to AppLovin's black box model. The company's Axon 2 models have driven a sharp acceleration in revenue over the last few years, as it has also expanded AppLovin's market beyond its original gaming niche.

Management has seen excellent progress in non-gaming revenue growth, and it launched a self-service platform in June, which should help accelerate onboarding and total revenue growth. Total non-gaming-related revenue in the second quarter exceeded the seasonally strong fourth quarter by 28%. However, weakness in gaming advertising, which still accounts for the vast majority of its revenue, led to a disappointing overall result -- total revenue grew 53% year over year last quarter, down from the 59% growth it posted in the first quarter.

The weakness stems from the timing of the latest upgrade in the Axon 2 models. At the same time, the company spent more on compute to train its models and on research and development to improve them further. Management says the model update is now live, the third quarter is off to a strong start, and the business is back on the trajectory it expects. With its strength in gaming and the expansive market beyond gaming, management sees the potential for long-term compound annual revenue growth of 30%.

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What's more, the business's margin profile is incredible. Despite increased spending to improve the Axon 2 models, the company posted an operating margin of 78% last quarter. That makes its Rule of 40 score 131 for the quarter. Over the long run, sales and marketing may come down as a percentage of revenue due to the growing self-service platform and the scale of operations. However, management is likely to funnel more money into research and development to ensure Axon 2 maintains its advantage over the competition.

CFO Matt Stumpf noted that the company doesn't manage for margin, but focuses on EBITDA and free cash flow growth. If it can invest a dollar in improving its artificial intelligence models and get more than a dollar back in cash returns, it'll do it. That said, Stumpf expects the EBITDA margin to remain in the low-80% range over the long term. So, combined with 30% long-term revenue growth, AppLovin should maintain a triple-digit Rule of 40 score for the foreseeable future.

Why is the market paying so much more for Palantir stock? Palantir shares trade for more than 100 times estimated earnings over the next year and more than 50 times estimated sales. That's an exceptional premium, suggesting the company's growth runway is massive.

In comparison, AppLovin's earnings and sales multiples of 19 and 13, respectively, suggest investors don't expect earnings growth to remain elevated over the long run.

To be sure, Palantir has a tremendous opportunity. Its total addressable market could expand from $335 billion this year to $1.4 trillion by 2033, according to select analyst estimates. Palantir could merely maintain its market penetration rate and grow revenue at a compound rate of 23%. Doubling its market penetration, well within reason, would double that average growth rate.

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That said, the digital advertising market is expected to grow relatively quickly as well. Global spending could reach $662 billion this year and $1.7 trillion by 2033, according to Grand View Research. That's a compound annual growth rate of 14.3%, which supports AppLovin's estimate of 30% long-term growth as it takes share of the large non-gaming ad market.

But while Palantir faces few limitations to its growth, AppLovin's black-box ad platform will struggle to deliver exceptional results for advertisers if it saturates the market. More advertisers using the same algorithm makes it less effective. That sets an upper limit on AppLovin's market penetration.

Still, at just 19 times forward earnings, the stock looks underpriced relative to its potential, even with that limitation. The company should be able to deliver strong revenue growth at very high margins for years to come, and the market is heavily discounting that right now.

Kasra Nejatian, Chief Executive Officer of Opendoor Technologies Inc. (OPEN -0.27%), purchased 27,625 shares of common stock on August 14, 2026, as disclosed in a recent SEC Form 4 filing.

Transaction summaryMetricValueShares purchased (directly held)27,625Transaction value~$100,000Post-transaction shares (directly held)83,605,924Post-transaction value$304.33 millionTransaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average purchase price ($3.62); post-transaction value based on August 14, 2026 market close ($3.64).

Key questionsHow does this purchase affect the CEO's overall equity exposure?
The acquisition marginally expands a substantial core position of 83,605,924 shares, which currently represents a market value of $304.33 million based on the August 14, 2026 market close.What was the execution price relative to recent market activity?
The shares were purchased at a weighted average price of $3.62, compared to a closing price of $3.65 as of the August 13, 2026 market close.What is the fundamental profile of the company at the time of this trade?
Opendoor operates with a market capitalization of $3.5 billion and reports trailing-twelve-month revenue of $3.3 billion, though it remains in a net loss position of $1.5 billion over the same period.Company OverviewMetricValueShare Price (as of market close 2026-08-13)$3.65Market Capitalization$3.5 billionRevenue (TTM)$3.3 billionNet Income (TTM)-$1.5 billionCompany SnapshotOpendoor operates a digital ecosystem enabling residential real estate transactions entirely online, generating revenue through home sales facilitation, title insurance services, and escrow offerings across the United States.The company's business model centers on providing an efficient, technology-driven alternative to traditional real estate transactions, capturing value through transaction volumes and ancillary service offerings.Opendoor primarily serves individual homebuyers and sellers seeking streamlined, digital-first residential real estate solutions, targeting consumers who value convenience and transparency in property transactions.Opendoor Technologies operates at significant scale with $3.3 billion in trailing 12-month revenue, positioning itself as a transformative force in residential real estate through its fully digital transaction platform. The company's competitive advantage lies in its technology infrastructure and operational efficiency, which enable customers to complete home purchases and sales online without traditional intermediaries.

Despite current net losses of $1.5 billion in the trailing 12 months, the company continues to expand its market presence and ancillary service offerings to drive profitability and shareholder value.

What this transaction means for investorsThe Aug. 14 purchase of Opendoor Technologies shares by CEO Kasra Nejatian suggests he is bullish about the stock's outlook. He certainly didn't need to buy more, given he directly held over 80 million shares before this transaction.

At the time he acquired more Opendoor stock for a weighted average price of $3.62, shares were not far from the 52-week low of $3.06 reached last year. This indicates Nejatian believes Opendoor is a buy at this level.

While Opendoor managed to gain about 20% over the past 12 months, the stock is down substantially from its 52-week high of $10.87. The cause is a sluggish housing market impacted by elevated mortgage rates, combined with the company's uninspiring business performance.

In the second quarter, Opendoor reported revenue of $883 million, a significant decline from 2025's $1.6 billion. Moreover, the company's costs increased, resulting in a Q2 net loss of $162 million, up from a loss of $29 million in the prior year. That said, Opendoor forecasted Q3 sales to see a 20% year-over-year increase.

Robert Izquierdo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

In this episode of Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing, Motley Fool CEO Tom Gardner sits down with Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach to discuss:

Why machine-to-machine payments could transform B2B commerce.Why Mastercard just acquired the world's largest stablecoin platform. What the AI revolution really means for employment.Why proprietary transaction data is Mastercard's deepest competitive moat.How he stays sharp running a $500 billion company.To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center. When you're ready to invest, check out this top 10 list of stocks to buy.

A full transcript is below.

This podcast was recorded on Aug. 9, 2026.

Michael Miebach: Looking forward a few years, by 2030, the amount of fraud and cyber risk-driven damage is going to amount to $15.6 trillion. If cyber risk were a country, that would be the third-largest economy in the world.

Bart Shannon: That was Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard, on the scale of the cybersecurity threat facing the global economy right now. I'm Motley Fool producer Bart Shannon. Mastercard is one of the most admired companies we follow, a business that has quietly become as much a cybersecurity and data company as a payments network. Motley Fool CEO Tom Gardner sat down with Michael on the day of Mastercard’s second quarter earnings to talk through how the payment network actually works, why cybersecurity has become one of its most important growth businesses, and what stablecoins really mean for the future of money. We hope you enjoy Part 1.

Tom Gardner: Well, we're really excited here at Motley Fool to have Michael Miebach, the CEO of Mastercard, joining us. On the day of your second quarter earnings, we should probably start there, because I don't think there's much introduction that's needed for Mastercard, although if you talk to the average consumer or talk to even the average investor, they may not understand exactly how your global payments network works. We'll go through a little bit of that, as well, but I do think we should start with second quarter earnings, which showed some pretty remarkable growth, another round of amazing operating margins of the company above 60%. I know cross-border business and your value-added services growth are pretty pleasing to you. Any highlights that you'd like to share with us on a single quarter, a 90-day period, which I know isn't necessarily the best way to measure.

Michael Miebach: First of all, thank you for having me, Tom. I was looking forward to our conversation today. It's been a good quarter and a good engagement with investors today and analysts. You actually hit the highlights just now, so strong volumes. It’s interesting when you look around the world, and you read the headlines, see geopolitical complexity and volatility. Then you see varying impacts on the macroeconomy. In the end, it all balances out with a pretty healthy consumer and continued healthy spending on the consumer and on the business side, which obviously is a big part of our business. That's what we facilitate spending, we're powering the economy and value exchange in all forms so it's good to be in payments at this time.

