Apple (AAPL) is one of the greatest performing stocks of all time. However, the company has often shifted between rapid innovations of new products and spending years without any significant new products. The past few years have seen few new developments, as the company has focused on annual upgrades to existing technologies. However, that hasn’t stopped rumors from starting about various new products. The latest rumor? An Apple-branded car. The company hasn’t said anything about such a product yet, but that hasn’t stopped a few analysts from upgrading the stock on the prospect of such a...

The past few years has seen an explosion of interest in software, security, and the rise of high-tech vehicles. A number of new and existing companies have been working to develop solutions for these spaces. One surprising name isBlackBerry (BB). The former smartphone company has pivoted to security and automotive software, looking to create secure connections. The turnaround has been gradual, but it does look like it’s happening. Nevertheless, shares have suffered as the company reported $215 million in earnings against an expected $245. It’s also a 26 percent drop compared to a yea...

Last year’s pandemic lockdowns created a number of shifting trends in retail. One of them involved purchasing fewer apparel items for a business market, and more leisure and athletic wear. With the pandemic ending, traders are starting to look elsewhere. But a few companies in the space may still thrive. One potential continued winner isLululemon (LULU). With fashion trends still supporting casualwear, the firm may still be a winner. That’s why the company also received an upgrade ahead of its latest earnings report. Shares of the firm are up about 60 percent over the past year, beat...

Tech stocks spent the first six weeks of the year posting strong gains, then promptly gave them up in the next six weeks. Now, with tech trading around breakeven for the year, many are wondering on the market’s next move. Not Cathie Wood. The found of ARK Investment, she’s interested in investing in disruptive tech, particularly when it’s out of favor. That included investments in Bitcoin andTesla Motors (TSLA) at a time when those trades faced market derision. The recent selloff across the tech space has caused the ARK funds to sell off some positions to add more to others. This rot...

Thanks to lower interest rates and a demand for housing outside of dense urban areas, homebuilders have been a top-performing sector. Most companies in the space have trounced the market in the past year, and have been reporting incredible earnings and sales numbers.KB Home (KBH) is one such play. However, last week shares dropped on lower-than-expected sales. With the strong trends in place, however, analysts have been quick to upgrade shares of the homebuilding company. Besides trading at less than 9 times forward earnings, the company trades under its price to sales, and has seen ear...

Software companies can offer tremendous profit potential to investors, even with recent stock market volatility. But elsewhere in the tech space, a few other niches also offer big profits now—and companies are growing hand over fist. One such area is with cybersecurity. The combination of security and software is a particularly potent space, and looks like an attractive space to buy in as tech stocks remain out of favor. It’s no surprise that a number of the big names in the space are looking attractive now. A few are even getting upgrades in spite of the market dip. One such play is...

Software is a high profit-margin business. Companies embracing a recurring revenue model can do even better. But with tech shares looking volatile lately, these companies have been out of favor with the market as part of the tech space. However, strong earnings by software companies point to further profits ahead. These companies will be able to pass on higher costs, and investors who target successful software companies will come out ahead in time. One such name isAdobe (ADBE). The software company just reported better-than-expected earnings. The company also raised guidance for its...

With a shortage of computer chips and semiconductors, a number of companies have had to warn that they may not be able to produce enough of some goods to meet demand. For some companies, however, that may not be as big of a problem as expected. One such play that may fare well?Apple (AAPL). The company’s steady sales, particularly with its latest iPhone, appear to put it past some of the shortage issues impacting other companies in the tech space. As a result, expectations are that Apple will sell up to nearly 60 million of the phones, and another 40 million in the second quarter. Th...

A number of companies reduced or eliminated dividend payments during the pandemic last year in a move to preserve cash. Now, a few companies are coming back to the table. But a select few firms have not only kept, but are growing their dividends. Two of those plays are in retail. There’sWilliams-Sonoma (WSM). Their shares jumped to a new high on news of a higher dividend payout. But another company just announced a bump as well. With its shares declining in recent months, it may now start to move higher while also paying more. The company?Dollar General (DG). It just increased its...

Shares ofPlug Power (PLUG) took a steep dive last week, as the company announced it needed to restate some of its prior years of accounting. However, that hasn’t stopped analysts from looking beyond the short-term fears. They continue to see long-term opportunity. In fact, one analyst from B. Riley cites the old mantra of buying “when there’s blood in the streets,” even though shares only pulled back about 8 percent on the news. While shares are now down just over 50 percent from their 52-week high of $75.49, shares are still up nearly 1,100 percent in the past year. The hydrogen fue...