The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed marginally lower on Friday, weighed down by a decline in Nvidia shares for a second straight day, which dragged down the technology sector.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 15.57 points, or 0.04%, to 39,150.33, the S&P 500 lost 8.55 points, or 0.16%, to 5,464.62 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 32.23 points, or 0.18%, to 17,689.36.
Market Movers
Nvidia - Nvidia fell 3.2% after shares declined 3.5% on Thursday and the chip maker relinquished its crown as the world’s most valuable company to Microsoft. Apple pushed Nvidia down to the third spot on Friday. Nvidia’s forward price-to-earnings multiple has expanded to 45 from roughly 25 at the end of last year. The level of outperformance against the wider stock market has led to concerns that any stumble could lead to a sharper drop.
Palantir - Palantir Technologies fell 6.7% to $23.84 after analysts at Monness Crespi downgraded shares of the software company to Sell from Neutral with a $20 price target. Analyst Brian White said Palantir’s valuation “has now reached a gluttonous extreme.”
Microsoft - Microsoft rose 0.9% on Friday to $449.78. Analysts at Citi raised their price target on Microsoft to $520 from $495 and maintained their Buy rating. Apple, which has been jostling with Nvidia and Microsoft as the most-valuable company, fell 1% suddenly in the final minutes of the session.
Trump Media & Technology - Trump Media & Technology Group rose 3.4%. The parent company of former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform has declined for six straight trading sessions, losing about 38% over that span. The Securities and Exchange Commission this week signed off on the company’s registration statement and on the resale of shares and warrants.
Sarepta Therapeutics - Sarepta Therapeutics surged 30.1% after saying the Food and Drug Administration approved an expansion to the indications for Elevidys, the company’s treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Sarepta said the drug was approved for ambulatory and non-ambulatory people, who are at least 4 years old, and with a confirmed mutation in the DMD gene.
Hertz Global - Hertz Global climbed up 16% after the rental car company raised the size of its bond offering to $1 billion. Hertz has been looking to accelerate the rotation of its fleet. Hertz reported a steeper-than-expected quarterly loss in April, largely because it bought too many electric vehicles at too high a price.
Gilead Sciences - Gilead Sciences rose 3.2%, extending Thursday’s rally, after the biopharmaceutical company said a Phase 3 trial of its twice-yearly HIV prevention treatment was found to be 100% effective.
Smith & Wesson - Smith & Wesson Brands said fourth-quarter sales at the gun maker rose 9.9% from a year earlier and CEO Mark Smith said the company continues to “expect healthy demand overall for firearms in fiscal 2025.” But the stock fell 13% after Chief Financial Officer Deana McPherson told analysts on a conference call that the company expects first-quarter sales to be down about 10% “from the prior year quarter in terms of units and dollars as growth in long guns partially offsets a decline in handguns.”
CarMax - CarMax reported first-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates but comparable-store used unit sales fell 3.8% in the period. Shares of the used-car retailer rose 0.4%.
FactSet Research - FactSet Research Systems was up 3.8% after posting fiscal third-quarter earnings that topped expectations. The provider of analytics and data products said revenue rose 4.3% to $552.7 million.
Market News
Apple to Delay Launch of AI-Powered Features in Europe, Blames EU Tech Rules
Apple will delay launching three new artificial intelligence features because landmark European Union tech rules require it to ensure that rival products and services can function with its devices, the U.S. tech group said on Friday.
Apple underscored its AI push earlier this month with a slew of new features and software enhancements for its iPhone and other devices to bolster sagging sales.
It said Apple Intelligence, which uses AI to conjure text, images and other content on command, would be available on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPad and Mac with its M1 chip and later versions. IPhone Mirroring on MacOS Sequoia allows the phone's screen to be viewed and interacted with on Mac computers.
Amazon Mulls $5 to $10 Monthly Price Tag for Unprofitable Alexa Service, AI Revamp
Amazon is planning a major revamp of its decade-old money-losing Alexa service to include a conversational generative AI with two tiers of service and has considered a monthly fee of around $5 to access the superior version, according to people with direct knowledge of the company's plans.
Known internally as “Banyan,” a reference to the sprawling ficus trees, the project would represent the first major overhaul of the voice assistant since it was introduced in 2014 along with the Echo line of speakers. Amazon has dubbed the new voice assistant "Remarkable Alexa," the people said.
Amazon has pushed workers towards a deadline of August to prepare the newest version of Alexa, three of the people said, noting that CEO Andy Jassy has taken a personal interest in seeing Alexa reinvigorated. In an April letter to shareholders, Jassy promised a “more intelligent and capable Alexa,” without providing additional details.
Trade US Stocks 24/5 with Tiger Trade!