A few of the topics that we talked about on the call, which you didn't mention is there's a lot of innovation in payments. Right now, there's a lot of competition and payments. The rise of fintech, the rise of stablecoins, the headline of agentic commerce, there is so much going on, and we're at the forefront of all of that, shaping where the future of the digital economy is going, so exciting times for us at Mastercard.

Tom Gardner: It is amazing how much dynamic change there is in the world today and in the marketplace, and yet a very stable, solid performance from companies like Mastercard, again, showing the strength of the consumers you shared. Can we just talk a little bit about the relationship between the bank, the merchant, the cardholder, just to set the table? For example, when we get to stablecoin, we will ask you to define stablecoin because there will be viewers at The Motley Fool that are encountering some of this for the first time. Maybe just walk through a little bit, four billion cardholders, tens of millions of merchants, and how the network interacts.

Michael Miebach: Just to stick to the facts, 3.7 billion cardholders [OVERLAPPING] that's still a lot. In fact, we are certainly geographically speaking, the most prevalent way to pay around the world, 3.7 billion cards. You talked about the relationship between a consumer and a bank and a shop, wherever you shop for something. Let's take a step back on exactly that. You're going to go, and you're going to buy something. You buy it online, and you buy it in a shop of your choice, and whatever it is, there magically you can either leave the website and the product will be shipped to you, or you can leave the shop and take it with you. Why is that happening? Because there's a payment guarantee in the background, which is issued by Mastercard that says to the merchant, you can let this person go because we will ensure you will be paid.

This all works in a square, so to say, a four-party model between the bank of the consumer and between the bank of the shop. Your bank will take money out of your account, out of your card account, and pass it on to the shop's bank, and then the shop gets paid. This is how this works. Now, if you think about this in 3.7 billion times in 220 countries and territories, that is massive scale, and that is massive complexity. Regulatory rules are different around the world. Infrastructure is different around the world, and we took 60 years to build this amazing system that powers the digital economy around the world. That is what is at the heart of when you pull out your Mastercard it happens behind. Now, there's a lot more happening behind because this payment is not only happening. It's happening in a safe way so you're protected.

If you use a Mastercard and you make a payment on a website, and it turns out to be a fake website, that’s one of the cyber risks that we all face today. You're still protected because it was not your fault, so you have a payment guarantee. But in order to ensure that we prevent fraud at the outset, there's a lot of safety and security happening behind the scenes. Trillions of data points will be scanned in nanoseconds to ensure there's the right relationship between you and this merchant. Can you actually be in this place right now? Have you ever done a transaction like that? Are you spending more than you actually have ever done before, et cetera? All of this is happening in the background, and those are the tools that we provide to our customers. The cardholders not our customer. The customer is a bank. The customer could be a merchant. It could be a very large merchant. Walmart or somebody like that, is a partner of ours or a very large bank like JPMorgan here in the U.S., et cetera. Those are our partners, and we provide them with services to make the Mastercard payments, they run with us, safer and smarter and simpler, actually.

Tom Gardner: Thank you. In a way, we should think of it as a trust and security network. For that reason, I'd like to move towards cybersecurity because I know you've made some significant investments. I think I'm not counting this quarter, over $8 billion invested in cybersecurity and fraud. Generative AI is arriving faster, and the tools are upgrading faster than I think anyone was estimating, except for maybe Ray Kurzweil, and they’re finding holes in systems faster. What types of crimes are you seeing that are new? What's Mastercard's unique approach?

Michael Miebach: It's important to talk about cybersecurity, and you put it in the context of artificial intelligence. Now, artificial intelligence is not new, but generative AI is new. Since the launch of ChatGPT first version in the first quarter of 2023, you've seen tremendous progress there, and that's good for productivity. It's good for better user experience, good for many things, but it also empowers the fraudsters and the scammers and the hackers. We're starting to see an arms race. New technology, and you can use this technology to drive exploits and scams. At the same time, you can use this technology to defend, so we have an arms race going on.

When you just think about what's the magnitude of all of this. There is an expectation. Study has been done looking forward a few years, 2030, that by 2030, the amount of fraud and cyber risk-driven damage is going to amount to $15.6 trillion. If cyber risk were a country, that would be the third-largest economy in the world. That's what we're looking at. Now, historically, take the last 10 years, across the financial services industry, in particular, there was a lot of focus put on preventing fraud. We've been always a leader in that. As a payment networks, we're the one that stand out to have invested in cybersecurity earliest and most significantly. Today, we have the broadest portfolio there.

Initially, this all started about defense. A transaction happens, and you're going to decide if you're going to let it through yes or no. Is this a transaction that is really from you or should it not? Should we ask the bank to make some extra cheques? Now if you do this, 3.7 billion card times around the world, 180 billion transactions go through our network.

You really need technology in a very big way to do that, to power that and drive that security level up. Now, banks get attacked, they get hacked and all of that. Governments get attacked and hacked, individual consumers get hacked and attacked. The system is becoming under threat from all angles, and the weakest link in the chain is usually where the hackers and the scammers get in. We need to erect our defenses and do even more to prevent all of this to happen and protect cardholders and our customers and governments and so forth.

How do you do that? What we essentially need to do is moving from defense to offense. That's where our last investments have been in threat intelligence. If I can tell you, as the CEO of a bank, you are under attack from this consortium, they're going after this fraud to attack you and your customers, and here's what you need to do to prevent that. You can do something about this. If I tell you, you're going to have to defend against every threat vector there is, that is almost impossible to do. Threat Intelligence is the last investment that we've made. We bought the world's largest independent threat intelligence company at the end of 2024, recorded future, and they now top up. Vast portfolio of fraud management, identity solutions and cyber solutions that we have with this proactive defense approach. This is what's going on. This is what sets us apart in the world of payments, but not only payments because we provide cybersecurity solutions at large today.

Tom Gardner: Was it always right to think in human civilization, or is it even more correct to think that we're permanently at financial war of some sort worldwide across state actors, non-state actors, organized crime? It's a continual never-ending battle. Is that an accurate view of the world or not?

Michael Miebach: I think that the general statement, this is going to continue be a fight between the good people and the bad people. I think it's very much true that it's broader and more consistent, and the latest technology will be used is also true. What is even more true and which is a good thing is that governments and private sector are very clear about this. We are moving from every sector and every company doing their own thing to the private sector, working much closer together. It's not just about the financial companies working together to prevent in cyber maneuvers and cyber ranges and sharing insights and threats with each other, but it goes across sectors as well. But here's the point. The private sector is really good in making investments and driving the innovation to push back against these scams and frauds, but you do need the enforcement and the regulatory rule, side of the government, as well. Public-private defense is moving very much into the focus. We go and frequent the Munich security conference every year, which is probably the preeminent global security forum there is and this was the big dialogue this year, so we were there. Everybody was clear we need to get more organized across the public sector and the private sector to work together so that's a positive sign.

Tom Gardner: Do you see the Mastercard brand becoming more and more associated with security? With cybersecurity, with threat intelligence? Or that's something that we want to keep invisible and under the radar pretty much and be the relied upon network.

Michael Miebach: Definitely not visible and under the radar because it's a threat to everybody, and we need to ensure that we work together, so it needs to be known what we do. But if I take a step back, Mastercard is a lot of things to a lot of people. Some people call us a card company, other people say it's about payment. Some people say it's about cybersecurity because we're deeply engaged with them on that. It's about all of the above. In the end, it's about where the operating system of the digital economy, an operating system should have a security layer. That's exactly what we do. But it's also as a money movement layer, which is across stable coins and a counter account and cards, we value your hard-earned money. We do all of the above. Then on top of that, this produces a lot of data and gives a lot of insights on where the digital economy is going, and we can help our partners, to our partners’ banks, for example, or large merchants, as I mentioned before, with better business insights to run their business in a better way. All of that, yes, we are big in cybersecurity, but we're so much more.

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Tom Gardner: Actually, I'd like to take a step back and go to some of the broader drivers just to remind us of what's happening at the trend level for transactions worldwide and for Mastercard, specifically. We'll just go with the first one, which is the cash-to-digital-to-card shift. Where are we in that process now? How many transactions were done in cash 10 years ago, Ballpark versus today? And how much further do we have to go in that?

