Every day brings several reports about companies embracing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Some may see a genuine long-term opportunity. Others may see an opportunity to turn their share price around as the market loves this current tech trend. While big-name tech stocks have largely moved higher, there’s now some potential pockets of overvaluation with the biggest moves so far. That’s creating an opportunity for smaller plays, particularly for companies already rolling out AI tools. One such player isSalesforce (CRM). The company just announced its AI Cloud service for cu...

The past few weeks has seen an explosion of interest in artificial intelligence (AI) and chipmaker stocks. That’s allowed a few big-cap tech names to lead the overall market higher. And since the stock market is weighted by market cap, it may have even kept stocks from dropping so far this year. With the move higher fizzling out, it’s possible that investors are looking to new leaders to keep the 2023 rally going. One company looks set to take the leadership mantle. Streaming giantNetflix (NFLX) has more than doubled off the lows it set nearly a year ago. But it’s also well off the h...

Most investment analysis tries to put a company into either a growth category, or a value category. Fortunately, some stocks offer both at the same time. With some sectors of the market rallying strongly and value out of reach, being able to buy value while also seeing a move higher is huge. And with a solid valuation, the share price can move higher from both higher earnings growth and a higher valuation multiple as the company grows. One company exhibiting this growth now isOxford Industries (OXM). Trading at less than 10 times earnings, and yielding about 2.5 percent, it sounds li...

Companies often fall quickly on bad news. Sometimes, the news is terminal for the company, like a bank being seized and closed down. But most of the time, bad news hits a share price harder than it needs to. That creates a buying opportunity. It’s just important to separate permanent bad news from temporary bad news. As long as a company can continue operating, it’s likely to overcome its challenge and move higher in time. Right now, cryptocurrency exchanges have taken a hit amid a flurry of SEC lawsuits. That led to a big drop forCoinbase (COIN), the largest publicly-traded exchange...

While the market has held up well thanks to the strong performance of tech stocks, that trend won’t last. It’s possible the overall market could decline as tech stocks shift lower. But we could also see a rotation out of tech and into other sectors. That’s why several parts of the market look attractive now. Many sectors didn’t join the market’s rally, or have since moved to re-test lows from last year. They could be a potential buy. For instance, the telecom stocks have been poor performers, in part due to rumors thatAmazon (AMZN) would offer such service for its Prime members. T...

While stocks have trended higher this year overall, investors have been unpleasantly surprised by a series of bank failures. While it’s been largely quiet in the past few weeks, many small and regional banks remain beaten down. That’s creating an opportunity for investors. Why? While there may still be more bank failures ahead, many names in the space are safe. And because they’ve been beaten down so heavily, they now trade at a steep discount. For instance, regional bankCitizens Financial Group (CFG) trades for less than 0.6 times its book value. It’s unlikely that the bank will hav...

While the stock market has rewarded companies moving into the artificial intelligence (AI) space this year, the ride hasn’t been a smooth one. That’s actually a good thing for investors. Pullbacks create buying opportunities. And the important thing for investors is to buy smaller AI companies that can see big growth – and share price appreciation – over time. That means looking for companies that have small market caps – under $100 billion – which takes a lot of household tech names off the table. But that still leaves plenty of AI plays. One such play isC3.ai (AI). Shares have had ...

Economic data remains confusing. While the economy is slowing by several measures, we’re still seeing signs of a strong economy, such as the labor market. One trend that’s becoming more clear is that spending is declining on goods, but not necessarily on services. That’s leading to a drop in retail-related stocks. And while a slowing economy will mean a further slowdown in the sale of goods, it won’t drop to zero. Consumers still need to consume, if only for basics such as food and personal products. So many names taking a hit recently could be winners going forward. One candidate...

Investors looking to consistently outperform the market should follow market rotation. That simply means avoiding sectors that have recently performed well, instead opting to buy sectors that have been out of favor. For the month of May, tech stocks dominated. Software-related tech plays saw a nearly 10 percent rise. On the other end of the spectrum, the energy sector was the loser, with about a 10 percent decline. Since energy prices tend to fluctuate over time, investors interested in the space should look at a diversified long-term play when oil drops under $70 per barrel. One nam...

While the stock market tends to rise over time, within that cycle there can be different moves. Recently, tech stocks have been the big winners. That’s left other sectors underperforming. However, that will likely change in time. And when that happens, companies in overlooked or disliked sectors can become the big winners moving forward. A number of sectors look oversold and potentially ready to move higher in the weeks and months ahead. One area is casino stocks. While they’ve largely rallied so far this year, they’ve also been held back by fears of a slowing economy. We’re seein...