Benzinga - Benzinga examined the prospects for many investors' favorite stocks over the last week — here's a look at some of our top stories.
After showing uncertainty at the start of the week, the three major indexes finished strong on Friday. The S&P 500 ended the week 1.45% higher, the Nasdaq was up by 0.98%, and the Dow Industrials gained 1.46% for the week.
Friday's rebound came after the Labor Department reported the U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs in December, exceeding economist estimates of 200,000 new jobs. However, wage growth dropped to just 4.6% in the month, a sign that inflation is still trending lower.
The optimism was weighed against the Federal Open Market Committee's November meeting minutes, released on Wednesday, which suggested a pivot to interest rate cuts might not come as soon as some investors had hoped.
Benzinga continues to examine the prospects for many of the stocks most popular with investors. Here are a few of this past week's most bullish and bearish posts that are worth another look.
The Bulls "Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)'s AI Chatbot Could Bring 21% In Gains For Stockholders, But Analysts Are Torn Over Cloud Biz," by Natan Ponieman, looks at why analysts expect Microsoft Inc’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) $1 billion investment in artificial intelligence platform OpenAI to pay off for the tech giant.
In "Meme Token Surges 186% In 24 Hours, Surpassing Dogecoin, Shiba Inu: Analyst Says 'BONK Inspired A Movement,'" Mehab Qureshi highlights a meme token called Bonk, which has outperformed Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) and Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) during the crypto winter.
"Is Apple Stock Headed To $250? Why Gene Munster Says 'One Of The World's Greatest Companies' Is Poised To Double," by Adam Eckert, details why Loup Funds' Gene Munster believes Apple Inc (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:AAPL) stock is positioned to be priced at $250 a share.
For additional bullish calls of the past week, check out the following:
'Guaranteed' 11.25% Yield: Blackstone (NYSE:BX)'s Billion Dollar Deal This University Couldn't Refuse
Cramer: Target (NYSE:TGT) Is 'The Winner' Once 'Smoke Clears' From Bed Bath & Beyond's Downfall
NYSE Exec: There's 1 Stock In Cathie Wood's Fund That's Ready To Rise (It's Not Tesla)
The Bears "Tesla Analyst Warns 'Brutal Pain' Will Continue In 2023 Unless Elon Musk Does This," by Shanthi Rexaline, looks at the concerns of prominent Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:TSLA) bull and Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives as the EV maker's stock continued to sell off this week.
In "Bitcoin 'A Magnet For Idiots, A Fool Detector,' Says 'The Black Swan' Author," Shivdeep Dhaliwal explains why noted author and mathematical statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb says that Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is now a “magnet for idiots.”
"Could Netflix Lose 'Wednesday' To A Streaming Rival? Here's How It Could Happen," by Chris Katje, looks at the potential for Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:NFLX) to lose its hit series "Wednesday" to Amazon.com Inc's (NFLX: NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime Video streaming platform.
For more bearish takes, be sure to see these posts:
Michael Burry Says Current Inflation Peak Not Last In This Cycle: US Likely To Be 'In Recession By Any Definition'
Key Tesla Rival Rivian Misses 2022 Production Target As Supply Chain Challenges Hurt
Bill Ackman Turns Heat On PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) But Warren Buffett Fan Points Finger Back: What About Pershing's Own Top 4 Holdings?
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