Michael Miebach: It's an answer that is varying by region and by type of payment. No surprise. When I started at this company here in 2010, my first job was about running our business in the Middle East and in Africa. The average cash ratio in Africa was north of 90%. Most of transactions in Sub-Saharan economies were in cash and not digitally. If you go to the Nordics today, Northern Europe, Sweden, Denmark, and so forth, you're going to be, again, north of 90%, but it's north of 90% in terms of digital transactions. The world has come a long way, but in between, there's all shades of gray on where every country is. Take a large European economy like Italy or so, you have somewhere 40-50% of cash transactions. It's north of 50 for the United States. Take other, take emerging markets like Africa still today, you find markets where you're 90%. If you take that lens, that is one lens. But then there's types of payments as well, and types of value exchange, what's going on in the digital economy. Some countries just do not have a particularly good e-commerce ecosystem yet, so a lot of that is still physical.

Of course, with [inaudible] e-commerce, shopping from websites, that's all digital per definition, and you see those countries ahead of the others, so various, various aspects. Take small business as largest employer in the world. Still, the share of physical installations and then physical payments, cash payments is still very high in small business, because the vast majority of them don't have a digital footprint yet. Now, that has dramatically changed post-COVID. A lot of small businesses were the hardest hit by COVID. Nobody went to their shops any longer, and then they weren't online. If you look at some of the data from the United States, what is the share of small businesses that have reopened after COVID, and how much of those — the vast majority of them had a digital as part of the business thereafter. You start to see that catching up. There's so many dimensions around this. To our investors, we say, big part of our growth engine, so to say, is to turn cash and checks and other very basic digital payments into really clever, smart Mastercard payments. That's what we do, and there is plenty of runway around the dimensions that shared with you.

But I give you another dimension of that. A lot of countries have their own payment card system, but it's very basic. Back to cybersecurity, there's many other things you should be doing for your payment system. We come in, and we take those transactions and also put them into the Mastercard network to make it a better payment. The runway in payments and digital payments is tremendous. We charted it out, I think we're somewhere in the trillions of what still the opportunity is out there in terms of payments.

Tom Gardner: Let's talk about cross-border transactions. Travel and non-travel. Mastercard move and the significance of this trend for you.

Michael Miebach: Yes. Cross-border. It's such an interesting term. But basically, let's bring it back to everyday life. You travel, and you go on holiday. It's holiday time where at the end of July, a lot of people are out on the road visiting family, going to their dream destination and then they pay a hotel or they shop a souvenir, whatever it is. It magically still works, despite the fact you're not in your home country. All of the payments I described earlier that happened between the bank and the shop’s bank, and everybody in this four-party model that I described, go across countries then. That's rather complicated to do. That's a big part of what we do today. That's a tremendous value add to economies.

Tourism is a great driver. We've seen it here in the United States, with the World Cup, a lot of people came, and you really saw it in the numbers, quite a significant boost on that. A big part of our business complicated to do. It took us 60 years. Mastercard is 60-years-old. We just celebrated our 20-year IPO anniversary, and we were very busy to build this very large cross-border network, which as of two years now also includes China, where your local Chinese Mastercard will work, and others will work. These are high-octane revenue for us because it's difficult to do, and then we prize for the value that we create. It is not really affecting the consumer that much, but it cuts across the ecosystem because there's a lot of investments that we had to make for that.

Interesting, though, from an investor perspective, we talked a lot about that in your earnings call today. The latest growth rate number here is 12%. If you think about some of the macroeconomic issues that we've been facing, particularly in the Middle East, across those countries, travel was hit. But it rebounded quite significantly, and it's looking pretty solid at this point. Big part of our business, it will for years to come, and we work with our partners to ensure that travel corridors, the marketing works, and here's where you want to go, and then you can get there, and then you have great deals and hotel deals and all these things. There's all stuff that we do behind the scenes with our papas.

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Tom Gardner: Stablecoin, now in some ways, presents some threats to transactions that typically one could expect to go through Mastercard's network. I'm wondering what the impact might be from Stablecoin on international transfers, larger business to business payment. Obviously, I think it's probably going to be a while before that gets down to the level of the consumer purchases or ordinary purchases. I don't think consumers want a lot of different currencies to work with. Maybe I'm misinterpreting that. Please guide us to think more clearly on it. But where is Stablecoin a threat an opportunity for you and obviously the acquisition you made?

Michael Miebach: Stablecoin is an opportunity. It is another way to exchange value. We've always been of the view as a large payment network, as a cybersecurity company, as an insights company, as a data company, whatever term you pick that for value exchange, cards is a really big part of the answer, but it's certainly not the answer for all types of payments. We've been investing since 2016 into a counter account systems where you just pay whatever you pay directly from your bank account into somebody else's bank account, or through a shop, you can just pay the shop into their bank account, et cetera. All of that. We're one of the largest providers of accounter account solutions.

About 12, 13 years ago, Blockchain comes up, and Blockchain and then all of a sudden one of the first payment applications on Blockchain was cryptocurrencies. We're all familiar with Bitcoin, that's pretty cool technology. In terms of facilitating a value exchange, so I'm going to send you a fraction of a bitcoin today. This will happen instantly and you have it and I have it so that's great. We looked at this and say that is good technology. Definitely we should have that. We started to build that out and build out our expertise. Today, the Mastercard network can handle U.S. dollars, any other fee out currency, but it can also handle stablecoins. Which is a cryptocurrency that's backed by fiat, so that's the real distinction here. The store value function of that works, and it can go through our rails. We're very open to that. In fact, what we do is we're not just having the stablecoins run through our system, but we provide the same protections that you expect from your card payment alongside with that, because whenever you deal with Mastercard, you see the two interlocking circlets of our brand, you said I'm protected.

The same should be true for stablecoin. I'm pretty agnostic when it comes to what is the underlying rail. But important point to say, it is really not needed for anybody to go and buy their coffee at the local coffee shop with a stable coin. Why would you do that? There is no problem to solve because the card ecosystem does handle with that. But if you think about remittances or a small business sending some money to another small business, another country where they bought some parts from, that's really complicated today. That's correspondent banking, there's high fees, lack of transparency. You don't really know is the hundred dollars that you sent actually arriving or have two parties in between taking $5 out each and only 90 is arriving, et cetera. We deal with all of that complexity by actually do use stable coin for cross border payments. We think there's B to B cross border opportunity, there's B to B cross border opportunity. But P to M as in everyday purchases, we saw that pretty well, so we're putting our energy where we really think there is a problem to solve. [inaudible] my mindset it's never about the technology. It's about whose problem can we solve.

Tom Gardner: When you say you're pretty agnostic about what rail it runs on, are you completely agnostic, or are there just certain better?

Michael Miebach: No, we're pretty agnostic. But here's the reason. Your follow-up question should be, why? Why are we not completely agnostic? Because we have built 60 years. We have invested 60 years into building the largest acceptance footprint out there. Any merchant and any individual does not want a payment solution, and it can only reach a fraction of the potential endpoints. You want scale. You want predictability. You want protection. Those things are not actually delivered through stablecoins. We still would like to go that route. But there are certain things where I'd say probably it doesn't actually matter that much here. Or it's such a specific use case. We use this technology, and we invest the time to build out those protections over there anyway. That just takes a little bit more time. This answer is true for today and for tomorrow in the near-term future, but in five years, this might look very different, and we're going to certainly be on the forefront of that.

Bart Shannon: That was Part 1 of the discussion. Tune in next week for Part 2. As always, people on the program may have interest in the stocks they talk about, and the Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. All personal finance content follows Motley Fool editorial standards and is not approved by advertisers. Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. To see our full advertising disclosure, please check out our show notes. For the Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing team, I'm producer Bart Shannon. Thanks for listening. See you next time.

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 16th, 2026

Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 20,170 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,759,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 102 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting First Solar Here are the key news stories impacting First Solar this week:

Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird upgraded First Solar to Outperform and established a $318 price target. The firm said a Section 232 tariff decision removes a key overhang and could allow customers to resume bookings, improving the company’s outlook. First Solar Upgraded at Robert W. Baird Positive Sentiment: Solar power generated more electricity than wind globally for the first time last year and nearly matched nuclear generation. The milestone supports the broader growth case for solar manufacturers such as First Solar, although it does not represent a company-specific earnings update. Solar Power Hits Big Milestone, Trumping Wind For First Time Neutral Sentiment: First Solar’s general counsel sold 3,700 shares worth approximately $922,706 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The transaction reduced his holdings by about 40%, but the planned nature of the sale limits its value as a signal about management’s current expectations. Jason Dymbort Sells First Solar Shares Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms are publicizing a securities class action against First Solar and certain officers. The alleged class period is February 26, 2025, through February 24, 2026, and investors have until August 24, 2026, to seek lead-plaintiff status. The notices allege securities-law violations and investor losses related to disclosures concerning tariffs and company guidance; the allegations have not been proven. Pomerantz First Solar Class Action Filing Analysts Set New Price Targets Several analysts recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Robert W. Baird set a $318.00 target price on shares of First Solar and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. HSBC upgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on First Solar from $217.00 to $197.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $261.79.

