The latest Market Talks covering Technology, Media and Telecom. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
0755 GMT - Global initial public offering markets could see a strong 2H, EY says in its latest report. Investor appetite has returned after years of subdued IPO issuance, but execution windows may be "episodic" and could be shaped by mega-IPOs and geopolitics, it writes. Companies pursuing public listings are using more flexible approaches, including IPOs, direct listings and SPACs, to take advantage of improving market conditions, it adds. AI and related infrastructure themes are having a greater influence, with momentum accelerating in semiconductors, power and data-center infrastructure, robotics and other advanced manufacturing segments, it says. "Investors are favoring companies with a demonstrable AI value creation narrative and questioning those with unsubstantiated AI positioning." (kimberley.kao@wsj.com)
0745 GMT - Alibaba Group is likely to benefit from its AI and cloud business, according to Jefferies analysts in a research note. "In cloud computing, Alibaba has clear market leadership as the backbone of digitalization across different industries," the analysts say. Jefferies expects Alibaba's cloud segment EBITA margin to improve sequentially in the June quarter at 11.5%, higher than market consensus. Jefferies maintains a buy rating on the stock, with a target price of HK$179.00. Shares last traded at HK$107.80. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)
0441 GMT - Tencent could continue to evaluate its investment portfolio due to its AI initiatives' significant and potentially unpredictable costs, Citi analysts say in a research note. Citi expects Tencent's 2Q adjusted net profit to be slightly lower than consensus, as the bank is cautious on the profit drag from Tencent's AI spending. Tencent may consider divesting of mature or less strategic companies that offer limited future synergies, and instead increase investments in AI-related fields such as large language models and chips. Opportunistic buybacks, strategic AI investments and AI-powered core business growth remain key priorities for Tencent, they say. Citi trims Tencent's target price to HK$758.00 from HK$763.00. Shares are last at HK$475.00. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)
0329 GMT - Morgan Stanley analysts think that equities markets are underestimating the potential for SpaceX to disrupt telecommunications providers in Australia and New Zealand. They tell clients in a note that SpaceX's ambitions extend far beyond satellite launch services, and into areas including mobile connectivity and AI infrastructure. They warn that Starlink's direct-to-device satellite services could win subscribers and lower the terminal values of existing players such as Telstra, TPG Telecom, Aussie Broadband and Spark NZ. The analysts point out that Australia's large geography, low density and high average revenue per user make it an attractive market. MS lowers its target price on Telstra, TPG Telecom, Aussie Broadband and Spark NZ by between 1.9% and 5.3%, but makes no changes to its prior ratings. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
0215 GMT - LG Electronics is likely entering a phase of structural earnings recovery, say Yuanta Securities Korea's Kou Sun-young and Lim Seok-min. The South Korean consumer electronics company is expected to continue improving its profit margins in the core home-appliance, television and vehicle-components businesses this year, after it reported an above-consensus 2Q operating profit that was partly boosted by a one-off U.S. tariff refund, the analysts say. Its push into new businesses such as chillers for artificial-intelligence data centers, robotics and actuators is expected to gain momentum in the 2H 2026, with customer qualification tests underway ahead of potential contract awards, they note. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)
0200 GMT - Advanced Info Service's operations are likely to remain resilient, UOB Kay Hian analysts say in a research report. It'll benefit indirectly from Thailand's 'Thais Help Thais Plus' scheme in 2Q via factors including subsidy registration and higher data consumption, the analysts say. Eligible participants in this scheme require mobile connectivity to access the related 'Paotang' application, register for the subsidy, and make digital payments. The Thai telecommunications company warrants a valuation premium, partly supported by its resilient operations. The brokerage raises the stock's target price to 415.00 baht from 340.00 baht, with an unchanged buy rating. Shares last closed at 376.00 baht. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
1756 GMT - Amid the flurry of research notes assigning high price targets and glowing ratings to SpaceX, one firm is moving with more caution. MoffettNathanson analysts assign SpaceX a neutral rating and a price target of $131, below where it's trading today. "We largely reject the notion that Starlink can emerge as a competitor in U.S. wireless, for example, and we have real doubts about both the cost effectiveness and timeline for orbital data centers," the analysts say. They remain on the sidelines, they add, because "we expect these 'known unknowns' will be the most likely drivers of the stock over most practical investment horizons." And they call SpaceX "a venture bet with significantly asymmetric outcomes to the upside." SpaceX is off 5%. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1755 GMT - MoffettNathanson analysts, among the most cautious of those initiating coverage of SpaceX, are nevertheless bullish about the company's space business remaining dominant in the market and driving the flywheel for other segments. But it is precisely that bullishness, they write, that lead them to an underappreciated concern: regulatory, antitrust, and political risk. "Eventually, a monopoly, or even near-monopoly, in rocket manufacturing and launch, especially one that fosters additional monopolies or near-monopolies in upstream, downstream, or horizontally adjacent businesses, will be deemed regulatorily unacceptable, and some or all of the optionality that stems from SpaceX's vertical integration strategy could be regulated away," they write. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
JPMorgan's model for SpaceX assumes that its Starlink connectivity business will not take a meaningful share of mobile connectivity in the U.S., despite expected market share growth on the broadband side. The bank's analysts write that the Big 3 network operators -- Verizon Communications, T-Mobile US, and AT&T -- haven't expressed interest in making SpaceX a mobile virtual network operator, and the company building out its own network would be highly resource intensive without a clear consumer value proposition. "Starlink Mobile is therefore unlikely to be a headwind to the approximately $240 billion U.S. mobile service revenue ecosystem over our forecast horizon, with a wireless MVNO more likely to emerge in international markets first, where Starlink Mobile may convert some of its existing revenue-sharing agreements," the analysts write. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1307 GMT - SpaceX's leadership in orbital launches and plans for Starship reusability represent the company's key differentiator and set it up to pursue as-yet-untapped markets, JPMorgan analysts write in a note, giving the stock an overweight rating and a $225 price target for December 2027. The company's ability to reuse its rockets, especially their upper stages, is the crucial threshold, bringing with it risks of delays, setbacks or regulatory challenges, the analysts write. But if things go as planned, SpaceX's head start on launches and planned rampup will unlock growth for its Starlink satellite business, data centers in space, and eventually a broader economy of space travel, they say. "Everything depends on Starship," they write. SpaceX falls 4.8%. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1703 GMT - As SpaceX works on improving its rockets and building out artificial-intelligence infrastructure, the Starlink connectivity business represents the company's core value engine in the near term, with a substantial growth runway as unit costs improve, Raymond James analysts write in a note. They see Starlink as being similar to Amazon Web Services, with prioritization of capacity growth and scale over pricing optimization, and they note that Starlink's falling launch costs and next-generation satellites should dramatically improve the business. "We believe the long-term value of Starlink is driven less by subscriber growth than by the increasing productivity of the network itself," the analysts write, projecting that revenue per deployed satellite will grow fifteenfold by the end of the decade. "The defining characteristic of Starlink is that declining unit costs drive higher--not lower--economic productivity across the platform," they say. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1702 GMT - Speculation continues over whether or not weakness seen in bitcoin in June will extend into July. The token has stayed mostly rangebound in recent trading, but some think the leading cryptocurrency showed several signs last month that its bear market had overextended itself. "The picture is beginning to look less like a market falling apart and more like one approaching a turning point," say analysts with Cex.io in a note. The firm says that in June, more bitcoin in circulation was trading at a net loss versus a net gain--which is unusual. "In previous cycles, Bitcoin hit its cycle bottom within three months of this crossover," Cex.io says. Bitcoin is flat at $63,800 today. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 08, 2026 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)
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