Microsoft (MSFT) made its biggest acquisition offer yet, with the proposal to buyActivision Blizzard (ATVI) at $95 per share. Judging by how the share prices of both companies have moved, the market isn’t quite satisfied that such a merger will go through. However, a few other names in the video game space have had a selloff on the news. Whether a deal pans out between the two companies or not, these other firms will likely recover in time and continue to trend higher. One big mover has beenSony Group Corporation (SNEJF). The Japanese electronic conglomerate has seen shares drop 11 perce...

The Nasdaq has started off the year with an un-seasonal decline, and one that’s leaving the index looking at a full-blown correction of 10 percent off the most recent highs. While the length and depth of any pullback is unknown, markets do tend to rebound in time—and tech-heavy stocks tend to be the fastest to start to move higher. Investors who embrace a “buy the dip” mentality towards key tech names can best take advantage of any inevitable market selloff. One such company that looks strong here isZscaler (ZS). The tech infrastructure play which offers software-as-a-service scored ...

While competition is great for consumers, it’s terrible for businesses. That’s why industries with a large number of competitors tend to have lower profit margins, and those with few competitors can perform well, offering shareholders fat profit margins for years. With some market turbulence at the start of the year, any positive news for an oligopoly company may get overlooked, which in turn could mean a bigger rally when stocks move higher again. Case in point?Visa (V). Shares took a hit last year on news that the company’s credit cards would stop being used for UK-based customers ...

An inflationary environment, where prices continue to increase at higher-than-desired levels, can cause a lot of changes in consumer and investor behavior. However, some investments can fare well. One such type of company is one that won’t lose customers even if it can continue to deliver its product or service at a higher price. Companies that charge monthly are also in a great spot of being able to change prices more quickly compared to some companies that may go years without hiking prices. So it should be so surprise that shares ofNetflix (NFLX) popped a bit last week when the co...

There are a number of promising future technologies likely to play out over the next decade. While investor interest in those ideas will ebb and flow, companies that can deliver the tech trends of today and the future are likely to benefit. The long-term winners in tech are often hardware and software infrastructure plays that help develop any number of new technologies, whether or not those technologies play out. One of the top ways to play all tech trends is by playing the growth of the cloud and cloud services. While the cloud is essentially a system to store data remotely from wh...

Markets are fearful of inflation right now, as well as constraints from supply chain issues. That’s driving up the prices of commodities, some of which already had to deal with an imbalance between supply and demand. For investors, buying one of the worst-performing names in a sector undergoing a bull market with strong fundamentals can lead to better returns than buying a safer and more blue-chip name in the space. For the oil market,Occidental Petroleum (OXY) might be just such a winner for an ongoing oil boom. That’s because this major player has been hit with debt issues, and sha...

This decade promises to unleash a number of technologies that just existed on the drawing board until now. While much as been made about electric vehicles this past decade as they’ve gone into mainstream production, the real innovation is with automation. The rise of self-driving vehicles can free up a morning or evening commute, allow someone to work on other tasks or relax while being driven around. On the commercial level, the technology is even more promising. That’s because self-driving truck technology can allow for less downtime for the trucking industry, and make up for a lab...

The start of 2022 has seen interest rates start to quickly rise in anticipation of the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy this year to help curb inflation. Rising interest rates are good for some companies, but can create tough situations for other companies. One such area is housing. Low interest rates tie into mortgage rates, and essentially how much of a home that one can afford. Other areas of the housing market are also impacted as well. Homebuilders are in the spotlight for some volatility in the short-term as the interest rate story plays out, but will likely head high...

While the Omicron variant threw a wrinkle into the economic recovery, it’s now been a few months. And some in-person events have been cancelled or scaled back as a result, but it’s becoming a rarer and rarer phenomenon. That points towards further gains in the travel and tourism sector, which already saw big gains in the past year. Simply put, consumers want to get out, explore the world, and spend money on new places and experiences. One area where this will likely remain in full swing is in Las Vegas. That’s likely why casino plays, which cater to travel and tourism, can continue t...

The past few months has seen an explosion of growth in the concept of the metaverse. A digital realm where people can interact with each other, whether socially or for business, the idea is on the forefront for a number of big-name tech companies. It’s also been a popular idea for retail investors as well, with metaverse-related news for any company enough to cause a jump in shares. Among the players in the space today, one of the earliest players looks attractive as it’s already proven itself as a model for how to grow a following in the metaverse. That play?Roblox (RBLX). The pl...