Read Our Latest Research Report on First Solar

First Solar Trading Up 0.8% FSLR stock opened at $225.56 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $179.06 and a twelve month high of $320.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $233.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.87. The stock has a market cap of $24.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.75.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $1.02. First Solar had a net margin of 32.47% and a return on equity of 18.02%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity In related news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 4,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.43, for a total value of $1,191,375.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 89,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,029,435.19. The trade was a 5.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 10,628 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.60, for a total transaction of $2,929,076.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 23,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,557,075.20. This represents a 30.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 30,979 shares of company stock worth $7,694,724 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Company Profile (Free Report)

First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.

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Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 16th, 2026

BCGM Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM – Free Report) by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,288 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,194 shares during the period. Philip Morris International comprises 1.2% of BCGM Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. BCGM Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. AG Campbell Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 146.5% during the first quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research firms recently issued reports on PM. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.89.

Read Our Latest Analysis on PM

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.8% Philip Morris International stock opened at $190.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.38. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.11 and a twelve month high of $207.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.00.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.15. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 163.41% and a net margin of 11.06%.The firm had revenue of $11.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Philip Morris International has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 8.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were given a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 25th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 84.48%.

Philip Morris International Company Profile (Free Report)

Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) is a global tobacco company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, other nicotine-containing products and a growing portfolio of smoke-free alternatives for adult smokers. The firm traces its corporate roots to the 19th century Philip Morris enterprise and was established as an independent, publicly traded company following a 2008 separation from what is now Altria. Since the spin-off, the company has focused on serving international markets outside the United States.

PMI’s product mix includes traditional combustible cigarettes as well as smoke-free offerings such as heated tobacco systems and other reduced-risk products.

See Also Five stocks we like better than Philip Morris International Is Best Buy the AI Winner Hiding in the Electronics Aisle? Applied Materials Beat Everything but Wall Street’s Expectations for Margins Back From Orbit, Intuitive Machines’ Share Price Enters the Buy Zone Texas Roadhouse and Brinker International Have the Recipe Rivals Are Missing

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Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Free Report) by 2,956.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,342 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after buying an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in Booking by 1,497.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,665,168,000 after acquiring an additional 816,022 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Booking by 66,209.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 659,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,600,000 after acquiring an additional 658,788 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Booking by 2,548.6% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 649,602 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,785,000 after acquiring an additional 625,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,271,041,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $206,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,100,500. This trade represents a 6.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.6% Shares of BKNG stock opened at $212.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $159.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $184.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.84. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BKNG. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $274.00 price target (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72.

Check Out Our Latest Report on BKNG

Booking Profile (Free Report)

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.

Recommended Stories Five stocks we like better than Booking Is Best Buy the AI Winner Hiding in the Electronics Aisle? Applied Materials Beat Everything but Wall Street’s Expectations for Margins Back From Orbit, Intuitive Machines’ Share Price Enters the Buy Zone Texas Roadhouse and Brinker International Have the Recipe Rivals Are Missing Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BKNG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Free Report).

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BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF – Free Report) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,719 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Capital One Financial were worth $10,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Capital One Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,897,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,789,615,000 after purchasing an additional 360,071 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Capital One Financial by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,476,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,023,795,000 after purchasing an additional 638,158 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Capital One Financial by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,677,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,103,196,000 after purchasing an additional 323,350 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Capital One Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,089,803,000. Finally, Davis Selected Advisers lifted its position in shares of Capital One Financial by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 8,614,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,087,878,000 after buying an additional 234,649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.84% of the company’s stock.

Capital One Financial Stock Performance
Shares of COF opened at $227.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $139.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $204.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.21. Capital One Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $174.24 and a 12-month high of $259.64.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $5.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.79 by $1.02. Capital One Financial had a net margin of 13.37% and a return on equity of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $15.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Capital One Financial Corporation will post 20.19 EPS for the current year.

Capital One Financial Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Capital One Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
COF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Capital One Financial from $242.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Capital One Financial from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. HSBC raised shares of Capital One Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $226.00 to $229.00 in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on Capital One Financial from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Capital One Financial from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Capital One Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.36.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on COF

Insider Buying and Selling at Capital One Financial
In other Capital One Financial news, insider Ravi Raghu sold 9,726 shares of Capital One Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.78, for a total value of $2,040,320.28. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 26,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,523,087.84. The trade was a 26.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Timothy P. Golden sold 3,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total transaction of $735,757.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,567,519. The trade was a 31.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,186 shares of company stock valued at $4,697,301. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

About Capital One Financial
(Free Report)

Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) is a diversified bank holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia. The company’s core businesses include credit card lending, consumer and commercial banking, and auto finance. Capital One issues a wide range of credit card products for consumers and small businesses, and it operates deposit and digital banking services aimed at retail customers and small to midsize enterprises.

Products and services include credit and charge cards, checking and savings accounts (including the online-focused Capital One 360 platform), auto loans, and commercial lending solutions.

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Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 16th, 2026

Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 236,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,140,000. US Foods makes up approximately 1.5% of Avalon Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Avalon Trust Co owned about 0.11% of US Foods as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of USFD. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in US Foods by 85.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 148,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,722,000 after buying an additional 68,567 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of US Foods during the first quarter worth approximately $359,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of US Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $526,000. Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new position in US Foods in the 2nd quarter worth about $252,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in US Foods by 20.5% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 47,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 8,162 shares in the last quarter. 98.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

US Foods Stock Down 1.2% Shares of USFD stock opened at $108.72 on Friday. US Foods Holding Corp. has a 1 year low of $69.88 and a 1 year high of $111.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $99.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.81.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $10.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.46 billion. US Foods had a net margin of 1.81% and a return on equity of 20.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. US Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.696-4.935 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that US Foods Holding Corp. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at US Foods In other news, insider William Spencer Hancock sold 21,754 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total transaction of $2,355,740.66. Following the transaction, the insider owned 101,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,952,883.76. This trade represents a 17.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Randy J. Taylor sold 11,630 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.37, for a total value of $1,283,603.10. Following the transaction, the insider owned 73,618 shares in the company, valued at $8,125,218.66. The trade was a 13.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets Several analysts have recently commented on USFD shares. Wall Street Zen raised US Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of US Foods from $88.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of US Foods from $98.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of US Foods from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of US Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.92.

View Our Latest Research Report on US Foods

About US Foods (Free Report)

US Foods (NYSE: USFD) is a leading foodservice distributor in the United States that supplies a wide range of products and services to professional food operators. The company provides fresh, frozen and dry food items as well as non-food restaurant supplies and kitchen equipment. Its customer base includes independent restaurants, multi-unit chains, healthcare and senior living facilities, hospitality businesses, government and educational institutions, and other foodservice operators.

Beyond commodity and branded food products, US Foods offers value-added solutions designed to help customers run their businesses.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than US Foods Is Best Buy the AI Winner Hiding in the Electronics Aisle? Applied Materials Beat Everything but Wall Street’s Expectations for Margins Back From Orbit, Intuitive Machines’ Share Price Enters the Buy Zone Texas Roadhouse and Brinker International Have the Recipe Rivals Are Missing Want to see what other hedge funds are holding USFD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD – Free Report).

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Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 16th, 2026

Asset Dedication LLC trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 25.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,879 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 24,681 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.3% of Asset Dedication LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,189,000 after purchasing an additional 3,014 shares during the period. Eaton Cambridge Inc. raised its position in Apple by 21.3% in the first quarter. Eaton Cambridge Inc. now owns 13,968 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 108.3% during the first quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,880,000 after buying an additional 18,188 shares during the period. Finally, Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $105,482,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 0.2% NASDAQ AAPL opened at $305.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.78 and a 52 week high of $344.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $308.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $285.19.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The company’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 12.39%.

Insider Activity In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total value of $442,852.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 40,107 shares in the company, valued at $12,342,929.25. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly training a China-specific large language model with Alibaba’s support. The initiative could bring Apple Intelligence to Chinese users, improve Apple’s competitive position against Huawei and reduce reliance on third-party AI models in a key market. Apple trains China-specific AI model Positive Sentiment: Apple opened an advanced manufacturing center in Houston that will support AI-server production, Mac mini assembly and workforce training. The facility reinforces Apple’s U.S. investment plans and may improve supply-chain resilience and relations with policymakers. Apple opens Houston manufacturing facility Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly received about $2.2 billion in tariff refunds. The cash recovery could offset some trade-related expenses and support near-term earnings and cash flow. Apple tariff refund report Positive Sentiment: Apple is discussing usage-based content agreements with publishers to improve the upgraded Siri’s access to current information. A stronger Siri could help narrow Apple’s perceived AI gap and support future services growth. Apple publisher talks for Siri Neutral Sentiment: Apple proposed a 15% commission on purchases made through external links in iOS apps amid its continuing legal dispute with Epic. The proposal could preserve some App Store revenue, but the final regulatory and legal outcome remains uncertain. Apple proposes external purchase commission Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s valuation remains demanding, with a market capitalization near $4.5 trillion and a forward earnings outlook that leaves the stock sensitive to execution. An insider sale by SVP Jennifer Newstead was disclosed, though such transactions do not necessarily indicate a change in corporate fundamentals. Apple insider sale Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple, citing concerns about the canceled or delayed all-glass iPhone concept, limited near-term AI momentum and rising memory-chip costs. Higher component prices could pressure margins and make it harder for Apple to justify its premium valuation. Jefferies Apple downgrade and iPhone concerns Negative Sentiment: Google’s Pixel 11 is placing Gemini more deeply into the smartphone experience, raising the competitive stakes for Apple ahead of the iPhone 18 launch and Siri’s broader overhaul. Analysts Set New Price Targets AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. DZ Bank downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $310.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.60.

Get Our Latest Report on Apple

About Apple (Free Report)

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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BayBridge Capital Group LLC lowered its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 67.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 837 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,729 shares during the quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $59,963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,395,763 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after purchasing an additional 878,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,558,637 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,112,735,000 after purchasing an additional 310,947 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Meta’s long-term outlook, citing 28% revenue growth, resilient advertising demand and additional monetization opportunities in WhatsApp. Some commentary argues that the market is assigning little value to future AI and messaging revenue streams. Meta Has $27 Billion That Isn’t On Its Balance Sheet Positive Sentiment: Meta released Glimmer, an open-weight AI model that users can download and run on their own hardware, supporting Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy of broadening access to AI. The move could strengthen developer adoption and Meta’s competitive position, although its financial payoff is uncertain. Meta’s open AI, and a $250M deal gone very wrong Neutral Sentiment: Meta removed approximately 756,000 suspected under-16 accounts in Australia—462,000 from Instagram and 294,000 from Facebook—as it enforces the country’s youth social-media restrictions. The action demonstrates regulatory compliance but may raise moderation costs and reduce engagement among younger users. Meta says it has taken down 756,000 Australian teen accounts Neutral Sentiment: Institutional trading was mixed: Dodge & Cox increased its position by 1.47 million shares, while Sands Capital and Columbus Hill reduced their stakes. These transactions may influence sentiment but do not by themselves change Meta’s fundamentals. Dodge and Cox boosts Meta Platforms stake Negative Sentiment: A Ninth Circuit ruling removed a procedural barrier to more than 3,000 lawsuits alleging Meta’s product features harm young users. The court did not determine liability, but the decision allows the cases to proceed and adds potential litigation costs, damages and pressure to change platform design. How Serious Are Thousands of Addiction Lawsuits for Meta and Snap? Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Meta’s roughly $145 billion AI investment plan and major data-center projects could produce diminishing returns, compress margins and weigh on free cash flow before monetization catches up. Meta: Diminishing Q2 CapEx ROI Is Alarming Negative Sentiment: Meta COO Javier Olivan disclosed additional sales under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, while several funds also trimmed holdings. Although planned insider sales are not necessarily bearish, they can add to near-term selling pressure. Meta COO insider stock sale Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages have recently commented on META. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $1,015.00 to $883.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $766.00 to $715.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $785.32.

Get Our Latest Report on Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.9% Shares of META stock opened at $589.85 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $595.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $620.41.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 1,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $754,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 1,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $910,200. This trade represents a 45.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total value of $280,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,943 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,671.08. This represents a 14.52% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 36,280 shares of company stock valued at $22,075,696 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Profile (Free Report)

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.

Featured Stories Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms Is Best Buy the AI Winner Hiding in the Electronics Aisle? Applied Materials Beat Everything but Wall Street’s Expectations for Margins Back From Orbit, Intuitive Machines’ Share Price Enters the Buy Zone Texas Roadhouse and Brinker International Have the Recipe Rivals Are Missing

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For Alphabet (GOOG -0.12%) (GOOGL -0.13%), I think there's one metric that defines the entire stock: Its cloud computing growth rate. In Q2, Google Cloud revenues grew at an incredible 82% pace. That's about double the pace its cloud computing peers are growing at.

I think this showcases that Alphabet's platform is rising as one of the best available, and if it keeps this growth up, it could push the stock to new heights. I think that adds up to make Alphabet stock a great buy, particularly now, while it's still down by more than 10% from its all-time high.

Image source: Getty Images.

Google Cloud's growth rate isn't done accelerating What makes Google Cloud's Q2 growth rate of 82% so impressive is how quickly it has accelerated. In Q1, it was 63%. In Q4 2025, it was 48%, and in Q3 2025, it was 34%. That's some rapid acceleration, and I think there's a pretty easy explanation for it.

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Alphabet has been spending big on data center infrastructure over the past few years, but those outlays really ramped up in 2025. As the resulting computing capacity came online throughout the year and into 2026, it allowed Alphabet to convert more of its cloud backlog into growth. Last month, Alphabet increased its capital expenditure guidance range for 2026 by another $15 billion to $195 billion to $205 billion, around double 2025's levels.

GOOG Capital Expenditures (TTM) data by YCharts.

This will extend its rapid growth rate well into 2027, but I think that trend could last for several more years beyond that. During Q1's conference call, Alphabet's management team informed investors that 2027's capital expenditures would be "significantly" higher than 2026's. That showcases that the company perceives that there's still massive unmet demand, and that will allow Google Cloud's revenue growth rate to stay elevated.

Another catalyst that's coming later this year and into 2027 is the sales of its custom AI chips, Tensor Processing Units (TPUs). TPUs are incredible computing units and can outperform GPUs on a cost basis as long as the workload is properly configured and within the narrow range of workloads they are designed for. They were designed in-house by Google in collaboration with Broadcom (AVGO -5.94%), and adding sales to external customers to the results from its already booming computing unit will add fuel to the fire.

Over the next few quarters, I wouldn't be surprised to see this business unit post triple-digit percentage growth rates, which will boost Alphabet's business overall. This makes Alphabet a great stock to consider buying now, as it's just beginning to benefit from one of the greatest growth catalysts it has ever experienced.

Essential Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 119.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,289 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,884 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 0.7% of Essential Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Essential Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $199,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after buying an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 138.8% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $502,077,000 after acquiring an additional 788,297 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.3%
NASDAQ MSFT opened at $495.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $411.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $408.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to highlight Microsoft’s Azure expansion, accelerating Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption, and the company’s ability to sustain double-digit earnings growth. Microsoft’s latest quarter also exceeded expectations, with revenue of approximately $90 billion and earnings growth supported by Azure. Microsoft’s Cloud Gains Can Sustain Double-Digit Earnings Growth
Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Microsoft price target to $625, citing stronger Copilot demand and accelerating infrastructure investment. Other analysts remain bullish, with a six-month median target near $540, reinforcing investor confidence in Microsoft’s long-term AI positioning. JPMorgan Raises Microsoft Price Target
Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is combining its consumer and enterprise Copilot applications into a unified platform, potentially improving distribution, user engagement, and monetization as it competes with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Microsoft Unifies Copilot Applications
Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft approved the first AI data-center deployment under its $9.7 billion agreement with IREN, supporting Azure capacity expansion. The deal improves supply visibility but also underscores Microsoft’s substantial capital requirements. IREN Delivers First AI Cloud Deployment
Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s roughly $175 billion AI infrastructure spending plan could pressure free cash flow and cloud margins. A reported decline in cloud gross margin and higher data-center, chip, electricity, and labor costs raise questions about how much of the company’s large AI backlog will translate into profit. Microsoft’s AI Backlog and Profitability Concerns
Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft has closed at least 15 China offices and joint ventures add geopolitical and operational uncertainty, although Azure reportedly provides a profitable reason to retain a limited China presence. Microsoft Retreats in China

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho decreased their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. China Renaissance cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, UBS Group set a $525.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $560.27.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT

Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft
(Free Report)

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

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Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 264,958 shares of the Internet television network’s stock, valued at approximately $18,918,000. Netflix makes up 1.2% of Avalon Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Netflix by 912.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 390,014,981 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $36,567,805,000 after buying an additional 351,493,659 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Netflix by 927.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 176,780,995 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $16,574,986,000 after acquiring an additional 159,578,053 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Netflix by 892.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,598,678 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $9,305,336,000 after acquiring an additional 89,558,684 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Netflix by 859.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 89,341,444 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $8,376,656,000 after acquiring an additional 80,025,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Netflix by 685.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 86,058,878 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $8,068,882,000 after purchasing an additional 75,107,069 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently issued reports on NFLX. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $95.00 price target on Netflix and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Pivotal Research cut their target price on Netflix from $96.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Barclays reduced their target price on Netflix from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Netflix in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Netflix in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Netflix currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.48.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Netflix

Netflix Stock Performance
Shares of Netflix stock opened at $78.16 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $325.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.52. Netflix, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.08 and a 12 month high of $126.71.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The Internet television network reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.58 billion. Netflix had a return on equity of 40.02% and a net margin of 28.22%.The company’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Netflix, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CEO Theodore A. Sarandos sold 105,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.03, for a total transaction of $7,730,225.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 206,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,063,605.98. This represents a 33.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 9,248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.79, for a total transaction of $700,905.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 73,787 shares in the company, valued at $5,592,316.73. This trade represents a 11.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 600,295 shares of company stock worth $49,056,671 in the last three months. 1.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Netflix
Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square disclosed a new Netflix position of approximately 3.15 million shares, representing about 4.9% of the fund’s portfolio. Ackman said Netflix has effectively “won the streaming wars,” renewing investor interest after the stock’s major sell-off. Reuters article
Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investing commentators point to Netflix’s resilient fundamentals: second-quarter revenue rose 13.4% year over year to $12.6 billion, earnings per share slightly exceeded estimates, and profitability remained strong. The advertising business, expanding margins and a valuation viewed as reasonable relative to growth are supporting the bullish case. Zacks article
Positive Sentiment: Netflix’s continued push into live sports—including an MLB “Field of Dreams” game—and the extension of its Seinfeld agreement could strengthen engagement, advertising opportunities and content retention. MLB live sports article
Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning is mixed: some large investors added shares while others reduced holdings. Analysts’ reported price targets remain above the current market level, but investors still must weigh valuation and slowing growth expectations.
Negative Sentiment: Netflix closed its Hollywood-based Night School gaming studio and plans to close Helsinki-based Moonloot. The closures may improve focus and reduce costs, but they also raise questions about the company’s gaming strategy and ability to expand beyond streaming. Los Angeles Times article
Negative Sentiment: Reported insider trading shows 30 Netflix open-market sales and no purchases over the past six months. While such sales may reflect compensation or diversification, the one-sided pattern can weigh on sentiment and contrasts with Ackman’s new bullish position. Quiver Quantitative article

Netflix Company Profile
(Free Report)

Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) is a global entertainment company that provides subscription-based streaming of films, television series, documentaries and other video content. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph and headquartered in Los Gatos, California, the company began as a DVD-by-mail rental service and introduced streaming video in 2007. Netflix later expanded into producing and distributing original programming, beginning notable original hits in the 2010s, and now operates a content production and distribution ecosystem alongside its licensing activity.

The company’s primary product is its on-demand streaming service, which can be accessed on a wide range of internet-connected devices and delivered through a suite of apps and web platforms.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NFLX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX – Free Report).

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Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 16th, 2026

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 162,736 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $19,114,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CSCO. Summit Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $703,000. S&CO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter worth $12,583,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the 2nd quarter worth $1,703,000. EJMK Ventures LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the second quarter valued at about $1,200,000. Finally, Bellars Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cisco Systems in the second quarter valued at about $13,255,000. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. New Street Research boosted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Cisco Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.43.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Cisco Systems

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.12, for a total value of $315,759.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 172,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,920,694.24. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $2,568,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 637,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,469,312.55. The trade was a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,134 shares of company stock valued at $3,739,000. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance Shares of CSCO stock opened at $111.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $440.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.75 and a 52 week high of $130.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.09.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Cisco Systems has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.050-5.110 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.320-1.340 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 50.30%.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems Here are the key news stories impacting Cisco Systems this week:

Positive Sentiment: AI demand is accelerating. Cisco reported fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $17.3 billion, up 18% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $1.22 versus the $1.17 consensus estimate. AI infrastructure orders increased 4.5 times to $9.3 billion for fiscal 2026, while management expects approximately $7.5 billion of hyperscaler AI infrastructure revenue in fiscal 2027. Chuck Robbins Says AI Is Fueling a Networking Supercycle Positive Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 guidance exceeded expectations. Management forecast roughly 15% revenue growth, supported by hyperscaler spending, data-center switching and broader networking upgrades. Several firms—including UBS, Truist, Wells Fargo, KeyCorp, Morgan Stanley and Rosenblatt—raised their price targets and maintained bullish ratings, suggesting long-term upside if the AI networking cycle continues. Cisco Just Gave Investors Three Big Reasons to Be Bullish Neutral Sentiment: The market is demanding faster growth. Despite the earnings beat and upbeat outlook, Cisco’s shares have decreased because expectations were already elevated after a substantial rally. Investors are questioning whether the company’s AI momentum can remain strong beyond the current infrastructure buildout and whether Cisco’s premium valuation is justified. Cisco Shares Slide Despite Earnings Beat and Strong Guidance Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure is the primary concern. AI infrastructure growth is arriving mainly through lower-margin hardware, creating mix-related gross-margin compression and raising questions about how profitably Cisco can scale orders. HSBC downgraded CSCO to Hold from Buy and reduced its price target to $120 from $137, citing a lack of near-term catalysts even after the strong quarter. Cisco Beat on Every Line, Then Fell on What AI Costs to Ship Cisco Systems Profile (Free Report)

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that designs, manufactures and sells networking hardware, software and telecommunications equipment. Its core business focuses on enabling enterprise and service-provider networks through products such as routers, switches, network security appliances and wireless systems. Over time Cisco has broadened its portfolio to emphasize software-defined networking, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and edge computing solutions that help organizations build and manage modern IT environments.

In addition to hardware, Cisco offers a growing range of software platforms and subscription services for network management, security, analytics and collaboration.

See Also Five stocks we like better than Cisco Systems Is Best Buy the AI Winner Hiding in the Electronics Aisle? Applied Materials Beat Everything but Wall Street’s Expectations for Margins Back From Orbit, Intuitive Machines’ Share Price Enters the Buy Zone Texas Roadhouse and Brinker International Have the Recipe Rivals Are Missing

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Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 16th, 2026

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,677 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,089,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 76.9% in the third quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 115 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Sherman Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Sherman Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Southern Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Southern Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 7,836 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Talisman Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Talisman Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ORCL. Arete Research set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Oracle and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $319.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.97.

View Our Latest Analysis on ORCL

Oracle News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

Positive Sentiment: Oracle and Amazon Web Services expanded their long-term collaboration, with Oracle AI Database@AWS now available in 22 AWS regions. The offering includes Exadata-class performance and pay-per-use pricing, potentially accelerating enterprise cloud migrations and AI-related revenue. Oracle and AWS Deepen Strategic Collaboration Positive Sentiment: A multiyear partnership with Quantinuum will bring quantum-computing capabilities to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Although an early-stage opportunity, the deal broadens Oracle’s AI and cloud growth narrative and helped support investor interest. Quantinuum’s Cloud Deal With Oracle Neutral Sentiment: Oracle’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with revenue rising 20.6% year over year and earnings surpassing consensus estimates. However, investors remain focused on whether growth can offset the capital requirements of Oracle’s AI infrastructure buildout. Neutral Sentiment: Technical coverage has identified the 50-day moving average as an important support or resistance level. This may encourage short-term trading activity but does not materially change the company’s fundamental outlook. Oracle Crossed Above the 50-Day Moving Average Negative Sentiment: Reports that Oracle is considering additional layoffs have heightened concerns about cash flow and operating pressure as the company funds aggressive AI data-center expansion. The spending is also increasing leverage and debt-servicing risk. Oracle Weighs Another Round of Job Cuts Negative Sentiment: Credit-downgrade concerns, higher bond-insurance costs and Oracle’s substantial debt burden are fueling fears that AI investment could strain its balance sheet. These concerns are the primary reason behind the recent sell-off. Oracle Junk Bond Fears and Debt Surge Negative Sentiment: Investor Michael Burry reportedly increased his short position in Oracle, arguing that excess AI-computing capacity could emerge by 2028. The high-profile bearish call adds pressure to a stock already facing skepticism about AI valuations and spending returns. Michael Burry Doubles Down on Oracle Shorts Insider Activity at Oracle In related news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.16, for a total transaction of $63,664,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,664,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 40.90% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance Oracle stock opened at $150.32 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $149.89 and a 200-day moving average of $161.60. Oracle Corporation has a 52-week low of $114.50 and a 52-week high of $345.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $432.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.15. Oracle had a net margin of 25.37% and a return on equity of 58.62%. The business had revenue of $19.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Oracle has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.720-1.760 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 8.050-8.050 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.31%.

Oracle Profile (Free Report)

Oracle Corporation is a multinational technology company that develops and sells database software, cloud engineered systems, enterprise software applications and related services. The company is widely known for its flagship Oracle Database and a portfolio of enterprise-grade software products that support data management, application development, analytics and middleware. Over recent years Oracle has expanded its focus to include cloud infrastructure and cloud applications, positioning itself as a provider of both platform and software-as-a-service solutions for large organizations.

Oracle’s product and service offerings include Oracle Database and the Autonomous Database, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), enterprise resource planning (ERP), human capital management (HCM) and supply chain management (SCM) cloud applications (often grouped under Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications), middleware such as WebLogic, and developer technologies including Java and MySQL.

Recommended Stories Five stocks we like better than Oracle Is Best Buy the AI Winner Hiding in the Electronics Aisle? Applied Materials Beat Everything but Wall Street’s Expectations for Margins Back From Orbit, Intuitive Machines’ Share Price Enters the Buy Zone Texas Roadhouse and Brinker International Have the Recipe Rivals Are Missing Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ORCL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL – Free Report).

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LONG BEACH, Calif., Aug. 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rocket Lab Corporation (Nasdaq: RKLB), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced the successful launch of eight advanced satellite platforms the Company built for MDA Space (TSX: MDA; NYSE: MDA), prime contractor for the replenishment of Globalstar’s (Nasdaq: GSAT) existing constellation, which provides direct-to-device communications services and IoT applications from orbit.

The satellite platforms are the first batch in a constellation of 17 platforms Rocket Lab has built under a $143 million deal with MDA Space.

The first eight of the 17 satellites were launched on Aug. 15 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 9:12 p.m. ET.

Rocket Lab has made contact with all eight satellites and confirmed all are performing nominally and generating power on orbit. Spacecraft commissioning has now begun to prepare the satellites to extend reliable mobile satellite services to customers globally as part of Globalstar’s existing network.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, says: “Our satellite platforms are a powerful demonstration of Rocket Lab’s capabilities brought to life. From spacecraft platform design, build, testing, and on-orbit operations, we’re executing across the entire mission lifecycle and our approach is delivering the speed, reliability, and agility that competitive direct-to-device constellations like this one demand. With our scaled manufacturing, operational expertise, and vertically integrated satellite platforms that bring cost and schedule under control, we’re positioned to be the partner of choice for the constellation economy and proud to have supported this deployment for MDA Space and its customer Globalstar.”

The 500kg satellite platforms are a tailored version of the Company’s standard Lightning platform. Built and tested at Rocket Lab’s Headquarters in Long Beach, California, the satellite platforms feature the Company’s suite of in-house components and subsystems including solar arrays, reaction wheels, flight & ground software, parts of the suite of avionics, and Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TT&C) radios.

The Lightning platform is in production for multiple other high-profile missions, including a recently awarded space domain awareness program with the U.S. Space Force and the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 2 Transport Layer-Beta and Tranche 3 Tracking Layer constellations.

Rocket Lab Media
Matt McKinney
[email protected]

About Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab is a leading space company that provides launch services, spacecraft, payloads and satellite components serving commercial, government, and national security markets. Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket is the world’s most frequently launched orbital small rocket; its HASTE rocket provides hypersonic test launch capability for the U.S. government and allied nations; and its Neutron launch vehicle in development will unlock medium launch for constellation deployment, national security and exploration missions. Rocket Lab’s spacecraft and satellite components have enabled more than 1,700 missions spanning commercial, defense and national security missions including GPS, constellations, and exploration missions to the Moon, Mars, and Venus. Rocket Lab is a publicly listed company on the Nasdaq stock exchange (RKLB). Learn more at www.rocketlabcorp.com.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding our launch and space systems operations, launch schedule and window, safe and repeatable access to space, Neutron development, operational expansion and business strategy, and statements regarding our satellite capabilities, manufacturing scale, and constellation support are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “potential,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “target,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements use these words or expressions. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the factors, risks and uncertainties included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations section of our website at https://investors.rocketlabcorp.com which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/17902b54-0174-466d-9466-fff7a79c5324

Rocket Lab Lightning Bus
Rocket Lab Satellite Platforms Built for MDA Space Successfully Reach Orbit, Supporting Globalstar D...

Timothy Mathias Eaton, the chief financial officer of AppFolio, Inc. (APPF +0.12%), disposed of 949 shares of Class A Common Stock on August 10, according to an SEC Form 4 filing.

Transaction summaryMetricValueTransaction value$189,000Shares sold949Post-transaction common shares (directly held)17,087Post-transaction value$3.4 millionTransaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average sale price ($199.54); post-transaction value based on the August 10 market close ($199.54).

Key questionsWas this a discretionary market transaction?
The disposal was non-discretionary and occurred automatically to cover minimum tax obligations arising from the vesting of performance-based and time-based restricted stock units.What was the scope of the underlying vesting event?
The shares were withheld in connection with eight separate award tranches granted between March 2023 and January 2026 under the company's 2015 and 2025 Omnibus Incentive Plans.How substantial is the executive's remaining equity position?
Eaton maintains a direct holding of 17,087 shares with a market value of $3.41 million as of the August 10 market close.What is the recent performance context for the stock?
As of the August 10 transaction date, the company's shares had a one-year total return of -30%, while the stock was priced at $203.02 as of the August 11 market close.Company OverviewMetricValueShare Price (as of market close 2026-08-11)$203.02Market Capitalization$7.3 billionRevenue (TTM)$1.0 billionNet Income (TTM)$157.5 millionCompany SnapshotAppFolio provides a comprehensive cloud-based platform for the real estate industry, offering integrated solutions for accounting, reporting, marketing, leasing, maintenance, workflow automation, and communication services to property management companies.The company generates revenue through subscription-based software-as-a-service offerings, including AppFolio Property Manager Core and other specialized modules that serve as systems of record for small to mid-sized property management operations.AppFolio's primary customer base consists of small and mid-market property management companies in the United States seeking to streamline operations and improve efficiency through cloud-based technology solutions.AppFolio is a market-leading provider of cloud-based software solutions for the real estate industry, with a $7.3 billion market capitalization and $1.0 billion in TTM revenue. The company maintains a competitive advantage through its integrated platform approach, which consolidates multiple operational functions into a single system of record, reducing implementation complexity and increasing customer switching costs. With a net income of $157.5 million TTM, AppFolio demonstrates strong profitability and operational leverage in the software-as-a-service sector.

What this transaction means for investorsEaton's filing is a small tax withholding, which is the kind of filing that really says nothing about how the finance chief views the stock. The numbers he oversees as CFO, however, are where AppFolio's story gets interesting. The company reported last month that revenue grew 19% to $281 million while non-GAAP operating margin reached 27%, so this is a software business that is both growing near 20% and genuinely profitable, a combination the market often pays up for. Growth is coming from AI that's being increasingly woven into the product, which nearly a third of units now access through AppFolio's premium tiers. On the earnings call, Eaton pointed to margin discipline even as the company invests, though he flagged that added data-center capacity for AI usage is nudging costs higher.

That last point is the tension Eaton has to manage. AppFolio's AI features are winning customers and lifting revenue, but running them costs real money in compute, so the question underneath the strong margins is whether the company can keep expanding them while pouring more into the AI that drives the growth.

Jonathan Ponciano has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AppFolio. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

John Patrick Darby, EVP and general counsel of Encompass Health Corporation (EHC +0.03%), sold 8,906 shares of common stock on August 10, according to an SEC Form 4 filing.

Transaction summaryMetricValueShares sold (directly held)8,906Transaction value$1.1 millionPost-transaction shares (directly held)75,041Post-transaction value$9.44 millionTransaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average sale price ($125.95); post-transaction value based on the August 10 market close ($125.81).

Key questionsHow does this sale impact the executive's overall equity exposure?
The disposal of 8,906 shares accounted for 11% of the insider's direct common stock position, resulting in a remaining direct stake of 75,041 shares.What was the execution range for the reported transaction?
The shares were sold in multiple transactions at prices ranging from $125.94 to $126.04, yielding a weighted average price of $125.95.What is the financial profile of Encompass Health at the time of this trade?
The company, a provider of post-acute healthcare services, reported $6.2 billion in trailing-twelve-month revenue and $621.0 million in net income, supporting a market capitalization of $12.5 billion as of the August 10 market close.Does the insider maintain other forms of beneficial ownership?
Total beneficial ownership is reported at 75,041 shares, which align with the executive's direct common stock holdings following this transaction.Company OverviewMetricValueShare Price (as of market close 2026-08-10)$125.81Market Capitalization$12.5 billionRevenue (TTM)$6.2 billionNet Income (TTM)$621.0 millionCompany SnapshotEncompass Health Corporation operates a diversified post-acute healthcare platform delivering inpatient rehabilitation services and home health and hospice care across the United States through both dedicated facilities and in-home settings.The company generates revenue through its two primary divisions: Inpatient Rehabilitation, which provides focused recovery treatment on an inpatient and outpatient basis, and Home Health and Hospice, which delivers care services directly to patients in their residences.Encompass Health serves patients transitioning from acute care settings, including those recovering from significant illnesses, surgeries, and injuries, with a customer base comprised of healthcare systems, insurance providers, and individual patients requiring post-acute care services.Encompass Health Corporation is a leading operator in the post-acute healthcare sector, with a market capitalization of $12.5 billion and TTM revenues of $6.2 billion, positioning it as a significant provider of rehabilitation and home-based care services. The company's diversified business model across inpatient facilities and home health services provides revenue stability and exposure to the growing demand for post-acute care driven by an aging population and the shift toward value-based care delivery. With over 42,000 employees and a strong net income margin of approximately 10% on TTM revenues, Encompass Health maintains operational scale and profitability in a fragmented market characterized by consolidation opportunities.

What this transaction means for investorsDarby wasn't alone among insiders selling shares after a strong earnings report lifted the stock, and the quarter they sold into had a specific tailwind worth noting. Beyond the 10% revenue growth and the raised guidance, Encompass benefits from a coming Medicare rate increase, the firm noted on its latest earnings call. Federal regulators finalized a rule in late July lifting payments for inpatient rehabilitation by about 2.3% starting in October, and because Medicare covers a large share of Encompass patients, that adjustment flows fairly directly toward its results, and it was part of why management raised its outlook for the second time this year.

The reimbursement backdrop is the real thing for shareholders to track, more than three insiders trimming after a rally. Encompass grows by adding hospital capacity into steady demand, but its pricing leans on government rates, so a favorable Medicare update helps and an unfavorable one would sting.

Jonathan Ponciano has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

It had been a difficult year for shareholders of Microsoft (MSFT -0.30%), who saw the stock grind lower throughout 2026. Then, fourth-quarter earnings (fiscal year 2026) happened, and shares shot up 18% in a week, a remarkable move for a stock worth over $3 trillion.

And just like that, Microsoft's stock is positive for the year. Months of anguish have fallen to the wayside. Perhaps the best news yet, it's not too late to buy the stock. Here's what you need to know.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Microsoft's Azure and AI continue to roll on
The first question is naturally: why did Microsoft surge on Q4 earnings? Investors went into earnings laser-focused on Microsoft's AI progress and apparently came away impressed.

Revenue grew by 18% year over year to $90 billion for the quarter, and net income soared 31% versus the prior year. Azure is the primary engine driving this, with 43% growth and topping $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time.

Importantly, Microsoft's AI strategy is progressing.

CEO Satya Nadella noted that Microsoft 365 Copilot has surpassed 30 million paid seats, an encouraging sign that the company's infamous stickiness with enterprises is bearing fruit once again. Nadella also emphasized that AI demand continues to outpace supply, despite the ongoing investments into data centers and other infrastructure.

One of the world's best tech companies still trades at a reasonable price
Microsoft's hefty AI investments have been a legitimate concern, and the stock's slide has much to do with questions regarding whether the company can generate a sufficient return on all that spending.

Nadella has repositioned Microsoft as a more cost-effective AI provider, leaning harder into its own silicon and frontier models. This seems to be resonating with customers as the market raises concerns over how expensive some of these cutting-edge frontier models can be to wield at scale.

Today's Change

(

-0.30

%) $

-1.48

Current Price

$

495.40

Prior to earnings, Microsoft's stock was sitting there at roughly 19 times forward earnings estimates. That's a modest valuation for arguably the world's most prominent technology company. In that light, it's not a shock that a strong quarter sprung the stock.

Better yet, the stock is still very appealing for long-term investors at its current price. Shares now trade at a more expensive forward P/E ratio of 25. That said, analysts do expect Microsoft to grow earnings by an average of 15% to 16% annually over the next three to five years. It's hard to dismiss those estimates after net income just jumped 31% in the most recent quarter.

As long as Microsoft remains competitive in AI, and that seems like a safe bet thanks to Azure, the stock has a good shot at generating healthy returns from its current price over the next five years.

Archer Aviation (ACHR -5.02%) reported its second-quarter results on Monday, and the two numbers that matter most sit at opposite ends of the release. The air taxi maker expects an adjusted EBITDA loss of $170 million to $200 million for the third quarter. And it closed out June holding $1.56 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments.

Set one number against the other and the arithmetic is simple: At the top of that guidance, Archer's money covers roughly two more years of losses. What has to happen inside them?

After all, this is a company still almost entirely ahead of its revenue. Second-quarter sales were $5 million, mostly from operating Hawthorne Airport in Los Angeles, against a net loss of $263 million.

None of that is surprising for a business building an aircraft program and a defense platform at once. But it does make the balance sheet the number to watch. As of this writing, shares sit near $6.60 after sliding 5% on Friday.

Image source: Getty Images.

A bigger loss each quarter Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP measure of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, with further adjustments that exclude items like stock-based compensation) is the figure Archer guides on. A year ago, the quarterly loss on that basis was $118.7 million. This year's first quarter came in at $172.5 million, and the second at $177.1 million. And the new guidance brackets that number rather than shrinking it.

Total operating expenses rose 61% year over year to $284 million. The $28 million step-up from the first quarter, management says, reflects expanded flight testing, certification work, and production of its Midnight aircraft, plus its hybrid military aircraft and ZEE, its aviation artificial intelligence (AI) model.

The all-in cash number runs higher still. Cash and investments fell by $215 million during the quarter, with $156 million of that used in operations. Most of the rest went to capital expenditures and to buying the operator business at Hawthorne Airport.

Of course, that last piece was a $25 million one-time purchase. But the balance has stepped down all the same, from $1.96 billion at the end of December to $1.78 billion in March to $1.56 billion in June.

Two years of room The reason to spend at this pace is that Archer believes it is close. In April, the company became the first in its industry to close the third phase of the FAA's four-phase type certification process. It is now in the final phase, where Midnight's compliance is demonstrated through formal testing.

Operations are supposed to come sooner. In July, Midnight flew its first piloted city-to-city trips in California. Over the next few months, Archer plans to begin flying in the Los Angeles area from Hawthorne. Later this year, it expects to commence operations in Texas under the White House's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program.

I'd argue those dates matter more here than they would at most companies, because the waiting itself now has a price. At the guided pace, six months of schedule slippage costs about $400 million.

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The Boeing test The deal Archer announced alongside the results brings the first substantial revenue the company has ever had. Insitu, which builds unmanned military aircraft and operates across 35 countries, takes in over $200 million of revenue a year -- and does so profitably. The transaction, which also hands Archer the autonomy developer Wisk Aero and the airspace-software company SkyGrid, is slated to wrap up before 2026 ends.

Boeing, for its part, is set to take a stake in Archer and to invest in the company.

But does the deal lighten the spending, too? In his shareholder letter, CEO Adam Goldstein wrote that he has tasked his team with integrating the companies "in a thoughtful and synergistic way that will not structurally increase our overall cash burn."

The third-quarter guidance can't confirm that either way. The deal hasn't closed, so none of the acquired businesses are in the numbers yet. However, the first guidance Archer issues after closing is where the commitment becomes checkable.

Ultimately, the math is unusually simple for a growth stock this speculative. Archer's own guidance puts its quarterly losses as deep as $200 million, and the balance sheet holds about eight quarters of losses that size -- fewer if cash keeps leaving faster than the guided measure, the way it did last quarter. If Midnight starts carrying passengers on schedule and the Boeing businesses arrive without pushing spending higher, that could be plenty. I'd just note that both of those are still plans, and that the loss has grown in each of the past three quarters.